"Chen Fan, don't scare me, wake up quickly..."
Lin Ru's shaking caused an unusual bumping sensation in his head.
It was somewhat enjoyable, but also felt out of place.
Chen Fan first let out a soft hum, then said with a hint of weakness, "Sister, if you shake me any more, I'll throw up."
Chen Fan's voice reached Lin Ru's ears.
Looking at their somewhat intimate posture, a blush replaced the panic in her heart.
Lightly biting her lip, Lin Ru said with self-reproach, "It's, it's all my fault. If I had known Zhao Heiniu would be so ruthless, I would have, I would have..."
As she spoke, Lin Ru's eyes welled up slightly.
At this moment, Chen Fan shook his head and comforted her, "Sister, it's okay. Even if you hadn't said anything, I couldn't have just stood by."
"But... what's this about the betrothal gift Zhao Heiniu mentioned?"
After he finished speaking, he clearly saw a look of helplessness on Lin Ru's face.
After a moment, she explained, "Our Kushui Village is too poor. You know my dad's character; he's addicted to gambling."
"Not only did he gamble away all his money, but he also racked up a huge debt of usurious loans. To pay off these loans, he accepted Zhao Heiniu's betrothal gift."
Looking at Lin Ru, who was on the verge of tears, Chen Fan also felt a pang of discomfort.
Zhao Lin's betrayal had left him in a bad mood these past few days.
But Lin Ru's daily visits to the Clinic had helped him resolve much of his emotional knot.
What's more, he and Lin Ru were childhood sweethearts, and now that Lin Ru was in trouble, he certainly couldn't stand idly by.
Almost without hesitation, Chen Fan stood up and said directly, "Let's go, find your dad."
Chen Fan's words startled Lin Ru.
She knew Chen Fan wanted to stand up for her, but Lin Ru knew her father's temper even better. If they really met, a conflict would likely be unavoidable.
"No, it's okay, I can handle this."
"You should rest first. I'll go home and come back to see you tonight."
A blush appeared on her face, and Lin Ru ran off in a panic.
Looking at Lin Ru's retreating figure, Chen Fan was deep in thought.
And recalling the gourd anomaly he saw during his unconsciousness, Lin Ru's matter was temporarily pushed to the back of his mind.
He touched his head; the wound had already scabbed over and healed as good as new.
All of this made Chen Fan realize one thing: the mysterious gourd phantom was not an illusion.
He subconsciously touched the family heirloom gourd pendant around his neck.
Now, only a lonely red string remained.
Touching his chin, Chen Fan muttered to himself, "It seems I'm a bit awesome."
Chen Fan raised his hand, and as his thoughts surged, the gourd phantom condensed in his palm.
Visibly, wisps of white mist continuously spewed from the mouth of the gourd.
"I wonder what other magical properties this mist has."
Stepping out of the Clinic, Chen Fan saw the few old hens he kept.
Looking at these old hens, Chen Fan aimed the mist at them and gently waved his hand.
After waiting for a moment, the old hens, apart from becoming a bit more lively, didn't seem to have changed much.
Seeing this, Chen Fan couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
However, thinking that this gourd could instantly heal his injuries, the disappointment was quickly forgotten.
No matter what, this thing definitely wouldn't be bad.
He glanced at the old hens again, then turned his gaze to the Clinic's front door.
At this moment, Chen Fan's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but curse, "Damn Zhao Heiniu, we're not done yet."
His parents had disappeared when he was young, and he had no job after being expelled from the hospital, so this Clinic was his home.
With his front door kicked in like this, he had no choice but to repair it first.
By the time everything was done, two hours had passed.
Looking at the sky, it was still a while before dark.
At this time, there were no patients coming to see a doctor.
When people are idle, they tend to overthink.
After several days of contemplation, he still harbored hatred for Zhao Lin's betrayal, but had also let go of much of it.
At this moment, Chen Fan was thinking more about Lin Ru.
With Zhao Heiniu showing up today, and Lin Ru having a father addicted to gambling, she was likely in for a hard time.
"No, I have to go check."
With that, Chen Fan put on a coat, locked the door, and left the Clinic.
Not long after he left, a flurry of clucking sounds came from the chicken coop.
The old hens were three or four years old and usually laid only one egg every two days.
But at this moment, the five old hens had actually laid a total of ten eggs...
Chen Fan was unaware of this.
Following the small path, he quickly arrived at Lin Ru's adobe house.
As soon as he reached the doorway, he heard a clanging racket from the courtyard.
At the same time, Lin Youcai's angry curses and the sound of smashing liquor bottles could be heard.
"You damn girl, daring to talk back to your old man! I've already lost all the betrothal money. If you don't marry Zhao Heiniu, how am I supposed to explain myself?!"
"I won't! If you want to marry him, you marry him yourself."
Lin Ru didn't give in at all, and was about to rush out the door as she spoke.
"You dare! You damn girl, today I'm going to tie you up and take you to the Zhao family."
Lin Youcai didn't waste words; he grabbed a hemp rope from the corner of the wall and walked towards Lin Ru.
Chen Fan saw all of this clearly through the crack in the door.
Without another word, he kicked open the door.
"Stop! What are you doing?!"
Someone bursting in first startled Lin Youcai, but when he saw Chen Fan clearly, he immediately flew into a rage.
"Xiao Tuzi, if you hadn't come, I was going to look for you anyway."
"Perfect timing today, I'll put an end to this girl's notions."
With that, he threw the hemp rope and Lin Youcai began searching the courtyard.
In a moment, he spotted a hoe leaning against the wall.
"Little beast, seducing my daughter, I'll cripple you today."
Lin Youcai carried the hoe, looking as if he was ready to fight to the death.
Seeing the situation about to spiral out of control, Lin Ru, who had been holding back, finally erupted.
Lin Ru took two or three steps to block Lin Youcai, holding a pair of scissors to her neck. With a dark expression, she said, "If you dare touch Chen Fan, I'll die right in front of you today, leaving you with nothing."
Lin Youcai froze, his bloodshot eyes receding slightly.
He knew his daughter's personality; if she was truly provoked, she would do as she said.
If this girl really took her own life, Zhao Heiniu's betrothal gift would have to be returned, which would be worse than killing him.
Most importantly, his daughter was absolutely determined not to agree to this marriage.
In that case, the betrothal gift would still have to be returned...
Thinking of this, Lin Youcai's old face turned ashen, his gaze wishing he could devour Chen Fan alive.
Blocked by Lin Ru, Chen Fan looked speechless.
Then, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Uncle Lin, I have to talk to you about this."
"What era is this? You're still doing arranged marriages. Besides, you know Zhao Heiniu is an uneducated scoundrel. If Sister Ru really marries him, isn't that just jumping into a fire pit?"
Listening to Chen Fan's words, Lin Youcai became even angrier.
He pouted and spoke in a sarcastic tone.
"Xiao Tuzi, what are you to dare lecture an old man like me?"
"You're right, Zhao Heiniu is uneducated and useless, but his father is the village chief, and they have money. He didn't even bat an eye at a ten thousand yuan betrothal gift."
"As for you, I know what kind of shit you're pulling just by looking at your tail."
"If you want to marry my daughter, don't say I didn't give you a chance. As long as you can slap fifty thousand yuan on my face, my daughter is yours."
"No money? Then get out of here!"