Translator: Cinder Translations
--------
"Impressive, Doctor," Fatty was startled. "How did you even guess that?"
Putting down his coffee cup, Jiang Cheng looked at Fatty and asked, "What are your thoughts?"
Fatty's expression tensed slightly but quickly returned to normal. "Doctor, I remember we discussed this before," he hinted, "during the mission."
"At that time, you said this item might be key to solving the mission."
"Go on," Jiang Cheng took a sip of coffee. "I'm listening."
"But I can't understand… If someone among them had clues, then why was there a total wipeout?" Fatty's eyes revealed a trace of doubt. "Is this mission too hard? Or are we wrong in our assumptions?"
To Fatty, there was no fundamental difference between the first and second missions. Without the Doctor's guidance, he would've needed more than three extra lives just to survive.
"Doctor, to be honest, I think our teammates this time were pretty extraordinary," Fatty's eyes turned distant, as if caught in memories. "Yu Wen, Zhang Yinyin, and that…"
He raised two fingers to his eyes, his face twitching slightly. "That Zhen Jianren… He could even harm himself… so ruthless."
Jiang Cheng's expression didn't change, leaving Fatty unable to gauge his thoughts.
In front of him, Fatty had always felt like a blank slate. But this mission made him realize how he'd overestimated himself; "a piece of discarded paper" might be a more accurate description.
A strange thought crept into his mind, that the Jiang Cheng in nightmares was his true self, while the one before him was merely a puppet dressed as a doctor.
As Fatty pondered, Jiang Cheng looked up, directing his gaze toward the door.
Seconds later, Fatty heard the sound of footsteps.
The footsteps were crisp, the sharp sound of high heels hitting a marble floor.
"Click, click, click."
The footsteps paused at the door, followed by three rhythmically spaced knocks.
The person outside didn't seem abrupt.
On the contrary, they exuded sincerity and courtesy.
"Come in," Jiang Cheng said.
As the door opened, sunlight streamed in, slightly dazzling Fatty. Against the light, he could only make out a faint silhouette.
Gradually, as his eyes adjusted, Fatty was taken aback.
From the bottom up, the first thing he noticed was a pair of slender, straight legs.
The legs weren't just long and slim but practically radiant.
The person wore silver, gem-studded high heels, their light casting fragmented reflections across the room.
"Dr. Jiang," the person spoke, her gentle voice as soft as water. "Our boss has invited you over."
It was a young woman, dressed as a secretary in her early twenties.
A white blouse, a very short black business skirt, with black-rimmed glasses framing her face. Her expression held a subtle smile—intelligent, yet alluring.
Fatty suddenly remembered where he'd seen her before—when Pi Ruan brother had visited.
She was Pi Ruan's secretary!
"Miss Lin," Jiang Cheng didn't even stand up, simply looked at her and said, "I remember the birthday banquet is tomorrow."
"Tomorrow is the official event," replied Miss Lin, bowing slightly. "Today, we're only hosting some special guests. Mr. Pi hopes Dr. Jiang would honor us with his presence."
Her light makeup accentuated her eyes, and every smile and movement seemed to captivate Fatty's soul. He swallowed hard, imagining the pleasures enjoyed by Pi Ruan.
He felt a pang of regret.
Perhaps the old lady Liu Niuma, whom the Doctor once introduced him to, wasn't so bad. Though older and somewhat ill, she seemed like a potential partner for life.
"Apologies, Miss Lin, but I still have a patient coming in shortly," Jiang Cheng's voice was calm, even tinged with a hint of indifference.
Staring at him in surprise, Fatty thought, "Is this really the Doctor, or has he been replaced by one of the ghosts from the mission?"
But Miss Lin seemed to have anticipated Jiang Cheng's excuse, smiling as she said, "Mr. Pi expresses his deep apologies for disrupting your work." She paused, then added, "It won't be for nothing. There's a red envelope."
In the next second, Jiang Cheng stood up, shrugging off his wrinkled jacket and swiftly donning a suit.
While walking, he tied his tie and said, "I couldn't care less about Mr. Pi's good intentions, but since Miss Lin came to fetch me personally, I have no reason to refuse."
Under Fatty's shocked gaze, Jiang Cheng casually placed his left hand around Miss Lin's waist.
Who knew what he whispered in her ear, but her earlobes turned red with laughter.
The two left, chatting closely, arm in arm.
Fatty stood alone at the door, watching with a complex expression as a blue supercar sped away, revving its engine, giving him a sense of déjà vu.
After a long moment, Fatty stood by the phone, with a thick, open medical record on the desk in front of him.
"Ouyang Guifang…"
Swallowing hard, he shakily dialed the first number. As he waited, he felt a spark of hope for a new life.
The sun set in the west.
By the time Jiang Cheng returned, fully sated from food and drink, night had fallen completely.
In the dim light, Fatty sat alone on the sofa, hunched over, his figure appearing large and pitiable.
There was no smell of food in the room; since Jiang Cheng left, Fatty hadn't eaten. Ribs, fish, and other dishes sat untouched in the fridge.
Only one lamp was on in the room.
Jiang Cheng walked over, turning on the desk lamp, then removed his cologne-scented suit and hung it on the rack.
Suddenly realizing something, he paused, took the suit off the hanger, balled it up, placed it in a bag, and stuffed it in the desk drawer.
Jiang Cheng let out a long sigh after this.
Fatty hadn't initiated any conversation, so Jiang Cheng walked over and sat beside him. After a moment, he glanced at the desk and asked with hidden meaning, "Couldn't reach her?"
Feeling down, Fatty didn't even care to react with surprise, especially since the medical record—detailing a wealthy woman's condition and preferences—lay wide open on Jiang Cheng's desk.
Anyone with eyes could see it.
Fatty hung his head, still silent.
There was a knock on the door. Jiang Cheng stood up to open it, and a man holding five or six bags stepped inside.
"Mr. Jiang?" The man glanced at his order slip for confirmation.
"That's me," Jiang Cheng nodded, taking the bags and placing them on the table before Fatty.
"I ordered some seafood," Jiang Cheng said. "Have something to eat."
(End of the Chapter)
---
Want More of (NS)?
Read ahead on [Pa.treon](pa treon . com / CinderTL) – up to Chapter 192.
Early access starts at $1. Your support keeps this going!
🎁Use Code CINDER2025 to get 50% first month discount on TUR and TUP Tiers. Valid Till 15Jan2025.🎉
Subscribe to the $1 tier for this novel, or get two novels for just $5 by subscribing to any of my other two novels.
Translated 1.3K+ Chapters and 1.5M+ Words.