After Transmigrating Into The Novel, The White Moonlight And The Female Lead Of The Abusive Romance Got Their Happy Ending - Chapter 8

The cardiac surgery ward was no quieter in the afternoon than it had been that morning.

Patients were admitted and discharged, prepared for surgery, pushed back to their rooms after operations, or taken away for all kinds of examinations…

Medical staff hurried in and out without pause.

With permission, the cameraman followed the nurses’ directions and filmed around the ward.

In the department’s large office, Wen Tang sat with the residents and trainees, writing medical records and entering orders.

Shi Nanqiao sat nearby, joining the conversation from time to time.

One resident asked curiously, “Sister Shi, why did you choose a surgeon as your interview subject? I thought the purpose of your program was to focus on lesser-known professions.”

“Because although being a doctor seems like a profession everyone knows about, people actually understand very little about what doctors do. Everyone knows they should come to the hospital when they’re sick, but treating illnesses and performing surgery aren’t as simple as home renovations or traveling. Information online is a mixture of truth and falsehood, and rumors are everywhere. Yet people still find it difficult to entrust their lives to a stranger…”

“That’s true. ‘Trust’ is a very complicated issue in doctor-patient relationships nowadays,” a young man interjected. “A lot of the time, patients and their families have absolutely no confidence in interns and residents like us. They won’t even let us perform basic procedures.”

The woman who had asked the first question shrugged helplessly.

“Some people always think we’re trying to harm the patient. I just don’t understand it. I’m a low-ranking resident. What could I possibly gain from hurting them?”

Her words immediately drew a chorus of agreement.

Young doctors always had a harder time earning trust. It was the same in every hospital.

“Senior Sister Wen, have you never encountered patients who didn’t trust you?” someone asked, passing the question to Wen Tang.

Wen Tang’s hands paused over the keyboard. After a moment of silence, she said, “I have. Some family members see how young I am and don’t feel comfortable letting me perform the surgery.”

“Doesn’t that make you angry? When I was an intern, I once went to ask about a patient’s medical history so I could write the full case report, and the family threw me out. It was the very first department I rotated through. I was furious!”

“In that situation, you should contact your supervising doctor, although some bad-tempered supervisors might scold you. But patients often have difficulty remaining emotionally stable when they’re ill, and that’s something we need to understand.” Wen Tang spoke gently. “There’s another important prerequisite too: protect yourself. You must protect yourself in many different ways.

“I went through that stage too. Whether during internship, residency training, or in Cleveland, I encountered plenty of discrimination…”

“But I think there’s something equally important.” At this point, Wen Tang’s voice became steadier. “Why did we choose to study medicine? Apart from a certain amount of self-interest, surely we all have some higher aspiration.”

Her voice was soft, like the distant tolling of a bell. It seemed faint enough to be scattered by a single gust of wind, yet it continued to echo in everyone’s ears.

Shi Nanqiao felt as though something had struck her heart with tremendous force.

Something flashed through her mind, but it disappeared too quickly for her to catch that ray of “light.”

Everyone fell silent. The rise and fall of fingers striking keyboards once again became the only melody in the room.

Then someone pushed open the door.

“Junior Sister Wen—”

Wen Tang looked up and saw a middle-aged man in blue surgical scrubs. He was her senior colleague and one of the associate directors of cardiac surgery.

“Senior Brother Gao, what is it?” she asked.

“I remember you don’t have any operations this afternoon. Could you teach a class for the eight-year medical students? Their clinical observation topic today is ‘heart transplantation,’ but I have an operation I need to attend immediately.”

“Sure. Which ward?”

“The one downstairs. It’s only two class periods, so it won’t take long. I already made the PowerPoint. After the lecture, just take them around the ward once.”

Wen Tang agreed and began gathering her things to head downstairs.

“Would you like to come?” At the doorway, she turned toward Shi Nanqiao.

“Of course.” Shi Nanqiao nodded, then called the cameraman over. “Jiqing, you can head back. We’ve filmed enough for today.”

She winked playfully.

“Aren’t you having dinner with your girlfriend tonight? Go home, get ready, and hurry over.”

Han Jiqing smiled sheepishly.

“Then I’ll leave first. Thank you, Sister Shi.”

…

“I’m telling you, even though Area A is far from downtown, the library has water dispensers and charging ports, and there’s a vending machine on the first floor. It’s also less crowded during exam month, so it’s especially good for studying.”

“Are there many mosquitoes? Last time I studied outside the library on the main campus at night, I got bitten all over.”

“There aren’t many. Just spray some mosquito repellent on yourself beforehand…”

Before Wen Tang had even entered the demonstration classroom used for teaching students, she could already hear people chattering inside.

She pushed open the door.

In the small classroom, five male and five female students turned to look at her simultaneously.

“Wow—”

Someone whispered in amazement.

“Sorry, everyone. Your original supervising physician has an operation today, so I’ll be teaching in his place. My name is Wen Tang. You can consider me your senior alumna. I’m currently an attending physician in cardiac surgery.”

As Wen Tang spoke, she turned on the classroom computer.

Shi Nanqiao introduced herself as well.

“Hello, everyone. I’m Shi Nanqiao, a television host. Our station is currently filming an episode about surgeons, so I came along with your teacher.”

“Ah-Qiao, you can sit over here.”

As she spoke, Wen Tang moved the only chair in the classroom over beside Shi Nanqiao.

Then she opened the PowerPoint and prepared to begin the lecture.

Shi Nanqiao smiled, accepting Wen Tang’s kindness, and sat down among the students.

While Wen Tang adjusted the presentation, a young woman in the first row tugged on Shi Nanqiao’s sleeve.

“Miss, are you the host of Huadu Television Station’s One-on-One? Is Dr. Wen going to be your guest?”

“You know about it?”

“Yes. I happened to scroll through Weibo before coming here.” The student nodded. “Then I saw Huadu Television Station’s post. My grandmother and mother are loyal viewers of your program.”

“I see. Then remember to watch when it airs. Would you like to be interviewed?”

The student’s eyes lit up.

“Can I? I’d love to!”

Shi Nanqiao was about to reply when she looked up and met Wen Tang’s helpless gaze.

She stuck out her tongue and whispered, “We’ll talk after class.”

“Heart transplantation is one of the most effective strategies for treating end-stage heart failure… At present, expectations for the future development of heart transplantation are mainly focused on artificial hearts and xenotransplantation technology. Perhaps one of you will eventually conduct research in one of these areas.”

Wen Tang gave a concise explanation of the history and current state of heart transplantation, using many technical terms.

It was obvious that she was not particularly skilled at teaching. The class lacked interaction, and several students wore the same confused expression as Shi Nanqiao at certain points.

Wen Tang noticed this too and spread her hands helplessly.

“Sorry. This is my first time teaching, so I don’t have much experience. Ask whatever questions you have. Afterward, I’ll take you to the ward for a look.”

“Doctor—” The group leader raised her hand and asked tentatively, “We have an exam tomorrow. Could we perhaps…?”

Wen Tang raised an eyebrow.

“Put on your white coats. I’ll take you on one round, and then you can leave. But none of you are allowed to report me to the academic affairs office. One of my senior colleagues once dismissed an elective class early and got reported for it.”

“We won’t!”

“Don’t worry, Doctor!”

The students hurriedly promised.

Wen Tang had once been a student herself, so naturally she understood how much pressure they faced during exam month.

She had no desire to make things difficult for them. She had already covered everything necessary, and the purpose of clinical observation was merely to give them a basic understanding of clinical work.

“Do you know what the CCU is for?” Wen Tang asked as they walked.

“Dr. Wen, I know this one!” Shi Nanqiao raised her hand, pretending to be an exemplary student. “Coronary Care Unit—a specialized intensive care unit for cardiovascular diseases.”

In her previous life, her mother had spent some time in the CCU.

Unfortunately, even the most precise and advanced equipment had been unable to reverse her steadily worsening condition.

“That’s right. Doctors remain in the CCU twenty-four hours a day to ensure that rescue orders can be issued immediately whenever a patient’s condition changes.”

Wen Tang led them to the entrance of the ward and looked through the glass window.

“There’s a patient inside who just underwent a heart transplant. I won’t take you in. You can have a look from here, then go back, collect your bags, and leave.”

The students gathered in groups of two or three and discussed what they had seen. Before long, some began quietly slipping away.

In the end, only the group leader from earlier remained. She walked over to Wen Tang and asked, “Doctor, may I ask whether cardiac surgery supervisors accept female postgraduate students?”

“Very few women are accepted into professional master’s programs. Although I’m a surgeon myself, I have to admit that surgical departments do tend to favor men.”

“Then… does that mean there’s still hope?”

“Someone who is truly outstanding is not defined by gender. And being outstanding doesn’t refer only to grades.” Wen Tang gently patted her shoulder. “Keep working hard, young student.”

The “Wen Tang” of this world had taken the research route to enter cardiac surgery.

Even as an undergraduate, she had worked in the laboratory until midnight every day. In the end, with a first-author paper carrying an impact factor above nine and the highest grade-point average in her year, she had been accepted as a student of Zheng Huairen, who had been the director of cardiac surgery at the time.

In her original world, Wen Tang had taken an indirect route. She first entered the cardiac surgery department of a top hospital as an academic master’s student, then continued studying until she completed her doctorate.

After graduating, she had relied on her doctoral degree to enter standardized residency training at a smaller hospital, where she was eventually offered a permanent position.

All roads led to Rome.

For women studying surgery, the path was destined to be more difficult, but it was not hopeless.

Luo Ran, the current cardiac surgery resident, was one example. Her excellent grades had earned her a place as the department director’s student.

Wen Tang had never agreed with the idea that a person’s future should be dictated from birth simply because of their gender.

That prejudice was the greatest injustice in the world.

That was why she could not understand the “Wen Tang” from the original novel.

She had gone through endless hardship to become a cardiac surgeon, yet in the end, she abandoned her career and chose to become entangled with the male and female leads.

Shi Nanqiao had overheard the entire conversation from nearby.

Suddenly, she smiled, bright as sunlight, as though all the tragedies of the past had merely been a dream.

Facing once again the intensive care unit where her mother had stayed for so long, she was no longer as frightened.

Because she knew that this time, everything would be different.

Not only for her.

Perhaps also for… Wen Tang.

She was beginning to believe that Tangtang would never make a fatal mistake on the operating table because of a man, even one she loved more deeply than anyone else.

There was still time to change everything.

It is an honor to meet you, Tangtang, she said silently in her heart.

As though sensing something, Wen Tang looked back and smiled at her knowingly.