Sun Chan had already politely declined several times, but Bai Fanglan refused to leave, so she had no choice but to thank her and go out to buy porridge. When she returned to the door, she heard the heart-wrenching cries of a child.
She rushed in to see the child lying on the floor, crying constantly, the sound piercingly sharp, while Bai Fanglan was sweating profusely, roughly pulling at his shoulder.
"Enough! Stop crying! I just wanted you to get up and walk a bit, it's good for your health. Why are you crying?"
The child pushed Bai Fanglan's hand away, still crying.
Bai Fanglan, who had never comforted a child, felt a mess inside. Seeing Sun Chan arrived, she quickly got up.
"I don't know what's wrong with this child, forget it. You better quickly comfort him. I'll go prepare a lunchbox to make it easier for him to eat." She said and ran off as if fleeing.
"Mingming, don't cry, be strong." Sun Chan wiped his eyes with a towel, and after comforting him for quite a while, he finally stopped crying.
By the time Bai Fanglan returned with a lunchbox and a spoon, Sun Chan had already calmed the child.
Inside, she felt somewhat resistant and dismissive, thinking that these tasks were not something a doctor like her should be doing. Mingming was a bit scared seeing her and kept hiding behind Sun Chan.
Bai Fanglan tried to force Mingming to eat, but he avoided her and didn't pay any attention.
Bai Fanglan finally lost her patience, throwing the spoon into the lunchbox: "You feed him, be careful, let him eat slowly."
She was still angry when she got downstairs, thinking that a brat wouldn't stop crying. If it weren't for your parents, would I be treating you like this?
For several days, whenever Bai Fanglan had time, she would go to Mingming's side, though she didn't really help, yet she gained a good reputation. Finally, the day came when his parents came to pick him up.
They expressed gratitude towards Bai Fanglan, who had stayed by their son's side.
As for Sun Chan, Bai Fanglan had already sent her out to clean the lunchboxes and water basins.
Bai Fanglan smiled and said, "It's nothing, with a child alone in the hospital, I was worried something might happen, even though there's a caregiver, but she's from the same village and illiterate, without any medical knowledge, and often not in the ward, so I was also concerned and came by more often."
The two quickly took out some gifts to give to Bai Fanglan. They also felt a bit dissatisfied with the caregiver, wondering why the child was left unattended and why the doctor had to watch over him.
Bai Fanglan declined, "It's our duty in this profession to take care of patients, I can't accept these things."
Their impression of her improved even more, and they even talked about inviting her for a meal.
Bai Fanglan was pleased at heart but outwardly refused hastily, "It's what I should do."
Mingming's mom smiled and said, "It's just a meal, Mingming also wants Dr. Bai to join us, right?"
But Mingming ignored her completely, looking around, until he saw Sun Chan returning with the lunchbox, he excitedly waved and shouted, "Sister!"
Sun Chan smiled and walked over, "Are your parents here to pick you up?"
"Yes!" Mingming turned to his parents and said, "This sister has been with me these days, she's really nice! That doctor just kept pulling me and yelling at me, it was scary and painful, and she kept coming to my side these days, I don't like her, I like being with sister."
Bai Fanglan's face changed.
Mingming's mom smiled and pulled him, "Nonsense, the doctor wanted you to exercise so that you can recover quickly. Let's go home."
"She's annoying, asking what day you'd be back and what job you have..."
"Mingming!" Mingming's mom tugged his arm to stop him from speaking.
The child's father smiled at Sun Chan, "Thank you."
"It's nothing, it's what I should do." Sun Chan smiled at him, then squatted in front of Mingming, carefully instructing what he should and shouldn't do, information she'd learned from other caregivers these days.
Mingming hugged Sun Chan and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Inside, Sun Chan felt a sweet joy, very happy.
Bai Fanglan said, "Sun Chan, go and help Aunt Wang, don't just think about slacking off whenever you have nothing to do."
Sun Chan felt a bit displeased but didn't want to argue with her in front of the child, so she turned and left. Bai Fanglan squatted down, gently advising Mingming on what to be careful about, but Mingming seemed not to hear and turned to find his mom.
Mingming's parents, having been in officialdom for years, immediately understood the situation. Their attitude towards Bai Fanglan cooled significantly, and they left without saying more, nor did they mention the meal.
Bai Fanglan was furious, feeling like she had lost all face, thinking that the child must have been incited by Sun Chan to treat her so coldly, even causing discord between her and the two officials!
She stormed off to Aunt Wang's ward to confront Sun Chan, pushing the door open to find the two women laughing, having heard the word "doctor" vaguely said.
Bai Fanglan felt her mind buzz with anger, stormed in, and slapped her without thinking.
The room was full of people who were stunned to see Bai Fanglan behave like this.
"I hit you, you dissatisfied? How dare you gossip about others! It's no surprise you're from the countryside, uneducated and only know how to gossip!"
Aunt Wang hurriedly said, "No, we were talking about something else..."
"Shut your mouth!" Bai Fanglan cut Aunt Wang off, glaring at Sun Chan, "You better be careful in the future! Don't let me catch you making mistakes!" She turned to leave.
Sun Chan said nothing, pulled her shoulder back, and gave her a hard slap. The people in the room all shouted.
Bai Fanglan was completely unprepared for Sun Chan to hit her, staggering back a few steps, her face felt as if it were on fire.
She shook with anger, trying to hit back, but several people held her back.
Bai Fanglan shouted, "You hit me? How dare you! You think you're capable, you, a country bumpkin who can't even wash behind her ears, dare to hit me?"
Sun Chan sneered, "So having manners means you can hit people indiscriminately? When did I ever talk about you behind your back? Everyone in the room heard our conversation, we were talking about the doctor downstairs who's going to give our ward some roasted corn. You didn't ask questions and just hit? So what if I come from the village, I've never troubled you, why do you treat me like this?"
"Get lost! A person like you shouldn't be in this hospital!"
"Hah, I'm not your servant, why should I listen to you? Is this hospital owned by your family?" Sun Chan coldly looked at Bai Fanglan, "I know you've always looked down on me, you've always picked on me over trivial things, but today you came and slapped me, this can't just end like this!"