Yan Feifan completed the brain tumor biopsy, originally scheduled for Thursday morning, ahead of schedule on Wednesday evening.
He then moved up a reconstructive surgery for a child from the orphanage with a facial deformity—a procedure that had been postponed from last Thursday to this Thursday afternoon—to the morning.
On Thursday, four other plastic and reconstructive surgeries for injured or deformed children from the orphanage were also performed.
Two of them took place at the Affiliated Hospital, with Yu Suye and Qi Xiuping as the respective lead surgeons.
The other two were at the Marine Police General Hospital, led by a chief physician and an associate chief physician, respectively.
It was unclear just how Wen Ning, on behalf of the PLA General Hospital, had managed the communication and coordination with the Marine Police General Hospital.
He Junxing, who was responsible for coordinating and following up on the matter as a director of the Extraordinary Fund, reported to Yan Feifan that the Armed Police General Hospital was taking this collaboration project very seriously.
They had specially assigned a deputy director from the trauma surgery department, who was also a chief physician, to take overall responsibility for the project.
Yan Feifan suspected that Wen Ning knew full well he had been reluctant to agree to the arrangement.
That was why Wen Ning was trying his best to handle the promised arrangements flawlessly, lest Yan Feifan find an excuse to back out.
A little after two on Thursday afternoon, Yan Feifan finished his surgery, left the follow-up work for his assistant, Lin Qian, to handle, and departed the operating room.
After washing up, changing his clothes, and resting for a moment, Yan Feifan hurried to the first staff cafeteria for lunch.
Afterward, on his way back to the plastic surgery center, he ran into Lu Yao and Zeng Ni.
"Mr. Zhou is being discharged today. We came to help out and will be accompanying him to Jingcheng."
Lu Yao explained why he was there, then hesitated for a moment before giving a slight bow. "Thank you!"
Previously, Lu Yao had felt a certain psychological advantage over Yan Feifan. Even if it wasn’t quite a matter of saving his life, it was a major favor nonetheless.
But after analyzing the high-definition surveillance footage over and over, Lu Yao finally understood that even without his intervention, Yan Feifan would have had a scare but emerged unscathed.
Losing this psychological advantage made Lu Yao very reluctant to face Yan Feifan.
However, his family still wanted to maintain a good relationship with Yan Feifan.
After all, with Yan Feifan’s peerless medical skills, they might need to ask for his help again someday.
Lu Yao couldn’t act on his own whims, so he had to bite the bullet and show up.
"Mr. Yan, this is the payment the Lu Family promised. Please, you must accept it."
Looking at the thin envelope Lu Yao was holding out, Yan Feifan felt a sudden urge to reach out and take it.
The Lu Family had, after all, promised a reward of ten million.
’But I can’t take it...’
Yan Feifan fought back the temptation. "Lu Yao, my help this time was in return for you saving my life. How could I possibly take your money on top of that?"
"Please, take it back."
Lu Yao flushed. "Mr. Yan, if you mention saving your life one more time, I’m going to find a hole to crawl into."
Yan Feifan said slowly, "What matters is the intention. In that critical moment, you rushed over to push me out of the way without a second thought. That’s what counts."
"I accept it as a genuine favor."
"So please, take back the check."
Lu Yao was silent for a moment. He took back the envelope and bowed slightly again. "Thank you!"
"I wish you and Yu Suye a lifetime of happiness together, and may your life be smooth and prosperous!"
With that, he turned and strode away without a backward glance.
Zeng Ni didn’t leave with him. Sizing up Yan Feifan, she asked with avid curiosity, "Mr. Yan, you knew the amount on that check, didn’t you?"
Yan Feifan nodded.
Zeng Ni clicked her tongue. "TSK, TSK. Ten million. And you knew it, but still turned it down. I have to say, you’re full of surprises."
"And from what I hear, you’re quite the money-grubber."
Yan Feifan shot her a glare. "HMPH. What do you mean, money-grubber? I believe in making money, but I do it the right way."
"Every cent I make comes from my own hard work and skills."
Zeng Ni chuckled. "The way you refused that ten million from my cousin without a moment’s hesitation... I believe you."
’Of course,’ Yan Feifan thought to himself, ’if I didn’t already have a net worth in the tens of millions, it’s an open question whether I could have resisted that temptation.’
Zeng Ni’s voice piped up again. "Mr. Yan, the more I learn about you, the more I realize just how incredible you are."
"Never mind anything else, the fact that you can make someone beautiful in just two or three weeks—and make it look so incredibly natural—is just astounding."
"It’s as natural as a teenage girl’s features suddenly blossoming, as if she just learned how to do her makeup and dress herself up overnight."
"Hey, Mr. Yan, how about I introduce some clients to you?"
Zeng Ni said enticingly, "There are plenty of rich but not-so-attractive girls in Jingcheng, you know."
"They’ve been reluctant to get plastic surgery, either because of family disapproval or because they’re scared of the negative side effects."
"But, Mr. Yan, with your techniques, you could definitely win them over. They’d be more than willing to pay."
"We can split the fee sixty-forty. You take sixty, I take forty..."