Translator: Cinder Translations
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Hearing the sound of footsteps downstairs, the chubby man peeked out from the kitchen. "Doctor, take a seat for a moment; dinner will be ready soon."
Jiang Cheng responded with a vague "Mm," as he walked over and sat down on the sofa. Last night's experiences drifted in and out of his mind, sometimes clear, sometimes fragmented, leaving him with a slight headache.
Looking up, he noticed that the office seemed to have been repaired recently.
The shelf holding patient files had been on the verge of collapse. Jiang Cheng had lazily wrapped some wide tape around it for a temporary fix. Now, the tape had been removed, and two long nails had been hammered into the breakage point for proper reinforcement. The rust on the metal brackets of the shelf had also been cleaned off.
The once-tangled wires on the wall and ceiling had been carefully untangled and neatly fastened to their proper places.
A folded ladder was leaning against the wall, with a piece of paper stuffed in between, likely to prevent it from dirtying the wall.
On the floor by the desk was an old newspaper, atop which lay a hammer, a pair of blunt scissors, a roll of black electrical tape, and various sizes of metal nails.
It seemed these were the source of the morning's clattering noises.
"Doctor," the chubby man called out from the kitchen amid the sound of running water, "Do you eat spicy food? I made scallion-flavored ribs."
"I can," Jiang Cheng shouted back, "But go easy on the spice. I'm going through puberty lately and prone to acne."
The chubby man's movements paused for a moment but quickly returned to normal.
Leaning against the sofa, Jiang Cheng's phone suddenly buzzed in his pocket. He took it out, glanced at the screen, and swiped right to answer.
"Doctor Jiang." A man's voice came from the other end, sounding young. "Are you at the office right now?"
"I am."
"Great, I'll head over now. I'm nearby, about thirty minutes away."
"Alright," Jiang Cheng nodded and then hung up the call.
The chubby man emerged with the pot just then, using some paper towels to wrap around its scorching rim. Despite this, he hurried over and put the pot down, immediately pulling his hands back. His thick fingers were already turning slightly red.
Noticing Jiang Cheng watching him, the chubby man awkwardly chuckled, explaining that he couldn't find a proper dish, so he had to make do.
"There's a dishcloth in the kitchen," Jiang Cheng suddenly said.
The chubby man was stunned for a second, realizing after a few moments that Jiang Cheng was referring to his burnt fingers. Feeling touched, he teared up and said, "Doctor, thank y—"
But before he could finish, Jiang Cheng glanced at the used paper towels and remarked, "Paper towels aren't free, you know. And you used so many at once."
". . ."
Despite his words, the chubby man's cooking skills were impeccable. Jiang Cheng ended up eating most of the ribs and finished off two large bowls of rice. Had the chubby man not snatched the last rib, he might not have even known what his own cooking tasted like.
"So, how was it?" The chubby man eagerly asked, "Doctor, how's my cooking? I learned this from the head chef at Zui Xian Lou; I was his apprentice."
Jiang Cheng put down his bowl, grabbed a napkin, and wiped away the grease from the scallion-flavored ribs. "Average," he said before letting out an unexpected burp. After calming down, he added, "But since you worked so hard, I figured I should eat more, so you wouldn't feel bad."
The chubby man couldn't hide his disappointment, quietly clearing the dishes and returning to the kitchen.
As Jiang Cheng stared at the gleamingly clean tabletop, he suddenly said, "Chubby?"
The sound from the kitchen halted. After a moment, the chubby man's voice called out, "Doctor, did you call for me?"
"I have a client coming over in a bit," Jiang Cheng said in an exceedingly calm, yet firm tone. "So, I'll need you to—"
The chubby man sighed. Ten seconds later, he replied, "I understand. I'll leave after I finish cleaning. Still, I want to thank you, Doctor, for helping me through the nightmare."
Not long after, the chubby man dried his hands and came out of the kitchen. Jiang Cheng was lounging on the sofa, only opening his eyes when he saw the chubby man approaching.
The chubby man took his work coat from the rack and put it back on. He was about to say something when Jiang Cheng interrupted him, speaking lazily, "There's a big supermarket nearby. They have a wide selection of ingredients, and most importantly, it's cheap."
The chubby man frowned in confusion, as he often did when he didn't understand this man.
"I want braised ribs tonight," Jiang Cheng said shamelessly. "Since braising takes time, you should go and come back quickly."
The confusion on the chubby man's face gradually turned into excitement. He quickly agreed, "Don't worry, Doctor."
Soon, the chubby man vanished like the wind. Jiang Cheng stood up and walked over to the file shelf, running his fingers across the files until he pulled one out.
The name on the file was "Hu Yan."
Flipping it open, it detailed Hu Yan's past behaviors here, with meticulous records, even noting her habit of shaking her leg and repeatedly glancing in a specific direction during conversations, as if extremely wary.
The direction she looked in was toward the door.
Hu Yan had disappeared after dreaming about a door. According to her, her sister had too. This part matched Jiang Cheng's experience, but there were differences as well.
At least Hu Yan and her sister had managed to communicate the dream about the door. Her sister had told her over the phone, and Hu Yan had relayed it to Jiang Cheng in person. This meant they hadn't immediately entered the door after dreaming of it.
But Jiang Cheng was different. The chubby man too. They had both entered the nightmare world the second after dreaming of the door.
As the knocking sound came, Jiang Cheng was sitting at his desk, flipping through another file. Without looking up, he said, "Come in."
The door opened, and in walked a young man.
He wore a full Armani suit, tortoiseshell glasses, a gold-embroidered shirt collar, a blue-and-white striped tie, and brown leather shoes that made a light "thud thud" as they hit the old wooden floor.
"Doctor Jiang," The young man's confident smile was quickly ruined by the way his hair was combed, resembling a traitor in a wartime film.
He bent forward slightly, his face full of flattery.
Jiang Cheng slowly put down the file, only then lifting his head to glance at him. "Pi Ruan, is it about your girlfriend again?"
"Yes," the young man smiled apologetically. "I'm really stressed about it, so I came to see you again, Doctor Jiang."
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What happened Next?
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