Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 131: "What Is Rory Linden, Anyway?

Henry Lancaster was driving, with Evan Hollis in the front passenger seat.

Rory Linden, the pregnant woman, and her mother-in-law were in the back seat.

After they had driven a little way, the mother-in-law asked cautiously, "Is this your car?"

Henry Lancaster glanced at her in the rearview mirror and drawled, "Whose else would it be?"

The mother-in-law then asked, "This car... how much does it cost? Is it better than that BMW?"

"A BMW?" Henry Lancaster couldn’t be bothered with her, but he still replied, "A brand new, top-of-the-line BMW might buy you one of this car’s wheels. A cheaper one wouldn’t even get you that."

Rory Linden had no mind to listen to them talk.

Her hand was supporting the pregnant woman.

Through the thin fabric of her clothes, Rory could clearly feel how alarmingly frail she was. There wasn’t a scrap of flesh on her arms.

The only place she had any weight on her was her belly.

And even that didn’t look like she was carrying a full-term baby.

Rory looked at the young woman’s face again.

It was still so childish.

Her heart ached for this girl.

She found herself silently praying that the girl would have a son.

It wasn’t that she believed sons were better than daughters.

It was just that she felt the girl’s future would be a little easier because of this child.

’If it were up to me, she could also wait until the child is older and go out to work just the same.’

’But everyone makes different choices.’

’This was as much as I can help.’

The journey was relatively smooth.

It took less than an hour to drive to the county hospital.

After learning the situation, the doctor muttered, "Why did you wait so long to bring her in?" Without a moment’s hesitation, he had the pregnant woman rushed to the operating room.

Meanwhile, a nurse wrote out a bill and told the family to go pay for the procedure.

The mother-in-law glanced at Rory Linden again. "Are you sure it’s a grandson?"

Rory rolled her eyes internally.

’At a time like this.’

’She’s still hung up on that!’

’If it’s not a boy, are they just not going to do the C-section? Are they going to send her back home?’

’Isn’t a human life more important than carrying on the family name?’

Despite her thoughts, Rory Linden said with great certainty, "I’m sure! It’s definitely a boy!"

Reassured, the mother-in-law finally went to pay the fee.

When she returned, she was muttering, "So expensive. The baby isn’t even born yet, and it’s already costing so much money."

Rory couldn’t be bothered to respond.

Meanwhile, Henry Lancaster called Evan Hollis outside.

He took out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to Evan.

"Thanks, but I don’t smoke during work hours."

Evan Hollis refused.

Henry Lancaster didn’t insist. After lighting one for himself, he slung an arm over Evan’s shoulders and asked in a low voice:

"What do you think? Is my sister-in-law pretty?"

Evan Hollis nodded. "She is."

Rory Linden’s beauty was a well-known fact throughout the entire hospital.

She didn’t have the kind of strong, striking features.

Instead, she possessed a classic, delicate Eastern beauty—unaggressive, gentle as water, the kind that made you want to take a second look.

Henry Lancaster lowered his voice again. "So, do you like her? You can tell me secretly."

Before Evan Hollis could speak, he continued, "To be honest, I’m not a big fan of her. I mean, think about my big brother’s status—young, successful, the richest man in Veridia. And what is she, Rory Linden? The daughter of a nanny."

Evan Hollis turned his head to look at Henry Lancaster.

He seemed surprised that Henry would speak about Rory Linden that way.

Henry Lancaster tsked. "So what if she has a Ph.D. in medicine? All those socialites chasing my big brother have degrees from world-renowned universities. Compare them, and you’ll see her education doesn’t really stack up."

"How many of them got in on their own merit?"

Evan Hollis retorted without holding back.

The vast majority of degrees in our country are earned through one’s own abilities.

Of course, a good family can help their child plan better.

But it’s different with those famous foreign universities. As long as you donate enough money, any kind of kid can get in.

Henry Lancaster took a drag from his cigarette. "Yeah, yeah, but in our country, there are plenty of people from poor families who are smart and good-looking. There’s only one diamond bachelor like my big brother, who’s both handsome and rich. It’s a bit of a waste for him to be with her."

Henry Lancaster didn’t actually have anything against Rory Linden.

He deeply admired Sean Harrison’s capabilities in every respect.

He trusted that his big brother wouldn’t make a mistake in choosing a woman, even if he didn’t know her at all.

He was only saying these things about Rory to test Evan Hollis.

He wanted to see his reaction.

Once they were on better terms, it would be easier to pry other information out of him.

As Henry Lancaster blew out a cloud of smoke, Evan Hollis pushed his arm away in disgust and moved a little farther from him.

Seeing this, Henry immediately threw his cigarette to the ground and stamped it out with his shoe.

"Don’t be so defensive. I’m serious. If you like my sister-in-law, we’re on the same side."

He stared down at the cigarette butt he had just crushed, his gaze flicking toward Evan from time to time.

He wanted to see the man’s reaction.

With both hands in his coat pockets, Evan Hollis said, "Dr. Linden is a very professional and dedicated doctor. I respect her very much. That’s all."

Evan’s attitude was firm.

Henry Lancaster shrugged. "You’re one of those guys with a strong moral compass, aren’t you? Thinking you shouldn’t feel that way because she has a boyfriend. But really, my big brother and her aren’t married. It’s perfectly normal for people to switch partners if they’re not a good fit."

Evan Hollis adjusted the frame of his glasses. "I’m going to buy a bottle of water."

Watching Evan walk away, Henry Lancaster immediately followed him. "Those glasses are kind of hiding your good looks. Are they non-prescription? You should change them if they are."

Evan didn’t say a word.

Henry stood beside him, observing. The lenses looked thin.

The curly-haired man from the surveillance footage a while back wasn’t wearing glasses.

He wanted to confirm the prescription of Evan’s glasses.

-

In less than twenty minutes, a nurse came out holding the baby.

The mother-in-law rushed over, her first words being, "A boy or a girl?"

Rory also looked over nervously.

She had just been making a wild guess earlier.

If it turned out to be a girl, she couldn’t even imagine the scene the mother-in-law would make.

The nurse said, "A boy."

As those two words left the nurse’s mouth, the great weight on Rory’s heart was finally lifted.

The mother-in-law didn’t believe it. She reached a hand into the swaddling clothes to feel for herself before her face broke into a wide, joyous smile. "A grandson! It really is my grandson!"

She turned to Rory. "Oh, you really have to trust science, not those old superstitions! Thank goodness I listened to you. What would I have done if something had really happened to my grandson?"

Rory watched the woman before her calmly.

’I can’t understand it at all.’

’A grandson versus a granddaughter...’

’What was the difference?’

’It’s not like their family had a throne to inherit.’

After the family had confirmed the baby’s gender, the nurse took him away for an examination.

About fifteen minutes later, the new mother was wheeled out.

After confirming the surgery was a success and there were no complications like major hemorrhaging, Rory Linden finally left with the others.

This was as far as her help could go.

She couldn’t help with the rest.

On the way back, Henry Lancaster asked Evan Hollis, "You guys are free tonight, right? Come have a couple of drinks with me. It’s no fun drinking alone."

"I don’t drink during work hours."

Evan Hollis refused.

"But you don’t have work today, do you?"

"The entire time we’re in Veridia counts as work time. I won’t be drinking during this period."

Evan answered very seriously.

Rory Linden was sitting alone in the back seat.

Henry Lancaster looked at her in the rearview mirror. "Sis-in-law, help me talk some sense into him."

"Mr. Lancaster, this entire period really does count as work for us. For example, even though we didn’t have clinic hours today, we still ran into a special situation."

Rory Linden explained patiently.

Henry Lancaster immediately found an excuse. "Well, I drove you guys today. That’s got to count for something, right?"

He looked at Evan Hollis. "How about this: you owe me a round of drinks. You can pay me back after we return to Veridia. Deal?"