Aria looked at the worn-out passbook. "Grandma, I have money.""That was before. I'm sure they froze your credit card when they kicked you out. Thanks for trying to console me, though," Georgina said, affectionately stroking Aria's hair.Aria continued to smile. "Grandma, I…"Before Aria could explain, Georgina's phone began ringing incessantly, the sound grating on their ears. The gentleness in Georgina's eyes disappeared when she saw who was calling. She made a move to take the call outside. Aria ventured a guess. "Is it Karen?"Seeing that she couldn't hide it, Georgina nodded.Aria smiled. "Grandma, take the call here. Sam and I are old enough to handle anything that comes up."Touched by Aria's words, Georgina found a sudden surge of strength to face the dreaded call."You finally picked up! You're making everyone think that I treated you poorly. The Bush family just contacted me, saying you asked them for money to reopen the clinic." Karen's sharp, sarcastic voice pier
Georgina replied with a message to thank the Bush family for their time and understanding. After all, no one was obligated to help her. Georgina understood that much. The Bush family suggested, "Why not forget about reopening the clinic? Frankly, your business may not thrive. If you need financial support for daily expenses, we can still help discreetly."The underlying implication was clear from the way the Bush family phrased their offer. After all, 5,000 dollars meant little to families like theirs. While five grand might not have sufficed for Karen to host a lavish feast for everyone, the reality was that such an amount wouldn't even make a dent in their wallets.Karen's refusal to contribute wasn't enough; she actively discouraged others from helping. The stereotype painted mothers-in-law as the villains, but Karen's behavior proved some daughters-in-law could be just as cold-hearted.Aria's eyes darkened as she drummed her fingers on the table.Though her expression rem
"Of course we'll earn more than that, Grandma. When Heartbound Hall gets popular, we'll even get to open some branches." Aria tucked the loose strands of hair behind Georgina's ears. "Didn't you always want to visit Janovin? We'll open a clinic there."Georgina laughed as she listened to Aria. "My adorable granddaughter, not everyone can open a clinic in Janovin—that's the capital, after all. The fact that you have such great ambitions already fills me with joy."Georgina had been somewhat overbearing in her youth, lacking finesse in navigating human nature. In her old age, she had lost her job, her mobility, and her family's status as one of the Great Medical Families. Her son had disappointed her and his wife even more so.Sitting in her small garden, she often contemplated what she would have done differently if given the chance to choose again.Ultimately, she concluded that she wouldn't change a thing. With Aria and Sam by her side, she could still practice medicine and bring
The elderly residents in the neighborhood had just returned from their morning walk when they saw Aria standing in front of the clinic, tinkering with something.Someone asked, "What are you doing here, Aria?"Aria stifled a yawn before answering, "Live streaming."Live streaming? All the neighbors found this fascinating. Live streaming was a novelty to them, despite their frequent browsing of TikTok and Instagram. They gathered around Aria, eager to see how she would livestream. Aria didn't stop them. She'd chosen Shark, one of the most popular live streaming platforms. Aria knew these platforms often supported fresh faces, offering promotional boosts to new accounts. As long as she went live at a specific time, the platform would showcase her stream for three minutes, guaranteeing at least a hundred viewers.Aria had studied the platform's policies the previous day. After the initial hour, the promotion would likely increase, drawing in even more viewers.However, it was up
The chat exploded. "Are you sure you really can hold consultations like that?""She's a liar. Don't believe in her, everyone!""She's the fake daughter of the Kent family, and she's trying to scam people here because she can't earn money elsewhere. Disgusting!"The comments were getting progressively worse, but Aria didn't reply to them. Instead, she opened the medical book she was holding and started to read. The promotion time limit was almost up, but Aria remained unaffected. The more aggressive the comments were, the more people joined the stream and the more support given by the streaming platform. This in turn increased the number of viewers.100 people joined, then 200, until the viewer count was about to surpass 2,000. At that moment, the stream with the name "Heartbound Hall" became the most popular one among all new accounts, even showing up in the Hot Trending List.Although the number of viewers increased, there were also some viewers who didn't know Aria. Desp
Eric hesitated. He turned on his mic and asked, "How did you know that my upper abdomen is hurting all the time?""Holy shit! The streamer really guessed the symptoms correctly!""I gotta follow her now. That was miraculous!"Aria drummed her fingers on the table from time to time and said without much inflection in her voice, "We learned the four diagnosis methods at school, didn't we? It's obvious just by looking at you."Eric said hesitantly, "Then my illness…"Aria said professionally, "It's not stomach cancer, but I suggest that you get it treated as soon as possible. Also, eat takeout food less often and consume foods that are easier to digest, such as soup and oatmeal. Don't jeopardize your health just for the sake of your studies."The viewers had been waiting for Aria to make a fool of herself, but they were all surprised now.Eric's friends asked, "What's going on with you, Eric? Is what she said true? Are you really sick?"Eric didn't reply. He'd asked his roommates
Aria acted swiftly, promptly blurring the little girl's face while addressing the viewers. "I hope everyone can respect the privacy of others, especially that of a child."TinasMom: "Don't worry. We won't take any screenshots."LoveDancing: "Yes. You should ask the little girl what happened to her."Everyone had a bad premonition. Aria didn't ask any more questions, though. She said while reading the comments, "I'll contact this patient privately, so please wait for a while."In order to protect the patient's privacy, Aria turned her mic off. Even so, the number of viewers was still increasing rapidly. From 10,000 viewers, the number increased to 60,000 viewers, and it didn't stop there. There was no sound in the live feed now, but the viewers didn't leave. Aria contacted the little girl via DM. "When did you start feeling pain? What happened before that? Do you still remember?"As if recalling old memories, the little girl said, "Uncle Ryan bought me toys last night befor
Aria met Faith's gaze. "I suggest that you take Hope to the bathroom first. Don't let her take a shower. We'll talk after that."Faith's eyes widened in shock. Her hands were shaking as she held Hope in her arms. One minute later, she reemerged in front of the camera, her eyes red. She didn't cry, though. Faith was trying her utmost to rein in her emotions."Hope, go do your jigsaw puzzle there, okay? Mommy needs to talk to her." As Faith coaxed Hope, she tried to smile, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. Aria offered her opinion. "I think it's better if Hope stays here with us. She's more sensitive than the average child. You'll have to do a lot of things next, and she'll feel more anxious if you shy away from her while dealing with the procedures."Faith looked at Hope. Hope raised her hand to wipe at her mother's face. She said, "I wanna stay, Mommy."Faith held Hope tightly as tears flowed down her face. "I'm sorry, Hope."Hope looked lost. Aria said, "I shouldn't need