Chapter 16: Noah, Who Loves to Show Off
"Mr. Dunbar, please. You're embarrassing me."
Larry smiled, thinking, 'How weird. Mr. Dunbar is the director of Royalty Hospital, Oceanbridge City's largest. People are waiting in line for his help.
'Why is he buttering me up?
'Is it really because of Mr. Locke?'
"I'm just glad that Mr. Wilson is getting better," Robert smiled fawningly. "He has just recovered and needs some nourishment. Wait... What's this?"
He suddenly saw the box in the trashcan, and his eyes lit up. Looking surprised and puzzled, he thought of something.
"Nothing. Just a gift. I didn't fancy it, so I tossed it," Daniel smiled while furious deep down.
He thought, 'Damn Noah! He embarrassed me in front of my relatives, and now Mr. Dunbar sees it? Fuck me!'
His relatives all looked at Noah coldly.
"Mr. Wilson... Mind if I take a look?"
Robert couldn't look away from the box at all. Rubbing his hands, he felt a bit uneasy.
"What? Well... Sure." Daniel was stunned for a second. "Larry, pick it up for Mr. Dunbar."
"Wait! I can do it myself. No need to trouble Mr. Crichton at all."
Robert waved his hands, picked up the gift box hurriedly, and examined it meticulously.
Then he asked, "Mr. Wilson, can I open it?"
"Sure," Daniel smiled.
Being permitted, Robert deftly unwrapped the package and took a closer look at the two capsules of Omega-3 fish oil inside.
In the next second, he gasped, unable to believe his eyes.
"Gosh! There's such a high-quality Omega-3 fish oil domestically? I had no idea!"
"What?"
The others were stunned.
Daniel was the first to react, asking curiously, "What makes you so excited, Mr. Dunbar? It's just Omega-3 fish oil, right?
"It's everywhere on the market and is practically worthless especially compared to the ginseng Larry got me. The ginseng cost him almost a thousand dollars!"
Hearing that, Robert sighed, "Mr. Wilson, there's something you don't know. In fact, this is not just some Omega-3 fish oil. It's the unique Omega-3 fish oil only produced in Snow Land. Compared to it, the fish oil we have domestically is simply trash!"
"Are you serious?" The others were slack-jawed.
"Of course!"
Robert nodded. "A couple of years ago, a governor was admitted to our hospital, and one of his staff gave the same kind of Omega-3 fish oil to him back then. I especially looked it up.
"It costs about 1,600 dollars per capsule."
"1,600 dollars? That's not much, right? Larry spent almost as much on the ginseng." Sarah curled up her lips. Though she said so, on no ground would she spend 1,600 dollars on a capsule of Omega-3 fish oil.
Glancing at her, Robert said, "There're 2 capsules inside, plus the packaging, air freight, customs, and other fees, I think it's about 6,000 dollars in total."
"6,000 dollars?"
Sarah was slack-jawed, finding it hard to believe. She thought, '6,000 dollars? For 2 capsules of some fish oil?'
"Mr. Dunbar, you must be joking!"
Similar to her, Daniel was also dumbfounded. He thought, 'I believe Larry will spend this much on 2 capsules of Omega-3 fish oil.
'But ... Noah? How could he afford 6,000 dollars? Unbelievable!'
"I'm not," Robert said seriously. "I know a thing or two about healthcare products, and I'm sure it's genuine."
Hearing his words, Sarah thought, 'How surprising! If I weren't here, I wouldn't have believed that Noah would spend 6,000 dollars for Dad's gift!'
Glancing at Noah, she suddenly felt something wrong. She thought, 'That can't be. He doesn't even have a job. How could he have this kind of money? I bet it's Lisa's money. She gave it to Noah to get Dad the fish oil so that Noah could look good!
'Fuck me! Lisa took out 16 thousand dollars last time, and I thought she wouldn't have any money left after that. To my surprise, she still got 6,000 dollars. Seems she's rich. She's such a liar! You told me you couldn't even afford to take a bus back then after helping me? What a load of crap!
'She's so selfish!' The more she thought, the more she resented Lisa.
Meanwhile, Robert turned to Larry, looking impressive. "Mr. Crichton, you're so rich and generous. I'm impressed by the precious Omega-3 fish oil you got for Mr. Wilson."
As far as he was concerned, only someone of Larry's stature could afford such a quality health product.
After all, even James, the head of the Oceanbridge City Health Department, did Larry a favor.
Larry said quite embarrassedly, "It's not from me, actually."
Robert was stunned. "Who then?"
Sarah glanced sideways at Noah and said sarcastically, "Our family's live-in son-in-law, of course!
"He spent 6,000 dollars on some fish oil! He's the real rich and generous one here! We're all family, and he gives Dad a present like that? Seems he's obsessed with keeping up with the Joneses!"
"She's right. Noah is practically throwing his money away!"
"He indeed likes to keep up with the Joneses. Nothing beats looking good to him!"
Daniel's relatives agreed with Sarah.
She was encouraged and therefore continued, "Besides, Omega-3 fish oil isn't nutritious at all. It's nothing compared to Larry's ginseng. It may be expensive, but to what good? The ginseng does real good to Dad."
"Ginseng is very nourishing, which is the fact, but it's not for someone recovering from a serious illness like Mr. Wilson. On the contrary, its strong effect may actually hurt him," Robert said.
"On the other hand, the mild nourishment that comes with the Omega-3 fish oil is perfect for Mr. Wilson."
Sarah was choked on his words, and she pulled a long face.
After speaking, Robert looked at Noah.
Noah looked calm and indifferent as if nothing was a problem to him.
Seeing that, Robert then turned to Larry.
The smile on Larry's face grew bigger as he noticed Robert's gaze, and there was a trace of flattery in his smile.
Suddenly, an idea hit Robert.
The second it emerged in his mind, it instantly grew stronger. Robert couldn't help but tremble.
He thought, 'Perhaps...'
He gave Noah another meaningful look.
"Mr. Wilson, several patients are waiting for me. I'm leaving. Take care," he smiled at Daniel.
Daniel smiled back at him, "Sure thing, Mr. Dunbar. See you around."
After walking Robert out of the door, Sarah looked at Noah, snorting.
"Everyone here knows who you are, Noah. No need to pretend to be something else.
"Back then, Lisa claimed that she didn't even have enough money to take a bus after helping us. And now, you've spent that kind of money on a gift? Apparently, Lisa is a big liar. Hats off, Noah. After all, Larry and I can never afford to spend 6,000 dollars on some fish oil!"
Her words were nothing but sarcastic.
One of Daniel's relatives said to her, "You know what, Sarah? I think he wants you and Larry to look bad.
"You're family, yet he's obsessed with keeping up with the Joneses and wants you to be left embarrassed. I bet when he gets rich, he's gonna look down upon all of you!"
