September 20th, Sunday, clear blue sky. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Xie Yuan'an was in the 'lecturer' office feeling very conflicted, scrolling through two articles with her mouse, unable to settle her mind.

After pouring herself another cup of coffee, she muttered to herself, "Xie Yuan'an, what are you worried about? Xiao Mumu is your roommate, you don't fancy her boyfriend, what are you afraid of?"

"All clean and aboveboard."

Thinking of this, Xie Yuan'an sent a message to Lu Cheng: "Lu Cheng, Professor Xie said you would take the Suturing Technique project back and work on it with professors from Xiangya Hospital."

"If you haven't done project work before and if you need anything, feel free to ask me."

"I'm roommates and classmates with Xiao Mumu, you don't have to be so formal with me."

After writing it, Xie Yuan'an carefully reviewed it and found nothing wrong with the message, then clicked send.

Lu Cheng, holding his 'Advanced Nerve Suturing Workshop Completion Certificate', was sitting in Mu Nanshu's Cadillac, enjoying the air conditioning and chatting with Mu Nanshu.

"You solve lunch yourself, I'm still handing over work here, so I won't come out to eat. We've already ordered takeout," Mu Nanshu's message flashed in.

Lu Cheng replied: "Okay, I'll come pick you up later. It's only 1 PM now, staying in the car all the time isn't great either, I still need to call Director Lin to slightly extend the leave."

"Might as well take the midnight shift at twelve once I return."

Lu Cheng had originally arranged his time to start the shift at 6 PM, since he still had things to do, he could only push the time back further.

"Thank you, Teacher Xie, Nanshu said she would help me with this project once we're back!~ Of course, if there's anything I don't understand, I will definitely ask you." Lu Cheng replied courteously and naturally.

Xie Yuan'an in the office, after reading the message, widened her beautiful eyes: "Xiao Mumu is going back with you to do the project?"

"She, a deputy researcher in the Digestive Internal Medicine lab, doing a project with you in Hand Surgery?? Is this for real?"

Seriously? Mu Nanshu has such capability?

"Nanshu and Professor Dong in their lab have already discussed it, so it shouldn't be a lie." Lu Cheng replied.

Xie Yuan'an: "Okay… with Xiao Mumu there, you surely won't lose out, although this matter does seem a bit unbelievable."

Xie Yuan'an sat in the office doubting life… how did Lu Cheng manage to take Xiao Mumu away?

...

Meanwhile, Lu Cheng directly drove back to the neighborhood where Mu Nanshu resided, mainly since it was still early and there were four hours until Mu Nanshu got off work. He might as well return to read, staying in the air-conditioned home was cheaper than staying in the air-conditioned car.

Plus, Lu Cheng could take a short nap.

Yet, as soon as Lu Cheng parked in the underground garage and walked toward the elevator shaft, his phone rang.

There was no note attached, and the call seemed to be from Han City.

Considering the numerous people in Professor Zhong's team, Lu Cheng still answered: "Hello, who is this?"

An unfamiliar voice came from the other end: "Is this Lu Cheng?"

"Yes, that's me, who's speaking?" Lu Cheng inquired.

"Xiao Lu, it's Li Yuankun from the Orthopedics department of Zhongnan Hospital, technically your senior. Could you speak to Professor Zhong and ask him to find a way to invite Elder Professor Qi back?"

"Stop scolding, he's been scolding all morning and he's over eighty years old. It's not good for his health to get so upset." Li Yuankun said.

Lu Cheng knew Li Yuankun, to be precise, Li Yuankun was a classmate of Professor Lan Hualuo, both of them were disciples of the trauma surgeon Professor Deng Yong.

But Lu Cheng hadn't interacted much with both of them before…

"Huh? Teacher Li? May I ask, who is Professor Qi?" Lu Cheng was particularly puzzled.

Li Yuankun remained silent for a while before replying in a low voice: "Elder Professor Qi was the PhD advisor to Elder Professor Zhong Junyun, as well as the mentor to our Elder Professor Dong Yaohui at Zhongnan Hospital."

"Back when Professor Dong was pursuing his doctorate, Orthopedics was not as segmented… now, because of that screenshot you shared, Professor Qi came to our hospital, scolding us for exploiting his student… tarnishing the image of his school."

Professor Zhong Junyun's PhD advisor? Elder Professor Dong Yaohui's mentor? Isn't that the real old sage from Union Hospital?

"I didn't know? Last night, Professor Zhong asked me about something regarding Elder Professor Dong, and I told him truthfully."

"I don't know Elder Professor Qi either." Lu Cheng said.

Li Yuankun said: "Xiao Lu, I know you don't know Elder Professor Qi, and it's impossible for you to influence him."

"This situation, it's my problem for not clarifying the details, could you help… after all, you were once a training doctor at Zhongnan Hospital…"

"Elder Professor Qi is quite old, it's not a good look for him to be scolding, it's not good for his health too."

Lu Cheng could imagine, the scene of an elder professor from Union Hospital scolding people at Zhongnan Hospital for his student, with nobody daring to respond.

Lu Cheng replied: "Teacher Li, aren't you putting me in a difficult spot? I don't know the cause of all this, nor am I familiar with Professor Qi, only the person who started it can resolve it."

"I'm just a very ordinary person, you're asking me to make a call to resolve this, it's really quite a stretch for me."

"I hope you understand, Teacher Li."

"I don't even know what happened, nor why so much has happened, how could I persuade, and what reasoning would I use to persuade?" Lu Cheng asked in return.

Li Yuankun still didn't explain the real reason behind it, Lu Cheng wasn't immature enough to guess on his own, and then actually call Professor Zhong Junyun and say, teacher, please tell your mentor to stop scolding.

Really, would such a move by Lu Cheng be foolish? Would it not?

Who is Professor Qi, the teacher of Professor Zhong, the teacher of Professor Dong, the true elder sage…

"Sigh… I'm sorry to bother you, Xiao Lu…" Li Yuankun sighed and voluntarily hung up the call.

Lu Cheng didn't take this matter to heart, since he didn't know the beginning or end of the situation, nor did he feel he had done anything against his conscience.

Of course, he was not happy about Professor Qi going to Zhongnan Hospital to scold people, he just found it quite amusing.

...

Afternoon, 7:20 PM, Hankou Railway Station.

Lu Cheng was holding Mu Nanshu's hand, pushing her khaki suitcase, and as they were about to enter the station, he turned slightly to confirm again; "Book Bag, you are sure you are leaving today without any unexpected delays."

"Since it's settled, these few days don't make much difference, have you really wrapped up everything on your end?"

This was the third time Lu Cheng asked Mu Nanshu, and Mu Nanshu truthfully replied: "Since starting the job, I've been preparing to go to the countryside, so there's almost nothing to hand over work-wise."

"Do you really need me to spell it out so clearly? Just so you can boast?" Mu Nanshu rolled her eyes, her tone playful.

Sometimes, Mu Nanshu wondered if her actions counted as being too yielding.

After securing her job upon returning to the country, she first had to deal with pesky matchmaking, then find ways to get closer to Lu Cheng.

However, many times, Mu Nanshu came to her senses, not feeling much was wrong with what she was doing.

Lu Cheng tightened his right hand: "I'm just worried it might impact your work."

"I didn't expect to bring you back with me this time, I mean… I don't think we need to rush."

Lu Cheng continued: "Well, of course, leaving now is better if we can."

"Later on, we'll need to frequently travel to Han City, and I'll often come here to listen to lectures from teachers, you can also take the time to bring some local specialties to Professor Dong and maintain relationships."

"Mmm…" Mu Nanshu took out her ID, went through face recognition, and embarked on her journey home...