Emergency Room.
Private Hospital Room.
The sharp-tongued remark from the nurse made the curly-haired beauty a little displeased. However, when she saw Adam's face and felt his gentle touch as he carefully applied burn ointment, her irritation melted away.
"You have such a delicate touch; it feels nice," she said seductively.
The nurse rolled her eyes in response.
Adam's mouth twitched slightly. He chose to ignore the flirtation and instead focused on his task. "This ointment will help you feel much better."
Private hospital rooms were meant to protect patients' privacy, but in this situation, they felt more like a liability to Adam.
Dealing with the flirtations of the curly-haired beauty was a headache.
Hospital policy strictly prohibited intimate interactions with patients.
Besides, Adam wasn't that kind of person.
On the other hand, if he outright rejected her advances, she might become angry and falsely accuse him of harassment. In a closed-off space like this, it would be difficult to defend himself.
Fortunately, the experienced nurse had followed him in, ensuring he wasn't left alone with the patient.
This made Adam more cautious: Men need to protect themselves when out in the world, too.
With the nurse present, he wasn't worried about false accusations. Still, he continued pretending not to hear the woman's flirtations, hoping to avoid provoking her further.
However, he underestimated both his own charm and the woman's persistence.
"Your fingers are so long," she said, refusing to give up. Then she added with a sly smile, "You know, there's a scientific study that examines the correlation between finger length and certain other body parts. Dr. Duncan, have you heard of it?"
Adam remained silent and quickened his pace in bandaging her wound.
Of course, it had to be that kind of "scientific study."
Even someone as unmotivated as Lü Xiaobu knew how to make money by participating in those so-called scientific experiments. It was hardly surprising that a flirtatious woman like this knew about them too.
"Not only are your fingers long, but they're also incredibly strong," she continued, her voice sultry. "If I had known there was a doctor as… skilled as you here, I would have worn cleaner underwear before coming in."
Adam focused on bandaging the wound, ignoring her completely.
"I know you can see it," she teased, tilting her head as she tried to catch his gaze. "And you can feel it too."
Cough, cough.
The nurse, unable to tolerate it any longer, cleared her throat loudly. "This is a hospital. Please keep the conversation professional."
Adam finished his work and stood up. "Keep these bandages dry for at least a day. No showers or baths—only sponge baths. You should heal in a few days."
As he turned to leave, the curly-haired beauty laughed. "Are you afraid of me?"
Adam smiled without answering and walked away.
"Giggle."
She chuckled smugly.
"He's not afraid of you," the nurse suddenly said. "He's just not interested in you. Dr. Duncan is a rising star in the medical field. To him, there are only two kinds of people: patients and non-patients. You're just a patient—nothing more."
The woman smirked. "Then why did you stand here the entire time, doing nothing?"
"Because we were worried you might try something inappropriate and ruin Dr. Duncan's future," the nurse replied coldly. "Were we wrong to be concerned?"
The woman let out a soft laugh, draped her shawl over her shoulders, and strutted away.
The nurse's concerns were absolutely valid.
Had she not been there, the curly-haired beauty might have tried to grab Adam's hand while he was applying ointment, use her long legs to tease him, or even lean in for a kiss.
Who knew what she would have done?
"Vixen," the nurse muttered under her breath as she watched the woman leave.
Back at the nurse's station, she recounted the incident, sparking outrage among her colleagues. They quickly made a decision: From now on, Adam must always have someone with him in situations like this.
To hell with patient privacy!
Meanwhile, Adam went off to find Susan.
"Dr. Lewis."
"Adam, done already?" Susan asked with a teasing smile.
"Yeah, all done," Adam replied with a wry smile.
"I swear, if you worked in obstetrics, you'd be every pregnant woman's best friend," Susan joked. "I bet most of them would rather have you in the delivery room than their husbands. Just one look at your face during labor, and they'd feel energized no matter how exhausted or in pain they were."
Adam chuckled. "Well, if I ever hit rock bottom, I'll take your advice and become a full-time midwife."
Susan burst into laughter.
"By the way, I heard you were looking for me?" Adam asked.
"Oh, it's nothing major," Susan said, calming down. "I know you're passionate about medical research. We have a patient who needs an exploratory procedure, and I thought you'd be interested in observing."
"Of course," Adam said, nodding gratefully. "Thanks, Dr. Lewis."
Technically, Adam belonged to the surgical department at Green Clinic and was under the supervision of resident doctor Sherry. His occasional work in the emergency department was mostly to gain experience.
Normally, emergency department cases requiring surgery would be assigned to ER interns first.
Susan was definitely giving Adam special consideration.
"No need to thank me." Susan handed him an X-ray film. "This is the patient's scan. Take a look and give me your diagnosis."
Adam held the X-ray up to the light, quickly processing the relevant information. "There's a high-density shadow in the middle lobe of the right lung. It could be an infiltrative lesion, a dense scar from a past infection, an inhaled foreign object, or possibly a granuloma."
"What's your recommended course of action?" Susan asked in a mentor-like manner.
Even though Adam had earned his medical degree, as an intern, he was still considered a trainee. It was common for residents and attending physicians to quiz interns on cases.
Generally, only those who answered correctly would be allowed to assist in surgery.
After all, if you couldn't even understand the case, how could you operate?
"I'd start with a bronchoscopy," Adam responded. "If we can't determine the cause that way, then we proceed with an exploratory surgery."
A bronchoscopy was a non-invasive procedure, whereas surgery was invasive.
Whenever possible, non-invasive methods were preferred.
No matter how effective surgery was, cutting into the body always caused damage.
That's why professions with strict physical requirements, like pilots, had to ensure their bodies remained unscarred—even the smallest surgery could impact performance.
In traditional Eastern medicine, such procedures were believed to deplete a person's vital energy.
"Good. Come with me," Susan said, satisfied with his answer.
Adam's strong diagnostic skills were one of the reasons she gave him extra opportunities.
After all, the responsibility for an intern's diagnosis fell on the supervising resident.
If you gave someone an opportunity, you had to take responsibility for them.
That was only fair.
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