More Than Meets the Eye

"I'll offer treatment for everyone at the community square tomorrow." Then, Aria reminded them, "Remember to take the medicine. Don't stay up late to watch soap operas. They won't end so soon."

"The Tiara" was all the rage in the Elmer district at that time. All the older men and women were hooked on it.

A lot of them looked guilty after Aria said that. "We…We will sleep at 10:00 pm from now on."

In the past, no one could have imagined that this group of people would be so obedient to one person. A lot of them had made great contributions to the country. Even their identities were kept a secret.

Elmer district's community manager, Joel Hayes, had been hoping that Aria would come back sooner. He could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Dr. Carver, I have been keeping an eye on your house. I've not allowed anyone to approach your property."

"Thanks for the hard work." Aria bowed slightly and handed him an apple.

Joel accepted the apple with a smile. "It's no trouble at all. I trust you won't be leaving anytime soon?"

A community manager like him could never keep the neighborhood's residents under control.

"Yeah. I won't be leaving," Aria said as she took the key.

Joel replied joyfully, "That's wonderful! I'll leave you be so you can unpack your stuff. Let me know if you need anything."

Aria nodded.

She inserted the key and opened the door after Joel left. The lock was very old. It didn't seem like there was anything special about it.

But after she undid the first lock, an LCD lock appeared before her.

"Confirmation to proceed with iris scan."

Aria said casually, "Do it."

"Proceeding with iris scan. Please wait."

"Iris scan completed. Welcome home, master."

It was a very classy computerized voice that hadn't been activated for some time.

The metal door opened automatically with a "clack".

The house was instantly illuminated. There was a bookshelf that was about six feet tall which was filled with medical books and containers with herbs in them.

There was a lot of greenery at the door. Most of them were herbs. All of them were labeled.

In the middle of the living room sat a very cool-looking black and red motorcycle. It was the BMW S 1000 RR which was no longer being produced.

Aria walked over to the kitchen and took a bottle of water from the fridge. She wanted to drink some water and watch some TV.

Suddenly, the phone that was charging on her desk rang. It was a custom ringtone.

"Richie Carver, wakey wakey, It's time for work! Richie Carver, wakey wakey, It's time for work! Richie—"

Aria took the call when it was about to ring for the third time. "Speak."

"Boss, there's a huge job in Southbury. Should we take it?"

Aria took a sip of the water. "What's it about?"

"The richest man in Janovin is looking for his long-lost granddaughter. They say she's in Southbury. It shouldn't be hard to find her. This job pays a lot."

Aria yawned. "Not interested."

"Hold on! Please wait, boss! There's another one. The type you like! It's also a huge job!"

The person on the other end of the call was very servile.

Aria placed her chin on the palm lazily. "Tell me about it."

"The York family of Janovin is looking for you. They're offering 10 million dollars for you to treat a patient.

"They also said that people who can find you or provide information about you will be rewarded as well. They're so stacked!"

"Why are they so generous?" Aria went into work mode immediately.

She tapped the phone and said, "Send me the details of the job."

"Sure thing!"

The next moment, the floor-to-ceiling windows became a screen, and the job information was projected on it.

The York family had been around for ages. They had protected the country for generations. If Aria's memory served correctly, they even lived in the Guardian Mansion once.

The York family had sent out invitations to quite a few renowned doctors. The invitation was in effect for a week.

The location for the consultation was set at the Caesar Hotel in Southbury. They wanted to get a doctor who would be able to treat the illness of Landon York, who was in charge of the York family operations.

There wasn't much description of Landon's condition. They only mentioned that he had been frail for a long time and that his condition couldn't be revealed to the public.

It seemed like there was more than met the eye.

Aria stretched her legs. "I'll take this job."

Saving Someone on the Streets

"You have a good eye, boss! I'll prepare an account to receive payment from the Yorks!"

Aria said calmly, "No need to rush. Let me sleep first. Do it tomorrow."

Other than making money, Aria's biggest interest was treating all sorts of rare diseases. This job from the York family was a nice one for her.

Honestly, she was probably the only person who wasn't fazed by the York's visit to Southbury. All of the prominent families in the city were scrambling into action.

A family like the Kents had to reach out to everyone they knew and utilize all of their connections in an attempt to get an invitation from the Yorks.

Even regular people were talking about how the city was especially lively that month.

First, the richest man in Janovin came to look for his granddaughter. Then, the York family came to receive treatment.

Some said that the Yorks came to Southbury because the legendary Whiz Doctor was in town. There were a lot of rumors about the Whiz Doctor, but some of them were quite outlandish.

This time, the Whiz Doctor might actually appear due to the York family's invitation.

…

The following morning, Aria woke up late. Like any other working adult, she didn't feel like leaving her cool and comfortable room or her cozy bed to get out into the morning sun.

But she had to work. So, she got up and washed her face. Without putting any makeup on, she grabbed her bag and left.

In order to avoid the morning rush, she scanned a shared bicycle.

"Are you heading out to work, Aria?"

"Yeah."

She was greeting everyone along the way and also had a piece of toast in her mouth given to her by Kenneth Kane.

She rode the bicycle steadily without rushing and merged into traffic after a while.

…

After 30 minutes, Aria arrived at Southbury's renowned Caesar Hotel. Everyone at the entrance and the lobby looked very busy.

In the past few days, almost all of the luxury cars in the city gathered at the hotel. In comparison, Aria stood out a lot as the only person who came on a shared bicycle.

As soon as she came to a stop, Jose Garcia, a security guard, came over to chase her away.

"Get lost, you broke college student. The hotel is not open to the public today."

She planted one foot on the ground and met his gaze. Then, she said coolly, "I'm here to save someone's life."

"You? Save someone's life?" Jose burst into laughter. "Young lady, you're still so young, but you're quite the braggart."

Aria paused for a moment. Then, she showed him proof of her accepting the job on her phone.

"Please tell the people inside that Dr. Whiz has arrived."

"Dr. Whiz? You can call me Dr. Genius!" Jose gave her an impatient look. "I've seen many invitations. You're the first one to show it on the phone…"

Jose noticed a luxury car rolling up as he spoke. So, he waved at Aria. "Go. Get out of the way."

Then, he rushed over to the car and opened the door. "Welcome, Dr. Gunther and Ms. Kent. I'll inform the staff to prepare some tea for you."

The people in the car just nodded at him. They didn't even reply. But Jose had a big smile on his face like he had won the lottery.

The car drove past Aria. Lily looked out the window and recognized Aria. Her gaze wavered slightly.

The old woman next to her, Salome Gunther, asked, "What's wrong, Lily?"

She smiled softly. "Nothing."

Aria's gaze remained calm. She walked away resolutely. There was even an amused expression on her face.

She used to be someone who held people's lives in her hands, yet she had become the target of another person's shunning. Oh, how the mighty had fallen.

Aria pursed her lips. She offered treatment to patients based on her mood and would never help those who were greedy or selfish.

She had decided to give up on offering treatment to the York family's patient. So, she took out her phone and was about to reject the job.

Suddenly, someone on the sidewalk screamed. "Oh, no! Someone has fainted!"

People started flocking toward the voice.

"Oh, God! It's a child!"

"His face is so pale…"

Hearing the commotion, Aria didn't hesitate at all. She parked her bicycle and rushed toward the crowd.

The little boy on the ground was only three or four years old. His forehead was drenched. It seemed like he had been sweating profusely.

A woman named Francine Gibson grabbed a man in a white lab coat. "Young man, you're a doctor, right? Please save the boy."

"No can do, lady. The kid's family isn't here. I can't make any decisions without consulting them."

The man in the lab coat, Jimmy Cornell, added with disdain, "Besides, I don't provide treatment to just anyone."

Aria heard the exchange between the two of them. She pushed through the crowd and said in a professional manner, "Please give the boy some space. Let the air flow through. The patient needs fresh air."

Her tone sounded so authoritative that no one doubted her.

Then, she crouched down and placed her fingers on the boy's neck.

Francine said anxiously, "Young lady, how old are you? Can you really make him better?"

Doubt

"That's right, young lady. We should probably call an ambulance. This boy appears to be lost. I called out for some time just now, but no one came over," an old man said.

He was concerned that Aria might be blamed if anything happened to the boy.

Aria quickly unbuttoned the boy's coat and brought him to some shade. "Don't worry. I'm a licensed doctor."

Then, she opened her bag and took out a medical kit. It was equipped with needles and scalpels of all sizes, all arranged neatly in rows.

Aria felt the boy's pulse again.

"Stop it! How can you simply touch the patient?" Jimmy yelled. He couldn't allow Aria to do as she pleased.

She ignored him and continued to monitor the boy's pulse and heart rate.

Jimmy sneered. "I'm Jimmy Cornell, currently studying at Janovin Medical University. My mentor is Dr. Salome Gunther. I'm not just a random bystander. You say you're a licensed doctor? How old are you?"

Aria continued to ignore him. Her focus was on the boy. She took out a needle and began to sterilize it.

"I'm talking to you! Even that old man knows we should wait for an ambulance. Why can't you get it through your head?"

This was the first time Jimmy had been completely ignored by someone.

Aria had one knee to the ground. Her demeanor was cool and emotionless. "Do nothing and wait for the ambulance? Wait as the optimal treatment period passes by? Is that what your mentor taught you?"

"Who said we should do nothing while we wait for the ambulance? You're the one delaying treatment with those needles. Please don't show off your pseudo-science methods, and let me perform CPR on the patient."

Aria shot him a cold glare after she heard what he said. Who would've thought that such a pretty young lady could have such a vicious gaze?

"He has a heat stroke. Do you think CPR would help? What a worthless doctor," Aria said as she applied pressure to the boy's fingers. Her tone was glacial.

Jimmy lost his cool immediately. "Who are you calling worthless? Do you even know who my mentor is?"

He had just received an award overseas for his medical skills. He was incredulous at the woman's audacity to doubt his abilities.

"I'm not interested in your mentor. Move."

Jimmy's eyes turned bloodshot. "I'll let it slide this time since you're just a lowly traditional medicine practitioner. His lips are turning blue. It's a heart issue."

"Hypoxia and ischemia might impact the respiratory system and cause the lips to turn blue."

Aria looked at Jimmy with a cold stare, then added, "But a heat stroke can cause that symptom, too. The difference is that his pulse is steady. Moreover, his lips are parched.

"It's clear that he had been exposed to high temperatures for a prolonged period. You don't even look at these symptoms, yet you claim to be a medical student?"

"That's true. You have to look at the symptoms first. I was taught that too," someone in the crowd agreed with Aria.

Then, people in the crowd started chattering.

"It seems like the Janovin Medical University isn't anything special at all."

"That young lady is way more reliable. I noticed she was quite professional when taking the boy's pulse."

Jimmy couldn't take the humiliation anymore. "Alright. So, he has a heat stroke. Will your acupuncture cure him of it? If so, why are we even learning modern medicine?"

"You can't represent everyone else who practices modern medicine." Aria glared at him icily. "I'll say it one more time. Move."

There were two types of people she hated the most—those who looked down on traditional medicine and lousy doctors getting in the way of her treatment.

"Sure, I'll move. I'd like to see how skilled you are." Jimmy crossed his arms. "If you can heal him with these needles, I'll get on my knees and apologize to you."

"I'm looking forward to that."

Aria located the acupuncture points and raised her hand.