"Zhang Yang, quick, we were just waiting for you!"

Li Yaohua waved at Zhang Yang, and everyone turned their heads to look at him.

"Director Li, my apologies, I'm late!"

Zhang Yang hurried over and murmured softly, though he wasn't actually late; Li Yaohua had only told him to arrive before class started, not necessarily early.

It wasn't time for class yet.

"No worries, the car hasn't arrived. Zhang Yang, this is Dean Wang from our Medical School, and this is Vice Dean Zhu..."

Li Yaohua introduced the few people beside him. Vice Dean Zhu was leading the delegation to Shanghai this time, and the others were there to see them off.

Dean Wang was the head of the Medical School and a significant university leader. His presence here for the send-off, coupled with a Vice Dean leading the group, clearly showed how much the department valued this trip.

As they were speaking, a minibus drove up.

Shanghai wasn't far from Changjing. Except for travel expenses, everything else for this trip would be covered by the Shanghai side. The college had sufficient funds and had arranged a dedicated vehicle for them to Shanghai.

After a few pleasantries between the college leaders, Zhang Yang and his group set off.

Since arriving, Zhang Yang felt the other five people constantly staring at him. While he remained composed, being watched so persistently felt strangely awkward.

Besides Vice Dean Zhu, there was a young teacher from the office accompanying them, mainly responsible for miscellaneous tasks, assisting Vice Dean Zhu, and looking after the students' welfare. Vice Dean Zhu was primarily there for exchanges with leaders from other institutions.

Including the driver, there were only nine of them in total.

Once the vehicle hit the road, the other students began whispering amongst themselves. They were all young, and representing the school for this event made them slightly excited.

Moreover, each of them felt a sense of pride; being selected as one of the six representatives from the entire college was a form of affirmation from the school.

Four of them chatted softly, while only Zhang Yang and one other girl remained silent.

Zhang Yang vaguely recognized this girl; she was from the same department but a different class. This was the girl Li Yaohua mentioned named Shi Yan. All he knew was that she was the class monitor of the other section; he didn't know much else.

"Why didn't you bring your pet sable?"

Just as Zhang Yang was closing his eyes to rest, Shi Yan, sitting beside him and watching him with clear curiosity, suddenly asked.

"You mean Lightning? My friend is taking care of him. He's going to Shanghai too, so he's taking him along for me!"

Zhang Yang opened his eyes but his gaze instinctively flicked backward. Following their minibus was a Mercedes sedan, driven by Long Feng, with Lightning and Wuying playing in the back seat.

Zhang Yang hadn't brought Long Feng or Lightning when leaving with the schoolmates. Long Feng didn't mind; he could just drive his own car, following wherever Zhang Yang went.

"Your pet sable is beautiful. I once considered getting one, but my family wouldn't agree!"

Shi Yan added, then grinned, revealing a pair of adorable little canine teeth.

Shi Yan was an excellent student, the class monitor, and also the most beautiful girl in their class.

Shi Yan wasn't stunningly beautiful, but she possessed a purity that was particularly enhanced by her delicate little fangs, which lent an air of endearing fragility to her smile.

Zhang Yang suddenly remembered that the class monitor of his class seemed to be pursuing Shi Yan, which explained the hostile looks he’d received lately.

"Lightning isn't a pet; he's my friend!"

Zhang Yang offered a faint smile and said softly. Shi Yan paused, then her smile widened.

"I see. No wonder that little sable always sticks so close to you. If you treat him like a friend, he'll naturally treat you as one too. Zhang Yang, I didn't realize you were such a compassionate person!"

This time, Zhang Yang didn't reply, merely smiling.

He and Shi Yan had exchanged few words previously; they weren't close. In the past, Zhang Yang tended to be somewhat withdrawn outside of student union activities.

Now, it was even more so; aside from Hu Xin and a few others, he rarely interacted with other classmates.

Seeing Zhang Yang had fallen silent, Shi Yan didn't press further. She took out a Walkman, put on the headphones, and started listening to a cassette tape.

The Walkman was compact, but considerably larger than an MP3 player. It was another cassette player, and in Zhang Yang's eyes, such a device was definitely an antique.

Shi Yan's silence afforded Zhang Yang a much-needed respite. He closed his eyes and continued to rest.

During this rest, his inner force was circulating automatically. Since the System hadn't appeared recently, he couldn't accept missions to boost his strength, so he could only cultivate constantly, striving to enhance his power as much as possible.

These families with inherited internal arts always measured status by strength; to earn respect, one had to possess power oneself.

Shi Yan had only approached Zhang Yang out of curiosity, engaging him in a few sentences. Seeing he had no interest in chatting, she naturally let it drop.

The other four students were from different departments, and Shi Yan wasn't particularly close to them either, so she didn't join their conversation.

Shi Yan was young, but very few students knew about her subpar medical skills; only Li Yaohua had some insight. Shi Yan’s grandfather and father were both renowned doctors; she, too, came from a medical lineage.

However, hers was Western medicine, not Traditional Chinese Medicine. Her father and grandfather had both studied and specialized in Western medicine.

After retiring, her grandfather opened a private clinic. It wasn't large, but business thrived. Her father was currently the chief physician at a famous hospital in another province, holding considerable prestige.

Every time Shi Yan went home for the holidays, she helped out at her grandfather's clinic. Besides dispensing medicine, she had personally treated numerous patients, gaining rich practical experience.

Although this amounted to practicing medicine without a license, since no issues arose, no one pursued it. Furthermore, Shi Yan had never made a mistake, and every patient left satisfied.

Shi Yan's hometown wasn't far from Li Yaohua's, which is how he knew these details.

This was the source of his confidence. Zhang Yang had already proven his ability, and Shi Yan had a good reputation herself. With the two of them representing the Clinical Medicine Department, Li Yaohua trusted they would achieve excellent results.

Shanghai wasn't far, and the minibus drove at a moderate pace, but they still arrived that afternoon.

Tongji Medical College was located in the Baotuo District of Shanghai, an established medical institution that ranked highly nationwide. In terms of overall strength, it was indeed slightly superior to Changjing University's Medical School.

The official in charge of this event at Tongji Medical College was one of their Vice Presidents. Since this activity involved both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health, and Tongji was the host, they naturally had to show their seriousness; having a Vice President oversee it indicated a high level of importance.

The accommodation arranged for them was a four-star hotel. College exchange activities rarely utilized such high-end lodging; securing a four-star facility was quite impressive.

Banners had already been hung at the hotel entrance, and dedicated reception staff were waiting.

As the group alighted from the bus, Long Feng also pulled his Mercedes up to the hotel. Except for the driver, who noticed it, no one else realized a Mercedes had been following them for so long.

The driver only paid extra attention because it was a luxury car, glancing at it several times on the road, not expecting it to be traveling the same route.

However, he didn't dwell on it. He figured his passengers were just students and teachers; he wouldn't believe for a second that someone in such a fine car would be tailing them.

"Brother Daoqi, you've finally arrived!"

As Vice Dean Zhu stepped off the bus, a balding middle-aged man greeted him with a hearty laugh. Vice Dean Zhu paused for a moment before his face immediately broke into a smile.

"Brother Yunlong, I was just thinking of contacting you upon arrival, I didn't expect you to be waiting here!"

Vice Dean Zhu extended his hand directly, shaking the man's warmly. Everyone else stood behind Vice Dean Zhu, curiously surveying the surroundings.

Besides their group, several other schools' faculty and students had just arrived, registering or resting in the lobby before they could receive their room keys.

The exchange activities officially began the next day; tonight featured only a reception event with nothing else scheduled.

"Come, let's go inside to talk. We shouldn't leave the students standing here waiting foolishly!"

The balding man was holding Vice Dean Zhu's... [End of snippet from source]

This man was quite considerate; he and Vice Dean Zhu clearly knew each other, yet he didn't sideline them just because they were reuniting.

This small courtesy reflected the quality of the hosts, or perhaps the high caliber of the Tongji Medical College faculty.

"Good, good, let's go inside. Tonight, we absolutely must have a good drink together! It's been years since we last met!"

Vice Dean Zhu was excited, walking inside alongside the man.

As they walked, he turned back to tell Zhang Yang and the other students about his history with the man before him.

This balding man was named Lü Yunlong, and they had been classmates in university. They had not only been in the same class but shared a dormitory room; they were extremely close—what one would call best buddies today.

Lü Yunlong stayed on after graduation to teach and was now a department head. He had participated in the reception preparations this time and specifically waited when he learned his old classmate was arriving.

Vice Dean Zhu, whose full name was Zhu Daoqi, also became a teacher after graduation, moving to Changjing University. Being capable and highly educated, he was now the Vice Dean of the Medical School there, a position not inferior to Lü Yunlong's.

It was understandable that two old friends who hadn't seen each other for years would be excited upon meeting.

Having an acquaintance on the inside proved useful. Upon entering the lobby, Lü Yunlong efficiently handled all the check-in procedures for the Changjing group. Zhang Yang and the other student from the Stomatology Department were assigned a standard double room.

Shi Yan was paired with another female student.

Although they were standard rooms, the other students were already thrilled and deeply satisfied. They were students; when did they ever get the chance to stay in a four-star hotel? Even when traveling or needing lodging elsewhere, they usually settled for a small inn with just a bed to sleep on. A hotel this luxurious was a first for most of them. (To be continued)