It was Wednesday. After lunch, Yan Feifan returned to the Trauma Surgery department.

As he walked in, he found that Chen Yu wasn’t doing yoga. Instead, she was busy at her desk.

Yan Feifan waited quietly for a few minutes. Just as Chen Yu finished her work and he was about to speak, she held up a hand and beat him to it. "You don’t have to say anything. I know. You have a very important surgery tonight."

"I’ll adjust your schedule for this afternoon."

Chen Yu quickly tidied up the documents on her desk before looking up at Yan Feifan.

"You’re really something else, kid. Just like that, you’ve jumped into the most difficult specialty of them all—neurosurgery."

Yan Feifan explained, "Chief, it’s just an expanded application of the Puncture Injection Skill. I’m only assisting Dr. Qiu."

"My role in the brain surgery is quite small."

Chen Yu chuckled. "You’re really getting a lot of mileage out of that one trick."

After a pause, she changed the subject. "Feifan, I heard Mr. Wang took on another resident?"

Yan Feifan hummed in agreement and elaborated, "It’s mainly for the collaborative research project with Mr. Lo. They didn’t have anyone to oversee it, so Mr. Wang just went ahead and hired someone."

Chen Yu sighed softly. "In all these years, that guy has only ever taken on two students: Tang Zheng and you."

"And we all know why he took you two on."

"But now, he’s gone and hired an ordinary resident, which is completely out of character for him. It’s suddenly giving a lot of people ideas."

Chen Yu rubbed her face, her voice tinged with frustration. "I’ve already had people approach me, asking me to put in a good word so Wang Chuan will take their kid on."

"Feifan, could you do me a favor and sound him out in the next day or two? Find out if he actually plans on taking more people."

Yan Feifan let out an "Oh," then asked curiously, "Chief, you and Mr. Wang know each other pretty well, right? Couldn’t you just give him a call and ask?"

"Why do I have to be the go-between?"

Chen Yu shot him a look. "Our relationship isn’t as close as you think."

"If I ask him directly and he flat-out refuses, it’ll be awkward to bring it up again. You sound him out first so I know how to handle it."

Yan Feifan nodded, not quite grasping the subtlety. "Okay, I’ll do my best to gauge Mr. Wang’s attitude on the matter."

Chen Yu couldn’t help but smile. "High pay, easy work... Plastic Surgery is the top choice for a specialty in many people’s eyes."

"And Wang Chuan himself is a nationally renowned plastic surgeon. I bet there’ll be no shortage of people trying to get in his good graces this time."

"Now we’ll just have to see if he rejects all of them or takes them all on."

Chen Yu smirked, clearly enjoying the thought of his dilemma, before changing the subject. "That patient who had the full hand-bone replacement surgery... so far, there have been no severe signs of rejection, no allergic reactions, and no neuropathic pain."

"It’s safe to say the surgery was a success."

"Feifan, are you interested in writing a paper on this surgery?"

Yan Feifan understood what she was offering. He shook his head and said, "Thank you, Chief, but I only played a supporting role in the surgery. I haven’t been involved in the post-op follow-up or recovery therapy either."

"I don’t feel right taking the credit."

Chen Yu stood up from her chair and moved to an open area in the office. She started to stretch, twisting at the waist, kicking her legs, and swinging her arms.

"In that case, I’ll let someone else write the paper. With your talent, you won’t be short on opportunities to publish in the future."

Yan Feifan gave a modest smile.

Then, another thought occurred to him. "Chief, right now, Yu Suye is only handling muscle trauma cases and some minor procedures in the ER."

"Um... you know what she’s capable of, Chief."

"Is there any way you could get her more surgical experience?"

Chen Yu gave Yan Feifan a sidelong glance and reminded him, "Yu Suye is just training here. Eventually, she has to go back to Baining Hospital."

"Tell me something, kid... have you thought about your future with her?"

"Is she going to stay here?"

"Are you going to go with her?

"Or are you going to have a long-distance relationship?"

Well...

Yan Feifan hesitated for a moment before saying, "Chief, I honestly haven’t given it any serious thought."

"Our relationship... it was..."

Yan Feifan had wanted to say they were pushed into it, but that sounded a bit crude, so he changed his wording.

"...somewhat sudden. Unexpected, even."

Then he declared, "In any case, Chief, I’m not leaving Affiliated Hospital. This place is my home."

Chen Yu didn’t seem to pay much mind to his declaration.

She said slowly, "For now, Affiliated Hospital is the best place for you. It offers countless opportunities to learn and practice."

"But one day, if you feel this place is holding you back and hindering your growth, then even if it’s your home, you’ll have to leave it."

Chen Yu looked at Yan Feifan and continued, "Yu Suye is a promising talent, too. She’s worth nurturing."

"I can arrange for her to be on the night shift on Friday or Saturday, but..."

"But what?" Yan Feifan pressed.

Chen Yu chuckled. "Feifan, if you can persuade Wang Chuan to accept the young doctor I’m recommending..."

"...then we can make this happen."

Yan Feifan looked troubled. "Chief, that doesn’t seem right. How can you connect those two things?"

Chen Yu scoffed. "Feifan, that’s how the world works. You ask a favor of me, I ask a favor of you."

"I do something for you, you have to solve a problem for me."

"It’s called give-and-take. Each of us gets what we need."

Yan Feifan said hesitantly, "Chief, I can try, but I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to persuade Mr. Wang."

"And, I have another condition!"

Chen Yu scoffed. "So you’ve learned how to bargain, have you? Whatever you have to say, spit it out."

Yan Feifan grinned. "Chief, for a while now, we’ve been studying the treatment of male genital trauma with Mrs. Qin."

"We just haven’t had any practical opportunities yet..."

This afternoon, Yan Feifan continued to study the treatment of hand tendon injuries under Chen Yu.

Under her guidance, he performed two surgeries to repair old hand tendon injuries.

At four in the afternoon, he left the Trauma Surgery department.

Afterward, Yan Feifan returned to Qin Ying’s medical research office to rest and recharge.

At six in the evening, Yu Suye woke him, and the two of them headed to the staff cafeteria for dinner.

Just as they stepped out of the Emergency Department building, they unexpectedly ran into Ren Xiaobao’s sister, Ren Chuqiu, and Shao Dalei Lin.

Ren Chuqiu approached them and said earnestly, "Mr. Yan, I need to apologize for my unfriendly attitude yesterday."

"I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have questioned your skills."

Yan Feifan replied graciously, "It’s perfectly normal to have doubts. Please don’t give it a second thought."

"Thank you for your understanding!"

Ren Chuqiu then said worriedly, "Mr. Yan, Dr. Qiu explained the surgery to us, as well as the potential post-operative complications." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Mr. Yan, I don’t know if it’s just me, but I get the feeling that Dr. Qiu doesn’t seem very confident."

Yan Feifan answered frankly, "With a skull base tumor surgery, no neurosurgeon would dare say they’re completely confident."

"Miss Ren, if your brother’s surgery were simple, you wouldn’t have had to search all over the world for a solution, only to return to Binhai."

"All I can say is that there is hope we can save your brother’s vision."

Ren Chuqiu’s expression was grave. "You’re right. If Dr. Qiu had beaten his chest and guaranteed success, we’d actually be even more worried."

At that moment, Shao Dalei Lin spoke up. "Mr. Yan, I’ve heard a lot about you from Tang Zheng."

"He says you’re a rare medical genius at the Affiliated Hospital and that your performance in every surgery is astonishingly brilliant."

"I hope that this time, you’ll deliver another one of those excellent performances and free my younger cousin from the threat of this tumor for good."

Yan Feifan replied, "Rest assured, Dr. Qiu and I will do everything in our power..."

During dinner, Yan Feifan received another call from Liu Jin.

To his surprise, Liu Jin also asked him to sound out Wang Chuan’s attitude about taking on more young doctors.

Putting down the phone, Yan Feifan couldn’t help but mutter, "Looks like Mr. Wang has really become a target..."