Hearing Gu Ruo say that her idol was none other than the Evelyn he was currently dining with, Feng Zhengduan broke into a smile.
Gu Ruo was known among his students for speaking her mind, and Feng Zhengduan was delighted to see such a deep passion for medicine.
"Of course, feel free to ask anything you don't understand. To study medicine, one must have the determination to overcome any challenge," Feng Zhengduan said. "Since you are so passionate about medicine, I have some good news for you."
"What good news?" Gu Ruo asked curiously.
"Your idol, Evelyn, will be coming to our university to give a lecture this year, barring any unforeseen circumstances. There are only two hundred spots available, but I can secure a special spot for you."
Gu Ruo was overcome with excitement. "Really? Is Evelyn actually coming to give a lecture at our university?"
Feng Zhengduan nodded. "It is absolutely true."
Upon hearing this, Gu Ruo bowed repeatedly. "Thank you, Professor Feng! Thank you so much! This is wonderful. I’ll finally get to meet Evelyn. In my heart, they are the most brilliant medical professional in the world."
Feng Zhengduan waved his hand with a smile. "No need to thank me. My idol is still waiting for me, so I must be going."
Gu Ruo nodded, but suddenly remembered what the professor had said about his own idol.
Just how incredible must someone be to be Professor Feng’s idol?
Curiosity piqued, Gu Ruo lightened her footsteps and followed behind him. As she watched him enter a private dining room, she craned her neck to catch a glimpse.
That figure... it was a woman? And a very young one at that?
Could such a young woman really be Professor Feng’s idol?
Gu Ruo instinctively took a few steps closer, trying to see the person's face clearly. Unfortunately, the person was sitting with her side to the door. She could only tell that the woman had a beautiful figure and that her long, dark hair obscured her profile, making it impossible to see what she looked like.
"You’ve finished all the food," Feng Zhengduan's voice came from inside, sounding as if he were joking.
Gu Ruo wanted to see more, but the next second, the door clicked shut. She wanted to know what the woman who could be Professor Feng’s idol looked like, but she only dwelled on it for a moment before losing interest. After all, the most important thing now was that she was about to meet the idol she had admired for years.
Although the name Evelyn sounded feminine, Gu Ruo always felt that those legendary medical works must have been written by a man. In her imagination, Evelyn was a handsome, mature man with mixed-race features.
Lost in her fantasies, Gu Ruo walked toward the restroom, took out her phone, and opened WeChat, ready to show off on her feed.
"Sharing a double dose of joy: I found out my favorite idol Evelyn is coming to the university for a lecture, and I've secured a special spot from Professor Feng!"
No sooner had she posted it than she began receiving likes and comments from her classmates.
"My god! Is that the legendary surgical genius Evelyn? Am I seeing this right!!!"
"Didn't they say he never makes public appearances? Gu Ruo, you're amazing! Where did you hear this?"
"That's my idol too! I'm so jealous I didn't get into Jingcheng Medical University, please stream it live! [Crying]"
Almost everyone knew of Evelyn’s reputation. Looking at her feed, which was practically exploding, Gu Ruo felt incredibly smug.
***
Meanwhile.
"By the way," Feng Zhengduan mentioned to Gu Qing with great interest, "I ran into a young girl from the school outside earlier. She was practically worshiping you; she’s a huge fan."
Gu Qing joked, "Is that so? Why didn't you bring her over for an autograph?"
Feng Zhengduan pointed at her and laughed. "With your elusive nature, if I actually brought her over, who knows where you'd have hidden yourself."
Gu Qing said nothing, picking up her teacup to take a sip.
***
Elsewhere, after leaving the restroom, Gu Ruo entered another private room. She smoothed her hair and said to the person opposite her, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Young Master Lu."
Lu Jingming had ordered a drink while she was away; he bit on his straw without responding.
Gu Ruo didn't mind and asked again, "By the way, what happened when you asked to meet me last time? I waited for a long time, but you never showed up."
"Something came up," Lu Jingming said, too lazy to indulge in small talk. He reminded her, "Let's talk business."
Gu Ruo frowned slightly. Why did he seem so cold and dismissive? But on second thought, someone with Lu Jingming’s status was entitled to have a temper.
She pulled herself together and nodded obediently. "Do you have any good ideas, Young Master Lu?"
"If I had an idea, I wouldn't have waited until now," Lu Jingming replied.
He had a thousand and one ways to deal with business rivals, but when it came to dealing with an unarmed woman, he really couldn't think of a single thing.
Gu Ruo bit her lip, appearing troubled. "Then let me think about it..."
In truth, from the moment Lu Jingming had proposed joining forces, Gu Ruo had already come up with a perfect plan. Her birthday banquet was in a few days. If Gu Qing were caught stealing during such a grand event, the Lu family would never accept a woman with such a blemish as their daughter-in-law. The marriage alliance would then collapse on its own.
Gu Ruo could already picture Gu Qing losing face in front of everyone. She couldn't wait to see the show.
At first, she just couldn't accept having someone new in the family to compete for her parents' attention. After meeting Gu Qing, the girl's cold, indifferent attitude had infuriated her. Plus, because Gu Qing didn't fawn over her as she had expected, Gu Ruo detested her more and more.
However, she couldn't be the one to come up with such a low-brow scheme.
Gu Ruo furrowed her brows, feigning deep thought. "I don't have any ideas either. Why don't I ask my friend? She always has plenty of suggestions."
Lu Jingming knew exactly what Gu Ruo was up to, but he couldn't be bothered to call her out. He gave an indifferent "Hmm."
Gu Ruo picked up her phone and pretended to send a message. A moment later, she said with surprise, "She replied."
She held her phone, appearing to read the message carefully, even though the screen was blank. After a while, she said to Lu Jingming, "My friend said we should find a way to frame my sister—say she stole something or the like. The Lu family cares about their reputation, so you surely couldn't accept a daughter-in-law like that, right? Plus, since my sister deceived you about her academic qualifications, that would give you grounds to cancel the marriage."
Upon hearing this, Lu Jingming leaned back in his chair and stared at Gu Ruo with a meaningful look.
Meeting his gaze, Gu Ruo felt a subconscious pang of guilt. She bit her lip and said awkwardly, "Young Master Lu probably thinks this method isn't very honorable, right? It's fine, I'll tell my friend no right now."
Watching her pretentious, coy performance, Lu Jingming scoffed internally. What a "friend" she had. How hypocritical.
However, he chose to accept it. "As long as the goal is achieved, who cares if it's honorable?"
Once the discussion was over, Lu Jingming didn't want to spend any more time with Gu Ruo and left with a casual excuse.
After exiting the restaurant, he pulled out his phone and called his friend, Yang Bin.
The call was answered quickly. "What's up, Brother Ming?"
Lu Jingming got straight to the point. "About that favor I asked of you—any news on finding the girl who saved me that day?"