Sun Chan hastily refused, "You've already helped me by rescuing me, I can go on my own." She only had a little money, taken from Sun Lijuan, with no money to see a doctor for her foot.
In her past life, she had been beaten more severely, and just endured it.
Sun Chan refused a few times to no avail. Gu Junming was insistent, "I'm a soldier, how can I leave an injured civilian here?" He then turned to Xiao Wu and said, "You drive back, I'll take her to have her foot looked at."
"Okay." Xiao Wu suddenly chuckled softly, "The military hospital is just ahead, Doctor Bai works there, she'll be pleased to see you."
Gu Junming slightly frowned, "What nonsense? Do you think this is your own turf to casually gossip about a military doctor? Are you not afraid of disciplinary action?"
Xiao Wu quickly stopped joking, gave a military salute, and drove off.
Sun Chan was moved; the person Wang Dan disliked actually had a military doctor interested in him. Truly, everyone has different tastes.
At this moment, Gu Junming helped Sun Chan to her feet, "Let me assist you, let's walk slowly."
Sun Chan was very embarrassed, doing her best to walk on her own, "Thank you ... Gu, Captain Gu. You are really good people."
"It's nothing." Gu Junming checked his wristwatch, "I think we should eat first, it's not office hours for the doctor yet, you must be starving, right?"
"No need, I have some provisions. I can just eat this." She went to take the bundle from her hand, revealing the dry food inside.
Gu Junming glanced at what she carried, frowning slightly. It turned out to be a corn bun, already so hard it couldn't be broken. Swallowing it would certainly scratch the throat, her life must be tough.
"Save this for later, come with me."
She could only hobble along, being guided by him into a small restaurant across from the hospital.
There weren't many people inside, Gu Junming bought oil cakes and tofu pudding, along with a plate of pickles, and placed them in front of her.
"Eat up, and we'll go see the doctor after."
Sun Chan hadn't eaten dinner the previous night. Now seeing the golden, fried oil cakes, her stomach burned with hunger.
She swallowed her saliva and cautiously started eating. This was a delicacy she never tasted in her past life. At Zhou Family, she did the hardest work but could only eat cornmeal and potatoes to stay full, and even then sometimes couldn't get enough to eat, let alone have oil cakes.
Gu Junming glanced at her; the girl's eyes were red, as if she had cried.
But he didn't ask, not wanting to hurt the girl's self-esteem.
"Have you thought about what you might do once you get to the city?"
"Mm, I was hoping to rely on ... a friend, she's working in the city." She didn't mention Wang Dan's name, feeling that it might be awkward since she was someone who rejected him.
Gu Junming nodded. Nowadays, more people were migrating to the city for work, but this girl lacked academic qualifications, looked frail, what could she possibly do? He started considering if he knew anyone who could help.
Sun Chan, sitting across from him, felt uncomfortable. She had never been alone with a man before, nor was she good at small talk. Gu Junming was also not a talkative person. They ate in silence. Gu Junming glanced at Sun Chan; despite being so weak, she dared to escape on her own with nothing, firm and resolute.
By now more people were coming in for breakfast, Gu Junming knew it was about time. Seeing Sun Chan put down her chopsticks, he asked, "Are you full? I'll take you to get your foot checked."
Sun Chan nodded, and Gu Junming helped her up.
At this moment, the small restaurant's door opened, a woman in military uniform walked in. Upon seeing Gu Junming, she greeted him excitedly and briskly walked over.
"Junming! Is it really you? Did you come to see me?"
This woman had fine eyebrows and big eyes, fair skin, and exuded an air of youthful spirit. Though in her mid-twenties, she still looked very youthful as if she were eighteen or nineteen, with a bit of childishness, like a girl who had been spoiled.
She completely ignored Sun Chan beside him and quickly approached.
Gu Junming's tone was very polite, "I came to the city to transport some items, and I'll be going back shortly. This is a fellow villager I met on the road, her ankle is sprained, I thought to treat it here."
Bai Fanglan laughed lightly, "That's not a big deal, I'll just find a specialist to take a look at her."
"Haven't you had breakfast yet?"
"No! I saw you through the window and wanted to confirm. You think my grandpa lets me skip meals to come out?"
Gu Junming smiled, "Yes, Old Master Bai has always been indulgent with you."
Mentioning Old Master Bai made Gu Junming's expression slightly darken.
Bai Fanglan didn't notice his reaction and said with a grin, "Of course, I'm his only granddaughter, let's go."
Gu Junming and Bai Fanglan helped Sun Chan, one on each side, to walk out.
Along the way, Bai Fanglan continuously chatted with Gu Junming, whose responses were very concise, courteous yet distant.
Upon reaching the hospital, he went to register.
Bai Fanglan said, "No need, I can just take her in directly."
"We can't do that, since we're in military uniforms, we must follow procedures, no favoritism." He said as he walked swiftly to line up.
Bai Fanglan bit her lip watching his back, feeling somewhat displeased with his attitude.
She had already made her interest evident, yet why was he still so distant? She heard he even returned to the village recently for a matchmaking. Prefer a village girl over me? Wasn't this a slap in the face? Luckily, she heard the match didn't succeed, otherwise, it would be infuriating.
Bai Fanglan looked back at Sun Chan. Her hair was a bit messy, bangs covering half her face. Her clothes were shabby and dirty, the shoes almost worn out. She quickly turned her head away in distaste.
However, thinking about it, if it weren't for this country bumpkin, she wouldn't even have a chance to interact with Gu Junming, so she begrudgingly asked a few questions.
Sun Chan knew she wasn't fond of her, so she kept her responses brief.
The two of them took her to see an orthopedic doctor. Her foot was swollen so badly, barely touching it made her wince, but she didn't react much, bearing the pain.
Gu Junming glanced at her, thinking if it were someone else, they might have cried already. She was small in stature but very strong-willed.
The doctor inspected her foot and said she needed to stay in the hospital for a few days. Otherwise, she might end up limping for life.
Hearing this, Sun Chan almost fainted; she couldn't afford a hospital stay.
But Gu Junming said, "Don't worry, I'll help you all the way. You wouldn't want to be a cripple for life, right?"
Sun Chan was both touched and embarrassed, "Captain Gu, you're truly a great person. I'll make sure to earn money soon to repay you."
Gu Junming nodded and went to handle the paperwork.
Only Bai Fanglan and Sun Chan were left sitting in the corridor.
Bai Fanglan looked at Sun Chan, "How did you meet him?"