Seeing her leave, Henry couldn’t bring himself to look at her.
Olivia, however, felt nothing but disappointment toward him.
Back then, she had been the “winner” when she and Andrea worked together to kick out Sophia.
Now, she was the one being thrown out.
For the first time, she wondered—why had she been so foolish to have a child for this man?
—
“Olivia, let’s go?” her mother, Dora, urged.
She handed Olivia the baby. “I called a car. Hold the baby and feed her first.”
As Olivia sat in the car, leaving the Scott family behind, she finally couldn’t hold back her tears.
“You’re such a fool!” Dora scolded. “The Scott family is so rich, and you’re just leaving with nothing but a baby? People will laugh at you!”
“What else could I do?” Olivia snapped. “Do you expect me to beg them to keep me? You didn’t hear the way Andrea talked to me. Why would I stay and endure that humiliation?”
“I know,” Dora sighed. “But you have leverage now—you have a child. You need to demand child support and compensation for your wasted youth. Otherwise, you lost your reputation, gave birth for nothing, and walked away empty-handed! That’s just unfair!”
She then added, “By the way, the mortgage for the house you bought your brother is due this month. You need to pay 8,000 dollars. Don’t forget to transfer the money.”
Olivia covered her face, feeling utterly cold in her heart. She realized that men were unreliable, and even going back to her maternal home was not dependable either. Everything favored her younger brother. Now that she had a child, how was she supposed to survive?
“Did you hear what I just said? You must go ask your mother-in-law for money. Oh, and your husband too! You’ve been in the Scott family for so long—you must have something on them. Use that to threaten them. If they don’t give you money, expose their secrets!”
Olivia was stunned for a moment and fell into deep thought.
—
That day, a little girl came to the clinic. Her parent brought her in, exclaiming:
“Doctor Smith, please take a look at my child. She always complains about toothaches but refuses to see a dentist. Every time we take her to one, she doesn’t cooperate. I suspect there’s something wrong with her teeth, and she probably needs an extraction.”
Sophia smiled gently and said warmly, “Your little girl’s teeth are quite beautiful, especially these little canine teeth—they’re so cute.”
The little girl was a bit scared and hid behind her mother.
“Look, Auntie isn’t holding any tools, and I don’t need any tools either. But can you open your mouth and let Auntie take a look?”
The little girl glanced at her and, seeing that she truly wasn’t holding any pliers or other instruments, timidly stepped forward and opened her mouth.
Sophia took a glance and noticed that one of her teeth was loose and needed to be extracted.
“Doctor Smith, what do you think?”
“She needs an extraction, or the pain will continue.”
“What should we do?” The girl’s mother was extremely anxious. “She refuses to go to the dentist, and the problem is she doesn’t cooperate. She keeps moving around when the doctor tries to extract the tooth, screaming in fear. We can’t force her to go, either.”
Sophia also found the situation tricky. After a moment of contemplation, she smiled and said, “Alright then! Come back this afternoon—I need to prepare something for her extraction.”
“Okay!”
The girl’s mother was puzzled—why couldn’t the tooth be pulled in the morning? And besides, could an extraction be done without tools? Was Sophia planning to use one of those tricks seen online, like tying a string to the tooth and attaching the other end to a door, then suddenly slamming the door to pull it out? Or maybe she would suddenly tap the child’s head, making her lean back, so the tooth would come out?
When they returned in the afternoon, the girl’s mother saw that Sophia still wasn’t holding any tools.
“Doctor Smith, what are you going to use for the extraction?” She didn’t even see a string.
Sophia smiled, took some medicine, and applied it to the girl’s gums. Then, with a gentle tap, she used a string to pull the tooth out.
Before the girl’s mother could even see clearly, Sophia had already removed the tooth.
The girl’s mother was astonished. “What kind of secret formula is this? How did it happen so fast?”
“It’s a special preparation I made for tooth extractions.”
“But you didn’t use any tools at all. Could this medicine contain harmful substances?”
It was natural for her to be concerned. Teeth are so hard—if they could be extracted so easily, anyone would suspect that the substance used might be toxic or corrosive to the teeth.
Sophia curled her lips into a smile and patiently explained, “The medicine you’re thinking of is ‘carp frost,’ which is often used for painless extractions. The method for making it is recorded in—they put a certain substance inside a fish’s stomach and process it into carp frost. When applied to the teeth, extractions become easy. But as you said, it’s not good for the teeth, so I don’t like to use it. Besides, your child is still young, and medication must be used with caution. That’s why I made a herbal ointment instead. It simply acts as an anesthetic to relieve pain. The actual extraction was done with a string. My medicine has no side effects, so you don’t have to worry!”
Hearing this explanation, the girl’s mother felt embarrassed and said, “Now that you’ve explained it, I feel reassured. Oh, by the way, Doctor Smith, I saw a notice at the clinic entrance saying you’ll be closing for a few days?”
“Yes, I’m going to participate in the Traditional Medicine (TCM) competition.”
“Really? Doctor Smith, where will the competition be held? If we have time, we’ll come and cheer for you!”
Sophia smiled. “It will be held at the stadium. You’re welcome to come.”
