Chapter 103: Looking for Trouble Again

All night, Jean Vance had dreamt his mother was being stolen away, so his expression wasn’t exactly pleasant when he saw the culprit the next day.

Felix Ford was completely oblivious. Seeing no one else around, he bounced over with his little backpack, blinked his big eyes, and said, "Jean Vance, good morning."

Jean Vance glanced at him, not wanting to pay him any mind.

Felix Ford let out a small "Huh?" Seeing Jean’s attitude, he worried he might go back on their deal and quickly pulled a sandwich from his backpack. "This is for you. I heard you like these, so I brought it especially for you."

Jean Vance glanced at it and said flatly, "I don’t like it. I was just pretending to be you."

Oh...

Felix Ford watched him anxiously. He wanted to ask if Jean was having second thoughts, but he was afraid that if he wasn’t, his question might plant the idea in his head. He agonized over it for a while, and by the time he snapped out of it, he had already followed Jean almost all the way to Class 8.

Jean stopped and looked back. "You can go back now. You’re going home with Mom today, and I’m going back to the Ford Family."

"Okay!" Hearing this, Felix Ford completely relaxed and broke into a wide grin. "Then, we’ll call if anything comes up."

"Mm-hmm."

Watching him skip away, Jean silently averted his gaze, looking down at the sandwich in his hand. He’d forgotten to give it back.

At the hospital, Amanda Vance had intended to check the day’s appointment schedule, but when she logged in, the screen was completely blank. This was the first time something like this had happened.

Her fingers tapped on the keyboard as she wrote a quick program to bolster the hospital website’s security. She hit refresh, and this time the appointment list appeared, but it made her pause.

Why were so many people booking appointments with her today? There were even more than for Mr. Lynch.

’Is it another bug?’

Just as she was about to check if there was a problem with the hospital’s official website, she saw Mr. Lynch walk over with a wide smile. "Master, quite a lot of people have appointments with you today, haven’t they?"

Amanda Vance raised an eyebrow. "You knew?"

"Of course! On my way in, I saw all the people with appointments for you. The line was incredibly long. The dean will probably be over to see you in a bit. He’ll likely ask if you can work overtime."

The dean wasn’t doing it for the money. The department of traditional Chinese medicine mostly prescribed herbal remedies and didn’t use any major equipment, so there wasn’t much profit in it. As the head of the hospital, his main hope was to see both traditional Chinese and Western medicine thrive. In the past, the TCM department had been propped up almost single-handedly by Mr. Lynch. Now that they had Amanda Vance, he was naturally delighted.

Besides, Amanda could not only help patients with health management but also treat acute conditions, making her skills no less valuable than those in Western medicine.

If she hadn’t stabilized several of the critical patients from the recent car accident, who knows how many more families would have been shattered.

With her around, the success rate for surgeries increased significantly.

The dean did a quick calculation in his head. At this thought, his smile grew even wider.

"Well, speak of the devil," Mr. Lynch said, jutting his chin in the dean’s direction.

Amanda turned her head and, sure enough, saw the dean approaching with a beaming smile.

"Amanda," he said, his tone exceptionally gentle.

Amanda stood up and nodded slightly. "Dean."

"Sit, sit, sit." The dean was exceedingly polite, grabbing a chair for her. Amanda sat down, and Mr. Lynch listened from the side.

The dean didn’t mind Mr. Lynch’s presence and spoke directly. "Amanda, here’s the situation. In light of your outstanding performance yesterday, we’ve decided to promote you to department head. We’ll also be doubling your salary and bonuses. And as you’ve probably noticed, a lot of patients have booked appointments with you. They’re all tormented by their illnesses, and I’m sure you wouldn’t have the heart to turn them away."

Amanda knew he was deliberately playing the sympathy card and understood his goal. She gave him the answer he wanted: "No, I wouldn’t."

Hearing this, the dean also smiled. "In that case, we’ll have to trouble you to see a few more patients each day. Would that be alright?"

"Of course." She had no objections. She was here to work, and this was part of her duty.

The dean let out a huge sigh of relief. Before coming, he had worried she might refuse. But on second thought, if she were lazy, she never would have achieved such incredible medical skill at such a young age. It was clearly the result of painstaking effort.

He nodded in satisfaction. "If you need anything in the future, just say the word. I’ll do everything in my power to make it happen."

"Alright. In that case, thank you in advance, Dean."

"Don’t mention it! I’m the one who should be thanking you. It’s because of people like you that our medical field can continue to develop and progress." The dean chuckled, then stood up. "I won’t disturb you any longer. Please, get back to work."

"Okay. Take care, Dean."

Watching him leave, Mr. Lynch couldn’t help but give her a thumbs-up. Even though she was now his master, he couldn’t ignore her age and felt a surge of admiration, as one would for a brilliant junior.

His feelings were largely the same as the dean’s. The student had surpassed the master, and what was truly rare was that she remained humble and composed, never arrogant or impatient. With such a steady mindset, her future would be even brighter.

"You’ll be working hard."

"It’s nothing."

Stretching languidly and glancing at the appointment schedule, Amanda Vance sat up straight. Today was going to be busy.

Amanda had become famous overnight. The car accident had made the news, and since it happened right here in the city, many people had posted about it on their Moments. It was nearly impossible not to have heard about it. And so, everyone learned of the miracle-working doctor who had saved lives—a young woman with healing hands from Central Hospital’s Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The news caused an uproar, and people flocked to the hospital, all wanting to see for themselves.

Even though they already knew her story, seeing her for the first time still left them astonished. ’She’s so young.’

Seeing her, some couldn’t help but wonder if the news from yesterday was all just a stunt. A lot of people do that sort of thing these days... what’s it called? Right, a marketing ploy.

’Could she be doing the same thing?’

Amanda noticed their suspicious glances but paid them no mind. She proceeded as usual, taking each patient’s pulse, carefully explaining the cause of their ailment in easy-to-understand terms, and outlining the necessary precautions to take afterward.

By the time she was finished, all suspicion in the patients’ eyes had vanished.

They weren’t paid shills; they knew their own medical problems perfectly well. And she had described their conditions in detail without them having to say a single word.

What was there left to doubt?

One patient even said, a little sheepishly, "I’m sorry, Doctor. When I saw how young you were, I have to admit I doubted your abilities."

Amanda shook her head, not taking it to heart. "It’s alright. Age doesn’t matter. A doctor should be judged by their skill, not by how old they are."

That was true.

He thanked her again, asked a few more questions, and then left.

Amanda’s door was open while she saw patients, so the people standing outside could hear everything she said. After listening, they couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

Indeed, medical skill wasn’t decided by age. While traditional Chinese medicine required accumulated experience, that didn’t mean there couldn’t be young prodigies.

"Mom, be careful." Outside the door, Shirley Vance was helping Sarah Sullivan walk over. "I heard there’s a very skilled traditional Chinese medicine doctor here. She can definitely get your health back in order. Then you can try to give me a little brother."

As she spoke, Shirley Vance’s eyes darkened for a moment.

’No matter how much Dad doted on her, he still ultimately believed girls were inferior to boys.’

’But it didn’t matter. Even if she had a brother, he would come from her mother’s womb, sharing the same parents as her. That was infinitely better than Amanda Vance.’

At this thought, her expression softened. "Mom, be careful. Doctor, I... How could it be you!"

Before she could finish, her voice became shrill.

Amanda lifted her gaze and raised an eyebrow slightly.

’Oh, it’s this mother-daughter duo again.’