"Doctor, what’s wrong with President Lockwood...?"
"He was too noisy, so I put him to sleep." Eliza Sutton held a Golden Needle, her gaze drifting over to him. "Secretary Irvine, you..."
"I’ll be quiet. I promise to be as still as that vase in the corner." Erik Irvine pantomid zipping his lips shut.
Eliza Sutton looked away and focused on performing acupuncture on Shane Lockwood.
As the Silver Needles in her hand sank to varying depths into the acupoints on Shane Lockwood’s body, his cheeks flushed crimson. Countless beads of sweat seeped from his skin, soaking his clothes.
The sweat being forced out carried an indescribable, foul odor.
Eliza Sutton acted as if she couldn’t sll it, her focus entirely on the needles in her hands.
Half an hour later, Eliza Sutton removed the needles.
Shane Lockwood was still fast asleep, but the deep furrow in his brow had smoothed out, a look of comfort gracing his features.
Shane Lockwood was a man with a high tolerance for pain, but the all-encompassing agony that tornted his body had inevitably shown on his face.
Erik Irvine couldn’t help but ask, "Doctor, when will President Lockwood wake up?"
Eliza Sutton said faintly, "By the ti you’ve drawn him a bath."
Eliza Sutton packed away her Golden Needles and left, giving Erik Irvine no chance to speak again.
Dubiously, Erik Irvine went to draw the bath. Shane Lockwood was sleeping so deeply, he looked like he might not wake up until the end of ti.
However, just as he ca out of the bathroom, he saw Shane Lockwood slowly open his eyes.
"President Lockwood, you’re really awake! The Ghost Doctor is incredible."
Shane Lockwood looked over.
Erik Irvine quickly repeated what Eliza Sutton had said and then asked, "President Lockwood, how are you feeling now?"
"Very relaxed."
It felt as if his internal organs had all been given a bath, leaving him with an indescribable sense of ease and comfort.
Then he frowned. "What’s that sll? It’s awful."
Erik Irvine replied, "That’s you. The sll appeared after the Ghost Doctor removed the needles."
"I need a bath."
Shane Lockwood threw off the thin blanket, almost instinctively trying to put his feet on the floor.
And then, Shane Lockwood’s feet touched the ground.
He even took a step forward before his legs gave out and he collapsed.
THUD.
His knees slamd hard onto the floor. The sound alone was painful.
But Shane Lockwood started to laugh, and his laughter was filled with pure exhilaration.
’He stood up.’
’Just now.’
’Even if it was only for a few seconds, he had still stood up.’
Before this, he had tried countless tis, but his legs had felt like prosthetics, completely numb.
But now... his leg had taken a step forward, and the impact of his knees on the floor sent a searing pain through them.
’Pain.’
’What a wonderful feeling.’
Erik Irvine was also thrilled. "President Lockwood, your legs can move! This is wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"
Erik Irvine mumbled, tears welling up uncontrollably.
It had been so, so hard.
As President Lockwood’s confidant, he had witnessed so much of his boss’s suffering these past days that he wished he could take his place.
A man of such extraordinary talent like President Lockwood didn’t deserve to die in his pri.
Yet, all they could do was run around like headless chickens, searching everywhere for Quillon Croft. But it was as if Quillon Croft had vanished, leaving no trace behind.
Fortunately, there’s always a way out.
When President Lockwood’s life was hanging by a thread, they found the Ghost Doctor.
Everyone in their circle knew the Ghost Doctor was the direct disciple of the great master Quillon Croft, the one who would inherit his legacy.
And just as expected, under the Ghost Doctor’s treatnt, President Lockwood survived. In just a short ti, he was even able to stand.
Even if only for a mont.
Shane Lockwood let Erik Irvine help him up. For the first ti, a fall brought a wide smile to his face. "Yes. Very good."
An image of Eliza Sutton’s serene eyes flashed through Shane Lockwood’s mind.
’Is it really you?’ he asked himself slowly.
’I have to ask the Ghost Doctor in person,’ Shane Lockwood thought. ’I have to ask if she is Eliza Sutton.’
But for several days, he never got the chance.
The mont Eliza Sutton arrived, she would knock him out with a single needle.
By the ti Shane Lockwood woke up, Eliza Sutton was long gone.
Shane Lockwood’s expression soured. It was the first ti he had ever been so thoroughly outmaneuvered by a woman.
Shane Lockwood couldn’t take it anymore. "Secretary Irvine, when the Ghost Doctor cos tomorrow, stop her. Don’t let her knock out."
Erik Irvine said, "Too late, President Lockwood. I just saw the Ghost Doctor out, and she said today was the last day for acupuncture. She left ten packs for dicinal baths. She also said that once you’ve finished them, you should stop ’playing the cripple and taking resources from those who truly need them.’"
Shane Lockwood was speechless. "..."
’Such venomous words.’
’No.’
’Such hopeful words.’
’He’ll be better after ten more dicinal baths.’
「Late at night.」
Eliza Sutton sat in a wicker chair on the balcony, a laptop resting on the small round table before her.
The balcony light was dim. In the faint glow of the laptop screen, her face looked even more serene, her eyes cold and sharp as a newly drawn sword.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she thodically processed her emails.
When the last email was finally dealt with, Eliza Sutton let out a long breath and stretched lazily.
On the other end of the screen, Saul Reynolds said, "Boss, since your work is done, you should have so free ti now, right?"
Eliza Sutton instantly beca wary. "What is it? Let be clear, I’m busy. I don’t have ti to do grunt work for Rembrance."
’The eight design drafts she’d already promised were her limit.’
Saul Reynolds chuckled. "Don’t be so tense, Boss. I’m not asking you to do grunt work. I just wanted to invite you to Rembrance to inspect the empire you’ve built. Boss, don’t you want to see the magnificent kingdom you’ve created?"
Eliza Sutton said sincerely, "No, I don’t."
’She had created Rembrance only as a place to house the longing she couldn’t place anywhere else.’
’Her longing for her son.’
"Sigh." Saul Reynolds heaved a long sigh and said mournfully, "I knew it. We’ve been abandoned by the big boss. It’s okay, you don’t have to console . I know it’s because I’m not good enough that I’ve been cast aside. Just let live out the rest of my days alone."
Eliza Sutton was speechless. "..."
Eliza Sutton couldn’t take it anymore. "Can you not be so dramatic?"
"Well, if you don’t co to preside over Rembrance’s fifth-anniversary celebration, I’ll just move my office into the Lockwood Design Departnt," Saul Reynolds said, his expression full of theatrical grievance.
That was definitely the harshest threat delivered in the most mournful tone.
Just as Eliza Sutton was about to speak, the bedroom door was pushed open.
"Young Master Lockwood." Minnie’s greeting ca from outside.
Eliza Sutton’s expression changed. She didn’t have ti to say another word to Saul Reynolds; she imdiately ended the video call and snapped the laptop shut.
By then, Shane Lockwood had already entered the room in his wheelchair.
Eliza Sutton stood up, sowhat surprised. "What are you doing back?"
"Am I not allowed back?" Shane Lockwood looked up at Eliza Sutton and said, "You don’t seem very happy to see ."
’You’re just figuring that out now?’ Eliza Sutton wanted to say.
But she was, after all, living under his roof, so she swallowed the words.
"I was just worried about you tiring yourself out going back and forth."
"Thank you for your concern," Shane Lockwood said out of the blue. "If you were so worried, why didn’t you co to the president’s office to see ?"
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