As soon as the car disappeared, Alex turned quiet for a moment, thinking about the situation. Then suddenly, he stopped keeping a straight face. He hunched his back and held his left side with his features scrunched together in pain, the same pain he had ignored to hurry over to the hospital and until he had seen Grace off.
He turned back and hurried back inside. This time, he took another path, and he found the head of sunny blond hair he was looking for in a ward full of children, most of whom were in hospital gowns.
He called out:
"Dr Cullman, you have a patient!"
Gawain raised his head from his clipboard, and the slight smile he had been sporting when interacting with the children faded away.
He observed the source of the disturbance, with his light green eyes lingering on the left side the latter was cradling, then put away his pen.
"There is no problem. I will come back to check on each one of you again after a few hours."
"Yes~ Dr Cullman."
The many voices that replied to Gawain were bright and filled with vitality, bringing smiles to the faces of the parents around who were mostly mothers. They looked at his back with gratitude as he left with his team, and stretched their neck to look at Alex with gossipy looks.
Gawain dismissed his team, and faced Alex:
"What happened to you?"
Despite the pain, Alex smiled:
"An accident. I got caught into one on the road."
Gawain raised an eyebrow:
"The bad luck you have been complaining about?"
Alex hesitated for a moment, then shook his head:
"Well, my luck has taken a dive this month, but no. I played the hero, it is just more troublesome than they show in animes."
Gawain lowered his gaze to the painful part Alex had been holding, and started walking away:
"It seems troublesome indeed."
Alex didn't mind the indifference. He casually smiled and caught up with Gawain:
"That is exactly why I came to have you patch me up."
Gawain gave his friend a sidelong glance:
"I'm a pediatrician, and you are not a kid."
"So what? You are a doctor, one of the best pediatric surgeons alive, one of the youngest associate professors ever, and the youngest assistant department director of Arland Hospital. Do I need to continue with the accolades?"
The only response he got was a sidelong glance, but he did not care. He straightened his back and focused on throwing charming smiles at the nurses and young mothers they let along the way.
"Anyway, I'm not asking you to open my thorax, just to check my muscles for any tear or any internal wound. After that, I will have a scan to check my bones."
Gawain gave Alex another glance, and saw him walk upright, even though he kept his hand on the left side of his chest. After a moment of silence, he changed direction and opened a door at the side:
"Come in."
It was a consultation room, and without hesitation, Alex went to sit on the bed against the wall and took off his top.
The left side of his torso had a large bruise. Gawain, after putting his clipboard down, pressed on the purple skin with his now gloved hands.
"Hiss– Hurgh~"
Alex sucked a breath of cold air, but the doctor remained indifferent and focused on his job. However, at that moment, the door was opened. The female doctor who had been about to come in froze at the sight of Gawain who had his head low, focused on the naked chest of Alex who had his left arm up.
"Dr Cullman…"
*Bam*
The charming smile Alex threw over was ignored, and the room became quiet after the door was closed. Gawain remained indifferent, but Alex could not:
"Pfft, hahahaha… Your reputation is over, Gawain Cullman. You have just chilled the hearts of your admirers. Hahaha– Hurgh!"
The sudden jolt pain caused by a hand pressing on his side interrupted Alex. He rolled his eyes at the doctor's pettiness, but the latter didn't pay him any mind.
"I'm done. There is nothing serious. After having your scan, you can leave and take care of the rest by yourself."
With a snap, Gawain took off the gloves and threw them into the bin. He took his clipboard and turned to leave. But despite the cold face, he didn't forget to remind as he opened the door:
"Remember to avoid cold baths for a while if you don't want your blood congesting."
Far from taking offense, Alex knowingly smiled. He hurried to clothe himself and ran to put his arm around the shoulder of the blond.
"To thank you Doctor for your contribution to the freedom of relationship, let me make some contribution to the funds of your pediatric department. What do you say?"
Alex didn't lower his voice when he spoke. He didn't avoid the nurses who were already gossiping in low voices while sneaking glances at them with bright eyes.
Gawain could only swat the hand on his shoulder away after a sidelong glance filled with exhaustion. He looked around, then shook his head with obvious helplessness in the sigh he held back.
He decided not to care about the trouble anymore.
"Keep your money to fund your life as a playboy. Unless you want to use another identity to make the contribution."
Alex recoiled, and looked at the blond with skepticism.
"Wait, what happened to my friend who always wanted me to stop being a playboy? What happened to the associate director of the pediatric department for whom children have always been the priority?"
The dramatic tone made Gawain's lips twitch. Then he rolled his light green eyes:
"No need to be surprised. Your cousin made a generous donation not long ago, and I heard that it is thanks to you. On top of that, your family has never been stingy with the subsidies of the hospital, so you can enjoy your life of fun with peace of mind."
Alex frowned his brows in contemplation, before realization dawned on him:
"Oh~ You mean Kris? At least he has some backbone. He honored the bet we made."
Gawain couldn't prevent his lips from twitching one more time. A bet of dozens of millions, and it still took Alex thinking hard to remember it, even with all the clues Gawain had let out to narrow down the target he was talking about.
Is that what happened when one was too rich? He wanted to be that rich too.