Hearing the news that Yu Suye’s stubborn grandfather and her father had also come to the hospital, Yan Feifan didn’t feel particularly nervous.

On the contrary, he felt a certain sense of anticipation.

He was hoping their attempt to break up the couple would put an end to his and Yu Suye’s not-so-normal romantic relationship.

To be honest, Yu Suye’s "violence" had left quite a psychological scar on him.

Yan Feifan wasn’t afraid of much, but when it came to "threats of physical force," he really had no solution.

A little after ten in the morning, the Cadillac executive van they were riding in pulled into Baining Hospital and stopped in front of the inpatient building.

Yan Feifan got out of the car and saw a familiar face—Yu Youbin, the Deputy Head of Neurosurgery at Baining Hospital—along with his assistant Yu Nanxing and five other men of varying ages in white coats, waiting to greet him at the building’s entrance.

"Mr. Yan, welcome back to Baining Hospital!"

Yu Youbin stepped forward and enthusiastically shook Yan Feifan’s hand, then gestured to two doctors who had come forward with him.

"Mr. Yan, let me make some introductions."

"This is..."

Yu Youbin pointed to the man in front, who looked to be in his sixties, with graying hair and a medium-to-tall build.

"Our department head, and also my uncle, Dr. Yu Guanglin."

After exchanging pleasantries with Mr. Yu, Yan Feifan was introduced by Yu Youbin to his other surgical partner for the day, Dr. Cao Hui, who was nearly fifty.

Afterwards, Yu Youlian also introduced Yan Feifan to the technical staff responsible for recording his surgical movements today.

After the round of introductions, Yan Feifan noticed that he hadn’t seen Yu Suye’s mother, Su Ru, let alone her grandfather and father.

This left Yan Feifan a little confused.

Yu Guanglin noticed and explained, "Mr. Yan, one of the reasons Su Ye’s grandfather came this time was for a physical check-up."

"Of course, he also came specifically for you, Mr. Yan."

"However, we’d like to handle business first, and personal matters later. What do you think, Mr. Yan?"

Yan Feifan nodded, agreeing to the arrangement.

He politely declined their offer to take a short break and went directly to the surgical area to begin his pre-op preparations.

At 10:30, Yan Feifan walked into the operating room.

He was surprised to find four bulky cameras positioned around the operating table, with another two suspended from above.

The setup briefly made Yan Feifan feel like all eyes were on him.

However, as he approached the operating table and took his position as the lead surgeon, everything else faded away. His eyes saw nothing but the patient lying on the table.

The patient was a thirty-eight-year-old woman with a botryoid tumor in her first and second lumbar vertebrae.

Yan Feifan held out his hand, and a scrub nurse placed a large, round-bladed scalpel in his hand.

He skillfully cut through the patient’s skin, fat layer, and muscles until the spine was exposed.

Then, Yan Feifan used a retractor to spread the incision—somewhat forcefully—and fully expose the lumbar vertebrae.

This task was originally supposed to be handled by his assistant, Yu Suye.

However, she had been called away to be with her family, so Yan Feifan had to do it himself.

Yan Feifan then took the bone drill handed to him by the scrub nurse.

He switched it on for a moment, hearing the WHIRRING sound and carefully feeling the intensity of the drill’s vibration in his hand.

Yan Feifan needed to drill nine holes into this patient’s lumbar vertebrae...

「The weather in Jingcheng was quite nice today.」

While it wasn’t a perfectly clear sky, only a thin layer of cirrocumulus clouds was present, softening the sunlight just enough to make it feel even more comfortable on one’s skin.

However, Yu Suye, whose body was half-bathed in sunlight, felt little of its warmth.

In the spacious, bright office of the Head of Neurosurgery, Yu Suye, who had resolved to fight for herself no matter what, felt her confidence and courage slowly melting away under the gaze of her grandfather and father.

Long-established authority was a very real thing.

Standing obediently before her family, Yu Suye kept her head down and declared in a weak, soft voice, "Grandpa, Dad, Mom, no matter what, I’m not going to marry that Lu Yao."

"The person I like is Yan Feifan."

Her grandfather, Yu Guangquan—a tall, slender man with a full head of silver hair and a refined face—snorted coldly and said angrily, "You’ve only been away from home for a month or two, and you’ve already grown wild. Your wings have certainly hardened."

"If I had known this would happen, I never should have let you leave Jingcheng."

Yu Suye bit her lip and didn’t reply.

Just then, Su Ru spoke up softly, "Dad, kids have to go out and experience the world. We can’t keep them under our watch their entire lives, can we?"

"That boy, Lu Yao, is a good kid, but Su Ye just doesn’t have feelings for him. We can’t force her to accept him, can we?"

"As for that boy Yan Feifan, more than one person has said his future is limitless."

"Our Su Ye has pretty good taste!"

Yu Guangquan merely shot her a cold glance, and Su Ru didn’t dare say another word.

Yu Guangquan turned his gaze to Yu Suye, who stood before him with her hands behind her back and her head hanging low.

"You bought a small apartment in Binhai, invested in a business, and now you’ve borrowed money to invest in some private kitchen restaurant there."

Yu Guangquan’s voice suddenly rose as he demanded, "What, are you planning to put down roots in Binhai and never come back?"

Yu Suye lifted her eyelids, stole a glance at her grandfather, father, and mother, then quickly lowered them again.

"The small apartment is listed for sale."

"As for the two investments, I thought they were good opportunities with a high chance of success, so I invested."

After offering this brief explanation, Yu Suye added, "No matter where I am or what I do out there, my home will always be in Jingcheng."

Yu Guangquan snorted heavily again.

"Actions matter, not words."

"The last time you came back to Jingcheng, you didn’t even come home. Is that what you mean by ’my home will always be here’?"

Yu Suye pressed her lips together and met his words with silence.

Yu Guangquan waited for a moment, and when Yu Suye still didn’t speak, he felt a headache coming on.

’This girl is already an attending physician. Her wings are fledged, and now she has a rebellious streak.’

’If I keep using high-pressure tactics, this girl might really leave home and never return.’

Yu Guangquan softened his tone. "You’ve heard the news that Baining Hospital is planning to build a branch campus, haven’t you?"

Yu Suye gave a small nod.

She suddenly looked up at her grandfather and asked, "Grandpa, you’re not thinking of having my brother get involved in this hospital project, are you?"

"And why not?"

Yu Guangquan said in a deep voice, "By the time we tried to squeeze into that vaccine development project, all the interests had already been divided up."

"Besides, your brother’s qualifications were a bit too thin back then."

"This branch campus, from planning to construction to opening, will take at least three to five years."

"Your brother is in his prime right now, at the peak of his strength and years."

Yu Suye said in a small voice, "But hasn’t the resolution not been passed yet? It might still fall through."

A scornful expression appeared on Yu Guangquan’s face. "A project this big, once set in motion, will benefit countless people."

"Those people won’t just sit on their hands."

"Now that the rumors are out, it’s bound to be approved. It’s just a matter of a few months sooner or later."

He looked into Yu Suye’s eyes and said, "Su Ye, let’s make a gentleman’s agreement."

"As long as you can get your brother into this branch campus project, in a position of real power among the top five roles..."

"...I’ll stay out of your affairs."

Yu Suye grimaced. "Grandpa, I’m just a junior with no position or power. How could I possibly have that kind of influence?"

Yu Guangquan slowly rose from the sofa.

"Isn’t that boy supposed to have a limitless future in medicine?"

"You may not have that kind of influence, but perhaps... he does."