Out in the hallway.

The moment they got to the bottom of the stairs, Chen Hao couldn’t hold it in any longer.

"Jiang He, I was wondering why you suddenly wanted to join the competition. So that was your plan! What was that move just now? Playing hard to get, huh? Brilliant!"

Jiang He’s expression suddenly turned serious.

"Chen Hao."

"What’s up?"

"Don’t mention Cheng Xiyao anymore."

"Why?"

"I don’t want people to get the wrong idea."

"Oh... alright, my bad. So... where are we going now?"

"To eat."

「Dining Hall No. 2.」

Jiang He got a serving of beef stew with potatoes and added a side of scrambled eggs with tomato. The total only came to six-fifty.

Staring at the mountain of white rice piled on his tray, he felt a momentary daze.

’In this day and age, ten yuan could really buy a great meal...’

The two of them found a table by the window and sat down.

Chen Hao dug into his food, but Jiang He didn’t pick up his chopsticks right away. First, he made a call home.

’In his past life, his father had passed away during his second year as a doctoral student. It happened so suddenly that he didn’t even get to see him one last time.’

’His mother had helped him buy a house and get married in the big city all on her own, eventually falling ill from exhaustion. Later, she even helped take care of his sick wife, enduring so much hardship.’

The call connected.

The voice on the other end was full of vigor. "Hello? Who is this?"

"Dad, it’s me."

"Oh, son!" The clacking of mahjong tiles could be heard in the background. "What’s up? Run out of pocket money?"

"I have enough money. I just missed you guys."

The other end of the line went silent for two seconds.

Even the sound of mahjong stopped.

His father said, "...Uh, son, did you get into some kind of trouble at school?"

"No," Jiang He replied.

His father grunted an "oh," then said awkwardly, "Well then, that’s it. Long-distance is expensive, so I’m hanging up!"

"Wait," Jiang He cut him off. "Dad, listen to me. You need to quit smoking. And that jar of pickled vegetables at home, have Mom throw it out. Your blood pressure is high. I’ll text you a list of things to keep in mind later. You follow it, you hear me?"

His father: "Heh, so you think you’re hot stuff just because you’re studying medicine? Ordering your old man around now, are you?"

"Dad," Jiang He said, "I’m counting on making enough money to bring you both to the big city to enjoy life. Be good and take care of your health."

His father: "..."

The line went silent again for a few seconds.

’He’d made the old man feel awkward.’

’What is this all about! I’m not afraid of my son being naughty, but I am scared of him suddenly becoming so filial! I’m not used to this at all!’

His father: "Aiya, alright, alright, I get it. You’re such a nag... Hanging up!"

"Wait..." Jiang He was exasperated and could only try to coax him. "If you listen, I’ll study hard this year and bring home a scholarship, how about that?"

"Huh? You can get a scholarship? For real?"

"For real," Jiang He said.

Hearing this, the old man’s lips clearly curled up. His son’s coaxing had nearly made him break into a huge grin. "Fine, I get it now. Anything else?"

"Let me talk to Mom."

Soon, his mother’s voice came through the receiver. "Son, what’s wrong?"

"Mom, I just told Dad to quit smoking and cut back on salty food. Help me keep an eye on him," Jiang He instructed. "And you, too. Eat less sugar and don’t stay up so late at night."

"Aiyo, my boy is so good... Mom knows, don’t you worry. Take good care of yourself out there. Be smart with your money, but don’t starve yourself. If you run out, just tell Mom..."

After hanging up, Jiang He put his phone away and picked up his chopsticks.

He found Chen Hao staring at him from across the table without a word.

"What are you looking at?" Jiang He picked up a piece of potato.

Chen Hao’s expression grew even more worried.

"...Jiang He."

"Hm?"

"Tell me the truth. Did something happen to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You’re not yourself today. You woke up from a nap in class and solved a difficult problem, ran out and cried your eyes out, went to look up some literature on liver and gallbladder surgery, told me not to mention Cheng Xiyao, and now... you’re actually calling your parents on your own initiative and being all filial?"

"Seriously, Jiang He," Chen Hao said with concern. "If something’s wrong, tell your brother. Don’t carry it all by yourself. I’ve got your back."

Jiang He didn’t answer right away, but a warmth spread through his heart.

’Even though this guy was usually a goofball who did nothing but play games at school.’

’But in his past life, when Shen Yu got sick and they desperately needed money, Chen Hao had lent him his down payment for a house and marriage without a second thought...’

Jiang He put down his chopsticks and said, "Don’t worry, really. Nothing’s wrong."

"Then what’s all this...?"

"I just had a very long dream. When I woke up, I’d figured a lot of things out. I used to think I had all the time in the world and could just coast by, but now I feel like time is tight, and I want to do something meaningful."

Chen Hao stared at him for a long time, trying to read something on Jiang He’s face.

But Jiang He’s gaze was too open, and it even held a... depth and resolve that Chen Hao couldn’t quite understand...

"...Alright, then."

Chen Hao sighed. "I don’t know what got into you, but you don’t look like you’re on the verge of doing something drastic. Anyway, just tell me if you need anything."

"Yeah."

The two of them quickly finished their dinner. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

They walked out of the dining hall.

Many of the male students were walking toward the school gate with their arms around each other’s shoulders.

Standing at the intersection, Chen Hao was tempted. "So... Jiang He, not going gaming? The guild is doing a progression raid tonight, and we’re short a healer. Your account..."

"Not going," Jiang He refused flatly. "I’m not playing anymore. The account is yours."

"Holy shit!" Chen Hao was completely floored. "You’re something else. Here, take your bag. I’ll level up the account for you for now. I’ll give it back when you’re done with this whole ’full of ambition’ phase."

"Alright."

Chen Hao waved and turned, jogging toward the internet cafe at the school gate.

’Goodbye, Azeroth.’

Jiang He walked back to the dormitory alone.

He pushed the door open. His other two roommates were already back.

Wang Bo, who slept in the bunk across from him, was a chubby guy with thick-lensed glasses nicknamed Old Wang. He was lying on his bed, reading Slaying Immortals.

’Looking at him now, I see central obesity and pronounced acanthosis nigricans—a classic case of insulin resistance. That needs treatment.’

By the window was Li Zijian, the self-proclaimed "Prince of Love Songs," currently fixing his hair.

’Looking at him now, I see forward head posture and a tense left trapezius. That also needs treatment.’

Jiang He shook his head.

’This professional habit of mine... it needs to be treated too.’

"Yo, Old Jiang’s back?" Li Zijian glanced at him in the mirror. "Where’s Brother Hao? Off to the internet cafe again?"

"Yeah." Jiang He put his bag down.

"Tsk tsk, so degenerate." Li Zijian adjusted his collar. "Not me, though. I’ve got a date to walk around the track with a girl from the nursing department tonight. Old Jiang, what do you think of my hair?"

Jiang He turned to look.

’By modern standards, it was a totally cringey, alternative hairstyle, just one step shy of something completely over-the-top.’

"It’s fine," Jiang He said, then added a reminder, "Zijian, have your fun, but be safe."

"Ayyy, it’s cool. We won’t have any ’issues’. I’m HIV-positive the chances are basically zero~"

Li Zijian didn’t pay it any mind, admiring himself in the mirror for another moment before heading out.

’Jiang He recalled that, in his past life, Zijian wasn’t diagnosed until after graduation.’

’So this girl was probably safe. I’ll just have to remind him more seriously later.’

He pulled out his chair and sat down.

He switched on his desk lamp.

From his drawer, he took out a brand-new notebook and uncapped a pen.

On the title page, he solemnly wrote the first line:

"Improvements to Clinical Procedures and an Early Screening Program for Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery — 2008"

’Although his mind was filled with the next twenty years of medical breakthroughs, turning that knowledge into something he could present in the current era required a logical deductive process.’

’He had to break down these advanced conclusions into bold hypotheses and rigorous deductions based on the existing literature from 2008.’

Jiang He began to write:

"Phase One Focus: An improved radical resection procedure for hilar cholangiocarcinoma (Klatskin tumor)."

He recalled Professor Yang Xu’s research bottleneck during this period and continued writing:

"Existing surgical procedures have an extremely low R0 resection rate for Type III and Type IV hilar cholangiocarcinoma. The core blind spot lies in the anatomical dead space of the first porta hepatis..."

After writing this, Jiang He paused to think.

He then added an asterisk next to the paragraph and jotted down a note about future prospects:

"Note: Although microsurgical techniques are not yet widespread, within the next three to five years, refined vascular anastomosis under total laparoscopy will gradually replace the reliance on tactile feedback from open surgery..."