"What did you say?"
A ringing filled his ears. Yates Donovan felt as if he’d been struck by a blunt object, his back so rigid it ached to the bone.
Mia Grant gave him a deep look. She hadn’t planned on telling them.
But this news was impossible to hide.
Even if she could evade their notice now, she would need treatment in the future, and they would inevitably find out.
Seeing Yates’s reaction, Mia couldn’t quite describe how she felt.
After a long moment, she sighed and handed over the medical report. "It’s not like there’s no way to treat it. There’s still a chance it can be cured."
After a long silence, Yates finally reached out and took the stack of reports.
They felt heavy. His hand trembled, and he failed to get a firm grip, sending them scattering across the floor.
Mia froze.
She frowned and bent down to pick them up with him.
Their hands brushed against each other, and Mia noticed the mark on his fingertip where he had just been burned by ash.
She couldn’t help but frown again.
Once the reports were gathered, Mia figured he wouldn’t be able to make sense of them anyway. So she took them all back and put them in order. "You should ask the doctor if you have questions."
"Don’t be so... scared."
Mia sighed. She looked at Yates, feeling as though he might burst into tears at any moment.
Mia tried to recall. ’Have I ever seen Yates cry before?’
’Probably not.’
He loved to laugh. Normally, he could crack a smile even in the most tense situations.
It was as if nothing in the world could frighten him; he could even casually disregard his own life and death.
But now...
Yates forced a smile at her, but it looked worse than if he had cried.
Mia didn’t say anything, silently watching as he insisted on taking the stack of reports from her hands and began poring over them.
She didn’t disturb him, simply getting up and sitting in a nearby chair.
She hadn’t eaten breakfast because of the check-up, and after crouching for a while, she felt a little dizzy when she stood up.
Hayes Hughes returned quickly, bringing her some food from his office.
Mia looked at the sandwich, milk, and other small snacks in the bag and couldn’t help but marvel, "You have so many treats in your office."
She unwrapped a flavor she liked and took a big bite of the sandwich.
Hayes took a bottle of strawberry milk from the bag, set the bag on the chair, then inserted a straw and handed the milk to her. "I don’t usually stock these snacks. I just got them from my colleagues."
"I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I grabbed one of everything."
His colleagues had been confused about his sudden interest in snacks. He had told them his sister was downstairs for a check-up and hadn’t eaten breakfast.
He hadn’t intended to get so much, but as soon as everyone heard it was for his sister, they dropped what they were doing to contribute.
Mia nodded. "I’ll order some takeout for your department later, then."
She was so well-behaved.
Hayes patted her head, wanting to smile but finding he couldn’t. "It’s fine. I’ll treat them to a meal tomorrow."
After he spoke, he looked toward the figure in the distance.
Yates was still poring over the reports.
There was too much medical jargon, and he was struggling to understand it.
Seeing this, Hayes sighed silently, walked over, took the reports from him, then opened one to a specific page and handed it back.
"You only need to look here."
Yates didn’t thank him for his kindness; his attention was fixated on the dense text of the report.
Hayes didn’t say anything either. He took a tissue from his pocket, turned, and bent down to pick up the unsmoked cigarette from the floor, tossing it into a distant trash can.
On his way back, he sanitized his hands. He asked Mia if she wanted to go back and rest now.
"Isn’t she being admitted to the hospital now? Doesn’t she need surgery?"
Next to them, Yates shot to his feet.
He startled Mia. She took a sip of milk before saying, "It’s scheduled for next week."
Hayes explained the situation, but Yates was still worried.
He felt the sooner the surgery, the better.
Seeing through his thoughts, Mia explained, "I have exams this week."
"..."
A vein throbbed twice in Yates’s temple.
Mia didn’t stay at the hospital any longer. Hayes went to find the hospital director to help schedule her surgery, while Yates took her back to school.
Yates had originally intended to drive himself, but he was too agitated and couldn’t calm down. In the end, he just called for a driver.
Fortunately, the driver arrived quickly, so Mia didn’t have to wait long.
In the back seat, Mia opened a pack of beef jerky and ate it quietly, her head lowered.
Yates stared out the window for a while, then turned his head to look at her.
"Do you want some?" Meeting his gaze, Mia naturally extended her hand to share.
Yates didn’t move. After a long moment, just as Mia was pulling her hand back to continue eating, he finally spoke. "Don’t be afraid. It’s just a minor surgery."
Mia’s movements paused. A few seconds later, she wiggled her slightly numb fingers and silently put the last piece of beef jerky into her mouth.
"Everything will be fine."
Suddenly, a hand reached over from beside her and tightly gripped her slightly trembling fingertips.
It was strange. Their roles had reversed, and now he was the one comforting her.
But Yates knew she had always needed comforting.
At the hospital, she had acted surprisingly calm in front of him and Hayes.
It was as if lung cancer was just a minor cold that could be cured with an IV drip.
But he knew her as well as he knew himself.
Mia nodded. "Mm."
She didn’t feel much like talking right now.
She carried the bag with the medical reports all the way back to her dorm. When she took it off, the strap marks on her hand had nearly merged with the lines on her palm.
But she knew her bag wasn’t heavy at all.
She had originally planned to skip her afternoon classes, but she couldn’t sleep at all during her lunch break. After some thought, she decided she might as well go to class.
By the time she left the academic building again, it was nearly evening.
The sunset was beautiful, and many students had stopped to take pictures. Mia was in no mood to admire it, keeping her head down as she walked on alone.
Suddenly, the weight on her shoulder vanished.
Someone had taken her heavy burden.
She turned to see Ian Sinclair frowning as he grumbled, "What do you have in this bag, a brick? Why is it so heavy?"
With that, he slung her bag over his own shoulder and walked alongside her.
Mia waited the whole way, feeling that he was bound to say something.
He remained silent all the way to the dormitory building.
Mia took back her bag. "Well, I’m heading up."
She turned, her steps heavy as she climbed the stairs.
Just as she was about to enter the building, she heard the sound of hurried footsteps behind her.
He caught up, grabbing her wrist from behind. His tone was almost pleading. "Baby, please check into the hospital this week. I’ve already taken a long leave of absence! I can take care of you!"
Mia froze.
The doctor had also recommended she be admitted for treatment immediately.
The exams were just an excuse.
She just wasn’t... she wasn’t mentally prepared yet.
In truth, surgery wasn’t the only option; the doctor had given her several plans. But for now, surgery seemed to be the most reliable course of action.
"I’m a little scared..."
She sighed and said, "I’ve never had this kind of surgery before."
Ian’s eyes reddened as he gripped her hands tightly. "I’ll be with you. I’ll be with you the whole time!"