Chapter 10 Unemployment
Someone echoed, "He's right. Noah, learn from Larry, will you?
"You have no money or job, but you're a grown man, right? Act like one. Stop trying to be invisible. At least thank Larry, right?"
Noah, who had been silent, was targeted.
He glanced at them and still remained silent.
Seeing that, they continued to criticize, "He's so ignorant!"
"He's so immature. I bet he's unconvinced deep down!"
Just then, Noah's phone rang.
He went out to pick up the phone.
"Mr. Anderson, the Family Financial Management Center has already taken care of it. John, the man in charge, has called Mr. Scott, the head of the Oceanbridge City Health Department," Xavier said.
"Has Mr. Wilson been transferred?" he asked.
"Yes. Thanks, Xavier," Noah said calmly.
"Don't mention it," Xavier responded.
After hanging up, Noah returned to the ward.
"Dad's awake!"
Suddenly, Sarah exclaimed.
Everyone looked over. Daniel slowly opened his eyes and came to himself, still looking a bit weak.
"Dad, how are you feeling?" Sarah asked.
Everyone gathered around his bed with concern.
"Fine. My chest hurts a bit, though." Daniel coughed. "I remember being at home enjoying the hookah Larry gave me, and somehow, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. Then I passed out."
"Dad, you know you have a weak heart. Try not to smoke, OK?" Lisa said.
"We're glad to see you awake, Daniel." Everyone was relieved.
Sarah said, "Dad, Larry got you transferred here. And the second you were here, you woke up!"
Someone echoed, "Indeed. After all, the environment here is different. That ordinary ward was so noisy!"
"And the air there sucked, too!"
"I'm in an advanced ward? What's going on?" Daniel asked, curious.
Sarah told him everything that had happened.
Daniel was silent for a while. Then he suddenly looked at Noah and sneered.
"I thought you were a total loser. Surprisingly, you covered 16 thousand dollars for my medical bills.
"I appreciate the gesture, though I'm sure the money belongs to Lisa. Well, no matter what, I'll pay you the money back."
His eyes softened as he turned to Larry. Then he smiled warmly, "Larry, thanks. If it weren't for you, I might not have woken up at all."
"Daniel, don't say that. We're family, right?" Larry grinned.
Daniel nodded. "Alright, guys. I wanna take a nap."
"Sure." Everyone nodded and left for fear of disturbing him.
Everyone respectfully left not wanting to bother Daniel.
"Mr. Crichton, here are the findings on the cause of the patient's condition." A doctor came over, handing a report to Larry with a smile.
Robert had instructed everyone in the hospital that Larry was friends with James, and that they must treat Larry with respect.
Taking the report, Larry saw the cause, and his eyes flickered.
The doctor said, "We think the patient has inhaled moldy substances, and his heart wasn't in a good condition to begin with, ergo his heart attack. Also, we found traces of tobacco in his mouth.
"Chances are, he smoked moldy tobacco, so he had a heart attack."
"Moldy tobacco?"
Larry realized something at once. Daniel must have been using the hookah he had given to him. The tobacco was moldy, leading to Daniel's heart attack.
He thought, 'No one else can know about this, or I'll be utterly humiliated.'
Then he stuffed the report in his briefcase calmly, smiling, "Thanks."
"It's what we should do," the doctor smiled, too.
Then Larry turned to the others and said, "Now that Daniel is awake, we may take a break. Luckily, I don't have many things to do these days, so I can leave work with my subordinates and stay here to take care of Daniel."
"Larry, you're such a stand-up guy!"
"You'll take a day off to take care of Daniel? It'll cost you a lot of salary!"
"You can't put a price on family affection. Obviously, Larry values family more than anything."
"Compared to him, Noah is such a coward. See? He hasn't uttered a word yet."
Everyone praised Larry while judging Noah.
Now that Larry offered to stay here to look after Daniel, Noah didn't have much objection. He walked out of the hospital together with Lisa, ready to take a taxi home.
Noah glanced at his watch and saw that it was already well past 7 p.m.
"Lisa?"
Just as they reached the hospital door, someone called out with uncertainty.
Noah looked over and saw a black Audi A4L pulling over, and then a man poked his head out of the window.
The man had a sophisticated haircut, fair complexion, a sunny and handsome demeanor, dressed in a designer Versace suit, oozing wealth. Also, he had a very sleek figure under his suit. Apparently, he worked out a lot.
Guys like him were attractive to any woman regardless of their age.
"Michael?"
Looking at him, Lisa tried to recall and then blurted out.
Michael Mill was surprised. He said, "Yes! It's me! I can't believe I ran into you here, Lisa!"
In the next second, he saw Noah standing next to Lisa and frowned slightly.
Michael thought, 'Who is he? He looks a bit thin and weak. Though something about him is special, I think the clothes he's wearing are worth just a dozen bucks.
'How come a guy like him is standing next to Lisa?'
"Lisa, this is..."
Michael deadpanned while looking at Noah, hostility in his eyes.
"This is my husband, Noah." Lisa took Noah's arm, and they looked intimate.
"You ... got married?" Michael froze.
"Yes," Lisa said concisely.
"Congratulations."
Michael came back to his senses and smiled, "I was abroad for a year, and you're already married. You know, I was gonna continue to woo you... Hi, Noah. Mind telling me where you work?"
"I don't have a job," Noah said honestly.
"You don't have a job?" Michael was slack-jawed for a second, and then he chuckled, saying, "I admire you, Noah. You've got a family, and you have no trouble being jobless while living off others."
There was contempt in his eyes.
Lisa retorted right away, "Watch your mouth, Michael. Noah is my husband, and I'm happy to provide for him. Besides, it's our business, not yours."
"My apologies, Lisa. I was out of line," Michael smiled apologetically whereas the contempt in his eyes grew stronger.
He continued, "Lisa, I was abroad for a year studying business management. I'm back now, thinking of starting my own company. I came here to talk business with the director..."
"Not interested," Lisa cut him off flatly.
"Fine."
Disappointed, Michael offered, "You guys heading home? I'll give you a lift."
He looked at the passenger seat and then at Lisa, ignoring Noah completely.
Michael was unaware that the Noah he looked down upon was someone he should be looking up to—a person of great importance. With just a command from Noah, Michael and his family could face a devastating blow, perhaps even vanishment.
In Noah's eyes, Michael's power was negligible; he did not consider Michael worthy of his attention. However, Noah was curious to see what Lisa would do.
