When carrying someone on his back, he didn’t use his palm to support Chris Bolton’s thigh, but rather his wrist. However, he was wearing a watch, which pressed uncomfortably against the child.

He apologized softly and switched to using his palm to support Chris Bolton. At sixteen, the young man didn’t have a car yet, so they could only take the bus. After boarding, he swiped his card first, and once he sat down next to Chris Bolton, he took off his watch.

The young man himself didn’t think there was anything unusual about his actions, but as Chris Bolton watched him, his fondness grew even more.

Unlike the genius orthopedic surgeon he’d learned about online, after getting close to Emily Quinn, Chris Bolton realized that the other was truly an outstanding young man.

He was diligent, self-disciplined, and focused, and he was very patient with children younger than himself. The tone and expression he used when communicating with Chris Bolton showed his respect.

Chris Bolton had been in the entertainment industry and had seen plenty of the warmth and coldness of human relationships and the darkness of people’s hearts, but Emily Quinn possessed a purity that commanded his respect. His upbringing also made Chris Bolton feel very comfortable around him.

After putting away his watch, Emily Quinn noticed the child’s bright black eyes fixed on him and couldn’t help but laugh.

“What is it?”

Chris Bolton sincerely praised him: “Mr. Quinn, you’re really so considerate. Your parents must be amazing to have raised such a wonderful son. When I meet your uncle and aunt, I’ll be sure to praise you to them.”

Emily Quinn paused, then flicked his forehead with a crisp snap.

“Then you probably won’t get to meet them.”

Chris Bolton held his forehead, puzzled. “Why not?”

“My dad went with his first love to the Greater Khingan Mountains to see the snow, and my mom went to a class reunion with her boyfriend. They don’t have time to see me, let alone you.”

For a moment, silence fell between them. After a while, Emily Quinn heard the child softly say sorry to him.

He replied, “It’s fine.”

Emily Quinn didn’t resent his parents, because he had indeed been raised well—so well that even when he found out his parents were divorcing after the college entrance exam, he didn’t have any extreme reaction.

Some people thought his personality was too indifferent, rarely showing intense emotions. This kind of calmness was probably great for the operating table, but as a person, it inevitably made him seem a bit distant.

Then, just before their stop, the child suddenly took off the bright red wool scarf from his neck and wrapped it around his.

He turned his head and saw the boy, who was so afraid of the cold that he wore a Lei Feng hat every day, giving him a brilliant smile.

“Mr. Quinn, I still think you’re not wearing enough. Take this to block the wind. My little brother knitted it himself.”

Chris Bolton looked a bit nervous at Emily Quinn, who lowered his gray eyes and pressed his hand on the boy’s head, giving it a good rub.

“Thank you.”

When they got off the bus, Emily Quinn carried Chris Bolton on his back again. His shoulders were even broader than Jack Bolton’s, radiating the warmth of youth. Chris Bolton leaned against his shoulder, his cheek brushing against the soft, warm scarf, and even the biting winter wind didn’t feel so cold anymore.

What Chris Bolton didn’t know was that halfway there, Emily Quinn suddenly remembered something.

Wait a minute, Chris Bolton’s nine-year-old little brother can actually knit?

Before the New Year arrived, Chris Bolton gained a top-tier human “vehicle.” This vehicle’s surname was Qin, given name Xuejun, a product of Shuimu University, meticulous and highly intelligent, always carrying a book wherever he went—sometimes it was "Campbell’s Operative Orthopaedics," other times "Practical Orthopedics."

Seeing how diligent and hardworking he was, it was no wonder he became an associate chief physician at just twenty-eight.

Emily Quinn not only took Chris Bolton for treatment, but if it was dark when they finished, he would also take him home. He even dug out his own ninth-grade textbooks to lend to Chris Bolton, saying that since Chris Bolton was in eighth grade this year and would be in ninth next semester, if he wanted to preview future lessons, these books would come in handy.

And so, Chris Bolton, who had graduated from middle school years ago, was full of gratitude and went home to talk to Deborah Foster about it.

“Mr. Quinn is really a great person—cold on the outside, warm on the inside.”

Deborah Foster looked at the book in his hand with a subtle expression, thinking that if someone gave him a textbook, he wouldn’t be happy at all. If this gift were given to someone else, it might even turn them into enemies.

Until the last treatment was over,

Chris Bolton thought it over and felt he owed him a lot this time and should repay him properly. So he opened his piggy bank and took out three red bills.

Ian Foster and Grace Bolton were both good to their children. Even during the hardest times, Chris Bolton had new clothes every month, and after entering middle school, his allowance increased to a hundred a month. He didn’t spend recklessly, so he’d saved nearly a thousand in his piggy bank, all at his own disposal.

First, he spent half a day at the mall, buying a Chopper figurine for two hundred at a secluded anime merchandise shop. Then he went to the market to buy fresh meat and other ingredients, rolled up his sleeves, and started cooking at home.

Deborah Foster was practicing piano when he smelled the strong aroma of meat.

Following the scent, he found his older brother in the kitchen making crispy fried pork.

Chris Bolton pushed a plate piled high with meat and oyster sauce lettuce in front of him. “This is yours. Mom and Dad said they’re busy today, so we’re on our own for dinner. The rice is already in the pot—when it’s done, serve yourself. Remember to turn off the power before opening the lid.”

He rambled on until Deborah Foster interrupted him.

“What about you? Aren’t you eating at home?”