Luna scoffed. Since Wyatt was at odds with Rhett, she was even more determined to get closer to the latter. She tossed her lunchbox in the trash and planned to search for more books on acupuncture.
Ethan, annoyed by her ignoring him, said, “I was talking to you. Didn’t you hear me? You upset Wyatt this morning. Don’t do anything else that’ll upset him further.”
Luna nearly laughed in exasperation. In her past life, she’d never done anything they disliked because she’d cared too much about their opinions and would do anything to please them. But now, she cared only about her own feelings and would only do what pleased herself.
“I’ll leave the materials downstairs for you, Ethan. I’m going upstairs to take a look,” Luna said, barely acknowledging him, giving him a cool glance before heading upstairs. Her indifference stunned him. In all his years of knowing Luna, she’d never looked at him like that. Was she still angry about being forced to apologize that morning? Hadn’t she always cared about Wyatt’s feelings? He was merely reminding her kindly, so why wasn’t she grateful?
With a cold snort, Ethan turned and left the resource center. When Luna returned downstairs with the books, she wasn’t surprised to find the room empty. Ethan had always been selfish. With his mediocre background and abilities, he had to rely on currying favor with Wyatt to remain on the team. Back when she was the team’s youngest, most pampered member and Wyatt favored her, Ethan constantly used her to improve his standing. Even when his failed experiment nearly ruined a project, she’d begged Wyatt and Wilson to let him stay. But when she was framed by Mia and fell out with the team, Ethan was the first to betray her.
Luna scoffed. If Ethan couldn’t handle even the slightest indifference from her, what would he do when she returned every hurtful thing he’d done, one by one? She dismissed Ethan's behavior and left the resource center, unaware that a pair of cold, furious eyes had been watching her.
Ethan had assumed that once he stormed off, Luna would frantically call him to apologize and beg for help. There were a lot of materials in the resource center, and she couldn’t possibly sort them all alone. But to his shock, she didn’t come looking for him at all and simply left. This wasn’t like the Luna he knew. Could this be her true self? Had the obedient, docile lady been merely a facade?
As if he’d discovered a massive secret, Ethan headed to the male dorm. “Just you wait, Luna. I’ll strip away your mask and get justice for Mia!”
Wyatt had suggested Luna apologize to Mia, clearly indicating he cared most about Mia. Therefore, pleasing Mia would also please Wyatt. Ethan had planned to persuade Luna to apologize to Mia to mend things, thus gaining favor with Wyatt from two people. But Luna, oblivious to her own best interests, ignored his advice, so he would show no mercy.
Luna returned to the dorm, stuffed her laptop into her bag, and before leaving, told her roommate, “If anyone comes looking for me, just say I’m sick and went to the hospital.” She then went to the hospital.
Carrying her backpack, Luna headed to the acupuncture department of Velmora’s Holistic Traditional Medicine Hospital, affiliated with their medical school. She’d checked the school’s website and knew Erin Wilder, who taught acupuncture, would be there supervising outpatient training.
However, before reaching the department, she ran into Erin in the hallway. She called out, “Professor Wilder—” but Erin cut her off, saying, “You’re late. Get changed and come with me to the treatment room.”
Luna had heard that final acupuncture trainings were mostly hands-on. Students doing local internships followed professors on outpatient rounds and learned through live cases. Luna didn’t explain herself; she simply followed the others into the changing room. Compared to Wilson, whose practical sessions were followed by dozens of students, Erin’s group seemed sparse; just three interns, including Luna, a man, and a woman.
“Prepare the tools,” Erin said after putting on her mask. Luna, unsure what tools to prepare, quietly assisted the woman, Suzie Hoffman, whose name she’d noticed on her intern ID badge while changing clothes earlier.
“First time here? Which professor recommended you? I don’t recall Professor Wilder saying we’d have a new intern today. What’s your name?” Suzie handed Luna a set of silver needles to disinfect.
Luna glanced at Erin, relieved she wasn’t paying attention. She sighed slightly and said, “Luna Hayes.”
“Luna Hayes? That name sounds familiar. Have we met before?” Suzie gave her a second look. Luna tensed. “Acupuncture is my second major. This is my first time here, and I came out of admiration. I don’t think we’ve met.”
“Is that true? I feel like—” Suzie was interrupted by Erin, who was heading toward the treatment room with disinfected silver needles. “What are you blabbering about? Get in here. Today’s patient has a serious condition, and the acupuncture session will take some time. I want you all to pay attention.”
Suzie stuck her tongue out behind Erin’s back, then grabbed Luna’s arm and whispered, “Don’t be scared. Professor Wilder might seem stern, but she’s actually the nicest of all the professors in the school. You made the right choice picking this major. Since there aren’t many students, fewer get to intern locally. You’ll get hands-on guidance from her. Once your internship ends, you’ll be ready to treat patients independently. By the time you graduate and get a formal position, it’ll be an official physician status. Compared to other majors, where new doctors have to spend a year or two assisting professors, our pay and workload are way better.”
“Hmph!” A disdainful snort interrupted her. It came from the male intern, who’d been wearing a mask. Luna couldn’t see his face or ID badge. “If she’s really interested in this major, she won’t need that sales pitch,” he said, glancing at Luna. “The school didn’t say we’d have a new intern today. If you’re in the wrong place, you’d better leave now. Professor Wilder is kind, and she won’t blame you if you go.”
“Rhett, are you crazy!” Suzie yanked at him. Luna was briefly stunned. So, he was Rhett! That gave her more reason to stay!
She was about to speak when Erin said, “Rhett’s right. If you’re in the wrong place, I won’t hold it against you if you leave. But if you stay and fail today’s assessment after the session, I’ll punish you!”