About a ten-to-twenty-minute drive east of the Affiliated Hospital were two residential communities: Brocade Heaven and Earth and Furong Garden.
These two communities were once the staff and family housing for the Affiliated Hospital.
Over a decade ago, the Affiliated Hospital partnered with a real estate company, incorporated some nearby areas, and developed them into two high-end residential communities primarily consisting of Western-style houses and low-rise apartment buildings.
Today, about seventy to eighty percent of the Affiliated Hospital's more senior and experienced doctors, management, and long-time employees lived in these two communities.
Just after eight in the evening, Yu Suye drove a rented MINI, carrying the Yan siblings into the Brocade Heaven and Earth District.
The car stopped in front of Building Seven, and the Yan siblings got out.
Yan Ziruo sized up the five-story house, its walls covered in creeping ivy, and asked, "Feifan, are you sure we have the right address?"
"Mr. Liu lives in this building?"
Yan Feifan shot her a look. "How could I get something so simple wrong?"
"Let's go in, Sis!"
Yan Feifan headed into the building.
He took the stairs instead of the elevator. After reaching the third floor, he and his sister stepped out of the stairwell and rang the doorbell of the east-side apartment.
After ten or twenty seconds, the door was pulled open.
A woman in her early twenties with an average face and straight, light-purple hair appeared before the siblings.
Before Yan Ziruo could even speak, the purple-haired woman's gaze quickly swept over the two boxes of tea in Yan Feifan's hands and then to Yan Ziruo's empty hands, a look of disdain appearing in her eyes.
"Mr. Liu isn't home, and he never accepts gifts."
"Don't even bother if it's a personal matter!"
"If it's about work, go find the Vice President at the hospital during work hours."
After saying this coldly, the young woman moved to shut the door.
Quick-witted and even quicker-handed, Yan Ziruo reached out to hold the door open, forcing a smile. "Miss, hello, please don't be in such a hurry to close the door!"
She spoke quickly, "This is my younger brother, Yan Feifan. He's one of Mr. Liu's favorite students."
"Could I trouble you to let him know we're here, or maybe give Mr. Liu a call? Please?"
The purple-haired woman eyed Yan Feifan suspiciously again, tossed out a "Wait here," and pulled the door almost shut...
Hearing footsteps retreating inside, Yan Ziruo said with a sigh, "Feifan, you see that?"
"These days, if you don't have the right connections and relationships, you can't even give a gift away."
Yan Feifan gave a noncommittal "mhm" in response.
After another ten or twenty seconds, Yan Ziruo heard footsteps again.
Only this time, they were noticeably heavier.
Then the door was pulled open, and a smiling Liu Jin appeared.
"Feifan, Ziruo, welcome, welcome!"
"Come in, quickly. Come to think of it, this is the first time you two have come to my place. What a rare treat."
As Yan Ziruo followed Liu Jin into the apartment, she chuckled lightly. "We've been meaning to visit for a long time, to thank you, Mr. Liu, for always looking after Feifan."
"We just didn't want to disturb your rest!"
Liu Jin laughed heartily. "When it's you two, I don't mind being disturbed at any time."
As they spoke, the two siblings entered the living room.
They first exchanged a few pleasantries with Mr. Liu's wife, who worked at the Health Commission, and then followed Mr. Liu into the study.
Then, the Yan siblings sat down in the tea-tasting area in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
Seeing Mr. Liu was about to prepare tea, Yan Feifan, prompted by a look from his sister, quickly presented the tea he was holding.
"Ah, Biluochun!"
Liu Jin opened one of the boxes, took out a tin, and sniffed it gently. He said happily, "This year's new Biluochun, and top-grade at that."
"This is excellent. You're very thoughtful."
He took out some of the Biluochun and put it into the teapot.
"Feifan, Mr. Lo submitted a research project proposal, mainly studying the *in vivo* cultivation of the nervous system."
"That proposal also has your name and Mr. Wang's on it?"
Yan Feifan grunted in affirmation and explained, "For Mr. Wang's daughter to make a full facial recovery, she needs a facial nerve transplant."
"So I was thinking, could we first cultivate some spare nerves inside the body and then transplant them when the time comes."
"Mr. Wang conducted a small experiment on himself and achieved initial success."
"The next step is to expand the experiment. Mr. Lo is more of an expert in this area, so we've let him take the lead."
Liu Jin nodded and revealed, "Feifan, the hospital's project review committee is taking this proposal very seriously."
"They unanimously agree that if this research is successful, it will have significant clinical value. They're preparing to apply for national research funding for it."