Brian Sullivan's friends and students were overjoyed—not only were they happy for Brian Sullivan, but they also had more chances to go themselves, since Brian Sullivan would definitely pick people from his own group.

“Tomorrow morning’s coffee is on me,” Brian Sullivan said to his group. “Remember to come to my office to get it.” Then he lightly tapped on Eric Bennett’s desk, raised his eyebrows, and said, “So, I’m heading out, okay?”

Eric Bennett didn’t want to pay him any attention. He grabbed his folder and walked out, with Megan Young hurrying to catch up. Behind them came a chorus of cheers. Megan Young rolled his eyes. “What’s there to show off about? Last year Director Carter took us, this year he’s taking them. It’s only natural.”

But after saying that, he still turned to Eric Bennett and said, “Brother Bennett, I think you haven’t been in great shape lately.” He’d originally wanted to say that even Director Carter had started to notice.

Eric Bennett himself didn’t know what was wrong. It started with excessive sleepiness—he could fall asleep standing up whenever he had a free moment. Then he lost his appetite. He went to both neurology and gastroenterology for an MRI and a gastroscopy, and even visited psychiatry, worried he might have anorexia.

But all the test results showed nothing was wrong.

Because of his profession, Eric Bennett was used to staying up all night and having irregular meals, but he always paid close attention to any unusual symptoms in his body.

Dr. Bennett’s motto was: as long as you catch it early enough, there’s no disease that can’t be cured.

With no appetite and constant fatigue, at first he could still chug coffee to stay awake, but later even the smell of coffee made him nauseous. Except when he was in surgery or seeing patients—when he could rely on sheer willpower and professionalism to stay calm and alert—he felt sick and listless the rest of the time, unable to muster any energy.

Especially after work, if he wasn’t on night shift, he didn’t even want dinner. He’d fall asleep as soon as he got home and wouldn’t wake up until the next morning, only to feel another wave of nausea and dry heaving.

This kind of strange, undiagnosable illness often goes to extremes: either it’s nothing, or it’s a serious, incurable disease.

Eric Bennett didn’t want to be too pessimistic, but he couldn’t help worrying about terminal illness. He even lost the energy to bicker with Brian Sullivan. If he really spent most of his last few months arguing or fighting with Brian Sullivan, Eric Bennett thought, he’d never rest in peace.

But life is always a mix of joy and sorrow. Near the end of the workday, an attending physician a few years older than them suddenly looked delighted. He kept looking at his phone, then announced to the whole office, “Don’t rush home tonight, everyone! I’m treating you all to McDonald’s. Let’s invite the folks from next door to the break room too. Those on duty, tell me what you want—I’ll get it delivered to your seats.”

“Brother Wright, good news?” Brian Sullivan asked.

Ryan Wright had also been a student at A Medical University. He was both Brian Sullivan and Eric Bennett’s senior and mentor. Although he hadn’t climbed the professional ranks as quickly as the two overachievers, he was patient and had personally guided them early on, so both Brian Sullivan and Eric Bennett were close to him.

“It’s a secret for now,” Ryan Wright grinned so widely his eyes nearly disappeared. “I’ll tell you all in a bit.” With that, he pulled out his phone to start ordering. “Tell me what you want—miss this chance and you won’t get another!”

Being a doctor is physically demanding, especially for those who do surgeries—standing for hours without eating or drinking. That’s why they all loved high-calorie junk food like fried chicken and soda.

Ryan Wright patted Eric Bennett on the shoulder, startling him awake. Ryan Wright didn’t realize he was sleepy and thought he just didn’t want to eat with Brian Sullivan, so he smiled kindly and said, “Do me a favor—no fighting today.”

Eric Bennett blinked in confusion for a moment before remembering they’d just been talking about dinner. Somehow, he’d zoned out and fallen asleep again, as if under a spell.

He really didn’t want to see Brian Sullivan, but Ryan Wright was a good guy, and with his senior’s sincere request, he couldn’t refuse. “Alright, senior, I promise—as long as he doesn’t provoke me.”

“……” Ryan Wright thought, that might be a bit difficult.

He glanced at Brian Sullivan, who was laughing and chatting while ordering food. Handsome as he was, it was a shame about his mouth. And Dr. Sullivan never annoyed anyone else—he only picked on Eric Bennett. He was sweet to everyone else. Who knew what he was thinking?

There were a lot of people at this gathering, so it took several to fetch the takeout. They delivered the meals for the on-duty doctors first, then brought the rest to the break room. Red boxes filled the table, golden fried chicken and wings paired with refreshing sodas and colas, the rich aroma filling the room and making everyone’s mouth water.

Brian Sullivan sat right next to Ryan Wright, and without hesitation grabbed a fried chicken drumstick from the red paper bag in front of him. The crispy skin and tender meat—he took a bite and asked Ryan Wright, “So what’s the good news?”

Ryan Wright smiled mysteriously. “Something to celebrate—my wife is pregnant.”

“Wow—”

A single stone stirred up a thousand waves.