Chapter 2

Lucas and Wendy became the center of attention at the party.

I, the host, wandered the empty streets like a lost soul late at night.

By the time I returned to my rented apartment, it was past midnight. My birthday had ended just like that.

My tears were almost dried up. I sat in the living room all night,

Not even realizing when I fell asleep.

When I woke up, it was already daylight, but I found myself lying in bed.

I was sure I hadn't sleepwalked, and my memory was perfect.

I definitely hadn't woken up in the middle to go back to bed.

As I pondered this, I caught a whiff of a familiar scent.

It was the Burberry cologne Lucas always wore.

Had Lucas been here?

But he didn't know the address of my apartment.

Maybe I was overthinking it.

I tidied up a bit, preparing to go to work at the hospital. When I opened the door, I found cigarette butts scattered on the ground.

It was Lucas's favorite brand. He really had been here!

I rushed downstairs eagerly, and sure enough, I saw Lucas about to leave at the entrance.

"Lucas!" I called out. He froze in place.

I ran towards him, my heart pounding wildly.

I wasn't sure if it was from running,

Or from grasping at the last straw of hope.

"You came yesterday? How did you know my apartment address? When did you find out I moved out?"

Lucas lowered his head slightly, his eyes cold and indifferent.

"Aria Collins, I'm not blind. I can see when things are missing from my home."

Lucas rubbed his brow, his tone irritated:

"Did you see what I did at the party yesterday?"

I had a bad feeling, but still nodded.

The next second, Lucas's cold tone shattered my illusions:

"I did that to let you know I could never be so depraved as to have feelings for you."

"Last night was because Wendy noticed you were missing and made me check the security cameras to find you. Aria Collins, drop that self-righteous look on your face."

"From now on, please keep your distance from me. Do you understand?"

My ears were ringing. By the time he disappeared from my sight,

I came back to my senses, tears already soaking my collar.

So Lucas truly despised me to the extreme,

Not even willing to spare me a glance...

The adult world is cruel. No matter how upset I was, I couldn't let it affect my work.

When I arrived at the hospital, the usually quiet doctors' office was buzzing with excitement.

"Aria, did you hear? A brilliant doctor is coming today! They say she's also transferring from a military hospital!"

Military hospital? My heart skipped a beat.

For some reason, Wendy's face flashed through my mind.

The next second, an excited male doctor looked towards the door: "She's here!"

I turned to look, my heart sinking. It really was Wendy!

The deputy director spoke up:

"Starting today, Dr. Sinclair will be working with you all. She's top in her field of internal medicine, and will be your superior."

"If you have any questions in the future, you can ask Dr. Sinclair. Please show mutual respect and help each other!"

Everyone warmly welcomed Wendy's arrival. After the deputy director left,

They all flocked around her. Only I stood to the side.

In this office, except for me who had just become a full-time doctor,

The others had all transferred from military hospitals before.

So I, who already had little in common with them, now felt even more out of place.

As I was organizing patient files, Wendy's voice sounded behind me: "Aria."

I turned around. Wendy smiled faintly,

"Even though we're family now, as your superior, I'll be very strict with you!"

I forced a slight smile in response, but my mind was in turmoil.

If Wendy worked here, it meant Lucas would probably come pick her up after work, right?

Doctors aren't supposed to let personal feelings interfere with work.

I tried my best to suppress my thoughts and focus on my job. The peaceful days passed uneventfully for a while.

One day when I arrived at the hospital for work, I had just opened the door

When I saw Wendy furtively hiding something.

I found it strange, but didn't think too much of it.

After everyone arrived, we entered the operating room to prepare.

For some reason, Wendy only allowed me, the anesthesiologist, and another male doctor to enter the operating room.

Before the surgery began, she turned off the surveillance cameras inside.

"The patient requested privacy and specifically asked us not to record the surgery,"

Wendy said calmly. "Alright, let's begin!"

The surgery proceeded smoothly as usual. But suddenly, Wendy spoke up:

"Aria Collins, you take over."

I was stunned. Me? I had just become a full-time doctor, and she wanted me to use the scalpel?

Wendy handed me the scalpel.

"20% of the patient's stomach is currently necrotic. Remove it all and insert an artificial stomach!"

I was dumbfounded.

Although 20% of the patient's stomach was necrotic, it could still digest normally.

It would make the patient weak and restrict their diet somewhat,

But installing an artificial stomach as Wendy suggested would only increase the patient's suffering.

It wouldn't solve the root of the patient's problem at all!

"Wendy, are you crazy? How would this help the patient's condition?"

I asked in disbelief.

But Wendy didn't even flinch. "I have my reasons for doing this. With me supervising, what are you afraid of?"

I turned to look at the anesthesiologist and the other male doctor who had a crush on Wendy.

They acted as if they hadn't heard anything.

"Aria Collins, hurry up! Don't waste time, the patient's blood pressure is dropping!"

Wendy said impatiently.

I felt something was very wrong. I held the scalpel but couldn't bring myself to make the incision.

"Tch, Aria Collins, can you do it or not? If not, I'll do it!"

The male doctor snatched the scalpel and shoved me aside.

I stumbled back, only able to hand over surgical tools from the side.

Half an hour later, the surgery was complete and the patient was moved to intensive care.

As Wendy left the operating room, she gave me a meaningful look.

I was confused, suddenly feeling uneasy.

It wasn't until 3 days later that I realized that uneasiness wasn't unfounded.