"Xie Xiao, has Lu Cheng contacted you recently?" In a neighborhood in Han City, Zhong Junyun walked down the stairs to the shaded area of the path, dialed Xie Xiao’s number.

"No, Xiao Lu has never contacted me directly, Director Zhong, hasn’t he been in touch with you?" Xie Xiao said, puzzled, as she was preparing her presentation for the weekend’s academic conference.

"So, has he not mentioned any good things he has?" Zhong Junyun’s voice was calm and profound.

"Good things? Director Zhong, what other good things does Lu Cheng have?"

"Wasn’t that tendon suturing project sent out by you?" Xie Xiao replied with a question.

Zhong Junyun: "Today, Xiao Lu’s girlfriend contacted me again. I called Lu Cheng, and he said he recently had an epiphany and came up with a new technique for substantial organ suturing and nerve, blood vessel suturing."

"He plans to collaborate with Xiangya Hospital as well."

Xie Xiao immediately understood Zhong Junyun’s point: "Director Zhong, I haven’t been in touch with Lu Cheng, and the project you discussed with Han Loning hasn’t been leaked even to Xie Yuan’an!"

Zhong Junyun replied, "I didn’t say you leaked the project. What I mean is."

"Hmm... Do you think I’ve got the direction wrong?"

Xie Xiao thought seriously for a moment and then said, "Director Zhong, from our perspective, Xiao Han is a better match for our department. If it were up to me, I would definitely also prioritize Xiao Han."

"After all, resources can’t be so evenly distributed."

"But, if you just said, Xiao Lu he."

"No, how did Lu Cheng get involved with spleen suturing technique again?"

Zhong Junyun replied irritably, "You’re asking me, who am I supposed to ask?"

"However, I did just find out one piece of information. Lu Cheng won the first prize in two categories at Xiang Province’s Microtech Surgery Skills Competition."

"The scoring for substantial organ suturing exceeded 110 points, even higher than full marks!"

"It’s impossible for Lu Cheng to collaborate with so many professors to fake such an outrageous result."

"Why don’t you ask Xie Yuan’an if she said something to Mu Nanshu?"

Xie Xiao replied without hesitation, "Director Zhong, there’s nothing secret about what we’ve discussed in our department, Xie Yuan’an can talk about it, right?"

"She and Lu Cheng, as well as Lu Cheng’s girlfriend, are friends."

Zhong Junyun said, "I know, I just got in touch with Professor Tan Zhongyuan from Xiangya Hospital. From him, I can basically confirm that the other two suturing techniques Lu Cheng developed this time are genuine."

"This far exceeds our expectations and preliminary research. Have Xiao Xie try to contact Xiao Lu, and I’ll go find him for a good talk face-to-face."

"There should still be room for maneuver on this matter."

"Okay, Director Zhong, I’ll make a call to learn about the specific situation."

...

After hanging up, Xie Xiao dialed Xie Yuan’an’s number.

Xie Yuan’an directly disconnected the call. Xie Xiao dialed again, and only then did Xie Yuan’an pick up, her voice urgent, "Old Han, I’m in the lab, what do you need?"

"Can you get in touch with Lu Cheng?" Xie Xiao got straight to the point.

"How did you find out? I was planning to report it to you tonight," Xie Yuan’an answered.

"Never mind how I found out, just tell me the specifics. Director Zhong is caught in the middle now."

"Caught between a rock and a hard place, he called me," Xie Xiao said.

Xie Yuan’an said, "Director Zhong is so senior already, can’t he take responsibility for his own actions?"

"I think Lu Cheng did nothing wrong. Union Hospital showed him gratitude, and he plans to teach me the tendon suturing technique and spleen suturing technique so that I can participate in the Microtech Surgery Skills Competition."

"Dad, Lu Cheng is just an advanced trainee at our hospital, and the preferential treatment he gets is just this."

"As for Mu Nanshu, even if Professor Zhong didn’t mention it to Professor Dong from the Gastroenterology Department, Mu Nanshu would still find a way to leave."

"Professor Zhong was just doing a favor in passing."

As Xie Yuan’an said this, she added, "I’m a beneficiary of the interests, and I won’t try to persuade Lu Cheng into anything."

Xie Xiao wasn’t naive; she could infer something from what Xie Yuan’an said: "So what exactly does he mean?"

Xie Yuan’an’s tone also carried some resentment: "Dad, Lu Cheng said he has been going through worldly affairs for over a decade with little to no results."

"This just proves that playing the politics doesn’t work, only enhancing his core skills does."

"The path of relying on others doesn’t work, so he can only set up his own table."

"These are Mu Nanshu’s exact words to me."

After hearing this, Xie Xiao fell silent.

She took a deep breath and sighed lightly, "Lu Cheng’s thinking is still too extreme. With the support of a team, his path would definitely become smoother."

"But from his perspective, he hasn’t said anything wrong either." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"From Huashan Hospital to Zhongnan Hospital, and then to our place, I find it all heartbreaking."

"I also have major issues; I shouldn’t have recommended him to Professor Zhong."

Xie Xiao felt somewhat self-reproachful.

"Old Xie, you do have some issues, but they aren’t that big. My original intent was just to watch from the sidelines. Under those circumstances, who was Lu Cheng?"

"You didn’t know, Professor Zhong didn’t know, nobody knew, only I did. But you still supported my impulsiveness."

"So, I can’t say you were wrong because you’re my dad."

"Besides, objectively speaking, I don’t think you were wrong. The most beneficial mentor for Lu Cheng would be Professor Zhong."

"Perhaps it’s just the unpredictability of life; during this time, Han Loning showed up."