“You should go back first. Also, you don't need to come and pick me up at noon.” Sophie had something that she needed to settle at the university. After dealing with matters at the university, she still had to make a trip over to Tanner Group. She would not have time to be with Tristan for the day.
“Okay. Call me if you need anything. I'll come right away.”
Initially, Tristan wanted to remain by Sophie's side. However, he knew she would not like that, so he went to work instead.
After Tristan drove away, Sophie made her way toward Sandra and Simon.
Sandra knew that Sophie had gotten injured. She felt relieved when she saw Sophie walking toward them.
“Sophie, we found out you were injured, but we've been so busy lately that we didn't have time to visit you.”
As Sophie's best friends, they felt extremely guilty for not visiting her even once. After all, Sophie would always provide them with assistance whenever they needed it.
Simon said, “I wanted to visit you, but something happened at my dad's hospital.”
It had only been a month since they last met, but it was apparent that Simon had matured a lot. In the past, he did not have to worry about anything since his father was around. However, he quickly matured now that something cropped up at his family's hospital.
“I'm fine. Besides, there was nothing you could do even if you did come. Let's go! Hugh's waiting for us inside, right?” It was winter break. Many students had returned home. Only a few were able to come to the university to help out.
“Sophie, are your legs okay?” Sandra asked as she stared at Sophie's legs. According to the news, her injuries sounded serious.
“Do I look like I'm not okay?” Sophie asked.
Sandra shook her head and caught up with them. “It's good that you're fine!”
Hugh, Hugh Langford, was already waiting inside the laboratory. He immediately stood up when he saw that Sophie had arrived.
“I know you just came back, and you should be resting, but neither of us was able to solve this problem. That's why I asked you to come.” Hugh knew about Sophie's injury. Originally, he didn't want to trouble her, but the matter was too tricky for them to solve.
Sandra gave Sophie a white coat. Sophie put it on and made her way toward Hugh.
“It's fine. I've been resting a lot lately, and it's enough.” She had not been doing anything since she got hurt.
“I think there's a problem with the cell wall. I'm not sure if the methods we used were wrong, but there's always a discrepancy with the data.”
Hugh was helpless.
Sophie was the most talented student that he had come across. She could easily solve a lot of problems that others couldn't.
“Okay. Let me have a look.”
Sophie stood in front of the microscope and began observing the cells. She then asked them to redo the experiment. At a glance, she found out what the problem was.
She quickly wrote down the problem and its solution on paper.
“Give it a try now.” There shouldn't be any problems this time.
Hugh, Sandra, and Simon redid the experiment per Sophie's instructions. Sure enough, everything progressed smoothly, and they soon solved the problem.
Hugh's eyes lit up.
“Sophie, you are indeed the pride of the University of Medicine! Why don't you apply to the International Medical Association? With your abilities, I'm sure you'll get in.”
Others dreamed of entering the International Medical Association but lacked the qualification, but if it was Sophie, she would have no problem earning herself a position in the association.
“Professor Langford, I think you should try applying for it instead.” Hugh was not bad himself, too. However, he had been teaching at the University of Medicine for several years. He should go to a hospital, where he could train and hone his skills better.
Hugh heaved a heavy sigh when he heard Sophie's suggestion.
His abilities were top-notch back when he was still studying. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to teach at the University of Medicine. However, when he recalled the incident back then, he shook his head.
“I can become a qualified teacher, but I'm unable to become a doctor.” That was the biggest regret in his life.
Words eluded Sophie.
She did not know much about Hugh's past experience.
“Professor Langford, I think you can give it a try.” Hugh had the potential to become an outstanding surgeon. It was a complete waste of his talent for him to be teaching at the University of Medicine.
Hugh didn't know what to say.
I would love to try! But ever since that incident, I've developed a serious case of phobia about operating rooms. That's why I returned to the university.
“All right. I'll leave the rest to you guys. I have something else to settle, so I'll leave now.” Since the problem was resolved, he had to return to write a report. The experiment's success was considered great news for the advancement of medicine.
Sandra could not help sighing at the mention of the professor's issue.
“To be honest, I feel sorry for Professor Langford. I can't imagine how devastating it must've been for him to have to deal with such an incident during his first surgery. He could've been an excellent surgeon if things had not turned out that way.”
“What happened?”
Sophie did not like to gossip, but she thought Hugh was truly talented and should not waste his talents teaching at the university.
“He was involved in a medical dispute for his first surgery. Back then, the success rate for that patient's surgery was merely twenty percent. No one in the hospital was willing to perform the surgery. However, Professor Langford, who had just graduated, was unwilling to give up on the patient, so he volunteered to perform it. The surgery went on for a long time, but he still failed to save the patient in the end. The patient's family members, who had been begging on their knees for someone to save the patient, put all the blame on Professor Langford, accusing him of killing the patient. The hospital did not side with the professor either. Since then, Professor Langford gave up on being a surgeon.”
As outsiders, they appeared indifferent while recounting the incident.
However, to Hugh, what happened back then was catastrophic.
“I see.”
“Professor Langford is actually a kind person. Although he looks cold and unapproachable, he's nice to everyone,” Simon chimed in.
Back when Simon was a freshman at the University of Medicine, he spent his days fooling around as a spoiled scion and never paid attention to his studies, but Hugh never gave up on him.
Sophie helped them solve a few more questions. Time passed, and it was soon noon. The three of them locked up the laboratory and went out for lunch.
“Simon, how's your family's hospital?” Sandra asked out of concern. She knew something had happened at Simon's family's hospital, but unfortunately, she could do nothing to help.
“Everything's fine now. You don't need to worry.” In fact, Simon was worried sick, but worrying wouldn't help resolve the situation.
In the past, he did not care about anything.
After all, no matter what happened, someone in the family would help him deal with it.
However, upon witnessing how his father had aged overnight because of the unfortunate incident, Simon thought he should work harder so he could be of help to his family.
“What happened? Do you need my help?” Sophie had just returned, so she did not know what had happened to Simon's family.
“It's nothing. My dad will take care of it.” Simon felt his heart clench. I'm already an adult, yet I can't do anything to help.
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