Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 19: I Can Back You Up

Sean Harrison walked into the elevator in the inpatient department, took out his phone, found the contact for Henry Lancaster, and made the call.

Once the call connected, he briefly laid out what he needed done.

Although Henry was completely against it, he had no choice but to agree.

-

At 5:50 p.m, Rory finished her rounds in the wards and was about to head back to her office when she saw Sean standing by the nurses’ station.

He had changed out of the dark outfit he was wearing that morning and was now in a pale yellow, subtly patterned shirt and light-wash jeans.

The new attire gave him a completely different air.

Rory didn’t find it strange that he had changed twice in one day.

Miles used to do the same thing. He was changed into a freshly pressed and more formal outfit before meeting important clients.

He was so handsome that just by standing there, he was already drawing glances from the nurses.

"Mr. Harrison, could you wait just a moment? I’m going to get changed."

Doctors don’t wear their white coats outside of the hospital.

Rory planned to clean his wound and then head straight to meet the real-estate agent after her shift.

One of the young nurses at the station, unaware of her plans, teased, "Dr. Linden, are you... heading out on a date?"

Rory looked desperate. As she passed the nurses’ station, she tapped on the counter and joked back, "Of course not. You should focus on your work. If you want a date that badly, go find your own boyfriend instead of always gossiping about other people."

"If I were as beautiful as you, Dr. Linden, I would’ve lost count of how many boyfriends I’d have had by now."

As she spoke, the nurse glanced at Sean and gave him a little fist pump, as if to say, ’Go for it!’

Hospital gossip always traveled fast.

Everyone used to know that Rory’s boyfriend was Miles.

But after the Harrisons’ discussion about Miles’ engagement that morning, word quickly got around that Rory was single again.

Rory changed her clothes and led Sean to one of the hospital’s treatment rooms.

Since Sean’s right arm was injured, his movement was restricted.

He had to take his shirt all the way off just to have the wound cleaned.

Looking at the wound on his back today, she no longer found it so frightening.

Rory cleaned the wound, applied fresh gauze, and helped him put his shirt back on.

Once she was finished, she stood up and said, "Mr. Harrison, you can come back the day after tomorrow. I’ll be at the hospital all day."

The two of them left the room together.

As they approached the parking lot, Sean finally spoke. "You’re on your way to meet a real-estate agent, right? I’ll go with you."

"You don’t have to." Rory quickly refused. "Apartment hunting is a hassle. If nothing suitable comes up, we might have to run all over the place, which takes a long time. If you come with me, Mr. Harrison, I might feel pressured to make a rash decision just so I don’t waste your time."

"I don’t mind the hassle. Besides, I don’t have any other plans tonight."

"But..."

"You’re a young woman looking for an apartment by yourself. The agent or the landlord might see you as an easy target and try to make unreasonable demands, like charging you a higher monthly rent."

He paused, then added, "If I’m there, I can back you up."

Sean’s words really struck a chord with Rory.

Most places required a one-month security deposit plus three months’ rent upfront.

Rory’s goal was to settle on a place without touching the extra fifty thousand yuan Sherry Walsh had lent her.

She would definitely be at a disadvantage negotiating with a landlord on her own.

"Alright, then I’d appreciate it if you came with me, Mr. Harrison." Rory added, "But if something comes up, feel free to leave early. Please don’t feel obligated."

"Of course."

Sean readily agreed.

Rory and the agent had arranged to meet at the entrance of a building in a residential complex near Elysian Hospital.

Since the complex was nearly forty years old and had no property management, the paths inside were cluttered with junk on both sides.

A car couldn’t even drive through.

The two of them had to walk the rest of the way.

Sean’s brow furrowed as he took in the old buildings, the pockmarked pavement, and the makeshift chicken coops built on the green spaces.

Catching his displeased expression out of the corner of her eye, Rory said, "I’m sorry, Mr. Harrison. The other complexes I’ve arranged to see with the agent are pretty much like this one. You can leave now if you need to."

"I am not leaving," Sean said.

The agent Rory was meeting was a woman.

When they met, the agent pointed upstairs. "This is a six-story walk-up. The apartment we’re seeing is on the fifth floor, so it’s not the top floor. You shouldn’t have to worry about the roof leaking."

Faced with such a rundown environment, the agent couldn’t seem to think of any other selling points.

The three of them started up the stairs.

They had just reached the fourth-floor landing when under the dim lights, a rat scurried quickly down the handrail.

"AAGH! A RAT!"

The agent was so frightened she dropped into a crouch, too scared to move a muscle.

Rory calmly watched the rat until she was sure it was gone, then bent down and patted the agent on the shoulder. "It’s okay. It ran off."

The agent stared at Rory in astonishment. "You’re... you’re not afraid of rats?"

"I’m a doctor. We use rats and bullfrogs for experiments and dissections."

Rory’s expression was nonchalant.

In fact, she used to be terrified of them.

But when she was with Miles, she couldn’t show her fear.

Because Miles was afraid of them, too.

Miles wasn’t just afraid of rats. He was scared of caterpillars, snakes, and all sorts of small insects.

Whenever they encountered anything like that, Miles would always hide behind her and order her to get rid of it.

She was scared too, of course, but she always knew she didn’t have the luxury of showing weakness.

So she forced herself to stay calm and protect Miles.

And after she started medical school, she did genuinely become braver.

The three of them quickly looked through the first apartment.

It was a one-bedroom unit.

Though the complex looked rundown from the outside, the apartment itself was relatively clean and came with basic furniture.

The agent then showed them a few more places.

Just as Rory was deciding to take the first apartment, the agent stepped away to answer a call.

She returned with a delighted expression. "Miss Linden, a new place just came on the market! It’s a one-bedroom, the rent is twelve hundred a month, and it’s only one month’s deposit and one month’s rent upfront. The landlord is extremely picky, though, with a lot of rules. The last tenant just got kicked out. Do you want to take a look?"

Rory was curious. "Why was he kicked out?"

"I think for secretly keeping a pet," the agent said. "This landlord’s apartment is brand new with great decor. He only rents to female tenants and requires them to take perfect care of the place—no pets, immaculate hygiene. He even conducts regular inspections."

"Well... let’s go take a look."

At first, Rory was simply curious.

The apartment was in a new complex right next to Elysian Hospital. It was listed as a one-bedroom, but it was actually a converted three-bedroom, two-living-room unit.

It was on an ideal floor, the decor was luxurious, and the furniture was all high-end.

You couldn’t rent a place like this for five thousand two hundred, let alone twelve hundred.

Rory took one look around the apartment, walked back to the entrance, removed the disposable shoe covers, and said very seriously, "I’m not renting this place."

She said this directly to Sean.