Chapter 6: How Did Lin Nan Do It?

As they headed toward the consultation room, Xiao Li couldn’t help but exclaim, “This is unbelievable—someone actually managed to shove their head into a car’s exhaust pipe. How on earth did they get it in there?”

Lin Nan explained, “Some high-displacement cars have relatively large exhaust outlets, so theoretically, a human head could fit inside.”

“No matter how small the head, it must have taken quite a squeeze to get it in, and getting it back out will be even harder,” Li Qin nodded gravely. “This is going to be a tough one.”

“It may be difficult, but we have to do it. It’s our duty as doctors,” Lin Nan replied with a faint smile.

Soon, Lin Nan and Li Qin arrived at the consultation room, while Xiao Li went off to attend to other matters.

Inside, a young couple was present. The man was stylishly dressed and handsome, wearing designer clothes, and the woman was equally fashionable, but her head was stuck inside a segment of an exhaust pipe, obscuring her face and eyes, with only a small patch of scalp visible.

Besides them stood a firefighter.

Seeing the firefighter, Lin Nan nodded inwardly. It seemed they had already sought help from the fire department before coming to the hospital. The firefighters had managed to saw open part of the pipe so the girl could move freely and avoid being trapped under the car, but they couldn’t remove the remaining section from her head. Thus, they had no choice but to bring her to the hospital.

Bai Yunxiao, the deputy chief of the emergency department, was already there, attempting to help the girl.

However, as he looked at the segment of the exhaust pipe lodged on the girl’s head, his brow furrowed deeply, clearly recognizing the complexity of the situation.

When Bai Yunxiao saw Lin Nan enter, he was briefly taken aback, evidently surprised to see someone who should have been on leave showing up at the hospital.

But he quickly regained his composure and nodded silently.

This young man was truly diligent—volunteering to work overtime even during the holidays.

Regardless of Lin Nan’s innate talent, his sheer hard work was undeniable.

Lin Nan greeted everyone with a smile and approached Bai Yunxiao, with Li Qin following closely behind.

“Doctor, is my sister’s condition easy to handle?” the man asked Bai Yunxiao anxiously.

“Doctor, please save me. I don’t want to be stuck like this forever,” the girl whimpered, her voice trembling with fear, though muffled due to her head being trapped inside the pipe.

“I will do my best,” Bai Yunxiao replied calmly.

The young firefighter glanced at the girl helplessly. “We tried many methods but couldn’t remove her head without injuring her. In the end, we had to saw through the exhaust pipe to free her movements.”

“We wanted to continue cutting the segment on her head with the electric saw, but it was stuck too tightly. We feared causing harm if we proceeded recklessly, so we brought her here for you to handle.”

Lin Nan silently examined the girl’s condition.

The exhaust pipe segment was almost entirely enclosing her head.

Meanwhile, Li Qin observed quietly.

He gently lifted the pipe upwards with both hands, but it didn’t budge at all. The girl cried out in pain, “Ouch... it hurts.”

Li Qin reluctantly let go.

“It’s useless. I’ve tried many times; it won’t come out. It’s stuck too tight,” Bai Yunxiao shook his head.

At that moment, a nurse entered carrying an X-ray.

Bai Yunxiao took the film and frowned deeply. “The pipe fits her head perfectly—like a seamless fit. Fortunately, her nose is slightly angled downward and not compressed, or she’d have trouble breathing.”

“Yes, that’s the one silver lining,” Li Qin agreed.

The girl broke down sobbing, “Doctors, please think of a way—I really can’t hold on much longer.”

The man was pacing anxiously, helpless.

Bai Yunxiao turned to Lin Nan and Li Qin. “What do you two think?”

Li Qin pondered for a moment. “I think we could apply lubricant around the edges of the exhaust pipe. The lubricant would flow along the pipe’s inner wall, reducing friction, and then we can try to remove the pipe.”

“No need to try,” the firefighter shook his head. “We’ve already tried that. The pipe is made of stainless steel, which is naturally non-slip with a high friction coefficient. Plus, the inner wall is matte-finished, increasing the friction even more.”

Li Qin examined the pipe’s inner surface carefully, frowning.

Indeed, the matte texture made rescue more difficult.

He couldn’t help but tease the man, “What kind of taste is that? The inside of an exhaust pipe has to be matte?”

Tang Zhenglong’s face stiffened. “I just prefer a matte design.”

“Then why not make the outside matte instead of the inside?” Li Qin was speechless.

Before Tang Zhenglong could respond, the girl burst out angrily, her voice trembling, “He says the outside matte look is too ordinary. The inside matte finish is more unique.”

“Tang Zhenglong, you bastard, you’ve got me into this mess,” she scolded.

Tang Zhenglong stood silently, unable to reply.

“If you can’t get this pipe off my head, I’ll have Mom and Dad put one on your head too. You’re not the only one suffering!” Tang Wanqi continued to rant.

Tang Zhenglong shuddered, quickly replying, “My head’s too big; a pipe wouldn’t fit.”

“I’ll have Dad specially make one just for you. I’ll make sure your head goes in there, no matter what! Wah!” Wanqi’s voice was increasingly hysterical.

Seeing his sister so upset, Tang Zhenglong didn’t dare retort and pleaded desperately to Bai Yunxiao, “Doctor, please, you have to find a way to save my sister.”

Tang Wanqi sobbed, “Yes, doctor, please help me.”

Bai Yunxiao rubbed his forehead. “We’ll do our best.”

Though he said “do our best,” he had no confidence at all.

He had never encountered such a case before, nor any similar ones, and was completely at a loss.

Li Qin sighed silently, feeling powerless.

Even the experienced Deputy Director Bai was troubled—what could they possibly do?

At that moment, Lin Nan, who had been silent until then, slowly placed his hands on the exhaust pipe stuck on Tang Wanqi’s head.

“Old Lin, you’ve got an idea?” Li Qin asked thoughtfully.

Bai Yunxiao also looked at Lin Nan, curious about his intentions.

The firefighter frowned. “Doctor, we’ve already tried from the top, it’s impossible. Please don’t try again—we might injure her.”

Lin Nan said calmly, “If it doesn’t work from the top, what about the bottom?”

Then, abruptly, he pushed the exhaust pipe downward!

Within less than a second, the pipe shifted from Wanqi’s head down to her neck, revealing most of her face.

“Ah!” Wanqi was startled and cried out.

But soon, she realized the pipe was now below her neck, and she could see clearly ahead. Her heart soared with joy.

Lin Nan smiled faintly at the dumbfounded firefighter. “You couldn’t saw it off when it was stuck on her head for fear of injuring her. Now that it’s at her neck with plenty of space, you can easily cut it open, right?”

The firefighter was still staring in disbelief.

It was indeed much easier to handle now—almost effortless. But how had the doctor managed that?

It was impossible to remove the pipe from above, yet shifting it downward worked?

Bai Yunxiao and Li Qin were equally shocked.

How did Lin Nan do it?

They had tried before and couldn’t move the pipe upward; logically, lowering it shouldn’t have been possible either.