“It’s… it’s not like that!”
“Oh, and one more thing,” Sophia added with a smile. “Your endocrine system is severely unbalanced. I suggest you see a doctor. With your current condition, getting pregnant would indeed be challenging.”
With that, Sophia picked up her bag and left without looking back.
As she walked away, the reporters gave Olivia complicated looks while Olivia kept her head down, unable to meet their gazes. She kept muttering, “You’ve got it wrong! It’s not like she said! I’m really pregnant…”
Although no one said anything, the reporters exchanged glances that clearly conveyed disbelief.
Olivia’s face burned with shame.
After handling the Olivia situation, Sophia took the opportunity to return to her family home.
The Smith family was once a renowned household of traditional medicine practitioners. In earlier years, they had enjoyed significant prestige, but in this era, traditional medicine was often overlooked, mostly reserved for minor ailments. With skepticism about traditional medicine growing, many dismissed it as “fraudulent medicine,” inferior to Western practices. Disheartened, Sophia’s grandfather rarely saw patients, operating only a modest clinic in the hills outside the city where Sophia had grown up.
The family clinic had passed to Sophia’s father, who struggled to maintain it. While he did his best, his skills fell far short of his father’s. The Smith family had once pinned their hopes on Sophia, but she had little interest in medicine. Additionally, an unwritten family rule stated that medical knowledge was passed down to male heirs only.
Because of this, even though her grandfather had encouraged her to study medicine and enroll her in a traditional medicine university, he had never passed on the family’s medical secrets to her.
Over time, these factors led to the decline of the Smith family clinic.
Still, the family-owned the clinic’s building, so despite a decline in business, it remained open. But two years ago, after Sophia’s parents passed away unexpectedly, she was unable to keep it running, and the clinic temporarily closed.
Following her memories, Sophia climbed the stone path that led to the house. Her family’s residence was situated on Mountain, an area famous for its herbs plantations. As she passed rows of lush herbal fields, the scent of Herbal leaves filled the air, drawing out memories that grew clearer with each step.
After almost twenty minutes, Sophia arrived at the front door of her family’s home.
It was an ordinary building, with walls that had seen better days, weathered by the years. Despite the age of the house, the surrounding scenery was beautiful. Trees and Herbal fields encircled the property, and the stone path leading to it gave the place an idyllic, secluded feel—a hidden paradise.
The family clinic was located just below the main house, a separate one-story building.
Sophia raised her gaze to the clinic’s sign, which read Smith Family Traditional Medicine Clinic, with the words “Established over a Century Ago” in smaller characters in the lower right corner.
The sight brought to mind her previous life’s Smith family, who also had a plaque like this. But in that world, there was no “male-only” rule. The Smith family had produced many famous physicians, and with a strong national backing of traditional medicine, their reputation was formidable. People traveled from all over to seek their treatment, including politicians and wealthy elites, all of whom treated the Smith family with utmost respect.
It was time.
A lonely storefront, a quiet and empty space.
What a world of difference!
Could traditional medicine truly have declined to such a state in this era?
No! She refused to believe it! Sophia suddenly felt a surge of defiance. Traditional medicine is vast and profound—why should it be reduced to such a state?
A family like the Smith family, possessing real skills and knowledge, not only shouldn’t be dismissed, but also deserves the recognition and respect it’s due!
With that thought, Sophia took out her key and, with a click, opened the doors of the TCM clinic.
After three hours of scrubbing, the clinic was finally a bit cleaner. As she looked around the small, thirty-square-meter shop, Sophia suddenly felt a shift in her mood.
She walked to the entrance and looked up at the sign.
Right now, a sign like this doesn’t suit the Smith family at all!
Since she couldn’t manage the sign on her own, Sophia wrapped two ropes around it, tied the ropes to nearby pillars, and used a clever technique to take down the dusty sign. Silently, she made a vow.
She would restore the honor of traditional medicine!
One day, she would proudly hang this sign again!
Sophia wrote a note and posted it outside, prepared a few numbered cards, and went back inside the clinic to read while waiting.
She waited until six in the evening, but no one came. Just as she was thinking about packing up to leave, she overheard someone speaking outside:
“Hey, isn’t this place weird? A shop with no customers and a sign at the door that says, ‘Take a ticket to see the doctor, only five patients a day!’ What kind of place is this? A clinic? No wonder business is so bad! Stuck halfway up this mountain in a run-down building without even a sign. If anyone actually shows up, the owner should count their blessings! And only seeing five patients? No wonder no one’s here!”
Sophia yawned, pretending not to hear, and continued packing up to leave.
But unexpectedly, this group of people walked right in.
Five people walked in—two men and three women. One of the men, short in stature, clutched his stomach and anxiously exclaimed, “Doctor, please help! My stomach suddenly hurts so much!”
Just as he finished speaking, footsteps echoed from the hallway. The man looked up and saw a young woman with long, curly black hair step out. Stunned, he asked, “Miss, where’s your father? My stomach hurts—I need him to come out and take a look!”
Sophia realized he had misunderstood and, after washing her hands, said calmly, “I’m the doctor you’re looking for.”
“You?” His voice carried a clear note of skepticism.
