Chapter 553

Before the words had even left her mouth, two cheerful, athletic guys hurried over—one rushing to grab the ball, the other immediately bending down to check on her. “Hey, I’m so sorry! Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Ivy clutched her head, her vision swimming as a wave of dizziness crashed over her. The residual shock from the impact hadn’t faded, leaving all the voices around her echoing in and out, as if she were half-dreaming.

Katrina held onto her, then spun around to snap at the boy, “Could you guys maybe pay attention when you’re playing? You hit that so hard it was like a cannonball—I barely had time to duck!”

“My fault, totally my fault, I’m really sorry,” the boy blurted, apologizing earnestly. “Let me take you to the campus clinic—if there’s any problem, I’ll take full responsibility!”

It was only then that Katrina really looked at him—and realized, to her surprise, that he wasn’t just tall, he was also seriously good-looking.

As they bickered, a small crowd of students gathered—four or five guys, all drawn in by the commotion.

When they caught sight of the girl who’d been hit, every one of them seemed to light up.

“Lamont Quinn, hurry up and get her to the clinic, man. If she’s got a concussion, that’s serious.”

“Hey, can you walk? If not, I’ll carry you to the clinic.”

“Yeah right, you’ll suffocate her with your sweaty shirt. I’ve got my moped, I can give her a lift.”

“She can’t ride a moped like this! The gym has wheelchairs—someone go borrow one.”

Ivy’s head was already pounding, and the constant bickering from these college guys only made it worse. Annoyed, she said, “Enough—I’m fine, I just need a minute to recover.”

Katrina, noticing how the boys were lingering, clearly enchanted by her friend’s looks, quickly waved them off. “Go on, give us some space! The air around here smells like a locker room—we’re about to suffocate!”

Lamont, who hadn’t taken his eyes off Ivy, saw her lower her hand, her brows still furrowed and her face pale. He apologized again, sincerely, “I’m really sorry—it was my ball, and I didn’t mean to hit you. But just to be safe, you should get checked out at the campus clinic.”

Katrina agreed, urging, “Ivy, let’s just go get you looked at. Head injuries are nothing to mess around with.”

Still dizzy, with half her head numb from the blow, Ivy had no choice but to relent.

“I’ll go flag down a shuttle,” Lamont said, already jogging toward the curb to catch the campus commuter cart.

His teammates wanted to tag along, but Lamont, feigning impatience, shooed them all away before returning to help Ivy.

She avoided his hand, though, and with Katrina’s support, climbed into the shuttle and took a seat.

There were only two seats left, so Lamont was left standing. Katrina was about to ask what he’d do when he waved her off and said cheerfully, “You guys go ahead—I’ll jog over and meet you there.”

Before he even finished speaking, the shuttle was already pulling away, and the tall, handsome guy set off at a steady run after them.

Katrina glanced back and muttered, “He’s actually running the whole way. That’s dedication.”

Ivy said nothing. She just felt unlucky—who gets hit by a stray ball while minding their own business? And now, Jamison would worry about her again.

When the shuttle stopped outside the campus clinic, Ivy and Katrina had barely stepped out before Lamont arrived, drenched in sweat but not out of breath.

He was a member of the varsity basketball team—six-foot-two, with long legs and stamina to spare—a short run like that was nothing for him.

Inside, Lamont turned to her. “I’m Lamont Quinn,” he said. “What’s your name?”

Ivy didn’t really want to talk to him, but she knew she’d have to give her name to register anyway. “Ivy,” she replied.

“You’re Ivy?” Lamont stared, wide-eyed. “The straight-A student from the business school? The one everyone talks about?”

He kept glancing at her, still in disbelief, before heading off to help get her checked in.

After the doctor’s initial exam, he recommended a head CT just in case. But at this hour, only the ER was open—everything else was closed for the day.

“I’ll write you a referral for a scan at a hospital off-campus,” the doctor suggested. “Better to be safe.”

Ivy balked at the hassle. “Katrina, I’m really fine. Didn’t you say you need to go be with your mom at the hospital? Go on, I’ll just head home and rest.”

“No way—you need that scan,” Katrina insisted, determined not to let her off the hook.

Lamont stepped forward. “Hang on, Ivy. Let me call my sister—she’s a doctor, maybe she can help us out.”

That caught Ivy off guard. What were the odds? She herself came from a family of doctors.

Before she could say anything, Lamont was on the phone.

“Hey, are you off work yet? … Yeah, I’ve got a situation. I was playing ball at school and accidentally hit someone with the ball. We’re at the campus clinic and they say she needs a CT, but they can’t do it here. Should we come to your hospital? Think you could help us out? … No, she’s not faking it—I really hit her pretty hard. She says she’s fine, but I want to make sure… What? Your hospital’s too far? Okay… Could you help us arrange something closer, then? Alright, I’ll take her over there and keep you posted.”

Finishing the call, Lamont turned back to Ivy. “My sister’s hospital is too far from campus, but there’s Harmony General Hospital nearby. She knows people there and can get things set up for us, so we can get the scan done fast.”