She immediately dialed Zhao Mingde's number, just to give the patient peace of mind.
Zhao Mingde said directly over the phone, "With such a poor physical condition and blood pressure over 200, you still want to proceed? Are you asking to die?"
Hearing the director say so, the patient finally gave up on the idea of continuing the surgery.
The surgery was temporarily canceled, and the patient was sent back to the ward.
In just a few hours, news that Xu Qinghe had halted a hepatobiliary surgery spread like wildfire in various group chats.
When Director Yin answered the phone, he happened to be in the ward corridor, and many people overheard him say: "I had someone explain the situation to you clearly, but you still stopped the surgery just like that. Dr. Xu, you're something!"
Xu Qinghe was the first to make the normally composed chief of general surgery lose his temper like that.
In fact, she wasn't the only anesthesiologist to have halted a surgery, but she was the most outspoken and persistent.
At noon, Shi Wenli also heard about it.
He ran into Jiang Yang in the cafeteria. Everything Jiang Yang said came with three parts twists and four parts drama.
After hearing the general story, Shi Wenli directly messaged the person involved: [What's going on between you and Director Yin?]
Xu Qinghe: [You already know?]
Shi Wenli: [Yeah. Is it serious?]
Xu Qinghe: [It's fine.]
Xu Qinghe: [After today's incident spread, I heard many departments are asking if I still need their surgery quota (cry-laugh) (cry-laugh)]
Shi Wenli: [Then complete it as soon as possible and get back to neurosurgery and cardiac surgery ORs.]
It was an ordinary reassurance, but it softened Xu Qinghe's heart.
She warned herself not to let the inappropriate flutterings grow.
Suppressing the chaotic feelings, she joked back: [I'm afraid the surgical departments are even more eager than I am for me to finish and leave.]
Shi Wenli smiled and asked, [When are you coming to the cafeteria?]
Xu Qinghe sighed inwardly. Why was he so concerned about her today?
It seemed she looked quite pitiful in her colleagues' eyes.
She replied, [I've already eaten. I'm about to go into the next surgery.]
Shi Wenli: [Okay, then go ahead.]
Before long, she would learn that she was about to go on a blind date with him. Moments of carefree chatting like this would be hard to come by after that.
Xu Qinghe: [OK]
She had no time to pay attention to the teasing messages in the group chats. She had four surgeries today, and it was very late by the time she finished.
As she came out of the OR, she didn't expect the director to be waiting at the door.
Her first thought was that she had been complained about to the medical department, and the medical department head had talked to the director.
"Director, it's so late. Haven't you gone home yet?"
Zhao Mingde: "I'm waiting for you."
As expected.
"Director, about today's matter with Director Yin..."
Before she could finish, Zhao Mingde raised his hand to stop her. "Once work is over, it's over. My head aches just talking about it."
He got straight to the point. "I'm here to talk about your personal life."
Now it was Xu Qinghe's turn to have a headache.
Zhao Mingde sighed helplessly. "Your dad is being unreasonable. He insists that you're single because I've been squeezing all your time, leaving you no chance to date. Let him say whatever he wants. I'll take the blame."
He changed tone. "Tonight, I'm arranging a blind date for you!"
Xu Qinghe: "..."
For a moment, she couldn't tell if it was her dad or the director who had been provoked.
She'd rather be severely criticized than go on a blind date.
Even writing a self-criticism would be better.
She had no choice but to use Director Yin as an excuse. "With what happened today with Director Yin... I'm not in the mood for a blind date. Director, can we do it another time?"
Zhao Mingde could see her resistance to the idea.
He wasn't falling for her act of playing pitiful. "Whether another time works or not isn't up to me. Go ask Shi Wenli if he's willing to wait until next time to go on a blind date with you."
Suddenly hearing Shi Wenli's name, Xu Qinghe's heart skipped a beat.
Afraid she had misheard, she hurriedly asked, "Who?"
Her excitement caused her voice to crack slightly.
Zhao Mingde said slowly, "Shi Wenli."
After saying that, Xu Qinghe didn't respond for a long time.
Her voice had cracked just now when she asked "Who?" It seemed she really couldn't accept that the blind date was Shi Wenli.
It was normal for her to want to back out. As long as he didn't let her off the hook, out of politeness, she would at least go meet Shi Wenli.
Once she gradually came to accept the fact that a friend was becoming her partner, he was sure she would never regret this match.
Confirming that the blind date was Shi Wenli, Xu Qinghe stood frozen, her mind blank for a good ten seconds.
But before she could fully savor the indescribable joy, a bucket of cold water poured over her. She suddenly realized that Shi Wenli didn't plan to settle down. He had rejected even Qi Ruo, whom Dean Jiang introduced, without meeting her. She was destined to be politely turned down.
Zhao Mingde spoke at the right moment. "I'll take the liberty of deciding for you. Go have a good talk with Shi Wenli."
Xu Qinghe snapped back to reality.
She wanted to talk to him too.
But how could reality always go as one wished?
"Director." She had to face certain concerns. "After the New Year, I'll be permanently assigned to the neurosurgery anesthesia team. From then on, I'll see Shi Wenli every day. If you force this match and he rejects me, how awkward will it be when we're paired up for surgeries in the future?"
If there was destined to be no result, she would rather never reveal this layer of relationship.
Maybe by the time she met someone suitable to marry, this crush that never blossomed would gradually fade away.
"Director, you might think I'm tough usually, but in reality, I'm a coward."
Zhao Mingde wanted to say: I can't see where you're a coward. What I do see is that you're unwilling to go on a blind date.
He told her not to worry. "Do you think I don't know you're being assigned to the neurosurgery team? Don't worry, Shi Wenli has already agreed to go on a blind date with you. He replied to me last night at 8:30. I wouldn't have come to you rashly without being fully confident."