“Actually, it’s just that I’m afraid there will be too many people at night, and I won’t be able to handle it, which would lead to complaints from patients. If a doctor doesn’t show up and gets complained about, it’s a serious matter. Anna Lee is still in her probation period, so she definitely can’t be absent. The ones who come here at night are mostly little kids, with colds and fevers and such.” Little Grace seemed to notice Ethan Brooks’s confusion and explained with a smile.

Ethan Brooks understood now—the reason for covering the shift was to avoid patient complaints. If there’s only one person at the pre-examination desk, those who didn’t show up would be in big trouble.

Little Grace was a round-faced girl with two dimples when she smiled, making her look very friendly. Sure enough, just after six in the evening, more patients started coming in, just as Little Grace had said—mostly kids with fevers and colds. If it were just Little Grace alone, she really wouldn’t be able to manage.

By eleven at night, most people who were supposed to get off work had already left, and the hospital was starting to quiet down. Ethan Brooks and Little Grace were basically free.

Seeing that there weren’t many people left, Little Grace said to Ethan Brooks, “I’m going to get something to eat. I’m on the night shift—do you want me to bring you something?”

Ethan Brooks waved his hand; he wasn’t hungry yet. Seeing Little Grace leave, he also took his small medicine box and went to the restroom. The reason he carried his medicine box with him was because only he knew the value of what was inside. With people coming and going at the pre-examination desk, even though it was nighttime, if someone happened to take it, all his days of effort and tens of thousands of yuan would be wasted.

“Come with me for a moment, I need your help with something.”

A middle-aged doctor in a white coat happened to run into Ethan Brooks as he was coming out of the restroom and quickly stopped him.

Ethan Brooks originally didn’t want to bother with this guy, but judging by his tone, he seemed to be some kind of supervisor. If he found out that Ethan Brooks was covering a shift for Yvonne Green and got offended, it might cause trouble for Yvonne Green later. Forget it, he thought, I’ll just help out for Yvonne Green’s sake.

The middle-aged doctor took Ethan Brooks to the emergency room and asked, “Which department are you from?”

Ethan Brooks thought, given this guy’s age, if he named a department, the doctor might know the people there, and if he said the wrong one, it would be awkward. So he could only say, “I’m here because…”

Before Ethan Brooks could come up with a reason, the middle-aged doctor’s phone rang. He answered, and after just a few words, he became angry, arguing loudly on the phone for a long time. Then he shouted, “If you want a divorce, then divorce! You shameless…”

After hanging up, the middle-aged man couldn’t be bothered with Ethan Brooks anymore. He took off his coat, grabbed a backpack, and left.

Ethan Brooks thought, this guy is something else—arguing with his wife about divorce, sneaking off before his shift is over, and it’s only just after eleven. But he was also annoyed; the guy called him over, didn’t say a word about what he wanted, and then just left. No wonder his wife wanted a divorce.

Just as Ethan Brooks stood up, a nurse and a girl in her twenties came in, supporting an elderly man in his sixties. Just by listening to their footsteps, Ethan Brooks could tell they were in a hurry.

“Who are you? Where’s Dr. Walker?” Even though Ethan Brooks was wearing a mask, the nurse could tell at a glance that he wasn’t Dr. Walker and immediately asked anxiously.

“Oh, he just left. I’m covering the shift, I’m here to help…” Before Ethan Brooks could finish explaining that he was covering for Anna Lee, the nurse interrupted him.

“Then hurry up and check on this elderly man. He’s in pain all over and can’t speak anymore…” The nurse quickly helped the pale-faced old man onto the hospital bed and spoke rapidly to Ethan Brooks, then immediately got ready to assist.

Chapter 12: Are You Treating the Symptoms or the Root Cause

Ethan Brooks looked at the old man lying on the bed. When he first arrived, the old man could barely walk, but now he had already lost consciousness, and his face was turning a visible shade of purple.

Looking at the anxious nurse and the even more anxious young woman, before he could say anything, the girl, on the verge of tears, said, “Doctor, please save my grandpa. It’s my fault—I shouldn’t have let him sneak to Ninghai…”

Ethan Brooks frowned. Wasn’t it pointless to talk about what should or shouldn’t have been done at this point? He took a few silver needles from his box and casually inserted them into the old man’s body. Instantly, his internal energy began to flow.

The old man exhaled a breath of foul air, and the purple color on his face quickly faded, returning to normal in the blink of an eye. He opened his eyes and said, “Sunny, don’t worry. This is just my old problem.”

The nurse and the girl called Sunny stared blankly at Ethan Brooks, unable to react for a long time. What kind of medical skill was this? A few needles and he had saved an old man on the brink of death? The girl in the nurse’s uniform was the first to snap out of it, looking at Ethan Brooks’s mask in shock. She was still wondering, who is this person covering for Dr. Walker? Such amazing medical skills.

But the young woman quickly came to her senses and immediately rushed to the old man’s bedside. “Grandpa, you scared me to death. I’ll never take you out on my own again…”

Before she could finish, tears were already streaming down her face.