Life was at stake, and Nevaeh's gaze was sharp as she reminded, "As a medical professional, you should understand the importance of treating the root cause. Using medication recklessly without knowing the underlying issue will only harm him."
Elizabeth scoffed. "I'm going to spray it anyway. What are you going to do about it, Nevaeh? Don't think I don't know who you really are. You're just a high school graduate, an orphan with no qualifications to question me."
She had done her homework.
She knew Nevaeh was only the adopted daughter of the Huck family, a girl from the countryside with no parents.
With that, Elizabeth quickly pressed the button.
The medication sprayed out, and the blond guy's eyes slowly returned to normal, as if he was feeling better.
"What just happened to me?" he muttered, regaining his senses and forgetting the chaos from earlier.
In the crowd, someone pointed at Elizabeth and said, "You had a seizure just now. This young lady saved you."
The blond guy looked up, gave Elizabeth a sideways glance, and asked, "You saved me?"
Proudly lifting her chin, Elizabeth replied, "You got hit and had a seizure. Since I'm studying medicine, I stepped in to help. But I didn't expect Nevaeh to hold a grudge against you and try to stop me. If it weren't for everyone else, I wouldn't have been able to save you."
Nevaeh stared at her in disbelief.
With just one sentence, Elizabeth made herself look diligent while Nevaeh came off as the villain.
Nevaeh despised the cocky blond, but she had never intended to harm him. If she had, she wouldn't have stopped Elizabeth just now.
The blond turned his gaze on Nevaeh, anger flashing in his eyes.
He had only wanted to chat with a pretty girl, he never thought she'd want him dead.
"Elizabeth, I stopped you not to prevent you from helping him," Nevaeh said coldly, frustration lacing her voice. "His symptoms weren't just epilepsy. He might have other conditions. Acting recklessly with medication when you don't know his real state isn't saving him, it's putting him in more danger!"
As her words fell, the blond furrowed his brows, suddenly looking at her with newfound interest. "How did you know I have other underlying conditions?"
He knew very well that aside from epilepsy, he also suffered from severe asthma.
Elizabeth froze, realizing his words seemed to confirm Nevaeh's claim. But he looked so strong, how could he be so sick?
Nevaeh didn't explain further. Instead, she urged, "You need to get to the hospital right away. The medicine Elizabeth gave you could trigger your asthma. If you wait too long, it could be life-threatening."
The blond knew his body well. Believing her words, he immediately called his driver and left for the hospital.
As the rain began to lighten, Nevaeh saw no reason to linger. She turned to leave.
Just as she stepped off the stairs, Elizabeth grabbed her arm. "Nevaeh, what are you talking about? You were the one who hit him, causing his seizure. I was only trying to help, and now you're accusing me of giving him medicine that could trigger his asthma. What are you really trying to say?"
"Don't overestimate your abilities if you can't keep up," Nevaeh said, pulling her arm away. "If anything happens to him, you won't be able to escape the blame."
Her words hung in the air as she prepared to walk away. But just as she stepped down the last stair, a loud thud echoed nearby.
"Oh no! He fainted! Someone's collapsed!" a voice cried out from the crowd.
Elizabeth turned her head and, upon seeing the blond lying unconscious on the ground, felt an inexplicable wave of panic rise within her.
Elizabeth was the first to rush over.
Seeing the blond guy's pale face and labored breathing, her heart began to race as Nevaeh's earlier warning echoed in her mind.
She couldn't believe it, this man really had asthma, and it looked severe.
"Quick, take him to the hospital! If we don't hurry, it'll be too late!" Elizabeth urged the driver.
If he died on the way or in the hospital, it wouldn't be her problem anymore.
Just as the driver was about to carry the blond man to the car, Nevaeh quickly jogged over and stopped him.
"It's too late. His condition is critical; he probably won't make it to the hospital. Carry him back to where we were, lay him flat on the ground, and everyone else, step back! Don't crowd him, we need to keep the air flowing."
Nevaeh hadn't expected his asthma to flare up so suddenly, and judging by his state now, waiting for an ambulance was far too dangerous.
Seeing her trying to intervene, Elizabeth scoffed. "You, a high school dropout with no skills, think you can save him? You're just wasting time and putting him in more danger!"
With the blond man on the brink of death, Nevaeh had no time to argue. "Step aside!"
But Elizabeth refused to move. Instead, she fixed her gaze on Nevaeh, blocking her path with a stubborn stance.
Turning to the crowd, she deliberately stirred things up. "Everyone, I don't know why she's trying to stop the patient from getting proper medical care, but as a medical school student, I swear his condition is critical. He needs treatment immediately, or he could die from the delay. Please trust me."
Elizabeth's words pushed Nevaeh into a dangerous position, making her the target of everyone's suspicion.
Getting medical help was common sense, and the fact that Nevaeh, who had no official training, was standing in the way only fueled people's anger.
Their eyes shifted from doubt to outright disgust.
At that moment, the blond man was slumped weakly in the driver's arms, his face slowly turning gray.
Time was running out.
Nevaeh rushed up to the driver, her voice steady yet trembling with urgency. "Listen, his breathing is weak. If we don't act now, he will definitely die within three minutes. Even if the ambulance arrives, he could die on the way. Do you really want that to happen?"
The driver froze, stunned by the seriousness in her tone. After a moment of hesitation, he finally nodded.
"Quickly, lay him flat on the ground! We need to move fast!"
The driver obeyed without question.
The man was placed under the eaves, and Nevaeh swiftly pulled off her backpack, taking out the silver needles she always carried to begin treatment.
Just as the needle was about to touch him, Elizabeth grabbed Nevaeh's hand. "What are you doing? Do you really want to kill him in front of everyone?"
"Get away!" Nevaeh snapped, her eyes flashing with a sharpness like a drawn blade.
Her fingers trembled, not from fear but determination. "If you stop me again and he dies, you'll be the murderer!"
Elizabeth was startled by Nevaeh's fierce expression. Her grip loosened, and she stepped aside, fuming but powerless.
Yet she didn't give up.
Gritting her teeth, she moved in front of the driver instead. "Call for help! Are you just going to stand there and let your boss be killed by her?"
The driver hesitated, torn between the two women. Sweat trickled down his temple.
"Maybe we should just take him to the hospital... "
"Shut up!" Nevaeh snapped, her focus razor-sharp. "I told you, I can save him!"
The dying man's face was ghostly pale, lips edged with blue. His chest rose faintly, like a candle about to flicker out.
Nevaeh's fingers trembled, not from fear, but from determination.
Being younger, the driver bit his lip and didn't dare argue again.
As the silver needles pierced one after another, Elizabeth's face twisted with anxiety and anger.
What if Nevaeh really brought him back to life? What would happen then?
No way. She couldn't allow that to happen.
Elizabeth froze. The crowd held its breath.
The last needle hovered an inch above his sternum. The world seemed to stop, and so did his breath.