"It's not a big deal. If you're feeling uncomfortable, you can go to the hospital for a check-up. We'll cover the medical expenses."

"Shall we get you a cab?"

The young man retracted his foot and stood up with some difficulty, "Forget it... can you help me sit over there a bit? I want to see how badly it's been stepped on."

"If it's nothing serious, there's no need to run to the hospital."

"But if it is serious, then you should get it checked out. I was just taking a nap here, I didn't know anyone would come in."

"Do you think I sat here on purpose to scam people?" The young man glared at Tong Yuan'an with an annoyed look.

The young man's tone wasn't overly harsh, so Tong Yuan'an didn't escalate things, as he was mainly worried that Lu Cheng, being too honest and unfamiliar with the place, might get taken advantage of.

Since the other party didn't want to make a fuss, he couldn't be bothered to complicate matters.

Of course, Tong Yuan'an definitely hadn't planned on going directly upstairs.

Lu Cheng helped the young man to a nearby chair. The hotel receptionist, hearing the commotion, hurried over to check on the situation.

The young man took off his shoe, and his foot was indeed a bit red, but upon Lu Cheng's examination, no fractures were found, as the range of movement was normal.

It wasn't a stomp, so the soft tissue injury was extremely limited.

"Sir, it doesn't seem to be very serious. How do you plan to handle this? Would you like to go to the hospital for a detailed check-up?"

"I see this young fellow is quite reasonable; perhaps everyone can take a step back." The hotel staff's voice was very gentle, trying to de-escalate the situation.

"Alright, alright, it's fine, it's fine, you can go. I'm not going to make trouble for him." The young man waved his hand, started putting on his shoe, but his tone was somewhat impatient.

"I'm really sorry about this, brother." Lu Cheng smiled apologetically.

The young man didn't respond but suddenly raised his head arrogantly after tying his shoelaces and said out of nowhere, "Are you sure you don't know me?"

Lu Cheng was puzzled and thought carefully, "Brother? What do you mean by that?"

"I'm here to see you. My name is Zhang Boyuan." The young man stood up, turned slightly, and clasped his hands behind his back, looking somewhat enigmatic.

However, after Zhang Boyuan turned his back for a full half-minute, he heard no response from Lu Cheng, and when he turned around, he found Lu Cheng looking at him as if he were an idiot.

"I used to be a PhD student at Huashan Hospital, my name is Zhang Boyuan." Zhang Boyuan started to lose his composure, his eyes darting back and forth.

Lu Cheng still slowly shook his head, "Brother... maybe I've forgotten, I really don't have any impression."

"Why are you here to see me?"

"Ahem, ahem..."

Zhang Boyuan's emotions suddenly flared, and after coughing several times, he finally said, "You don't even recognize your senior brother?"

Lu Cheng took two steps back, "Brother, even though I call you brother, let's not start making random connections."

Senior brother?

Zhang Boyuan gritted his teeth and spat out three words, "Dong Qilang!"

Lu Cheng's expression finally changed as he began to seriously examine the visitor.

Dong Qilang was a name that Mu Nanshu told Lu Cheng about nearly half a year after his master's re-examination had ended.

Dong Qilang was a traumatology professor at Huashan Hospital, and according to Mu Nanshu, Professor Dong had agreed to take Lu Cheng as a student, but he died in the line of duty due to a sudden heart attack during surgery.

The heart attack occurred in the operating room, and even Huashan Hospital couldn't save him; it wasn't because of their lack of skill but because the condition was too dangerous.

"Joking about this isn't funny." Lu Cheng's expression immediately turned stern.

Although Lu Cheng and Professor Dong Qilang didn't end up as mentor and mentee, through Mu Nanshu, Lu Cheng was sure that Professor Dong was indeed his teacher, and not just any teacher.

Although he failed the re-examination, Professor Dong's death was unforeseeable.

If Professor Dong were still alive, Lu Cheng believed that such a well-respected professor wouldn't have deceived someone as insignificant as Mu Nanshu.

"How many jokes have I played on you?"

"Didn't you do any background check on our group before choosing your advisor? You really don't know me?" Zhang Boyuan seemed a bit on the verge of collapse.

"I only found out after Teacher Dong had agreed to take me," Lu Cheng shook his head, "Before the re-examination, I didn't know it would be Teacher Dong who'd accept me."

Zhang Boyuan cursed, "Huh? Who are you trying to fool?"

"Is this WeChat yours?" Zhang Boyuan took out his phone, showing Lu Cheng the contact, with an expression as if he were looking at a scumbag. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Lu Cheng (Class of '15 Junior, Han University).

The name was his, and the year matched, but the WeChat wasn't Lu Cheng's; it belonged to Mu Nanshu.

Lu Cheng was familiar with Mu Nanshu's profile picture.

"Senior Brother Zhang... this WeChat belongs to my girlfriend." As the matter had been settled for many years, Lu Cheng planned to clarify it truthfully.

"Your girlfriend? The person chatting with me before was your girlfriend???" Zhang Boyuan's tone was a bit explosive, and his expression was a bit explosive too.

"I believe so," Lu Cheng said.

Zhang Boyuan's expression shifted several times before he slowly closed his eyes, processing this amusing truth.

Lu Cheng took the initiative to speak, "Senior Brother Zhang, did you come to specifically find me today?"

Zhang Boyuan nodded, all his arrogance vanished, "Yes, you've been targeted. Even Professor Chen couldn't withstand the pressure and revealed me."

"After I received a call from our department's Director Xiang, I decided to come see you in advance."