Wendy carefully wiped the scab on Alexander's shouder with a cotton swab dipped in iodophor before setting the ice pack on the coffee table.

The room felI silent, the air thick with awkward tension.

Alexander stared out the window for a bit, then suddenly turned to her."Hey, remember when we were kids and that crazy dog came after us?"

Wendy blinked, caught off guard. "No, I don't."

But Alexander was already lost in the memory, his eyes distant. "We were just kids, playing in the alley, when this huge black dog came out of nowhere, barking like mad. It was big, strong, and looked like it wanted to tear us apart."

"At that time you were only as tall as my shoulders," Alexander rolled his Adam's apple, his gaze piercing through the glass and falling on the dusk of ten years ago. "But you stood in front of me like a little beast,your knuckles of clenched fists turned pale, and you shouted at that beast until your voice was hoarse."

As Wendy listened, some blurry images seemed to flash in her mind, but she couldn't quite grasp them.

"The dog didn't back down and looked like it was about to pounce.I finally snapped out of it, grabbed you, and we ran."

"In the chaos, I tripped and scraped my knee badly. It hurt so much I broke out in a cold sweat," Alexander said, gently touching his injured shoulder and frowning slightly. "I thought we were done for, that the dog would definitely attack us."

"But then you turned around again, still standing in front of me, your small body trombling but not backing down," Alexander's voice softened.his eyes warm as he looked at Wendy.

"Luckily, an adult passed by with a stick and chased the dog away.We were saved."

Wendy listened quietly, a ripple of emotion stirring inside her as those long-buried memorles were gently uncovered.

She opened her mouth to say something but didn't know where to start.

Lowering her gaze to avold his intense look, she said softly."It′′Sbeen so long. I can't belleve you stlll remember."

Some things were engraved in the bones. Alexander chuckled,but with an indescribable bitterness.

The moonlight climbed up his profile, casting a shadow in his eyes.

How he wished to tell her that from that moment on, he had engraved the three words "protect her" into his life.

But later, when her parents died suddenly and the company was in turmoil, he almost killed her.

When he finally got his footing, someone else's wedding ring had already been put on her ring finger.

Now that she was divoreed, he could finally fulfill his old promise.

That night. Alexander slept on the couch at the Knight Villa, listening to the faint breathing sound coming from the master bedroom, and counted the neon lights outside the window until dawn.

The next day, despite Alexander's efforts to persuade Wendy to take a day off and rest, she insisted on going to work, worried about Oliver's test results.

Unable to change her mind. Alexander drove her to work.

Watching her slightly unsteady figure, Alexander felt æstrong sense of conflict.

On one hand, he hoped Wendy would quickly inherit Harold's surgical skills to operate on Chris and cure his eyes.

On the other hand, he wished Wendy wouldn't push herself so hard and would rely on him more.

In the morning, as soon as Michael stepped into the office, he reached for Oliver's X-ray report.

Michael's eyes were glued to the X-ray report, unable to look away.

It was indeed lùng cancer.

He had already made a judgment: Oliver had likely missed the best window for surgery and was now in the late stages of lung cancer.

His survival time would now be estimated in short periods like six months to a year.

If it weren't for Wendy's persistence, Oliver might have been discharged.

Their hospital would also be accused of "misdiagnosis".

Michael silently reviewed the medical records for a while, then raised his voice, "Wendy, it's time for rounds."

Wendy was at the nurse's station organizing medication lists. Hearing Michael's calI,she quickly ran out.

Oliver looked anxiously at Michael. "What's the result?"

"It has been diagnosed as lung cancer. We need to arrange a bronchoscopy to determine the pathology," Michael said sympathetically.e

Oliver felt like a bomb had gone off in his ears, and Wendy,standing behind Michael, widened her eyes in shock.

It really was lung cancer!

"Is it the early stage or the late stage?" Oliver asked, his voice trembling.

"It is the late stage," Michael said with pity.

"I want to go back to my hometown hospital for the tests. When can you discharge me?" Oliver asked with difficulty.

"Today is fine. Once you're home, any major hospital can do the tests,but don't delay," Michael said, handing the outpatient record to Wendy. "Write up his discharge summary."

"Got it!" Wendy nodded quickly.

Michael said no more and left the room, with Wendy following,glancing back at Oliver wvith concern.

"As doctors, we can't afford too much sympathy," Michael said gently,teaching Wendy some professional wisdom, though his words carried a hint of self-reproach.

As a clinician, he shouldn't have overlooked subtle test abnormalities. If it weren't for Wendy's vigilance, he might have missed the diagnosis!

"Got it!" Wendy nodded again, her clear eyes looking at Michael.

This was her first time delivering bad news to a patient, straightforward and direct.

It was also the first time she had discovered a critical diagnosis based on her own findings, and before she could feel proud, the harsh reality of a malignant tumor hit her.

At the end of the workday, a sleek Porsche was parked by the curb in front of Blue Ridge Medical Center's main building, drawing the attention of many passersby.

There were quite a few well-off medical staff at Blue Ridge Medical Center,but it was rare to see someone drive such a luxury car to work.

Sarah had just finished her day and was chatting with her colleague Amy about some funny stories from their department as they walked out.

Amy was in the middle of an animated story when she suddenly widened her eyes, pointed, and exclaimed, "Sarah, isn't that your brother?"