But when Du Heng finished speaking, it was as if her butt had been fitted with springs. She jumped up, staring at Du Heng in disbelief. "Dean, it’s New Year. Are you joking?"

Du Heng shook his head. "No, it’s a decision I’ve made."

Lu Guangying spun around, flustered. "Why? You’re doing a good job here, and the hospital is thriving. Besides, just a few days ago, didn’t you join many new associations? How can you just decide to leave so suddenly? And to the Capital, so far away. Dean, are you feeling aggrieved about something? Is it because of the incident with that child? We all vouched for you on that matter—it had nothing to do with you. Plus, it’s all over now. Why do you still want to leave?"

As she was speaking, Lu Guangying seemed to recall something. "Oh, has someone reported you for soliciting money during your wedding? The Municipal Bureau didn’t take that seriously."

Someone had reported this? And I didn’t even know about it, Du Heng thought, taken aback. But that doesn’t matter anymore. He didn’t want to explain the reasons, so he casually said, "Personal choice. Nothing to do with anything else. I called you today to tell you something. While I was discussing it with the Bureau, I recommended you for the Dean’s position."

EH...

Lu Guangying’s eyes widened, and she looked as if she were choking on a hard-boiled egg.

Du Heng looked at Lu Guangying, somewhat amused. "Are you alright?"

When Du Heng asked again, Lu Guangying came back to her senses, her expression incredulous. "Recommend me? Why?"

"Because you’re the most suitable candidate," Du Heng replied with a light smile.

"But... I... I’m not..."

Du Heng waved his hand. "Enough of this. This news hasn’t gotten out yet. You should use the New Year holiday to think things over and make some preparations."

Lu Guangying still seemed doubtful. "Really? But can I handle it?"

Du Heng replied seriously, "I’m not lying. This is absolutely true."

As he spoke, he stood up and took out his resignation papers from a nearby bag. "Take a look. These are my resignation papers from the school. They’ve already been approved."

Lu Guangying looked at the resignation papers in her hand. Her hands started trembling uncontrollably, and soon her entire body was shaking. She had to sit back down in her chair.

After a momentary silence, Du Heng continued, "Also, about being Dean, you can definitely do it. Even if you think you can’t, you have to. I won’t take the projects with me, and I don’t intend to change them. I will still be the one primarily responsible. However, since I’ll be thousands of miles away, I can’t trust anyone else with something so important. I have to entrust it to someone I have full confidence in. And you, I have no doubt you’re up to the task."

Du Heng sat back down in his seat. After quietly watching Lu Guangying for a while, he said, "Take your time to think about it. If you really want this, use the New Year period to seriously consider and make your moves. Alright, that’s it. Also, please don’t talk about my departure for now. Let everyone enjoy the New Year."

After calming herself for a few moments, Lu Guangying knew exactly what she needed to do.

She took a deep breath, stood up, said, "Thank you," then said with a smile, "Seems like I won’t be having a peaceful New Year."

With that said, Lu Guangying prepared to leave. Just as she reached the door, she suddenly stopped, turned around, and said to Du Heng, "Dean, I heard that the person who reported you for accepting gifts was Zheng."

Zheng? Du Heng was slightly taken aback, but only for a moment. Director Zheng of the Dean’s Office? That fat man with the deceptively honest face, the one I took to the Capital? Then he asked softly, "Are you sure?"

"Basically certain," Lu Guangying replied with a serious expression. "The day before yesterday, when she came to get things for New Year, I heard the girl from the Municipal Bureau call him brother-in-law. I was a bit suspicious at the time, so I asked a classmate who works at the Municipal Bureau to look into it. In the end, it was confirmed. That girl was the one who delivered the complaint letter to the Bureau leaders, and she was identified from video footage. She even got punished. However, my classmate said that the Bureau’s decision at the time was to downplay the incident. That’s why even you, the person involved, weren’t informed, and the girl only received a simple verbal reprimand."

Du Heng remained silent.

I didn’t expect to learn about something so upsetting right before leaving. Although Lu Guangying’s gesture was meant as returning a favor, it would have been better if she hadn’t said anything. This is truly exasperating.

Lu Guangying, guessing Du Heng’s mood, hesitated for a moment before suggesting, "Dean, would you like to have a word with Zheng?"

Du Heng looked up at Lu Guangying and, after a moment’s consideration, replied, "I will be leaving soon. It’s not convenient."

"I’ll handle it then."

Having said that, Lu Guangying stepped out of Du Heng’s office with a slight smile. This time, the tapping sound of her high heels was a bit crisper.

Du Heng chuckled. I understand the implication of her last sentence. One, it was a token of gratitude towards me. Two, it demonstrated her determination—both her ambition for the Dean’s position and her intention to deal with Zheng. Regardless of whether she could secure the Dean’s position, she was determined to deal with Zheng and give me an account. Even from her position as Vice Dean, she had enough authority to deal with an Office Director.

Subsequently, Du Heng put the matter aside and got in touch with Qiu Pingzhen, Wu Buwei, and Li Shuxun.

As for Qiu Pingzhen, Du Heng didn’t say much, only that he should align himself closely with Dong Yuezhang during his tenure at Central Lake. As long as Dong Yuezhang backed him, neither Lu Guangying nor anyone else could harm Qiu Pingzhen, even if they took over.

When it came to Li Shuxun, on the other hand, Du Heng gave him a lot more instructions, particularly concerning professional matters, sparing no detail. The more Du Heng interacted with Li Shuxun, the more he liked him. This young man was extremely smart. If one were to compare Li Shuxun’s intellect to Du Heng’s former self, Li Shuxun would be leagues ahead. However, due to his family background, the young man had developed a lack of confidence. Especially when he was repeatedly rejected while looking for work to stay in Jinzhou, it had hit him quite hard. As a result, this young man was usually very cautious in his words and actions, yet he was serious and responsible. He tended to be a bit rigid and overly meticulous. He treated any task assigned by Du Heng as gospel, which stirred quite a bit of dissatisfaction among the pediatric cerebral hypoplasia group. But with Du Heng’s support, and as Li Shuxun’s talent became more and more apparent over time, the criticism within the group gradually subsided. In particular, the gossip finally died down in the past few months, just as Li Shuxun had practically mastered Du Heng’s concepts. Moreover, those people were actually starting to emulate Li Shuxun’s cautious and meticulous style. This was something that Wu Buwei could never match.

In the end, Du Heng suggested that Li Shuxun enroll in a Ph.D. program. This would allow him to continue learning. Moreover, a higher level of academic qualification would surely benefit his career. After all, not everyone could be as lucky as he was.

As for the last one, Wu Buwei, Du Heng felt a mix of amusement and guilt towards him. This kid had just been transferred from Central Lake to the Municipal Second Hospital, only to be lured back to the Zhonghu Health Center by a few words from Du Heng. Now, Du Heng, the one who had persuaded him, was about to skip town.

"Bro, you can’t mess with people like this!" Wu Buwei’s mood darkened after hearing about Du Heng’s plans. With a gloomy face, he complained, "If you said head east, I never went west, right? When you said to take the project team back to Central Lake, back to that mountain gully, wasn’t I your staunchest supporter? Just as I’ve completed the move, you’re just upping and leaving. What am I supposed to do?"

Wu Buwei genuinely wanted to cry. He couldn’t help but start complaining as he looked at the embarrassed Du Heng, "I’m young, and my academic qualifications are low. Even when you were around, those people didn’t really listen to me, and they especially loved to oppose me. Now that you’re leaving and with no one to support me, I definitely won’t be able to manage."