Chapter 8: Dumb Money

At the entrance of the shopping mall.

Amber, seeing that Tina would not be persuaded, left with the two girls by her side in a huff.

She certainly didn't want to get dragged down by Tina later on.

After Tina finished performing CPR on the little girl, her breathing gradually stabilized.

At this moment, an ambulance arrived, and Tina told the middle-aged woman, "She's stable for now, but she still needs to go to the hospital for treatment."

Having said that, Tina got up to leave.

The middle-aged woman hurriedly stopped her, "Miss, thank you so much. May I have your name so we can repay your kindness in the future?"

"No need!" Tina left these words behind and turned to walk away.

Jared and the others arrived just in time to see Tina's departing figure.

This time, he was in a wheelchair with Nathan pushing him.

Jared watched Tina for a long time; her silhouette seemed familiar!

Before he could ponder further, Hayden had already approached the now-conscious Sophia, "Sophia, how are you feeling?"

Sophia smiled weakly at Hayden, "Hayden, I'm fine. Just now, a beautiful lady saved me. She was so amazing."

When Tina had arrived, Sophia hadn't completely lost consciousness.

"A beautiful lady?" Hayden was puzzled.

"Yes! A very beautiful lady saved me. When I felt like I couldn't breathe, she placed her hands over my heart and kept pressing down, and I felt my breathing gradually come back. My body stopped hurting too, and also..." Sophia's excitement grew as she spoke.

Hayden was momentarily stunned, then he joked with a smile, "No matter how good she is, she can't be better than my Serena."

In his heart, Serena was like a goddess.

Jared glanced back at the vanishing figure, deep in thought.

"Jared, I'm sorry, I worried you," Sophia said, noticing Jared's silence and thinking he was angry, she carefully apologized.

Jared looked into her clear eyes, and any anger and worry he had dissipated. With a gentle voice as soft as water, he stroked Sophia's head, "Let's go to the hospital first."

At the hospital, in the VIP ward.

Ben Channing burst into the room with an excited look on his distinguished face, "Mr. Farrell, good news, the toxins in Sophia's body have been reduced by more than half."

He was Sophia's personal physician and was only responsible for her medical condition.

He too had come to Ensford with Sophia, but because she had become extremely self-conscious about her face, she didn't like interacting with people, and so he normally wouldn't appear in front of her.

He hadn't accompanied them to the mall.

Hayden stood up abruptly, incredulous, "Are you serious?"

A flash of surprise crossed Jared's dark pupils, "Are you certain?"

"Positive!" Ben handed Jared the medical report, his voice filled with excitement, "Not only that, but the pus-filled bumps near Sophia's eyes have also disappeared."

Hayden's eyes widened in shock, "The bumps are gone? You're not joking?"

Sophia was ugly, not by birth but because she had been poisoned at the age of two. The poison, once it flared up, caused her face to be covered in bumps and sores. This poison was dominant; despite three years of effort, they had not been able to identify the toxin in Sophia's body.

Let alone control the spread of the toxins. In fact, if they couldn't find a cure soon, Sophia wouldn't survive the spring.

Jared had racked his brains over this because few people knew that Sophia had actually taken the poison for him.

The original target of the poison had been him.

"How can I joke about such a thing?" Ben glared at him, "I've tested repeatedly, and her poison has indeed receded significantly."

Ben looked at Jared, asking excitedly, "Mr. Farrell, where did you find the doctor? This is truly miraculous!"

He had been studying medicine since he was young and was considered a medical prodigy, but he had no solution for Sophia's condition.

This had dealt a huge blow to him, so knowing that someone had managed to reduce the poison in Sophia's body by half, he was very excited.

He was eager to learn and discuss further.

Jared's gaze grew more focused, and turning towards Sophia, he asked Mrs. Brown, "The girl who saved Sophia today, did she leave a name?"

Mrs. Brown thought for a moment, then replied, "I only heard them mention something about the Reed family. Before I could ask more, she had left."

"Reed family?" Hayden pondered for a moment, then said, "There's only one Reed family in Ensford, could it be Amber?"

With that thought, Hayden slapped his leg, "Right, it must be her. I heard that Amber Reed is studying medicine under Dr. Ward, and she's also beautiful. It matches the description Sophia gave."

Jared's lips remained sealed.

Hayden, chuckling, leaned in and teased, "Mr. Farrell, why not make another sacrifice and marry this Miss Reed?"

Jared looked up and slapped his face, "Stay away from me."

He was a bit headache-ridden.

Having promised to call off the engagement, there was no reason to go back on his word.

After a moment of silence, he instructed, "Nathan, prepare a gift, and visit the Reed family to express our thanks."

By all accounts, he should have gone in person.

But he figured Miss Reed wouldn't want to see him, a disabled man.

Back in Pinkwater Alley,

When Tina returned, Hugo and Jennie sat stiffly on the sofa, their expressions tense.

Tina poured a glass of water and looked at them, "What's the matter with you two?"

Upon seeing Tina, Hugo abruptly stood up, grabbed her arm, and said excitedly, "Hit me, quickly slap me!"

Tina, "...?"

She withdrew her hand and coughed lightly, "What's gotten into you?"

"I feel like I'm dreaming!" Hugo glanced around the house, swallowing hard, "I checked, and just the furniture in this house is worth tens of thousands of dollars. To think such a nice place is rented to us for five hundred dollars, are we caught in some kind of scam?"

Hugo even glanced toward the door, then said in a low voice, "Maybe we should run. If the scam leader comes in later, we won't be able to escape."

Tina's mouth twitched hard, "Do you have a persecution complex?"

She patted Hugo's shoulder, "Mr. Reed, this is Pinkwater Alley."

Hugo blinked, "I know! The most luxurious district in Ensford."

"Do you really think someone would dare run a scam here?" Tina said, somewhat exasperated.

After all, he was the youngest son of the Reed family and had seen much of the world; how could he be so scared by an apartment?

Hugo paused for a moment, then said, "Oh, right."

Then he continued, "But why would the landlord rent it out to us so cheaply?"

He couldn't understand.

Tina pinched the bridge of her nose, "Didn't the agent say the landlord needed someone to look after the place?"

"But five hundred dollars is too little."

Tina smiled, "Perhaps it's just someone with some dumb money."

"Indeed," Hugo nodded.

Tina only wanted to say—no, she wasn't foolish, nor did she have any money!

But what could she do when she had a father who was penniless?

The tense Jennie also relaxed, "Since there's nothing wrong with the house, let's just live here peacefully. We're lucky to have such a nice place to live; it must be because Tina is blessed."

The supposedly fortunate Tina was like, "..."