Miles Crawford said goodbye to Jonah Bell and headed to the parking lot, got into the car and closed the door.
Inside the car, Shea Thorne was wearing headphones listening to music, she felt the car move, opened her eyes, took off the headphones and sat up, pointing at the numbers on the car screen's clock and said, "You're an hour late."
The class was supposed to end at twelve, but now it's already past one-thirty.
Her voice was soft and gentle, with a touch of playful reproach. Miles apologized, "My fault, too many students, didn't take care of you, came out late, I apologize."
He clicked on the car's screen and said, "Why not connect to Bluetooth? Listening with headphones for long periods is bad for your ears; the sound system in my car is pretty good, don't use headphones in the car from now on."
Shea shrugged; she couldn't admit she didn't know how to operate these things, and they had just started seeing each other, it wouldn't be right to fumble around.
Now that he's offering, she doesn't refuse. After connecting Bluetooth, she deliberately changed the name on his device to "Bulbasaur." This kind of name is usually used by girls, so if someone sees it, they'll naturally know she and Miles are in a close relationship.
Miles laughed and joked, "Well, great, if my fiancée sees it, she'll definitely claw my face."
Classical music flowed gently inside the car, Miles drove out of the university, directly heading to the hospital where he worked.
"Let's go to the hospital for a check-up first, your condition just now, I need to see the test results to feel at ease." He's an absolute believer in science, believing that if a person suddenly hurts like this, there must be some traceable reason.
Shea did not object; last time she went to see a psychologist, she actually had a whole body check-up, her body was completely fine; it's all due to Ariana Thorne's issues.
But at this moment, Miles's profile formed a strong contrast with Miles Crawford. She hurt much more when with Miles Crawford than in front of Miles, yet Miles Crawford completely ignored it, even letting them laugh at her and drive her away.
Out of nowhere, Shea suddenly thought of a question and asked, "If your ex-girlfriend were to collapse in front of you now, would you also personally take her for a check-up like this?"
This question seemed out of the blue; Miles stole a glance at her while stopping at a red light, seemingly checking if she felt jealous.
"When she collapses in front of me, she's no longer my ex-girlfriend, but my patient, so of course I would help," he spoke earnestly, looking at Shea, wanting to continue the kiss from morning, but now the light turned green, he had to move on.
"Ariana, as a doctor's partner, you can't be jealous about this."
"Seems like there's no deep hatred with the ex-girlfriend; the breakup was quite peaceful," Shea playfully laughed, recalling what he said before about breaking up right after university graduation, which seems quite different from what her roommates know, "Maybe I should ask, what if it's someone you have deep hatred for?"
"Still a patient," Miles didn't bother explaining if he had someone he deeply hated or not, at the next red light, he stopped and had time to connect with her.
"Choosing to be a doctor means personal grudges must be left behind career, or else one should consider applying to become a judge instead."
Of course, judges can't either.
He reached out naturally and clasped her hand resting on her leg, gently kissed her palm, then playfully bit her hand back.
The action was smooth and practiced.
This time, Shea didn't feel resentful; it seemed today's blow to Ariana had exhausted even her resistance.
The car drove smoothly into Sinclair Private Hospital, parked at the designated space, Miles got out first, walked to Shea's side, opened the door but didn't let her get out, instead crouched to meet her gaze.
"I'm sure she's fine; I'd call an ambulance and hand her over to other doctors, but for you, I'll be with you all the way."
This is the only difference; when someone is sick in front of him, as a doctor he should save them, as a boyfriend he has to stay by their side.
Miles Crawford can't match this, just by this point alone, Miles surpasses anyone she's met at the National Medical University.
No wonder he's the living signboard of the National Medical University, this way of talking, Shea is thoroughly convinced.
...
Sinclair Private Hospital is renowned nationwide; the Sinclair family's ancestors once served as imperial physicians, during turbulent times when Western medicine was challenging traditional Chinese medicine, the Sinclair Family were among the earliest to study abroad, passing down skills from both Eastern and Western medicine.
The application for the new campus of the National Medical University to be located around the hospital also received official and medical association support.
Every year, the board invests heavily to attract talents globally, Sinclair Hospital boasts the most advanced medical equipment domestically, and updates swiftly.
Experiencing the check-up for Shea was excellent, and results came out quickly, of course, the cost was high, Shea deeply felt it now.
Miles had his own separate office, even if he's not on duty today, his office is available anytime.
At this moment, she sat in Miles's office facing the floor-to-ceiling windows, the weather outside was lovely, some patients and families were walking outside.
Next to the floor-to-ceiling window is a row of shelves, in front there's a tea set, with the tea Miles just poured for her, a fluffy carpet on the ground, Shea took a pillow and placed it on the carpet, sitting on the pillow feeling melancholy.
Blame herself for getting used to being extravagant before, forgot her current economic situation, "whoosh" and spent away four zeros.
If not for some savings, within days she'd switch to a serious doctor-patient conflict with Miles, a tense medical dispute.
Holding Shea's check-up results, Miles carefully reviewed them, finally asked with a frown, "When your chest hurts, do you feel anything else, does it hurt every day, or only at specific times? Is it a dull ache, or a stabbing pain?"
"Couldn't describe it, it's just somewhat painful, and it's fine once it's over."
Shea casually shook her head; he believed firmly in science, she couldn't explain the reason for her chest pain, then mischievously misled him: "Maybe I'm just acting overly delicate, deliberately faking some small sickness, deliberately deceiving you into feeling compassion for me."
After saying that, she pretended to be the delicate damsel, on the verge of tears, saying to Miles, "Milo, I feel terrible inside, I'm really in pain."
"Faking it? Are you doubting my professionalism?" Miles stood up, slowly approached Shea, crouched to meet her gaze, "I'm a doctor now; I'll protect your privacy, so feel free to tell me, it won't affect my attitude towards you, it's okay."
The check-up report was normal; she had no problems, but her pain at the time was real, and she refused to explain the reason to him.
Many patients fear being laughed at and choose to suffer and keep secrets, turning minor issues into major regrets for life.
Shea agrees with that point; she doesn't care about privacy, if Miles would stay away from her because she's sick, then he's only human.
But as Miles got closer, clearly aiming for the interrupted morning kiss, Ariana inside her abruptly "awoke," a surge of bitterness emerged, she wasn't feeling pain now but also couldn't articulate it.
Perhaps Ariana following Miles Crawford for two lifetimes wasn't necessarily due to liking him.
As this thought emerged in Shea's mind, resisting Ariana's chaos, she determined to test things out with him.
Who would believe that Ariana has been married twice in two lifetimes, had two children, yet has never been kissed?
Miles Crawford took cold violence to the extreme, straightforward during sex, never kissed her nor cared whether he pleased her.
Male-female intimacy always carried a nuance of painful awkwardness for her; she never heard sweet talk, wasn't treasured by a man, never felt cherished, perhaps through Miles this could improve.
Just then, someone knocked on the door, interrupting the silent passionate moment, Miles moved back to a safe distance.
He cleared his throat, returned to his desk, and said, "Come in."
Opening the door was a middle-aged man wearing a lab coat, appearing older than Miles, holding a phone in one hand, he twisted the door handle with the other and said, "Vice-Dean Sinclair, come take a look at this, about your..."
The man stopped mid-sentence, seeing Shea sitting by the window, immediately paused, nodded with a hint of embarrassment to Shea in greeting, and said, "Yesterday's cardiology patient's report is out, could you check it..."
Miles understood and nodded, turning to Shea, "I have to step out for a while, rest here, later I'll take you out for lunch, then this afternoon I'll accompany you to the National Conservatory of Music for a big lecture."
He has friends working there as professors, introducing them to Shea could be beneficial for her future development.
Shea nodded, seeing Miles out.