Yang Susu’s surgery to restore her facial expressions began at 1:10 PM and concluded at nearly 6:00 PM.

During the nearly five-hour procedure, Yan Feifan made a total of thirty-two incisions and alterations to Yang Susu’s face.

Eleven of these were to correct the poorly executed aspects of her previous cosmetic surgery.

Thirteen were adjustments to her facial muscles, intended to make her expressions of joy, anger, sadness, and happiness appear more natural and harmonious.

The remaining eight were cosmetic touches to ensure that the restorative surgery would not detract from Yang Susu’s appearance.

As for whether Yang Susu’s appearance after the surgery was a slight improvement or a slight step down from her original features?

That was a matter of opinion, as beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

In Yan Feifan’s aesthetic opinion, it was a definite improvement.

In preparation for today’s surgery, Yan Feifan had been constantly running mental simulations of the procedure ever since he conducted a detailed examination of Yang Susu on Monday.

These thirty-two alterations were the result of dozens of rounds of optimization on Yan Feifan’s part.

Considering the time and mental energy he had invested over the past few days, the eighty-eight-thousand-yuan surgical fee was genuinely not that high.

Thinking about it that way, the slight awkwardness Yan Feifan felt dissipated.

Besides, for this kind of restorative work after a failed cosmetic surgery—especially one involving complex facial expressions—Yan Feifan was confident that there weren’t more than two or three surgeons in the entire country who could perform it well.

Perhaps he was even the only one.

After the surgery, Yang Susu was wheeled out of the operating room, her face wrapped in gauze like a mummy. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

With thirty-two incisions, her face was so extensively operated on that medical tape was no longer a suitable option.

So, Yan Feifan had opted for medical gauze.

Fortunately, the incisions were all in the superficial muscles and skin. Yang Susu would be mostly recovered in three or four days.

"She’ll wake up in about half an hour."

Yan Feifan instructed Zhao Xiaoting, who was keeping vigil in the observation room, "As the anesthesia wears off, the pain in her face will gradually intensify."

"Make sure you tell her not to cry."

"If her tears soak the wounds, it won’t just increase the pain; it will also hinder healing and could leave scars."

Zhao Xiaoting nodded. "Mr. Yan, Susu knows she can’t cry. She’ll hold it in."

"And even if she really can’t hold back, we’ll cry lying on our stomachs so the tears fall straight to the floor."

Yan Feifan chuckled. "I’d forgotten you have experience with this too."

He added another reminder, "She can take painkillers after leaving the hospital, but not too many. It’s easy to get addicted."

Zhao Xiaoting hummed in agreement. "Mr. Yan, thank you for the reminder. We girls have a pretty high pain tolerance."

"Especially when it comes to our looks."

She added with a mischievous chuckle, "Susu is warm-hearted and fiercely loyal. If this surgery turns out well, she’ll definitely promote you like crazy."

"We’ll poach all of Huarong Medical Beauty’s clients for you."

Yan Feifan gave a slight smile. "That won’t be necessary."

"You may not believe it, but cosmetic surgery isn’t my main focus. The time I dedicate to it each week is limited..."

After finishing his instructions for Zhao Xiaoting, Yan Feifan said a few words to Meng Yao, who was on the night shift, and then left the observation room.

At nearly seven in the evening, Yan Feifan returned to Zuimo Court.

The moment he walked in, Tian Yu ran up and grabbed his arm.

"Mr. Yan, I haven’t seen you in over half a month. Did you miss me?"

"No!" Yan Feifan replied bluntly.

Tian Yu grinned. "I don’t believe you. I’m sure you did, you’re just not admitting it."

Unwilling to indulge her smugness, Yan Feifan shook her hand off and went into the bathroom to wash up.

After he came out, he went straight to the dining room and sat down at the table to join his sister and Xiaoyu in tackling the six dishes and a soup spread out before them.

"Feifan, do you have time for that wedding tomorrow?"

In response to his sister’s question, Yan Feifan shook his head. "I have work tomorrow, so I can’t go."

He then chuckled. "Sis, if you don’t want to go, I could always stick a piece of medical tape or two on your face..."

Yan Ziruo shot him a glare and cut him off. "Even though we don’t live there anymore, we still need to maintain our old neighborhood ties."

She turned to Tian Yu and asked, "Xiaoyu, you’ll come with me tomorrow?"

Tian Yu quickly swallowed the food in her mouth and shook her head. "Ruoruo, I can’t. I have to stay here and study."

"You all have such high expectations for me. I have to work hard so I don’t let you down."

Yan Feifan chuckled. "My, what a smooth talker you’ve become."

"Alright then, how about I give you a simple interdisciplinary problem to see if you’ve made any progress lately?"

Tian Yu sat up straight, a little nervous. "Mr. Yan, you said it would be simple. Don’t make it too hard, okay?"

Yan Feifan shot her a look and huffed. "Of course it’s not hard. Now, listen closely..."

"A bear falls into a hole 4.916 meters deep. The fall takes exactly one second."

"Question: What color is the bear?"

"Black? Brown? White? Or gray?"

Tian Yu, who had been listening intently, was utterly bewildered.

Yan Ziruo stifled a laugh and chided him, "Feifan, when did you learn to play jokes like this?"

"If you’re going to quiz Xiaoyu, at least give her a proper question."

"Sis, this *is* a proper question," Yan Feifan said seriously. "It’s an interdisciplinary problem involving physics, geography, and biology."

Noticing Tian Yu still looked completely lost, Yan Feifan couldn’t resist lecturing her in his teacherly way. "Xiaoyu, studying isn’t just about rote memorization. You also need to train your mind to be flexible and think broadly."

"A school like Binhai University Affiliated High School doesn’t just focus on grades when developing its students; it also places great importance on well-rounded abilities."

He then changed tack. "The answer is white. As for why it’s white, you can find the explanation online."

"Let’s eat first. You can look it up after dinner."

Tian Yu let out a soft "oh."

She pushed some food around her plate for a moment, then said with a wounded expression, "Mr. Yan, do you think I’m really stupid?"

Tian Yu had expected Mr. Yan to at least offer a word of comfort, but was instead met with an unhesitating reply.

"Mm, not the brightest."

Tian Yu was so hurt and aggrieved that tears started to well up in her eyes.

Just then, she heard Yan Feifan add, "Among all the students I’ve tutored, not a single one has been what I’d call ’smart’."

Hearing this, Tian Yu brightened up again.

She knew very well that among the students Mr. Yan had tutored over the years, several had gotten into top universities like Jingcheng University, Qinghua, Bin University, and Jiao University.

’He only said I’m ’not the brightest,’ not that I’m unintelligent.’

Tian Yu picked up on this subtle distinction, and a happy smile bloomed on her face once more. She quickly picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks and placed it in Mr. Yan’s bowl.

"Mr. Yan, I’ll work twice as hard!"

Yan Ziruo, sitting to his side, had witnessed the girl’s rapid shift from being on the verge of tears to beaming with a smile.

’A teenage girl’s heart is truly fickle and hard to predict,’ she couldn’t help but think.

Just then, Yan Feifan heard the familiar strains of "Jasmine" playing.

Before he could even get up, Xiaoyu had already eagerly dashed into the living room to retrieve his phone.

It was a call from Dr. Qiu Ge.

"Mr. Yan, I have good news! The patient with the skull base glioma has woken up."

Hearing this, while it wasn’t the news Yan Feifan had been most hoping for, he was still delighted.

They had won the gamble with that surgery!

Qiu Ge’s excited voice came through the phone again. "The patient has lost their sense of smell and the ability to speak, and they’re numb on one side of their body, but their mind is clear and their thoughts are lucid."

"Mr. Yan, we did it..."