21st Century Necromancer

"Vital signs." As he opened the patient's thoracic cavity with a scalpel, Chen Yu didn't look up, but directly asked the anesthesiologist beside him.

"Blood pressure 106/67, heart rate 65," the anesthesiologist quickly reported the data, which were all within normal range. During surgery, it's the anesthesiologist's job to monitor all of the patient's vital signs, and if there's any change in any of the values, the anesthesiologist must promptly notify the lead surgeon to make adjustments or even call off the entire operation.

Therefore, a highly skilled professional anesthesiologist is an invaluable assistant to any surgeon.

Hearing the anesthesiologist's report, Chen Yu took a slight breath and instructed his assistant, "First assistant, lift the xiphoid process, prepare to open the pericardium."

"Yes, Doctor." The assistant responded immediately, swiftly carrying out Chen Yu's instructions, and Chen Yu methodically proceeded with the surgery while viewing the surgical field. The assistant was also a surgeon with more years of experience than Chen Yu.

However, it was Chen Yu who was treating this patient; he was the attending physician, so he was the one leading the surgery, with the other surgeon simply assisting him.

"Adhesions between the ascending aorta and sternum are strong," the assistant reported after opening the pericardium, describing the patient's internal conditions to Chen Yu.

What the assistant could see, Chen Yu could see as well. Although preoperative examinations could determine the patient's condition, only by actually opening and looking inside could the exact nature of the illness be confirmed. For a surgeon, there's nothing more accurate than the direct visual assessment with one's own eyes.

But doctors can't just open up a patient on the operating table for the sake of an examination, which is why various non-invasive diagnostic methods exist. However, even the non-invasive devices can miss something, and sometimes conditions are found to be much worse than expected once opened up, which is a true test of a lead surgeon's skill.

Therefore, not everyone can simply take on the role of lead surgeon; without the experience of several dozen or hundreds of surgeries, it is difficult to truly be competent in that position.

However, this patient's condition was still within Chen Yu's expectations, and with a pre-conceived plan in mind, Chen Yu glanced at his assistant and calmly instructed, "Separate the adhesions, take care of the vessels."

"Understood." The assistant acknowledged, then called out to a nurse on the side, "Di's forceps."

Taking the surgical tool handed by the nurse, both the assistant and Chen Yu immersed themselves back into the operation.

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"Surgery is over, patient's vital signs?" After sewing up the surgical incision, Chen Yu looked toward the anesthesiologist.

"Blood pressure 105/64, heart rate 71, sinus rhythm," the anesthesiologist glanced at the monitor and reported the readings to Chen Yu: "Patient's vital signs are stable, good job."

Hearing the numbers from the anesthesiologist, Chen Yu nodded, politely responded, "Good job," removed his gloves, and left the operating room.

"You've worked hard! Doctor Chen Yu once again perfectly completed a surgery," at the entrance to the operating room, Jounouchi Hiromi, who had initially told Chen Yu to come and find her after his surgery, was already waiting there. She saw Chen Yu come out and congratulated him with a smile.

In face of Jounouchi Hiromi's congratulations, the young man merely smiled faintly and did not appear to be very excited. Perhaps he would have been thrilled at the success of his first surgery, but after more than a year at this hospital, with surgeries nearly every week, and having performed well over a hundred, the thrill of that initial success had long since faded.

Perhaps the sense of achievement in saving a life brought him a measure of joy internally, but the restraint inherent in his Oriental culture prevented him from showing this joy outwardly; all that was visible was a faint smile on his face.

"Jounouchi-senpai, didn't we agree that I would come to find you? Why did you come over first?" Chen Yu removed his face mask and asked Jounouchi Hiromi.

However, hearing Chen Yu address her in such a manner, Jounouchi Hiromi seemed somewhat dissatisfied, her attractive eyebrows knitting together, her tone carrying a touch of coquettish reproach, "I've told you I'm only thirty-three years old. Always calling me 'senpai' makes me feel old. Call me by my name, like you did this morning in the office."

As she spoke that last sentence, Jounouchi Hiromi's face revealed a slightly mischievous smile.

Looking at Jounouchi Hiromi's face, with its blend of handsomeness and gentle eyes, and the teasing smile, Chen Yu's heart inexplicably fluttered, and he called out somewhat awkwardly, "Hiromi... Hiromi-san."

"Hmm... well, let's leave it at that," Jounouchi Hiromi seemed still somewhat unsatisfied with Chen Yu's continued use of honorifics, but decided not to press the young man further. She nodded her head and did not pursue the matter, "Follow me, I have something to tell you. It's not convenient here."

After speaking, Jounouchi Hiromi took Chen Yu by the hand and led him to the hospital's rooftop.

"Hiromi-san, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" After being led to the hospital rooftop by Jounouchi Hiromi, Chen Yu observed the female doctor as the rooftop breeze brushed through her hair, which did not become disheveled but instead added a touch of chic and charm to her.

To say his heart wasn't somewhat stirred would be a lie, but still, he managed to suppress those emotions with his rationality and inquired about Jounouchi Hiromi's intentions.

Standing at over one meter and eighty centimeters tall, Chen Yu was considered very tall in Japan, where the average height is generally shorter. Jounouchi Hiromi, although quite tall at about one meter and sixty centimeters by Japanese standards, was still a head shorter than Chen Yu, making her appear particularly petite standing in front of him.

Perhaps having never had the experience of looking up to a man in this way before, Jounouchi Hiromi, who could face various complex diseases on the operating table with a steady hand, showed a trace of shyness on her face. Looking down, she asked Chen Yu, "Arnold, um... Mr. Chen Yu, you graduated from East University Medical College and have been here at our hospital for a year now.

I wanted to ask you..."

"What?" Jounouchi Hiromi's almost girlish demeanor instantly made Chen Yu guess what she might ask of him, tightening his heart.

Indeed, as Chen Yu had anticipated, Jounouchi Hiromi asked him that expected question, "I want to ask you... do you have a girlfriend?"

"That... no, because I'm not quite ready to accept having someone else in my life. Why do you ask?" Although he understood what Jounouchi Hiromi meant, Chen Yu did not want to reject her too coldly, and to tell the truth, he might not be entirely indifferent to Doctor Jounouchi Hiromi, who was both beautiful in form and possessed an air of vitality and charm.

Jounouchi Hiromi was clearly surprised by Chen Yu's answer, her expression stiffened for a moment and her eyes became a bit frantic, but perhaps still holding out some hope, she looked up at Chen Yu with expectant eyes and said the words she had long harbored, "Then... may I be your... girlfriend?"