Overpowered Resident Doctor

The forty-eight-hour time limit for classifying an injury as work-related was a regulation set by the relevant authorities and experts, so it surely had its reasons and justifications.

Yan Feifan wasn’t in a position to comment on the matter.

It was just that, in his years working at the Affiliated Hospital, he had seen or heard of such cases more than once.

He had seen employers demand that doctors use expensive drugs and life support equipment at all costs, simply to keep a patient’s vital signs stable past the forty-eight-hour mark, only for them to take their last breath moments later.

He had also seen patients’ families, with the forty-eight-hour deadline looming, demand that doctors give up on resuscitating patients who still had a chance of survival.

The saying “life is priceless” was such a pale and feeble platitude in the face of stark reality…

In a foul mood, Yan Feifan returned to his office in the Little Red House and began reviewing the plastic surgery proposals for Ji Meng that Berry and Zhu Jian had submitted.

He first opened the post-operative rendering of Ji Meng’s face that Berry had designed.

As the image filled the screen, Yan Feifan was momentarily stunned by its beauty.

The deep, bright eyes with long lashes and the full, sensual lips were particularly striking.

But that sense of awe lasted only for an instant.

On closer inspection, Yan Feifan found quite a few flaws.

The work on the corners of the eyes wasn’t delicate or natural enough.

The lips were a little too full, not quite fitting the common aesthetic in this country.

Also, the tip of the nose and the nostrils were slightly large, the shape lacking delicacy. And in an attempt to create facial depth and structure, the cheekbones were a bit too prominent…

Overall, as someone from the United States, Berry’s aesthetic sensibilities were still fundamentally different from the local aesthetic.

Her design was bold and eye-catching, but it lacked refinement in the details.

To put it simply, Berry’s design was beautiful, yes, but it didn’t bear close inspection. It failed to provide that aesthetic experience where appreciation and delight grow over time.

Yan Feifan then opened the rendering submitted by Zhu Jian.

At first glance, Yan Feifan thought Zhu Jian’s rendering was the same picture of the “most beautiful woman” that Ji Meng had shown him the other day—the one generated by some website.

After careful comparison, he found that the resemblance between Zhu Jian’s rendering and that image was nearly ninety percent.

‘Zhu Jian’s aesthetic is closer to the mainstream, then?’

Yan Feifan couldn’t help but mutter to himself. He also had to admit that Zhu Jian’s design of Ji Meng’s features was quite well-executed.

Even with his discerning eye, he couldn’t find any obvious flaws.

But…

Yan Feifan slid his chair back, putting some distance between himself and the computer screen.

He looked at Zhu Jian’s design on the screen again.

The face, composed of nearly perfect features, didn’t make his heart race or his breath catch.

In other words, Zhu Jian’s design was too restrained and subtle. It didn’t have a clear, prominent feature that could make one’s heart skip a beat at first glance.

‘In Yan Feifan’s mind, true, ultimate beauty should be breathtaking at first glance, awe-inspiring at the second, and utterly captivating by the third.’

Of course, Yan Feifan knew full well that such ultimate beauty was something neither he nor anyone else could actually achieve.

But it should still be possible to achieve that initial, stunning “wow” factor, followed by a quiet stirring of the heart upon closer appreciation.

‘If only the strengths of Berry’s and Zhu Jian’s designs could be combined…’

Yan Feifan imagined it for a moment, then shook his head.

The two of them had design styles that were like oil and water; they simply couldn’t be mixed.

Yan Feifan wrote up his critiques for both design proposals and sent them off…

Around five in the afternoon, while Yan Feifan was still mulling over Ji Meng’s surgical plan, he got a call from his uncle.

“Feifan, I found her.”

“She says it’s my child.”

On the other end of the line, his uncle’s speech was so excited it had practically doubled in speed.

“She also said she originally hadn’t planned on finding me, that she was just going to raise the child on her own.”

“But the child had a serious accident last year and still hasn’t recovered.”

“She lost her job taking care of the injured child, and now she’s out of money.”

“She was at her wit’s end. Then she heard the ship I work on was back at the docks loading cargo, so she found some of my old coworkers to ask about me.”

Yan Feifan just hummed in response and asked directly, “Uncle, what do you plan to do?”

“Well… uh…”

His uncle stammered for a moment before saying, “Feifan, I was in the wrong back then!”

“My thinking is, whether the child is mine or not, I should first help get his leg injury treated. It would be a way to make up for my past mistakes.”

“Feifan, I want to bring the mother and child to Binhai and have you treat the boy’s leg.”

“It looks pretty serious. He can’t even walk on his own.”

Yan Feifan frowned. “Uncle, I have no problem with you bringing the child to Binhai for treatment.”

“The problem is your wife. Have you asked her what she thinks?”

His uncle gave a sheepish laugh and said in a wheedling tone, “Not yet. Feifan, could you and Ziruo maybe…”

“No!”

Yan Feifan cut him off, his tone firm. “Uncle, don’t even think about it.”

“My sister and I will absolutely not get involved in persuading your wife for you in this kind of messy family drama.”

“You can figure out how to tell your own wife about this…”

After ending the call with his uncle, Yan Feifan dialed his sister’s number. He learned that she had already returned to Binhai from Jingcheng and had just gotten back to the Phoenix Mountain Villa a short while ago.

“Oh, Feifan! Nini Home Decorations had its grand opening today. They ran a big promotion online, and sales have been really, really good.”

“That’s great. I’m glad business is booming.”

Yan Feifan offered a perfunctory reply, then quickly relayed the contents of the phone call he’d just had with their uncle.

“Sis, you need to keep a close eye on Aunt. She’s pregnant at an older age, after all, and she’s not that far along.”

Yan Ziruo replied, “Don’t worry, Feifan. The reason I turned down Zeng Ni’s kind offer to stay in Jingcheng for a few more days was precisely because I was worried Aunt would be in low spirits right now.”

“I’ll take good care of her.”

After a pause, she added a reminder, “Feifan, you need to take care of yourself, too.”

“I know you’ve got a lot on your plate as well.”

Yan Feifan chuckled. “Don’t worry, Sis. I’ve got my top lieutenants here, and Su Ye too. There’s nothing to worry about…”

He hung up the call with his sister and had just set down his phone when the connecting door to the main office was pushed open. Yu Beihua hurried in, a worried look on his face.

“Dr. Yan, a group of thirty or forty people just showed up to visit Mr. Bai. They said they were notified that he’s… not going to make it.”

“I tried to go to his room to give him a physical check-up, but someone is blocking the door and won’t let me in.”

“Dr. Yan…”

Hearing this, Yan Feifan knew the man’s plan was finally in motion.

He smiled. “Mr. Bai is fine. His dementia was all an act. He’s gathered everyone here today for a showdown, it seems.”

“You can go watch the show!”

“An act? How is that possible?” Yu Beihua looked completely incredulous.

Yan Feifan chuckled. “He fooled me too. I didn’t see through his little trick until last Thursday, when Xv Shuang found a hole in his act and told me.”

“Hey, speaking of which, Beihua…”

Yan Feifan’s expression suddenly darkened. “You visit their ward every day, right? Probably more than once.”

“Mr. Bai was faking his senility, and you didn’t notice a thing?”

“Uh… well…”

Yu Beihua stammered for a moment, then said, “Dr. Yan, I’ll… I’ll go up and see what’s going on.”

With that, before Yan Feifan could respond, he scurried out of the room…