Chapter 147: That Boy's Up to No Good

Evan returns to the clinic, and Clara brings her father his morning medicine.

Evan finally returned to seeing patients at Mingxin Clinic.

His life was simple: treating patients and reading. That was all.

After work, Evan went to check on Adam Zhang again. Adam could already get out of bed and walk. Evan examined him and found that he had almost recovered.

Evan felt much more at ease, and Clara had been smiling a great deal more too.

The next morning, Clara took her father's medicine in to him. When she opened the bedroom door, she found him standing at the window instead of lying in bed.

“Dad…” she called.

Adam slowly turned from the window to look at her. For the first time in a long while, he smiled.

“Dad…” Clara said again, staring at him.

Adam smoothed his long, untidy hair. “Do we still have those scissors? Give me a haircut, will you?”

Clara was even more astonished.

Adam came out and sat down.

Clara stood behind him, cutting his hair. In the years since her mother died, he had let himself go. He avoided haircuts for as long as he could; when he couldn't put it off any longer, he would let Clara trim it however she could.

This was the first time in years he had actually asked her to cut it. For a moment, she really felt that her father had changed.

Clara wasn't much good at cutting hair either, so she worked carefully. Adam looked straight ahead and sighed softly. The dejection, that weariness with life, had gone from his eyes.

“Dad, what are you sighing about?” Clara asked.

He was silent for a moment. “These past few years have been hard on you.”

Her scissors went still.

“I've been a terrible father,” Adam said apologetically. “I should have been protecting you. Instead, I've become a burden. I was wrong.”

Clara's eyes reddened at once.

He sighed again. “After your mother died, I was so miserable I didn't want to bother with anything. I didn't even want to make an effort to go on living. I'm sorry.

“You were still a kid, still in school, and you had to look after your unreliable father. Then I had that stroke, and you couldn't even stay in school. The whole burden of this family fell on you. Clara, I'm sorry.”

Tears filled her eyes. She quickly pressed at the corners, struggling to hold them back.

Adam patted her hand. “You won't have to worry about things at home anymore. I'll take care of everything.”

Clara nodded quickly.

“I'm better now. Go back to school and concentrate on your studies. Your mother poured her heart into Mingxin Clinic. I'll look after it. I'm not going to be that unreliable father anymore.”

Clara wiped her eyes and nodded hard. Her father had finally pulled himself together.

Adam breathed out slowly and smiled a little. “You know, I'm a pretty good doctor myself. There's a doctor called Leo Cao at the county Chinese medicine hospital. You know him, don't you?”

“I do.”

NovelPhoenix shows the author's published chapter, whereas this copy was placed here without permission.

How could she not know him? He was always calling Evan away to help, costing Mingxin Clinic business!

“Well, I'm a little better than he is,” Adam said confidently.

“Oh,” Clara replied.

Adam turned to look at her in puzzlement. Where were the surprise and praise he had expected?

Startled by his look, Clara immediately changed her expression. “Dad, you're amazing!”

Only then did Adam turn back, satisfied. With an air of modesty, he said, “Actually, I'm not that good. Your mother was better. Dr. Zhong heads the Chinese medicine department at the county hospital. You know him, don't you?”

Wasn't he the one who had come to cause trouble just a little while ago? Clara nodded. “I know him…”

“Dr. Zhong is the best doctor at the county hospital, and the best Chinese medicine doctor in the county. But your mother was even better. So she used to be the best Chinese medicine doctor we had.”

“Mm…” Clara said.

“Hm?” Adam turned around again, puzzled. Why wasn't the girl excited today?

Seeing him look back, Clara quickly corrected herself. “Mom was amazing!”

He turned forward again and nodded. “She certainly was. But I'm not bad either. You can stop worrying about Mingxin Clinic now that I'm here.”

“Mm-hm.” Clara nodded firmly, then added, “And there's Evan too!”

Adam suddenly snorted.

Clara was taken aback. “Dad, what's that for?”

“Don't mention him. Just thinking about that brat makes me angry!”

She was baffled. “What? What have you got to be angry about? He's the one who saved you! Without him, you'd still be suffering from that stroke.”

“Saved me?” Adam looked indignant. “I think he's up to no good!”

Now Clara was annoyed too. “Can you be reasonable?”

“How am I being unreasonable? He's the unreasonable one! He… he even wanted to lock me in the storeroom downstairs!”

“But he didn't, did he? Besides, he comes to check on you several times a day. He really cares about you.”

Adam glared. “You think he's coming to see me? He… he has ulterior motives! He's up to no good! A young man like him ought to be studying medicine properly. Instead, all he ever does is… is…”

“He's a very good doctor,” Clara protested. “He cured you, didn't he?”

“He got lucky, and he had the nerve to try! He just read Sun Simiao's books and dared to use the prescriptions in them.^[1] Besides, if he's so good, why does he need to bring… bring another fellow along to fool you too?”

“What are you talking about? That's his apprentice,” Clara said irritably.

Adam actually laughed. “Nonsense. His apprentice looks older than he does!”^[2]

Clara was speechless. She didn't want to bother with him anymore. She thrust the scissors into his hand.

“Cut it yourself.”

With that, she left in a huff.

Adam watched her go and grew angry all over again. “Hey! Taking an outsider's side against your own father!”

The father and daughter hadn't even managed a few minutes of tenderness before they were arguing again!

Adam tidied himself up. He shaved, did a little more to his hair, washed, and changed into clean, neat clothes.

“Clara, I'm going to Mingxin Clinic,” he called.

“Are you well enough to go out? I'll call Evan up and ask him. He can check you again.”

“No need,” Adam said with complete confidence. “I'm a doctor too. Don't I know how I'm doing?”

He opened the door and went out.

“Hey!” Clara anxiously changed her shoes and hurried after him.

Adam went downstairs and took a few breaths of fresh air. He hadn't been out in a long time, not since he fell ill. A gentle, confident smile returned to his face as he walked on.

Clara hurried after him.

He left the residential complex by the route he knew so well.

The elderly security guard thought he must be seeing things. He rubbed his eyes several times.

Mingxin Clinic occupied one of the street-facing storefronts just outside the complex. Adam turned and headed straight for it.

Standing by the roadside, he looked up at the clinic's sign, filled with emotion. He remembered the years he and his wife had struggled to build it. Then he thought of how hard his daughter had fought to keep it going lately, and his guilt deepened.

Reader Notes

Reader Notes

1. ↩︎ Sun Simiao. Sun Simiao was a physician of the Tang dynasty whose writings remain important in Chinese medical tradition. His Beiji Qianjin Yaofang, often called Qianjin Fang, combines medical learning with the physician's ethical responsibilities; the passage known as “The Great Physician's Skill and Sincerity” comes from it. Adam invokes an old medical authority while belittling Evan's achievement. He does not name a particular book or prescription in this conversation. Source: Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine — University motto and its source in Sun Simiao (in Chinese).
2. ↩︎ An apprentice in Chinese medicine. Tudi describes a student learning from a particular teacher, often through close observation of clinical work, discussion, and practical guidance. It identifies the learning relationship rather than a family relationship. Here, “apprentice” also leaves the age joke intact: Adam finds it absurd that the supposed student looks older than Evan. The man's appearance is Adam's objection, not proof that Clara has misidentified the relationship. Source: National University of Health Sciences — Apprentice-Style Learning in Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine.