Serena Sutton sat on the bed, clutching her phone, staring unblinkingly at the conversation window.
Hoping that the big words "The other party is typing" would appear above the chat window soon.
But she waited and waited, and after quite a while, she still hadn't received Caleb Lockwood's reply.
Could it be that he was still in surgery? Hadn't received her message?
On the other side, Caleb Lockwood returned to his apartment, showered, ate... mechanically finishing a series of tasks, it was already very late.
He once again opened WeChat, looking at the few words Serena Sutton had sent, unsure how to respond.
He didn't have experience chatting on WeChat with others, so he had been pondering all night, still without any answer.
Caleb Lockwood sat on the chair, his well-defined hands holding the phone, thumb gently resting on the screen. His eyebrows slightly furrowed, a hint of distress appearing on his handsome face.
How should he reply? The other party was a young girl who hadn't yet graduated from college; he didn't understand her hobbies or know how young girls chatted...
Caleb Lockwood simply pressed the lock screen button.
He picked up the white porcelain cup in front of him, took a sip of hot water. His cool gaze once again lingered on the phone.
After a while, he picked up the phone again, opened WeChat, pondered for a bit, typed a few words, and replied to her.
Serena Sutton was nearly asleep from waiting, but the message alert instantly chased away her sleepiness.
She looked at the message in the conversation window…
L: "Hello, Caleb Lockwood. Good night."
Seeing the words "Good night," Serena Sutton's eyes suddenly lit up, and she froze, her heart skipping a beat.
"Ahhhh!" She exclaimed in joy, hugging the quilt and rolling on the bed.
Caleb Lockwood replied to her, and even said good night to her, hahaha...
Just as Serena Sutton was excited and thrilled, there was a knock on the bedroom door.
Old Sutton's voice sounded outside the door: "Daughter, what are you howling for in the middle of the night?"
Serena Sutton turned her head, calling out toward the door: "Nothing, just happy."
"Good night, Dad!"
The words "good night" she said particularly loudly.
Mr. Sutton: "…" Shaking his head with a sigh.
She must be watching some dramatic TV show again.
-
On Sunday morning, Serena Sutton had breakfast and left the house with Nathan Sutton.
Nathan Sutton drove the car, Serena Sutton sat in the passenger seat, and until the car left the neighborhood, neither spoke.
Serena Sutton was quite lively by nature, but at this moment, she didn't know what to say; it seemed like she had no common topics with her big brother. Moreover, the most important thing was that her big brother simply didn't like to talk.
Just as Serena Sutton was preparing to close her eyes and pretend to sleep, Nathan Sutton's deep voice came over: "Address."
"Oh, 76 Wessex Road." She answered honestly and sat up straight, like an obedient little school student.
Nathan Sutton said nothing more, his sharply handsome face appearing coldly attractive, focusing on driving, eyes firmly fixed on the road ahead.
Serena Sutton glanced sideways at him, desperately searching her mind for a topic.
She moved her lips, starting to speak: "Big brother, is your daily work just using a test tube, adding all sorts of things into it until it bubbles or turns red or green, and then using this stuff to inject white mice?"
That's often how it goes in the movies.
After being injected, the white mice could undergo genetic mutation, or become stronger. Or perhaps, develop some new medicine that could save the mice.
The people in the National Biochemical Research Institute should be doing these experiments every day.
Upon hearing Serena Sutton ask this, Nathan Sutton's mouth twitched.
"Our daily work not only involves experiments but more report analysis, research papers, etc., and experiments are just a part."
"And also..."
At this point, Nathan Sutton paused, slightly furrowing his brow: "Bubbling, red, green, what do they specifically refer to?"
Serena Sutton: "..." Who knows? That's how it goes in the movies.
"Actually, I'm not very clear, hahaha..." This was awkward, what brainless things had she just said?
Unexpectedly, her big brother was so serious, surely he'd now think she was especially stupid, had it been her second brother, he would have laughed at her by now.
Nathan Sutton saw her like this and didn't press further, continuing to maintain silence.
Very quickly, they arrived at their destination.
Serena Sutton unbuckled her seatbelt, ready to get out of the car, and suddenly thinking of something, took out two chocolates from her bag.
Handing them to Nathan Sutton, her voice sweet: "Big brother, have some chocolate."
Serena Sutton knew her big brother loved chocolate, Ms. Hayes mentioned that when he was little, he even fought over a piece of chocolate.
Though it seemed rather surprisingly cute, it was a fact.
Nathan Sutton somewhat woodenly accepted them, looking up at her: "Thank you."
Serena Sutton smiled, waved to him: "Goodbye, big brother."
Nathan Sutton watched her leaving figure, suddenly lowering his eyes, looking at the chocolate in his palm.
She actually knew he liked chocolate!
Indeed, the little girl in their family had grown up.
Nathan Sutton's usually sternly handsome face gradually showed a trace of a smile, even his gaze softened considerably.
-
This time, Serena Sutton and Nathan Sutton's trip to the Children's Welfare House was mainly to deliver books, clothes, toys, and other items that everyone had donated to the children there.
The kids at the welfare house knew there were gifts, each of them cheerfully ran out to play with their big brothers and sisters.
But Serena Sutton noticed one child standing far away, silent. A little girl about five or six years old, wearing a floral dress, looking very cute, but with an inappropriate hat on her head.
She walked over with big steps, bending down to look at her: "Why aren't you playing with the other kids?"
The little girl shook her head, not speaking.
Serena Sutton thought perhaps this child was shy, so she changed the topic, pointing at her hat: "Why wear a hat when it's so hot?"
The little girl lowered her head and dully replied: "Because I have no hair."
Serena Sutton's body froze, suddenly not knowing what to say.
"Why... no hair? Can you tell big sister?" Serena Sutton half-squatted in front of her, voice gentle.
The little girl stared at her with big, round eyes, just looking, without speaking.
At this moment, a caretaker from the welfare house came over, explaining: "Amy had a brain tumor, underwent cranial surgery, and her hair hasn't fully grown, unable to cover the scars."
Serena Sutton nodded, understanding. Before she could say anything, the caretaker continued: "Speaking of which, we really must thank you all and Dr. Lockwood."
"Dr. Lockwood?" Serena Sutton raised an eyebrow: "Which Dr. Lockwood?"
The caretaker chuckled: "It's Dr. Caleb Lockwood from Central Hospital's Neurosurgery department, very handsome and talented."
"Initially, your volunteer association started a charity fundraiser for Amy, but the treatment costs still weren't enough, later it was Dr. Lockwood who covered the rest."
"He's not only Amy's attending physician but also her savior."