The Seductive Pretty Boy of the Matriarchal World-Chapter 72: The Hunt Begins

Chapter 72: The Hunt Begins

Yvonne Quinn paused for half a beat when she saw Elias Kane. She clearly had not expected to run into him here.

The two doctors beside her froze too. One of them, Dr. Chloe Mercer, turned to glance at Yvonne, one brow lifting. "Another one of your fanatics?"

Yvonne was so striking that she had no shortage of admirers. Some of them were ridiculous enough to fake symptoms just to get examined by her.

A big part of that came down to one simple fact. She was a doctor, and her schedule was predictable. Most of the time, she was at Longhaven Hospital. As long as someone waited in the hospital long enough, there was always a chance they might catch a glimpse of her.

That had given rise to a whole breed of obsessive followers. They tracked her, dug into her routines, and tried to get as close to her as possible. The intensity was no less unhinged than the worst celebrity fans.

Fortunately, Elias was just a boy. He did not look threatening. That was the only reason he was still standing here instead of being escorted out by security.

Yvonne did not deny it. A gentle smile touched her almost mixed-blood features as she asked softly, "Why are you here?"

Elias’s body gave a tiny shiver.

Shit. My ears are about to get pregnant.

He hurriedly lifted a hand and tapped his ear like he was trying to terminate the problem before it developed, then answered with a bright smile. "I’m here to see my dad."

"Your father’s here too?" Chloe sounded genuinely surprised.

The eighteenth floor was not tied to any one department. It was the best part of all Longhaven Hospital, a private floor reserved for mid-level and senior physicians to rest, with exclusive suites for patients who could afford the highest level of care.

That did not mean the regular rooms were neglected. Longhaven had earned its reputation as the best hospital in the world because its medical staff operated at an absurdly high standard. There might be tiers, but even the most ordinary patient would still be treated seriously and with care.

What made this floor different was the cost.

It was ruinously expensive. Even plenty of comfortably well-off families could never afford a stay here.

Chloe’s eyes narrowed with mild suspicion. "What’s your father’s name?"

Elias answered obediently, "Arthur Hale."

She thought for a moment, then found the answer in that unnervingly sharp memory of hers.

He really was here. Transferred in a few days ago.

But instead of easing her surprise, that only deepened it. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Her gaze swept over Elias from head to toe. He was not wearing anything custom-made. Not even a recognizable luxury label. He looked completely ordinary, the kind of boy who did not seem like he came from a family that could shoulder this kind of bill.

Still, appearances could lie. Even if questions lingered in her mind, Chloe was not tactless enough to ask about someone’s finances to his face.

As long as he was not one of those stalkers trailing Yvonne around the hospital, that was enough.

She smiled and teased, "One of your little fans."

Elias latched onto that opening without hesitation and nodded hard. "I am a fan of Dr. Quinn. I ran into her once before by pure chance, and I thought that was already insanely lucky. I didn’t think I’d get to see her again. Guess Dr. Quinn and I really are meant to cross paths."

Yvonne lowered her gaze and studied him.

She remembered this child.

Her memory was good enough that she could still recall every detail of a surgery from years ago as if it had happened yesterday.

The last time she had seen Elias, though, he had been sick. His whole face had been flushed from fever, and he had looked weak, drained, and limp with exhaustion. Now he had recovered. There was color in him again, warmth in him. His face was bright, his eyes lively. He carried an almost excessive sincerity, the kind that made him seem like a little sun, spilling warmth and goodwill onto everyone around him.

"We do seem to have some strange luck," Yvonne said, her eyes curving slightly. Her appearance made people put up defenses around her in odd ways, so in every other respect, she had worked very hard to seem approachable. Her tone, her posture, her smile. Every detail was polished into something gentle.

The brighter she sounded, the more Elias stared at her.

If her normal speaking voice already sounded this good, he honestly did not dare imagine what it would feel like if she pinned him to a bed and murmured sweet nothings into his ear.

Borrowing the ladder of fate she had just handed him, Elias climbed fast.

He pulled out his phone. "Since we’re this destined..."

He bit his lower lip. A faint flush spread across his cheeks, like even he knew he was being shameless, but he still forced himself to ask, gathering up what looked like every scrap of courage he had. "...can I add you?"

And because he had already suffered one failed attempt before, Elias deliberately acted like his emotions were slipping out of his control. He let his glasses tumble down his nose on purpose, gasped softly, and caught them at the last second. With the frames out of the way, that gorgeous face of his appeared in full, along with the thick, almost painful anticipation written all over it.

All three of them, Yvonne included, stilled for a moment.

Elias hooked the glasses against the collar of his shirt, pressed his palms together, and gave Yvonne a pleading little shake of his hands. His lips pushed out just slightly as he coaxed, soft and spoiled, "Please, Dr. Quinn..."

Yvonne looked at the reflection of him in her eyes.

So this child... was not ordinary at all.

She shook her head. "No."

She rejected him again.

Elias went completely blank.

He genuinely could not understand why Yvonne had refused him a second time.

His eyes reddened almost instantly. A thin mist gathered in them, but he was still smiling, still trying to smile. He blinked rapidly several times, opened his mouth as if to say something, then lowered his head all at once. His shoulders rose and fell in tiny movements, like he was taking deep breaths and trying to keep himself together. Then he jerked his head back up and smiled even wider, but his teeth had already sunk unconsciously into his lower lip. His voice came out hoarse.

"Okay. That’s okay. Really. I get it... Dr. Quinn’s busy every day. You probably don’t even use your phone, so... it’s really... really... fine..."

By the end, his voice had dwindled into almost nothing.

His head drooped again.

Tap.

Tap.

Two tears hit the floor.

The sound landed clearly in the ears of everyone standing there.

In the end, the boy had still cried.

It was as if he had been swallowing grievance after grievance for a long time now, forcing it all down and locking it away, and Yvonne’s second rejection had finally cracked that seal open. Everything came spilling out at once.

Then Yvonne spoke.

"You already knew that, didn’t you?"

"Hm...?"

"I don’t really use my phone. Even if you added me, you wouldn’t be able to reach me most of the time." Her tone stayed even and soft. "Add my assistant instead. That way, if you need me, you’ll be able to find me."

Elias snapped his head up. His eyes were red, and tears had already carved two wet tracks down from the corners.

The meaning of her words hit him.

He hurriedly raised an arm and scrubbed at his face, his voice still damp with a leftover sob. "Then why didn’t you say that first...?"

Yvonne sounded faintly helpless now. "From the moment I said no to the moment you started crying, how many seconds do you think passed?"

"...Fair enough." Elias laughed through the remains of his tears. The sad boy from a second ago lit back up almost instantly.

He lowered his arm and met Yvonne’s eyes. "Dr. Quinn, can I call you Yvonne? If I keep calling you Doctor, I’m scared I’ll make you sound old."

Yvonne hesitated for only an instant before answering warmly, "You can."

"Yes!" Elias blurted out, his joy completely undisguised.

Then, in the very next second, he slapped a hand over his own mouth like he had nearly committed some terrible crime.

He stuck out the tip of his tongue a little. "I forgot this is a hospital. I’m supposed to keep it down."

Chloe burst out laughing. She liked his personality. "It’s fine. The soundproofing here is excellent. You could start singing right now and nobody would hear a thing."

"I’m not singing," Elias said with a bright, playful smile, slipping into familiarity as naturally as breathing. "What if I disturbed Yvonne while she was trying to rest?"

[Yvonne Quinn favorability unlocked. Current: 1%.]