Chapter 90: Seeking A Clear Mind!
Tong Yuan’an and Chen Song were not foolish; Lu Cheng’s diligence and ‘hard work’ surpassed most of his peers.
It wasn’t that he surpassed Tong Yuan’an and Chen Song when they were in their twenties, but he certainly surpassed Chen Song at thirty.
As the saying goes, a soul that is not tormented must have something it clings to.
Deep within Lu Cheng’s heart, there was certainly a knot in his heart that neither of them knew about.
Of course, if Lu Cheng didn’t bring up this kind of emotional burden, they wouldn’t pry into it.
Lu Cheng looked at the two teachers calmly, sat upright, and said, “I seek clarity of mind, either to willingly admit defeat, or to calmly express my eccentricities, with no other reason.”
“For so many years, besides my parents, at least thirty percent of my relatives have told me that I aim too high and don’t know how to be down-to-earth.”
The professional Master’s degree postgraduate entrance examination is organized by the state. Autonomous institutions only have the right to set their own passing lines, not to set their own exam questions. Candidates can only choose one first choice when applying.
After failing to be selected, institutions of the same level generally do not accept adjustment students.
Lu Cheng, of course, was unconvinced!
It was made clear at the time that not choosing to go for the second round of examinations all these years was actually a setback.
But to say Lu Cheng should be convinced, fundamentally, Lu Cheng was still unconvinced.
In fact, if Lu Cheng were to give up this panel now and have similar teaching resources as they did at his age, Lu Cheng felt he might choose to give up the ‘panel’ and compete again legitimately!
However, reality is not what if. Lu Cheng is a few days short of thirty years old now and cannot go back to the past.
They didn’t even care if Lu Cheng existed or if he would consider them competitors, yet Lu Cheng still hoped he could achieve clarity of mind.
It has nothing to do with winning or losing.
It is just to settle matters from that year, to release the knot in his heart.
“Can you explain in detail?” Chen Song pressed.
Every admission selection has its tricks, including the college entrance examination.
The minimum admission score for each major at each university is not announced until before the college entrance examination in the following year. If the candidates do not record their application choices and their order, even if they see the minimum admission score in the second year, it will be useless.
For Master’s and Doctorate admissions assessments, apart from the preliminary examination scores which cannot be manipulated, there is a lot of room for operational flexibility.
“Teacher Chen, it’s already the 21st century, can such things still allow you to find loopholes in the wording?”
Lu Cheng thought for a moment and said, “Actually, I believe it was an especially fair second round of examination, because those who got in were second and third, not those ranked further down!”
“Overall, their scientific research achievements are much more brilliant than mine.”
Lu Cheng did not mention where their scientific research papers came from; it was not important where they came from, what was important was that they had SCI papers, and he did not.
“Then do they know about what you want to do?” Tong Yuan’an and Chen Song exchanged a glance and asked again.
Lu Cheng smiled calmly, shook his head, “Teacher Tong, they don’t know. It’s just my own petty thoughts acting up.”
“My own petty thoughts.”
After the second round of examination, who cares about the thoughts of those who failed, where they went, who cares?
The mentors don’t care, and those who got in still don’t care!
“But fortunately, medicine is a relatively fair profession, one that relies heavily on strength, and it is a long-term career with a very extended professional path.”
“According to your estimations, even if they can stay at Huashan Hospital, they are probably just at the age of newly joining.”
“So, there’s still time to catch up; it’s not insurmountable.”
Lu Cheng continued, “Teacher Tong, as I just said, the results and winning or losing are not important. I just want to settle matters from that year. I won’t stand before them, before my former teachers, to do or say anything.”
“I just wish for clarity of mind for myself, to completely settle matters from that year. At least I want to tell myself that I, Lu Cheng, am not that incompetent…”
“This point is very important, because everyone else can doubt my ability to be excellent, but I must believe it myself.”
“Hmm… yes, this should count as a kind of self-confidence,” Lu Cheng nodded to himself, repeating the sentence.
Chen Song continued to ask, “Then why didn’t you retake the exam later?”
“There were two reasons. The first is that during my internship, some teachers took a liking to me, but I didn’t choose them. Later, although I took the standardized training, the teachers also had their ‘face’ to consider, so they didn’t bring it up.”
“Secondly, no one is perfect. Everyone has moments of youthful arrogance. My thought at the time was, standardized training is standardized training… It’s better to say my understanding of medicine was too shallow…”
Lu Cheng’s smile was bitter. “Of course, medicine is not a profession that can be learned well through self-exploration without a teacher’s guidance.”
Lu Cheng continued, “So, one point where I was at a disadvantage is that even though I worked very hard and felt I had some talent, I didn’t have a teacher’s meticulous guidance. Therefore, no matter how hard I tried, I was only comparable to the professional ability of the Master’s students from Zhongnan Hospital in the same cohort.”
“I failed to stand out.”
“Teacher Tong, as you know, in large teaching hospitals like yours, what significance does a Master’s student who isn’t particularly outstanding in their cohort have?”
“Let alone the potentially brilliant junior brothers, there are senior brothers, doctors, chief residents, attending physicians, associate professors…”
“How would the Big Boss notice an unremarkable trainee, even if that trainee was practicing on their own all the time?”
“Professors only see the results; they won’t delve into how you achieved them.”
“After returning to work, I realized that in county hospitals, learning techniques involves seniority, which led to the current situation…”
Saying this, Lu Cheng looked at Tong Yuan’an and Chen Song again and said, “Fortunately, I happened to meet Teacher Chen and Teacher Tong, who gave me opportunities, guidance, and showed me some hope…”
“Otherwise, what I could ask for in terms of clarity of mind would be deserved!”
“I’ve also said it, it’s deserved that I admit defeat.”
Lu Cheng did not portray himself as noble or brag about his excellence; he simply did not belittle himself.
It was like this before, and it is still like this now. This is a stubbornness etched into Lu Cheng’s bones. Although he endured severe beatings for this stubbornness, it has not been completely eradicated.
Lu Cheng’s attitude is very clear: he will pursue postgraduate studies and a doctorate, but first, he seeks clarity of mind.
That is, he will unilaterally compare himself with the two people he wants to compare with, not to defeat them, but simply to seek self-validation!
In this way, Tong Yuan’an and Chen Song’s plans were completely foiled. If things can’t be discussed this year, what’s the point of arguing now?
Soon, the dishes were served.
The aroma was rich. Chen Song had lost his appetite, but the high-end ingredients still triggered his salivary glands to secrete rapidly due to his body’s instinct…
“Let’s eat first. Regardless, Xiao Lu’s current accumulation of basic skills and the potential he has shown are indeed exceptionally outstanding.”
“Tong Yuan’an, what do you think?” Chen Song looked at Tong Yuan’an.
Arrogance is the exclusive privilege of geniuses; a common person’s arrogance is a mark of foolishness…
As I said before, someone who can perform finger replantation at thirty years old is a rare gem. Based on this alone, it can be concluded that Lu Cheng is a genius, even a genius who can afford to be proud.
