Chapter 41: Are You Willing to Give It a Try?

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Are You Willing to Give It a Try?

Phoenix Tail Mountain was a series of low, rolling hills in the southern suburbs of Binhai, with well-preserved vegetation and excellent landscaping.

Many beautiful and luxurious single-family villas were built along the rises and falls of the terrain, making it one of Binhai’s well-known affluent neighborhoods.

Yan Feifan rode in Wang Chuan’s car up the winding, uphill road, eventually pulling into the courtyard of a villa perched on a hilltop.

He got out of the car and saw that the courtyard was impressively large, at least two or three hundred square meters, and filled with all sorts of beautiful flowers and plants.

Even though it was only late March, Yan Feifan could already see at least four different kinds of unfamiliar red and pink flowers swaying in the mountain breeze.

The villa itself was a three-story, egg-yolk yellow building of modern design.

Yan Feifan estimated that the villa itself had to be at least a thousand square meters. And with the courtyard...

Even if it wasn’t worth a hundred million, it had to be at least fifty or sixty million.

’What kind of big shot did Wang Chuan bring me here to meet?’

As Yan Feifan wondered to himself, he caught Wang Chuan striding toward the villa out of the corner of his eye and quickly followed.

Just then, a woman in her thirties or forties with her hair in a ponytail emerged from the villa to greet them. She was dressed presentably.

"Dr. Wang, lunch is ready!"

Wang Chuan nodded and asked, "Mrs. Hua, where’s Yanyan?"

The woman, addressed as Mrs. Hua, replied softly, "Yanyan knows you’re bringing a guest to see her. She’s in the study right now."

Wang Chuan gave a soft hum. "We’ll eat after we’ve spoken with Yanyan."

He turned to Yan Feifan, sighed, and said, "Yan Feifan, the person I brought you here to see is my daughter, Yanyan."

Yan Feifan was inwardly stunned.

’His daughter?’

’In other words, this is his family’s villa?’

’I always knew plastic surgeons made good money,’ Yan Feifan thought, ’but I never imagined they were *this* rich.’

’Doctors in other specialties could probably work their whole lives and not afford a villa like this.’

As Yan Feifan’s mind reeled, he heard Wang Chuan continue, "Her condition..."

He trailed off, then changed the subject, admonishing, "You’re meeting her as a doctor. Act with the professionalism that entails."

Yan Feifan nodded solemnly.

He followed Wang Chuan into the villa and up the stairs to the third floor.

Wang Chuan stopped before a solid wood door to the right of the staircase, raised his hand, and knocked gently three times.

"Yanyan, it’s me. I brought that guy over."

"Are you up for a visit?"

’That guy?’

Yan Feifan took issue with that introduction.

However, since he was on someone else’s turf, he didn’t object.

After waiting patiently for a minute or two, Yan Feifan watched as the wooden door before him was pulled open—gently, slowly, and without a sound.

A girl with long hair, about 1.65 meters tall and looking exceptionally thin and frail, appeared before Yan Feifan.

To his surprise, the girl was wearing a half-veil that concealed her face from the nose down.

"Dad, Mr. Yan, please come in."

The voice was not at all what Yan Feifan had expected.

It didn’t sound like a young girl’s voice. The pronunciation was muffled and indistinct, as if she were speaking with a mouthful of walnuts.

Furthermore, the tone wasn’t smooth at all; it was like the sound of a shovel scraping against the ground, grating on the ears.

Her voice, the veil on her face, and Wang Chuan’s earlier warning—Yan Feifan was beginning to understand the situation.

He followed Wang Chuan into a room with bookshelves lining three of its walls. He came to a coffee table in front of a balcony and sat down across from the girl.

Wang Chuan sat down beside the girl.

The girl picked up the teapot from the table and, with practiced elegance, poured a cup for Wang Chuan and another for Yan Feifan.

Yan Feifan accepted the teacup and thanked her.

He was thirsty and wanted to down it in one go, but the tea was a little too hot, so he could only take a small sip.

"Yanyan, take off your veil. This guy is a doctor, too."

The girl hesitated, glanced at Yan Feifan, then lowered her head and slowly reached up to remove her veil.

Although he had mentally prepared himself, Yan Feifan was still shocked when he saw the face behind the veil.

From below the girl’s left cheekbone down to her left jawbone, there was only a thin layer of skin.

There were no muscles underneath; Yan Feifan could even see the faint outlines of her jawbone and teeth pressed against that thin layer of skin.

After a moment, the girl put her veil back on.

She looked up at Yan Feifan and said, "Mr. Yan, you’re the second young doctor my dad has brought home in the last few years."

"You must be quite exceptional, right?"

Yan Feifan replied modestly, "Just moderately so."

The girl’s eyebrows arched slightly. "I didn’t scare you, did I?"

Yan Feifan shook his head. "No. I’m a doctor."

The girl said nothing more, simply picking up the teapot again to refill Yan Feifan’s cup.

Yan Feifan wasn’t much of a conversationalist either, so he just picked up his teacup and continued to take small, frequent sips.

In the quiet, somewhat awkward atmosphere, Yan Feifan silently finished his cup of tea.

Just then, Wang Chuan stood up. "Yanyan, I’m going to take this guy downstairs for lunch."

The girl stood up as well, her eyes following them as they left...

The dining room on the first floor was massive, with a long table that could easily seat twenty people.

Yan Feifan and Wang Chuan sat on opposite sides of the table. The distance between them made it feel like they were in a negotiation.

Placed before him were several dishes in small bowls: braised pork, steamed egg with crab roe, and fish stewed with tofu, along with a bowl of pumpkin congee and a small bowl of rice.

Wang Chuan picked up his chopsticks. "Let’s eat."

He added, "Yanyan has difficulty chewing, so we’re used to making soft, stewed dishes at home."

After saying this, Wang Chuan began to eat in silence.

Famished, Yan Feifan didn’t stand on ceremony either, picking up his chopsticks and digging in.

He had to admit, the dishes were delicious. Yan Feifan cleaned his plate.

Mrs. Hua cleared their dishes and served them fresh tea.

"Eleven years ago, my ex-wife took Yanyan on a trip to the African Grassland..."

Wang Chuan began to recount slowly, "They were in a terrible accident. Yanyan was attacked by a pack of hungry African hyenas."

"Yanyan barely escaped with her life, but she was severely injured."

"Over the past ten years, I’ve performed twelve surgeries on her. All her injuries have healed, except for her face and vocal cords."

"The constant surgeries have left Yanyan terrified."

"She told me not to operate again unless I was confident I could restore her face to something close to normal."

"She’s just too afraid to get back on the operating table."

Wang Chuan said, his face etched with pain, "With my current skills, I could perform an autologous muscle tissue transplant to fill out her face."

"But the post-operative results..."

Wang Chuan shook his head and continued, "I’ve consulted with several renowned plastic surgery experts abroad, and they can’t do it either."

"But you, Yan Feifan..."

Wang Chuan looked at Yan Feifan and said slowly, "Your detailed knowledge of human facial anatomy has reached an astonishing level."

"The high level of your fundamental surgical skills also took us by surprise."

His expression turned pleading. "Yan Feifan, as a father, I am begging you to restore Yanyan’s face."

Yan Feifan pointed to his own nose and said in disbelief, "Me?"

"Mr. Wang, you can’t be serious, right?"

Wang Chuan’s expression was grave. "I’m perfectly serious."

"Of course, I’m not talking about the you of today. I’m talking about the you in three to five years."

"Under my meticulous tutelage, I’m certain that your skill level by then will far surpass my own."

Yan Feifan was taken aback. He said cautiously, "Mr. Wang, I sympathize with Yanyan’s situation."

"But becoming a plastic surgeon isn’t what I want to do."

Wang Chuan countered, "Isn’t your grand ambition to become an all-specialty surgeon?"

"Isn’t plastic surgery one of those specialties?"

Yan Feifan explained anxiously, "Of course it is."

"But plastic surgery is more of a side interest for me, not my primary focus."

"With Yanyan’s condition, I..."

Wang Chuan held up a hand, cutting off Yan Feifan’s attempt to refuse. "Yan Feifan, I have a viable plan. It won’t interfere with your established learning goals, but it will give you the skills to operate on Yanyan in three to five years."

"Are you willing to give it a try?"

Yan Feifan was highly skeptical.

He said noncommittally, "Mr. Wang, if you really have a viable plan, and if it’s one I can agree with... I suppose it wouldn’t be impossible to give it a try..."