Chapter 130 Dawn

The sky brightened.

The night had been unusually peaceful. Jiang Cheng hadn't slept at all, and as dawn broke, he leaned back against the pillows to rest, sending Fatty off to get breakfast, and to bring something back for him as well.

"Fatty," Jiang Cheng said, sitting at the table, looking at the roujiamo (meat sandwich) in his hand, then glancing sideways at Fatty's, a look of dissatisfaction on his face. "Why does yours have so much more meat?"

Licking his lips, Fatty said embarrassedly, "Doctor, yours is normal. Mine has the meat from two roujiamo combined."

"You Qi didn't come down for breakfast today," he explained. "So I took his apart and stuffed the meat into mine."

"Tsk," Jiang Cheng glanced at him, then immediately held out his own roujiamo, righteously saying, "Fatty, eating so much meat isn't good for you. Here, let's trade."

Hearing this, Fatty immediately clutched his roujiamo, and under Jiang Cheng's gaze, the excessively bulging sandwich continued to drip oil, looking incredibly appetizing.

"Doctor," Fatty said sheepishly, "I'm not eating this roujiamo. It's for the little beggar. I've seen the food she steals, mostly leftover mantou (steamed buns) and scraps. Not very nutritious. She's just a kid, still growing."

Jiang Cheng said excitedly upon hearing this, "I'm also busy with my second growth spurt! I'm still growing too!"

Fatty, hearing this, switched the roujiamo to his other hand, hiding it behind his back where the doctor couldn't see.

Fortunately, although the doctor verbally expressed his desire, he ended up grumbling and eating his own, "I'm not eating anymore," Jiang Cheng said after a few bites, tossing the remaining half of his roujiamo onto the table, and storming off to bed to catch up on sleep.

Staring at Jiang Cheng's leftover half roujiamo, Fatty couldn't help but lick his lips. The alternating layers of lean and fatty meat inside the roujiamo were exposed, still dripping oil.

"Doctor," Fatty forced his gaze away from the roujiamo, looking at the doctor, who was sprawled on the bed in an odd posture, and asked worriedly, "You didn't sleep all night yesterday. Shouldn't you eat more?"

"I'm full," Jiang Cheng mumbled, most of his face buried in the pillow, with only a small portion exposed for breathing. His voice sounded muffled.

Since the doctor had said so, Fatty didn't stand on ceremony. He licked his lips, picked up Jiang Cheng's remaining half roujiamo, and devoured a third of it in one bite.

He hadn't eaten his fill at breakfast either. He only ate the outer crust of his own roujiamo, stuffing the remaining meat into the roujiamo he had prepared for the little beggar, stopping only when it was almost overflowing.

It didn't matter if he missed a meal, that little beggar was just too pitiful. The thought of the little beggar's appearance filled him with sadness.

Most importantly, she was very kind to him.

If it hadn't been for the little beggar's warnings, he and the doctor would probably be in danger.

Chewing on the roujiamo, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the half roujiamo the doctor had left behind had an especially generous amount of meat. His mouth was full of oil, and after swallowing, he couldn't wait to take another bite.

"Doctor," he turned his head to look at Jiang Cheng's bed, asking, "Are you really not going to eat any more? It's really good..."

Before he could finish speaking, Fatty stopped. The instant he looked at the doctor, he suddenly realized that the doctor also seemed to be squinting at him with one eye.

But when he looked again, the doctor's eyes were closed, as if he were asleep.

Fatty wasn't sure if he had seen it wrong. After a moment, he asked tentatively in a low voice, "Doctor?"

Smacking his lips, Jiang Cheng turned over, leaving only his back to Fatty.

Fatty breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the doctor was not only asleep, but sleeping soundly.

Just as Fatty was wondering when he would get another chance to see the little beggar and give her the roujiamo, there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Knock, knock, knock."

The knock was very light. The person seemed very polite, not like the middle-aged woman, nor like Xia Meng had returned.

Jiang Cheng immediately sat up in bed.

"Is anyone there?"

Fatty recognized Chen Qiang's voice. He had a good impression of the latter, but he didn't speak, instead turning to look at the doctor, since he was the one with the authority to make decisions here.

Seeing the doctor nod, Fatty trotted over and opened the door.

Seeing Fatty, and Jiang Cheng sitting by the bed, Chen Qiang said very politely, "Mr. Hao," he first nodded to Jiang Cheng, then nodded to Fatty in front of him. "Brother Fatty, great, you're both here."

"What's up?" Jiang Cheng asked bluntly.

"I... Can I move in here with you?" Chen Qiang adopted a very humble attitude. His face wasn't annoying to begin with, but now he looked even more pitiful.

"Did something happen in your room?" Jiang Cheng walked over to the table and sat down, looking up to ask.

"No, it's just that I'm the only one left." Chen Qiang said, "It's too dangerous here, so I was wondering if I could move in and live with you."

"Mr. Hao and Brother Fatty seem like good people," he added, his expression very serious.

"I don't understand what you're saying?" Jiang Cheng said with a smile, pouring himself a cup of tea and taking small sips. "Are you implying that there are bad people among us?"

Chen Qiang looked outside the door, then turned back and lowered his voice very formally. "After I returned to my room last night, You Qi came to find me. He asked me some questions, some of which..." He paused deliberately, seemingly testing the reaction of the two men.

Unexpectedly—

"Fatty." Jiang Cheng let out a big yawn, waved his hand at Fatty, and said without looking up, "Help me see Brother Chen out. I'm tired, I'm going back to catch some Z's."

Hearing this, Chen Qiang immediately said, "Some of the questions were related to Miss Chen and Mr. Hao."

Having probably figured out Jiang Cheng's temperament, Chen Qiang explained everything in detail. "Mr. You Qi climbed in through the window last night. He startled me when he came. He seemed very nervous. He immediately asked me if I wanted to leave here alive. If I wanted to live, he could help me." After a pause, he continued, "Help me survive and then leave the nightmare."

"Of course, there are conditions. He needs me to cooperate with him." Chen Qiang recalled. "He asked me if I knew your backgrounds. He said that you and Miss Chen and An Xuan were all from a mysterious organization called Shen Hong (Crimson), and that you were brutal, bloodthirsty, and that if I didn't cooperate with him, I would probably soon be poisoned by you."

"Just like Miss Zuo Qing and Miss Tang." Chen Qiang said, "You Qi said that they were actually killed by you. You used ghosts to get rid of them."

After a moment, Jiang Cheng leaned back, resting against the back of the chair, and suddenly asked in a strange tone, "How... do you know that what You Qi said isn't true?"

"I can feel it, Mr. Hao, and Brother Fatty." Chen Qiang tilted his head and said, "You are good people. That You Qi is the one with the problem."

"So..."

"I want to be with you." Chen Qiang said, "You can tell me what you need me to do."

Jiang Cheng looked at the young man for a long time. He looked a few years younger than himself, like a college student. The immaturity on his face hadn't completely faded away, and he probably hadn't left campus and experienced the trials of society.

But that didn't stop him from being a smart person who could recognize the situation.

His judgment of the situation was also quite clear.

"Go back for now." Jiang Cheng said, "You can come over later."

Chen Qiang nodded, "Okay."

Without any more nonsense, Chen Qiang left. Fatty seemed to want to ask something before he left, but Chen Qiang didn't hesitate at all.

Fatty had thought that he would beg to stay here during the day as well.

After Chen Qiang had walked away, Fatty turned back and said to Jiang Cheng, "Doctor, I think this guy is pretty good."

"I'm not sure about the person, but at least he's not stupid." Jiang Cheng commented.

"Doctor, do you suspect that his motives are problematic?" Fatty said, looking in the direction Chen Qiang had left, frowning, and turning back to ask, "Really? I think what he said was very clear. He even told us that You Qi had a problem. If You Qi hadn't told him about Shen Hong, he definitely wouldn't know about it."

"That's just because he's not stupid." Jiang Cheng squinted and said, "This guy is not dumb. He should already see the general situation now. In his judgment, I and Xia Meng and An Xuan are in the same group."

"With just him and You Qi, wanting to deal with the three of us," Jiang Cheng shook his head, "It's obviously unrealistic, so he might as well join us. His goal is just to survive safely. As for Shen Hong or whatever, he doesn't care."

Fatty blinked, "If that's the case..."

Before he could finish speaking, a burst of rapid footsteps rushed over, and Xia Meng's face appeared in the doorway. "Come with me." Her face wasn't very pleasant. "Steward Zhou wants us to go over."

"Go where?"

"They're going to torture someone in the mansion." Xia Meng said very quickly. "They want us to watch."

Everyone walked this way with a lot of trepidation. Chen Qiang also followed beside them, but An Xuan and You Qi were nowhere to be seen. The middle-aged woman led the way leisurely in front.

Her steps seemed very light, but her speed was fast. Fatty had to walk faster from time to time to keep up.

Without a word along the way, the few people had guessed that watching the torture was probably not the goal. The person being tortured was probably the point, and among them... there were two people missing.

Would it be You Qi, or... An Xuan?

And what had they done to be caught by the Huang mansion's servants and tied up to be tortured?

With uneasy feelings, the group arrived in front of a remote residence. The vermilion gate was tightly closed, and a young woman stood outside the gate.

The woman's eyes were dull until the group walked in front of her, and then her eyes began to focus.

"Wait outside." The middle-aged woman turned her head and stared at them coldly. "After the torture, you will be called in to watch."

Just as Fatty was wondering, a very muffled sound suddenly came from the courtyard behind the door.

"Bang!"

It sounded like a kick on a sandbag.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

...

The sounds came one after another, and they were very rhythmic, two at a time, alternating with each other.

Slowly, Fatty's expression changed. He thought... he seemed to have heard this sound somewhere before.