Surgeons Episode 24 Recap
> Surgeons Recap
Lu Chenxi, deeply concerned for Zhuang Shu's illness, took a half-day leave from work to cook him fresh meals at home. Zhuang Shu, however, had little appetite due to his stomach discomfort. Just as Lu Chenxi was about to cook, Zhuang Shu received a phone call from Chu Jun.
Chu Jun inquired about his health and then sought his advice regarding a difficult choice: a comics company was interested in her work but required a significant time commitment, forcing her to choose between her medical career and her passion. Before Zhuang Shu could offer much guidance, Lu Chenxi received an urgent call from Director Zhong, informing her that five drowned children were en route to the ER, with two in critical condition, and she was needed immediately.
Recognizing the emergency, Zhuang Shu promptly ended his call with Chu Jun and drove Lu Chenxi to the hospital. Chu Jun's dilemma remained unresolved. At the hospital, Lu Chenxi was occupied with the influx of critically ill children. While she was busy, another patient arrived with pneumothorax, requiring a closed chest tube drainage (CTT). The nurse called Thoracic Surgery for assistance. Chu Jun, who was on duty, was dispatched.
On her way, she ran into Zhuang Shu, who had just dropped Lu Chenxi off. Though disappointed he wasn't there because of her call, she took his words of encouragement—that she was more than capable of performing the CTT independently—to heart. When Chu Jun reached the ER, Lu Chenxi, still accustomed to Chu Jun's former inexperience, initially planned to perform the procedure herself. However, Chu Jun asserted that she could perform the CTT independently, citing Zhuang Shu's guidance.
She expressed her capability and requested the opportunity. Lu Chenxi, slightly taken aback, agreed to let Chu Jun proceed. In the operating room, Chu Jun performed the CTT with confidence and skill, a significant improvement from her previous performance. Witnessing Chu Jun's newfound proficiency, Lu Chenxi felt a pang of self-reproach, realizing that Chu Jun had progressed more under Zhuang Shu's tutelage than her own. She reflected on her past prejudice and impatient teaching methods towards Chu Jun.
After the procedure, Lu Chenxi sent a voice message to Zhuang Shu, praising Chu Jun's CTT as perfectly executed and acknowledging her immense progress. Lu Chenxi admitted her own failings as a teacher, attributing Chu Jun's previous slow learning to her own prejudiced attitude. Unbeknownst to Lu Chenxi, Chu Jun overheard this message. Later, Chu Jun sent a message to Yang Zixuan, declining the comics company's offer.
She firmly decided to dedicate herself to becoming a good doctor, not wanting to be seen as a "useless garbage that escaped." Yang Zixuan, who suddenly appeared, saw a drawing of Zhuang Shu in her notebook and asked if her decision to stay was because of Zhuang Shu.
Chu Jun confirmed her feelings, and Yang Zixuan, respecting her decision, encouraged her to bravely pursue Zhuang Shu, while also urging her to discern if her feelings were true love or merely admiration and gratitude. Meanwhile, Director Zhong visited Fu Bowen at the nursing home, confronting him about Zhuang Shu's true identity. He questioned Fu Bowen's silence, implying it reflected his stance on the thirty-year-old medical incident that had devastated Zhuang Shu's family.
Fu Bowen argued that the past was settled, and its re-examination was pointless, but Director Zhong vehemently expressed his own enduring guilt. Director Zhong challenged Fu Bowen to admit the truth, accusing him of lacking courage and protecting his former teacher, the revered ex-Hospital Dean Xiu Minqi. Fu Bowen, having recently faced scandal himself, felt he had nothing left to lose but worried about destroying Xiu Minqi's reputation and Renhe Hospital's honor.
Director Zhong angrily countered that Fu Bowen and Xiu Minqi were the ones who had tainted Renhe's reputation by sacrificing a family's tragedy to uphold a false honor, refusing to admit their own past mistakes. On Lu Chenxi's designated surgery day, which Fu Bowen had fought to secure for her, she arrived at the hospital early only to find her two scheduled surgeries missing from the operating room list.
Unlike her past impulsive self, Lu Chenxi calmly approached Professor Zhou, asking if the surgeries could be accommodated. She then went directly to Director Yang Fan. Instead of confronting him, she politely requested to squeeze in her two surgeries and offered to serve as his first assistant, expressing a desire to learn from his expertise, particularly in areas she was less familiar with. Impressed by her changed demeanor and humility, Yang Fan agreed, even rearranging his own schedule.
Her unexpected conciliatory attitude and willingness to learn from Yang Fan became a hot topic of discussion throughout the hospital. Chen Shaocong, still dedicated to his matchmaking efforts, visited Zhuang Shu at home, delivering food and sharing the hospital gossip about Lu Chenxi's new approach with Yang Fan. He joked that Lu Chenxi had become "more sensible" and even suggested Zhuang Shu prolong his illness.
When Zhuang Shu had a severe coughing fit, Chen Shaocong, feigning alarm, insisted on taking him to the hospital, fearing pneumonia. He lured Zhuang Shu there with the false promise of a beautiful pulmonary specialist, only for them to be seen by a male doctor. Chen Shaocong then secretly conspired with the doctor to exaggerate Zhuang Shu's condition and prescribe an intravenous drip, arranging for him to be in a quiet treatment room.
Chen Shaocong then rushed to find Lu Chenxi, urging her to visit Zhuang Shu while he was vulnerable. He even suggested she wear a sexy red dress to be more "assertive," though Lu Chenxi scoffed at the idea. Just then, Zhuang Shu called Lu Chenxi, asking her to insert his IV line as the nurse was busy. When Lu Chenxi arrived, she carefully inserted the IV.
Zhuang Shu commented that it hurt a little, and Lu Chenxi blamed her long absence from doing IVs, expressing regret for not bringing him to the hospital sooner. Lu Chenxi then gently took Zhuang Shu's hand, holding it to warm it, explaining that an IV drip often made the back of one's hand cold.
