For the entire hour-plus trip home from the hospital after work, Yan Ziruo wore a sour face and didn't say a single word to Yan Feifan.
Tian Yu, who had made a habit of coming over for dinner, easily sensed the tension between the siblings.
She asked timidly, "Mr. Yan, did you and Ruoruo have a fight today?"
"Sort of," Yan Feifan replied simply.
"In that case, should I leave and give you two some space to work things out?"
"Or should I help you smooth things over with Ruoruo?"
Yan Feifan shook his head and gestured with the plastic bags of ingredients in his hand. "Neither. Just help me with dinner..."
Due to his family's circumstances, a sensible Yan Feifan had started helping in the kitchen and learning to cook when he was just seven or eight years old.
After waking from his coma, once he had recovered some of his strength, Yan Feifan took over nearly all the cooking and household chores.
Yan Feifan did this for two reasons. First, he was grateful for all his sister had done for him.
As the saying goes, long-term illness can wear down even the most devoted caregiver. But in the one year, three months, and ten days he was in a coma, Yan Feifan never developed a single bedsore.
From this alone, Yan Feifan knew his sister had been taking meticulous care of him, and he understood the immense hardship she had endured.
The second reason was that Yan Feifan wanted to use daily exercise and labor to let the memories, long-honed in the world of his consciousness, take effect in his physical body. He wanted to build muscle memory so his body would move as his mind willed.
Thanks to the rigorous training in that world of consciousness, Yan Feifan's culinary skills had skyrocketed over the past several months.
In Yan Ziruo's words, his cooking was on par with a five-star hotel chef. If he quit being a doctor, he could switch careers and still support the family as a cook.
After a flurry of activity in the kitchen, Yan Feifan had an elaborate dinner on the table before nine in the evening.
Tian Yu perceptively scurried into Yan Ziruo's room. She found her, already changed, lying on the bed and watching a drama on her phone.
She went over and called out sweetly, "Ruoruo, dinner's ready."
"Mr. Yan made steamed sea bass, sweet and sour spare ribs, tomatoes and scrambled eggs, homestyle tofu, and a winter melon and dried shrimp soup."
"They're all your favorite dishes!"
Yan Ziruo huffed, tossed her phone aside, and got out of bed.
As she walked out of her room, she saw that the TV was on, playing the modern drama she'd been following.
Yan Ziruo sat down on the living room sofa. Without a single glance at Yan Feifan, she fixed her eyes on the TV, picked up her bowl and chopsticks, and prepared to eat.
"Sis, there's something I need to talk to you about!"
Yan Ziruo's chopsticks, halfway to picking up a spare rib, paused for just a moment before she resumed the motion.
"Sis, Mr. Qin has been a doctor for many years. She's mentored dozens, if not hundreds, of young doctors."
"In all those years, there's only been that one incident. It was most likely the young doctor's personal problem."
Seeing his sister completely ignoring him and focusing on her food, Yan Feifan continued, "Sis, we've been through so much growing up. What haven't we seen? You know how resilient we are..."
"I'm sure you've looked into Mr. Qin's background."
"So you must know that not only is Mr. Qin a brilliant surgeon, she's also beloved by her patients."
"A doctor so dedicated to saving her patients isn't the type to senselessly pressure her students..."
"She's just incredibly strict when it comes to her profession."
"And you know me, Sis. When it comes to the profession, I'm never one to be intimidated..."
Yan Ziruo finally turned to look at Yan Feifan and said coldly, "The Affiliated Hospital has so many renowned surgeons. With your ability, it would be easy to have any one of them mentor you."
"So why are you taking the risk of asking that tyrant to be your mentor?"
Finally getting a response, Yan Feifan's spirits lifted. He quickly explained, "Sis, you know..."
"Each of the clinical specialists at the hospital has to mentor ten or twenty students and junior doctors, and that's on the low end."
"I'm talented, sure, but stuck in such a large group, the amount of personal attention I'd get would still be limited."
"But choosing Mr. Qin as my mentor is a different story..."
After explaining his reasoning, Yan Feifan made a promise. "Sis, I swear to you, if I feel like something's wrong, or if I find I can't handle Mr. Qin, I'll drop her as my mentor immediately."
"I'll stay far, far away from her..."
"So what do you think, Sis?"
"Please, Sis? Just say yes?"
Despite Yan Feifan's pleading, Yan Ziruo kept her stony expression and continued eating, pointedly ignoring him.
Resigned, Yan Feifan was about to try persuading her again.
"Mr. Yan..."
Just then, Tian Yu suddenly spoke up. "You two should eat. If you don't, all the sweet and sour spare ribs will be gone."
Only then did Yan Feifan notice that the once-full plate of sweet and sour spare ribs now only had two or three small pieces left.
He forgot all about his argument and quickly picked up his chopsticks to eat.
Yan Ziruo put down her bowl and chopsticks, let out a delicate burp, and said, "Yan Feifan, you'd better remember that promise."
"The second you realize you can't stand that old witch, you leave. Immediately, without a moment's hesitation."
"And..."
"And what?" a delighted Yan Feifan pressed.
Yan Ziruo licked her lips. "Make sweet and sour spare ribs again tomorrow night."
Yan Feifan quickly agreed, then couldn't resist adding, "Sis, you've gained at least twenty pounds lately, haven't you?"
That was like stepping on a wildcat's tail. A flurry of fists immediately rained down on him.
"I am not fat! Where exactly are you seeing this fat?"
"Let me tell you, Yan Feifan, I haven't even gotten back to my normal weight yet!"
"How dare you call me fat... How dare you call me fat..."
Pounding on her little brother, Yan Ziruo felt wonderfully refreshed.
'What kind of older sister doesn't beat up her little brother?'
'It was a fine tradition, and a very good one at that,' Yan Ziruo thought.
Just then, a sudden knock on the door forced Yan Ziruo to stop her assault.
Tian Yu ran to get the door.
A young man of average height with glasses entered, followed by a young woman with straight, shoulder-length hair and a pale complexion.
Yan Feifan recognized the young man. His name was Cai Yuanheng, and he lived in a nearby residential complex.
Yan Feifan had tutored him before, and he was now a student at Tongji University.
As for the young woman with him, Yan Feifan didn't recognize her.
"Mr. Yan..."
Cai Yuanheng saw the dinner plates still on the coffee table and said apologetically, "Sorry to interrupt your meal."
"My good friend, who's also my neighbor, is feeling really sick. I was hoping you could come take a look."
He then gestured to the young woman beside him and introduced her, "This is my friend's older sister, Yang Xuan."
Ever since Yan Feifan started working at the Affiliated Hospital, unexpected requests for a house call like this happened at least once or twice a month, sometimes as often as five or six times.
The Yan siblings were used to it.
Yan Feifan stood up. "Just feeling unwell? Are there any external injuries?"
"No external injuries, just not feeling well!" Cai Yuanheng confirmed.
Yan Feifan murmured a soft "oh," went to his room, and came back out with a medical diagnostic case.
Besides the diagnostic case, his room also contained a first-aid kit, a surgical case, and even minimally invasive surgical equipment he used for practice.
It was no exaggeration to say that in a true emergency, Yan Feifan could perform a relatively simple surgery on a patient right there in his home.
The ever-perceptive Cai Yuanheng took the medical case from him. He and Yang Xuan then accompanied Yan Feifan out the door and into the elevator.
The three of them walked quickly, their heads bowed.
Yan Feifan didn't ask about the patient's condition, and both Cai Yuanheng and the young woman remained silent, not bringing it up themselves.
About ten minutes later, Yan Feifan crossed the road into the neighboring Biyu Garden District. He followed Cai Yuanheng into Building Seven and took the elevator to the twelfth floor.
After exiting the elevator, Yan Feifan followed the pair into the east-side apartment.
He crossed the living room and entered a bedroom.
The scene before him, however, made Yan Feifan freeze.
A young woman with disheveled hair was tied to the bed.
He also noticed drool trickling from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were unfocused, and she was babbling incoherently.
Yan Feifan spun around to face Cai Yuanheng, Yang Xuan, and a middle-aged couple who had followed them inside. "What exactly is going on here?" he demanded.
"Why didn't you take her to a hospital?"