Chapter 60: The Man with His Own Background Music (Dedicated to Alliance Leader Feng Aiyun)

"Stop messing around. Everything is fine, you're overthinking it," Luo Hao scolded.

After getting off the highway, Luo Hao did not drive straight to the Aoluguya Hotel, but headed directly to the First Affiliated Hospital of the Medical University.

At this hour, there were simply no parking spaces left at the First Affiliated Hospital; cars were everywhere. One could only crawl along slowly, watching to see who was about to leave and immediately snatching their spot.

In less than a minute, Luo Hao discovered the benefits of having 40 points of luck.

Wandering through the sea of cars at the hospital, Luo Hao had originally prepared himself for a delay of at least half an hour.

Yet, very soon, Luo Hao spotted two cars pulling out at the same time.

Not only did Luo Hao secure a parking space, but he also had choices.

Parking the car, Luo Hao first went to the ultrasound department to find Director Liu Haisen.

Upon meeting, Liu Haisen gave Luo Hao a hearty pat on the shoulder, displaying an extraordinary degree of intimacy.

"Little Conch, I heard from Old Man Lin that you were reported by your real name some time ago. Are you really okay?" Liu Haisen asked with concern.

"I'm fine. It was just a small misunderstanding. I just needed to explain it."

"Heh, as if it's that easy. You've had it rough too. The kind of people I despise the most are those who do no work themselves and can't stand seeing others work." Liu Haisen did not press further, simply rambling on to comfort Luo Hao.

Luo Hao carried a faint shadow of Old Man Lin about him, and Liu Haisen knew that such a major matter certainly wouldn't be discussed casually.

Liu Haisen's gossip-loving heart wasn't particularly heavy; his concern for Luo Hao was far greater.

Seeing that Luo Hao was composed, he finally set his mind at ease.

"Little Conch, I was actually planning to invite you to attend our annual conference, but I didn't expect Director Shi to beat me to the punch," Liu Haisen said. "So, what kind of surgery have you prepared this time?"

"I haven't prepared anything."

"???" Liu Haisen froze for a moment.

Director Shi Zhongjian of the gastroenterology and endoscopy department had wanted Luo Hao to perform a demonstration surgery at the annual conference. They had chatted about this previously when they went on freelance medical trips.

Director Shi held Luo Hao's skill in high regard, feeling that if Luo Hao were a few years older and possessed deeper seniority, there would be no problem at all with him becoming a deputy director at the medical university.

Performing a demonstration surgery was also a matter of course.

The so-called demonstration surgery didn't necessarily mean one had to perform vastly better than others; as long as one could perform it competently and passably, that was enough.

The main point was to use actual actions in front of all the relevant specialists in the province to tell everyone: I can perform this surgery!

Combined with Luo Hao's youth and the relatively high difficulty of the surgery, it would surely leave a deep impression on the attending experts.

This was one of the ways the older generation of surgeons fostered the new generation.

Doing this indeed carried risks.

There had once been someone performing a demonstration surgery who, due to mediocre skill compounded by nervousness, performed the operation in a manner that was utterly agonizing to watch.

However, Liu Haisen did not believe Luo Hao would encounter such problems; this fell under the category of controllable risk.

"Little Conch, what are you thinking? Why aren't you doing a demonstration surgery?" Liu Haisen asked, surprised.

"Teacher Liu, I am here to learn," Luo Hao replied with a calm expression.

Hearing Luo Hao say this, Chen Yong twisted his mouth up toward the heavens, his surgical mask almost dropping to the floor.

He's putting on an act!

Keep right on acting!!

Chen Yong absolutely did not believe that Luo Hao would give up such a golden opportunity to make a name for himself.

Luo Hao was naturally inclined to put on airs. Whenever he spoke with him normally, he had to flex within three sentences, otherwise he would feel deeply uncomfortable all over.

This was an academic conference attended by experts from the entire province, complete with demonstration surgeries. To say Luo Hao had no ambitions whatsoever—Chen Yong would be the absolute last person to believe it.

Before coming, Chen Yong had been struck by a sudden impulse to divine their fortune, and he was certain that something was going to happen.

"I hear that Director Qin Chen from the Imperial Capital is coming to attend the conference and will perform two demonstration surgeries. How wonderful it would be to perform a demonstration surgery alongside Director Qin," Liu Haisen said, rubbing his hands together to express his regret.

"Indeed, that's why I came with the attitude of learning." Luo Hao looked earnestly at Liu Haisen, almost asking Liu Haisen to look into his pious and innocent eyes.

"Sigh." Liu Haisen smiled inwardly, guessing that Luo Hao must have grown timid.

That was only to be expected.

After all, he was still young; high skill was one thing, but asking Luo Hao to perform an ERCP surgery in front of so many attending experts—not to mention Qin Chen, the country's top expert in gastroenterology—and demanding that he perform beyond his usual level was indeed somewhat pushing the limits.

"Fine, fine, fine. If you don't want to do it, then don't. There will be plenty of opportunities; no need to rush this once." Liu Haisen patted Luo Hao's shoulder. "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet. I wanted to come and check on you first, before going to report to Director Shi."

"Let's go together."

As it was nearing the end of the workday, Liu Haisen gave a few instructions to the doctors under his command, changed his clothes, and headed to the gastroenterology and endoscopy department with Luo Hao.

Arriving at the entrance, they happened to run into Director Shi coming out.

"Dr. Luo! I was just about to call you to ask where you'd gotten to," Director Shi greeted Luo Hao. "I'm going to pick up Director Qin. Let's all go together, come on."

Having said that, Director Shi cast a slightly worried glance at Luo Hao.

Catching Director Shi's expression, Luo Hao saw right through him.

Director Shi looked just like a little thief who had stolen something of his own, radiating an unmistakable air of a guilty conscience.

"Alright, Teacher Shi," Luo Hao answered obediently.

Director Shi let out a long sigh of relief, but still felt a lingering sense of guilt toward Luo Hao, whispering, "I've attended Director Qin's training classes before. His skills are top-notch, but his temper isn't very good. If he says anything out of line, Dr. Luo, please don't take it to heart."

Luo Hao raised an eyebrow.

Chen Yong immediately grew excited.

Weren't these precisely the plot tropes his mentor, Jiang Wenming, usually pondered over?

Encountering a high-level expert, the protagonist makes a dazzling entrance—everything was mere foreshadowing, paving the way for the protagonist to flex.

"Rest assured, Teacher Shi, there won't be any problems. Director Qin is a nationally renowned expert; how could he possibly make things difficult for a junior doctor like me?"

Director Shi stopped short with a half-spoken sentence, gave Luo Hao a deep look, and said nothing more.

They each got into their respective cars.

Sensing something was amiss, Liu Haisen didn't get into Luo Hao's car, opting instead to ride with Director Shi.

"Director Shi, what on earth is going on?" Liu Haisen asked the moment the car door closed.

"Sigh, don't even ask." Director Shi frowned, the corners of his mouth drooping as he said with a troubled expression, "I originally wanted to invite Little Luo to join the annual conference and perform a demonstration surgery, partly to help him make a name for himself, and partly to mentor a younger generation."

"But ten days ago, Director Qin suddenly called me, taking the initiative to ask if the annual conference needed him to perform demonstration surgeries."

"..."

Liu Haisen was struck speechless.

An expert of that caliber could not be invited by either himself or Shi Zhongjian; even getting them to show their face would be as difficult as ascending to heaven, let alone performing a demonstration surgery.

Normally, manufacturers had to pull out all the stops to promote new equipment and consumables just to entice an expert of Qin Chen's tier.

As for the price tag, it depended entirely on the expert's standing in the field—the sky was the limit.

For Qin Chen to actually take the initiative to call and request to join the annual conference and perform demonstration surgeries—what kind of ghostly phenomenon was this?!

"At the time, I was over the moon and agreed immediately. After finalizing one ESD procedure for early esophageal cancer and one colonoscopic retrograde appendectomy, Director Qin asked me if Dr. Luo from Donglian City was also coming to the conference."

"!!!" Liu Haisen stopped talking.

He smelled a conspiracy!

Yet how on earth could Luo Hao, a mere administrative officer in the medical affairs department, have managed to provoke Director Qin Chen from the Imperial Capital?

Logically speaking, this sort of thing should stem from sectarian prejudices between two major medical factions, perhaps even a struggle for an academician's seat, prompting them to use surgical skill to endorse themselves at an academic conference.

Although becoming an academician wasn't necessarily tied to technical prowess, under circumstances where all hardware and software capabilities were evenly matched, stepping onto another's turf to perform a demonstration surgery as a challenge was the most hardline tactic in the medical world.

Without exception.

For a doctor, being mediocre was the original sin.

Luo Hao? Did he even measure up?

"Director Liu, you tell me, what kind of mess is this? I was completely dumbfounded at the time." Director Shi sighed.

"What did you say?"

"What else could I say?" Director Shi drooped his shoulders, wearing a face of absolute misery. "A few years ago, when I was just learning ESD and ERCP surgeries, I went to the Imperial Capital for advanced studies and attended Director Qin's short-term training course."

"Director Qin took good care of me. In the graduation photo at the end of the training course, I was the one sitting right next to him while everyone else stood."

"Later on, whenever I had a patient whose case I couldn't handle, I would send them to the Imperial Capital to find Director Qin."

"The man wiped my backside clean for me; not only did the patients return without a single complaint, but they were deeply grateful to me."

Liu Haisen sighed as well.

Qin Chen had truly been wonderful to Director Shi; it could be considered a debt of gratitude for recognizing his talent.

With such a minor request, there was no way Director Shi could possibly refuse.

"I only gave it a passing thought, never imagining that Director Qin and Dr. Luo could have any irreconcilable grievances between them. I even wondered if Director Qin appreciated him deeply and wanted Dr. Luo to be his assistant."

"But yesterday, Director Qin called me again to ask whether Dr. Luo would be doing a demonstration surgery, and what the surgical technique would be."

"What did you tell him?" Liu Haisen felt a stir in his heart.

"Dr. Luo said he was coming with the attitude of learning, and that doing a demonstration surgery wouldn't be appropriate. I told him the truth, but I never expected Director Qin to fly into a rage on the spot."

"..."

"He chewed me out and slammed the phone down in a fury." Shi Zhongjian scratched his head vigorously, looking quite helpless. "I never would have dreamed that an expert of Director Qin's level..."

As he spoke, Director Shi suddenly remembered something.

"Director Liu, do you think it's possible that Luo Hao offended Director Qin Chen back when he was in school?"

Liu Haisen shook his head, indicating he had no idea.

"Director Qin even gave me strict instructions to bring Dr. Luo along to pick him up at the airport. What do you suppose that means?"

"How would I know?" Liu Haisen said, somewhat displeased. "Why didn't you tell Luo Hao?"

"Director Qin wouldn't let me. He repeatedly emphasized that I must not let Dr. Luo know about this."

Liu Haisen cast a look of utter disdain at Shi Zhongjian.

"Rest assured, absolutely nothing major will break out between them," Director Shi said firmly. "Rest assured, rest assured."

Yet his tone grew weaker and weaker, lacking in both physical breath and underlying confidence.

"The head of the family of my Little Conch's maternal uncle is a university classmate of mine, sharing the same dorm. There's no way I can just stand by and watch Little Conch get bullied," Liu Haisen declared fiercely. "Let me tell you, if it's just a matter of a few harsh words, I won't object. But if anyone tries to throw punches, don't blame me for not saving face for Qin Chen."

"It won't come to that, it won't come to that." Director Shi wore a miserable expression, wanting to say something else, but ultimately falling silent.

Arriving at the airport, Liu Haisen pulled Luo Hao aside and filled him in on the situation.

Luo Hao, however, didn't seem particularly frightened, merely comforting Liu Haisen not to worry.

Yet when Liu Haisen asked Luo Hao what unresolved grievances existed between him and Qin Chen, Luo Hao gave a vague, evasive answer.

There really must be an issue, Liu Haisen realized, catching a glimpse of the clues.

Perhaps back in the day during his clinical rotations, Luo Hao had committed some blunder leading to an irremediable medical accident.

Similar incidents weren't unheard of; the attending physician would undoubtedly harbor lifelong resentment toward the intern who caused the disaster.

And Luo Hao—knowing full well that Qin Chen had his eyes on him, he actually had the nerve to come to the airport for a pickup. Wasn't this literally offering his face for someone to slap?

With various thoughts churning in their minds, they waited for nearly half an hour before a man appeared: 1.8 meters tall, with a straight posture, slicked-back hair, wearing a suit and draped in a trench coat.

This outfit wasn't just similar to God of Gamblers Ko Chun—it was an absolute carbon copy, short of only a pair of sunglasses.

"Director Qin." Shi Zhongjian hurried forward, shook his hand, and proactively took the rolling suitcase from Director Qin's grasp.

"Luo Hao." Director Qin offered only a perfunctory nod to Shi Zhongjian, his gaze locking directly onto Luo Hao.

"Hello, Director Qin," Luo Hao smiled.

"Refusing even to perform a demonstration surgery? Have you let your surgical skills completely atrophy since returning to your hometown?" The contempt oozing from Director Qin's words was palpable.

Chen Yong was stunned for a moment.

What happened to the dramatic flexing? Why did Luo Hao get chewed out the moment they met?!

Director Qin Chen naturally radiated an aura of dominance, his slicked-back hair styled with utmost flair, practically carrying his own background music.

The crucial part was that Luo Hao didn't fight back at all, merely responding with an honest, good-natured smile.

Damn it!

I knew he just liked to act tough with me every day, but the moment he ran into a real powerhouse, he cowered instantly.

Chen Yong began to look down on Luo Hao.

"Preferring to be the head of a chicken rather than the tail of a phoenix? You can't possibly actually think like that, can you? What's the point of being a chicken head in a God-forsaken dump like Donglian City?"

"Riding on the lingering goodwill a few bosses still hold toward you, you stir up trouble and then drag Boss Chai out to endorse and back you up. Sure, it feels great, but your level is just too low."

Without any room for discussion upon meeting, Qin Chen launched into a scathing, head-on reprimand of Luo Hao.

And Luo Hao merely smiled good-naturedly.

Liu Haisen's face darkened.

Yet Luo Hao didn't mind in the least, simply taking the rolling suitcase and quietly following behind.

With his punch landing on empty air, Qin Chen looked thoroughly disgruntled as well, shooting Luo Hao a vicious glare before striding toward the exit.

"Luo Hao, are you alright?" Liu Haisen lagged behind and asked in a low voice.

"If Director Qin wants to vent a couple of words, let him. It's no big deal."

Luo Hao simply smiled, genuinely appearing not to have taken it to heart.

Liu Haisen let out a breath.

He had genuinely feared that Luo Hao and Qin Chen might start a fistfight right there in the airport.

Ordinary people might assume competition meant professional rivalry, but this world was nothing more than a haphazard amateur stage—Liu Haisen knew this all too well.

To look outside of medicine, back when 3721 and Baidu were locked in competition, a badass from 3721 went toe-to-toe with four people from Baidu and ended up with a contused spleen.

Later on, precisely because he dared to go head-to-head with Baidu, he received promotions and raises, becoming a model pacesetter for 3721.

Later still, this evolved to the point where 3721 employees carried files around with them, and upon seeing a Baidu employee's car, they would at least slash all four tires, and sometimes even puncture the gas tanks.

And later on, during the "War of a Hundred Regiments," Meituan and Ele.me fought daily, even hurling human feces at each other.

Just a few years ago, prominent entrepreneurial heavyweights and internet company bosses put on the farcical spectacle of snatching company seals, leaving everyone watching with dropped jaws.

Real-world corporate warfare was vastly different from what was portrayed on television, yet it served as side-letter proof of the concept that the world was merely a shoddy amateur show.

If Qin Chen had thrown a punch, Liu Haisen wouldn't have been surprised in the least.

Fortunately, Qin Chen still retained his sanity, knowing that an older man shouldn't rely solely on physical brawn. Although he was at the peak of his surgical career, that status was a composite judgment of physical stamina and experience.

If it really came down to physical violence, middle-aged Qin Chen certainly wouldn't match a young man like Luo Hao.

Countless chaotic thoughts flashed through Liu Haisen's mind.

It wasn't until Qin Chen got into his car that Liu Haisen finally felt completely at ease.

He got into Luo Hao's car, repeatedly admonishing him that under no circumstances should he escalate things into an irreconcilable feud with Qin Chen. Otherwise, if they happened to run into a ruthless character—like that lawyer from the Imperial Capital who knocked out a dozen of his own teeth just to forcefully send the plaintiff to sew mailbags in prison—Qin Chen's status and standing, should he choose to act with such shamelessness, could ruin Luo Hao for life.

Luo Hao simply acknowledged the warnings, smiling without a word.

Dropping Chen Yong off at Wanda Plaza first, this fellow still had a KPI of two blind-date appointments that evening.

Then dropping Liu Haisen off at his home, Luo Hao finally grabbed a casual bite to eat, returned to his villa by the river to wash up, and entered the virtual system operating room for surgical training.

As for Qin Chen's nose-wrinkling, eye-rolling reprimands, Luo Hao didn't care at all.

Director Qin's tongue was sharp, but it wasn't the first time he knew that.

Though the man's speech was abrasive, his heart wasn't fundamentally malicious.

Early the next morning, Luo Hao drove to the First Affiliated Hospital of the Medical University.

The morning session of the conference was held in the hospital auditorium, primarily for everyone to exchange insights and experiences accumulated over the past year.

Five doctors took the stage, covering everything from surgery to clinical treatment.

Demonstration surgeries would commence at noon and throughout the afternoon.

Among them, Qin Chen would perform two surgeries, and Shi Zhongjian one.

In past years, demonstration surgeries were rarely featured, but with the addition of this agenda item this year, the number of attendees surged significantly.

Being able to witness doctors from higher-tier hospitals perform surgery firsthand held a special significance for medical practitioners.

Growth was accumulated bit by bit.

Opportunities like this were rare.

Arriving at the auditorium, Luo Hao found a seat in the back row and sat down.

Back when Luo Hao was a student, academic conferences were heavily sponsored by various corporate vendors—especially cardiology conferences, where queues of world-renowned manufacturers applying for sponsorship stretched all the way from Huashan Hospital to the Huangpu River.

That hadn't been the case in recent years, however.

Bottles of Binglu mineral water sat on the tables, devoid of any flashy giveaways; everything was kept simple and streamlined.

Yet Luo Hao preferred this modern format: simple and closer to the essence of things.

As for academic conferences, there was truly no need to make them overly complex; people came to learn things and exchange ideas. Take this time, for instance—having Director Qin Chen perform demonstration surgeries was a splendid arrangement.

It had been a long time since he last watched Director Qin operate, and Luo Hao felt a trace of nostalgia.

"Hey, how did you sleep last night?" Chen Yong walked in and plopped down in the seat beside Luo Hao, asking the question.

Seeing Chen Yong full of vigor, Luo Hao countered, "And you? Did you battle through the whole night?"

"How could that be? Strictly business, just fulfilling a KPI. There are demonstration surgeries today, so I need to watch carefully—how could I possibly stay up all night?" Chen Yong stared intently at Luo Hao. "Tell me, what's on your mind? Are you going to pull out some secret weapon today and deal a fatal blow to that arrogant and despotic Director Qin!"

Luo Hao was left half-laughing, half-crying.

"What are you imagining? This isn't a television drama," Luo Hao said. "You have to apply some logic."

"My mentor says television dramas have logic, but reality has zero logic." Chen Yong managed to bring up Jiang Wenming within three sentences.

That statement happened to be true; Luo Hao also believed the world lacked logic, which was precisely why he preferred things that could be explained through logic.

Everything proceeded according to schedule, with department directors from several large tertiary Grade-A hospitals in the provincial capital taking turns to speak on stage.

They had all prepared exquisite PPT presentations, expressing their unique viewpoints on endoscopic diagnosis, treatment, and clinical practice.

Luo Hao listened with rapt attention.

Chen Yong, however, started yawning continuously.

"Is there any point to this? How can you listen so intently?" Chen Yong was on the verge of falling asleep, barely suppressing his drowsiness as he communicated with Luo Hao.

"This is all rich clinical experience. Remember when I told you to watch out for petechial bleeding spots?"

"I remember. That stuff is really hard to tell apart."

"I attended an academic conference once where a professor summarized data from all patients with fat embolisms over the past 30 years, which included many vintage photographs," Luo Hao explained to Chen Yong. "There are many possible causes for petechial bleeding spots. After listening to that professor's lecture, I kept it in mind."

"That patient's petechial bleeding spots happened to match a case recorded by the professor, which is why I recognized it at a single glance."

Chen Yong remained completely unmoved.

In his eyes, the people lecturing on stage were all just old fogies, and driven by his genetic programming, he was growing drowsy.

Yet snoring in such a setting would be terribly impolite. Chen Yong yawned again. "I performed a divination ritual before coming."

"Oh?" Luo Hao's interest was piqued. Taking advantage of the interval after one expert finished speaking while the staff organized the next presenter's materials, he asked, "And what did you see?"

"I didn't see anything, but I have a feeling you're definitely going to flex at this conference."

"Then your feeling is inaccurate. By the way, are you part of a witch coven?"

"I have great relationships with several witches."

Luo Hao smiled; he understood precisely what kind of "great relationships" Chen Yong meant.

As they chatted, Qin Chen, the final heavyweight speaker, stood up.

Instead of rushing up to the podium, he raised a hand to adjust his slicked-back hair.

God knows how much hair wax Qin Chen had used; every strand was in meticulous place, much like his surgeries.

Yet Qin Chen still habitually smoothed it down once more before walking toward the stage.

Compared to the other experts, Qin Chen was considerably younger, yet that solemn aura he carried—accompanied by faint strains of background music, the classic *The FinalCountdown*—echoed in the ears of the attending experts.

"Damn!" Chen Yong perked up. "Luo Hao, look at him. He really has presence!"

"He is the department director of a top-tier national tertiary Grade-A hospital, after all. He's quite formidable," Luo Hao said lightly.

Standing at the podium, Qin Chen was greeted by applause from the audience.

He leveled both hands, pressing down slightly, his gaze fixed straight upon Luo Hao.

The attending experts didn't notice at first, but soon someone followed Qin Chen's line of sight and spotted Luo Hao.

"Who is he?"

"Never seen him before. Why is Teacher Qin staring at him the whole time? Feels a bit weird."

"I followed to pick up Teacher Qin yesterday. Guess what happened? The moment Teacher Qin walked out of the airport, he chewed that young doctor out."

"!!!"

Catching the gossip, everyone around perked up their ears.

"I didn't catch all of it, and Director Qin spoke rather euphemistically."

"Spit it out, hurry up."

"I'm guessing that two years ago, Director Qin wanted to keep that young man on. He must have been Director Qin's closing disciple, hoping to keep him in the Imperial Capital. But the guy went back to his home in the Northeast instead. Director Qin was furious, saying he'd rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix."

"There are people actually that stupid?!"

"Right? A doctor needs to look at the platform! Being the president of a county-level hospital doesn't compare to being a resident physician in the Imperial Capital. Doesn't he understand that?"

"Who knows, but Director Qin was furious."

Murmurs rose and fell like a tide.

Acting as though he heard nothing, Qin Chen locked eyes with Luo Hao in a mutual stare.

A full fifteen seconds later, Qin Chen curled his lip in a sneer and said with utter contempt, "Good for nothing."