Chapter 33: Far From Coincidental, It Was Shrewdly Concealed

Xiao Zhi’s resolve wavered.

It wasn’t just Xiao Zhi who was intrigued; everyone present was now interested. They weren't as easily fooled as a child. How could a needle piercing skin not hurt? There was a limit to how much one could brag! They began to whisper and gossip, with Li Hongxing being the loudest, mocking her for overestimating her abilities.

Ruan Ling whispered to her, "Do you know how to give an injection?"

"Yes," Wen Ran replied, then fell silent. In her memories, back when she was a nurse, she had handled even the most difficult patients. She also made a habit of carrying candy, which was a foolproof way to soothe children. Intravenous catheterization was her specialty.

Ruan Ling didn't say anything further; she, too, wanted to see how Wen Ran would manage Xiao Zhi. Wu Xiumin certainly didn't want her son to suffer and hoped the IV could be started smoothly. She asked again, "Does it really not hurt when you insert the needle?"

"It doesn't hurt. You can ask Xiao Zhi later and you'll see." Wen Ran took the tray from Li Hongxing. Li Hongxing handed it over, fully cooperative, waiting for her to make a fool of herself.

Wen Ran prepared the cotton swabs and medical tape with methodical precision and retrieved an empty medicine box to keep on hand. One by one, the onlookers stretched their necks to watch.

Wen Ran showed no sign of nervousness. She located a suitable superficial vein on Xiao Zhi’s foot and gently wiped it with a cotton swab to disinfect the area. As soon as the cotton swab touched his skin, Xiao Zhi yanked his foot back and started wailing while clutching Wu Xiumin.

He Jinyan frowned, and Ruan Ling broke into a cold sweat. Others shook their heads, looked on with disdain, or waited for her to fail.

Wen Ran paused, holding Xiao Zhi’s foot, and asked, "Does it hurt?"

Xiao Zhi shook his head.

Wen Ran asked again, "Then why are you crying?"

Xiao Zhi was silent. He didn't know why he was crying; the question caught him off guard, and he looked at his mother, Wu Xiumin.

"We are a brave little man," Wu Xiumin comforted him. "We are going to be a big hero like your father one day, so we can't cry at every little thing!"

Xiao Zhi pouted, still fighting the urge to cry.

Wen Ran took out the tourniquet. "If we're talking about pain, the tourniquet actually hurts more than the needle. It feels like this..." She tightened the band around his ankle, and Xiao Zhi didn't cry. In truth, he wasn't that afraid of pain; he just had an irrational psychological fear of the needle itself.

Once she gauged his reaction, she distracted him. "Look at the bottle up there and see if the medicine is dripping. Keep looking for three seconds."

Xiao Zhi, having no concept of how long three seconds was, obediently looked upward. Taking advantage of this moment, Wen Ran inserted the needle into the superficial vein with lightning speed. Xiao Zhi didn't even have time to cry out—he didn't even realize it had happened. It wasn't until she loosened the tourniquet that he realized the needle was already in. She then secured it with the empty medicine box to prevent the child from moving his foot.

The entire process could be described in three words: steady, accurate, and fast.

"Nurse, you’re amazing!" Wu Xiumin blurted out. "Our Xiao Zhi didn't even cry!"

Wen Ran smiled. "I have to thank you for your trust, ma'am."

"It's mostly because you're so skilled," Wu Xiumin added. "Much better than those nurses who claim to be experienced!"

The nurses who had been waiting to see a joke turned red in the face, feeling deeply embarrassed. Ruan Ling’s heart finally settled, and she felt a sense of pride. She knew that Wen Ran had won some dignity for their group of unofficial nurses, who were tired of being looked down upon by those hired directly from nursing school. Many of the nurses were seeing such an impressive technique for the first time and couldn't help but marvel.

Just then, the duty nurse Li Hongxing brought the head nurse over. The head nurse had expected a scene she couldn't control, but the room was surprisingly quiet. She glared at the melodramatic Li Hongxing, who was herself stunned to see that Xiao Zhi had the IV in without a single tear. It hadn't been a big deal to begin with; it was Li Hongxing’s unreasonable behavior that had caused the commotion.

The head nurse inquired about the situation, then called all the nurses into the office to reprimand them and disciplined Li Hongxing. Li Hongxing, daring not to speak up, acted like a lamb in front of the head nurse and left the office in tears. The other nurses quietly returned to their duties, not daring to breathe a word.

The head nurse sent Ruan Ling away and kept Wen Ran behind. "Who did you learn your injection technique from?"

Wen Ran knew that by standing out today, the head nurse would inevitably ask questions, and she had already prepared her answer. "I watched you give injections to others a few times, and in my spare time at home, I practiced on pigskin with a sewing needle. With a bit of courage and careful attention, I learned it. Today was my first time doing it for real."

The head nurse stared at her in disbelief. Every word she spoke sounded light and airy, yet together they were absolutely shocking. If one could truly learn to surpass nursing school graduates and experienced nurses just by watching and practicing on pigskin a few times, then she was a genius. She had been a nurse for so long and had never heard of such a talent; she was a natural. But did such geniuses really exist? Perhaps it was just a coincidence.

After pondering, the head nurse said, "Follow me to Room 105 to give an infusion to that elderly lady."

Wen Ran understood that the head nurse was testing her. Since the blade was already unsheathed, there was no need to hide it, so she accepted calmly. Giving infusions to the elderly and children was indeed the true test of skill. Due to aging, an elderly person’s venous walls harden, thicken, and lose elasticity. Fragility is another issue. The narrow lumen and loose skin and muscle tissue make the veins difficult to fix. Even more troublesome are the slow blood return and rapid coagulation.

As she followed the head nurse, she mentally prepared the best plan for the infusion. However, the elderly lady was in a foul mood due to her illness. Seeing Wen Ran’s unfamiliar face, she frowned and asked, "Is this a new nurse?"

"She is new," the head nurse said, quickly changing the subject. "How are you feeling today?"

"Sigh, at my age, I’m just living one day at a time," the old woman sighed. She coughed twice, trying to clear phlegm, but couldn't get it out. The head nurse tried the percussion technique to help her expectorate, but it had little effect.

Wen Ran spoke up, "Let me try."

"You?" The head nurse hesitated for a moment. The old lady tugged at Wen Ran. "Try."

Wen Ran knew the woman must be in great discomfort. As the woman inhaled, Wen Ran applied gentle pressure to the trachea in the suprasternal notch while sliding horizontally, repeating the motion several times to stimulate the trachea and help the deep-seated phlegm move up. After a moment, the phlegm that had been stuck in her throat was finally coughed out, and the old lady felt much better.

She couldn't stop praising Wen Ran. "This young nurse is truly excellent. I’ve been coughing for days and couldn't get it out, but she managed to get it out with just a few taps!"

Wen Ran was modest. "I’m just glad you’re feeling better!"

The head nurse no longer thought it was a coincidence. The technique was too professional; she hadn't been a nurse for a single day, and she could see that at a glance. Seeing Wen Ran’s smooth, seamless infusion technique, she was even more certain it wasn't a coincidence. It wasn't just not a coincidence—she was a hidden expert!

The old lady had been sick and hospitalized many times. She stated firmly, "This technique is not ordinary. If others had your skill, I wouldn't have suffered so much."

Wen Ran smiled. "You’re too kind, ma'am. Let me start your infusion."

"Alright." Having cleared the phlegm, the old lady felt relieved. Her previously gloomy face softened into something more kind.

As Wen Ran began to tie a tourniquet around both the elbow and the wrist, the old lady immediately warned, "Young nurse, you’re doing it wrong. Just one at the wrist is enough."

The old lady thought she had made a mistake and reached out to untie the one at the elbow.

Wen Ran stopped her immediately. "Wait a moment. I put this one on the elbow on purpose."

The old lady was speechless.