After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

The military pass was swiped at the airport window.

Before the passengers in line could react, Ye Zhen and her group of four had already walked out through a special passage on the side.

Xu Wenqiang, carrying two briefcases, jogged after him.

As a foreign affairs liaison officer, this was not the first time he had accompanied the couple abroad.

During his last trip to Germany, he had personally witnessed Ye Zhen's aura and Gu Zheng's style.

Before coming to the United States, Vice Minister Li of the Ministry of Health specially selected his subordinates and also assigned a young Li staff member to accompany him, thus forming a four-person team.

Xu Wenqiang took a breath, with only one thought in his mind: Commander Gu was walking too fast.

The boarding bridge connected to the cabin, and there were only four of them in the first-class cabin.

The first thing Ye Zhen did after sitting down was to pull out a stack of bound documents from her leather briefcase.

There were thirty medical records in total, each with handwritten annotations, the edges of which were worn and frayed from being turned over.

She spread the documents out on the small table, unscrewed the pen cap, and started checking the correspondence between the preoperative indicators and the postoperative follow-up data, one by one, starting from the first document.

As the plane taxied, accelerated, and took off, her pen never stopped.

Gu Zheng sat next to her by the window.

He had changed his military uniform into a dark gray casual jacket, but his posture remained as upright as it had been cultivated in the military.

He turned his head to watch how fast Ye Zhen was flipping through the documents, without making a sound to disturb her.

Two hours later, the flight attendants served a sumptuous hot meal in first class.

Ye Zhen didn't even raise her head.

Gu Zheng took the plate, picked up a knife and fork, and deftly cut the tender steak into small pieces. He then placed the pieces, along with the warm milk, heavily next to her documents.

"eat."

Ye Zhen paused, her pen still.

I'm not hungry.

"This is not negotiable." Gu Zheng pushed the plate full of beef chunks forward. "Eat, sleep for four hours. This is a mission."

Ye Zhen looked up at him, but didn't say anything. Instead, she reached out and picked up the fork.

She swallowed a couple of mouthfuls perfunctorily, drank half a glass of milk, and then tried to push the plate back.

"Alright."

"No, that won't do." Gu Zheng pressed down on the edge of the plate. "Finish it."

Ye Zhen resignedly picked up a piece of beef and continued flipping through the next medical record.

Li, the clerk in the back row, was dumbfounded and whispered in Xu Wenqiang's ear.

"Brother Xu, why is Commander Gu forcing food on Dr. Ye?"

Xu Wenqiang didn't even turn his head, but muttered a low sneer.

"What do you know? Last time Dr. Ye performed surgery in Germany, I almost had hypoglycemia. Commander Gu almost tore down the operating room door."

"What's this little protest? They call it fun."

Officer Li shrank back, not daring to utter another word.

Twenty minutes later, all thirty documents had been reviewed.

Ye Zhen capped her pen and neatly stacked the documents back into her briefcase.

As she leaned back in her chair, she closed her eyes and began to speak.

"They want to see me lose."

Gu Zheng unfolded the blackout blanket and covered her head with it.

"Then they are destined to be disappointed."

Ye Zhen didn't speak again, and within three minutes, her breathing became calm and even.

Gu Zheng dimmed the reading light above his head and closed his eyes to rest.

His right hand remained on the armrest of the seat, his fingers relaxed but not completely down.

This is muscle memory developed during field missions; even when someone is asleep, the warning line remains in place.

Xu Wenqiang sat in the back, watching the silhouette in front of him, and silently swallowed.

Before he left, Vice Minister Li held his hand tightly and repeatedly told him that translation work was secondary in the United States; his primary responsibility was to keep a close eye on the atmosphere on site and make sure they did not suffer any losses.

Xu Wenqiang initially thought that Vice Minister Li was making a mountain out of a molehill, but now he realizes that this mission is much more complicated than he imagined.

Fourteen hours later, the plane landed at St. Paul International Airport in Minnesota.

The cabin door opened, and cold air from North America rushed into the cabin instantly.

Ye Zhen stood up and straightened her collar.

Gu Zheng was faster, having already taken their belongings from the luggage rack.

As I stepped off the jet bridge, before even reaching the arrival hall, an airport staff member rushed up to me, holding up a sign that read "Dr. Ye".

The special channel has reopened, and passport stamping is being done at an astonishing speed.

Xu Wenqiang didn't even get a good look at the style of the entry stamp before the four of them were guided through a door reserved for employees.

The public area of ​​the arrival floor is right outside the door.

The first thing to happen was the bright white flashlights.

At least twenty cameras were pointed directly at the exit, and the sound of shutters clicking filled the air.

Reporters, holding microphones, tried desperately to push forward, but were stopped by airport security at the one-meter line.

"Dr. Ye! Professor Cohen publicly questioned your surgical data on CNN. Do you have anything to say in response?"

"Mayo has specially set up a blind review assessment for you. Are you confident you can pass?"

"I heard you've never even left China before. How will you prove your professionalism to the American public?"

A barrage of provocative questions came flying at me.

"Stop filming! Step back!" Officer Li reacted quickly, immediately rushing forward and spreading his arms to block the camera.

Xu Wenqiang also quickly stepped forward, responding loudly in English with a cold face.

"Excuse me! Dr. Ye has just arrived by plane and does not accept any unofficial interviews. Please make way!"

With two guards flanking her, Ye Zhen did not stop for a moment.

Her gaze was fixed straight ahead, her expression as calm as if she were walking down the corridor of the Beicheng Military Region General Hospital during rounds.

Harrison stood at the far back of the crowd.

He was wearing a dark blue suit, and his white hair was neatly combed.

Seeing Ye Zhen approaching, he looked apologetic and extended his hand.

"Dr. Ye, I'm so sorry." Harrison spoke slowly. "The hospital had originally arranged for Mayo's car to pick you all up, but it was temporarily reassigned. By the time I was notified, it was too late to reapply for a vehicle."

Upon hearing this, Xu Wenqiang's face immediately darkened.

"What do you mean by 'temporarily transferred'? Professor Harrison, this is a serious incident involving foreign affairs reception!"

"If you sent out the highest-level invitation, how come you couldn't even send a spare car?"

At this moment, Ye Zhen raised her hand to stop Xu Wenqiang's questioning and calmly took Harrison's hand.

"It's alright, Professor Harrison," she replied calmly in fluent, perfect American English. "I'm here to give a presentation, not to ride in a car."

Gu Zheng walked around from behind Ye Zhen, his sharp gaze sweeping across the parking area outside.

There were no commercial vehicles with Mayo logos; only a row of yellow taxis waiting for passengers and a few private cars lined the roadside.

Without wasting any words, he strode to the nearest taxi, opened the back door, and stepped aside to make room for himself.

"Get in the car."

Ye Zhen bent down and sat down.

Gu Zheng walked around to the other side to get into the car, while looking at Harrison who was standing there.

"Professor Harrison, shall we join?"

Harrison paused for a moment, then turned to his assistant and gave instructions.

"Go to the car in the back and join the Chinese entourage."

After saying that, he quickly bent down and got into the taxi where Ye Zhen and Gu Zheng were.

Xu Wenqiang pulled Li, who was still sulking, along.

"Alright, let's stop the car quickly. We can't let others lose in terms of presence."

The two quickly flagged down a taxi behind them and squeezed in with Harrison's assistant.

Two yellow taxis merged into the traffic on the main road, one after the other.

The carriage was a bit crowded. Harrison sat in the front passenger seat and glanced at Ye Zhen, who looked calm and composed, through the rearview mirror.

He knew very well that the neglect he had just experienced without a car was merely an appetizer offered by Stephen.

Once this young Chinese doctor actually steps through the doors of Mayo Clinic, the terminal illness case lying in the safe will be the abyss that could destroy everything.