Lian Wenxin covered his face and looked at the woman beside him in shock. The slap had been delivered by this woman.
"Why, why did you hit me?" Lian Wenxin asked, full of confusion.
The woman's chest heaved violently, and she said angrily, "Who allowed you to insult Doctor Chen! And who told you that I was holding a banner?!"
Lian Wenxin pointed at the cylindrical object wrapped in cloth in the woman's hand in astonishment and asked, "If it's not a banner, what is it?"
"What I'm holding is not a banner, it's a silk banner I came to give to Doctor Chen today!"
As she spoke, the woman opened the cloth wrapping, revealing a red silk banner with eight large characters written on it: "Excellent Medical Skills, Benevolent Heart!"
Silence fell over the scene once more.
Lian Wenxin's eyes widened, staring at the silk banner in the woman's hand in disbelief.
Liu Qianze's face also turned extremely grim at this moment. He hadn't expected that what was wrapped in the white cloth would actually be a silk banner!
Ignoring Lian Wenxin and the shock of the onlookers, the woman walked slowly to Chen Fan, tears welling up again. She bent her knees and knelt directly before him.
Before Chen Fan could speak, the woman preempted him, "Doctor Chen, please don't try to stop me. You deserve this kneeling today!"
Seeing Chen Fan pause, the woman spoke again, "After I went back yesterday and used the ointment you gave me, do you know what happened? Tao Tao, Tao Tao was able to stand up by himself, holding onto the table! He stood up, he really stood up!"
As she spoke, the woman trembled uncontrollably with emotion. "You are truly a worthy divine doctor. I came to find you this morning to thank you personally. If it weren't for you, I, I really wouldn't know what to do. I don't know how much longer my son would have lived. Thank you, thank you so much!"
With that, the woman bowed her head heavily to Chen Fan to express her gratitude.
No one could truly understand the woman's journey from despair to hope; only she knew how profound this kindness was.
Chen Fan stepped forward and helped the woman up, saying, "I am a doctor. Saving lives and treating the injured is my duty."
The woman tremblingly handed the silk banner to Chen Fan. "Doctor Chen, you must accept this silk banner."
Chen Fan smiled helplessly, deeply moved. This was the first silk banner he had received since becoming a doctor, and it was not only an affirmation of his medical skills but also of his medical ethics.
*Clap!*
The moment Chen Fan caught the silk banner, Qin Shuran and Luo Yongtang began to applaud.
Then, the medical staff present snapped out of their shock, and thunderous applause erupted in the outpatient hall.
Lian Wenxin finally came back to his senses from his shock, clapping awkwardly. At this moment, he wished he could find a hole to crawl into; he was so embarrassed!
Liu Qianze, standing nearby, couldn't help but twitch his eyes a few times.
He had thought he would finally see Chen Fan make a fool of himself, perhaps even get him expelled from the hospital. He never expected such a turn of events.
With a grim expression, Liu Qianze turned and left the outpatient hall.
Zhao Qianqian breathed a sigh of relief and gently patted her chest. "Next time you want to present a silk banner, just tell me directly. You don't know, what you did today almost scared me to death."
The woman hadn't expected the situation to escalate like this. Her face flushed as she explained, "I didn't know there would be such a misunderstanding. Nurse Zhao, Doctor Chen, I'm truly sorry."
Chen Fan smiled calmly. "It's alright. You've been here for quite some time. Hurry back and take care of your son. I accept your kind gesture."
Hearing this, the woman's face lit up with a smile. She nodded and left the hospital under everyone's gaze.
Luo Yongtang came to Chen Fan's side and said, "Doctor Chen, I hope you will continue to strive for excellence."
"Yes, Director," Chen Fan replied with a smile.
Then, Luo Yongtang's gaze fell upon Lian Wenxin.
Sensing Luo Yongtang's stare, Lian Wenxin's body stiffened. He wanted to explain something but didn't know where to begin.
"Director Lian, as a director of the hospital, as a doctor, and as a colleague, no matter what, you should not wrongly accuse your colleagues before the matter is clear."
"Yes, yes," Lian Wenxin nodded, his face red.
Luo Yongtang continued, "You will apologize to Doctor Chen now and write a five-thousand-word apology letter to him. Until you receive Doctor Chen's forgiveness, you will be temporarily suspended."
What?!
Hearing the last two words, Lian Wenxin was stunned.
The surrounding crowd also gaped in astonishment. They hadn't expected Lian Wenxin to be suspended because of this incident!
"What? Director Lian doesn't understand what I'm saying?" Luo Yongtang's face turned cold.
Lian Wenxin's expression was as ugly as if he had eaten ten pounds of dead rats. However, he dared not challenge Luo Yongtang. He could only look at Chen Fan and bow deeply to apologize, "Doctor Chen, I wrongly accused you without understanding the situation. I am truly sorry."
Chen Fan's lips curved upwards. "Director Lian, we'll talk after your five-thousand-word apology letter is delivered."
Lian Wenxin's mouth twitched. Ten thousand words! And an apology letter! He would probably have to flip through the entire Xinhua Dictionary to write that many words! Instantly, Lian Wenxin felt like finding a piece of tofu to smash himself to death. He had truly lost face today!
Luo Yongtang dispersed the crowd and then turned to leave.
Chen Fan, ignoring the crestfallen Lian Wenxin, parted ways with Qin Shuran and headed towards the surgical clinic with Zhao Qianqian.
"Doctor Chen, this is the first silk banner for our clinic! We must hang it up properly," Zhao Qianqian said impatiently as soon as they entered the clinic, finding a hammer and nails, intending to hang the banner.
"Let me do it. How can a young lady do such a thing?" Chen Fan handed the silk banner to Zhao Qianqian, then took the hammer and nails, stepping onto a chair to pound them in.
Soon, the silk banner with the words 'Excellent Medical Skills, Benevolent Heart' was hung on the clinic wall.
Looking at these eight characters, Chen Fan understood that they also brought him an unparalleled sense of responsibility.
He seemed to grasp a truth: with greater ability comes greater responsibility.
Just then, Chen Fan's phone suddenly rang.
Chen Fan glanced at the caller ID; it was Ma Jun, his college roommate. He was well-connected, so he always organized their gatherings.
Upon answering, a familiar voice came from the other end: "Brother Fan, we're having a class reunion tomorrow. Don't be late. The location is the Sky Restaurant in Jiang City."
"Sky Restaurant? Are all our classmates doing this well now?" Chen Fan asked, somewhat surprised.
They had only mentioned a reunion before, but not a specific location. Chen Fan had been there twice before, and the cost there was something that students like them, who were just interns, could not afford.