Taking the 7:06 AM flight, Yan Feifan and Yu Suye landed in Jingcheng. They were off the plane by 8:50 AM.

Yan Feifan saw that Yu Youlian of Baining Medical Technology had come to pick them up from the airport this time.

And... Lu Yao.

Faced with Yu Suye’s hostile glare and her twitching foot, Lu Yao hastily took a step back, hiding behind Yu Youlian. "Su Ye, I was wrong!" he shouted. "I shouldn’t have told Yan Feifan about your little quirk."

"But I’ve already made up for it, haven’t I?"

"If I hadn’t gone to your family and put in a good word, would you and Yan Feifan be enjoying this peace and quiet right now?"

Yu Youlian chimed in with a smile, "Su Ye, Lu Yao is right."

"You know how stubborn your grandfather and father are. Without Lu Yao’s persuasion, you wouldn’t have gotten through this so smoothly."

Yu Suye huffed and shook her fist at Lu Yao.

"Lu Yao, don’t you dare let me catch you alone again..."

The group left the arrivals hall and departed from the airport in a Cadillac luxury van.

Once the van was driving smoothly on the airport expressway, Yu Youlian turned to Yan Feifan, who was seated to her left, and chuckled. "Mr. Yan, your hand-drawn perspective illustration of the cynomolgus monkey’s spinal canal tumor completely won over that arrogant bunch."

"Yesterday’s specimen dissection verified the accuracy of your illustration. You could even say it was a perfect replica of the actual tumor."

Yu Youlian sighed softly. "Those technicians said they’re going to revise the algorithm and model for converting MRI scans into 3D images."

"But this revision isn’t something that can be done overnight."

"Until the conversion accuracy meets our standards, we’ll have to ask you, Mr. Yan, to submit your puncture injection plans using your hand-drawn illustrations."

Yan Feifan grunted in acknowledgment and reminded her, "Mr. Yu, it takes me about two to three hours to complete one illustration."

"Adding the time needed to devise the plan, I can complete two or three surgical plans a week at most."

Yu Youlian chuckled. "That’s one or two hundred plans a year. That’s actually quite an impressive rate."

After a brief pause, she added slowly, "Mr. Yan, there is one more thing I need to discuss with you."

"Please, go ahead, Mr. Yu," Yan Feifan said politely.

"It’s like this..."

Yu Youlian explained, "According to our development plan, the surgical robot will be on the market in one year, two at the latest."

"Mr. Yan, your Puncture Injection Skill will be the main focus of our marketing."

"To generate market hype and build our credibility, our plan is to spend the next year turning Baining Hospital into the premier, world-renowned surgical center for intraspinal tumor removal."

Yu Youlian gave an apologetic smile. "And for that, we’ll need to rely heavily on your skills, Mr. Yan."

"Coming to Baining Hospital once a week..."

Before Yan Feifan could even open his mouth, Yu Suye, who was sitting in the back, leaned forward, grabbing the back of his seat and poking her head between them.

"Auntie, Feifan is busy from morning till night every single day. Sunday is his only day off."

"And you want him to come to Jingcheng every week?"

"Are you trying to work him to death?"

Yu Youlian reached out and flicked Yu Suye on the forehead. "Look at you, jumping to his defense before anything’s even been decided."

"A daughter’s heart always belongs to an outsider. You can’t keep them."

After that teasing remark, she turned her gaze back to Yan Feifan. "Mr. Yan, in addition to the standard freelance surgery fee from Baining Hospital, Baining Technology will provide an additional subsidy of 10,000 per operation."

Yu Youlian added enticingly, "The more surgical robots we sell, the greater your future earnings will be, Mr. Yan."

"This is a win-win situation."

Yan Feifan said thoughtfully, "Mr. Yu, money is great, and I’d certainly like to earn more, but one’s health is one’s greatest asset."

"My body, in its current state, just can’t handle that kind of workload."

Yu Youlian pressed, "Then how many times a month do you think you could come, Mr. Yan?"

"Three times? Or two?"

Yan Feifan said slowly, "I could probably manage twice a month?"

Yu Youlian said decisively, "Twice a month it is, then."

Yan Feifan couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

’He got it now. Twice a month had been Yu Youlian’s target all along.’

’She had intentionally started with once a week, just so she could smoothly negotiate down to a twice-a-month agreement.’

Yan Feifan didn’t object, which was a tacit agreement.

’Besides, he still held the upper hand in this collaboration.’

’If he suddenly felt unwell, or if something unexpected came up, and he couldn’t—or didn’t want to—come to Jingcheng...’

’...there was nothing Baining Hospital could do but worry.’

After a moment of silence in the van, Yan Feifan suddenly thought of something. "Mr. Yu," he asked, "does Baining Hospital have any plans to open a branch campus?"

Yu Youlian grunted in affirmation. "We discussed that very topic a while ago," she explained.

"But there was strong opposition, so the proposal didn’t pass."

"What was the reason for their opposition?" Yan Feifan asked, curious.

Yu Youlian explained, "It would require an investment of at least four to five hundred million. Most of our capital is already tied up in the collaborative vaccine development with Kaiyuan Biopharmaceuticals, so the group’s finances are a bit tight."

"Another obstacle is a family precept of ours, which forbids Baining Hospital from opening any branches."

Yu Youlian sighed. "To be honest, Baining Hospital has evolved into a private hospital for the elite. It long ago strayed from the mission established by our founder, Old Man Baining: to serve the common people."

"And yet, some people still cling to outdated traditions. It’s such a headache."

Lu Yao, who had been sitting quietly in the passenger seat, couldn’t help but chime in, "Mrs. Lian, I think it’s really just a matter of personal gain."

"The only reason those people are objecting is that their cut from the new branch project isn’t big enough, so they hide behind such a high-minded excuse."

Yu Youlian chuckled. "You have a point, Lu Yao."

"Ultimately, it all boils down to a problem of distributing the profits."

"Building a top-tier comprehensive hospital with one to two thousand beds involves an immense amount of personnel, capital, and resources."

Yu Suye poked her head forward again, saying indignantly, "The Yu Family of Jingcheng, counting both immediate and extended relatives, has nearly six hundred members."

"Every time a major project is announced, it’s utter chaos, with everyone scrambling for their share."

The words had barely left her mouth when her head was met with another of Yu Youlian’s Finger Snap Divine Skill attacks, and she hastily retreated to her seat.

Yu Youlian lectured, "Competing is a sign of vitality and ambition."

"If everyone were listless, or if it were an echo chamber with only one opinion, that would be the real problem for the Yu Family."

Yu Suye muttered under her breath, "No matter how much everyone else competes, the main profits are still controlled by your few branches of the family anyway."

Yu Youlian’s expression turned cold. "Su Ye, what was that?"

Sitting in the back, Yu Suye just huffed a couple of times without repeating herself.

The atmosphere in the van grew a little awkward.

Just then, Lu Yao spoke up again, breaking the tension. "Yan Feifan, I’ve heard you’re incredible at cosmetic surgery, is that right?"

"I’m decent," Yan Feifan said dismissively.

Lu Yao chuckled. "Yan Feifan, my friends and I know quite a few movie stars and famous models."

"They’re always very keen on getting work done."

"Want me to make some introductions?"

Yan Feifan said in a flat tone, "Thank you, but no."

But Lu Yao continued enthusiastically, "Oh! I just remembered, there’s a really famous movie star who had a botched job done." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"I hear she’s asking around for a top cosmetic surgeon, Yan Feifan..."

Just then, a familiar ringtone went off—a piano version of the song "Jasmine."

It was Yu Suye’s phone.

"Nanxing, we’re on the airport expressway now. We’ll probably be there in about..."

"What?"

"My grandpa, my dad, and my mom are at the hospital, too?"