Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 126: "Does Our Relationship Bother You?
Rory Linden’s first instinct was to look at Sean Harrison.
The man was chatting with the team leader and didn’t seem to be paying attention to what was happening over here.
Rory Linden felt that any misunderstanding could be explained, so she walked over toward Evan Hollis.
Just as she sat down, she saw a large group of more than twenty people swarming in from outside.
Over a dozen hospitals were participating in the rural medical outreach program.
They were assigned to different villages and thus had different routes.
She had encountered this last year, too. It was probably another team passing through and stopping for lunch.
Rory Linden lowered her head and continued to eat...
"Senior Sister Linden!"
A cheerful, bright male voice suddenly echoed throughout the entire dining hall.
Rory Linden looked up because the man had called out her surname.
Standing a few meters away was a junior from her same mentor’s program.
Cameron Goodman.
He was a year below her and should have just graduated this year.
Cameron Goodman walked over with his tray and sat down in the empty seat next to Rory Linden.
"Senior Sister Linden, what a coincidence! You’re part of this program too?" Cameron Goodman didn’t pause, continuing, "Which hospital are you at now?"
"I’m at Elysian,"
Rory Linden replied.
"Huh? What hospital is Elysian?"
Cameron Goodman had clearly never heard of it.
Although Elysian Hospital was Veridia’s most famous private hospital, it catered to high-end clientele, so some medical students were unaware of it.
Even if they had heard of it, they usually wouldn’t pay it much mind.
"A private hospital," Rory Linden explained.
"You... why would you go to a private hospital?"
Cameron Goodman’s face was a mask of disbelief.
In his eyes, private hospitals were like those men’s health or gynecology clinics—not very professional, and focused on scamming as many patients as possible.
Of course, he also knew there were some very good private hospitals.
Those hospitals weren’t part of the internship program and typically didn’t hire recent graduates. They mainly poached experienced and skilled talent from major hospitals.
"What’s wrong with a private hospital? They can be great. They have the best equipment in Veridia, and their doctors are top-tier in the country."
Evan Hollis, who was sitting nearby, spoke up.
"Let me look it up."
Cameron Goodman took out his phone and started searching for information about Elysian Hospital.
After looking it up, his brow was still furrowed. "Senior Sister, a hospital like this probably doesn’t have many patients, right? It doesn’t seem like a good fit for you. My dad said that at your rate of progress, you’d be making a name for yourself by the time you’re thirty."
Cameron Goodman came from a family of doctors.
His father and grandfather were both brilliant cardiothoracic surgeons at Celestria University Affiliated Hospital.
His mother was a postdoctoral researcher who focused mainly on scientific research.
Back during her doctoral internship, she had assisted under Cameron Goodman’s father.
Cameron Goodman’s father couldn’t praise her enough.
When she graduated, he had even tried multiple times to persuade her to stay at their university’s own Celestria University Affiliated Hospital.
Rory Linden had been swayed.
In the end, it was because of money that she chose Elysian Hospital.
Evan Hollis couldn’t help but add, "Actually, the Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Elysian has also been advising Dr. Linden to switch hospitals."
Cameron Goodman looked at Rory Linden. "Senior Sister, my dad just mentioned you the other day. As long as you’re willing, you can come back to our university’s affiliated hospital anytime."
Evan Hollis also said, "If you don’t want to stay in the country, you could also go abroad. Send me your resume, and I’ll forward it to the hospitals where I’ve worked. I’m sure you could get in."
"Thank you, thank you. I’ll give it serious consideration."
Rory Linden could only express her thanks.
She had been her professors’ star student back in school.
To repay her debt of gratitude to the Harrington Family, she had chosen her current path.
’I don’t regret it. But now that the money is paid back, once I get my year-end bonus, I’ll definitely make a different choice.’
The tables in the dining hall were round. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
There were still a few empty seats at their table.
Someone with a tray sat down and said to Cameron Goodman, "Young Goodman, is this beautiful lady your senior? Does she have a boyfriend?"
Cameron Goodman quickly replied, "Yes, my senior has had a boyfriend for a long time. They’re in a very stable relationship, so you can give up now."
Rory Linden lowered her head and ate.
Back in school, everyone knew she had a boyfriend.
It was just that no one had ever met him.
’Although Miles Harrison was an unqualified boyfriend, his status helped fend off a lot of potential suitors, so that was helpful in its own way.’
Throughout lunch, Cameron Goodman, acting as Rory Linden’s number one fan, recounted all of her legendary accomplishments from their school days.
This left everyone else at the table in awe of her.
When lunch was over, as Evan Hollis and Rory Linden were clearing their trays to leave, Evan spoke up again.
"Dr. Linden, I genuinely think it’s a bit of a waste for you to stay at Elysian. If you want to leave, you can ask your friend for help with opportunities in the country, and you can ask me for help with going abroad."
Rory Linden said, "Thank you."
Evan Hollis added, "The income ceiling for cardiothoracic surgeons abroad is very high, and the technology is more advanced. You should consider it."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. You can discuss it with your boyfriend. A few years in exchange for a smoother career path in the future—he’d surely be willing to support that."
Evan Hollis looked at her as he spoke.
His eyes crinkled in a smile, full of sincerity, and the small dimples at the corners of his mouth were especially noticeable.
Rory Linden looked at him, suddenly tempted by the suggestion.
She had lived under someone else’s roof since she was a child. Even though she ate well, lived well, and had nice things thanks to Miles Harrison,
she had always known that what others could give, they could also take away.
Even if Sean Harrison’s status was very high,
what she wanted was never to be a canary in a golden cage.
-
「That afternoon.」
Rory Linden and the others cleaned out the building where they would see patients the next day and set everything up.
Once everything was done, they all went to dinner together.
After dinner, the team leader stopped Rory Linden. "Dr. Linden, you didn’t finish making the bed earlier, did you? Why don’t you go finish making President Harrison’s bed before you head back?"
"Alright."
Rory Linden agreed.
It was a task she hadn’t finished, so it was up to her to complete it.
The team leader escorted Sean Harrison to the door of his dorm, gave a few instructions, and then left.
When she entered the room, Rory Linden discovered that the man had already made the bed.
The sheets and duvet cover were perfectly neat.
Now, only the two of them were left in the room.
"Sean Harrison, it was wrong of me to call you President Harrison in the heat of the moment. It’s just that the team leader had already introduced you as a director of the foundation. If I then said you were my boyfriend, people would think I was asking for special treatment. It would make things awkward for me within the team..."
Rory Linden explained earnestly to the man.
"Awkward?"
Sean Harrison walked toward her, one step at a time.
Rory Linden could only retreat, step by step.
Behind her was the bed the man had just made.
The backs of her legs hit the bed, and she naturally sat down.
Sean Harrison knelt on the bed with one knee, his body pressing down over her. He lowered his gaze and asked:
"Are you bothered by my status? By my being here? Or... are you bothered by our relationship."
