Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 209: Rory?

Rory Linden hesitated for a moment before sending the friend request on WeChat.

They would be having dinner together at least once a week from now on, so they needed a way to stay in touch.

Her current phone number was new, and so was her WeChat account.

When she left all those years ago, she had genuinely intended to start a new life with a new identity.

But she never expected that after all this time, she would end up back in Celestria, back at the all-too-familiar Affiliated Hospital of Celestria Medical University.

「」

When Rory Linden got home, Leo was still at the table, drawing.

Hearing her return, her son dropped his paintbrush and ran over to hug her. "Mommy, I missed you so much!"

"Mommy missed you too." Rory Linden squatted down, took her son’s hands, and asked, "Did anything interesting happen at kindergarten today that you want to tell Mommy about?"

"Yes!"

Leo Linden declared in his sweet, childish voice.

The mother and son had just sat down on the sofa when the doorbell rang.

Ryan Sterling stood outside, holding a large bag.

"Mr. Sterling!"

Leo Linden was overjoyed to see Ryan Sterling.

He scampered over on his little legs and said politely, "Are you here to visit? Please, come in."

Ryan Sterling looked at Rory Linden, not daring to move.

She was the lady of the house; it was her decision whether he could come in or not.

Since her son had already invited him in, Rory Linden had no choice but to step aside. "Why are you here so late?"

Ryan Sterling lifted the bag in his hand. "I mentioned I bought some LEGO sets online. They’re all simple ones. I wanted to build them with Leo, but I wasn’t sure which one he’d like, so I brought them over for him to choose."

"Wow!"

Leo Linden jumped up and down with excitement.

Ryan Sterling tipped the bag, and seven or eight LEGO boxes tumbled out.

He looked at Leo Linden and asked, "See which ones you like. We can make a plan to finish building them all this month!"

"I want to build this one first! Then this one!"

Leo Linden pointed to them one by one.

Ryan Sterling jotted them down beside him.

Once everything was planned out, Leo Linden looked at Ryan Sterling with sparkling eyes. "Mr. Sterling, can we start building now?"

"No, you may not," Rory Linden said sternly from the side. "You have to go to bed in an hour."

Leo Linden looked at Ryan Sterling. "Mr. Sterling, can we finish one in an hour?"

"If we build this one, we probably can."

Ryan Sterling picked out a relatively simple one from the pile of boxes.

Leo Linden looked at Rory Linden, pressing his hands together in front of his face in a pleading gesture...

Seeing the little boy’s pose, Ryan Sterling copied him.

Rory Linden looked helpless. "Bath and bed at nine o’clock, got it?"

"Definitely! I’ll make sure of it!"

Before Leo Linden could even agree, Ryan Sterling made the promise for him.

Rory Linden had the distinct feeling she’d just gained another, much older, son.

The two of them, however, kept their promise. They finished the LEGO set with ten minutes to nine and cleaned everything up together.

Ryan Sterling only left after seeing Leo Linden into the bathroom.

「」

The next morning, after Rory Linden finished her rounds, Director Jason Stone informed her, "Come with me to re-examine the patient in bed 833. We need to create a surgical plan."

The patient in bed 833 was the baby Rory Linden had found the other day.

Her nickname was Cece.

A name filled with hope.

Rory Linden knew this meant the money from Sean Harrison had come through, and they could now begin considering surgical options.

In fact, they had already discussed the surgical plan privately.

Cece suffered from heart failure. Given her young age and the current circumstances, a heart transplant was impossible in the short term.

The team conducted a comprehensive examination of Cece.

After a full day of discussion, they finally decided on a surgical plan.

Since only Cece’s left ventricular function was declining while her right ventricle was still working normally, they could perform a pulmonary artery banding to delay the need for a transplant and buy time to wait for a suitable donor.

Jason Stone looked at Rory Linden. "Director Linden, this surgery requires a ten-year follow-up. I recommend you perform it."

There had only been a few dozen such cases worldwide.

Cece was extremely young, and while the procedure itself was minor, the risks were not insignificant.

"Alright, I’ll do it."

Rory Linden didn’t hesitate.

Pediatric heart failure was a global medical challenge.

She had wanted to get involved in this field of research for a long time.

Besides, she was the one who had first found Cece. She wanted to be the one to help her and watch her return to a normal life, step by step.

It was the end of the workday.

After finishing her rounds, Rory Linden left in her car as usual.

It was Friday, right at the peak of rush hour, and the roads were much more crowded than usual.

She drove out of the hospital gate and merged into the left-turn lane. She had only gone a few yards when the car next to her suddenly cut her off...

Before Rory Linden could react, the two cars collided.

Rory Linden had no choice but to stop the car and get out to inspect the damage.

The at-fault driver got out as well.

In reality, who was at fault in this accident was perfectly clear.

The other car had changed lanes abruptly, its front end not even fully in the lane. It was clearly his fault entirely.

The moment the at-fault driver saw Rory Linden was a woman, he said, "Shit, a woman driver. Just my luck."

He looked at Rory Linden. "Alright, alright, what’s there to look at? It’s your fault. Hurry up and pay up so we can get going. Don’t block the road."

"You were the one who changed lanes. If anyone’s paying, it’s you." Rory Linden took out her phone, intending to dial 911.

Seeing this, the driver started yelling, "You’re gonna call the cops? Even if the cops come, you’ll be at fault! My car just has a few scratches. Let’s just say five hundred bucks and call it even. If the cops get involved, it’ll cost you a lot more."

"I’ll pay whatever the traffic police decide."

"With all this traffic, who knows how long it’ll take for the cops to get here! You gonna make everyone wait for you?"

The at-fault driver shouted in frustration.

Rory Linden switched her phone to camera mode first. "Have you never been in a car accident before? We can take pictures ourselves, move the cars, and wait for the traffic police to make a judgment."

The driver was probably used to intimidating female drivers.

He never expected to run into someone as tough as Rory Linden!

He lunged forward to grab Rory Linden’s phone. "What are you taking pictures of! Did I say you could take a picture of my car?!"

Rory Linden instinctively took a step back.

Since their two cars were blocking two lanes, a long line of traffic had already formed behind them.

The drivers behind them honked their horns incessantly, urging them to move.

"Goddammit, I hate dealing with you women drivers. Can’t drive for shit, and you’re so damn slow. Hurry up, give me the money, and let’s go!"

Unable to grab the phone, the driver grew angry and moved to grab her.

He had just taken a step forward when he was shoved aside.

The person who pushed him cursed, "What the hell do you think you’re doing! Can’t you see the long line behind us? You’re the one who cut in and caused the crash, so hurry up, pay the lady, and get lost!"

The at-fault driver, of course, knew it was his fault.

His car wasn’t insured, and he definitely didn’t want to pay.

He had thought he could extort some money from a female driver.

The at-fault driver cursed, "My front end was already in the lane! It was her fault to begin with!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Rory Linden wasn’t having it. "Where was your front end? Not even half a wheel was in the lane. Do you even know the traffic laws? If you don’t, go retake your driving test!"

She held up her phone. "Let’s move the cars. I’ve taken the pictures. We can wait for the police to handle it."

The driver who had intervened had originally just wanted to urge them to move their cars, but upon hearing Rory Linden’s voice, he couldn’t help but turn to look at her.

’Rory?’

The man called out the name in his mind.