"I was scared to death afterward, believe me."
Zhou Xian chuckled. "That wasn’t recklessness. All I saw in that video was a man who was confident, composed, and completely in control."
He paused for a moment before continuing. "Mr. Yan, I know you have a reputation for being a genius. Your academic record in medical school was in a league of its own, making you the only doctoral student in years to graduate early."
"Theoretical knowledge is one thing, and with your talent, Mr. Yan, it’s no surprise you’d sail through your practical internships."
"But your surgical skills..."
Zhou Xian stared into Yan Feifan’s eyes. "Mr. Yan, your surgical skills are second to none in this entire hospital."
"In my opinion, even those surgeons known as the ’top scalpels’ in their departments aren’t on the same level as you."
"Surgical skill, even with a gift for it, still requires a massive amount of practice and time investment to master."
"But you, Mr. Yan, seem to have skipped that stage entirely and achieved mastery in a single leap..."
Hearing this, Yan Feifan’s heart pounded with anxiety.
’So, someone has finally noticed there’s something strange about me.’
Theoretical knowledge could be explained away by a photographic memory and superior comprehension.
But practical skills weren’t so easy to brush off.
Renowned surgeons spent twenty to thirty years in the clinic, honing their skills over thousands of operations. For a young doctor, only four or five years out of school, to surpass them in a flash...
’How is that possible?’
Just as Yan Feifan was rapidly trying to think up a plausible and reasonable excuse, he saw Zhou Xian pour a fresh cup of tea, hold it, and stand up.
"Mr. Yan, you must have some kind of highly effective training method."
"I have an audacious request. Could you perhaps give me some guidance?"
"I am willing to treat you as my teacher!"
As he said this, Zhou Xian bowed slightly and offered the tea.
This...
Yan Feifan was dumbfounded.
A cardiac surgeon in his forties, with a decent reputation, wanted to take him as a master?
For a moment, Yan Feifan didn’t know how to respond.
If he really did have an effective training method for surgical skills, that would be one thing. It’s not about age; anyone who is more skilled can be a teacher, after all.
The problem was, he didn’t have one.
’He couldn’t very well tell the man to go get into an accident, fall into a coma for a year or two, then get lucky enough to wake up with the ability to create a virtual world where he could practice hundreds of thousands of times, could he?’
His hesitation was all Zhou Xian needed to see, and he grew despondent.
He sat back down in his seat and said with a self-deprecating look, "I understand. I was being delusional. Why would a method like that be passed on to a failure like me?"
"Dr. Zhou, it’s not what you think!"
Yan Feifan quickly explained, "I really don’t have any so-called ’highly effective training method.’"
"It’s just a matter of having some natural talent, better-than-average comprehension and coordination, and working hard every day."
"Dr. Zhou, think about it. If I really had some secret that I couldn’t share, with me coming and going from work every day, surrounded by colleagues, how could there not be a single rumor about it?"
Hearing this, Zhou Xian froze.
He pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded. "That’s true. There’s no such thing as a perfect secret. If you really had a big secret, it’s impossible that not even a whisper of it would have gotten out."
Suddenly, Zhou Xian covered his face with his hands and said in a pained voice, "Ah, I really am washed up."
"Instead of focusing on the proper path, I started chasing after this illusory, opportunistic so-called shortcut."
"I’m washed up, completely washed up!"
Yan Feifan tried to console him. "Dr. Zhou, Dr. Zhou, you’re just burdened by your past fame. You can’t let it go."
Seeing Zhou Xian lower his hands and look at him, Yan Feifan decided to be blunt. "Dr. Zhou, I’ll be honest with you."
"Dr. Zhou, you need to stop clinging to that bit of fame."
"To put it bluntly, a lot of doctors at the hospital see you as a joke, or as a cautionary tale."
"You have two paths now. Either you let go of everything, break through your limits, strive to improve, and win back everyone’s respect."
"Or, you can just coast on your reputation as the number one surgeon for ventricular septal defect repairs, maybe transfer to an ordinary Grade A Tertiary hospital to coast into retirement, and forever be that cautionary tale people talk about..."
Just then, Yan Feifan noticed Zhou Xian’s face was flushed red, and the veins on the hand gripping his teacup were bulging.
"Dr. Zhou, I didn’t mean to offend you. Please don’t be angry..."
As he spoke, Yan Feifan scooted his chair back, ready to bolt if things went south.
Zhou Xian’s chest heaved. He took a few deep breaths, and the flush slowly faded from his face.
"Mr. Yan, you’re right. You’re absolutely right. I am a joke in other people’s eyes right now, a model of failure."
"The sad and laughable thing is, I still thought I was something special, that the department and the hospital were being unfair to me."
"Mr. Yan, thank you for that wake-up call..."