After Boss Lin left, Fatty sat on the sofa in a daze. What Boss Lin said made him feel strange, as if she was deliberately reminding him of something.

And before leaving, she told him that she wouldn't be too busy these days, and she would be near the studio.

If he remembered something or had something to say, he could look for her at any time.

Fatty raised his hand and scratched his head.

What could he possibly need Boss Lin for?

Could it be...? Fatty's eyes lit up. Did she think he was doing well and was preparing to make him a full-time employee ahead of schedule, and start paying him a salary?

Recalling what Boss Lin had said about the doctor, Fatty felt more and more that it was possible.

If she hadn't accepted him from the bottom of her heart, how could she have revealed so much about the doctor's past?

Fatty couldn't help but feel better.

He sat up straight on the sofa, determined that he must not let down Boss Lin's kindness.

He would work even harder.

He would reform himself well and strive to benefit society as soon as possible.

The light of life appeared in his eyes, and he felt that everything was getting better.

The doctor, and Boss Lin... they were all good people!

...

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was almost dark. It was getting noisy outside. Fatty hadn't seen the doctor come downstairs all afternoon, so he went up to check.

He found that the bedroom door was actually closed. Fatty was worried about the doctor, so he asked a few tentative questions at the door.

The doctor's voice was muffled, saying he was tired and didn't want lunch.

Fatty wanted to say something more, but seeing the doctor's firm attitude, he guessed that the teammates on this mission must have affected the doctor.

So he went downstairs alone, thinking about getting something for the doctor to eat and nourish himself tonight.

He waited until it was almost dark before going upstairs to tell the doctor, then Fatty went out alone carrying a cloth bag.

The previous shopping basket had been torn by the people Xia Meng brought.

He didn't expect that as soon as he left, someone came down the stairs. The office lights were not on, and only the last ray of sunset remained.

The setting sun in the sky was like blood, and the room was shrouded in a faint orange glow.

The figure slowly walked to the sofa and sat down.

The light coming in from the window quickly disappeared into the room. Jiang Cheng sat alone in the dimly lit room. On the hour, a piercing phone rang.

The phone was placed in front of him, vibrating and ringing together, disturbing him.

He reached out, first preparing to pick up the phone, but hesitated for a few seconds, and finally decided to turn on the speakerphone.

A familiar voice came from the other end, "Doctor Jiang!"

Pi Ruan's enthusiastic voice was very recognizable, but at this moment, it seemed so out of place.

Not hearing Jiang Cheng's reply, Pi Ruan continued to speak on his own, "Oh, I'm so exhausted! I rushed here as soon as I received your message, and I finally arrived."

"Doctor Jiang, you don't know, the development of Goose City is far behind our Rong City. It's so difficult to find out anything! And the address you gave me is particularly remote, but luckily I have a versatile circle of friends." Pi Ruan changed the subject, and said with a rather proud tone, "I found the residential area you mentioned, and the building number matches."

"But it has long been abandoned, and I checked the room number you gave me. The family moved away many years ago."

"Oh, right, Doctor Jiang, the former homeowner's surname wasn't Wang, it was Zhao. He was the only person in the family." Pi Ruan licked his lips, and said with an embarrassed smile, "Doctor Jiang, did you remember it wrong?"

Without any pleasantries, Jiang Cheng hung up the phone.

So... it was true.

He always felt that there was a pair of eyes watching him, very close, very close.

So close that it felt like he could reach out and grab them.

Everything about him was exposed to the surveillance of these eyes.

It wasn't just Xia Meng and her group who were being targeted.

He was too.

...

Night fell, and the neon lights along the street lit up one by one. The noise outside the window broke into the room, and a series of footsteps sounded outside the door.

After the door opened, a large figure was reflected in the doorway. Fatty hummed a nameless song, carrying a bag in each hand.

Because he didn't have a knife, he bought some cooked food, all sliced by the owner, and some cold dishes.

He could just take them out and eat them, which was very convenient.

The staple food was sorghum rice porridge. He felt that the doctor might be feeling a little irritated recently, so he prepared something light.

The money was given to him by the doctor before. After returning from the bar that night, Jiang Cheng seemed to have made a lot of money.

In a good mood, he generously gave Fatty a few red notes.

Telling him to spend as much as he wanted.

After naturally turning on the lights, Fatty shivered. "Doctor," Fatty patted his chest and said, "Why didn't you turn on the lights? You scared me!"

When Jiang Cheng raised his head and turned his gaze to Fatty, the latter's face suddenly changed.

The doctor's eyes were full of complexity, and there were many things in them that Fatty couldn't understand. "Put the things down and come sit down."

Fatty immediately put down the food and rice in his hands, then obediently walked over and sat on the sofa opposite the doctor.

He could feel that the doctor wasn't joking.

For more than ten seconds, the doctor just looked at him calmly, without saying a word. The atmosphere was so silent that it almost suffocated Fatty.

He wanted to speak first, but reason told him that it was best not to.

Just when Fatty was about to lose his composure, Jiang Cheng leaned back on the sofa. "It's been a long time since you've been home, right? Do you miss home?"

"A little bit," Fatty answered honestly.

Jiang Cheng reached out and poured a glass of water for Fatty. Only then did Fatty notice that there was a cup in front of him.

It seemed that the doctor had brought it over earlier, because it wasn't there when he left.

Picking up his cup, Jiang Cheng took a sip, but didn't put it down. Instead, he held it in his hand. "Who else is in your family?"

"Grandma is still there." Fatty scratched his head, feeling a little down. "My younger siblings should have all left. I don't know if anyone is still with Grandma."

"I'll go home with you tomorrow, to Goose City, to see Grandma." Jiang Cheng looked at Fatty and said calmly, "Consider it a small token of my appreciation."

"That's not good, Doctor. You're so busy." Fatty declined symbolically, but anyone could tell that he was very happy.

But for some reason, after seeing Fatty's reaction, Jiang Cheng's eyes became even dimmer.

Fatty could clearly see that the light in his eyes was fading bit by bit, and a breath was surging wildly in the depths of his eyes.

The doctor seemed to be suppressing something.

"Fatty," Jiang Cheng raised his eyes and looked at the chubby figure on the opposite sofa. "Don't you have anything you want to say to me?"

"It's not too late now," Jiang Cheng said, "There's still time."

The confusion in Fatty's eyes deepened. He actually heard a hint of pleading in the doctor's tone.

A plea from... the doctor.