Jamison stared at the message, his expression thoughtful before a faint smile tugged at his lips.

Busted.

Last night she’d called him her “friend” – guess she forgot about that little story.

Honestly, it was rude of him not to reply later that evening. Given Mrs. Smith’s usual pride, he doubted she’d ever reach out first again.

Yet here she was, sending another message. Was it because he’d spoken up in the group chat earlier? Or maybe she was just bored out of her mind waiting?

Either way, now that he’d shown up, it would be downright discourteous not to respond.

"[Yes, Professor Brown is a brilliant doctor. I’m sure he’ll know what to do,]" Jamison replied, acting as if he hadn’t noticed her slip.

But as Ivy glanced at her phone again, her mind suddenly blanked.

She’d messed up! Last night she’d claimed it was her friend who was sick, and now…

Oh god!

Mortified, Ivy felt her cheeks burning. The fact that he’d already replied meant he’d seen right through her.

Resigned, she typed back: "Um… actually, I’m the one seeing the doctor."

Dr. Handsome: "I understand."

Ivy groaned inwardly, her thoughts spinning. After a moment’s hesitation, she sent another message: "So… last night you had to run off in the middle of our chat, and I’ve already troubled you a few times. Once I’m better, if you’re free, maybe we could meet up so I can thank you properly – my treat."

She genuinely felt uneasy about being in his debt after all this help. She always tried to repay Jamison’s kindness, too – it just felt right.

Jamison was taken aback.

Didn’t she used to avoid meeting up in person? Not long ago, when Coach Murphy brought his team to Neo Haven for a match, the group had planned to get together. Jamison had agreed, but a last-minute surgery kept him away. Ivy, on the other hand, had flat-out refused from the start.

Clearly, she wasn’t interested in meeting offline.

So why the sudden change of heart?

After sending her message, Ivy saw that he still hadn’t replied. She started to realize she might have overstepped.

Maybe he had a family and it wasn’t appropriate to meet up with a woman he knew online.

She quickly added: "We could invite Dale too, or if you have family, you’re welcome to bring them along."

Even after hitting send, Ivy felt uneasy.

Dr. Handsome was always reserved and a bit distant – not as brash or sarcastic as Jamison, but definitely not the warm, chatty type. Maybe he’d only replied to her out of professional courtesy, nothing more.

Her sudden invitation probably came across as way too forward.

Worse, he might think she had some ulterior motive – like trying to get close, or something more… unsavory.

These days, after all, meeting up with online friends often came with certain expectations.

The more Ivy thought about it, the more embarrassed she became. She even considered deleting her message before he could see it.

But before she could act, his reply popped up.

Dr. Handsome: "It’s really nothing – no need to thank me."

Ivy stared at the screen, exasperated, and smacked her palm to her forehead.

This is mortifying. Absolutely mortifying!

He definitely misunderstood. He must think she was hitting on him!

Sitting there, cheeks burning, Ivy racked her brain for a way to smooth things over.

But before she could come up with anything, her number was called.

She had no choice but to tuck her phone away and hurry inside.

Professor Brown – the consulting doctor – was the same senior physician Jamison had called upon for Ivy’s acupuncture treatment a while back.

But that day, Ivy had been so out of it from the pain, she hadn’t noticed what Jamison called him.

If she had, she might’ve started to wonder about Jamison’s connection to “Dr. Handsome.”

She didn’t remember Professor Brown, but he remembered her – or rather, he recognized her voice.

The old professor smiled knowingly, glancing at the wall behind him, as if he’d just put the pieces together.