After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

The atmosphere in the Gu family's dining room was somewhat awkward, with only the crisp sound of chopsticks touching porcelain bowls continuing.

Ye Zhen ate her stir-fried cabbage with vinegar as if nothing had happened, as if she hadn't been the one whose proposal had just been thrown into the trash can in front of her. Gu Zheng, however, didn't have such good manners. He piled peeled shrimp into Ye Zhen's bowl, his brows and eyes filled with coldness.

"Williams?" Gu Zheng suddenly chuckled, toying with the empty wine glass in his hand, his eyes filled with amusement. "Didn't Political Commissar Zhao mention this name on the phone just now?"

Gu Jianguo was feeling embarrassed, and glared at him irritably: "So what if he is? He's the head surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of England, he has a title! Don't be so sarcastic, you brat."

"If I remember correctly," Gu Zheng turned to Ye Zhen, his tone casual, "wasn't that the old British man at Charité Hospital in Berlin also named that?"

Ye Zhen swallowed the last mouthful of rice and slowly wiped her mouth: "The cardiac surgery circle isn't big. The only one who can be called 'Jazz' is probably that old man. His skills are so-so, but he has quite a temper."

"..."

Gu Jianguo nearly dropped his chopsticks. So-so technique? That's the work of a British authority in cardiology!

"You're just bragging!" Gu Jianguo assumed the two young people were just putting on a brave face, and waved his hand. "Alright, even eating can't shut you up. Old Zhao has no choice. The feeling of being a father, that feeling of wanting to die for your child... you'll understand when you have kids."

At this very moment, the atmosphere at the Zhao family's residence on the other side was so oppressive it was suffocating.

Zhao Gang hung up the phone and collapsed onto the sofa as if his spine had been ripped out. From the bedroom came his wife's suppressed sobs, each sound like a saw cutting into his heart.

"Old Zhao..." His wife came out with red and swollen eyes, "What's the situation in England...? We still have two thousand yuan in our savings account, I'll go borrow some more from my parents' house..."

Zhao Gang rubbed his face in anguish: "Old Chen is still in contact, but the chances are slim. The waiting list for a bed there is until next year, and the cost... 20,000 pounds. That's pounds! Even if we empty our savings, plus our allowances, it probably won't be enough for the surgery and travel expenses."

Just then, the phone on the table rang shrilly.

Zhao Gang lunged at him like a drowning man grasping at a straw: "Feed? Old Chen! Did Sir Williams give in?"

On the other end of the phone, accompanied by the crackling of static, Foreign Ministry Counselor Chen Yuanshan's voice sounded somewhat anxious, with background noise like someone flipping through documents: "Old Zhao, the situation isn't good. I just shamelessly called Sir Williams' secretary again, and they said it's a no-go."

"The jazz's schedule is packed. And his impression of Chinese patients... is that their conditions are usually too severe, their basic medical care is poor, and he is unwilling to take on cases that would damage his reputation for high success rates."

Zhao Gang's hand trembled, and the receiver almost slipped from his hand.

The last glimmer of hope has been extinguished.

"However," Chen Yuanshan changed the subject, "you were just complaining to me on the phone about the young female doctor from Commander Gu's family giving you a treatment plan?"

Zhao Gang sighed, leaning against the wall with a wry smile: "Don't even mention it. Jianguo was just grasping at straws in his desperation. It was Ye Zhen, the granddaughter-in-law who had just married into the Gu family. She said the British surgical plan wasn't working and she had a better one. Isn't that ridiculous? Even the senior experts at Fuwai Hospital wouldn't dare to think of such a thing, and this little girl dared to ask for it."

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.

The deathly silence lasted for a full five seconds.

"Old Zhao," Chen Yuanshan's voice suddenly turned strange, trembling with disbelief, "you just said...that's the Gu family's granddaughter-in-law? Her name is Ye Zhen?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"My God!" Chen Yuanshan slammed his hand on the table, making the microphone vibrate. "The 'Berlin Miracle' that was advertised in the newspapers the other day, the female doctor who secured a 100 million mark sponsorship from the Germans and had the president of Siemens personally fly to Beijing to deliver the equipment—that's Ye Zhen!"

Zhao Gang was stunned, as if a thunderbolt had struck his mind: "You mean... that Ye Zhen, the Ye Zhen?"

He had always thought that those in the newspapers were national role models, far removed from his own life. Coupled with his recent exhaustion over his daughter's illness, he hadn't connected the two events at all. In his eyes, Ye Zhen was simply a junior colleague of Gu Jianguo.

"You! What can I say about you!" Chen Yuanshan exclaimed in exasperation. "You have a true Buddha to worship, but you insist on seeking help from that foreign monk who's so far away! Do you know what status Ye Zhen holds in the European medical community? She's someone who even impressed the father of German cardiac surgery, Bauer! The Berlin Daily calls her 'The Hand of God'!"

"Give me Commander Gu's phone number!" Chen Yuanshan said decisively. "I'll call and confirm right now."

"Oh! Okay! Okay!" Zhao Gang frantically flipped through the phone book, his hands shaking so much that he could barely read the words, and he finally managed to recite a number.

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Gang remained in a daze.

ten minutes.

For Zhao Gang, those ten minutes felt longer than the time he spent hiding in foxholes on the battlefield to avoid artillery fire.

He sat stiffly on the sofa, watching the second hand of the old wall clock tick away, one tick at a time.

if it is real……

If that little girl really does have that ability...

What did he just do?

He cruelly pushed away his daughter's only chance for survival! And in front of them, he completely disregarded their kindness!

Ten minutes later, the phone rang. Zhao Gang answered it, and Chen Yuanshan's excited voice came through.

"Old Zhao! It's confirmed! It's Ye Zhen, the one mentioned in the newspaper! I'll call Williams again right now, wait for my news! This time it's definitely going to work!"

Before Zhao Gang could react, the call was disconnected.

……

Thousands of miles away, in London, England.

It was afternoon tea time, and Sir Williams sat behind his large desk, listening impatiently to an international call transferred by his secretary.

"Mr. Chen, I have made myself very clear." Williams took a sip of his black tea, his tone arrogant with a hint of disdain. "The surgery for Marfan syndrome is extremely risky, and my surgical schedule is very full."

Chen Yuanshan took a deep breath on the other end of the phone and said in fluent English, "Sir, a doctor in our country has proposed a modified surgical procedure, planning to perform valve-preserving aortic root replacement for the patient..."

"What?" Williams let out an exaggerated laugh, his voice shrill. "Preserve the valve? That's forbidden territory for God! To operate on a blood vessel as thin as a cicada's wing and still preserve that fragile valve? Is this science fiction? Who's so arrogant? Your Chinese barefoot doctors?"

Suppressing his anger, Chen Yuanshan said in a deep voice, "It wasn't a barefoot doctor. The surgeon who proposed this plan was a young woman named Ye Zhen."

"Clang!"

A crisp sound came from the other end of the phone, like the sound of an exquisite bone china teacup shattering on the ground.

Then came a flurry of activity, as if someone had overturned a chair.

"Who did you say?" Williams' previously arrogant tone instantly rose eight octaves, even cracking slightly, "Ye? The Ye from Berlin?"

"Yes, it is Dr. Ye who performed the surgery at Charité Hospital in Berlin." Chen Yuanshan smiled slightly, but his tone remained calm.

The breathing on the other end of the phone instantly became rapid.

The arrogance, disdain, and condescension of just moments ago vanished in an instant.

"Damn it! Why didn't you say so sooner!" Williams roared, as if he weren't the one who had refused the surgery. "If it were Ye, it would be completely different! That woman... no, that lady's hands are like magic! If she had performed the surgery, this crazy idea might actually have come true!"

Chen Yuanshan pressed his advantage: "In that case, let's..."

"No, wait!" Williams interrupted him rudely. "Chen, since Ye is going to perform this surgery, I have a request! A very serious request!"

"What?"

"Please tell Ye that if she doesn't mind, I'm willing to fly to Beijing immediately!" Williams' voice even carried a hint of pleading. "I can bring a complete set of the latest artificial blood vessels and the best surgical instruments! All provided free of charge! I only have one request—I want to be her first assistant! No, even the second assistant will do! I can even just watch from the sidelines!"

Chen Yuanshan's hand holding the microphone was trembling.

Is this the same arrogant British nobleman from just moments ago? Bringing his own food, paying for his own travel, and even offering to be an assistant? Is he on a pilgrimage?