Yang Ping’s WeChat beeped again.

He picked up his phone for a glance; it was a message from Robert in the "International Academic Group."

"Honorable Professor, your disciple urgently seeks advice! A New York Knicks player is scheduled for ACL reconstruction surgery tomorrow. His agent insists on using Yang’s technique, stating that I am the only one in North America proficient in this skill. However, I have yet to fully grasp the intricacies of complex reconstructions and dare to request your invaluable guidance!"

Brilliant!

The group chat erupted instantly.

August from Germany sent a rolling eyes emoji: "I was strongly against you leaving the literary scene back then."

Robert replied swiftly: "August, you’re progressing quite fast."

He added a voice message: "Come on, read along with me: The cowherd loves Liu Niang, Liu Niang loves the cowherd, the cowherd misses Liu Niang every year, Liu Niang misses the cowherd constantly..."

Damn it, who can keep up with this, reading the traditional vertical script of "Inner Canon of Huangdi," randomly quoting classical poems, and now chatting directly in Classical Chinese—it’s impossible to keep up with any of it.

August could only remain silent; there was nothing he could do, this guy is just incredible, astronomically so.

The group chat fell into silence, then it was filled with ellipses and laughing-with-tears emojis.

Especially Woodhead, who is always lagging behind in Chinese, was completely in awe: "Brother Luo! Please teach me more!"

Yang Ping shook his head with a smile and typed back: "Send me the case data and surgery plan to take a look."

Not a second passed before Robert’s private message arrived: "Professor! You finally responded to me! I will send it right away! You must save me; I’m already known, everyone knows I’m your first overseas disciple, the surgery can’t fail, or it will tarnish your reputation."

Yang Ping opened the case data and surgery plan he sent and started reviewing it carefully, realizing the injury was indeed severe. To achieve the maximum recovery of athletic ability would require some careful thought.

Robert, in his forties, is the Head of Sports Medicine at the New York Special Surgery Hospital and the President of the North American Sports Medicine Association. Any of these titles alone could grant high status in the medical field. But in this WeChat group, among these international top doctors who have been or are currently training at Sanbo, he is just an active student, considering himself the class monitor.

Robert only trained for three months at Sanbo. Gifted in languages, he quickly learned Chinese, not just in a stumbling "hello" or "thank you," but fluently. He could chat with patients in Chinese, tell jokes in Chinese, and even haggle with the lady selling pancakes on the street.

During those three months, he followed closely behind Yang Ping daily. Watching surgeries, asking questions, taking notes, sometimes staying until eight or nine in the evening when Yang Ping did ward rounds. He almost followed Yang Ping to the restroom. Sometimes Yang Ping would say, "You can go back now," but he would shake his head: "No, no, in China this is called ’learning stealthily,’ opportunities are rare and every minute counts."

During his training, he became close like brothers with Director Gao of the sports medicine department at Sanbo Hospital. During that time, to practice his Chinese, he chatted day and night via WeChat with Director Gao, which once made Director Gao’s wife suspect Old Gao of having an affair, causing a couple’s quarrel.

The day his training ended, Robert treated Yang Ping to a meal, got a bit tipsy, and with a flushed face said, "Professor, I know I’m not qualified to call you my teacher, since I’ve only followed you for three months. But starting today, I consider you my teacher in my heart. I am your only direct disciple in North America. If anyone dares to say anything bad about you in the future, I will be the first to disagree."

Yang Ping thought he was speaking nonsense in a drunken state at the time, but later realized he was serious.

Over the years, Robert tells everyone Yang Ping is his teacher. At various academic conferences, as long as there are Chinese experts present, he will certainly introduce himself in Chinese: "I am Professor Yang Ping’s student, and I work in New York." When nosy people ask him how long he studied with Yang Ping, he confidently responds: "Three months, but Confucius said, ’Among any three people walking, I will find something to learn,’ I learned more from him in three months than others in three years."

No one can argue against his logic.

He brought Yang Ping’s surgical techniques back to the United States, combined with his own experience, and developed many adaptive improvements. He is now a recognized top expert in the North American sports medicine field. Many athletes from professional teams like the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, and New York Rangers are his patients. Hollywood stars, Wall Street big shots, and political elites wanting to schedule his surgery have to queue for up to half a year.

Yet every time he encounters complex cases, he still seeks Yang Ping first. Sending WeChat, emails, or even making international calls, sometimes just to confirm a detail. Sometimes when Yang Ping is busy and slow to respond, Robert becomes as anxious as ants on a hot pot, spamming the group: "Does the professor dislike me now?" "Does the professor think I’m too dumb?" "Is the professor giving extra lessons to other students?"

August said he has "histrionic personality disorder," but Robert is unfazed, cheerfully responding: "This is called respect for the teacher and the Dao, you don’t understand."

The phone beeped again, it was Robert’s message: "Professor, did you see it? Did you see it? How is it?"

Yang Ping replied, "I saw it, with your skills it should be fine, just shift the femoral tunnel position two millimeters outward, this will make the ligament tension more optimal."

Robert responded instantly: "Two millimeters! Got it! I remember! Professor, you are truly my savior! If the surgery is successful tomorrow, I will treat you to a big meal, oh wait, you are in Nandu, I’m in New York, so I will send you a box of the best steaks!"