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Chapter 266: Adam Standing on the Fifth Level
🕑 Added 2025-05-11 18:08:00 +0000 UTCAfter making the call, Adam found himself lost in thought.
His breakup with Max had happened two years ago.
The reason for the breakup? A cliché one.
Max wanted to take things further, but after reevaluating himself following his experience with Heather, Adam had no such desire.
That’s how relationships go sometimes.
If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward.
Seeing Adam’s firm stance, Max chose to step away.
Adam didn’t try to stop her.
Because he had no reason to.
Nor did he have the desire to.
The "more than friends, but not quite lovers" dynamic ultimately couldn’t withstand the test of time.
The longer it lasted, the more it crumbled.
Either you grew tired of it, or you fell too deep.
The saying "feelings grow over time" isn’t just empty talk.
Max, who had always been carefree, changed after spending over a year with Adam.
The same was true for Adam and Heather after years together.
That’s why knowing when to break up is a key skill for a good playboy.
Of course, after all this time since breaking up with Max, Adam hadn’t been living like a monk.
That wouldn’t be very American.
Besides his monthly trips to Texas to visit Heather, Adam still had other people to keep him company.
Ten minutes later.
The doorbell rang.
Adam looked through the peephole, and as always, was momentarily blinded before immediately opening the door.
In Western culture, there was once a saying about "blue-blooded" nobles.
In the past, aristocrats proudly rolled up their sleeves to show the blue veins beneath their pale, snow-white skin, calling it "blue blood."
Since they didn’t engage in physical labor, their skin remained fair, distinguishing them from the darker-skinned working class.
But later, with the arrival of the Industrial Revolution, laborers were pushed into factories, working around the clock with little exposure to sunlight.
Over time, they, too, became pale.
That’s when nobles started viewing tanned skin as the new mark of status—because only the wealthy and idle had the leisure to sunbathe and develop a golden tan.
It was still all about setting themselves apart from the common folk.
But Adam wasn’t that pretentious—he had always preferred fair skin.
The kind so white it could almost blind you, like flawless jade.
He had a soft spot for it, heavily influenced by the Eastern literature he grew up with.
In the martial arts novels he read as a kid, descriptions of "jade-like women," "fair-skinned beauties," and "ivory arms" always carried a sense of allure.
And the person before him now was shockingly fair.
Who else could it be but Alice?
Neither of them spoke.
After closing the door with a nudge of their foot, the dimly lit room flickered rhythmically with its specially designed lighting.
The night was too beautiful.
*An hour later.*
"Have they assigned you to a hospital yet?"
Adam asked casually.
"Steven said he arranged it for me—I'll be in the surgical department at the Medical Center," Alice replied lazily.
"He really takes good care of you," Adam chuckled. "And what about your 'official' boyfriend, William?"
"Don't say that," Alice frowned. "William isn’t my official boyfriend. We never made it official."
"He doesn’t see it that way," Adam smirked. "You can tell he’s pretty pleased with himself after beating Steven in the competition for you."
"Even if he’s pleased, could he be more pleased than you?" Alice muttered, a little annoyed.
Adam simply laughed.
During their four years in med school, Adam had clashed with both Steven and William multiple times as rivals.
Especially William—he had resented Adam ever since the Heather situation and that trip to Las Vegas.
Adam, being highly perceptive, could see right through their dynamic.
Alice was impressive. She had both Steven and William wrapped around her fingers.
They both fell for her at first sight.
William had the looks, and Steven had the money—both were appealing in their own ways.
Though she knew Steven could help her more in the long run, she was still young and valued looks more, so she secretly leaned toward William.
But to keep Steven’s support, she refused to make things official with William.
William was furious, but Alice had been upfront with him—she got into med school through connections.
He didn’t have much room to argue, so he grudgingly accepted their secret relationship.
Over time, he got used to it and even found it thrilling.
*Exciting.*
Whenever he stood next to Steven, he was filled with a sense of superiority.
So what if you're rich?
Alice chose me!
He looked at Adam the same way.
He thought Adam had poor taste, always hanging around Ilyat and Bianca.
In his mind, even combined, they couldn’t compare to one of Alice’s long legs.
When he was with Alice, he often mocked Steven and Adam—partly to praise Alice, partly to vent his own smug satisfaction.
Lu Xun once said: No one is free from gossip, and no one refrains from gossiping about others.
Or as another saying goes: Privacy bows before even deeper secrets.
Adam understood all this perfectly.
Shortly after breaking up with Max, Adam had a heated argument with William and decided to have a "rational" conversation with Alice.
As expected, Alice was indeed a rational person.
The reason was simple.
Adam had the looks, the money, and the physique—basically an upgraded fusion of both Steven and William.
If he were actually interested in a real relationship, and not just a mutually beneficial arrangement, she would have ditched Steven and William in a heartbeat.
As Lu Xun also said: Women love bad boys.
Adam, being unapologetically "bad," was strangely appealing to Alice, who was just as "bad" but in a more discreet way.
Every time she thought about ending things, one call from Adam would have her running back to him, completely unable to resist.
And so, from their hidden vantage point, they often chatted about the people on the lower "levels"—the oblivious onlookers on the first level, Steven on the second, William on the third, and Alice herself on the fourth.
Of course, it was mostly Adam, standing on the fifth level, who led the conversation.
That’s why he understood William’s mindset so well.
Every time William flashed him that smug yet reserved smile, Adam never said a word—just smiled back.
That actually helped reduce conflicts between them and even eased some of the tension.
"William has been assigned too—he’s in the Medical Center as well, but he chose internal medicine," Alice said.
She knew she couldn’t win against Adam, so she instinctively leaned into him and indulged his love for gossip.
"Ilyat chose internal medicine too," Adam chuckled.
Though residency training required rotations in different specialties, the general direction was set.
The main division was between internal medicine and surgery.
Later, people would further specialize based on their interests, skills, and the hospital’s needs.
For example, Adam planned to go into cardiothoracic surgery, and Juno into neurosurgery.
Alice, being ambitious and strategic, had long made up her mind—she was going into ophthalmology.
It wasn’t the most prestigious field and was often looked down upon, only slightly better than dentistry, but like dentistry, it was highly profitable and relatively easy compared to other surgical specialties.
For someone like Alice, who wanted to make money, live a high-society life, and not work herself to death, it was the perfect choice.
Surgical specialties were far more competitive than internal medicine.
Ilyat, despite seeming ambitious, was actually quite timid inside.
After four years in med school, she had come to terms with her nature and chose internal medicine.
Ironically, quiet and reserved Bianca chose surgery.
Originally, she had planned to return to Chicago for her residency, but Adam convinced her to stay.
Because he had finally remembered who Bianca was.
The same Bianca from Shameless—the cancer-stricken doctor ruined by that bastard Frank Gallagher.
Now that he recognized her, and given their close relationship, Adam wasn’t about to let her walk down that same path.
(End of chapter)
