At noon, Rachel arrived at the hospital's canteen and ordered a set meal for Lucas. She texted him of her location. Not long after, he hurried over, looking incredibly disheveled and exhausted.
Seeing that he drank up all the iced coffee in his cup in one go, Rachel asked, "What's going on?"
Lucas slowly raised his head, displaying the bags under his eyes. "It's a long story."
She paused, waiting for him to continue.
"My father didn't agree with my relationship with Iris. In order to make sure that I don't have time to be with her, he transferred me to the emergency department." A bitter smile threaded across his lips. It was as if his father was asking him to make a choice—his lover or his parents, and he didn't want that.
Rachel moved her lips, but she couldn't say a word. Instead, she placed her own coffee in front of him, implying that he could drink from it.
It was difficult to fight against one's own family when it came to a relationship.
Without any hesitation, he took a sip. Her coffee was black and bitter, but it wasn't as bitter as the chuckle that slipped past his lips. "If you have the time, talk to my father," he said pleadingly. "He always seems to listen to you."
At this point, he couldn't think of any other option.
"Okay."
Although she agreed, Rachel had no idea how to bring it up. How was she going to persuade his father when she was just an outsider?
However, she didn't expect that James would call her up into his office before she could even go to him.
She knocked on the door tentatively. "Come in," the man called.
She walked inside to see that James was playing chess. Without raising his head, he motioned to opposite seat. "Have a seat."
When she did, he finally stopped playing. A smile graced his features. "Do you want to know why I transferred Lucas to the emergency department?"
"I was curious," she admitted, unsure as to why he would ask her such a question. "But I already know."
"Really? Did Lucas tell you?" James stood up indifferently. "Do you know who Iris is?"
"I know her." Rachel didn't ask any more questions. It was better for James to do the talking. Besides, he wouldn't have called her here if he didn't have anything to say about it.
There was silence for a moment, before he said, "Lucas has always been a rational man, but when it comes to relationships, he doesn't think straight.
The girl my wife introduced to him before was none other than Iris' cousin. She actually likes Lucas, but..."
James trailed off with a sigh.
Rachel found that she was loss for words.
The Ying family was under Rick's control, not Iris ' father's. Of course, there was no way Rick could bear the fact that Iris had just grabbed the man his sister liked.
Now that Iris' family was declining in terms of economic status, the only person Rick had yet to deal with was Lucas, who decided to salt the wound by dating another girl in the Ying family.
James walked over and picked up one of the white chess pieces and placed it on the edge of the board. "Like this chess game, the Zhou family are the black pieces. We could only anticipate for what's to come, and if we commit one wrong move, we can lose it all."
After leaving the office, Rachel couldn't help but feel the heaviness in her heart. Back then, she had believed that money could lead to happiness, but it seemed that money could rule one's basic emotions.
It would be difficult for Lucas and Iris to continue their relationship.
While she was lost in thought, a figure rushed into her and spread her arms around her shoulders tightly, startling her.
Just as Rachel was about to push the person away, her feminine voice sounded incredibly familiar.
"It's been a while, Rachel. Don't you miss me?"
Taking a closer look, Rachel sighed in relief. "You could've scared me to death!" she said exasperatedly. "We haven't seen each other for so many years, and the first thing you do is scare me."
"I was a little bit excited." Celia laughed sheepishly. "I've already graduated, Rachel. I'm already working in the hospital."
"Which department are you in?"
"Guess." She winked.
Rachel shook her head. "I don't want to guess. Forget it."
Celia grabbed her arm before she could retreat. She jumped two times in protest. "You're no fun, " she protested. "I'm in your department." She was amused by the woman's words. All her worries drifted to the back of her mind. "Congratulations!"
"Is that all I'm getting?" Celia pouted.
"What else do you want?"
"How about inviting me to dinner tonight?"
When Rachel agreed, Celia made sure to finish all her work today as quickly as possible. From four o'clock in the afternoon, she would spend every half an hour going into Rachel's office and leaning against her door frame. "Are you done with your work?" she'd complain. "I'm starving."
When she pushed the door open for what seemed to be the fifth time, Rachel sighed helplessly. "You've become more and more like a child after so many years," she noted. "I don't even know how that's possible."
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