I Am Diagnosed as a Medical Titan

Chapter 152: Chapter 126: An Insurmountable Chasm

Gong Nian’s walkie-talkie crackled to life.

”Director Gong, we have a paper from Zone D. It’s from Jiang He of Southern Medical University. His prognostic assessment doesn’t follow the AJCC guidelines. He used an indicator called LNR and recommended combination chemotherapy. It doesn’t match the standard answer at all. The proctor has sent the paper over.”

Hearing this, Gong Nian immediately walked over to the fax machine and picked up the paper as it came out.

He read it over, his brow furrowed.

”This is... nonsense.”

Gong Nian placed the fax in front of Lin Zhenhua and Zheng Liyan. ”Minister Lin, Academician Zheng, this student messed up on the final section. He didn’t answer according to the current staging guidelines and came up with his own ratio. According to the scoring rubric, this is definitely unacceptable, right?”

Lin Zhenhua didn’t respond immediately, instead turning to look at Zheng Liyan.

Zheng Liyan picked up the faxed paper.

His gaze lingered for a long time on the words ”LNR = 0.2” and ”high-risk recurrence group.”

The observation room was quiet.

Gong Nian stood to the side, waiting for the academician to speak.

After a moment, Zheng Liyan placed the fax on the table.

Zheng Liyan said, ”Give him full marks.”

Gong Nian was stunned. ”What? Academician Zheng, this... this doesn’t match the standard answer. Our rubric requires...”

”Your standard answer is outdated,” Zheng Liyan interrupted.

The titan of hepatobiliary surgery in the country leaned back in his chair and pointed at the text on the paper.

”This LNR he wrote about is the lymph node ratio.”

Zheng Liyan looked at Lin Zhenhua and said, ”Zhenhua, one of the reasons I came to Yangcheng this time was to see the author of this paper.”

Lin Zhenhua reacted instantly. ”You mean the research article published in the *Chinese Journal of Surgery*?”

”Correct.” Zheng Liyan nodded. ”LNR allows for more precise screening of high-risk recurrence populations, which in turn allows for earlier adjustments to chemotherapy regimens. This is a genuine clinical breakthrough. This student not only wrote the paper on the theory but also had the conviction to apply this latest theory to a practical case under the pressure of a competition.”

Zheng Liyan looked at Gong Nian. ”Medicine isn’t about memorizing standard answers. Standards are meant to be broken. The assessment and chemotherapy regimen he provided are far more accurate than the standard answer from your organizing committee. Go change the score.”

After hearing this, a thin layer of cold sweat broke out on Gong Nian’s back.

He never imagined that a student’s answer sheet could make an academician personally declare, ”The committee’s answer is outdated.”

’What does that even mean?’

’Is he saying the guidelines need to be revised?!’

”Understood, Academician Zheng. I’ll notify them immediately... What about the other students’ answers?”

”No change for the others. Just grade them according to the original answer key.”

”Understood...”

...

The contestant rest area was in the main hall at the back of the Skill Center.

According to the competition rules, all students who had finished the assessment had to wait here until the entire batch of students was done before they could leave.

The rest area was furnished with several rows of chairs.

A massive electronic screen hung on the front wall, displaying the real-time total scores of all contestants.

When Jiang He walked in, the room was empty.

He found a seat in a corner and placed his crutch by his feet.

He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair to rest.

About twenty minutes later, the door to the rest area began to open periodically.

Students from other schools started trickling in, in twos and threes.

Everyone’s face showed varying degrees of exhaustion and anxiety.

Lin Han pushed the door open and entered. Not wanting to disturb Jiang He, he found a seat for himself.

Qiao Fan sat down next to Lin Han and said, still shaken, ”That question in Zone A was so obscure. I almost wrote down an IV push of calcium gluconate. Thankfully, I remembered the contraindications for digitalis at the last second. And Zone B was even crazier. A great saphenous vein cutdown, and the time limit was so short...”

Lin Han’s expression was grim.

Although he had finished everything, it had taken him a long time as well.

He had spent thirteen minutes on Zone A and two and a half minutes on the cutdown and cannulation in Zone B.

This was already one of the better results on the Zhongda team.

”Let’s check the scores,” Lin Han said, lifting his head to look at the electronic screen at the front.

At that moment, the data on the screen was constantly refreshing.

[Zhongshan University - Lin Han: Zone A 85, Zone B 90, Zone C 95, Zone D 80. Total Score: 350.]

The moment this score appeared, a wave of low gasps swept through the rest area.

With the insane difficulty of this year’s questions, scoring 350 points was absolutely top-tier.

Barring any surprises, Lin Han was guaranteed a spot in the top three for the individual competition.

Qiao Fan looked at the screen and breathed a sigh of relief. ”You’re golden, Lin Han. That score basically locks in a first-place prize for you.”

Lin Han didn’t say anything.

His eyes scanned the screen rapidly, waiting for that one name...

Because Jiang He’s score was under review.

It had been temporarily hidden.

Until now—

The line of data at the very top of the screen settled into place.

The font seemed a size larger than everyone else’s.

[Southern Medical University - Jiang He: Zone A 100, Zone B 100, Zone C 100, Zone D 100. Total Score: 400.]

A perfect score.

In that instant, the entire rest area fell dead silent.

All the students who had just struggled their way out of the exam hall stared at the neat row of 100s on the screen, their minds going completely blank.

Having gone through the assessment, they knew better than anyone what it meant to get a perfect score in Zone A, and what it meant to get a perfect score in the three-minute practical exam in Zone B.

This wasn’t a competition between peers at all.

”Four one-hundreds...” Qiao Fan stared blankly at the screen, his voice raspy. ”What the fuck... What’s the point of competing anymore?”

Lin Han sat in his chair, his gaze frozen on the screen for a full thirty seconds.

Finally, he took a slow, deep breath and let it out just as slowly.

’So this is the strength of someone who’s published in a top journal and saved lives in the ER.’

The memory of himself from that morning, sitting by the flowerbed and pointing out key topics for him in a notebook, resurfaced in his mind.

Lin Han closed his eyes and shook his head.

’No wonder he listened so attentively. No wonder he could point out the contraindications for digitalis so casually.’

’I thought I was dispensing wisdom, but he was just patiently letting me teach a fish how to swim.’

Lin Han turned his head, his gaze traveling over the crowd to Jiang He, who was still sitting in the corner.

Jiang He was still leaning back with his eyes closed, resting, as if the perfect score that had stunned the entire room had nothing to do with him.

Lin Han looked away.

He now clearly recognized the chasm between them—a chasm that, at his current level, he could not cross no matter how hard he tried.

What an eye-opener. A real eye-opener.

...

On the second floor of the venue.

Shen Yu was overjoyed.

points!

Ranked number one!

Way ahead of second place.

The corners of Shen Yu’s mouth couldn’t help but lift, her eyes curving into beautiful crescents.

’That’s my precious Dr. Jiang.’

’He’s so amazing.’

Shen Yu glanced at her watch.

The competition was about to end completely.

She couldn’t stay for the upcoming awards ceremony because she had something more important to do.

’Today is a big day, after all.’

Shen Yu patted the canvas bag slung over her shoulder.

Inside was the Jingtai Lan gift she had made by hand, along with some small items she would need to set up the venue later.

She took one last look at Jiang He’s name on the scoreboard, then turned and ran toward the stairwell.

Her steps were light, her ponytail tracing a lovely arc in the air.

The hem of her windbreaker fluttered up as she ran.

’Shen Yu, time to prepare the surprise!’

—’Why does just preparing a surprise for you make me so happy? Hehehehe!’