Chapter 4: Encircled by Presence

The medical room was in complete chaos.

“Sisi, what’s wrong with you? Don’t scare your mother!” The middle-aged woman’s wailing was deafening. Several people grabbed her arms, but they couldn’t stop her from lunging toward the hospital bed.

It seemed as if she wanted to shake her daughter a few more times, as if violently jolting her would somehow satisfy her.

Gu Yao ignored her entirely, stepping around to the bedside to look down at the patient. Her expression immediately darkened.

The young woman’s hair was disheveled, her eyes tightly shut. If it weren’t for the heart monitor still showing a pulse, she could have passed for dead. Just this afternoon, her condition hadn’t been this bad.

“What exactly happened?” Gu Yao turned and spotted the ship’s doctor standing nearby. She pointed at him casually. “You tell me.”

The ship doctor cast his eyes downward guiltily before whispering, “Everything was fine before. The patient was resting quietly in bed. I got a bit hungry at night and went out to eat. But the mother snuck in and took her daughter out. Halfway through, the ship rocked due to some instability, and the patient fell.”

As they spoke, the middle-aged woman suddenly changed direction, catching those holding her off guard. She broke free and collapsed at the ship doctor’s feet.

“Doctor, please, save my daughter! I beg you!” she clung to his leg, sobbing desperately.

At least she seemed to have come to her senses and stopped tormenting her daughter.

The ship doctor was startled by the sudden attack and instinctively stepped back, but with someone wrapped around his leg, he stumbled and fell to the floor in a clumsy heap.

The woman, now somewhat delirious, clung on and continued begging. The two of them rolled on the ground like they were wrestling—an utterly humiliating scene. Eventually, the doctor’s patience snapped. He pushed her off forcefully and managed to stand.

Catching his breath, he pointed at her and snapped, “Listen, madam, there’s a brilliant neurosurgeon standing right in front of you. Why beg me? If I had the ability to save your daughter, would I have misdiagnosed her with heatstroke this afternoon?”

Though embarrassed by his words, the urgency of saving the patient left him no room to hold back.

“Who... you’re talking about… her?” The woman finally looked at Gu Yao in disbelief. “She’s just a young girl. What skills could she possibly have?”

“It’s the middle of a crisis, and you’re still stuck on gender bias? Doctor Gu’s medical skills rank among the best in the country. Even getting a meeting with her is difficult, let alone medical treatment!” The ship doctor’s words rushed out anxiously, as if scolding a stubborn child.

“Doctor Gu, please save my daughter!” The woman, now convinced, quickly forgot the afternoon’s events and turned to plead with Gu Yao.

But Gu Yao didn’t stand there like the ship doctor. She deftly stepped back, easily dodging the woman’s desperate grasp.

“How long until we dock?” Gu Yao turned and addressed Su Yu, who stood behind her.

“At least three hours. Due to the rain, there’s heavy fog at sea, so docking isn’t possible right now,” Su Yu’s expression was grave. “I’ll inform the captain and see if there’s another way.”

“But the patient can’t wait. She needs surgery immediately,” Gu Yao shook her head and asked the ship doctor, “How comprehensive are the medical equipment and drugs on the ship?”

The ship doctor nodded. “Quite complete. A private hospital closed recently, and we acquired some of their equipment. It’s enough to function like a small hospital.”

He led her through a door opposite the medical room.

Gu Yao surveyed the makeshift operating room and nodded. “Barely sufficient.”

Striding back, she scanned the room and finally fixed her gaze on the still-crying middle-aged woman. “That leaves one last question. If I perform this surgery, who will guarantee my interests? What if I get entangled in trouble afterward?”

“You’re a doctor. You should be thinking about saving lives first!” The woman was shocked, stammering.

Gu Yao glanced at her, unmoved. “I may be a doctor, but that doesn’t mean I abandon my own rights. I don’t trust you. Judging from your previous behavior, you’re far from morally upright—there are flaws in your character. I believe there’s a high chance you’ll act ungratefully afterward.”

She spoke candidly, believing she had already been generous in her warning.

The woman was left speechless, her face flushing with shame and anger.

The atmosphere tensed.

Then, a minute later, a man in a suit burst into the medical room, out of breath. He approached Su Yu respectfully and handed over a document.

“This is what you requested,” he said.

“Give it to her,” Su Yu said, nodding toward the middle-aged woman.

Puzzled, she took it and looked down. It was a medical liability waiver.

“If you want your daughter saved, sign this. Also, I guarantee that as long as you cooperate, my company will cover all her hospitalization costs,” the man said coldly.

“Who are you?” The woman’s eyes lit up.

“This is Mr. Su, president of Haosheng Group. This cruise ship is his property,” someone nearby explained.

After a moment’s hesitation, the woman recognized the opportunity and quickly signed.

“Doctor Gu.” Someone handed the signed document to Gu Yao.

“Good, that’s settled.” After reviewing it, she seemed satisfied and handed it to a staff member for safekeeping. Turning to Su Yu, she added, “I have one more request: the entire surgery must be recorded on camera as evidence.”

“Understood,” he replied.

With that settled, Gu Yao fell silent, stretched her arms back, and her expression grew serious. The lazy air she had carried vanished, replaced by a disciplined and solemn demeanor.

“You, and the two of you, come with me into the operating room.” She glanced at the ship doctor, then pointed at two young nurses.

She moved quickly to the sink to scrub and sterilize her hands and arms.

“Do I... have to go in too?” The chubby ship doctor broke out in cold sweat, then sheepishly nodded. “Fine, I’ll go in.”

His face was twisted in anxiety.

Since studying medicine, he had rarely been inside an operating room except during internships, let alone under such urgent circumstances.

Despite the younger age, Gu Yao’s commanding presence intimidated him. Yet, more than fear, he felt admiration and awe.

Once inside the operating room, those feelings peaked.

She was a formidable woman and an extraordinary doctor. The operating room was her battlefield, where she controlled everything and fought for victory.

The surgery lasted three full hours. The fog remained thick, and the cruise ship still hovered at sea, unable to dock.

When the “Surgery in Progress” sign finally went dark, the ship doctor was the first to emerge.

His face was drenched in sweat, but the excitement in his eyes was unmistakable.

“The surgery was successful! The patient is out of danger!” he announced to the gathered crowd, his voice choked with emotion.

Only those who had witnessed it could understand how harrowing the operation was and how she had turned the tide.

When Gu Yao emerged, she was nearly drained of strength.

Ignoring the crowd, she weakly waved them off, peeled off her surgical gown, and collapsed into the nearest chair.

Closing her eyes and leaning back, she rested for over ten minutes. Though somewhat recovered, the fatigue still clung to her as if all her energy had been siphoned away.

She pressed her fingers to her brow, puzzled. She had endured surgeries lasting five hours before with only mild exhaustion. Why was this one so severe?

After a moment’s thought, she resigned herself.

Though unspoken, she had been tense—working with barely adequate equipment, in a crude operating room, on a ship at sea. Such conditions kept her mind tightly wound.

Once the pressure released, exhaustion overwhelmed her.

“Doctor…” someone called out.

Gu Yao opened her eyes and saw the patient’s mother standing before her.

After hours of waiting, the woman’s face was worn and fragile, fearful and vulnerable like any mother.

“Don’t worry. The condition is under preliminary control. Once at the hospital, the patient can receive further treatment,” Gu Yao said softly, her voice hoarse.

“Thank you. Thank you so much. I...” Tears streamed down the woman’s cheeks as she covered her face, her words jumbled.

“It’s okay.” Gu Yao hesitated, then gently placed her hand on the woman’s and patted it. “Go see your daughter.”

The woman nodded, wiping her tears, and walked slowly to the window, gazing long and hard at the patient through the glass.

Feeling dizzy, cold, and hungry, Gu Yao checked her phone. It was already late at night.

She pursed her lips and looked up, spotting Su Yu nearby, briefing his subordinates.

Tall and imposing, dressed in black pants and shirt, with short, sharp hair, one hand casually in his pocket. His muscular arm gleamed under his short sleeves. He radiated both aloofness and fierce intensity.

Such a man did not look like a mere businessman.

Could he have been waiting here all along? With his position, he wouldn’t need to. Strange.

Thinking this, Gu Yao raised an eyebrow thoughtfully.

As if sensing her gaze, the man suddenly turned and looked over. His striking eyes were icy, chilling to the bone.