Director Han turned over another page, this photo’s date a mystery. Yang Ping is standing on the Golden Knife Award stage, the greatest dark horse of that year’s Golden Knife Award, overshadowing competitors from top hospitals like Xiehe, Huaxi, and Imperial Medical University, winning the Golden Knife Award in a landslide.

After the meeting, someone asked him, "Professor Han, is Yang Ping your student?"

Director Han nodded and said, "Yes."

That person said, "You taught him really well."

Director Han chuckled, saying nothing.

In his mind, he thought: it’s not that I taught well, it’s that he’s self-driven.

His phone rang, it was Yang Ping calling.

"Director, I’m almost downstairs, are you in your office?"

Director Han said, "Yes, come up."

After the call, Director Han tucked away the photo album, put it back in the drawer. Then he walked to the door, opened it, returned to the sofa, and poured himself another cup of tea.

A few minutes later, Yang Ping pushed the door open.

He wore a dark blue shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his face showed a hint of exhaustion, but his eyes remained bright. Upon seeing Director Han, he called out, "Director."

Director Han pointed at the sofa, "Sit down, have some tea."

Yang Ping sat on the sofa, accepted the teacup handed by Director Han, and took a sip.

The two sat sipping tea, chatting casually. They talked about the hospital, family matters, recent books they’ve read, changes in the weather. Director Han did not bring up business, and Yang Ping didn’t ask. This kind of casual conversation had become their habit over years as mentor and student. No agenda, no work discussions, just talking, like father and son, like friends.

Yang Ping felt very comfortable interacting with Director Han, with no need for pretense, just like that setting up tea or meal plans, if Yang Ping wasn’t available, he’d simply say: Director, I’m busy, let’s plan another day. There was never any issue.

Nowadays even Dean Xia had started calling Yang Ping, Professor, but Director Han still called him "Xiao Yang," while Yang Ping called him "Director," it was their understanding, any change from either would disrupt this harmony and understanding.

As they talked, Yang Ping said, "Thank you."

A simple three-word phrase caused Director Han to pause for a moment.

Yang Ping continued, "Thank you for recruiting me back then, thank you for teaching me skills, thank you for giving me opportunities. Without you, there wouldn’t be me today."

Director Han listened, remained silent for a long time, then said, "Silly boy, with your talent, no matter where, you’d still be here today, I’m just lucky."

Yang Ping shook his head, "Not necessarily, at least not as smoothly as now."

"Gold will shine eventually!"

"Lots of gold is buried underground, unmined."

Director Han waved his hand, didn’t want to continue the topic. He picked up the teacup, took a sip, saying "Alright, let’s not talk about this. What do you want to eat for lunch? My treat."

Yang Ping said, "You decide, I’m okay with anything."

Director Han thought for a moment, "Let’s go have noodles at that place you used to love, is it still there?"

Yang Ping said, "It’s there, passed by recently, business is still good."

Director Han stood up, picked up his cloth bag, "Let’s go, get noodles."

Suddenly, he remembered something, chuckled, and sat back down.

"What?" Yang Ping didn’t understand why Director Han changed his mind.

Director Han said, "Not to trouble you, let’s just go to your Institute’s cafeteria, eat something casual."

Yang Ping instantly understood Director Han’s intent, "Alright, let’s go over there."

The two left the office, took the elevator downstairs. Passing through the outpatient hall, they bumped into a young doctor who, upon seeing Yang Ping, quickly greeted him, "Hello Mr. Yang!"

Yang Ping nodded, "Hello."

The young doctor then noticed Director Han, paused for a moment, then hurriedly greeted, "Hello Director Han!"

Director Han smiled and nodded, continuing forward.

The young doctor stood there, staring at their backs, slightly dazed. A nurse nearby asked, "What are you looking at?"

The young doctor said, "Wasn’t that Professor Yang Ping? Who was beside him?"

The nurse said, "That was Director Han from Orthopedics, Yang Ping’s mentor, didn’t you know?"

The young doctor suddenly realized, "Oh, so that’s Director Han."

The nurse asked, "What about it?"

The young doctor said, "Heard Professor Yang Ping was brought up by him, and he’s only ever mentored Yang Ping in his career."

The nurse immediately replied, "Yes, only mentored Yang Ping, Song Zimo just counts as half."

The nurse glanced back, the two of them had already disappeared into the crowd.

Director Han’s appearances are scarce these days, so many new young doctors don’t recognize him, but surely know his reputation, commanding respect in the medical world with just one and a half Ph.D. students, only him.

Arriving at the Institute’s cafeteria, Director Han and Yang Ping found a spot in the corner and ordered two bowls of beef noodles and some side dishes.

The noodles were served, steaming hot in two big bowls. Director Han picked up chopsticks, took a bite of the noodles, saying, "Hmm, tastes good."

Yang Ping also took a bite, saying, "The chefs here are quite skilled."

Director Han said, "Heard they’re specially recruited too?"

Yang Ping nodded, "Manager Qiu specially recruited them, the chef is quite versatile, good with various cuisines, you might as well dine at our Institute in the future, it’s just a few steps away."

After eating for a while, Director Han continued, "Yang Ping, how’s the group of young people you’re mentoring now?"

Yang Ping looked up, "They’re doing well, all eager to learn, willing to work. Quite a few promising ones, given time, they can achieve great things."

Director Han said, "That’s good, mentoring students requires dedication. It’s not just about teaching skills, but also teaching character. Skills, if willing to learn, can always be acquired, but character needs intuition and cultivation."

Yang Ping nodded, "I’ll remember that, Director."

Director Han chuckled, "That’s good, you all grew up under my watch. Now seeing you succeed, I feel the joy too."

Yang Ping paused for a moment, suddenly said, "Director, would you consider taking on more students?"

Director Han shook his head, "No more, besides, now with your generation rising, what else is left for me? You’re all better than me, you should be mentoring students, me doing so would only be a disservice, I’ll help with logistics then."

Yang Ping said, "So, you’ll really stop taking on any responsibilities?"

Director Han said, "Of course I’ll still be involved, how could I not be? I’m not a chief expert of the expert group for nothing. Any difficult cases or undecided matters, you can always come to me. I can help oversee and advise anytime."

Yang Ping laughed, "So you still won’t be free."

Director Han nodded, "Staying busy is better, if I were home every day, I’d feel stifled. Now, if I’m interested, I manage, if not interested, I don’t, perfect."

After finishing noodles, they walked out of the Institute. Sunlight shone on the stone-paved path in the alley, reflecting a gentle glow.

Director Han said, "Alright, you head back, don’t you have lots to do this afternoon?"

Yang Ping said, "Yes, and you?"

Director Han said, "I’ll go home for a nap, then read in the afternoon, dinner with some old friends tonight."

Yang Ping nodded, "Take care, I’ll visit you another day."

Director Han waved, "Go on, don’t always think of me, focus on your work."

Yang Ping turned towards the hospital, took a few steps, then looked back. Director Han was already carrying his cloth bag, leisurely walking in the opposite direction, his gray jacket subtly visible in the crowd.

Yang Ping stood there for a long time, watching.

Until that figure disappeared at the alley’s end, he finally turned around and continued walking forward.