Chapter 135: Departure
After finishing today's studies, Nan Yu packed up his things and turned to leave.
However, just as he was about to go, someone stopped him again.
This time, it was Professor Liu.
Nan Yu found it a little strange.
"Professor Liu, is something wrong? Is there a problem?"
Professor Liu looked at him for a few moments before saying, "Nothing serious. Enyun told me something earlier, and I'd like to ask your opinion."
Nan Yu immediately thought of Du Enyun pleading on behalf of... that person.
He still didn't even know the guy's name.
Unfortunately, neither he nor Yu Lanfeng had ever targeted that person.
Besides, there was no need to lie.
Yu Lanfeng had no reason to lie. If he'd done something, he'd admit it. If he hadn't, then he hadn't. He would never lie over such a trivial matter.
Which meant someone else had been dealing with that person. It had nothing to do with either of them.
Since that was the case, talking about it with him shouldn't matter.
For now...
Nan Yu blinked innocently, looking completely puzzled.
"Professor Liu wants to discuss something with me? May I ask what it is?"
It seemed Professor Liu had never done anything like this before. He looked rather embarrassed.
Seeing an elderly professor awkwardly trying to negotiate with someone decades younger—one could almost call it pleading—made Nan Yu feel uncomfortable.
Had Du Enyun never considered Professor Liu's feelings?
And for Professor Liu to lower himself and personally come speak to him...
Just what had Du Enyun offered? Had he begged him? Or used some kind of leverage?
No matter how Nan Yu thought about it, something didn't feel right.
"Professor Liu, why don't we sit down first? There's no need to rush. We still have plenty of time. Just tell me slowly. If it isn't anything major, then it's something we can discuss. I'm not an unreasonable person."
As he spoke, he led Professor Liu to a chair and even poured him a cup of hot tea before placing it in front of him.
Holding the warm cup, Professor Liu visibly relaxed.
Then he looked at the smiling young man sitting across from him and let out a long sigh.
"...Sigh. My judgment really is poor. All these years I've done nothing but study—learning this, learning that. It always felt like there was never enough to learn. Yet when it truly mattered, everything I'd learned was completely useless."
Nan Yu suddenly laughed.
"Professor Liu, what are you talking about? You're one of the leading professors in the medical field. How can you judge yourself like that?"
"Everyone has things they're good at and things they're not. That's only natural. Since that's the case, there's no point dwelling on it too much. If someone truly had no weaknesses at all, then they'd probably be a god."
Professor Liu smiled faintly.
"You're right."
The two chatted for a while.
After Nan Yu saw that Professor Liu had gradually relaxed and was no longer so nervous, he glanced at the time before raising his head.
"By the way, Professor Liu, you stopped me earlier because you wanted to tell me something, didn't you? It's getting late. If you have something to say, just say it. I'll be heading home soon."
Professor Liu took a deep breath.
This time, he didn't hide anything.
"Earlier, Enyun told me that one of his junior colleagues offended you and is now being targeted and ostracized by many people. He says the young man can hardly stay here anymore, so he asked me to come talk to you."
Nan Yu's lips twitched.
"Professor Liu, I honestly don't think this is something you should be involved in. Why would you come talk to me about it? Is Dr. Du's junior really that outstanding that a professor like you would personally come negotiate with me?"
Professor Liu frowned.
"Of course not! Enyun himself is worth paying attention to, but as for that young man... I taught him for a while before. He barely passed his evaluations. He's utterly useless!"
Nan Yu thought to himself...
Then they must have something over Professor Liu.
He was going to leave the Capital Star with Yu Lanfeng soon, traveling all over the Empire to deal with various matters.
He wouldn't be back often.
Before leaving, he wanted to help Professor Liu resolve this issue.
"Professor Liu, can you tell me why? They can't possibly ask you for favors like this every time, and you simply agree every time, can they?"
Professor Liu continued frowning.
He hesitated over whether to tell him.
But perhaps he felt this wasn't actually some shameful secret.
It simply wasn't something pleasant to talk about, and revealing it might damage his reputation.
After another sigh, he decided to trust his own judgment one more time.
He believed Nan Yu wasn't that kind of person.
"When I was young... around fifty or sixty years old, I had just entered a hospital. I'd only recently finished my internship and officially become a full-fledged doctor."
"At the time, I worked during the day, and after work I'd either go to the library to study or enroll in additional courses. Perhaps I kept myself too busy."
"During one surgery... I..."
"It wouldn't exactly be fair to call it a mistake."
"During the operation, my reaction was delayed by about two seconds."
"Just enough time for a blink."
"By the time I reacted, the patient's blood had already sprayed out."
"We couldn't save him."
"He died."
Nan Yu said, "So? Even you admitted that's only a possibility. At the time you were a newly qualified doctor who had only just finished your internship."
"More importantly, you didn't make any surgical mistakes."
"And as far as I'm concerned, no hospital would let a doctor who had only recently become licensed act as the lead surgeon in a life-or-death operation."
"So..."
Professor Liu sighed again.
"You're right."
"I wasn't the lead surgeon."
"But I noticed the problem."
"I simply hesitated for those two seconds."
"After I blinked... the opportunity was gone."
"And the operation failed."
Nan Yu asked, "So you've always believed it was your fault? Because you noticed the opportunity but failed to seize it, and that's what led to his death?"
Professor Liu nodded.
"That's right."
"I've always thought so."
"Though sometimes I also tell myself it wasn't my fault."
"But in the end..."
"I still can't get past it."
Nan Yu said gently, "Professor Liu, I think you've simply been overthinking it."
"You've probably realized that yourself."
"So you've buried yourself in endless studying just to numb your mind and stop yourself from thinking about that incident."
Professor Liu fell silent.
Nan Yu had clearly hit the mark.
"This matter aside for now," Nan Yu continued, "what I really want to know is... what does it have to do with the issue we were discussing earlier?"
Professor Liu answered quietly,
"The man who died back then... was that young man's grandfather."
Nan Yu blinked.
"You mean... that guy's grandfather?"
Professor Liu looked at him helplessly.
"You still don't even know his name?"
Nan Yu answered frankly,
"Do I really need to remember it?"
Professor Liu found himself speechless.
Still, he continued.
"Yes, it was his grandfather."
"At the time, their family had only just begun to prosper because of his grandfather. They were entering a period of rapid growth."
"If that surgery had succeeded..."
"...their family wouldn't have ended up living the way they did."
"They wouldn't have gone through all those hardships afterward."
"In the end, he probably wouldn't even have entered medical school, become a doctor, or ended up working here."
Nan Yu blinked again.
"Logically speaking, anyone selected to enter Marshal Yu's legion should have outstanding character and ability."
"At the very least, they should be a perfectly normal person."
"So why did he target me in the first place?"
"A little hostility at the beginning is understandable."
"Everyone has some degree of wariness toward outsiders."
"But later on, everyone else returned to normal."
"He was the only one who kept targeting me, constantly opposing me."
"Honestly..."
"I've never really understood why."
Professor Liu gave him a rather meaningful look.
"Others may not know."
"But I do."
Nan Yu looked at him.
"What is it?"
Professor Liu answered,
"You actually resemble the lead surgeon from back then... just a little."
Nan Yu suddenly had no idea what to say.
"...Professor Liu."
"You don't have to worry about this anymore."
"I'll make sure everyone knows that I won't target him."
For some reason, hearing Nan Yu say that gave Professor Liu an ominous feeling.
Nan Yu had already agreed.
So...
There shouldn't be any problems...
...right?
"In that case... I'll leave it to you."
Nan Yu nodded solemnly.
"I'll go deal with it downstairs right now."
After that, Nan Yu left.
Professor Liu returned to his seat after Nan Yu was gone.
But once he sat down, he suddenly realized something was off.
Nan Yu had said...
"I'll go downstairs and deal with it right now."
Downstairs...
How exactly was he planning to deal with it?
Who was he going to talk to?
Where?
What was he actually going to say?
None of it had been explained.
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Professor Liu struggled with himself for several minutes before deciding to go downstairs and take a look.
However, just as he reached the door, before he even opened it, he received a message from Nan Yu.
"Professor Liu, I've already taken care of it. Don't worry."
After reading the message, Professor Liu instinctively thought that since it had already been handled, there was no point going downstairs anymore.
He simply replied with a brief "Alright."
Then he returned to his desk and continued working.
Whatever had happened, there was no chance he'd witness how Nan Yu had resolved the matter now.
Since that was the case, he might as well stay where he was.
Nan Yu had apparently anticipated Professor Liu's reaction.
So he'd resolved everything as quickly as possible.
His method was the simplest and most straightforward imaginable.
After going downstairs, he headed directly toward that man's office.
He looked so aggressive that anyone seeing him would think he was about to start a fight.
Naturally, everyone who saw him hurried after him.
What if the two of them really fought?
Nan Yu was just a physically fragile Mental Power User.
His opponent, no matter how mediocre, was still an Ability User.
If they came to blows, Nan Yu would only end up getting beaten.
But who was Nan Yu?
Who in the legion didn't know his name now?
First, he possessed mental power far beyond that of ordinary Mid-Tier Mental Power Users.
Second...
He had an indescribably close relationship with their Marshal.
The first point was common knowledge.
The second...
Everyone knew it, but no one dared say it out loud.
Still, pretending not to know was one thing.
If Nan Yu were actually beaten here...
Just imagining how their Marshal would react was enough to make everyone shudder.
They absolutely had to stop anything like that before it even had a chance to happen.
Instead, those who followed were fortunate enough to hear the following conversation.
"Oh, sorry. I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I came straight in without knocking."
Inside the office sat that man.
Du Enyun was there as well.
The two appeared to have been chatting.
Judging by the timing, they had been talking about Nan Yu.
"Were you discussing me?"
"If you have any questions, you can ask me directly."
"If I can answer them, I will."
"If I can't..."
"It won't matter who you ask."
"Oh, right."
"I said I'm in a hurry, so I won't waste any time."
"When I was leaving Professor Liu's office just now, he actually stopped me."
"And for the first time ever, he asked me for a favor."
"Of course, it was only a small favor, so naturally I agreed."
"What surprised me was that he asked me to forgive someone..."
"...someone I've never even targeted."
"I was honestly confused."
"Such an insignificant person actually managed to get Professor Liu himself to come plead on his behalf."
"It seems he has quite an impressive backer."
"But Professor Liu already explained everything to me."
"So this matter ends here."
"You don't need to worry about your future anymore."
"Oh, and the reason I came today is simply to tell you..."
"I completely forgive you."
"But I can't promise anything."
"After all..."
"I've never had enough spare time to bother targeting someone as insignificant as you."
"That's everything I wanted to say."
"As for whether your life will ever return to how it was before..."
"Only time can answer that."
"I've said everything I needed to."
"I'll be leaving now."
With that, Nan Yu turned and walked away.
As he left under the gaze of the gathered crowd, countless strange looks shifted back and forth between the three people.
Once Nan Yu was gone, everyone's attention settled entirely on Du Enyun and the other man.
Some of the bolder onlookers even spoke up.
"Hey, Nan Yu just said Professor Liu personally asked him to forgive someone..."
"But who exactly is that person? I have no idea!"
"Exactly! None of us know!"
"And Professor Liu is Professor Liu!"
"Most of us never even get the chance to meet someone like him."
"Why would someone of his status personally negotiate with Nan Yu over something like this?"
...
Naturally, Nan Yu had no idea how the medical building would react afterward.
After returning home, he put away his weapons and changed into a fresh set of clothes.
When he came back out, he saw Yu Lanfeng sitting silently in the living room.
Sometimes Nan Yu couldn't help thinking...
If he hadn't believed that he and Yu Lanfeng were a perfect match...
If he hadn't taken the initiative...
Perhaps the two of them would never have ended up together.
And...
Forget it.
There was no point thinking about the past now.
It would never happen again anyway.
"By the way, Ge, when are we leaving?"
Yu Lanfeng answered,
"About a month from now."
"Are you ready?"
Nan Yu nodded.
"I'm completely ready."
"Of course, I'll still keep going to Professor Liu's until two days before we leave."
"After that I'll stop, pack everything properly with you, and get ready."
"This time we'll probably be gone for a very long time."
"Before leaving, I definitely want to go home and see my brothers and Dad."
"They all know..."
The situation was special °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° now.
The safest place for Nan Yu was by Yu Lanfeng's side.
No matter how unwilling the Nan family felt, they could only accept it.
That didn't mean they would always treat Yu Lanfeng politely.
After thinking for a moment, Yu Lanfeng said,
"When the time comes, I'll take you there."
"I'll wait outside."
"When you're ready to leave, we'll leave together."
Nan Yu shook his head.
"That's not necessary."
"I wasn't planning to stay the night anyway."
"How about you just come inside with me?"
Going inside meant meeting the family.
This meeting would be completely different from all the previous ones.
Nan Yu secretly hoped to use this opportunity to trick Yu Lanfeng into formally meeting his family.
Unfortunately...
It didn't work at all.
Yu Lanfeng immediately shook his head.
No matter what Nan Yu said, he refused.
Even after Nan Yu argued until he was practically out of words, Yu Lanfeng still wouldn't budge.
Finally, Nan Yu huffed angrily and turned away.
"Coward."
The moment he tried to run off, Yu Lanfeng grabbed him and pulled him into his arms.
Then he thoroughly ruffled and kneaded his head.
By the time Nan Yu finally escaped, his face was bright red and he was breathing heavily.
He looked as though he'd just been passionately ravished.
Only heaven knew that Yu Lanfeng had merely held him in place while vigorously rubbing his hair.
The man's strength was simply too overwhelming.
Nan Yu hadn't been able to break free.
He could only let Yu Lanfeng continue his little antics.
"Have you had enough?"
"If you don't want to, then don't!"
Nan Yu genuinely looked angry.
Having no other choice, Yu Lanfeng got up and tried to coax him.
Nan Yu kept insisting he wasn't angry at all.
That only left Yu Lanfeng even more helpless.
In the end, he went into the kitchen and prepared a table full of delicious dishes.
After dinner, Nan Yu's mood improved considerably.
"Fine."
"We'll do it your way."
"But after I officially graduate, you absolutely can't refuse."
"When the time comes, you'll come home with me and formally meet my family."
Yu Lanfeng immediately nodded.
"No problem."
Nan Yu took a deep breath.
For now...
That would do.
Meanwhile, the medical building was anything but peaceful.
Simply because of what Nan Yu had said before leaving.
Everyone knew exactly what kind of person Professor Liu was.
Anyone who entered the legion's medical building had passed layer upon layer of strict selection.
No one doubted Professor Liu's ability.
He possessed genuine skill.
When everyone first met that young doctor, he had seemed like an outstanding young man.
But as time passed, his true personality gradually emerged.
Everyone came to understand what he was really like.
Hot-tempered.
Difficult to get along with.
Prone to obsessing over things.
Petty.
Unable to tolerate even the slightest criticism.
If anyone offended him, he'd always find a way to get revenge that very night.
His methods were endlessly creative.
Fortunately, none of them were truly harmful.
More importantly, he would only retaliate once or twice.
At worst, three times.
Because of that...
Most people simply didn't want the trouble.
Everyone knew Dr. Du was backing him.
And Dr. Du held considerable status within the medical building.
So people usually endured it in silence.
Later, they realized his pranks always stayed within certain limits.
Gradually, no one pursued the matter anymore.
Thanks to the easygoing Du Enyun, they had even become a small, close-knit group.
The collective targeting of Nan Yu hadn't originally been their idea.
At first, they had only intended to admire him from afar or secretly take a few photos.
People who weren't interested could simply ignore everything.
But that man insisted that Nan Yu had stolen Marshal Yu from everyone.
Someone as outstanding as Marshal Yu deserved no one.
So they should test whether Nan Yu was worthy of him.
For some inexplicable reason...
They had actually agreed.
Looking back now...
Why had they ever agreed?
It had been nothing but digging a pit for themselves.
Fortunately, they had only participated in the first two incidents.
After that, they stopped completely.
Because they eventually realized...
They were merely ordinary members of the legion.
What right did they have to interfere with Marshal Yu's choice of partner?
Not to mention...
Nan Yu himself was extraordinarily outstanding.
Anyone who paid attention to the StarNet knew at least a little about his achievements.
Especially his astonishing examination results.
His mental power score had surpassed the second-place candidate by an overwhelming margin, nearly reaching the absolute limit a Mid-Tier Mental Power User could achieve.
The two of them were probably the perfect match.
After all, High-Tier Mental Power Users had no freedom to choose their own spouses.
They were required to select a future husband from a list of fifty men prepared by the state.
Nan Yu would never accept that arrangement.
So before anyone discovered he had become a High-Tier Mental Power User, he had to stop being single and establish a committed relationship.
At least that way...
The person he chose would be someone he genuinely loved.
Unlike other High-Tier Mental Power Users, whose freedom of choice existed only within a predetermined pool.
Nan Yu intended to settle everything before revealing his true rank.
The later that day came, the better.
The more time he had, the longer he could travel with Yu Lanfeng on missions throughout the Empire.
It was something he had looked forward to for a very long time.
He only hoped nothing unexpected would happen.
While Nan Yu was thinking about going home...
The rest of the Nan family was anxiously waiting for him to return as well.
Nan Ming had even declined one mission because of it.
If Nan Yu still hadn't come home before the next mission arrived...
Nan Ming would no longer be able to refuse.
He would have to depart immediately.