"Thank you so much Doctor for rescuing my mother-in-law despite the health complications she had," The middle-aged woman said to Chen Lihua with a heart full of gratitude.

"It's our job. If you may please follow me to my office, I need to talk to you two," Chen Lihua said politely.

​​

"No problem," The middle-aged man replied.

"If you don't mind that I care, Deputy Chief, I will take it from here," Chen Lihua whispered to the Deputy Chief in a low voice.

Then she gave a low bow to him, before walking away with the patient's family.

So the Deputy Chief stood there while seething with rage as he watched Chen Lihua walk away.

In her office, Chen Lihua talked to the patient's family for minutes. Since she cared about her patients a lot, so she had this tendency to know more about them from their kins.

In the middle of talking, the telephone rang, and Chen Lihua picked it up.

The person said something to her, and she replied, "A meeting in fifteen minutes?"

She listened for a few seconds before speaking up again, "Ok, thank you."

"Am sorry about that," Chen Lihua apologized to them while dropping the telephone.

"It's ok, we understand that you are busy," The middle-aged woman spoke up.

"So doctor, when will my mother be able to leave the SICU?" The middle-aged man asked.

"In two days at most if everything goes according to plan," Chen Lihua answered.

"The other doctor we met outside the SICU told us that there could be complications after the surgery, is that true?" The middle-aged man asked worriedly.

Chen Lihua felt a little headache coming.

'What is wrong with that man?' Chen Lihua thought to herself.

"Yes, there could be complications like chest wound infection, heart attacks or strokes, lung or kidney failure, breathing difficulty, or even memory loss or fuzziness," Chen Lihua explained.

Then seeing their faces increase with worry, Chen Lihua went ahead to say.

"I understand that you are worried, but you will understand that your mother had serious health complications just before the surgery, as you can see in her medical chart here," Chen Lihua said while showing the medical chart to them.

"And this surgery happened as a result of an emergency because she was bleeding inside. She was supposed to wash herself a day to the surgery with a special soap, to kill the bacteria on the skin. That would have lessened the chance of infection after surgery. The heart-lung machine bypass machine used is also associated with risks, but we had no choice. So you see, there are bound to be complications after this surgery. But I assure you that we will do everything we can to ensure that your mother is back to her feet again," Chen Lihua explained while staring right into their eyes.

The middle-aged man sighed while his wife said to Chen Lihua.

"Alright, Doctor, we understand. We are only hoping that our mother would be fine."

"Don't worry, we will do our best," Chen Lihua assured them while standing to her feet as the fifteen minutes was almost up.

"My time is up now, but I will meet you two in the SICU after the meeting, and there, I will take my time to explain some questions for you," Chen Lihua said to them in a smile as they stood up as well.

They thanked Chen Lihua before leaving her office.

Chen Lihua let out a tired yawn as she sat back on her seat.

She removed the medicated glasses from her eyes and rubbed her tired eyes.

She spent six hours performing surgery in the theatre and also spent about two hours extra going through the patient's medical chart, looking up some information concerning the surgery and the recovery of the patient, and also talking to the patient's family. And now, she had a meeting to attend, and she hasn't rested at all, not forgetting that she still had to meet with the patient's family after the meeting.

Chen Lihua rubbed her face tiredly before putting her glasses back on. She stood and wore her coat before leaving for the meeting.

She was the third to the last person to enter the meeting room just before the Chief Surgeon. And the last person to enter the meeting room was the Deputy Chief.

What an arrogant man.

The Chief started the meeting after seating down. He addressed them about the scene caused just before noon about the surgery they all ditched.

Then lastly, he called up the Deputy Chief and asked him to explain while he came to the meeting a few minutes after the meeting had started.

And he gave the excuse that he had migraines due to the surgery he performed in the morning and that he was still recovering from it.

'I can't believe this man could tell a lie so smoothly,' Chen Lihua thought to herself while staring right into the man's eyes.

It was evident that he lied, but nobody said a word.

This was the doctor that had been moving up and down after Chen Lihua's surgery. And when the surgery was ongoing, he was wiling away his time for six hours in his office.

So tell me, how tired could he still be?

The Deputy Chief glanced at Chen Lihua, and when he caught her staring at him, he asked in a smile, "What can I do for you, Dr. Chen?"

"Nothing exactly. But if you could please stay far away from my patients and their families, you will do me a lot of good," Chen Lihua replied in a smile that was not a smile.

The Deputy Chief smiled and said while raising his hands in surrender, "Ok, but I was just helping out."

There was silence, as the doctors of the cardio departments, stared between Chen Lihua, the Deputy Chief, and the Chief.

It was apparent that there is bad blood between Chen Lihua and the Deputy Chief, so they all looked at the Chief to break the suffocating silence.

The Chief sighed before announcing, "Let's appreciate Doctor Chen for still staying strong after six hours of surgery, and till this time."

There was a round of applause from everyone apart from the apparent person, as they appreciated her with smiles.

Chen Lihua stood up and bowed to them in response.

Those that clapped for her had respect for her because she was too young to be a cardiothoracic surgeon for her age, and she did the surgery without any help from any experienced cardiothoracic surgeons.