Chapter 203: The Best News Shared

“You really don’t need to worry about this anymore! I already have a girlfriend.”

Every time Zhou Can’s mom mentioned blind dates, he felt a headache coming on.

All those so-called socialites and rich heiresses—he couldn’t find a single one he liked.

Many of these girls started learning fancy manners from the moment they were born. Every gesture and smile was rehearsed, like they’d stepped out of a guidebook.

Even when unhappy, they’d keep a polite smile on their face during conversation.

They could be secretly drooling over the food on the table, but would still maintain their ‘ladylike’ image, pretending to be above such things.

Every move they made, every word they spoke, felt like a mechanical performance polished to perfection.

Zhou Can would never agree to marry a woman like that.

They’d lost their spirit—just fake smiles and empty words, like soulless robots. Marrying someone like that was no different than bringing home an inflatable doll.

“You little rascal, are you lying to your poor mother again?”

She clearly didn’t buy that her son actually had a girlfriend.

“I’m not lying, really. I was planning to surprise you when I came home, but now that you mentioned it, I’ll just confess—I found someone way better than any of those heiresses you had in mind.”

No matter their looks or abilities, none of those pampered ‘canary’ daughters could compare.

His girlfriend was independent and strong—she made real money on her own merit.

Meanwhile, those who only looked good on paper were just scheming for a wealthy husband, hoping to live off a man forever.

There was simply no comparison.

“Haha, sounds like it’s finally true! When are you coming home? I’ll send you an extra 100,000—buy the fastest ticket so you can bring your future wife back for your father and me to see!”

His mom was nothing if not generous (and a little over-the-top).

Honestly, it was less than six hours’ drive from the provincial capital to Zhou Can’s hometown.

And his small hometown even had a little airport.

But flights between the city and province were rare—trains, driving, or long-distance buses were usually way more convenient.

“Work’s unbelievably busy lately, so I really don’t have time to head home. If I’m not working over the New Year, I’ll see if I can make it back then. Does that sound okay?”

Zhou Can hadn’t been home for over two years.

Even if his parents didn’t say it out loud, he knew they must miss him like crazy.

“That’s your word! If you can’t come home for New Year’s, your father and I will just drive to the city and spend it with you. We have to see our daughter-in-law, and make sure you’re actually living well on your own out there.”

His parents were always busy, and Zhou Can had been independent since he was little, so they’d learned to trust him.

Twice his mom had passed through the city hoping to visit, but both times she left because Zhou Can was working.

It had been such a long time since they’d seen him—his parents must miss him even more than they admitted.

After all, he was their only child.

Now that their son claimed to have a girlfriend, of course they wanted to check her out themselves.

For a big family like theirs, the first thing they’d consider in a marriage was a good match in family background.

Still, if their son was truly in love and the girl’s family wasn’t wealthy, as long as she was well-educated, decent, and pretty, they’d probably accept her.

But if her background was just too far beneath theirs, Zhou Can’s parents would never easily agree.

Su Qianqian was top-tier in every way—she had billionaire CEOs and high-ranking officials after her. Zhou Can’s parents would absolutely approve once they learned who she was.

The only problem was her chronic kidney disease.

While it was under control for now, a full cure wouldn’t be easy.

Zhou Can had been making steady progress in medicine this past year.

He was working hard to find a solution.

But chronic kidney disease was notoriously hard to beat. So far, a transplant was still the best cure.

Thanks to their savings, paying for a kidney transplant wouldn’t be a problem—the real challenge was finding an organ, and then dealing with the serious risks of surgery.

Zhou Can already had some influence in several departments, and his standing at the hospital had risen, but he was still a long way from the top.

He still had a long road ahead.

Telling his parents about this right now was out of the question.

Otherwise, they’d definitely object.

Maybe after he found a solution, he could just keep this secret from them forever.

After all, it was his own love life.

After wrapping up his conversation with his mom, Zhou Can texted Su Qianqian.

“Qianqian, I passed my medical licensing exam!”

Between practicing new songs, filming dramas, and livestreaming, she was even busier than Zhou Can these days.

They say every rich person has struggles you can’t begin to imagine.

It was true, at least for her.

Su Qianqian made a shocking amount of money—for Jin Yu Interactive, she single-handedly brought in more than seventy percent of revenue. All that came from her relentless hard work.

Recently, Zhou Can had been so busy prepping for his comprehensive medical exam, he barely had time to see her.

To deal with her love-sickness and sneak in a date, Su Qianqian would carve out three or four hours every few days just to visit Zhou Can.

She’d stay with him until after nine each night before heading back.

Later on, Zhou Can found out she almost always worked overtime until two or three in the morning after visiting him.

She never mentioned any of this herself.

He only found out because her bodyguard, Wei Fang, told him in secret.

Both of them had given so much for this relationship.

If he had to say which one of them loved harder, it’d definitely be Su Qianqian.

Her love for Zhou Can showed in a thousand tiny ways.

Like when she landed the third lead in a drama, she could’ve easily skipped asking for Zhou Can’s opinion.

But because it mattered to her, she always checked with him first—only after getting his okay did she actually accept the part.

Honestly, with her talent, she was already flying high.

No matter if she left Zhou Can or Jin Yu Interactive, she’d be able to make it on her own. There was never any risk of losing her career if she lost Zhou Can’s support.

She’d signed a contract with Jin Yu Interactive that gave her complete freedom.

After a bad experience at her last company, she’d hired a lawyer to cut out any restrictive or exploitative terms.

So, if she ever wanted to leave, she could walk at any moment.

No massive penalty fees or anything like that.

As for resources in the entertainment industry—with her popularity, she could hire a top agent and still land tons of gigs.

Su Qianqian loved Zhou Can so much, it was pure devotion.

On their one-year anniversary, she’d written Zhou Can a little note.

“To find one person to love completely, to wait for the one you’ll grow old with. Even if longing eats me alive, even if I’m lost to the world, I will never regret this.”

What she meant was—for the rest of her life, she’d love Zhou Can without wavering.

Even if someday Zhou Can betrayed her or fell out of love, she’d never regret a thing.

It was this unwavering, wholehearted love that made Zhou Can cherish her even more.

That time, when Zhou Can drew a red line with Su Qianqian, he wasn’t being bossy—it was just him being straightforward about what was okay and what wasn’t.

If she ever knowingly crossed the line after he told her not to, then she’d be the one throwing away their relationship.

But as long as she truly cared, she’d never be led astray or get tempted, and would respect the boundaries he set.

By laying out the rules clearly, Zhou Can was giving her the choice.

It was his way of responding to her depth of feeling.

After sharing this good news, Zhou Can got no reply from her.

She was probably busy.

Zhou Can went on to message a few other important people.

Director Xueyan had helped him so much in preparing for the medical exam.

Now that he’d passed, he had to thank her properly.

“Director Xue, thank you for spending nearly two weeks of your own time to create a study plan for me. I’ve got the best news—I passed the licensing exam!”

Only Zhou Can truly understood how much effort she put into crafting that plan.

The exam covered a massive range of topics, and Zhou Can had many weak areas—he probably would have failed otherwise. But with her help, he felt like he had a guardian angel on his side—unstoppable.

Plenty of master’s students failed on that very exam.

The practical skills test was actually much easier; the pass rate was much higher than the written exam.

“Hehe, that’s the best news I’ve heard all day. Congratulations!”

She answered immediately.

Not because she was free—more like, she was busy all the time.

From experience, Zhou Can knew she was probably still working at this hour.

She might even be checking medical orders and patient charts right now.

“Thank you!”

Not long after his message, she sent another reply.

“Passing the licensing exam isn’t the end. You have to keep up your drive and tackle all those gaps in your basic medical knowledge, really master and apply them. If you’d like, come meet with me and I’ll help create a long-term study plan. If you study well, it’ll help you on the path to becoming an attending physician, qualifying for senior titles, publishing papers—you’ll use this everywhere.”

She was determined to help him all the way.

Helping him pass wasn’t enough—she wanted to patch his weaknesses and pave a smooth path for his future as a famous doctor.

In her forties, she’d already earned her chief physician title—a true overachiever.

“Thank you, Sis Yan. If it’s not too forward, I’d really like to call you that—because you’ve been so good to me, just like a sister. Whenever you’re available after work, just let me know. I’m always free outside office hours.”

Zhou Can wasn’t just flattering her—he’d truly thought about this.

She was still young, and whether he was in cardiothoracic surgery or elsewhere, she’d always supported him.

And she continued to help, without stopping.

“Calling her Sis Yan was only right.”

“Haha, I’m delighted to have such an excellent little brother! The day after tomorrow, I only have one surgery in the afternoon—if I’m off early, I’ll let you know.”

Her time was so tight that she could only plan long-term study sessions with Zhou Can after work.

“Alright, I’ll look forward to it!”

Zhou Can’s choice to call her ‘Sis’ Yan was meaningful—quite different from calling the nurses ‘Sister’ just to sound friendly, like he did with Ye Tingting in Emergency.

He genuinely saw Director Xue as family.

If she ever needed help, he’d go all out for her.

For Ye Tingting, he’d lend a hand with little things, but probably say no to anything huge.

So there really was a big difference.

After finishing up with Director Xue, he shared the good news with another key person—Dr. Xu.

He’d learned a lot from many supervisors along the way—Director Xueyan in cardiothoracic surgery, Dr. Hu Kan, Director Wen in general surgery, Chief Resident Shen in orthopedics, Dr. Shan, Director Jia in gastrointestinal surgery, the list went on.

Each of them had unselfishly shared clinical experience, surgical methods, and skills with him.

But to Zhou Can, only Dr. Xu truly deserved the title ‘mentor.’

“Mentor, I passed my licensing exam.”

He had a million things he wanted to say to Dr. Xu, but ended up just sending that short message.

He didn’t even say thank you.

He didn’t think it was necessary.

He would always remember Dr. Xu’s great kindness.

As his own medical skills improved, the day he could repay Dr. Xu grew ever closer.

When that day came, he’d give Dr. Xu a huge surprise.

Who says a deadbeat can’t make a comeback?

With Zhou Can as his student, Dr. Xu would get his own shot at redemption—and never be stuck as a ‘deadbeat’ again.

“Not bad. Stay humble and keep working hard!”

Dr. Xu’s reply was just as brief—no congratulations, just sincere advice and encouragement.

Strict teachers make the best students.

A teacher with high standards raises the most outstanding pupils.

“I will!”

For a while, Zhou Can had stopped practicing the Fast Scalpel Technique to focus on his written exams. Now that tests were done, he dived back in.

Carrying on with the Fast Scalpel Technique and mastering it was Dr. Xu’s biggest wish for him.

He’d shared the good news with everyone who mattered—no need to bother anyone else.

Celebrating with the right people made the happiness even sweeter. Sharing with the wrong ones only stirred up jealousy or made it seem like he was showing off.

Su Qianqian still hadn’t replied.

It wasn’t until almost midnight, just as Zhou Can was getting ready for bed, that she sent him a video chat request.

“Darling, I’m so sorry—I was streaming all night and couldn’t check my phone. I just ended, picked it up, and saw your amazing news. I’m so happy! I always knew the man I chose would be the best in the world.”

She chatted with Zhou Can as she walked through the office.

From the look of things, she was still at Jin Yu Interactive.

As a major shareholder, Zhou Can rarely stopped by—only dropping in when Li Lao called him over. He’d only been there two or three times.

The company was booming—they had the whole floor of their building now.

Unlike the big entertainment companies that own entire buildings, they weren’t at that level yet.

From just two offices to an entire floor, it had only taken them about a year.

Jin Yu Interactive was quickly becoming a unicorn in its own right.

Li Lao’s ambitions were sky-high.

More than once, he’d told Zhou Can his goal was to catch up to their old employer, Tianyu Interactive—hopefully surpass them someday.

If that ever happened, Zhou Can’s wealth and influence would reach insane heights.

He’d even outshine the director of Tuyu Hospital.

“Still at work this late? You need to take care of yourself and not overdo it.”

Zhou Can knew he couldn’t change her, but he still had to try.

Even if it helped just a little, it was worth saying.

“Of course! I want to earn lots of money, buy a huge villa, and enjoy the rest of my life with you.” Like so many women, her first thought after earning money was making a cozy home.

Living in a big villa was every woman’s dream.

But with harsh reality and limited salaries, most had no choice but to settle for less.

Still, it never stopped anyone from dreaming.

“You want a villa? Easy—I’ll buy one for you tomorrow, put your name on it.”

Zhou Can had always been indifferent about money.

What really mattered to him was family, love, and friendship.