Chapter 117

“Barry’s just being nice p>

Claire said it with a shrug, but the confidence in her eyes said otherwise.

“My neck and shoulders have been killing me lately. I heard acupuncture helps?” Lay asked, tossing out a casual challenge.

Claire didn’t even blink. “You don’t need acupuncture for that. Let me give you a quick massage and you’ll feel a whole lot better p>

“Alright, go ahead,” Lay said, figuring, why not?

Claire moved behind him and placed her hands firmly on his shoulders, holding him steady. She might have looked delicate, but her grip was anything but weak.

She pressed her fingers into a few spots, and Lay rolled his shoulders, surprised at how much looser he felt.

“That was just a massage. I still haven’t tried your acupuncture skills.” Lay admitted she had some real talent, but he wasn’t ready to judge until he saw the real deal.

“You’ll get to try it soon,” Claire promised.

She pulled out a box from her bag. The gold needles inside looked special, and even the case had these intricate, old-school designs. Something about it made Lay think they were the real thing.

“You get dizzy and have headaches a lot, right?” Claire asked, pressing one hand gently on the back of Lay’s head.

“Yeah, sometimes,” Lay said, a little embarrassed. He always thought it was just stress from work.

“Your neck bones lean left, pressing on the blood vessels on that side. That slows your blood flow and causes the dizziness,” Claire said, sounding completely sure of herself.

“How can that be?” Lay blurted out. “I don’t feel any issues with my neck p>

He reached up to check for himself, but Claire brushed his hand away. “By the time you notice, it’ll already be a problem p>

She started inserting the needles one by one into the back of his neck. Una and Barry watched her, totally focused.

She used twelve needles in all.

Lay lay face down on the treatment bed. He could feel a strange, tingling ache at the base of his skull.

Before he knew it, he had actually fallen asleep.

When he woke up, Claire had already cleaned up, and she was laughing and chatting with Una.

“Is acupuncture really that powerful?” Una asked, touching her face. “Can it really smooth out wrinkles and make tiny adjustments p>

She knew Western medicine could do things like face-lifting, but those always came with side effects traditional medicine could do the same thing, she was definitely interested.

“Want me to try it for you?” Claire offered, seeing that Una was still skeptical.

Una grinned. “Why not? Let’s give it a shot p>

She’d always been the type to dive

right in, just like her old

professors lways experimenting.

always looking for breakthroughs, especially in cancer treatment.

Lay was still a little confused. “Wait, Una, you’re really going to try it? What if

something goes wrong? This is your face we’re talking about p>

Una rolled her eyes at him. “You just tried it. Why can’t I p>

“After your acupuncture, are you still dizzy?” she asked.

Lay rubbed the back of his head, surprised to realize the dizziness was practically gone. He didn’t say anything, but when he looked at Claire there was a new respecti is eyes te

pos

Claire didn’t seem surprised. She just said, “You should get a scan, just to see for yourself p>

Fine, he thought, might as well.

He went out and signed himself up for both orthopedics and neurosurgery. Since it

was late, there was barely anyone else around, so he got in right away.

Meanwhile, Claire focused on Una’s facial treatment. It took a full hour.

When she was finished, Claire handed Una a mirror and showed her a photo. She’d taken one before they started, too.

Comparing the two, the difference was obvious. The wrinkles at the corners of Una’s eyes looked much softer in the after shot.