Hearing Chen Fan's question, the girl's face showed a hint of anger. "It's all because of you. My grandfather told me to go home and not let me follow him anymore!"
"Because of me?" Chen Fan pointed to himself in confusion.
He then added, "Your grandfather is really petty. You just lost one match, and he had to send you away?"
"You're not allowed to talk about my grandfather like that!" The girl, angered and embarrassed, kicked towards Chen Fan's crotch.
Chen Fan's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly retreated a step. "Hey, what are you doing?!"
"Who told you to insult my grandfather!" The girl showed no intention of stopping and kicked towards Chen Fan again.
Chen Fan retreated another step. "Didn't I just speak up for you? Is it right for your grandfather to abandon you like this? Why can't I say a few words?"
Hearing this, the girl finally stopped and looked at Chen Fan indignantly. "It's all because of you!"
"How did it get connected to me?" Chen Fan was puzzled.
"It's because of what you said today, about how my grandfather doesn't care about my health and how my problems are all related to him. Because of that, my grandfather won't let me continue traveling with him!"
Chen Fan was stunned. He hadn't expected it to be because of his words today.
"But what I said wasn't wrong. Your condition is okay now, but it will become a big problem over time. You're studying medicine, don't you understand this yourself? Your grandfather sending you away is for your own good," Chen Fan said earnestly.
But at this moment, the girl started to cry. "Only my grandfather treats me well at home. If I go back, I'll be targeted by the family again. I finally escaped that place, and it's all because of you, I have to go back."
Chen Fan said helplessly, "It was you who wanted to compete, and it was you who blamed me when you lost. Sigh."
The girl wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and continued to glare at Chen Fan.
"Gurgle."
Suddenly, a sound rang out.
Chen Fan glanced at the girl's hand covering her stomach and frowned slightly. "You, hungry?"
The girl ignored Chen Fan and turned her head away.
"I'll treat you to a meal, want to go?" Chen Fan asked.
"Yes," the girl replied without hesitation.
Chen Fan was amused and exasperated. "Don't you hate me? Why are you still going to eat with me?"
"I'm hungry because of you, so it's only right that you treat me to a meal."
"Hey, so I owe you?" Chen Fan was speechless, but looking at the thin girl in front of him, he couldn't bear to leave her alone. He walked towards a noodle shop across the street.
The girl followed behind Chen Fan.
Chen Fan ordered a bowl of noodles. He had to go home for dinner later, so he didn't plan to eat here.
"Didn't your grandfather give you any money?" Chen Fan asked the girl after paying, his brow furrowed.
The girl replied, "He was going to give it to me, but I was afraid my grandfather wouldn't have enough money to live on outside, so I didn't take it. He said I had money on me."
"You're quite sensible," Chen Fan praised.
Just then, a bowl of beef noodles was served and placed in front of the girl.
The next scene stunned Chen Fan's eyes. Not only Chen Fan, but all the customers in the noodle shop were shocked by the girl.
The girl picked up her chopsticks and took a huge mouthful. She finished the entire bowl of noodles in just three bites.
Even though the noodles were sparse and mostly bone broth, the girl drank all the bone broth in the bowl.
"Eat, are you full?" Chen Fan looked at her in astonishment.
The girl shook her head.
"Another, two bowls," Chen Fan called out to the boss.
He had originally intended to order one more bowl, but seeing the girl's appetite, he ordered two.
However, what happened next almost made Chen Fan's jaw drop.
The two bowls of noodles were finished by the girl just like the first one, with not a drop of soup left.
"Good heavens, is that a girl? She's a bottomless pit!"
"She can eat so much. Three bowls of beef noodles, and she looks like she doesn't even weigh a hundred pounds. How can she eat so much!"
The boss and the waiters exchanged glances, equally dumbfounded.
With Chen Fan's hearing, he could naturally hear their hushed discussions. "Ahem!" He coughed twice and asked, "Are you full this time?"
The girl seemed to have heard the surrounding discussions and felt too embarrassed to eat anymore. She nodded.
Then, she looked at Chen Fan solemnly. "I will repay you for these three bowls of noodles. Consider it a favor I owe you."
Chen Fan smiled and said nothing. He took out his wallet, thought for a moment, and handed the two thousand yuan cash inside to the girl.
The girl looked somewhat taken aback.
Seeing the girl's expression, Chen Fan said, "Take it. How will you get home if you have no money? You can't walk all the way back, can you?"
The girl slowly lowered her head, not reaching for the money in Chen Fan's hand, as she hadn't expected him to give her money.
"Consider it a loan," Chen Fan said. He could tell the girl was proud and wouldn't accept charity. Three bowls of noodles were already a favor, and she wouldn't accept more.
Hearing Chen Fan's words, the girl finally reached out and took the money he offered.
"I owe you two favors."
Chen Fan got up indifferently and turned to leave.
"You haven't told me your name yet. How will I repay you?" the girl asked, standing up with a frown.
"My name is Chen Fan. I work at Jiangcheng Psychiatric Hospital," Chen Fan said and pushed the door open to leave.
The girl quickly chased after him. Looking at Chen Fan's retreating back, she said, "My name is Situ Mulan!"
Chen Fan didn't respond, only waved his hand with his back turned and walked towards the residential buildings.
The girl stared at Chen Fan's back, lost in thought, tightly clutching the two thousand yuan in her hand.
Actually, while the girl was eating, Chen Fan had wanted to ask her about the light screen above her head when she took his pulse that morning.
But Chen Fan held back, knowing that if he asked the girl, he would expose the secret of his eyes.
Returning home, after dinner, they watched TV for a while, and then the three of them went to their rooms to rest.
The next morning, Chen Fan planned to return to Jiangcheng with Qin Shuran.
"Xiao Fan."
However, just as Chen Fan was about to leave, the old lady called out to him.
Chen Fan turned to look at the old lady. She was holding an ancient-looking booklet in her hand.
"Grandma, what is this?" Chen Fan asked.
The old lady handed the ancient booklet to Chen Fan. "Flip through it and read it when you have time. This is something left by our ancestors and the inheritance of our medical lineage."
Actually, the old lady had intended to give it to Chen Fan after he had practiced medicine for a few years. But Chen Fan's performance yesterday made her decide to give it to him earlier.
"Grandma, I will study it diligently," Chen Fan nodded and solemnly accepted the booklet from his grandmother.