Chapter 184: Chapter 184: Going to the Hospital to Submit a DNA Sample

After a long silence, Tristan Lawson finally decided to leave.

The current situation was that Noelle Sutton was completely unwilling to talk to him.

He knew that, really.

The main purpose of his trip today had been to get a strand of Noelle Sutton’s hair for a paternity test involving Hugo Sterling.

It was just that after seeing her, he couldn’t control the urge to discuss what had happened before.

Since his goal was accomplished, as for the matter of their divorce...

He would just have to wait.

He would wait for her to come to him in ten days.

After Tristan Lawson left, Hugo Sterling sent Noelle Sutton a message.

"Come back, he’s gone."

When Noelle Sutton returned home, Hugo Sterling was sitting in the living room.

"Sorry, he kept pestering me about where you were. I had an agreement with him, but I don’t know what got into him. He suddenly just rushed over here."

Noelle Sutton didn’t blame Hugo Sterling.

They were friends, and it was Hugo who had helped her leave, so it was inevitable that Tristan Lawson would go to him to ask about her whereabouts.

Hugo must have been in a difficult position. It couldn’t be helped.

"But don’t worry, he promised me he won’t come to bother you again for a while."

Hugo Sterling was worried Noelle Sutton would move.

In truth, moving wouldn’t be of much use. If Tristan Lawson was determined to find her, he would always find a way.

The best solution was to make Tristan Lawson give up.

Besides thanking him, Noelle Sutton didn’t know what else to say to Hugo Sterling.

These past few days, Hugo Sterling had truly helped her so much. Without him, she wasn’t even sure if she could have gotten away.

This inevitably made her think of her grandmother. If it weren’t for the connections her grandmother had left behind, and for teaching her paper-cutting, she might never have met Hugo Sterling, and he certainly wouldn’t have extended a helping hand to her.

After staying with Noelle Sutton for a while and seeing that she seemed to be in a better state, Hugo Sterling left, relieved.

After everything that had happened, Noelle Sutton felt even more strongly that she had to live her life well.

As she was now, she simply didn’t have enough strength to fight Tristan Lawson.

Just the simple matter of getting a divorce had been fraught with setbacks.

’I can only blame myself for pouring all my energy into that father and son all these years, losing my own sense of self-worth in the process.’

’That’s why I was so passive and helpless when it came to the divorce.’

’At least that one incident happened, allowing me to go through the courts to secure the divorce. Otherwise, who knows how long this would have been dragged out.’

Noelle Sutton went online to search for nearby hospitals renowned for treating liver cancer and made an appointment with a doctor online.

An online customer service representative connected with her, confirming she could go to the hospital the next morning for an initial examination on an empty stomach.

After handling that, she went back to reading the script.

The afternoon passed, and she finally finished reading the entire script.

She logged into WeChat on her computer and contacted Smith, discussing her understanding of the script with him. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Although Noelle Sutton hadn’t worked for the past seven years, she had funded Christopher Grant’s team, becoming the biggest investor in that animated film. She had also co-written the script with Christopher Grant.

To entertain Joshua Lawson, she would often create her own stories and make short, one-to-five-minute animations online.

She hadn’t updated in a long time, and many fans were frequently asking for new content. She felt she shouldn’t abandon her account and should continue posting updates.

With this experience, she wasn’t completely disconnected from the professional world.

Initially, she hadn’t wanted to come back because she lacked confidence. On top of that, with not much time left to live, she didn’t have the courage to step forward.

The greatest tragedy for a stay-at-home mom is falling out of touch with society. When suddenly re-entering the workforce and facing all its changes, it’s natural to feel a certain degree of inferiority.

Even someone like Noelle Sutton, once hailed as a genius by many of her university professors, was no exception.

However, her current situation forced her to summon her courage and get back on her feet.

With her confidence restored, coupled with her foundational skills, Smith couldn’t help but praise her profusely after just a brief half-hour conversation.

"Miss Sutton, you have real talent. It’s a true shame you’re not doing animation. If you hadn’t given it up these past seven years and had continued to work in this industry, your achievements would be no less than mine."

From their short exchange, Smith knew that she not only had technical production skills but also the talent of a screenwriter and director.

"Smith, thank you for the compliment. I haven’t thought that far ahead. I just want to do the job at hand well. As for things that never happened, I try not to dwell on them, to avoid giving myself more anxiety. Everything happens for a reason, and it’s not too late to start over now."

These words were more for her own encouragement.

’Living in the present is what’s most important.’

’What has already happened cannot be changed, and what has yet to happen cannot be predicted.’

’Worrying about gains and losses over these things is just pointlessly wearing yourself down.’

She had been trapped in that exact kind of confusion, and it had thrown her life into chaos.

’Living well in the present—that’s what’s truly worthwhile.’

Their online communication went very smoothly. When it came to animation production, it wasn’t strictly necessary to be at a fixed workstation.

Much of the production could be outsourced to specialized companies, and a single character could be completed by one person or a team of people.

It all depended on the director’s arrangements.

Noelle Sutton wanted to come for three reasons: first, to learn from Smith and live up to her mentor’s expectations; second, to get away from Tristan Lawson and his son; and third, to seek treatment options for her illness abroad.

Smith didn’t require her to be at his studio, but he did schedule a time for her to visit, get familiar with the location, and discuss anything that was difficult to communicate online in person.

Once the general creative direction was settled, Noelle Sutton could begin her work. The character designs needed to be finalized as soon as possible.

「The next day.」

After waking up, Noelle Sutton took a car to the hospital for a checkup.

Her illness was not a minor one, so she underwent a full-body examination, getting every possible test done.

The entire process, from start to finish, took up nearly the whole morning.

She would have to wait until the next day to get all the test results.

As Noelle Sutton was leaving the hospital, she unexpectedly ran into Tristan Lawson.

Today, Tristan Lawson was in a wheelchair.

Tristan Lawson didn’t know that Noelle Sutton’s previous hospitalization had been at Wyatt Yates’s hospital.

He assumed she was here for a follow-up on her throat.

He had come to the hospital to drop off a sample for testing.

His doctor had told him today that he could use a wheelchair, so he had his driver drop him off and had come inside alone in a motorized one.

He maneuvered the wheelchair in front of Noelle Sutton, his voice filled with concern. "Is your throat still not better?"

Noelle Sutton had no intention of acknowledging him, but she had just finished her medical examination. If Tristan Lawson got angry and started looking into her affairs again, he could easily discover her illness. She didn’t know what he would do after that, but she knew it would definitely interfere with her own plans.

Therefore, she didn’t ignore him. Instead, she used sign language: "It wasn’t a very serious injury. It’s been several days, so it’s almost healed."

Seeing her uncharacteristically civil attitude toward him, Tristan Lawson thought this might be a chance to talk.

He glanced at his watch. "It’s noon. Want to get some lunch together?"