Overpowered Resident Doctor

Around one o’clock on Wednesday afternoon, Chen Yu led Xia Min to the Little Red House.

After stepping out of the elevator onto the ninth floor, just as Chen Yu was about to make one last attempt at persuasion, Xia Min linked her arm and pulled her down the hallway.

"Auntie, we’re already here, so please stop trying to talk me out of it. I don’t care about side effects. I just want to be beautiful."

Chen Yu sighed. "Since you’re dead set on this, I won’t say any more."

"But, Xiaomin... you’re going the wrong way."

Xia Min’s face instantly flushed red.

She covered her embarrassment with an awkward laugh, spun 180 degrees around Chen Yu, and purposefully strode eastward.

The two arrived at the main office of Yan Feifan’s research lab, where Zhu Jian and Berry received them.

Zhu Jian and Berry led the two to a smaller office next door, but Yan Feifan was nowhere to be seen.

Zhu Jian explained, "Mrs. Chen, Dr. Yan is currently performing a puncture and ablation surgery on a patient from Jingcheng with a cerebral blood clot."

"Dr. Yan asked me and Dr. Berry to take Miss Xia for the necessary pre-operative examinations."

After this brief explanation, Zhu Jian showed Chen Yu and Xia Min a small roll of clear tape he was holding.

"Mrs. Chen, Dr. Yan also gave us a task."

"He asked us to use only this clear tape to lift, pull, and stretch the muscles and skin on Miss Xia’s face to enhance her features."

Chen Yu smiled. "No problem, go right ahead."

"I’d like to see for myself just how beautiful you can make Xiaomin."

After receiving permission, Zhu Jian gave Berry a gentlemanly "after you" gesture.

Berry, however, scoffed. Holding out a clenched fist, she said, "I don’t need you to give way. Rock-paper-scissors. Winner goes first!"

After a round of rock-paper-scissors, Berry won.

First, she emulated Yan Feifan, using her hands to carefully press and knead Xia Min’s face. She hoped to understand the direction and texture of the muscles beneath the skin, as well as the features of her facial bones.

To avoid any impropriety, Zhu Jian went to the main office next door...

Meanwhile, in the neurosurgery operating room at the Little Red House, Yan Feifan finished performing the cranial puncture, administered the clot-dissolving agent, and then patiently observed the patient for over an hour.

Seeing no signs of severe cerebral hemorrhage or other abnormal symptoms, Yan Feifan instructed Yu Beihua to move the patient to a sterile ward for two days of close observation.

By now, it was nearly three in the afternoon.

Yan Feifan left the surgical area, first updated the patient’s family on the surgery, and then returned to his office. On his desktop computer, he reviewed the photos of Zhu Jian’s and Berry’s attempts at enhancing Xia Min’s appearance.

He first opened the photos sent by Berry.

To Yan Feifan’s surprise, Xia Min’s face in the photo was almost completely covered in clear tape.

Objectively speaking, Xia Min wasn’t ugly. She had a slightly chubby, oval-shaped face that was quite endearing.

It was just that her features were too plain. There were no major flaws, but no prominent highlights either.

The combination of these features resulted in a plain, unremarkable face that blended into any crowd.

In Yan Feifan’s view, Berry’s modifications were heavily influenced by European and American aesthetics. She had strived to give Xia Min’s face more depth, definition, and a three-dimensional quality.

However, she had overdone it.

The muscles around the eyelids were pulled taut and piled up at the sides, distorting the shape of her eyes.

Her cheekbones were also lifted a bit too high.

Her lips were also pulled to look a bit too full. Yan Feifan guessed that if Xia Min hadn’t been deliberately holding her mouth taut, her lips probably wouldn’t close properly when relaxed, revealing at least the top of her teeth.

Still, Berry’s overall facial modifications for Xia Min were acceptable.

The straight nose, deep-set eyes, and full lips made Xia Min look considerably more sensual and coolly elegant.

With the right makeup and a fashionable, form-fitting outfit, she would definitely turn some heads on the street.

Yan Feifan then opened Zhu Jian’s photos and was immediately struck by an air of dignified grace.

He could tell at a glance that Zhu Jian had used Xue Baochai as the template for his modifications to Xia Min’s face.

Yan Feifan had to admit that Zhu Jian’s work was quite successful.

With the right makeup and a historical costume, Xia Min could cosplay as Xue Baochai and get a lot of likes online.

This task Yan Feifan had given Zhu Jian and Berry was, in fact, a small test.

Yan Feifan was satisfied with both of their works.

In terms of aesthetics, both had demonstrated an excellent artistic sense and the skill to bring their visions to life.

Yan Feifan placed both versions side-by-side on his computer screen to compare them.

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

’Are these two secretly competing?’

’A quintessential Western aesthetic versus a classic Chinese beauty, both displayed on the same face. It feels like a head-to-head confrontation.’

’Having a rival is a great motivator for improvement.’

Yan Feifan had no intention of interfering with their competition...

At nearly four in the afternoon, Yan Feifan left his office again and went to the eleventh floor of the Little Red House, where he met Dr. Qin Feng and the patient he had brought.

This patient had a tumor in their cervical spine, a condition nearly as dangerous as a brain tumor. The slightest mistake could result in total paralysis.

Yan Feifan performed a physical examination on the patient, discussed the surgical plan with Dr. Qin, and returned to his office around five-thirty in the afternoon.

He found Chen Yu, Xia Min, Zhu Jian, and Berry all waiting for him in his office.

Yan Feifan took the examination reports from Zhu Jian, looked them over, and then conducted his own hands-on examination of Xia Min’s face.

After he was finished, Yan Feifan announced, "We will discuss the specific surgical plan tomorrow at eleven AM."

"If all goes well, we can perform the surgery in the afternoon."

Then, on a whim, he casually asked, "Xia Min, Dr. Berry’s Western style or Dr. Zhu Jian’s classic Chinese style—which do you prefer?"

Xia Min’s eyes lit up. "Dr. Yan, you can do both? I can choose for myself?"

Yan Feifan smiled. "I can."

"It’s your face, so of course, you get to decide."

Xia Min asked tentatively, "Dr. Yan, since you’re the one performing the surgery, no matter which style I choose, the final result..."

"...will surely be better than what this beautiful doctor and this handsome doctor created with clear tape, right?"

Yan Feifan gave a slight nod. "That goes without saying."

Xia Min added cautiously, "Dr. Yan, um, if it’s possible, could you also use the clear tape to give me a demonstration on my face, just like they did?"

As soon as she said this, Yan Feifan noticed the eyes of Berry and Zhu Jian, who were standing to the side, begin to sparkle.

Yan Feifan understood what they were thinking. He scoffed inwardly. ’Fine, I’ll show you two what a real gap in skill looks like.’

Without a word, he took a small roll of clear tape and a pair of scissors from his desk drawer and got to work on Xia Min’s face.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Yan Feifan’s hands became a flurry of motion. In just two or three minutes, he had given Xia Min a completely new look.

Xia Min noticed the looks of growing disbelief on the faces of Berry, Zhu Jian, and her aunt. The moment Yan Feifan’s hands stopped, she pulled out her phone and aimed the front-facing camera at her face.

A moment later, a face with deep-set eyes, a high-bridged nose, and alluring lips appeared on the screen.

For a moment, Xia Min was stunned.

The face was both strange and familiar. With blonde hair and blue eyes, she would look quite a bit like a younger version of the American beauty, Scarlett.

Xia Min couldn’t help but touch her own face, and she saw the image on the screen mirror the action.

This confirmed that the beautiful woman on the screen was indeed her.

"I look... absolutely gorgeous."

"I can’t believe I can look this beautiful."

After gasping in amazement, Xia Min eagerly exclaimed, "Dr. Yan, this is it! I choose this plan!"

Just as Yan Feifan was about to nod, Chen Yu interjected, "Xiaomin, that’s the Western style. You haven’t seen the Chinese style yet."

"You’re Chinese. The Chinese style would suit you better."

Xia Min shook her head. "Auntie, the sensual look is in style right now. I think this look suits me better."

Chen Yu’s expression darkened. "I don’t think the sensual look is right for you. Xiaomin, sit still and let Dr. Yan show you the Chinese-style design."

Chen Yu then turned her sharp gaze to Yan Feifan. "Dr. Yan, make sure you do a good job with this Chinese-style plan."

"You have to make it so beautiful that Xiaomin absolutely falls in love with it..."