Chapter 145: Saving an Old Woman

Olive carried Phoebe back to the bedroom, nestled her in her bed, and Phoebe quickly fell asleep. Olive lay on the bed, replaying Mrs. Samantha's words in her mind. Unable to sleep, she tossed and turned, eventually reaching out to stroke the pillow Elvis often used.

“What’s he doing now?” she wondered.

She stretched, grabbed her phone, and sent a concise message: “Are you really not coming home tonight?”

A reply arrived almost instantly, as if he’d been waiting. “I’ll be sleeping at the company.”

Only five words. Olive hastily sent another message: “I want to chat with you.”

His reply was immediate: “I’m heading for a meeting. Go to bed early. Goodnight.”

Elvis had unilaterally ended the conversation. Angrily, Olive threw her phone onto the bedside table and hugged his pillow. She imagined his nonchalant expression, clenched her fist, and punched the pillow twice before burying her face in its Elvis-scented softness and falling asleep.

The next morning, Olive arrived at the Ivory Council early. On her way to the pharmacy, she saw an elderly woman whose weakened body swayed before she fell to the ground. Olive’s eyes widened, and she rushed to her side.

“Ma’am, what’s wrong? Don’t be afraid. I’m a doctor; I’ll help you.”

She quickly checked the woman’s pulse. The old woman coughed, and blood gushed from her nose. Her eyes were glazed. Weakly, she looked at Olive.

“Am I going to die? Before I die, I’ve finally seen a fairy.”

Olive knelt, using her handkerchief to stem the bleeding, the bright red blood staining her fingers. With her left hand, she extracted a silver needle from her hair. Smiling reassuringly, she said,

“Ma’am, I’m not a fairy. I was sent by heaven to save you.”

“Really, my dear? If you aren’t a fairy, you must be an angel,” the woman argued, using her last strength.

Olive inserted the needle into the old woman’s neck, stopping the bleeding. She touched the woman’s head and softly asked,

“Ma’am, are you afraid?”

The old woman resisted slightly. “Can you please not pierce me with a needle?”

Olive shook her head. “No, ma’am. I need to use the needle.”

“Angel, please be gentle. I’m really afraid of pain,” the old woman pleaded.

“Okay, ma’am. Just close your eyes.”

Olive’s soft voice seemed to hold an irresistible power, and the old woman quickly closed her eyes. Without hesitation, Olive accurately inserted another needle into an acupuncture point on the woman’s head.

The old woman quickly fell into a coma. Although her breathing was weak, she was out of danger. Olive sighed in relief, wiped the blood from the woman’s face, and went to get warm water.

Just as she left, Pamela arrived, having seen the fallen woman. She quickly approached, and as students began arriving for class, they surrounded her.

“Pamela, what happened? What happened to the old lady?”

“She looks like she’s suffered an illness. Did you give her first aid?”

“Pamela, you’re amazing! You saved a senior!”

Pamela accepted the praise without correcting them. Director Hudson rushed over with his staff.

“Mrs. Robert! Mrs. Robert! A seriously ill patient from our institute. She left her ward when the nurse stepped out. Who saved her?” His nervousness betrayed the importance of the woman's identity.

“Director Hudson, I saved her.”

Hudson stared at Pamela. “How did you save Mrs. Robert?”

“With needles,” Pamela replied. She’d already seen the traces of acupuncture on the woman’s neck, her area of expertise.

Hudson examined Mrs. Robert and saw the needle marks. His expression changed dramatically. “Pamela, you actually know how to seal acupuncture points with gold needles?”

A gasp went through the pharmacy. Golden needles, being soft and pure gold, were rarely used. Pamela was apparently unique in LA in her skill with them.

Hudson and the students gazed at Pamela in awe. She had practiced this technique but never had the opportunity to use it on a patient. She didn’t even know who had initially helped Mrs. Robert.

“It’s really not difficult to seal acupoints with golden needles, Director,” Pamela said with a low laugh.

“Pamela, I didn’t expect you to know this ancient acupuncture method. You saved Mrs. Robert. I’ll remember your great deed. Keep working hard; I’m very optimistic about you.”

The staff moved Mrs. Robert to a VIP observation room. The students showered Pamela with praise. She felt she had won a great prize, certain the Director would spread her achievement throughout the medical community, catapulting her career.

She was still basking in the praise when Olive returned, empty-handed. She had found a crowd and Mrs. Robert gone.

“Here you are. Let me tell you the good news! I just saved an old lady!”

Olive was dumbfounded, realizing Pamela had taken credit for her actions. Mrs. Robert had already been moved to intensive care. Olive looked at Pamela and pursed her lips.

“Pamela, aren’t you amazing? You saved the old lady?”

“Yes, with a gold needle,” Pamela said proudly.

Seeing Pamela’s smug expression, Olive couldn’t help but laugh. A student shouted angrily,

“Olive, you only graduated from high school. You wouldn’t know what a golden needle is. Do you need us to educate you?”

The students explained the rarity and skill required for gold acupuncture.