Chapter 167

Austin scooped some food onto Suzanne’s plate. A flicker in his eyes betrayed his awareness of Yasmine’s unusual demeanor. Looking askance at Suzanne, he said softly, “Suzanne, Yasmine can be quite straightforward at times. Please don’t mind her.”

Suzanne was taken aback. She lowered her cutlery and gave Austin a quick glance. Then, she looked toward Yasmine, only to see the expression on Yasmine’s face stiffen.

“Austin, you—”

How could he be so straightforward? Didn’t he know she would be embarrassed?

Yasmine gave Austin a kick under the table.

That brat!

However, the next second, Aaron pressed his hand on Yasmine’s leg. He gazed at her and shook his head slightly.

Suzanne curled the corners of her lips upward, shaking her head slightly. She said, “The past is in the past. I won’t take it to heart.”

Then, Suzanne looked at Yasmine and continued, “It’s true that my family background isn’t at the same level as the Hall family. Mrs. Stanton was just protecting her younger brother. I understand where she was coming from.”

An even stronger sense of unease came over Yasmine. She might actually feel less awkward if Suzanne rebuked her directly.

Yasmine pressed her lips together and said, “I have to express my sincere gratitude to you for curing my legs.”

Since Suzanne was acting so magnanimously, Yasmine would be less than herself if she continued acting awkward. Yasmine picked up the glass of fruit juice on the table.

Looking into her eyes, Suzanne smiled and nodded slightly. In the same way, she raised her glass.

Both Yasmine and Suzanne got to their feet and clinked their glasses. Aaron and Austin, on the other hand, did not say anything.

Right at that moment, Emma hurried to stand up on her chair. “Mommy, Aunt Suzanne, me too!”

At a loss for words, Yasmine pursed her lips. She tapped the tip of Emma’s nose as she remarked, “Why do you want to join in on everything?”

“I just want to,” Emma replied coyly.

Her tone made it difficult for anyone to refuse her. Aaron held onto Emma’s body in case she fell off the chair. Suze moved a glass toward Emma. She chuckled and said, “Here you go, Chers.”

Emma held her glass shakily, excitement written all over her face, and called out, “Vay Cheers!”

At that moment, everyone laughed out loud. They chatted and laughed with one another, teasing Emma in between. The atmosphere was much more harmonious than it had been before. In a flash, two hours passed. Aaron looked at Suzanne. He seemed uneasy as he asked, “Ms. Yates, do you have some time to spare?”

It was indeed a little inappropriate to bring this up to Suzanne, but Aaron had no other choice.

Suzanne put her cutlery down and lifted her eyes to glance at Aaron. Feeling confused, she asked, “Did something happen?”

Aaron let out a gentle sigh. With a concerned expression on his face, he explained, “A friend’s grandfather is ill. They’ve sought the advice of many doctors, but it hasn’t helped much. Given your medical expertise, I was thinking of asking you to have a look at him.”

Yasmine froze and instinctively looked at Suzanne as well. Yasmine didn’t say a word. Even so, she knew who the person was the moment Aaron brought it up.

They had witnessed Suzanne’s medical skills. She would be the best person to check on the patient.

Suzanne raised a brow, feeling a little curious. “What are his symptoms?”

She perked up at the sound of a challenging patient case.

Aaron sighed when he thought of the man’s suffering. He explained, “He’s an elderly man, 75 this year. He has pains all over his body that are so severe that he feels like it’s taking the life out of him each time his condition flares up.”

Suzanne knitted her brows together and queried, “All he has are pains?”

Wasn’t this an extremely simple matter? All he needed to do was get a full body check-up at a major hospital and then receive treatment according to his diagnosis.

Aaron nodded. He added, “The strange thing is that none of the major hospitals he went to were able to diagnose him. Right now, it has affected his heart function. His life might be in danger if this goes on.”

After all, being in such intense pain for the long term at such an old age would indeed increase the likelihood of heart issues.

Suzanne wanted to have a look at the patient. She looked askance at Austin, apt to get his opinion. At the end of the day, she should follow his wishes since this was someone associated with the Halls.