"Do we really need this many ingredients?" Luke furrowed his brows. Even though it was Aunt Neile who went shopping, it was Luca who would be doing all the seasoning.

Each ingredient required different handling, and Luke was worried that Luca would end up too busy and exhausted.

"Yes, the more variety there is, the happier the kids will be when they eat," replied Luca. She deeply understood this point.

Back when her family was struggling financially, it did not matter how much or little food there was as long as there were a variety of choices. It was a great experience even if the food was just what the grown-ups deemed as junk food.

She would always find happiness in it, even if she could not eat to her heart's content.

Hence, one should enjoy it to the fullest when enjoying food.

The prerequisite for that was having a wide variety.

As Luke listened to what Luca said, he chuckled and shook his head. "You'll tire yourself out with so much to do."

"If we promise something to the kids, we can't just brush it off, right? With this many ingredients, they'll enjoy their meal, and we'll be happy too. There’s no need to worry about me getting tired, especially with Aunt Neile's help.

"And the kids said they'd help out as well,” said Luca. Even though she did not expect the kids to be of much help, their willingness warmed her heart.

"Yes, that's true. They're truly fortunate," replied Luke. They were fortunate to have a mother who doted on them so much.

Luca looked at the mirror. That way, she could see Luke beside her.

His hand was resting on her shoulder.

She smiled and patted his hand. "I'm happy to have you too."

"I'm happy too," replied Luke. He bent down to plant a kiss on her forehead.

Luca smiled blissfully.

The following day, Luca got up and went to work as usual, unaware that a storm had stirred up in the hospital. Pierre was making a fuss because of her.

Pierre stared at Johann, who was busy writing his medical records.

Johann seemed to have not heard anything about the issue Pierre had raised earlier and said nothing about it.

"Dr. Park, acting like you don't know anything isn't your style," said Pierre as he clenched his teeth. He was a member of the Mallory family. He could afford the medical expenses and even provide Johann with whatever resources he wanted.

However, Johann's attitude toward Luke and Percy was vastly different from his attitude toward himself.

Pierre believed that Johann's behavior like this was simply disrespectful!

That was why it only made him more dissatisfied.

If it were not for the fact that there were no doctors in A City as competent as Johann, he would have replaced him by now!

"Mr. Pierre, what did you just say?" Johann was indeed playing dumb. After all, he could not answer Pierre. "I'm focusing on writing your medical records. I didn't catch what you said."

"I said, can Luca perform dry needling on my leg and cure it?" asked Pierre.

"What? Dr. Craw knows how to perform dry needling? Why didn't I know about this?" Johann could only pretend to be clueless about it. He also wondered about Luca's feud with Pierre. Even if Luca was truly talented, what did it have to do with Pierre?

She definitely would not agree to treat him.

Still, what frustrated Johann the most was how Pierre found out.

Considering Luke's stance, Percy probably would not mention this matter...

"Don't play dumb with me here. I know everything. She did dry needling for someone before, and that person was the one Percy asked you to do surgery for. You're telling me you don't know? Do you think I'm a fool?" asked Pierre. Early this morning, he received a call from Karen.

She mentioned that she talked to Luca yesterday, but Luca refused to help him.

When he heard that Luca refused, Pierre felt like it was equivalent to declaring that his leg would never recover to normal again.

He could not accept such a result.

He even believed that Karen’s past conflicts with Luke and Luca were the reason for Luca's refusal. Hence, he planned to approach the situation from multiple angles, persuading others to lobby on his

behalf to convince Luca to agree to treat him.

The worst-case scenario would be getting Karen to help him kidnap Luca.

Nevertheless, there was still hope. As long as these people could help, there would be hope. That was why he wanted Johann to help persuade her.

They said physicians were like their patients' parents. He believed Johann would definitely help him. Still, Pierre did not expect that as soon as he mentioned it, Johann would play dumb here!

It drove him mad!

"Really?" Johann continued to play dumb. At the same time, he was thinking that he had to find out who leaked this information.

If it was someone from the hospital staff, there was no need to keep that person around. He would suggest dismissing them to the hospital director.

After all, spreading such things violated the professional ethics of medical staff.

"Don't play dumb here. You're my attending physician. You must help me!" Pierre's attitude was very domineering.

"I'm not playing dumb, I just don't remember this matter. How about this? Let me first verify this matter. You know, I have a lot of work to do, and I'm busy. Helping with surgeries is a common occurrence.

"Like your leg, it was your brother who asked me to help with the treatment too. But once the surgeries are successful, I'll hand them over to other doctors to follow up, and I won't continue to oversee the case myself.

"So, I truly have no idea what you're talking about." Johann could only make up various excuses to play dumb while secretly cursing the person who leaked the information.

"Johann Park!" Pierre clenched his teeth as he called out his name.

The smile on Johann's face disappeared at once.

He glanced at the intern beside him and instructed, "Leave, and close the door."

The intern glanced at Johann and felt a cold shiver running down his spine. He had been interning with Johann for so long, but he had never seen such an expression on Johann's face before.

Normally, Johann greeted everyone with a smile. Even when patients were critically ill and needed surgery, he would calmly tell the doctors around him to stay calm and that it was not a big deal. He assured them that they could help the patient get through it.

Even when Johann was reluctant to bring the intern around and might go around wearing a sour expression, he would not have this look on his face. He looked serious, intimidating even.

"Yes." The intern dared not to linger. He went straight out of the ward and closed the door behind him.

Only Johann and Pierre were left in the ward.

Pierre could only semi-recline. He looked up at Johann, who was next to the bed.

He suddenly felt a little panicked when he saw Johann's expression.

Why did it feel like Johann was going to beat him up?

Pierre was well aware of his own physical condition at the moment. If Johann were to decide to throw a punch at him, he definitely would not stand a chance of fighting back.

However, doctors were not allowed to hit patients. If Johann really did beat him, no matter how skilled a doctor he was, his career would be over.

Unless Johann did not want to be a doctor in A City anymore.

However, Johann returned to A City despite many hospitals abroad offering him opportunities, which meant he wanted to be a doctor in A City. Otherwise, he would not have come back. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

At the thought of this, Pierre was not as scared as he was just now. His eyes met Johann's dark and ominous gaze. "What, you're gonna hit me? Don't you wanna be a doctor anymore?"