CHAPTER 194: CHAPTER 194: HIS SENSE OF MORALITY

Rhiannon was assigned to the Pediatrics Department, Ward One.

She wore a brand-new nurse’s uniform, and the words "Intern Nurse" were particularly eye-catching on her badge.

She was eager, ready to prove that she wasn’t here to coast along like a pampered princess.

After the morning shift handover, the nurses started getting busy.

Hanging IVs, changing medication, measuring temperature and blood pressure, recording medical histories... everyone moved at a fast pace.

Rhiannon proactively approached a nurse who was preparing medication.

"Ms. Shaw, is there anything I can help with? I can learn to prepare medication."

Nurse Shaw looked up at her, squeezing out a polite smile.

"No need, no need, Ford, you’re new. Just get familiar with the environment first. These meds are a bit complex, I’ll handle it."

Rhiannon was tactfully rejected, and walked away somewhat awkwardly. She then saw another nurse pushing a treatment cart toward a patient room and quickly followed.

"Miss Wright, can I help you push the cart? Or is there anything you need?"

Nurse Wright waved her hands continuously: "Oh no, no need, Ford, you just rest. I can handle this myself, it’ll be quick."

After hitting several soft nails, Rhiannon felt a bit frustrated.

She saw a nurse giving an injection to a crying child, with the parent holding the child down. The scene was a bit chaotic, and she thought they would need a helping hand.

But as soon as she got close, the head nurse stopped her with a look, signaling her not to make trouble.

By the end of the morning, Rhiannon found herself completely unable to join in.

The colleagues seemed to have an unspoken understanding, and all the work avoided her.

She felt like an invisible person, only able to sit idly in a chair at the nurse’s station, watching others working tirelessly while she had nothing to do.

At first, she thought the Pediatrics Department was particularly relaxed today.

But seeing her colleagues constantly answering phones, running back and forth, and dealing with endless medical orders and records...

She gradually felt that something was not right.

At noon, while having lunch in the cafeteria, she overheard two nurses from Pediatrics at the next table complaining in low voices.

"I’m exhausted, haven’t had a moment’s rest all morning, feels like I’m flying through the air."

"Me too, we just admitted several pneumonia cases, the crying is earth-shattering, my ears are still ringing."

Rhiannon couldn’t help but interject: "Miss Lawson, Miss Lewis, I see you all were really busy this morning. Why didn’t anyone ask me for help? I’m just idle anyway."

The two nurses looked at her, appeared a bit awkward, glanced at each other, and laughed it off.

"Ah, well, Ford, you’re a newcomer, take it slow, no rush..."

Rhiannon felt even more puzzled.

After lunch, she went directly to the head nurse of Pediatrics.

"Head Nurse, why is no one letting me work?"

"I know I’m new, but there must be a learning process, right? Sitting idle like this, I can’t learn anything."

Rhiannon spoke with a tone of grievance and confusion.

The head nurse looked at her, sighed, and spoke somewhat helplessly.

"Ford, I’m not going to hide it from you."

"Everyone knows you are Dean Ford’s daughter."

"If we use you, we’re afraid you’ll strain yourself. If something goes wrong, we can’t bear the responsibility."

"If we don’t use you, you feel isolated, which makes it awkward for us."

Rhiannon was stunned, she hadn’t anticipated this to be the reason.

She quickly said: "Head Nurse, I’m here for the internship to learn things. I’m not afraid of hard work or making mistakes. Please tell everyone, just let me do whatever necessary, no need to worry about my dad."

The head nurse shook her head.

"It won’t make a difference even if I tell them, everyone has their concerns."

She paused, looked at Rhiannon, and made a suggestion.

"How about... I transfer you to another department and see how it goes?"

"There’s a shortage in the Psychiatry Department recently, especially under Doctor Sterling. He’s always been strict with interns, focusing only on ability, not background. If you go there, no one will dare to treat you specially."

"Psychiatry? Simon Sterling?"

Upon hearing, Rhiannon shook her head vigorously.

"No, no, I don’t want to work under him."

Thinking of Simon Sterling’s cold face and his disdainful look regarding her going to the Psychiatry Department made her uncomfortable all over.

"Then I have no solution either," the head nurse spread her hands, "if you stay in Pediatrics, I’m afraid it’ll remain this way."

Rhiannon dejectedly returned to the Pediatrics nurse’s station, continuing her idle afternoon.

Sitting in the chair, she watched her busy colleagues, feeling like an unnecessary ornament, overwhelmed with frustration.

Just then, she saw a mother and daughter walking over from the registration area.

The mother exuded a cool temperament, holding a little girl about four or five years old, who looked exceptionally cute.

Rhiannon’s eyes lit up.

Isn’t this the woman Simon Sterling was waiting for downstairs that night?

She immediately bounced up from the chair, a warm smile on her face, and quickly approached them.

"Hello! Are you here for a check-up? Which doctor did you register with?"

Jean Ellison, seeing the enthusiastic nurse approach suddenly, paused momentarily but then politely replied.

"Hello, we registered with Director Lewis, my child has a bit of a cough."

"Director Lewis’s office is this way, I’ll take you there."

Without waiting for a response, Rhiannon took the lead, guiding them ahead, her attitude exceptionally courteous.

As she walked, she secretly observed Jean Ellison and Jesse.

This woman was indeed very beautiful, with a uniquely cool and refined aura.

The little girl in her arms was also extraordinarily well-behaved and adorable, looking at her with big curious eyes.

"Please watch your step, it’s slippery here."

Rhiannon opened the door to the examination room and stepped aside to let Jean Ellison and Jesse enter.

"Thank you, Nurse."

Jean Ellison thanked her.

"You’re welcome, it’s my duty!"

Rhiannon Ford smiled even brighter, squatting down to look at Jesse, speaking in an exaggerated tone.

"Wow, little one, you’re really cute."

Jesse shyly hid behind his mother.

Rhiannon stood up and casually asked Jean Ellison.

"Didn’t the child’s father come with you? It would be better if both parents could accompany the child when they’re sick."

The smile on Jean Ellison’s face faded slightly, and she replied calmly, "The child’s father is working abroad and can’t come back for now."

"Oh... I see."

Rhiannon nodded in sudden understanding, but her heart was churning rapidly.

The child’s father is abroad, so it’s not Simon Sterling’s child?

Then... that night when Simon Sterling was waiting bitterly downstairs at her house, wasn’t it...

Rhiannon instantly sketched out a dramatic story in her mind about a "devoted man waiting endlessly for a married love interest."

She couldn’t help but click her tongue twice in her mind, thinking that Simon Sterling, with his righteous and stern demeanor, could actually be involved in someone else’s family as a third party in private.

This discovery made her perception of Simon Sterling more complicated, apart from finding him rigid and annoying, she somehow felt a hint of disdain?

Or some other emotion she couldn’t quite articulate.

Watching the back of Jean Ellison holding Jesse’s hand as they walked into the clinic, she pursed her lips and thought to herself.

Simon Sterling, oh Simon Sterling, you have good taste, but unfortunately, she already belongs to someone else.

Doesn’t this make you hypocritical?

At noon, the hospital cafeteria was bustling and noisy.

Rhiannon carried her tray of food, scanning the crowded cafeteria for an empty seat.

Soon, she spotted a familiar figure.

Simon Sterling was sitting alone at a four-person table by the window, quietly eating his meal.

He was wearing a white coat, with a neatly pressed light blue shirt underneath, and even in the bustling cafeteria, he seemed to exude a cold aura that kept others at a distance.

Several young nurses and female doctors passing by couldn’t help but steal glances at him, their eyes filled with undisguised admiration and affection, but no one dared to approach him.

Rhiannon pursed her lips, huffed internally at his act of pretense, and walked straight over.

Unceremoniously, she placed her tray in the opposite empty seat from Simon Sterling and sat down heavily.

Simon Sterling looked up at her, showing no emotion, merely continuing to eat his meal as if she didn’t exist.

But Rhiannon wasn’t planning to let him have a quiet meal.

She stirred the soup in her bowl with a spoon.

"Doctor Sterling, eating alone?"

Simon Sterling paused for a moment while picking up his food but didn’t reply.

Seeing his indifference, Rhiannon grew more aggressive, leaning forward and lowering her voice, but with a more pronounced sarcastic tone.

"What’s it like being a third party, exciting, huh?"

Simon Sterling finally put down his chopsticks.

He looked up, his gaze calm as he looked at Rhiannon, his voice deep and warning.

"Rhiannon Ford, mind your words, don’t spout nonsense here."

"I’m spouting nonsense?"

Rhiannon acted as if she had heard a joke.

"I saw it with my own eyes this morning, that woman, bringing her daughter to our pediatrics department, clearly said so herself, the child’s father is abroad."

"Doctor Sterling, is your persistence in pursuing a married woman fitting with such low moral standards? If word gets out, wouldn’t it negatively impact the hospital?"

The more she spoke, the more she felt she was in the right, raising her chin slightly like a victor who had caught someone red-handed.

Simon Sterling looked at her foolishly confident face, his gaze turning completely cold.

He didn’t get angry, even a near-mocking smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

He picked up a napkin from beside him, leisurely wiped the corners of his mouth, then stood up, picking up the meal tray he hadn’t finished yet.

He looked down at Rhiannon.

"Rhiannon Ford, whether my moral standards are high or low, let’s not discuss it for now."

"But at least, it won’t make me wear tinted glasses to discriminate against any patient."

With that, he didn’t look at her again, holding his tray, he turned and walked straight towards the utensil return area, leaving behind a cold and resolute figure.

Rhiannon remained in her previously slightly provocative posture, frozen in her seat.

Simon Sterling’s last words echoed repeatedly in her mind.

Discriminate against patients?

Was he implying she discriminated against psychiatric patients?

Rhiannon suddenly realized, her face turning pale and flushed in an instant.

Indeed, in the morning she had refused to go to the psychiatry department and carelessly said something about it being full of mentally disturbed people.

So Simon Sterling was using those words to shut her up.

He wasn’t even bothered to clarify his relationship with that Jean Ellison, instead, he grasped her slip and counterattacked her.

She suddenly lifted her head, glaring fiercely around her.

Sure enough, several nurses at nearby tables were secretly watching her, their eyes filled with curiosity and whispered discussions.

"What are you looking at, never seen someone eat?"

Rhiannon slammed the table forcefully, shouting sharply.

The nurses were startled, quickly lowered their heads, and hurriedly shoveled food into their mouths, not daring to look her way again.

Looking at the timid and evasive gazes around her, the anger within Rhiannon didn’t fade at all.

She looked towards the direction where Simon Sterling had disappeared, stabbing at the food on her plate as if it were Simon Sterling’s hateful face.

That rigid, annoying, sharp-tongued old man.

I’m not done with him.