An hour later, the sky gradually darkened.
Lin Fan saw off all the patients and stretched.
"Finally done."
"Xiao Fan..."
As soon as Tian Mengyao entered, she saw him stretching out in front of her without any pretense, his shirt riding up, revealing his pale belly.
"What are you doing?"
"Tired?"
Tian Mengyao looked at him with a mixture of concern and playfulness.
"Of course, you always complain that I don't help you. But think about it from your perspective. You have a group of people you can command. Who can help me?"
Lin Fan got a stool for her, and they sat down at the entrance.
Most of the sunset had already fallen behind the mountain, leaving only a lingering glow that dyed the clouds in the sky a deep red.
A gentle breeze blew, cool yet carrying the fresh scent of sprouting grass and trees in spring.
They sat there quietly, enjoying the rare moment of leisure.
"Xiao Fan, I have something to tell you."
Tian Mengyao rested her hands on her legs, looking completely dispirited.
"What kind of trouble has Secretary Tian run into again?"
"If you need money, I'll give you money. If you need people... I'll find people to help you work."
Lin Fan paused, distancing himself from the offer.
Tian Mengyao rolled her eyes and said leisurely, "Bai Jing was fired."
"What?"
Lin Fan was stunned for a moment before he reacted, "It can't be! She... didn't make that big of a mistake!"
Although he said that, thinking back, Bai Jing had indeed made a very serious mistake.
Forging documents and illegally carrying a weapon; it was already fortunate she didn't go to jail.
"You're a man, you should understand the seriousness of this better than I do."
Tian Mengyao sighed, her voice quivering with tears, "I'm sorry to her. If I hadn't called her then, things would never have escalated to this point."
"Xiao Fan, I feel like I've ruined her future."
"Alright, alright."
Lin Fan gently patted her back, "Let's give her some material compensation and help her as much as we can. At least she shouldn't suffer a loss."
"Mmm."
Tian Mengyao nodded, pouting pitifully, "Sister Bai specifically told me not to tell my mom about this, and she didn't dare to tell her family either. She's homeless now."
"After she has some time to clear her head, she said she wants to come and stay with me."
Lin Fan scratched his head, "That's for the best. Find her something to do first. After some time, when the knot in her heart loosens, she'll be fine."
"Xiao Fan, why are we so unlucky!"
Tian Mengyao leaned against his shoulder, "You finally managed to get that magical little pot, but I don't know if it was because I used too much green liquid, the medicinal herbs are growing at an astonishing rate, and the villagers are scared."
"We had good intentions, and let that crazy woman Xu Zixin build a mountain god temple on the mountain. I didn't even bother with her when she occupied the village land and destroyed some of the forest."
"But she, on the other hand, heard that the medicinal herbs in the fields were growing wildly, and came running over, shouting that this was the mountain god's blessing, and wanted to drag the villagers into superstitious practices."
Tian Mengyao felt very upset. She was doing a good deed and ended up attracting a pile of trouble. Where could she reason with anyone?
"I'll tell Xu Zixin later not to go too far."
"Don't look at me like that. I'll just say the mountain god doesn't like crowds, and she'll listen, won't she?"
Lin Fan said with full confidence, enduring Tian Mengyao's glare.
"Fine, if the great philanthropist Lin speaks, who would dare not listen!"
"What about the problem of the medicinal herbs growing too fast? Should we blame it on the mountain god too?"
Tian Mengyao's tone was full of helplessness.
"It's not a bad thing. What's wrong with admitting it?" Lin Fan said with a smile.
"Only you are capable of this." Tian Mengyao chided him playfully.
She looked up at Lin Fan, then quickly lowered her head.
Then she sighed and couldn't help but look up again.
"Do you have something you want to tell me?"
Lin Fan lowered his body to meet her gaze and asked.
"Xiao Fan, my... my dad wants to transfer me away," Tian Mengyao stammered.
Lin Fan froze.
"Why?"
"Why else? Since I was a child, he's arranged everything for me. My life must follow the path he planned, without any deviation," Tian Mengyao said helplessly.
Lin Fan felt a pang of melancholy. She probably came here today mainly to talk about this.
"Do you want to leave?"
"Do you want me to leave?"
Tian Mengyao looked at Lin Fan with expectant eyes.
"Of course, I don't want you to leave."
Lin Fan said very decisively, "I wish you could stay here forever. In the future, I'll farm... no, I'll practice medicine, and you'll be the village party secretary. We'll be a perfect couple, have two children, a boy and a girl, twins."
"You're awful! Who wants to have children with you?"
Tian Mengyao's face turned red, her cheeks flushed like cute, ripe apples.
"With your words, I'm at ease."
She took a breath, her conviction strengthened.
"I'm over twenty, not a two or three-year-old. I can't listen to my dad about everything."
"If he forces me too much, I'll... I'll..."
"You'll what?"
Lin Fan was curious, what outrageous thing could this silly girl do.
Tian Mengyao gritted her teeth and said resolutely, "I'll get a marriage certificate with you. Let's see what he can do."
In an instant, the air seemed to freeze.
Lin Fan's expression was bewildered, and his face turned extremely unpleasant.
"What, you don't want to?"
"No, no, no..."
Lin Fan waved his hands repeatedly, "I just think marriage is something distant. Hearing it from your mouth suddenly, I'm a bit at a loss."
He thought to himself, that was close, he almost revealed his true feelings.
"Xiao Fan, is there something you're hiding from me?"
Tian Mengyao looked at Lin Fan with a serious expression.
"No!" Lin Fan denied it emphatically.
"Do you love me?"
"Love you!"
Faced with such a question, Lin Fan answered without hesitation, as if it were second nature.
"Then will you marry me?"
"...Yes!"
The momentary hesitation was clearly captured by Tian Mengyao.
She stood up and walked out without a word.
"Mengyao, what's wrong?"
"I'm going back to work. Your suggestion is very good, and I will consider it carefully."
Tian Mengyao didn't look back. Her abnormal behavior said it all.
"Hey, listen to me!"
Lin Fan didn't chase after her, because he knew in his heart that it would be useless even if he did.
If he married Tian Mengyao, wouldn't he have to abandon Xia Xue?
He couldn't do such a thing.
"Sigh~"
Bang!
Lin Fan sighed deeply and kicked over the stool beside him.
He rarely lost his composure, but today he couldn't help himself.
In his life and career, he seemed to be flourishing, with everything going his way.
More and more money, his reputation growing louder and louder.
However, in terms of romance, it was a complete disaster!
"Damn it, if things get too much, I'll discuss it with my sister-in-law and see if I can marry a few more," Lin Fan said with a mischievous grin.