At 8:40 the next morning, Yan Feifan had just arrived on the fourth floor of the Affiliated Hospital's general administration building when someone called out his name loudly.
He stopped and looked toward the two men and one woman in white coats standing a short distance away. A rare, faint smile touched his lips as he walked over to them.
They were Zhao Dongsheng, Qiou Junfeng, and Lin Qian.
During the earthquake relief efforts in Chuanxi, Yan Feifan had formed a support team with them, heading to the medical station where Dr. Qin Ying was stationed.
After completing their mission, they returned together to the main base of the Affiliated Hospital's earthquake relief team.
Unexpectedly, on their way back, a massive boulder rolled down a hillside and struck their vehicle, sending it tumbling off the road.
In that accident, Zhao Dongsheng, Qiou Junfeng, Lin Qian, and the driver were all fortunate enough to escape with only minor cuts and bruises. Not a single one of them had a broken bone.
Yan Feifan alone had been terribly unlucky. He had suffered a severe blow to the head and remained unconscious.
In a way, the four of them were comrades who had been through life and death together.
Zhao Dongsheng was still an attending physician in the trauma department.
The tall and sturdy Qiou Junfeng had been promoted from a resident to an attending physician in the orthopedics department.
As for the petite and pretty Lin Qian, she was still a resident, though her title was now chief resident.
She was in charge of the daily management of all residents and interns in the ward, which was grueling work.
The Affiliated Hospital was so large that it had five or six chief residents like Lin Qian.
Before he left for the earthquake relief mission, Yan Feifan had also been a chief resident.
After hugging each of them, Yan Feifan heard Zhao Dongsheng say with a hint of envy, "Yan Feifan, I heard you've been assigned to the Diagnostics Department. So many doctors would kill for a position like that."
"It's just a temporary arrangement," Yan Feifan explained.
"The hospital is mostly just looking out for me, worried that my body can't handle an overly demanding workload just yet."
Qiou Junfeng gave Yan Feifan's shoulder a light punch and grinned. "With your skills, getting into the Diagnostics Department for specialized training was only a matter of time anyway."
After a pause, he added, "Since you're finally back on your feet and at work, we should all get together tonight to celebrate, don't you think?"
Zhao Dongsheng scoffed, shooting him down. "Qiou Junfeng, use your head, will you? Lin Qian is on a twenty-four-hour shift, and you and I have set start times but no set end times."
"We can only get together when we all have the same day off."
"The same day off?" Qiou Junfeng said, crestfallen. "That'll be once in a blue moon."
"It'll happen eventually."
Yan Feifan replied. After a few more words, they went their separate ways.
They were all incredibly busy, with more work than they could handle. They had made a point to come in a little early just to wait for Yan Feifan and see him…
Yan Feifan went to the resident's lounge on that floor, changed into his white coat, and put on his ID badge, stethoscope, and other necessities. Then he took the stairs up to the seventh floor, where Vice President Liu Jin was…
"Feifan…"
Liu Jin spoke while signing a stack of approval forms. "Last night, Mr. Qi basically burned his bridges trying to persuade Mr. Qin."
"He made his position clear to Mr. Qin. If she doesn't think you're good enough, he'll wash his hands of her completely and won't care if she lives or dies."
"Mr. Qi is pinning all his hopes on you."
"Teacher, I will do my best," Yan Feifan said with a serious expression.
Liu Jin straightened the stack of signed forms and sighed softly. "Even if Mr. Qin can never hold a scalpel again, she's still an exceptionally good doctor."
"If she can't get past this…"
"Or if she just lets herself spiral, it would be a great loss for Binhai's medical community."
Liu Jin looked at Yan Feifan and urged him solemnly, "Feifan, you can't just do your best. You have to do everything in your power."
Meeting his gaze, Yan Feifan gave a quiet sound of assent.
"Alright, let's head to the teaching building now…"
The Affiliated Hospital had twenty or thirty teaching sites for doctoral and master's programs, and was also a key national training base for doctors of all levels to pursue advanced studies. As such, its teaching facilities were fully equipped.
Yan Feifan followed Mr. Liu into the teaching building in the hospital's southeast corner and took the stairs to the third floor, where the practical skills labs were.
As soon as he reached the third floor, Yan Feifan saw Mr. Qi in the hallway.
He was in a cordial conversation with a tall man in his fifties who was dressed sharply in a suit.
Standing beside them was a tall, long-haired woman in a simple, light-colored trench coat.
'Why are people from the Yu Family here?'
Liu Jin muttered to himself, then whispered an introduction to Yan Feifan. "Feifan, that guy…"
"He's Yu Youhai, the vice president of Baining Hospital, from the Yu Family of Jingcheng."
'The Yu Family of Jingcheng, Baining Hospital!'
Hearing those names, Yan Feifan immediately knew this man had a truly significant background.
The Yu Family of Jingcheng was known as the foremost medical family in the country.
Their ancestors had been renowned Imperial Physicians, recorded in history.
In the late Qing Dynasty, that Imperial Physician's youngest son, Yu Baining, studied abroad in Europe to learn Western medicine.
After Yu Baining returned to China, the Yu Family's medical expertise split into two branches, traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, both of which have been passed down to this day.
Today, the Baining Group, with its focus on modern medicine, has grown into a publicly traded conglomerate encompassing pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and hospitals.
Baining Hospital, located in Jingcheng, is reputed to be the best private hospital in the country, with the highest standard of medical care.
What the medical world admired most was that both the traditional and Western medicine branches of the Yu Family were passed down through a master-and-apprentice model.
The children of the Yu Family were homeschooled through primary and secondary education; it was only for university that they enrolled in prestigious institutions at home and abroad.
If a child of the Yu Family chose to study medicine at university, they would only return to campus for exams each semester, receiving the bulk of their professional medical training within the family.
Just then, Liu Jin strode toward Qee Sheng, Yu Youhai, and the others.
"Yu Youhai, you're the last person I ever want to see in Binhai. Every time you show up, it means you're about to poach another one of our great medical talents."
Liu Jin said angrily, "Spit it out. Who's your target this time in Binhai?"
"If it's someone from my Affiliated Hospital…"
Liu Jin rolled up his sleeves threateningly. "Then we're going to have to settle this. Either you back down, or I'll knock you down!"
Yu Youhai also rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward, not backing down an inch. "Liu Jin, you think I'm afraid of you, even on your own turf?"
"Come on, let's settle this first!"
As they spoke, the two men drew close and locked hands, neither willing to yield.
But in the next moment, they looked at each other, broke into smiles, and embraced warmly.
After they separated, Liu Jin asked, "Mr. Qin?"
Yu Youhai nodded, then sighed softly. "We extended several invitations to Mr. Qin before her hand was injured, but she always refused."
"I came this time to invite Mr. Qin to Jingcheng to take charge of the teaching and management of the Yu Family's younger generation."
He added with a sigh, "In recent years, the young ones have become increasingly spoiled and lazy. They need strict discipline."
"Mr. Qin is the perfect person for the job."
Liu Jin let out a soft "Oh," then smiled. "It seems great minds think alike. We also want Mr. Qin to stay at the Affiliated Hospital to handle teaching duties."
He then gave a triumphant smile. "Mr. Yu, I can tell you with certainty that you'll be going home disappointed this time."
"Mr. Qin will be staying with our Affiliated Hospital."
"Take my advice: don't waste your energy. You should just head back now."
Yu Youhai scoffed, his tone laced with mockery. "Liu Jin, what gives you the courage to make such a bold claim?"
He glanced at Yan Feifan and asked, "Is it him?"
Facing the man's appraising gaze, Yan Feifan gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.
Liu Jin snorted. "That's right, Yu Youhai. It's him."
He pointed at Yan Feifan, introducing him with a proud expression. "Yan Feifan. My most outstanding student to date."
"At fourteen, he was admitted to Binhai University Medical College with top marks, and he earned his Ph.D. in clinical medicine by the age of twenty."
"He's twenty-four now. If it hadn't been for an accident, he would have already become our hospital's youngest attending physician."
Yu Youhai sized up the quiet Yan Feifan once more, then said to Liu Jin, "It seems we really do think alike. I also brought the most outstanding member of the Yu Family's younger generation with me this time."
As he said this, he gestured with his hand.
The tall woman who had been standing to the side walked over to them.
Only then did Yan Feifan turn his gaze toward the woman.
Even in flat shoes, she stood at least five-foot-nine. Her hair was so black, sleek, and smooth that she could have been in a shampoo commercial.
Her features were also exceptionally striking—large eyes, a straight nose—as if a beauty had stepped right out of a movie poster.
Her expression, however, was icy.
She was like a snow lotus on an iceberg—uniquely beautiful, yet radiating an aura that kept others at a distance.
Just then, Yu Youhai's voice rang out.
"My niece… Yu Suye. Although she was sixteen when she was admitted to Jingcheng Union Medical College with honors, she also earned her Ph.D. in clinical medicine by the age of twenty."
"She is now twenty-four and has just been promoted to attending physician."
Yu Youhai looked at Liu Jin and grinned smugly. "Mr. Liu, isn't that a coincidence? The two of them are so similar, it's as if they were fated to meet!"
Liu Jin snorted again, his voice dripping with disdain. "A child of your Yu Family, steeped in medicine since birth, earning a Ph.D. in four years? That's hardly surprising."
"My student, Yan Feifan, started from scratch."
Liu Jin glanced at Yan Feifan, then at the striking but silent Yu Suye, and continued, "Since we've all met here today…"
"...then let's have them go head-to-head. They can both showcase their talents for Mr. Qin…"