Chapter 462: Chapter 461: A Gentleman’s Word

Yan Feifan was hosting a dinner at Luo’s Private Kitchen. Including his sister and Feng Jian, there were fourteen people in total.

Fortunately, the private room was spacious and the round dining table was large, so it didn’t feel crowded even with everyone seated.

In preparation for the next day’s surgery, they all consciously limited their drinking, ordering just two bottles of red wine.

Those who drank each got about a glass, just enough to wet their throats.

Being quite tired and hungry, and with the food being so delicious, everyone focused primarily on eating for the first half of the meal.

Once their hunger subsided and their stomachs were half-full, the table came alive with casual chatter.

Chen Yu glanced at Feng Jian, who was quietly focused on his food, then looked at Yan Feifan and chuckled. "Feifan, you’re really something, you know that?"

"The rest of us drive ourselves to and from work, but you’re doing well for yourself—you’ve even got a personal, full-time driver."

"You’re quite the big shot, aren’t you?"

Wang Chuan came to Yan Feifan’s defense. "Mr. Chen, once Feifan gets lost in thought, he completely ignores everything else."

"A work habit like that makes it unsuitable for him to drive himself."

Qin Ying scoffed, her tone laced with sarcasm. "Mrs. Chen clearly has no self-awareness."

"These days, for many patients with intraspinal and brain tumors, Feifan is irreplaceable. We need to take precautions against any extreme incidents."

"As for Mrs. Chen, it makes little difference to patients whether she’s there or not. Anything she can do, other doctors can do too."

This time, surprisingly, Chen Yu didn’t lose her temper.

She retorted coldly, "Takes one to know one. My value to patients is, at the very least, far greater than yours."

Seeing that the two were about to start bickering again, Wang Chuan quickly interjected, "Acting like this in front of so many junior colleagues—have you no sense of propriety?"

Chen Yu and Qin Ying glared at each other but said nothing more.

Seeing this, Wang Chuan brought up another topic.

"Mrs. Meng proposed we raise our service awareness and launch a ’Passionate July Service Month’ dedicated to patients."

"What do you all think of it?"

Chen Yu rolled her eyes and said, "How else are we supposed to look at it? With our eyes, obviously."

"It’s pure formalism, as if we don’t already serve our patients on a daily basis."

She added complainingly, "We also have to study the ’spirit of service’ and hold discussions to ’enhance our own service awareness.’"

"We’re dead tired every day. Where are we supposed to find the time for all that?"

Wang Chuan chuckled. "Mrs. Meng is in charge of the hospital’s morale and team-building, after all."

"She’s been in her post for a while now. She has to make some kind of move."

When Wang Chuan saw the others weren’t very interested in this topic, he knew they were still feeling a bit reserved, so he switched to talking about interesting social news and a bit of celebrity gossip.

This topic drew a lot more participation.

This was especially true for the nurses like Meng Yao and Ye Lin, who knew even more gossip than Wang Chuan.

As the conversation flowed, the nurses became the life of the party, and the topic gradually shifted to people and affairs within the hospital.

"Mr. Yan, Mr. Yan, that PhD student you mentioned, Yin Ke—we all know about her."

Ye Lin, the picture of a gossip, said eagerly, "I heard she wasn’t even a medical major. Mr. Hao admitted her to the doctoral program as a special exception. They say her exam score was super, super low."

Chen Yu’s scrub nurse also said with a disdainful expression, "Everyone in the hospital knows what’s going on between her and Mr. Hao."

"Mr. Yan, since you didn’t agree to her request this time, you should be careful. Mr. Hao might come after you on her behalf."

Yan Feifan chuckled. "There’s nothing to worry about. It’s not a matter of principle."

Chen Yu cleared her throat, cutting them off. "Alright, that’s enough. Don’t go spreading baseless rumors."

"You’d better be careful, or she might sue you for slander."

"Feifan..."

Chen Yu looked at Yan Feifan again and sighed. "My Xia Min’s figure has recovered a lot since her surgery. Her weight is almost down to one-thirty."

"Her face has recovered some of its old shape, but she’s still a long way from the pretty girl she used to be."

"A few days ago, some nasty brat told her it wasn’t the fat that made her ugly—she was just plain ugly."

"It made her come home and cry all night."

"Feifan, how about you... give her a little adjustment?"

Yan Feifan chuckled. "Mr. Chen, let’s wait for her to recover a bit more. Once her weight stabilizes, we can take a look and decide then."

"The pathological cause is gone, and with targeted exercise, her weight is dropping rapidly. The muscles in her face also need time to adjust."

"Once things stabilize, it’s very likely she’ll become pretty again."

Chen Yu sighed again. "That’s what I’ve been telling her, too, but the girl’s got her heart set on plastic surgery now."

"Feifan, could you try talking to her for me in a couple of days?"

"You’re the expert in plastic surgery now. That girl trusts you more than she trusts me these days."

Yan Feifan readily agreed...

Because of the major surgery the next day, the dinner party hosted by Yan Feifan broke up shortly after eight in the evening.

The Yan siblings and Yu Suye were driven back to Zuimo Court by Feng Jian in his Cayenne.

When he got home, Yan Feifan found two guests waiting for him.

Zheng Libin and Wang Zenglin from the District Public Security Bureau.

The moment they saw each other, Wang Zenglin, whose back was bent to one side, leaned forward and explained, "Mr. Yan, I’m terribly sorry to disturb you. I’m the one who insisted on dragging Mr. Zheng over here to see you."

After a brief pause, he asked with concern, "Mr. Yan, that other surgical plan you mentioned—removing the left kidney to get to the bullet—it does have a chance of success, right?"

Yan Feifan met Wang Zenglin’s gaze and noticed he looked much more haggard than the last time they’d met, as if he had aged five or six years.

’Quitting drinking so quickly can’t be easy.’

Yan Feifan sighed to himself before speaking. "Mr. Wang, Mr. Zheng, please have a seat."

After the three were seated, Yan Feifan said bluntly, "There is a chance of success, but the risks are also extremely high..."

"Mr. Yan, I’ll do it!"

Wang Zenglin interrupted Yan Feifan, his voice urgent. "Mr. Yan, I’m not afraid of the risk. I’m really not afraid at all."

"Even if I die on the operating table, I’m willing to give it a shot."

Zheng Libin cut him off. "Wang, what nonsense are you talking about? There’s clearly a safer option..."

"Mr. Zheng, Mr. Yan..."

Wang Zenglin’s lips trembled, and he suddenly broke down. "I really can’t take it anymore."

"This pain in my back... I can’t eat, I can’t sleep."

"I won’t lie to you, I’ve thought about ending my own life more than once. But then I think of my parents, my wife, my child, and this uniform on my back, and I just can’t bring myself to do it."

"But I’m in so much pain."

"I don’t know how much longer I can last."

At this, Wang Zenglin covered his face with his hands.

Yan Feifan could see tears seeping out from between his fingers.

The sight moved Yan Feifan.

’For a grown man who had been through life-and-death trials to be crying in front of others... he must have been truly tormented.’

Yan Feifan had seen it more than once in the hospital: patients so tormented by their illnesses that they felt life was worse than death, crying and begging their doctors to put them out of their misery.

But none of their cries had conveyed the same level of despair and helplessness to Yan Feifan as the tears leaking through Wang Zenglin’s fingers.

Zheng Libin saw this as well.

He let out a long sigh, reached out to pat Wang Zenglin’s back, and said to Yan Feifan, "Mr. Yan, please, just do the surgery for Wang."

Yan Feifan said slowly, "Mr. Wang, I’ve found another viable surgical method."

"It involves using the most advanced modern surgical robotic technology..."

He described this surgical plan in great detail, then continued, "If this plan can be realized, it would be similar to minimally invasive procedures like laparoscopy. It would only require a small incision between your ribs."

"Mr. Wang, just give me..."

Yan Feifan looked into Wang Zenglin’s slightly bloodshot eyes, pondered for a moment, and said, "A month and a half."

"In a month and a half, if this robotic surgical arm can’t be built, I will use the kidney removal method to perform the surgery for you."

"Just a month and a half?" Wang Zenglin confirmed.

"Yes, just a month and a half."

"A gentleman’s promise?"

"My word is my bond."

P.S.

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