Serena Sutton dragged Brandy Quinn out of the bar, and right after that, she saw Hugo Yates being thrown out.
Brandy spat in the direction of his fleeing back and said in disgust, "I seriously don't know how blind I must've been back then to actually fall for that thing. So disgusting."
Serena still hadn't recovered from what had just happened. Her fingertips brushed the gauze on her forehead; the wound still hurt a little, but at this moment she was in a good mood. Because it had been Caleb Lockwood who personally put it on for her.
All of a sudden Serena furrowed her brows, belatedly realizing something, and said in a troubled tone, "I forgot to ask him for his contact info again."
With such a good chance just now, how had she forgotten? Useless.
Brandy slung an arm over her shoulder, shook her head and sighed. "You, the second you see that Dr. Lockwood, your brain just stops working. But that Dr. Lockwood really is pretty charming, I get it."
Serena puffed out her cheeks and stared blankly ahead, lost in thought for a while, then suddenly pulled out her phone.
"What are you doing?" Brandy asked curiously. The kid really didn't look quite normal right now.
"Registering." As she spoke, Serena started searching for "Northwood City Central Hospital"'s official WeChat account and hit follow.
Once she entered the account, there was a "Outpatient Services" option below. Serena tapped into appointment registration and quickly found Neurosurgery, then tapped in.
Monday, Ronald Thorne, professor, chief physician.
Not Caleb Lockwood. Serena tapped on Tuesday.
Caleb Lockwood, associate chief physician. It showed there were still slots. Serena didn't hesitate, wanting to register right away, but it required "adding a patient card."
Serena didn't remember her card number and hadn't brought her ID, so she sighed, a bit frustrated. "Right now there's just one patient card standing between me and Caleb Lockwood. God is really not giving me any face here."
Brandy chuckled and teased, "Don't rush it. What's yours will be yours in the end. Being anxious won't help; deal with it slowly when we get back."
"Oh right, girl, come with me to get a new hairstyle."
Isn't it a thing that lots of people have to get a new hairstyle after a breakup, or chop off those 'three thousand strands of bothersome hair' all at once? She had to keep up with the trends.
Serena eyed her suspiciously, then shook her phone. "Then what about my Caleb Lockwood?"
"Ha, you're quite self-aware, huh? The two of you don't even have the faintest sign of fate yet, how is he already yours?" Brandy gave her head a light smack, trying to knock some sense into her.
Serena pressed her lips together and smiled. The glow of the setting sun fell over her pretty little face, making her look soft and captivating.
After a moment, her soft, sweet voice rang out. "Brandy, I might like him more and more."
Before, it had been love at first sight—basically just lust at first sight. But now, she wanted to get to know him. She simply wanted to get closer to Caleb Lockwood as a person.
-
Serena accompanied Brandy to get her hair permed and dyed, then hurried home.
When she got back, Norbert Suttun happened to be coming out of his room. He still had that half-awake look, lazy to the extreme.
"What happened to your forehead?" Norbert yawned, a can of Coke in his hand as he walked up to Serena.
Serena changed her shoes and answered casually, "Got hit by someone by accident, just a small wound." As she spoke, she was about to head back to her room, but Norbert pressed a hand on her shoulder.
Norbert bent down, stared at the gauze on her head for a moment, the corner of his eye lifting. "Who hit you?"
His tone was lazy, his voice slightly hoarse with a hint of rogue in it. "Was it that Hugo-whatever you had me check on yesterday?"
Serena blinked. She hadn't expected her second brother to be this sharp, nailing it in one guess. She nodded. "Mm, it was him. But we got our revenge too." That Hugo Yates hadn't come out of it lightly either.
"Tch, pathetic." Norbert gave a soft snort, spat out the words, then with a sharp "pop," cracked open the Coke one-handed, tilted his head back, and took a swig.
"I'm not like some people who've been fighting since they were kids and still pretend to be the big campus bully." Serena pouted, gave him a push, and was about to walk off, only to have Norbert grab her by the back of her collar.
"Ugh, Norbert, let me go. Mom, Second Brother's bullying me again!" Serena frowned and hollered loudly toward the kitchen.
Nina Hayes strode out, still holding a kitchen knife, and glared at Norbert. "What are you doing? You're not a kid anymore—how can you still be bullying your sister? Let her go." As she spoke, she even shook the knife in her hand.
In the face of Ms. Hayes's authority, Norbert let go of Serena, but not before pinching her fair cheek. His peach blossom eyes carried a lazy, teasing smile. "I'll deal with you next time."
Serena stuck her tongue out at him in a very childish way, haughty and smug.
Norbert didn't stoop to her level. He just tossed the Coke can into the trash, turned around, and went to change his shoes.
Nina called after his back. "We're about to eat—where are you going?"
"Got something to take care of. Don't wait up." Norbert didn't look back, just waved his hand, shoved one hand into his pocket, and opened the door to head out.
By dinnertime, Norbert still hadn't returned. After Serena ate, she quickly booked an appointment for Caleb Lockwood's Tuesday clinic.
Lying on her bed, she hugged her phone. Staring at the words "Registration Successful," she grinned foolishly to herself.
—
Hugo Yates left the bar and headed straight home. He didn't live on campus; instead, he rented a place off-campus in an old residential complex, living alone, thinking it would be convenient to bring a girlfriend over in the future.
Entering the complex, Hugo limped his way upstairs, staggering with each step. He was still cursing under his breath. "Fuck, Brandy Quinn, Serena Sutton, I'll remember this. They better not ever fall into my hands."
"Yo, big talk." A lazy male voice rang out in the empty stairwell, scaring Hugo so much he almost tumbled down the stairs.
Norbert Suttun leaned against the wall, a cigarette in his hand, a cold, lazy smile hanging at the corner of his lips.
"Y-you, who are you?" Hugo stammered, demanding. Who was this guy? Why was he at his door?
Norbert walked up, grabbed Hugo by the front of his shirt with one hand, and sneered. "Who are you holding a grudge against? Who were you cursing?"
"I…I—ah!" Hugo had just opened his mouth when Norbert landed several punches on him, then kicked him to the ground. Hugo hurt so much he couldn't even get up.
"W-who the hell are you? I don't have any beef with you—why are you hitting me?"
Norbert stood over him, looking down from above. He took a drag of his cigarette and lazily blew out a smoke ring. In the light of the stairwell, the white smoke seemed to carry a layer of chill.
"I'm hitting you because you…have it coming." The corner of Norbert's mouth hooked up in the faintest of smiles, utterly nonchalant.
Hugo: "…" He took a moment to process that and then finally remembered that he'd just been cursing Serena Sutton and Brandy Quinn. So this guy was here to get revenge for them?
"Bro, I was wrong, I swear I won't ever do it again. I was just mouthing off just now, I deserve to die, I didn't know who I was messing with." His courage had never been big to begin with, and the sight of Norbert made him even more cowardly. All he could do was beg for mercy in a low voice.
Norbert let out a cold snort. "See that you behave."
With that, he stubbed out his cigarette, shoved one hand into his pocket, and turned to leave. People like this weren't worth wasting words on; he'd seen plenty of them, each one more spineless than the last.
A good beating and they'd fall right in line.