The next morning, a Thursday, Shu Lei was the last to arrive at the dining room.

As he sat down at the table, he noticed Yan Ziruo’s long face and sour expression. She looked like someone owed her a million dollars.

"Ruoruo, don’t worry. Don’t be angry. I’ll be gone for a month at most this time. As soon as I’ve processed my resignation, I’ll be back."

Shu Lei then joked, "Come on, give me a smile."

"You’re so pretty these days. If you keep scowling like that, you’ll get ugly again."

Yan Ziruo let out a loud huff and said indignantly, "It’d be better if you never came back!"

"You actually snuck a whole bottle of my prized red wine last night and drank it all. I’m furious."

"Uncle, do you know how expensive that wine was?"

"It’s over ten thousand a bottle, and that was with a special discount!"

"I was saving that for..." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

At this, Yan Ziruo became too embarrassed to continue, covering her words with a few pointed huffs.

Shu Lei said in surprise, "Oh, so that wine was that expensive. No wonder it tasted so good. I finished the whole bottle before I even realized it."

"If I’d known, I would’ve had that bottle of Maotai instead."

Yan Feifan quickly interjected, "Uncle, that bottle of Maotai is even more expensive! You definitely can’t drink that one."

"It’s been aged for more than a decade. You could sell it for at least forty or fifty thousand, if not a hundred thousand."

Shu Lei chuckled mischievously. "I was just trying to scare you, Feifan. Look at how tense you are."

"I could tell how valuable that bottle of Maotai was, so I just grabbed the red wine."

Then he called her out, "And Ruoruo, don’t think I don’t know. Feifan doesn’t drink, so you must’ve stashed that wine away for yourself."

Seeing Yan Ziruo ignore him and start furiously eating her soup dumplings, Shu Lei changed the subject. "Yesterday at noon, Mrs. Xia and I had lunch at that private kitchen you two recommended."

He smacked his lips, savoring the memory. "Your recommendation was spot-on. The food was fantastic."

"Mrs. Xia said that with cooking that good and such a serene atmosphere, it has great potential as a high-end restaurant."

"Mrs. Xia thinks investing in that private kitchen is a solid idea."

Shu Lei popped the peeled boiled egg into his mouth, swallowed it after a couple of chews, and took two large gulps of milk.

"That red wine packed a punch. I went to bed pretty early last night. Did anything interesting happen?"

Yan Feifan said cautiously, "Uncle, Mrs. Xia called me last night. She asked why you decided to become a sailor."

"Oh? What did you tell her?" Shu Lei asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

Yan Feifan said quietly, "Well, Uncle, I believe that in a relationship, honesty is what’s most important."

"Besides, you can’t hide things like that forever."

"So I vaguely told her that you went off the rails for a few years."

"And that becoming a sailor was a form of self-imposed exile and punishment."

After saying this, Yan Feifan edged closer to Yu Suye, afraid his uncle might suddenly get angry and smack him on the head.

Seizing the opportunity, Yan Ziruo landed a verbal blow. "Feifan, it’s not entirely accurate to say that Uncle went into self-imposed exile."

"He hadn’t even realized his mistakes back then. If it weren’t for me..."

She stopped herself just in time again. "Forget it. Let’s not talk about the past."

"Don’t dwell on the past. Focus on the present and the future."

"Right, Uncle?"

Shu Lei, who had been silent, slowly nodded and let out a long sigh.

"You’re right, Feifan."

"You can’t hide the past."

"If I want to have a future with Mrs. Xia, I’ll have to tell her sooner or later about how I squandered the family fortune and how my actions hastened my parents’ deaths."

"Ruoruo is right, too. What matters is the present and the future."

"As long as I’m sincere and I prove myself, if Mrs. Xia is the one for me, she won’t get away."

Yan Ziruo also sighed softly and comforted him, "Uncle, Grandma and Grandpa were suffering from illnesses. It didn’t have much to do with you."

Shu Lei waved his hand dismissively. "I know. But if it weren’t for my reckless behavior, they could have lived another year or two."

Seeing the mood in the room grow heavy, Yan Ziruo tried to console him again. "You can’t change the past. Uncle, Grandma and Grandpa are watching from heaven. They’d be so happy to see how much you’ve changed for the better."

"And besides, Uncle, you can make up for all that guilt you feel by spoiling me and Feifan."

Shu Lei reached out and patted Yan Ziruo’s head, snorting softly. "Ah, the little fox finally shows her tail."

"But speaking of making amends, I have something to tell you two."

Shu Lei’s expression brightened. "When Mrs. Xia and I are together, we actually end up talking about you two siblings more than anything."

"You have no idea. When Mrs. Xia heard about what you two went through growing up, her heart ached for you so much her eyes turned red and she cried."

"It just goes to show, she’s overflowing with motherly affection for you. Once she’s your aunt, she’ll definitely dote on you both."

This immediately set Yan Ziruo off.

"Uncle, how could you? Using my and Feifan’s misfortunes as conversation fodder to get sympathy!"

"I’m not driving you to the port anymore! You can take a taxi yourself..."

Shu Lei quickly apologized. "Ruoruo, I was wrong. It won’t happen again, I promise."

"I bought tons of stuff for my colleagues yesterday afternoon—I have so many bags. It’ll be a real pain to get a taxi..."

After finishing breakfast amidst the noisy bickering, Yan Feifan and Yu Suye left the apartment first, biking to the Affiliated Hospital.

Both of them had surgeries scheduled for the day.

Yan Feifan had another intraspinal tumor removal surgery, while Yu Suye was scheduled to perform corrective surgery on the deformed right leg of a young boy from the orphanage.

The two dismounted at the hospital entrance and walked their bikes onto the grounds.

Yan Feifan remembered something and asked, "Su Ye, a few days ago you mentioned wanting to decide on a medical specialization. Have you had any thoughts?"

Yu Suye smiled gently. "Feifan, after assisting with those few corrective surgeries recently, I’ve discovered I have something of a knack for working on joints."

"I’d like to specialize in treating injuries to joints and their ligaments."

"Besides limb replantation, Mrs. Qin is also highly accomplished in treating sports injuries."

"Mrs. Qin can teach me a great deal about treating joint injuries as well."

"Of course, I’ll also continue to refine my skills in limb replantation."

Yan Feifan nodded. "Treating joint injuries is definitely an important sub-specialty. The probability of joint damage is quite high for professional athletes."

"When it comes to treating ligaments, I can also teach you the techniques and methods I learned from Mrs. Yu."

Yu Suye was happy, but she also reminded him, "Feifan, shouldn’t you ask for Mrs. Yu’s permission first?"

As they spoke, they arrived at the bike rack by the emergency building.

Yan Feifan parked his bike and shook his head. "Mrs. Yu isn’t the type to selfishly hoard her skills. When she was teaching me, her other students were all there watching."

"She never forbid me from teaching others."

"Besides, you’re not just anyone."

Her eyes crinkled with a smile, clearly delighted by his words.

After locking her bike, she glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then leaned in and planted a firm kiss on Yan Feifan’s lips before running off with a giggle.

Yan Feifan, having changed into his white coat and ready to start his day, was on his way to the neurosurgery department when he was intercepted by a frantic-looking Wa Wei.

"Feifan! Feifan! There are ten or twenty people protesting outside of Neurosurgery, holding up banners!"

"They’re saying you conspired with someone to commit fraud."

"They’re saying you scammed them out of their hard-earned money for treatment..."