Chapter 72: Trusting Her That Much?

"Dad, how are you?!"

The cry snapped him back to his senses. Samuel Ford glanced over again, but all he could see was a back. He couldn’t see her face, and her clothes were unfamiliar. He vaguely heard a nearby nurse talking to her about a "mother."

’I must have mistaken her for someone else. It was probably just a similar silhouette.’

Samuel Ford pulled his gaze away and walked into the room. He first checked Mr. Ford’s complexion and saw that his breathing was steady, his chest rising and falling gently. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief. "Doctor, how is my father?"

Amanda Vance was putting away her silver needles, her back to them. She paused for a moment when she heard his voice, then turned around.

Seeing her, Samuel Ford froze as well.

’It’s her?’

Now Shawn Ford saw her too, his expression strange. "What are you doing here?"

At his question, Amanda Vance raised an eyebrow. Waggling the silver needles in her hand, she answered bluntly with two words: "Treating him."

Hearing this, Shawn Ford finally noticed she was wearing a white coat and was the only person by the bedside. A thought flashed through his mind, and he asked in disbelief, "You’re the one who saved my dad?"

Samuel Ford also watched her silently, as if waiting for her answer.

"You could say that. He’s not completely cured yet."

At her words, Shawn Ford’s expression changed again, a mix of excitement and suspicion. "Are you saying my dad’s condition can be completely cured?"

Amanda Vance tilted her head at him. "Why else would you come to a hospital? To get him halfway cured?"

Shawn Ford was rendered speechless. Unable to think of a comeback, he turned to look at Samuel Ford, waiting for him to say something on his behalf. He was clearly suspicious that this woman was just bragging and talking nonsense, but her retort made him feel like he was the fool.

But to his surprise, Samuel Ford spoke up. "Then we’ll have to trouble you, Miss Vance."

"It’s my duty." She was a doctor here now; saving people was her job. She didn’t need their thanks.

This course of treatment wasn’t over yet; one more thing was needed. Ignoring them, Amanda Vance started to walk out and happened to run into Mr. Lynch, who was carrying a bowl of medicine.

Amanda Vance quickly reached out and took it from him.

Mr. Lynch didn’t stand on ceremony. He watched her administer the medicine to Mr. Ford, then rubbed his hands together. "Is that all?"

Amanda Vance nodded. "That’s about it for now. But he’ll need a period of conditioning afterward. His situation is quite serious, and the subsequent recovery will be a major undertaking. We can’t let our guard down."

Hearing that she had already considered the follow-up conditioning, Mr. Lynch couldn’t contain his happiness.

Before, they could only focus on keeping him alive. They never dared to think about recovery and conditioning, not because they didn’t know how, but because the illness itself was so difficult to treat.

But after seeing her needle technique just now, Mr. Lynch didn’t think she was bluffing at all.

Someone who could use the Nine Revolutions Needle had abilities far beyond his own. She had just saved a man from such a critical situation; a full recovery was certainly not out of the question.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but add, "My dear child, why didn’t you tell me you were so skilled sooner? What is there for you to learn from me? It should be me learning from you!"

Amanda Vance smiled without offering an explanation. "You’re too modest."

’He’s very skilled too. His previous reputation was definitely not unearned.’

Mr. Lynch waved his hand dismissively. At his age, he never thought he’d see the day he misjudged someone so badly. He blamed his own narrow-mindedness for thinking her youth meant a lack of skill, forgetting the old saying about how the new generation always surpasses the last.

’These young people today are incredible.’

After his moment of reflection, he looked back at Mr. Ford. He mulled it over for a moment, then said seriously, "Amanda Vance, there’s something I’d like to ask you for help with."

Amanda Vance had a good idea of what he was going to say, but she gestured for him to speak first.

Mr. Lynch pointed at Mr. Ford and said, "This is an old friend of mine. He has cerebral thrombosis. When you took his pulse just now, you must have realized that’s not his only problem."

Amanda Vance nodded. His underlying constitution was very poor, and combined with his age, he had quite a few basic health issues. This made him a poor candidate for surgery. Traditional Chinese medicine was the most suitable approach for him.

However, when faced with an acute emergency like the one just now, Western medicine might have been faster.

But with her here now, Mr. Lynch wasn’t worried about that at all. Hadn’t she just rescued the patient without any incisions or surgery? That also eliminated many of the subsequent problems of wound recovery and complications.

"I’ve been the one treating him, but my abilities are limited. I can only alleviate his condition, not cure it completely. Therefore, I would like to ask you to be his attending physician."

It pained him to watch his old friend suffer in bed day after day.

"I can, but..." Amanda Vance looked toward Samuel Ford and his brother.

She didn’t finish her sentence, but they all understood her meaning.

Mr. Lynch could openly admit that his medical skills were inferior to hers and transfer his patient to her, but the patient’s family might not feel the same way.

Only when he heard her words did Mr. Lynch notice that Samuel Ford was also there. He was a man with strong opinions, and Amanda Vance was indeed young, not old enough to inspire confidence easily.

Mr. Lynch was just pondering how to persuade him when he heard Samuel say, "Alright. We’ll be troubling you from now on, Dr. Vance."

He switched to the formal title effortlessly, his expression calm as he looked at Amanda Vance. The trust in his eyes made her pause again.

’He trusts me that much?’

"Brother..." Shawn Ford tugged on his sleeve, questioning his decision. He stared at him for a long moment, frowning as a thought occurred to him. ’Could it be that my brother has... feelings for Amanda Vance? They’ve only met a few times, and he’s already entrusting our own father’s life to her?’

"I trust her." Samuel Ford didn’t elaborate, saying only those three words.

Amanda Vance looked at him, a slow smile gracing her lips.

Shawn Ford saw her smile, which only strengthened his suspicion. He grew anxious. "How old is she? How many years of medical training could she have? She’s a student who was expelled from Auden University!"

They had also been at the anniversary celebration that day, so it wasn’t strange that they knew about it.

Amanda Vance was long used to this. Her expression remained impassive as she looked at Samuel Ford, suddenly curious to know what his opinion would be.

A careless smile played on her lips, one that suggested she was unbothered by anything, completely indifferent, as if the person he was talking about wasn’t her.

A strange tightness suddenly gripped Samuel Ford’s heart. He glanced sideways at Shawn Ford, his face turning cold and his tone sharp. "What nonsense are you spouting? Do you not even trust the person Mr. Lynch has vouched for?"

Mr. Lynch and his father were the closest of friends. If there were even the slightest problem with Amanda Vance, he would never have made such a decision.

Handing over his patient to a junior so much younger than himself, letting his god-like status crumble and be brought down to the level of an ordinary person—did Shawn think he didn’t understand the implications?

No, he knew. It was just that, compared to his reputation, he was more concerned with being responsible for his patient.

Shawn Ford was stunned by his brother’s words. He looked at Mr. Lynch, whose expression was solemn, without a hint of jest.

Seeing them both like this, he was a bit baffled. ’A person with a ruined reputation, who was expelled from university and had only studied for two years... could she really be that skilled?’