Chapter 586

Evelyn Carter's heart clenched as she watched beads of sweat roll down Ethan Valentine's forehead.

She rushed forward and knelt to examine his injury.

Alexander Hamilton strode over, his gaze cold as it swept over the scrapes on Ethan's knees. "This is nothing. Get up."

The basketball thudded against the pavement.

Evelyn looked up sharply. "He's about to take his college entrance exams. What if this affects his performance?"

"An athlete afraid of a few scratches?" Alexander scoffed.

The surrounding students exchanged uneasy glances, unsure whose side to take.

"Senior," Ethan said weakly, "I'm fine. Just lost my balance during defense."

Alexander's chest heaved, his voice tight with suppressed anger. "Then stand up."

Evelyn frowned. "A hospital checkup would be safer."

She signaled a teammate to help Ethan up. "Let's get him to rest first."

Turning to Alexander, she kept her voice steady. "It's just a friendly match. Was this necessary?"

"A game is a game," Alexander said darkly.

"You're years older than him. You should know better." Evelyn met his gaze. "A leg injury could ruin his exams. An injury could disrupt your work. What's the point?"

A vein throbbed at Alexander's temple. "You barely know him, yet you're this concerned?"

Evelyn sighed. "I don't understand basketball, but I can see you were both pushing too hard."

She turned back to Ethan. "Can you walk?"

Leaning on his teammate, Ethan paled. "It hurts when I move."

He tried to take a step and nearly collapsed.

Evelyn carefully inspected his knee. "I'm not an orthopedist, but a patellar injury can be serious. You need an X-ray."

Ethan panicked. "What about my sports scholarship—"

"It might be affected," Evelyn said gravely.

"Senior!" Ethan grabbed her wrist desperately. "My parents aren't in town. Can you take me to the hospital?"

As Evelyn reached for her phone to call a cab, Alexander snatched it away.

"Doesn't the school have a clinic?" His tone was icy.

"The clinic can't do CT scans." She tried to reclaim her phone.

"Let his homeroom teacher handle it."

"The teacher has class." Evelyn held firm. "I'll book an appointment first—"

"Ah!" Ethan suddenly cried out. "Did I break my leg?"

Vivian Dempsey stamped her foot in frustration. "I sold my car. There are no taxis around here."

Evelyn retrieved her phone, only to see the ride-hailing app displaying a 35-person queue.

She looked at Alexander.

His face darkened. "You can't possibly expect me to drive him."

"The patient comes first," Evelyn said calmly.

Alexander clenched his jaw and turned toward the parking lot.

Throughout the ride, Ethan kept complaining to Evelyn, while Alexander's knuckles whitened on the steering wheel.

At the hospital, Alexander hauled Ethan into the emergency room before Evelyn could intervene.

The results came quickly.

"No bone damage. Just soft tissue bruising," the doctor said, examining the scans.

Alexander snorted and walked out.

Evelyn stayed to help dress Ethan's wounds.

The nurse gave brief instructions before hurrying off.

"Senior," Ethan said pleadingly, "can you disinfect it for me? I'm scared it'll hurt."

Evelyn picked up a cotton swab. "I'm an OB-GYN. I usually perform surgeries."

Ethan stared at her intently. "I want to study medicine too."

She focused on applying the ointment.

"Senior," Ethan suddenly asked, "what kind of guys do you like?"

Her hand stilled.

"I've told you before—I don't know."

"Will you remarry?"

Evelyn countered, "Why must anyone marry?"

Ethan blinked. "That's just... what people do."

She shook her head gently. "I used to think that way too. Then I realized—nothing in life is mandatory."

Ethan looked puzzled. "Then... since our game was interrupted, and we weren't losing... can I take you to a movie?"

"No." Her reply was firm. "Right now, your only priorities are recovering and preparing for your exams."