Chen Yu was sizing up the old man, and the old man was sizing him up right back.
He drove an expensive Lamborghini and was dressed in well-tailored clothes.
The old man frowned slightly and said, "You'll do."
With that, he started toward the clinic, leaning on his cane.
There were steps, and Chen Yu subconsciously reached out to help him.
The old man glanced at Chen Yu, then jerked his arm away, knocking Chen Yu's hand aside.
'Quite the stubborn temper.'
Inside the clinic, the old man plopped onto a long bench and began to pant as if he'd just run a marathon.
"That smart-mouthed white nurse, did you fire her?" the old man asked, pointing his cane at the reception desk.
Chen Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He simply nodded and turned to put on his white coat.
After changing, he invited the old man into the examination room for a check-up.
"Don't bother with all that trouble. Just write me a prescription," the old man said, holding out a slip of paper.
Chen Yu took it.
It was for OxyContin.
A long-acting painkiller that had only been on the market for a couple of years.
'This old man must have chronic pain in his lower back and legs, and he's been on medication for a long time.'
But that dosage!
Chen Yu's brow furrowed. The dosage was way too high.
OxyContin had been on the market for just four years. When Chen Yu was a resident, he had prescribed it to patients quite often.
But he later discovered that patients with chronic conditions developed a tolerance very quickly. In other words, they needed to take more and more of the painkiller to manage their pain.
Chen Yu had a vague feeling there might be something wrong with the drug, so he became very cautious about prescribing it.
And the old man's dosage, to put it bluntly, was practically a lethal amount.
"What are you staring at me for?" the old man said impatiently when he saw Chen Yu looking at him. "Just write the prescription so I can go buy the medicine. It's that simple. How are you even slower than Javier?"
Hearing this, what else could Chen Yu say? He turned to write the prescription.
He confirmed the patient's information. Chen Yu hadn't thrown out Javier's old case files, precisely to prepare for situations like this.
The old man's name was Anthony Quinn.
After writing the prescription, just as he was about to hand it to the old man, Chen Yu paused again.
"You know, you could try to actually treat the problem instead of just taking such a high dose of painkillers."
In Chen Yu's view, painkillers were just a way of fooling oneself. Just because the pain was gone, did that mean the underlying problem had disappeared?
The old man impatiently snatched the prescription and got up to leave.
But after taking two steps, he stopped and turned around. "You said you're an orthopedic doctor. So what's your method for treating me? Don't try to fool me with some ordinary trick. I've seen plenty of doctors."
His gaze was cold and sharp, his tone aggressive.
'Why did I have to open my big mouth?' Chen Yu thought, wanting to slap himself.
But what's said is said. He couldn't just watch the old man leave like this.
'Besides, there's money and experience points to be had.'
'I'll send you the bill later. It'll be a nice little surprise for you.'
"You probably haven't had surgery, right? What about spinal adjustment?" Chen Yu quickly shifted into professional mode, asking with a slight smile.
Chinese medicine has Tui Na and bone-setting, and the United States has chiropractic, which has been developing for nearly a hundred years.
Nowadays, there are even specialized chiropractic physicians.
Back when he worked at the hospital, Chen Yu would also recommend adjustments for patients with minor spinal misalignments.
Quinn nodded. "I've had it done, but it didn't work well. It still hurts."
"Then how about you let me give it a try?" Chen Yu said, holding up his hands.
Quinn studied Chen Yu with a scrutinizing gaze. "You're quite confident, young man."
"Of course."
With his Eye of All-Seeing, Chen Yu had a natural advantage when it came to bone-setting and chiropractic adjustments.
Others had to rely on touch, but Chen Yu could see it all directly—which side was misaligned and to what degree it needed to be reset. It was all perfectly clear to him.
Quinn thought for a moment, then nodded.
Chen Yu didn't waste any time. He led Quinn to the treatment room, gestured for him to lie face down, then lifted his shirt to reveal a bony back.
"Aren't you going to take an X-ray?" Quinn asked, puzzled.
Chen Yu's hands rested on his lumbar spine as he silently applied pressure. "An X-ray? We can do that if you want. By the way, how old are you?"
Quinn replied subconsciously, "Eighty—"
Before he could finish, there was a loud CRACK.
Quinn was so scared the hairs on his arms stood on end. "Fack, are you trying to murder me?"
He got so worked up he lapsed into his mother tongue, spouting a torrent of Spanish. 'Probably another Old Mo,' Chen Yu figured.
"I never should have trusted you!" Quinn said, angrily pushing himself up.
Who does that? They were in the middle of a conversation, and he just pulls a sneak attack. After that CRACK, he really thought his back was broken.
'Wait, my back?'
Quinn abruptly stopped talking, turning his head in disbelief to look toward his lower back.
It seemed... the pain was gone!
Chen Yu patted him on the back. "Alright, you can get up now."
Quinn was stunned.
'Could it be? The treatment is already over?'
That was way too fast. The whole thing seemed to take only a few seconds.
The last doctor who gave him a spinal adjustment had spent nearly ten minutes feeling around on his back, making him wonder at one point if the guy had some kind of special fetish.
Quinn stood up and slowly twisted his body. To his astonishment, his lower back actually felt clear and unimpeded. It didn't hurt as much to turn.
"You... How did you do that?" Quinn was completely dumbfounded.
Chen Yu turned to get a medicinal plaster.
'It improves blood circulation. Can't hurt to put one on.'
'Besides, he's already here. Setting aside the consultation fee, I at least need to grind enough experience points.'
Chen Yu spread out the plaster and began to heat it. "Like I said, I'm a professional orthopedic doctor. But for now, I've only alleviated your pain. The supporting muscles in your lower back are imbalanced. Over time, it will relapse, and you'll need another adjustment to relieve it. After all, you're getting on in years. It can't be helped."
"As for that knee of yours, though..."
Quinn's knee was so bad that even Chen Yu was at a loss.
"Can you do anything for my knee?" Quinn asked urgently. He had clearly run into a miracle doctor!
Chen Yu shook his head. "You can forget about a complete cure. All I can do is alleviate your pain."
With all the bone spurs and tissue degeneration, even a knee replacement would be tricky.
Besides, at his age, conservative treatment focused on pain relief was the best option.
"That's enough," Quinn said, surprisingly accepting.
At his age, it was questionable whether he'd even make it off the operating table after surgery. Being pain-free was more than enough.
Chen Yu nodded, had Quinn turn around, and applied the plaster to his back.
"What is that?" Quinn finally noticed the plaster in Chen Yu's hand.
It was black and gooey. It didn't exactly look like proper medicine.
He looked wary.
Chen Yu slapped it on him without another word. Just as he was about to explain its effects, someone outside called his name.
He peeked his head out and saw it was Monty.
"You're early." It was just a little past one o'clock.
Monty walked into the treatment room with his head down. "There's no practice this afternoon, so I came early."
After a moment's hesitation, Monty said, "Chen, do you know our team doctor, Joe?"
Quinn looked up at Monty, his expression one of complete shock.
"What's wrong?" Chen Yu asked, curious.
Monty sighed. "If you know him, could you help me talk to him? Just tell him my condition is serious and I need some rest."
He had come early hoping Chen Yu could help him convince Billings.
"So, in other words, Billings won't let you rest."
After hearing the whole story, Chen Yu's brow furrowed deeply.
'That old bastard. If he has a problem, he should take it out on me. What's the point of venting on the players?'
'You're the team doctor. You're supposed to be responsible for your players!'
But anger was one thing; what could Chen Yu actually do about it?
A team doctor with mediocre skills but a big ego, a smart-aleck general manager, and a head coach who only cares about winning records and doesn't give a damn about player health.
The entire Magic management was rotten to the core.