The Vault felt a bit embarrassed after hearing that. “That’s really not necessary.”

Julian Grant: “It’s still necessary.”

The Vault, bored and restless, started idly fiddling with things nearby.

After placing the takeout order, Julian Grant looked up and saw The Vault hugging the bouquet of white roses he had given her, clearly loving it and reluctant to let go.

Her long fingers gently stroked the petals, her soft gaze quietly fixed on the bouquet. The afterglow of the sunset cast a shimmering light over her, every detail exuding a serene beauty.

She was so reserved and restrained. Yet her body was being very honest.

Julian Grant looked away, pretending not to notice.

But when he turned his head again, the scene shattered: The Vault was actually picking at the petals, ruthlessly destroying the flowers.

Julian Grant shouted, “What are you doing?!”

Before The Vault could even look up, the vase was snatched away from her hands.

Startled, she looked up at Julian Grant.

Julian Grant’s expression was even more innocent and aggrieved than hers. He actually… seized the initiative.

The Vault blinked and said, “Didn’t you give it to me?”

Julian Grant said angrily, “How can you treat someone else’s gift with such disregard? The Vault, you’re really too much!”

The Vault’s little head was filled with big confusion.

“So I can only admire it from afar, not touch it?”

Seeing that she still didn’t realize her mistake, Julian Grant became even more upset. “This just shows you don’t care at all about the person who gave you the flowers!”

The Vault protested, “The petals were wilting, so I was just fixing them!”

“No way!” Julian Grant put the vase up high. “Aren’t the petals just fine? The curled edges look nice too. Like stars surrounding the moon—you have to allow them to exist as part of the whole.”

Watching him act so dramatic, The Vault held back for a long time but still couldn’t swallow her grievance. “Putting the flowers up so high? Aren’t they meant to be seen?”

“No.” Suddenly, a sarcastic voice came from the doorway. “After all, it’s his sensitive teenage heart.”

Julian Grant was at a loss for words, his mind blank, unable to come up with a retort. He could only put on a stern face and say, “What nonsense are you spouting now!”

The Vault sighed softly, “A father’s teenage heart for his daughter?”

The doctor walked over, took the vase, and shoved it back into The Vault’s arms, saying bluntly, “Trample on it.”

Julian Grant wanted to stop her, but froze in place. His expression changed dramatically, and after a painful internal struggle, he finally let go. He suddenly said with newfound openness, “It’s just a bouquet of roses, isn’t it? If you want, I can bring you a whole truckload. Fine, do whatever you want with it.”

The Vault glanced at him several times and decided she’d better take good care of it.

After all, Julian Grant’s heart really did seem quite fragile.

The Vault put the roses back on the bedside table, arranging them as if they were a tribute, not daring to touch them again.

Maybe it was psychological, but after staring at them for a while, the curled edges of the petals really did have a kind of imperfect beauty.

The Vault slowly looked away, thinking that no matter how smart a brain is, it can still be affected by silly things.

Human willpower is really too weak. Terrifying.

While she was lost in these random thoughts, Quinn Foster called.

The Vault answered quickly, and a familiar voice came from the other end: “I’m at the hospital. Where are you?”

The Vault said, “Go to the second floor and look for a nurse named Pan, about forty years old.”

Quinn Foster replied cheerfully, in a good-natured tone, “Wait a sec.”

The Vault hung up and handed the phone to Julian Grant, who was sitting by the sofa.

Julian Grant paused his game and took the phone with a confused look. He glanced at the phone, then at The Vault, raising his left eyebrow in question.

The Vault gestured for him to hold onto it.

Five minutes later, Quinn Foster called again. Julian Grant, caught off guard, accidentally answered with a slip of his finger.

Before he could even bring it to his ear, he heard Quinn Foster’s furious voice.

“Damn it! Where are you?! The nurse said you left this morning. You actually lied to me! The Vault, you lied to me again! You little heartless rascal, you’ve changed!”

Julian Grant: “……” Since when is there a profession for cursing on someone’s behalf? Do they really think he’s a professional at this?

The Vault waited for the rant to end, then calmly took the phone back, put it on speaker, and said, “Could you please hand the phone to the nurse?”

Quinn Foster, fuming, took a few heavy breaths, but had no way to argue with her and just grunted. A moment later, the handover was complete.

“Hello,” the nurse asked, “are you the lady who came in this morning?”

The Vault said, “Yes, I have something else I’d like to ask you.”

Nurse: “Go ahead, if I know the answer.”

The Vault put the phone on the table, right in the center, and sat down next to Julian Grant: “It’s about Charles Linton, the driver who killed Dr. Tian. Before the incident, did he and Dr. Tian have any intense conflicts?”

The nurse’s voice grew agitated: “Medical troublemakers! You have no idea how outrageous they can be! He came to the hospital lobby, crying and making a scene, pestering other patients and spreading rumors. He’d stand at the department entrance with banners or photos, causing a ruckus, and even security couldn’t get rid of him. Later, he kept going to the director’s office to complain and protest. Dr. Tian was just too good-natured and never confronted him directly, always avoiding him. Everyone else’s work was affected. Who could stand such long-term harassment?”

The Vault leaned forward, closer to the table: “Was there anything even more extreme?”

“Of course! Let me think.” The nurse said, “I remember once, when Dr. Tian came to the hospital, his face was swollen from being beaten. That day he really couldn’t take it anymore and called the police. Unfortunately, in the end, Dr. Tian still reconciled with him.”

The Vault asked, “Why reconcile?”

The nurse sighed, “I don’t know. Probably because Dr. Tian couldn’t resist the other party’s pleas—he was always easygoing. But with someone like Charles Linton, understanding is useless. He never appreciates others’ kindness, just thinks the whole world owes him.”

The Vault heard a cold laugh from Quinn Foster in the background. It was rather chilling.

The nurse glanced at Quinn Foster, paused, then suddenly realized, and asked, “Did you go see Charles Linton today? Did he badmouth Dr. Tian to you? I’m telling you, you can’t trust a word he says! He just wants to drag Dr. Tian down with him! Like a mad dog, biting nonstop!”

“I know, I know.” The Vault soothed her, then asked, “During that time, was there anything else that could have had a big impact on Dr. Tian? For example, Tian Zhaohua being accused of sexual assault.”

There was a brief silence on the other end, then: “The Meredith Stone incident actually didn’t blow up. I thought Dr. Tian… seemed pretty normal. But he never liked to lose his temper at work.”

The Vault narrowed her eyes. “Didn’t blow up?”

“Yeah, Meredith Stone never came to the hospital to make a scene. Just two police officers got a report, took Dr. Tian for questioning for two days, then let him go. We knew about it internally, but not many outsiders did—at most, just rumors. Charles Linton somehow heard about it and spread it around!” The nurse clicked her tongue, never missing a chance to criticize Charles Linton. “He’s just a troublemaker! Even the police didn’t give a conclusion, but he made it sound so dramatic. Did he really hide under someone’s bed?”

The Vault asked suspiciously, “Wasn’t Meredith Stone’s amniotic fluid test done at your hospital?”

“It was. But that’s private—doctors can’t just talk about it.” The nurse thought for a moment, then continued, “At the time, several colleagues knew there was such a person, but didn’t know it was Meredith Stone. The doctors in the same department were more familiar with each other, and they’d seen Mrs. Tian come to find Dr. Tian. They only found out from their conversations.”

The Vault let out a soft “hmm,” shifted position, and asked again, “That time, did Mrs. Tian and Dr. Tian have a fight?”

The nurse sounded uncertain: “No, they talked pretty calmly. The door was closed, nothing was smashed, no shouting—should be fine, right?”

Quinn Foster muttered, “They’re pretty open-minded, huh?”

Maybe because the nurse had scolded him, Quinn Foster quickly backed down: “Sorry. I just think, as a psychologist, that their behavior isn’t quite normal. No other meaning.”

This news surprised everyone, but it did explain why the nurse hadn’t mentioned Meredith Stone that morning. In their eyes, perhaps it was just a minor episode, unrelated to Tian Zhaohua’s death.

However, under this appearance of reason, another kind of irrationality became even more glaring.

Why could a man accused of sexual assault and taken away by the police remain so calm?

And why could a wife, knowing her husband had used improper means to force another woman into pregnancy, remain so composed?

Could it be that Tian Zhaohua’s wife was someone with extremely controlled emotions?