"Sister-in-law, you're here too!"
Lin Fan exclaimed in surprise to see not only Song Yue but also his sister-in-law sitting on the sofa, both looking worried.
"Xiao Fan, you're finally back!"
The two beautiful women were so excited that they jumped up together.
Song Yue, initially jealous seeing Lin Fan carrying a woman, looked closely and exclaimed, "Secretary Tian?"
"Don't just stand there," Lin Fan urged, "Secretary Tian is injured. Tend to her."
"Oh, quickly, quickly."
Xia Xue hurriedly pushed open the ward door, while Song Yue rushed to get medical supplies.
Although Tian Mengyao was significantly younger than them, just a budding young girl, in the eyes of rural folks, the village secretary was a local official. No villager dared to provoke or slight her.
Lin Fan set Tian Mengyao down on the hospital bed.
By then, Song Yue had already brought medicinal wine for bruises and some supplies for treating external injuries.
Xia Xue asked with concern, "Secretary Tian, how are you?"
"You are..." Tian Mengyao blinked in surprise, "Lin Fan's sister-in-law?"
When she had inquired about Lin Fan from Wu Lei, Wu Lei had mentioned that Lin Fan's sister-in-law was a great beauty from the surrounding villages.
She hadn't believed it then.
"In such a poor, remote place, any woman with even a little good looks would be praised to the heavens by these narrow-minded villagers!"
That was her thought at the time.
But now, seeing Xia Xue in person, she was utterly stunned.
A golden phoenix had truly emerged from a mountain gully!
Tian Mengyao came from a scholarly family and had seen countless outstanding individuals.
She dared say that even though Xia Xue was nearing thirty and wore no makeup, she was undeniably a once-in-a-million beauty.
If Xia Xue were younger, she would have been even more astonishing.
"Secretary Tian, you know me?"
Xia Xue gave an embarrassed smile, "I let Xiao Fan go in my place last time when there was a meeting. I hope you don't mind?"
She shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking a bit flustered.
"It's alright. It's fine as long as each household has a representative present."
Tian Mengyao offered a sweet smile.
She couldn't help but lament, "Such exquisite beauty! If only she weren't in such a remote place, she could have had a life of luxury with ease!"
Lin Fan quietly brought over a small stool and sat on it. He then said to Tian Mengyao, "Roll up your trouser leg."
"Oh." Tian Mengyao obediently complied, rolling up her trousers to reveal her fair, slender, and shapely legs.
Lin Fan had treated her once on the mountain, and the wound had already scabbed over.
Now, around the wound on her leg, aside from bruises, there were no other issues.
Lin Fan poured some medicinal wine into his hands, rubbed them together, and then applied it to the wound on her leg.
"Hiss! Ah!"
Tian Mengyao cried out in pain.
Xia Xue patted Lin Fan heavily on the shoulder, "Be gentler, what's wrong with you?"
Lin Fan gave a wry smile, "I need to rub the medicinal effects in. I can't do it without some force!"
"Then still be gentler."
Xia Xue chided him softly, and Lin Fan nodded repeatedly.
Following that.
Lin Fan gently massaged around the wound on Tian Mengyao's leg.
With the aid of his Purple Extreme Spirit Eyes, Lin Fan could clearly see the clotted blood and broken capillaries beneath the skin, allowing him to perform the massage with great precision and effectiveness.
Five minutes later, Lin Fan withdrew his hands and stood up, "That should be about it."
Xia Xue added, "Secretary Tian, you should rest for a while. I'll go get you something to eat."
"Rumble, rumble..."
Tian Mengyao was about to wave her hand when her stomach audibly growled.
"You wait here, I'll be right back."
After Xia Xue said this, the three of them left the ward together.
Only Tian Mengyao remained in the room.
She let out a long sigh of relief. A disaster that could have cost several lives had finally been resolved safely.
She pondered for a moment, took out her phone, and intended to call her father to report her safety.
However, the moment she pressed the dial button, she suddenly hesitated and hung up.
Her father had always opposed her coming to such a tough place for training. If he knew about this incident, he would likely try every means to transfer her back.
Tian Mengyao put down her phone. Yet, not having anyone to confide in, she felt suffocated.
So, she opened WeChat and sent a "knocking" emoji in the chat with her father.
"Dad, I encountered a little difficulty today, but luckily the outcome wasn't too bad in the end."
"Do you remember that guy I told you about before, the one with the miraculous medical skills?"
"He helped me a lot today, and after my persistent persuasion, he has agreed to join the village committee, albeit only as an observer."
Tian Mengyao was initially filled with joy, but the moment Lin Fan's image surfaced in her mind, her expression immediately fell.
"Dad, actually he's not that good, he's quite bad, you could say!"
Tian Mengyao thought for a moment, then changed it to: "But not too bad either."
"He's just bad!"
"He's okay."
Tian Mengyao deleted and revised, revised and deleted again. For a moment, she felt that Lin Fan was truly hard to describe, she couldn't tell if he was good or bad.
"Doctor, doctor!"
Two anxious shouts suddenly came from the courtyard.
Tian Mengyao recognized these voices instantly.
It was Professor Fu.
Professor Fu and his entourage looked disheveled, like refugees fleeing a famine.
Wu Lei, supporting two students on either side, also had faces as pale as paper, sweating profusely, looking utterly exhausted.
Upon seeing them, Lin Fan turned to Song Yue and said, "Sister Yue Yue, go boil some water and add sugar and salt to it."
"Okay, I'll go right away."
Song Yue responded and then busied herself.
"Professor Fu, I'm so sorry!"
Tian Mengyao limped out, threw herself into Professor Fu's arms, and began to cry.
"It's alright, we're all fine, aren't we?"
Professor Fu's tone was filled with emotion.
Although Xiao Hao was leaning with half his body on Wu Lei's arm, looking as if he couldn't stand steadily, he suddenly found strength from somewhere and shuffled over to Tian Mengyao's side.
"Senior Sister Tian, don't cry. We came here willingly to help you, and anyway, nothing major happened."
Xiao Hao wore a bright, sunny smile, as if nothing had happened that day.
Why did he travel a thousand miles to this godforsaken place to suffer?
It was all for his beautiful, well-connected, and attractive senior sister!
"Thank you."
Tian Mengyao's eyes were teary, and her gaze involuntarily was drawn to Xiao Hao's mouthful of pitch-black teeth.
When Lin Fan was on the mountain, due to the limited conditions, he could only grind the medicinal herbs with stones and mix them with water for them to take.
In the haste, he couldn't grind them finely enough, so a large amount of herbal residue clung to their teeth.
Combined with the sweat they had endured, their lips had also turned dark, making them look truly unkempt and rather repulsive.
And yet, Xiao Hao felt good about himself, maintaining his smile. Even though his face was almost stiff, he maintained what he considered his best appearance.
"Junior Brother, thank you."
Tian Mengyao glanced once and then turned her head away.
Xiao Hao froze, his excited mood greatly dampened.
Just as he was about to step forward to offer more pleasantries to Tian Mengyao, he heard Professor Fu say, "Doctor, please examine my students again."
Professor Fu didn't understand matters of romance.
His mind was preoccupied with worrying about his students' physical condition.