The next morning, at the epidemic prevention hospital, Sebastian is being attended to by a nurse. He gazes at the approaching Victoria in a daze, his brain seemingly frozen for a solid two seconds, "Patrick won't be coming back, will he?" He already notices the breakfast in Victoria's hands.
He listens to advice from the doctor and nurse after the vaccination to prevent any complications. After he is injected, Patrick said he'd go get breakfast, but he vanishes without a trace. A few minutes later, Victoria shows up with breakfast in hand.
Her guilty expression is obvious to anyone, revealing the purpose of her visit.
"I'm really sorry for intruding, President Vanderbilt," Victoria says with a slight bow, then proceeds to set up a table in the ward and lays out the breakfast she brought.
"I'm curious, how did you persuade Pat?" Sebastian asks with intrigue.
"Mr. Anchor is actually quite nice." Victoria places a spoon and fork in front of Sebastian, relieved to see that he doesn't show any distaste, and says with a light laugh, "He immediately agreed after I mentioned I wanted to take care of you."
"How much did you pay him?" Sebastian suddenly interjects.
"Two thousand," Victoria blurts out instinctively, then quickly halts herself but it's too late; she can only look at Sebastian with innocent eyes.
"Damn," Sebastian curses under his breath.
"Please don't be angry, Mr. Vanderbilt. Actually, it was because I kept insisting on repaying you." Victoria tries to defend Patrick.
"What I mean is, when will Patrick finally grow up a bit?" Sebastian says earnestly, "He knows I am relying on him to run my business well, yet he did not make a bargain?"
He continues indignantly, "Am I only worth two thousand?"
"What?" Victoria is momentarily taken aback, not fully grasping the situation. Soon after, she smiles and says, "Mr. Vanderbilt, you really have a sense of humor."
"I am sorry? Humor, you said?"
"So you must be pleased?"
"I've said it before, I'm actually quite a decent person," Sebastian boasts about himself.
"You really are a good person," Victoria nods, adding, "Actually, when I was at the door earlier, I was worried..."
"Worried about what? Harsh words or sarcasm?" "You're quite interesting, you know. Fully aware that there won't be a good outcome, yet you still insist on doing something that brings you no benefit," Sebastian says with a hint of a smile on his lips.
"But there is a benefit!"
"What benefit?"
"At least after my arrival, things seem a bit more comfortable here." Victoria says, lightly touching her chest to explain.
Sebastian blinks and jokingly retorts, "Aha, selfish person!"
Victoria bows her head slightly, hiding the subtle look of apology in her eyes.
Maybe it seems selfish from Sebastian's perspective. As the 'wronged' party and the 'benefactor,' coming from a wealthy background and leading a fulfilled life, he doesn't need anyone's superfluous actions. To him, Victoria's insistence is a stubborn move to ease her own mind, imposing on him. A simple 'selfish' had succinctly expressed everything very clearly.
From Victoria's point of view— She thinks it is selfish, too. She knows what she is doing, which is why she doesn't retort.
The miracle is— He understands what she insists on. And she gets his feeling precisely at the same time.
Sebastian looks at Victoria's expression, slightly astonished. He hadn't expected seventeen-year-old Victoria to grasp the meaning behind his words. Eyes can reflect many inner thoughts. From his perspective, only if Victoria truly understood would she react this way. It was an oddly wonderful feeling, like two frequencies aligning perfectly.
"Now I understand why you had such a misunderstanding before," Sebastian teases with a laugh.
"Why?" Victoria looks up at him.
"Actually, now I think about it, having a beautiful girl around only to show off, like my two cousins usually do. She would indeed seem cheap even if she actually hadn't done anything," Sebastian says with a laugh.
"You seem quite adept at putting himself in others' shoes," Victoria responds, her eyes sparkling with a hint of amusement. No matter what, being liked rather than disliked is certainly something to be happy about.
"People always need various reasons to make their lives more enjoyable, right?" Sebastian says. He thinks for a moment and then says with a laugh, "Right, life is like a situation you can't control—if you can't resist, then try to enjoy it as much as possible."
He then raises his dripping hand, a bit helplessly, "And clearly, I'm in a situation where I can't resist."
Victoria can't help but laugh at his remark, "Has Mr. Vanderbilt always been this humorous?"
"No, sometimes I can be pretty sarcastic," Sebastian admits.
"What?"
"Just like now. Me raising my hand wasn't just to agree with that saying, it was also to remind you that I can't use a fork with this hand," Sebastian says sincerely.
"Ah, I'm sorry, I forgot about that," Victoria pauses and apologizes.
"Taking care of someone isn't just talk, right?" Sebastian says with a nonchalant smile.
"Of course not."
"I hope not." Sebastian clumsily picks up a spoon with his left hand and takes a sip of the pumpkin soup.
Victoria picks up the fork and offers him a piece of greens, which he accepts.
"Also some grilled bacon, please," Sebastian indicates, and Victoria complies.
Seven minutes later, "I'm full." Sebastian rubs his stomach and then takes down the food, handing it to Victoria, "Let's go for a walk outside."
"Now you really take me as your babysitter?" Victoria follows behind Sebastian, perplexed. The two make their way to the hospital's garden. Flowers bloom vibrantly, and the grass is lush and green, filling the air with a rich fragrance.
"Isn't this a bit improper?" Victoria asks with concern, glancing at the bandage on his hand.
"According to science, walking after a meal can extend a person's life by about two years," Sebastian explains.
"I don't think I've seen such news," Victoria replies, puzzled.
"That's because I made it up," Sebastian admits outright.
"I really can't—" Victoria starts laughing involuntarily, as she realizes that she is more easily amused by Sebastian than ever.
Fifteen minutes later when they get back in the medical room, Sebastian says to Victoria, "Congratulations, Victoria, I hereby declare that you don't owe me anything anymore."
As he speaks, Victoria bites her lower lip with a complex expression, "So, Mr. President, you still have some dissatisfaction, don't you?"
Sebastian finds the scrutiny slightly unnerving. Indeed, debts of gratitude are the most difficult to deal with, for both parties involved. "I don't like being troubled," Sebastian states earnestly.
"I won't be a bother to you, Mr. President," Victoria answers with determination in her eyes.
"Do we really have to do this?" Seeing Victoria's expression, Sebastian feels a headache coming on. After a moment of thought, he suggests, "How about this, you be my secretary for three days. After that, we'll be even. Is that acceptable?"
Sebastian is serious. Rather than being caught off-guard by an unforeseen nuisance, it is better to have everything under his control.
Three days? He thinks that should be nothing out of his control.