Xu Qinghe's tone was firm. "You explain clearly to the patient and family. Either arrange it in another OR, or wait until my afternoon slot."
Waiting until the afternoon's last slot? Impossible, the ER quickly said, "Director Wu said..."
The attending surgeon for this patient was none other than Wu Xiaofeng.
Xu Qinghe cut him off. "I don't care what Director Wu said."
The ER was choked into silence.
Xu Qinghe continued, "If it's a true emergency—a life-saving surgery—I won't delay for a second. But this semi-emergency, non-emergency? Follow the procedure. The first slot in OR 5 today is for a critical hepatobiliary patient, and the patient is elderly. I won't push their surgery back for no reason. Cutting in line like this—there's no negotiation on my watch."
There was a momentary silence on the other end.
Other anesthesiologists, even if dissatisfied, would mostly not refuse outright.
The night shift anesthesiologist was about to hand over. At this time, only Xu Qinghe was available, which was why the patient was assigned to OR 5.
Xu Qinghe asked, "Who is the on-duty supervisor for the OR today? How can they disregard urgency like this?"
The ER: "..."
She really dared to say it.
Xu Qinghe reiterated, "If they insist on putting it as the first surgery, I won't accept the anesthesia sheet. I'll explain the situation to our chief resident."
With that, she hung up and immediately called the chief resident of the anesthesia department.
The chief resident was in charge of all scheduling.
After briefly explaining the situation, she said, "This case doesn't meet the criteria for emergency surgery. I refuse the anesthesia sheet. Please confirm with the OR scheduling coordinator whether the slots in OR 5 have been altered."
The chief resident quickly replied, "Dr. Xu, the orthopedics patient was sent up by the ER on an emergency basis. The original schedule for OR 5 hasn't been officially adjusted in the system."
"Good, don't change it. The first slot is a critical hepatobiliary patient." Xu Qinghe made her stance clear. "Both the ER and the scheduler are messing around. I won't accept this orthopedics anesthesia."
The call ended.
Fang Yu had been listening the whole time, and she was worried. "You haven't even been assigned to Wu Xiaofeng's surgeries yet, and you've already offended him. Have you forgotten that Director Liao blacklisted you, and you still have so many orthopedics surgeries to make up? What are you thinking?"
Xu Qinghe sipped her coffee and said nothing.
Fang Yu sighed heavily. "Everyone more or less turns a blind eye to order-cutting for semi-emergencies. They just anesthetize the patient to avoid offending the surgeons. But you... This isn't the first time different departments have fought over ORs. Why do you, as an anesthesiologist, have to run around worrying?"
She took a bite of her sugar-oil cake, conflicted. "But doing this, even though you might offend people, at least you won't get breast nodules. Unlike me, who swallows everything every day and ends up with several nodules."
She took a sip of soy milk and started worrying again. "You don't know Wu Xiaofeng. He's tough to deal with."
Xu Qinghe spoke up. "Don't worry about me. It's fine. Wu Xiaofeng knows who I am."
Fang Yu: "..."
Xu Qinghe changed the subject to something happier. "Didn't you want to eat the crispy scallion pancakes? I'll share a few with you later."
After saying that, she checked her phone but still had no message.
Maybe there was traffic. Otherwise, by this time, Shi Wenli should have arrived downstairs.
Mentioning scallion pancakes cheered Fang Yu up. "I wanted the ones made by Director Shi himself, not from a street stall—"
She stopped mid-sentence and warmly greeted the person entering the office. "Director Shi, good morning. What brings you here? It's an honor."
Xu Qinghe turned around. Shi Wenli, wearing a dark coat, had already entered the office holding an insulated bag.
Shi Wenli smiled at Fang Yu. "Today I brought breakfast for my department, so I brought a portion for Dr. Xu as well."
No wonder Xu Qinghe had just said she'd share a few crispy scallion pancakes—so it really was Director Shi's homemade ones.
Fang Yu was secretly delighted. Finally, she could eat the scallion pancakes she had been craving for so long.
Xu Qinghe put down her coffee cup, looked at the man, and stood up with a light smile. "I was planning to go downstairs and wait for you after finishing this coffee."
He had spent the whole weekend with her. Seeing each other again, the awkwardness from when they first confirmed their relationship had faded.
Shi Wenli walked toward her. "I happened to be coming to the OR, so I passed by."
The anesthesia office was right next to the OR, so the excuse was reasonable.
Even if he had come specifically for her, Fang Yu wouldn't think much of it. After all, he was such a nice person, and Xu Qinghe was lucky to have a friend like him who not only brought food but also delivered it upstairs.
Shi Wenli handed the insulated bag to Xu Qinghe. "I brought extra. Share some with the others."
Before Xu Qinghe could respond, Fang Yu quickly thanked him. "Thank you, Director Shi!"
With that, she put away her half-eaten sugar-oil cake and tied the food bag tightly, eagerly awaiting the scallion pancakes.
When Xu Qinghe took the bag, it was unexpectedly heavy. There must be more than just scallion pancakes in it.
"Did you have breakfast?" she asked him.
"Yes, I did." Shi Wenli didn't linger. Like an ordinary colleague, he said, "Go ahead and eat. I'll head to the OR."
Fang Yu thanked him again. "Thanks, Director Shi. Feel free to drop by the anesthesia department anytime. We'll treat you to coffee."
Shi Wenli smiled and said, "Sure. I'll come when I have time."
In the past, Xu Qinghe would have thought this was just a polite response.
But now, she wasn't so sure.