Translator: CinderTL
Tonight, it had followed them to the Medical Building again, appearing outside the Anatomy Room.
What exactly does it want?
Could it be connected to Xiaoting's death?
For now, there were no answers.
With so few clues, confirming any of their suspicions would take time.
Huai Yi recounted to Jiang Cheng what had happened after they left the building, particularly mentioning Wang Qi. Jiang Cheng had long been wary of this peculiar individual.
Huai Yi volunteered to keep watch overnight, urging Jiang Cheng and Fatty to rest.
The night passed without dreams.
When Jiang Cheng opened his eyes, dawn had already broken. Huai Yi lay on the opposite bed, a mysterious smile playing on his lips, likely a lingering trace of a pleasant dream.
Fatty sat alone in a chair, staring out the window.
"What time is it?" Jiang Cheng stretched and slowly rose to his feet. He had left his phone in the Medical Building the previous night.
"Doctor, you're awake," Fatty said, turning around at the sound of Jiang Cheng's voice. He glanced at his phone. "Six o'clock. Still early. Why don't you try to sleep a little longer?"
"I've had enough sleep," Jiang Cheng said, turning to Huai Yi. Before Huai Yi could respond, Fatty quickly interjected, "Doctor, let him rest a bit longer. He woke me up just as dawn was breaking—he stayed up all night watching over us."
"Alright," Jiang Cheng agreed.
The morning air was crisp. Jiang Cheng put on his coat and walked over to Fatty. A row of trees obscured the view from the window, but through the gaps in the foliage, they could see a narrow path across the way.
The path was carpeted with mottled yellow-green leaves, a stark reminder of autumn's desolation.
After staring for a long time, Jiang Cheng noticed no one passed by.
"What are you looking at?" Jiang Cheng asked, drawing his gaze back. He found Fatty's behavior odd; a poet's melancholy had settled on his face.
Clearly, Jiang Cheng thought he didn't deserve it.
The chair was small to begin with, and Fatty's bulk nearly swallowed it whole. He scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and said, "There's a path like that near my house. Every autumn, it gets completely covered in fallen leaves."
"I always loved taking that path home," he continued, "because I knew my family could see me from far away. They were always waiting for me."
"There were no streetlights around there, so it was pitch black. They'd leave a small lamp burning in the window for me. As long as I could see that lamp, I'd never lose my way."
"No matter how late it was or how terrible the weather, I always made it back."
"Because I knew that even on the darkest, coldest nights, there would always be a lamp lit just for me, and my family would be standing behind it, waiting for me to come home."
Fatty spoke these words casually, only realizing after a moment that the Doctor hadn't said a word since he began his story.
Turning his head, Fatty saw the Doctor following his gaze out the window, an indescribable emotion swirling in his eyes.
To outsiders, the Doctor was a master of concealment, rarely betraying his true feelings.
But this time was different. Fatty could clearly read a name written on the Doctor's face: Lin Wan'er.
If the concept of "family" had ever existed for the Doctor, there was no doubt it would have been Boss Lin.
This beautiful, single woman who had raised the Doctor and taught him everything he knew was the ray of light that pierced through the darkness in his world.
But Fatty couldn't understand why he hadn't seen Boss Lin since their last mission, and why the Doctor seemed to be avoiding her. Had they had a falling out? Or...
"Fatty," Jiang Cheng said, placing a hand on Fatty's shoulder, interrupting his thoughts. "After this mission, take me to your place."
"O-of course," Fatty stammered, flattered beyond words. "If you don't mind, Doctor. My house is very humble, and my younger siblings are quite mischievous, but they're good kids. I'm sure you'll like them."
"Like them? Heh heh... I like you, Yuanyuan. You have to believe me, Wenwen, Jingjing, Meimei, Qingqing—they're all just casual flings. You're my little darling."
Fatty turned to see Huai Yi lying in bed, muttering in his sleep with a blissfully flushed face.
Finally, Fatty couldn't take it anymore and woke him up. Huai Yi startled awake, but after realizing nothing had happened, he flew into a rage and demanded Fatty compensate him for his emotional distress.
He had dreamt he was stripping off his pants, only to wake up and see Fatty's large face looming over him. The trauma to his young mind was irreparable, potentially disrupting his future intimate life.
Jiang Cheng watched Fatty and Huai Yi bickering since early morning, making no move to stop them. In a mission where human warmth and the comforts of everyday life were rare, their argument served as a stark reminder that, at least for now, they were still alive and their fates remained in their own hands.
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone was knocking at the door.
Fatty and Huai Yi fell silent. Jiang Cheng went to open the door and found Shen Mengyun standing outside.
Perhaps because of the previous night's events, Shen Mengyun's expression was still slightly awkward when she saw Jiang Cheng.
"Everyone's downstairs, waiting for you," she said.
Jiang Cheng nodded. "We'll be right down."
As Shen Mengyun turned to leave, Jiang Cheng suddenly grabbed her wrist. She turned back to face him.
"Miss Shen, please don't wander off alone," Jiang Cheng said earnestly. "Wait here for a moment, and we'll go down together."
"Alright," Shen Mengyun replied, surprised and with a complicated look on her face.
After Jiang Cheng and his group came downstairs, they found the others waiting near the gate. Liang Shan's expression visibly brightened at their arrival, but after stealing furtive glances at Gao Yan beside him and Wang Qi standing nearby, he restrained himself from showing too much relief.
"Did you notice anything strange last night, Brother Jiang?" Gao Yan asked before they even approached, his eyes ringed with dark circles, as if he hadn't slept at all.
"No, I slept soundly," Jiang Cheng replied, frowning slightly. "Mr. Gao, did something happen to you?"
"Oh, nothing much," Gao Yan said dismissively, trying to sound nonchalant. "I just heard some odd noises in the hallway and thought I'd ask."
It was clear to anyone that mere strange noises couldn't have shaken Gao Yan so badly.
Just as they had the previous day, they ate breakfast in the cafeteria before heading to the small grove on the east side of the campus.
Yuan Xiaoyi had mentioned yesterday that she had no first-period class that morning and suggested meeting Jiang Cheng there.
Sure enough, they found Yuan Xiaoyi waiting at the edge of the grove.
She wore the same outfit as before, but she looked even more haggard, her eyes dull and lifeless.
But everything changed when she saw Jiang Cheng. "Senior, you're here!"
"Xiaoyi, I'm sorry I made you worry," Jiang Cheng said, hurrying toward her with an expression of tender concern.
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (NS) on Pa.treon@CinderTL - c1130. [+4]
🔑Early Access at $1.
💥Translated (6) Series, (4.1K+) Chapters, (5.8M+) Words.