Lu Cheng's tone became much more formal: "Sometimes, facing all problems, facing all gaps, and finding your own position is called maturity, otherwise it's just self-assumed maturity."

"Admitting certain things can bring about a tearing kind of pain, but the undeniable fact is, only pain can make you grow."

"Growth itself is a very painful thing, every step is like this."

"But this pain is not necessarily bad. On the contrary, after recognizing reality, it can make my mindset more stable, and my thoughts more open to facing these gaps."

"For example, Uncle Mu is doing better than my dad; even a small portion of your family's wealth is something my parents wouldn't dare to dream of."

Lu Cheng said: "But that's about my parents. Since I've won the favor of Uncle Mu's precious daughter, I won't feel inferior or afraid to aspire to anything."

Mu Nanshu blushed: "When did you win my dad's precious daughter? Who said that?"

Lu Cheng replied, "Well, let's just say not yet then..."

Mu Nanshu looked at Lu Cheng, bit her lip, and said softly, "At least... not yet."

Mu Nanshu noticed that Lu Cheng was very calm in both voice and expression as he said these things, proving he wasn't feeling inferior.

That's a good thing. The Lu Cheng she remembers and knows shouldn't be like the previous time, overly polite, even somewhat "inferior."

Mu Nanshu asked again, "Then you said you would arrange it, how do you plan to arrange it?"

"Go to competitions, see if there's an opportunity to meet some teachers, then shamelessly flatter these teachers to learn the cutting-edge techniques in specialized fields."

"Then, based on these cutting-edge techniques, seek the top-tier techniques in the field!~"

"Techniques others can't learn or even understand." Lu Cheng outlined the general direction.

Mu Nanshu was silent after hearing that.

This path is much thornier than Lu Cheng's calm tone suggested.

However, Mu Nanshu didn't discourage Lu Cheng, instead she said, "Let's eat some more, you shouldn't go hungry."

"Your appetite should be more than this..."

"Let's add another portion of tripe and order you another fried rice." Mu Nanshu noticed Lu Cheng hadn't eaten enough, still being his "carbohydrate-loving self."

...

In the hotel, Lu Cheng and Mu Nanshu each held a cup of milk tea, sitting by the window.

It was already past midnight, but the lights on Liberation Avenue outside were still bright.

The brilliant city lights couldn't reach their eyes.

The room's air conditioning kept the hot air outside at bay. Lu Cheng looked at Mu Nanshu and said, "Actually, whatever we say, the issue of distance is still a problem!~"

"When faced with a problem, the first thing to think about is finding a way to solve it!~"

Mu Nanshu looked at Lu Cheng, looking at his chin, his neck, listening to Lu Cheng's insights.

It felt like they had gone back many years, except now Mu Nanshu had her own views: "Lu Cheng, but that's especially hard."

"There are two most formal paths: the first is to improve your education level. The suggestions those two professors gave you would be more suitable."

"Don't you still have savings? And now there are teachers willing to mentor you, why not apply to go back to school?"

"During school, you can also participate in these competitions and earn quite a bit as well."

"The second path is to find a middle ground. Let's take it easy!~"

Mu Nanshu's voice was gentle, and at this point, her eyes also became gentle, even a bit joyfully happy.

After she returned to the country and settled into her job, the first thing she did was visit Zhongnan Hospital, then quickly returned to her hometown of Long County.

Now, just a little over two months after her return to Long County, Lu Cheng dared to venture from Long County to Han City for a day trip, which meant her "efforts" had some results.

Actually, for her, she didn't know Lu Cheng's current thoughts, or if he dared to face the gap between them and break through it from the heart.

Because Mu Nanshu knew Lu Cheng best, Lu Cheng was inherently a somewhat proud person.

He could be very good-tempered, but also very stubborn!

She became more certain of this when she knew Lu Cheng didn't continue pursuing his postgraduate studies.

Lu Cheng said, "Since some paths are there, it means someone has walked them, someone has made it through, so surely someone else can walk through them again."

"Actually, I'm not daring to offer you a distant future because we're not young anymore."

"But if it's a foreseeable future, I will still invite you confidently!~"

"Cyan Cloud Ladder, we can break into it, although it's a bit tough, it's not hubris on my part. At least this time, it's not."

"When have you ever been arrogant?" Mu Nanshu asked back.

Lu Cheng was silent for a while, then said, "After the postgraduate retest... I thought too highly of myself, with an unstable foundation, dreaming of a comeback..."

"Now thinking back, whether or not there's a comeback, it doesn't affect others, it's your mindset that's most affected."

"People without a social circle, everyone lives their own life. If you are obsessed with one thing, it won't impact others at all, but it will affect your own life trajectory."

"But in the end, I'm still unconvinced!~"

Mu Nanshu said, "Because you can be sure that your clinical talent is better than those two classmates, you chose to apply for a professional master's, not an academic master's, right?"

Because only Mu Nanshu knew.

Lu Cheng's voice became sharp: "Actually, it's not even about proving who is stronger."

"I just think, since you've set the rules secretly, just write them early, why go through so many procedures?"

Mu Nanshu's voice was as soft as clay: "Did you really not think about retaking the exams after you came back?"

"No, there was a professor who invited me to pursue a research degree while performing surgery, I was so excited, thinking I finally got a teacher's favor."

"Even bought review materials, but after a couple of days when I asked again, the teacher said it was because of my strength..." As Lu Cheng spoke, his eyes couldn't help turning a bit red.

To avoid deliberately complaining, Lu Cheng glanced at the time and said, "It's getting late, you should head back, you have work tomorrow."

"I'm staying for a while this time... I'm here for a suture training class." Lu Cheng said.

Hearing this, Mu Nanshu didn't move, just looked at Lu Cheng, her right hand unconsciously playing with her hair.

The chestnut curls were smoothed and released by her right index finger, smoothed and released...

Mu Nanshu didn't speak.

Instead, Lu Cheng understood what she meant. The current Mu Nanshu wasn't the shy girl at twenty-two or twenty-three anymore.

She had become mature, graceful and less restrained.

So she began to have her own thoughts and took the initiative.

Lu Cheng offered, "I'll walk you back, stop thinking about all these messy things."

Lu Cheng held Mu Nanshu's wrist, helping her up.

After standing up, Mu Nanshu suddenly wrapped her arms around Lu Cheng's neck, pulling him in, burying her head into his right shoulder, and tears inexplicably fell in clumps.

Lu Cheng's shoulder immediately felt damp and warm.

Mu Nanshu didn't sob out loud, just had tears flowing uncontrollably.

Lu Cheng's slightly stiff body relaxed, then slowly released his hands to hug Mu Nanshu's shoulder, gently patting it.

This process lasted nearly a minute before Lu Cheng said, "Alright, we are, after all, very ordinary people, ups and downs are a normal part of life."

"If everything were smooth sailing, then we wouldn't be ordinary people, we'd be the favored ones."

"Better opportunities can't be forced..."

"Actually, being ordinary is also relative."

After extracting herself from Lu Cheng's chest, Mu Nanshu took two tissues to wipe her eyes, her voice soft:

"You really have always been excellent!~"

Lu Cheng said, "Maybe only you think so!~"

"I'll take you back to rest."

Mu Nanshu nodded, checked her makeup in the mirror, tidied up slightly, then picked up her small woven bag and followed Lu Cheng out of the room.

In the underground parking lot of the community, near the elevator, Mu Nanshu suggested to Lu Cheng, "Why don't you come up and sit a while longer?"

"Or, don't go back, there's a guest room in my place, it's ready."

"Didn't you say you were staying longer?"

"I didn't bring my luggage," Lu Cheng thought for a moment, responding.

Softly, Mu Nanshu said, "You don't need luggage... it's all upstairs..."