Chapter 115
The female doctor didn’t say anything right away. She quietly studied Claire, watching her reaction. Claire sat there, calm and collected, not the least bit rattled by the announcement. She didn’t seem like a typical eighteen-year-old at all.
“Una, say something, will you?” The male doctor was getting impatient, glancing anxiously at his colleague. Una had always been the mentor’s favorite student, so her opinion carried real weight. Whatever she said, their mentor would definitely take it seriously.
“I don’t have any objections.” Una spoke up at last. She looked to be in her early fifties, short hair framing her gentle, elegant face.
The male doctor’s jaw practically dropped. “Una? Are you serious?” He looked like someone had just told him the sky was green. “Did you not hear what the professor said? He wants an eighteen-year-old girl to join us and help research bone cancer. She’s a teenager, probably hasn’t even taken her college entrance exams yet p>
The male doctor, Lay, was almost tripping over his own words, too worked up to make sense.
Una turned to him, calm as ever. “Lay, the professor knows what he’s doing. If he’s inviting Claire onto the team, it means he believes she can contribute p>
“We’ve talked about combining traditional and modern medicine to treat bone cancer before. What if it actually works p>
Una gave him an optimistic smile. “Don’t write her off just because she’s young. Traditional medicine is different from what we’re used to. A lot of it’s passed down in families, and some kids start learning how to use herbs when they’re barely out of kindergarten p>
Una clearly knew her way around traditional medicine.
Lay still wasn’t convinced. “But this is bone cancer, Una. Have you ever heard of anyone curing it with traditional medicine p>
Una patted him on the arm. “Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it never will. You need to have a little more faith, Lay. Haven’t we always been working toward new breakthroughs p>
Barry, their mentor, nodded in agreement. “Una’s right. Lay, you’re not biased against traditional medicine, are you p>
Lay straightened up immediately. “Of course not p>
“Good. Then work with Claire and give her a fair shot. Don’t judge her by her age. When it comes to traditional medicine, especially acupuncture, she’s got real skill p>
Lay didn’t say yes or no. He was still skeptical. How much could acupuncture really do for something as serious as bone cancer?
Barry continued, “You shouldn’t underestimate our own traditions. Bone cancer was documented in ancient texts thousands of years ago. It’s been studied for ages. There’s no way we haven’t made any progress at all p>
Lay finally spoke up, “I’m willing to let Claire join, but only if she meets two conditions p>
Claire glanced at Lay, looking almost bored. So that’s why Una agreed so quickly. She knew Lay would be the tough one.
Barry didn’t say a word, which meant he probably agreed with Lay’s approach. If Claire wanted to earn the team’s respect, she’d have to
prove herself the there
always be doubts, and teamwork would eventually fall apart
“Go ahead. What are your conditions?” Claire replied, completely unfazed.
Lay looked at her seriously. “The professor clearly thinks highly of you, but we can’t risk his reputation. Before you officially join us, I hope you can get your medical license p>
Una raised her eyebrows and shot. Lay a look. At least he was being reasonable now, not just stubborn Claire was so young, probably just started college. Where would she even get a medical license? Even if her family practiced traditional medicine, nobody would expect her to be certified at her age. So no matter how much experience she had, if she didn’t have a license, she couldn’t work with them officially.
“The professor has always been above reproach. If someone tried to make trouble
about this, it’d be impossible to explain p>