The fatty didn't even have time to stop her; the woman just walked right in...

Carrying a basket of groceries, the fatty jogged up the steps as well, but the scene before him in the studio stunned him. Jiang Cheng and a woman who looked to be in her fifties were sitting on the sofa.

They were embracing, Jiang Cheng occasionally patting the woman's back and whispering something.

In that instant, the fatty felt like his entire world had collapsed.

Perhaps he was too focused, but Jiang Cheng didn't even notice the qipao-clad woman and the fatty walk in at first, and by the time he did, it was already too late.

Jiang Cheng was okay when he saw the fatty, but his expression changed noticeably when he saw the woman in the qipao. He immediately released the softly sobbing woman in her fifties.

But he overlooked one thing: the woman was currently crying her heart out and clinging to Jiang Cheng.

The scene was a bit awkward.

After seeing off the amorous older woman, Jiang Cheng shuffled back. The qipao woman and the fatty hadn't moved an inch the entire time.

The former was calm, the latter was shocked.

Jiang Cheng pursed his lips and, after a long while, squeezed out a sentence, "You... just got here?"

"I've been here for a while," the woman's voice was as clear as stream water by a frigid pool, the biting chill seeming to overflow, "Seeing how busy you were, I didn't want to disturb you."

"Hiss—"

The fatty sucked in a cold breath. Why did her tone sound so strange?

Jiang Cheng turned his gaze to the fatty again, and the latter immediately understood.

Then, with great tact, he rushed into the kitchen with the groceries, a series of clangs and bangs ringing out, seemingly to deliberately indicate, *Say whatever you want, I can't hear you anyway.*

Even so, the fatty's ears were perked up high, afraid of missing anything interesting.

The situation was already very clear: this stunningly beautiful woman in the qipao was the doctor's girl! Friend!

It would be a lie to say he wasn't envious, but the fatty was mostly happy for the doctor.

The doctor had a good job, was handsome, and, most importantly, was very smart. Other than the minor flaw of liking to say flirtatious things, he was really great. The fatty thought to himself that if he were a woman, he would like someone like the doctor too.

He hid in the kitchen, busying himself for almost an hour. He even held back from going to the bathroom, just to give the doctor and the qipao beauty enough alone time.

The fish soup in the pot bubbled softly as the fatty prepared dinner with the utmost care.

When he felt it was about ready, he carried the dishes out of the kitchen.

That's when he suddenly noticed that the qipao beauty was sitting at Jiang Cheng's desk, while Jiang Cheng had pulled up a chair and was sitting across from her.

The fatty had seen a similar setup before. It was pretty much how his company's leaders looked when facing inspections from higher-ups.

Moreover...

The sharp-eyed fatty also noticed neatly arranged stacks of money on the desk.

"This month's income wasn't as high as last month's," Jiang Cheng confessed proactively.

"Mm," the qipao woman nodded, "Reason?"

Jiang Cheng thought for a moment, "Recently, a few rich older female clients went on a group tour to Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. They probably won't be back until next month."

"Names," the qipao woman picked up the pen in her hand and casually found a blank page in Jiang Cheng's treasured notebook to write on.

"Qian Zhenmei, Sun Youcai, Fang..."

The qipao beauty recorded everything expressionlessly, with a completely businesslike attitude. And judging from Jiang Cheng's reaction, it seemed like the consequences would be quite dire if he didn't explain the reason clearly.

Could it be...? The fatty's pupils suddenly dilated.

He immediately remembered what the Pi Ruan brothers had said the second time they came today. The gist of what they asked was: "Is Boss Lin here? I just saw her car outside."

Boss Lin!

The qipao woman was the doctor's boss!

Moreover, the fatty had been mentally exhausted from nightmares lately. Didn't he find a lot of women's qipaos in the studio before? How could he have forgotten about that?

So those qipaos were...? The fatty swallowed and looked at the qipao woman, feeling that the two's auras matched perfectly.

But he couldn't be blamed for misjudging them at first; Boss Lin and the doctor really did look good together. Anyone who saw them standing together would think they made a striking pair.

The fatty carefully placed the plates of food on the small table in front of the sofa. He and the doctor always ate here when it was just the two of them.

Just as he was hesitating whether it was appropriate to call them to eat, Jiang Cheng noticed him and spoke first, "Dinner's ready."

The fatty chimed in, "Yes, yes, why don't... why don't we eat first, and then..."

Before the fatty could finish speaking, the qipao beauty and Jiang Cheng sat down at the table together, picked up their chopsticks, and began to eat.

Their tacit understanding was as if they were one person.

The fatty's expression became awkward for a moment. He had only taken out two sets of chopsticks, so he went back to get another set for himself.

This meal was probably the loneliest meal the fatty had ever eaten in his life. The doctor and the qipao beauty didn't say a word, and he was too embarrassed to start a conversation himself.

So, until they finished eating and left the table, no one said a single word.

After dinner, the fatty huddled alone in the kitchen, washing dishes.

They had eaten dinner relatively late, so it was almost 10 o'clock, and the sky outside was as dark as ink.

As the fatty wiped his hands with a paper towel, he wondered what kind of relationship the doctor and this qipao beauty, Boss Lin, had.

In any case, it definitely wasn't just a simple employer-employee relationship, otherwise, there was no way the doctor, being so stingy, would be living so miserably.

As he pondered, he couldn't help but recall the scene from when he and the doctor first met, their first instance within a nightmare.

The luxurious villa hidden in the dense forest.

The family there all had perverted desires for confinement, especially those two girls in their early twenties. The fatty's flesh still trembled at the thought of that distorted figure crawling out from under the bed.

Could it be that the doctor was also forcibly confined here by Boss Lin?

Although it was absurd, the idea had already taken root in the fatty's mind.

Or maybe it was a trade...

A strange thought seemed to be gradually spreading in his heart. He suddenly thought of the clothes that Boss Lin had left here.

It seemed like quite a few of them were intimate items.

"Gulps," the fatty's throat bobbed violently.

"Fatty!" Jiang Cheng's voice came from a distance, probably from upstairs.

The fatty threw away the paper towel in his hand and trotted upstairs, then saw the doctor and Boss Lin in the bedroom. His expression began to turn strange.

"Fatty," Jiang Cheng said, "Don't sleep in the living room tonight. You..."

"I understand, Doctor. I'll go sleep downstairs," the fatty nodded vigorously.

He still had that much sense.

"No," Jiang Cheng shook his head, then said, "I'll sleep downstairs. You guys sleep in the bedroom together." He thought for a moment, then added, "My cervical spine hasn't been feeling well lately. I want to try sleeping on the sofa."