"You... You are Dr. Zuo Han?"

Outside the conference centre, Cheng Li's pupils contracted abruptly, full of shock.

She had originally thought that one of the leading figures in neurosurgery would be a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties. She never dreamed he would be the handsome young man standing before her.

Clothed in a well-tailored suit, he was undeniably handsome with open and clear brows and eyes, yet his expression was cold, exuding a stern air.

So young. He appeared to be in his late twenties, and the name tag pinned to his chest bore the neatly-printed letters: Zuo Han.

Cheng Li saw her own haggard, anxious, and furtive reflection in his eyes.

Helpless, the conference center was so far from the city that she had rushed over on her little e-bike.

Last night at midnight, her father suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and was hospitalized. The site of the hemorrhage was dangerous, and he had fallen into a coma. The surgery was too risky, so the doctor suggested conservative treatment.

She asked her friend Jiang Cheng, who worked at the hospital. He advised her to seek out a leading expert called Zuo Han at today's Neurosurgery Technology Symposium.

It turned out that the man she had casually intercepted as he stepped outside to answer his phone was indeed Dr. Zuo Han.

"What can I do for you?" Zuo Han's expression was still icy, his voice indifferent.

Cheng Li was so nervous her teeth were chattering. "My father... he had a cerebral hemorrhage... The doctors said that they won't perform surgery and proposed conservative treatment..."

"I respect the diagnostic opinions of other doctors," said Zuo Han, with a tone as calm as still water.

"Moreover, without a consultation request from the attending physician of the patient, and without detailed examination data of the case, I cannot make any diagnosis for the patient."

With that, he had clearly shown his professional standpoint in handling the matter.

After speaking, he headed inside, his mobile phone vibrated and a message came in. He unlocked his screen and read the message as he moved forward.

Upon glancing at the content, Zuo Han frowned in distaste.

The message was from the woman he would traditionally refer to as his mother.

Long strings of messages, accompanied by various photos of young women were sent.

[I know you resent me, feeling like I have no right to nag, but I'm doing this for your own good. If I don't push you, then when will you ever get married? All these girls, they are handpicked by me, from a good family, just take a look when you're free. Tell me who you fancy and I'll arrange a meeting.]

[You don't care about our massive family business, how much can your salary even afford you? If not for your substantial share dividends, your humble salary wouldn't even be enough for the car maintenance! Either settle down, let me rest easy, or come back and help your brother in the company. Your choice.]

It seemed like his previous denials over the phone were in vain.

These kinds of threats were old tricks in the book, but as long as his "mother" was relentless, they could always affect his mood.

Cheng Li hurriedly followed behind Zuo Han. Biting her lip, between life and death for her father, she had no time to care about anything else.

Cheng Li hastened her steps and grabbed the corner of Zuo Han's clothes.

"Dr. Zuo, it's said saving a life is meritorious. Please, perform the surgery on my father, I'll be indebted to you!"

The man froze momentarily, then turned to look at her.

In his deep eyes, his cool gaze first swept over her face, then slowly shifted to her hand gripping his clothes.

Feeling awkward, Cheng Li loosened her fingers, "I-I'm sorry...I was just too anxious."

The security guard at the entrance saw the situation unfolding, he walked over warily eyeing Cheng Li, and asked, "Professor Zuo, is someone giving you trouble?"

Zuo Han waved his hand to indicate he was fine, and lowered his gaze to the young woman in front of him.

"Become a servant?" His sharp eyebrows raised slightly, thinking about the on-and-off match-making scenarios, he tugged at the corner of his mouth, "In fact, I do have something that needs assistance."

Half an hour later, Cheng Li, holding a steering wheel with four ring symbols, drove towards Haicheng city district.

Her palms were slightly sweaty. She didn't understand how things had unfolded this way.

The conversation with Zuo Han earlier reverberated in her mind.

"I need someone to get a certificate with me. Today."

"I'm available!" she agreed without any hesitation. Then, in confusion, she asked, "Where do we get this certificate? I'm quite free today, I can help you get it."

It's not normal for someone to get a marriage certificate with a stranger they just meet.

Cheng Li didn't think in that direction, she just thought he must be too busy to get some certificate.

"Not helping me to get the certificate, but getting it with me," Zuo Han emphasized again.

Cheng Li blinked. A moment later, realization dawned on her. She was stunned into silence, "Get... what certificate?"

"What do you think?" Zuo Han's eyes were cold and serene as they watched her suddenly widen in shock.

Isn't he a brain surgeon? Why hadn't he treated his own brain? Cheng Li inwardly screamed in disbelief.

Looking at her as if she was a madwoman, Zuo Han found it a bit amusing too. A self-mocking smile appeared on his face as he turned and began to walk towards the conference room.

Cheng Li couldn't remember what she was thinking at that moment. She rushed forward, arms outstretched, blocking Zuo Han's path, "Alright! As long as you operate on my father!”

...And then things ended up as they are now.

Her little motorbike was 'abandoned' in the convention center's parking lot, because she had to help Zuo Han drive back to the downtown area, allowing him to study her father's condition on the way.

The air conditioning in the car was quite full on, but Cheng Li's forehead still couldn't help but break out in a fine sweat.

Zuo Han was sitting in the passenger seat, supporting his chin with one hand and studying the CT scans on her phone's screen.

Cheng Li couldn't help but turn her head and try to gauge from his facial expressions whether her father's condition was optimistic or not.

Yet this man's expression... this man had no apparent expression.

Cheng Li was slightly frustrated.

"Watch the road," Zuo Han's gaze never left the CT scans on the phone screen, and he uttered these two words indifferently.

Cheng Li turned her head to look at the road ahead.

When she was preparing to exit the overpass, she once again heard his pleasant yet indifferent voice command, "Turn left after coming down the bridge."

Cheng Li bit her lip, "But..."

Turning right was the direction towards the hospital.

"Turn left, head to the civil affairs bureau," Zuo Han finally lifted his gaze from the phone's screen, looking at her.

Cheng Li's eyebrows furrowed tightly, "Dr. Zuo, are you serious?"

Upon hearing this, Zuo Han let out a low chuckle, but it sounded strikingly cold, "Do you think, I skipped an important meeting to goof around with you?"

"But how can marriage be treated as a child's play? We barely know each other, we're meeting for the first time!" Cheng Li found it hard to understand this person's way of thinking.

"I'm not looking to have a romantic relationship with you. It doesn't matter how many times we've met, I just need someone to marry me to ward off unnecessary troubles."

Zuo Han frowned impatiently, "You can choose to agree or just pull over and end it."

The car was already entering the ramp that led off the bridge, with the traffic light intersection under the overpass up ahead.

To turn left or to turn right… what a crossroad of life this was!

Nearly biting her lip till it bled, Cheng Li finally took a hard turn at the steering wheel.