Chapter 40: Fertility-boosting Soup

Around noon, Charles rolled up to Room 308 right on time. He plopped the food down on the break room table.

"Honey, come grab a bite," Charles called out.

Anna, rubbing her aching temples, eyed the food and said, "Mr. Percy, you really don't have to keep bringing me lunch."

If they were a lovey-dovey newlywed couple, it would make sense to be all clingy. But she and Charles? No feelings there. His daily lunch drop-offs always made Anna feel kinda weird. Like, maybe he had a thing for her.

The second the idea popped into her head, she freaked out. She quickly shook her head to clear that crazy thought.

They'd known each other for, what, less than two weeks. No way there were any feelings.

Charles pulled her into a hug, just like when they ate yesterday. He started massaging her temples and kissed the corner of her lips, "You were wiped out last night. As your hubby, it's my job to take care of you and let you chill more."

His hands worked magic, easing the soreness and fatigue in her temples.

Ten minutes later, he grabbed the utensils and served Anna some food.

Mid-meal, he casually asked, "You know Austin?"

"Nope, why?" Anna replied.

Charles's face stayed cool as he looked at her and slowly said, "Tina wants to thank her savior but can't get ahold of Mr. Stewart. She asked if you know him."

At two-thirty in the afternoon, Anna did her usual rounds. Charles and Michael were still chilling on separate sofas.

In the middle of her rounds, there was a knock on the ward door. Then, a kind voice called out, "Anya."

Anna turned around, "Dr. Bell."

It was Jasper, and next to him was Ethan, rocking a white coat, looking all proper and grinning.

Jasper smiled and said, "Anya, let me introduce you to someone."

He pointed to Ethan, "This is Ethan Collins. He'll be a visiting doc at our hospital for a bit. Starting today, he'll be in your department, and you two will be working together."

As soon as Jasper finished, Ethan eagerly stepped up to Anna. "Hey, Dr. Howard," he said, extending his hand.

As he did, Ethan felt two sets of eyes on him from different directions. But he shrugged it off, glanced at Charles and Michael out of the corner of his eye, and then looked back at Anna.

Seeing the enthusiastic Ethan, Anna lightly shook his hand and smiled, "Hey, Dr. Collins."

"Anya, from now on, Dr. Collins will be in your department. You two should help each other out, don't be shy."

As soon as Jasper finished, Ethan immediately chimed in, "Yes, yes, Dr. Howard, it's my pleasure. I can handle any task!"

Hearing this, Anna raised an eyebrow slightly. She looked at Ethan and confirmed, "Anything?"

Ethan nodded eagerly, "Of course!"

The next moment, Anna handed him the medical records she was holding. Ethan instinctively took them.

"Then please take over Miss Green and Ms. Howard's cases," Anna said.

Ethan glanced at the two patients in the beds.

"Huh?" Ethan looked puzzled, "Dr. Howard, you're not keeping any cases for yourself?"

"They've got the same condition. One person can handle it," Anna replied.

She glanced at the medical records in his hand and added, "Thanks, Dr. Collins. I'll send you the detailed records later."

Ethan seemed a bit dazed but nodded.

Seeing he had no objections, Anna breathed a sigh of relief and walked out with Jasper, both feeling much lighter.

Ethan was on the verge of tears. Just as he was about to check on Tina, he saw Charles giving him a cold stare.

Ethan innocently touched his nose.

Tina smiled at Ethan.

Ethan was about to say something to Charles when he saw him stand up and leave.

For the next three days, Tina and Thalia were entirely under Ethan's care. Charles didn't visit the ward again, except for delivering lunch to Anna at Room 308 on time. Michael also stopped hanging out in the ward all day. He only popped in for a minute or two before leaving.

Anna finally had a few days of peace and quiet. She even found some time to work on her research projects.

That evening, Anna got back to Regal Retreat. Just as they were about to have dinner, the doorbell rang, and Alice walked in with a big lunchbox.

Charles put down his knife and fork, "Mom, what's up?"

Alice shot him a disdainful look and started setting the dishes from the lunchbox on the table.

"I asked you to come home and cook for me so I could see if your food was any good. You kept making excuses, so I had to come myself," Alice said.

Charles leaned back in his chair, his tone lazy and casual, "Mom, why don't you trust me? You think I'd let your daughter-in-law starve?"

Alice finished setting the table and sat down next to Anna. She took a bite of Charles' cooking and reluctantly commented, "It's barely acceptable, but at least it's edible."

Charles watched coldly as Alice kept serving food for Anna, and Alice said, "Anya, eat up. I haven't been here in days. You must be tired of Charles's cooking. Today, try the food I brought and mix things up a bit."

Anna smiled and took some food, glancing at Charles's increasingly dark expression.

Alice didn't even look at Charles, focusing on feeding Anna. Halfway through the meal, Alice took out a clay pot from the bottom layer of the lunchbox. When she opened the lid, it was a special type of chicken soup made with black chicken.

This black chicken soup was a typical fertility-boosting soup, and both Anna and Charles immediately got Alice's intentions.

Just as Alice was about to hand a small bowl of black chicken soup to Anna, Charles intercepted it. Without changing his expression, he drank all the soup in one go and said, "Mom, this soup is pretty good."

As he drank, Alice shot several cold glances at him. Seeing his shameless expression, she was so mad she wanted to kick him out.

Alice poured another bowl and was about to hand it to Anna when Charles quickly said, "Mom, Anya and I aren't planning to have kids right now. We just got married, and having a kid would ruin our time together."