He paused, halfway through taking a step.

With a sense of belated realization, the fat man's entire body instantly froze.

Yes, if he hadn't noticed the newspaper tucked against his skin and had fallen asleep normally, what would have happened afterwards?

He would probably have been drawn into a nightmare like Jiang Cheng last night.

And then... he would die.

Turning into the dead fat man Jiang Cheng had mentioned.

The neatly packed bag he was holding in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud," and the half-empty bottle of iced black tea rolled out, gurgling until it hit the wall with a "thump."

"Doc... Doctor..."

The color drained from his face, and he turned back, trembling, only to find the bedroom door was closed, and the sticky note on the doorknob was gone.

A few seconds later, the doctor's voice came from inside the room, "Don't bother me tomorrow morning." His voice was muffled, as if he were buried under the covers.

"I want to see the spareribs on the table before 11," he continued. "And the garlic paste, aged vinegar, seafood soy sauce... the scallions must be fried in oil."

......

The fat man behaved even better than Jiang Cheng had described. After waking up in the morning, he moved his body slowly, almost without making a sound.

His footsteps were also very light when he went downstairs.

He went to the early market to buy some fresh Chinese yams, peeled them, cut them into sections, and put them in a pot to simmer with the cleaned spareribs.

He also took the liberty of buying some small cucumbers, no thicker than his fingers, and pickled them with salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and so on, so that they could be served as a cold dish when the doctor woke up.

The spareribs went into the pot at 8 o'clock, and the fat man calculated the time so that it would be just right to wake Jiang Cheng up at 10:50.

He spent the rest of the time cleaning.

Wearing rubber gloves, he started with Jiang Cheng's office, cleaning the desk, chairs, and computer... The fat man picked up Jiang Cheng's keyboard and couldn't help but frown.

The only unlocked drawer contained two large rolls of toilet paper.

He cleaned very carefully, not missing any nooks or crannies.

He had worked as a housekeeper and knew a little about renovation, so these things were not difficult for him, just time-consuming.

Just as he was squatting on the ground, holding a disinfectant spray in one hand and struggling with a stubborn stain with a rag in the other, he heard footsteps coming from the stairs.

The fat man just raised his head when Jiang Cheng rounded the corner and appeared.

"Doctor," the fat man greeted enthusiastically, "you're up early, it's just a little after 10 now, the spareribs aren't ready yet."

Jiang Cheng seemed to be still half asleep, his eyelids barely lifted, and he staggered into the bathroom by the stairs like a zombie.

Soon, the sound of washing came from inside.

After a burst of refreshingly satisfying water sounds, Jiang Cheng slowly opened his mouth and said, "It's okay, I can wait a little while."

"You're working hard, Doctor."

The chaotic state Jiang Cheng displayed didn't improve until he tasted the first bite of spareribs.

Because it had been stewed for a long time, the meat on the ribs fell off with a gentle nudge of the chopsticks. Jiang Cheng picked up a large piece of meat, dipped it in the dipping sauce, rolled it around a few times, and stuffed it into his mouth.

While serving Jiang Cheng sparerib soup, the fat man reminded him, "Be careful, Doctor, it's hot." He paused, and then added, "You don't have to rush, no one is going to snatch it from you."

Jiang Cheng finished almost the entire pot of spareribs in less than half an hour. After the meal, the fat man went to the kitchen to wash the pots and dishes as usual, and Jiang Cheng leaned on the sofa, picking his teeth.

"Fatty," Jiang Cheng squinted his eyes comfortably, "You're not busy later, are you?"

The sound of water in the kitchen gradually subsided.

"Not busy, Doctor," the fat man wiped his hands with a towel, turned his head and replied, "Is there something you need?"

"Accompany me out for a trip this afternoon."

"Understood, Doctor."

When they went out in the afternoon, Jiang Cheng had dressed himself up very properly. He already had a face that rich women liked, and now, at first glance, he gave people the illusion of being a young and promising elite in the industry.

"Doctor," the fat man standing in front of the door lowered his head and stared at the tips of his shoes, mustered his courage, and said hesitantly, "Do you think... do I need to tidy up..."

"I'm going to see a client, not a rich woman," Jiang Cheng straightened his tie, directly cutting off the fat man's thoughts.

When the two of them stood on the side of the street, the fat man was in trouble again. He originally thought that the employer would send a car to pick them up, or at least take a taxi, but Jiang Cheng directly led him to the bus stop.

The fat man pursed his lips, and then said after a long while, "Doctor, are we... taking the bus?"

"Mhmm!"

"But..." the fat man continued, "Doctor, did you bring any change? I've used up all my change."

Mentioning the issue of money, Jiang Cheng's gaze suddenly became deeper, but soon his gaze bypassed the fat man and noticed a corner on the side.

The fat man followed Jiang Cheng's gaze and noticed an old man walking towards them with a limp, leaning on a cane.

The old man was wearing a tattered sweater, dark red in color, and the collar was worn out.

Moreover, one of his legs was probably broken, and his whole body was curled up in a very uncoordinated posture in the corner, his eyes dull and cloudy, obviously blind.

The old man was holding a broken bowl in his hand, a corner of the bowl was missing, and some scattered coins were piled inside.

It seemed that this was his means of making a living.

Begging.

The people waiting for the bus along the way moved away as the old man moved, and only a few people threw in a one or five jiao coin, the coins hitting the bottom of the bowl and making a crisp sound.

The disgust in everyone's eyes could not be concealed.

So pitiful...

The old man reminded the fat man of his grandfather, and his mood became heavy.

Soon, the old man approached the fat man and Jiang Cheng, he raised his head, trembling, and held up the broken bowl, saying in a very pitiful tone, "Thank you, kind person, I haven't had anything for three days..."

Just as the fat man's eyes were red, and he was about to give the old man a 5 or 10 yuan bill--

The next second.

In the fat man's shocked gaze, Jiang Cheng very naturally reached out and rummaged back and forth in the outstretched broken bowl.

Finally, he picked out two of the cleanest one-yuan coins and clenched them in his hand.

The old man was stunned. Not only did he not feel the bowl in his hand become heavier, but it was also lighter. He immediately realized what had happened.

His dirty face turned slightly red with anger, and he wrapped his other arm around and grabbed Jiang Cheng's sleeve.

His mouth opened, revealing a mouthful of black and yellow teeth.

Just when the fat man thought that Jiang Cheng was about to be scolded, or even hit a few times by the old man, he saw Jiang Cheng calmly straightened up and slowly cleared his throat.

"Ahem."

It was this unremarkable sound that made the blind old man's movements pause.

Immediately afterwards, the anger on his face quickly receded, and a look of horror spread over his face.

He seemed to recognize the person in front of him.

The hand that grabbed his sleeve immediately let go, and then he covered his broken bowl with his hand.

Finally, under the fat man's gaze, he walked away, muttering curses.