The next day, when Ivy returned to the clinic, Lilith was already in her office. "You guys don't know," Lilith began, "last night, everyone thought Dr. Ticko was a rich tycoon! Our classmates' group chat exploded, and they were all cursing Dr. Ticko and his daughter Tanya as frauds." The young nurses formed a circle, surrounding Lilith in the center. "It's not true, though, Alter Group has already issued a statement this morning, saying it's all a misunderstanding from the outside. Dr. Ticko never claimed to be a wealthy man!" Maya opened a news article on her phone, trying to defend Dr. Ticko. Lilith gave the nurses a disdainful look and said, "I should remind you that you're still nurses. You believe whatever they say? They've never intentionally given off any behavior that would make people mistake them for wealthy. Would anyone think of them as tycoons?" "Oh..." The young nurses pretended to doubt while secretly assessing Dr. Ticko's reaction, fearing his authority. On the side, Dr. Jenny dared not confront Lilith, so she vented her frustration on the young nurses. "Do you have no patients to take care of? Is the clinic paying you to gossip?" Upon hearing Jenny's scolding, the young nurses immediately stopped their discussion and dispersed. Dr. Ticko's expression finally eased a bit. When Ivy entered, he threw a document bag in front of her and said, "Dr. Jones, take this and deliver it to Alter Group." Ivy frowned, "We don't have any cooperation with Alter Group." "These are documents prepared earlier for cooperation with Alter Group. They requested the original documents to be returned. Alter Group's staff is waiting for them. Deliver it to the Starbucks next to Alter Group's building. Go immediately, don't delay!" After Dr. Ticko finished speaking in a cold tone, he left the office without waiting for Ivy's response. Helpless, Ivy delivered the documents to the Starbucks. She didn't expect to wait for an hour. She sent a message to Dr. Ticko, asking for the recipient's contact information, but he replied with just a few words, "Don't leave. She wants to inspect it personally. Be there in five minutes." Ivy patiently waited for another hour, and still, no one came to receive the documents. "I'm sorry, we can't let you in," a waiter's refusal caught Ivy's attention. She followed the source of the voice and saw a waiter pushing a man in a wheelchair out."We don't have facilities for disabled people here, and all the other convenient access points are full. If you wait outside, I'll let you in when there's an available spot." The waiter was about to continue pushing the man outside, but he insisted, "It's so hot outside, how can I wait in line? I can wait inside." "But..." "Share a table with me," Ivy said, getting up and pushing the man across from her. The man looked at Ivy and softly said, "Thank you." Ivy looked at the man's legs and asked, "Are you here for a follow-up appointment?" The man scratched the back of his head sheepishly and replied, "Yes, I'm Brent, a patient from City A First Hospital next door. I had to wait for two hours for my turn, so I thought I'd come here to cool off. How did you know?" "I'm a doctor. I could tell from your wound that you were here for a follow-up." "A doctor?" Brent's eyes lit up, and he eagerly grasped her wrist. "Can you take a look at me? I've been to City A First Hospital for follow-up visits many times, and they all said there's no hope for my recovery." In a nearly inaudible voice that only the two of them could hear, he sounded disheartened and desperate. Ivy was so absorbed in his words that she forgot to push him away. "Can you show me your medical records?" She took the documents from the man's hand and saw that his primary treating physician was Tanya. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. How coincidental. She quickly glanced at Tanya's diagnosis and furrowed her brow. "Did Dr. Tanya say that your legs can't be treated?" The man nodded despondently. "I specifically sought out one of the top ten doctors in the city, but she said there was no hope." Ivy thought for a moment, pulled out her phone, and messaged her senior at First Hospital: "Senior, I've encountered a patient on the way who might need your help. Can you assist me?" She sent over the medical information, and in less than a minute, her senior replied: "Tsk, this Tanya, she can turn even a simple fracture into an amputation case. She's overrated as one of the top ten doctors. Let him come; I'll make sure to complete the mission as you instructed, Ivy." Ivy replied, "Thank you, Senior!" She put her phone down and left her friend's contact information on the medical record. "This is Dr. Roland's contact information from City A First Hospital. You should go to him immediately. If you delay treatment for your leg, it might become irreversible." Perhaps Ivy's serious demeanor and words had unnerved Brent. He asked Ivy nervously, "Can you please take me to the train station? I... I..." Ivy sighed, "Okay, I'll take you to the train station after I finish my tasks here." At that moment, in a transparent private booth upstairs, Bob Alter observed everything happening below and asked his assistant, "Is that Ivy's husband?" The assistant recalled the earlier confrontation with the waiter and saw the two of them shaking hands and acting intimately. He nodded, "Yes, that's him. The waiter didn't want to let him in initially." Bob Alter sneered at the man's plump and unimpressive appearance. "Dr. Tanya is right. With Ivy's qualifications, she can only marry someone of this caliber. I've always thought that even if Cato Alter is my son, he couldn't possibly have fallen for Ivy like Kevin did!" Bob Alter cast a disdainful glance at Ivy and then ordered, "Notify them to send someone over for the handover." He then asked his assistant, "Has Cato arrived?" The assistant replied, "I called and inquired. Their company's people said that Cato Alter took his team to City S yesterday and hasn't returned yet." "What?" Bob Alter's anger flared up instantly. "He promised to come over yesterday! This rotten kid, he's like this every time!" "Never mind, though. It's clear now that Ivy has nothing to do with him. Whether he comes or not doesn't matter. Ever since he crippled his legs, he hasn't seen anyone outside. He's utterly useless!" Bob Alter spat, grumbling as he walked away. Ivy successfully completed the handover with the Alter Group representatives ten minutes later. She then hailed a taxi to send the male patient to the train station and continued riding her electric bike back to the clinic. "Where is everyone?" Ivy asked the duty nurse, looking at the empty emergency room. The young nurse smiled and replied, "Director Malcom is leading surgery today, and he called in a lot of nurses to support." Ivy sighed. Ever since Director Malcom returned to surgery after further training, he had been extremely cautious. Even for minor surgeries, he would mobilize a large team. "Alyssa, get ready. We'll go to the inpatient department together in ten minutes," she instructed her intern, Alyssa, before heading straight to her office. Alyssa was a recent medical school graduate, and Lilith had recommended her. She was an only child from a well-off family but had always aspired to be a doctor. Supposedly, her family had tried to force her to return home to inherit the family business and had intentionally barred her from being hired by various major hospitals. With no other options, she had sought the help of Lilith and eventually ended up at the County Clinic. Ivy hired Alyssa because of her professional capabilities and her deep desire to be a doctor, not because of the gossipy stories. Ivy usually listened to such gossip and promptly forgot it. She only hired Alyssa because she saw her potential. "Understood, Dr. Jones. I'll be in your office waiting for you!" The young girl's enthusiastic voice was filled with determination, making Ivy's lips involuntarily curve upward. When she had just graduated and started at City A First Hospital, she often spoke to Professor Smith with the same lively spirit. Her phone rang at this moment, and it was from Shawn. Ivy quickly answered the call, pushing open her office door before rushing to the stairwell. "What are you up to?" The man's voice on the other end of the line, while attempting to sound energetic, couldn't hide his weariness. "Preparing to go to the inpatient department," Ivy replied with a smile. "Is the project completed?" "Almost." The man paused for a moment, then asked, "What do you like?" Ivy replied without thinking, "I like taking care of patients." Shawn fell silent for a moment, then chuckled softly. "What kind of gift do you like?" Ivy suddenly realized he was talking about a gift and felt a bit embarrassed. She smiled awkwardly and said, "You don't need to bring me a gift. Just come back safely." "Alright." "Hey, please don't," a man said with hushed tones. "Someone's here." Ivy suddenly heard a deep voice coming from upstairs and slowed down her steps. She gently made a "shh" sound to signal Shawn to be quiet. The man on the other end of the call instantly fell silent. ***