Chapter 794
Tristan said, “There’ll always be something to be busy about as long as we live. Didn’t you say Dr. Smith isn’t feeling well? I’ll visit him with you two.”
“Okay,” replied Sophie.
Both of them then went to pick Arius up. When he saw Tristan, he complained, “Why do you seem to be everywhere, Mr. Tristan? We’re just visiting our teacher, so why are you joining us?”
One of the reasons they were visiting Barney was because it was Christmas.
While Barney might be a foreigner, he was, at that moment, in Chanaea. Hence, they thought they should follow the customs.
Tristan didn’t want to pay attention to him. “Why should I tell you? Does that have anything to do with you?”
Arius’ emotional defense was weak, which was why Tristan’s words easily wounded his heart. I want to complain about him to Sophie!
Tristan had already prepared Barney’s present, which was ten bottles of aged red wine because he knew the latter loved them.
When Arius transferred his gift to the trunk, he saw Tristan’s present and felt emotionally injured again. Compared to Mr. Tristan’s present, mine is way too mundane! I wonder if Dr. Smith will like it. No, stop thinking about it. You’re not his opponent, so don’t torture yourself by comparing your gift to his. It’s pointless to do this. Just calm down.
Still, he couldn’t resist muttering gloomily, “I think my gift is a little shabby, Sophie.”
“It is a little shabby,” stated Sophie honestly.
Her words rendered him speechless. Can’t she comfort me a little? Does she have to be this straightforward?
“Although, it’s the intent of a gift that counts. Dr. Smith is an accomplished man, so he likely can get everything he wants.” In the end, she still offered him words of comfort.
“True. Dr. Smith probably does have everything he wants. What I’m gifting him with is my appreciation for him.”
The trio then went to Barney’s mansion. At that moment, Barney was living in the mansion with his family for convenience’s sake.
Barney beamed as he welcomed his guests. Because he was a doctor, he knew his body wasn’t in too much trouble.
Still, he was elated to see his mentees visiting him. “Stay for dinner with us. Chanaeans have a tradition of having a reunion dinner during Christmas, right?”
Naturally, Sophie and Arius accepted their mentor’s invitation.
“What about you, Mr. Tristan? Care to join us for a meal?” Barney asked because he knew Tristan was a busy man.
“Yes,” answered Tristan. He had already sorted out any urgent issues during the morning so he could spend time with Sophie in the afternoon.
Barney’s wife went to prepare dinner with a housekeeper while the four of them sat around and chatted with each other.
Most of the time, however, it was just Barney, Arius, and Sophie speaking about the medical association.
Tristan wasn’t familiar with anything related to that, so he could only passively listen to the conversation. After a while, Barney and Arius headed to the study to grab a document, leaving the couple in the living room.
“Do you think it’s boring listening to us talking about this stuff?” Sophie asked. He was quiet the entire time.
“Not really! I don’t get bored easily, even though I don’t understand what you’re discussing with them.” Since it was apparent he didn’t know a thing about medicine, he didn’t feel compelled to pretend he did.
“That’s good. I was worried you’d get bored.” Sophie smiled. When Arius and Dr. Smith are around each other, they’ll only talk about problems with the medical association. It’s what Dr. Smith cares the most about.
Holding her hand, Tristan assured her, “No need to worry about me. I’m very adaptable. Also, you don’t know this, but you look absolutely stunning when discussing those matters.” No matter what, she always does things well and looks good while doing it. It doesn’t matter if other people like her because she belongs only to me. No one else can have her. She’ll always be my woman.
When Barney descended the stairs with Arius and saw how sweet the couple appeared, he couldn’t help but comment, “Now that you have personal time here, you should go on dates and look for a girlfriend, Arius. It’s quite pitiful to see you all alone.”
For a moment, Arius wasn’t sure how to respond, but then he said, “I’m not pitiful, Dr. Smith. In fact, I think I’m living a good life right now! I don’t have anything tying me down. Being single has its perks.”
“Why are you always so stubborn? I’m being serious, you know. Say, Georgina is a pretty nice gal, and you have common topics to talk to her about. You should consider going on a date with her!”
Arius fell into silence again. Georgina, eh? She’s pretty, and we do have things to chat about, but I don’t think I want to get any closer to her. I don’t want to hurt her since I’m used to being alone.
Moments later, Barney handed the document to Sophie. “We won’t be in a good position if we can’t complete the research on the new virus before the International Medical Association does!” Even though we’re in Chanaea right now and those people can’t do anything to us, if we fail to produce any results, our situation will become precarious.
“Don’t worry, Dr. Smith! With Arius and I around, we’ll definitely succeed before they do. Everything’s under my control,” promised Sophie because she didn’t want him worrying about that while feeling unwell.
Arius added, “Yeah! There’s no need for you to be concerned, Dr. Smith. Even if we can’t succeed, they can’t do anything to us! So, as I said, you don’t need to worry about it.”
In response, Barney said, “I’m not worried about myself. You two are the ones I’m concerned about. Both of you are very talented. I don’t want to become the reason you two can’t—”
Immediately, Sophie interrupted, “Don’t say that, Dr. Smith! It was my decision to return to Chanaea. It has nothing to do with you.” He really shouldn’t bear all the problems on his shoulders. It’ll wear him out.
“If there’s anything I can help with, please let me know. Lombard Group is willing to invest in medical research,” offered Tristan because he was aware of how costly medical research could get, and he had a lot of money to spare.
Upon listening to their responses, Barney smiled. True! While things aren’t great right now, so what? Arius and Sophie are geniuses. There’s no problem they can’t solve when working together. “I can rest assured that the medical association will be in you two’s good hands.”
Arius immediately rejected, “I don’t want the medical association.” I can do research, but I’m incapable of managing such a massive medical association. Management isn’t a skill I possess.
