Stubborn Old Man
Quentin Lin grew more and more aggrieved as he spoke. Lily Evans instantly understood—Quentin had read the medical books Lily had asked Edward to bring from overseas. He’d discovered a huge gap between ancient Chinese medicine and modern medical science, and had honestly brought it up to his father. The result? Dr. Rowan Lin, who fiercely guarded the Lin family’s reputation and brooked no dissent, had given him a good beating.
Now, after Quentin finished speaking, he looked utterly dejected.
But Dr. Rowan Lin didn’t think he was wrong at all. Instead, he glared at Quentin, fuming: “You little rascal, you’ve only studied medicine with me for a few years and you think you’ve mastered all the Lin family’s secrets? Ignorant and arrogant! How dare you criticize our family’s medical arts? You’ll be the death of me!”
Quentin, though upset, was stubbornly committed to the truth. He shot back, “Dad, maybe I haven’t studied medicine for long, but I understand the principles. I’ve watched you treat patients for years. What I read in those books is a whole different world from the Lin family’s medicine. We have our strengths, but we can’t be blindly arrogant and refuse to admit that others might be better than us in some ways!”
“You unfilial child, still so disrespectful!” Dr. Rowan Lin was absolutely furious.
Lily watched from the sidelines, knowing both father and son were stubborn to the bone—neither would back down, and this head-to-head would only end with Quentin getting the short end of the stick.
Coming from the modern world, Lily agreed with Quentin’s view, but she knew this truth was something Dr. Rowan Lin, a man of the old days, simply couldn’t grasp.
In Dr. Rowan Lin’s eyes, the Lin family had always stood at the pinnacle of medicine—others could only look up to them in awe. Centuries of pride left no room for doubt.
So when that doubt came from his own son, Dr. Rowan Lin simply couldn’t accept it.
He’d never seen modern medicine, nor the books Quentin had read, so he simply couldn’t comprehend Quentin’s shock.
Quentin was still young, at the age where he soaked up new ideas like a sponge. After reading those books, he naturally accepted fresh concepts, and thought his old man was just too stubborn—maybe even a little old-fashioned—for clinging to ancestral pride.
Neither father nor son could convince the other. Dr. Rowan Lin detested those foreign medical texts, refusing to even glance at them.
In the end, they parted on bad terms. Dr. Rowan Lin threw out one last warning: “Quentin, if you dare go to that academy and read those foreign books again, don’t bother calling me your father!”
Quentin, stubborn as ever, retorted, “Dad, are you forbidding me because you’re scared? Afraid I’ll read more medical texts, prove I’m right, and embarrass you?”
“You! Scoundrel!” Dr. Rowan Lin was so furious he raised his hand to strike, but Alexander Hayes swiftly intervened, blocking him. Lily Evans shot Quentin a look: “Quentin, run to the Prince’s Manor! Wait until your mother comes home, then come back!”
Quentin got the message and dashed off at full speed.
Dr. Rowan Lin wanted to chase him, but with his martial artist son-in-law blocking the way, he couldn’t very well beat up his son and then take on Alexander. He could only give up, stalking off with a stormy face and hands clasped behind his back.
Quentin sprinted toward the Prince’s Manor, with Simon Yu chasing after him. By the pond outside the manor, Simon finally caught up and pulled Quentin to a stop.
“Quentin, what’s gotten into you today? You really worked your dad up.” Simon Yu ruffled Quentin’s hair.
Quentin puffed out his cheeks and said, “My dad’s just an old stick-in-the-mud! He refuses to accept new knowledge and blames me for it. Hmph, I won’t back down!”