Pi Ruan

As the two were chatting, Fatty came back with several bags of groceries.

The young man named Pi Ruan was visibly stunned when he saw Fatty. After Jiang Cheng calmly explained that Fatty was his friend, Pi Ruan's face instantly lit up with the enthusiasm of meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land, leaving Fatty somewhat overwhelmed.

"Hello," Pi Ruan said, gripping Fatty's free hand. "I'm Pi Ruan, nice to meet you."

A look of confusion crossed Fatty's face. He glanced at Jiang Cheng, but Jiang Cheng's expression was always unreadable. So, he turned back to the young man in front of him and said with regret and struggle, "Hello, brother. Although I sympathize with you for getting such an illness at such a young age, I'm not a doctor, so talking to me won't help."

Pi Ruan's hand froze in mid-air.

Fatty suddenly remembered he needed to hurry and make pork ribs. He excused himself and disappeared into the kitchen, busy with clanging and banging.

Jiang Cheng didn't seize this awkward moment to make a fuss. He simply gestured for Pi Ruan to sit down and asked, "How is your girlfriend behaving now?"

Upon hearing his girlfriend mentioned, Pi Ruan sighed. "It's about the same as before, just more severe. She often suspects I'm not sincere with her and that I have someone else on the side."

At this point, Pi Ruan suddenly became agitated, raising his voice and shouting, "But Doctor Jiang, you know me! How could I be that kind of person!"

"Mm," Jiang Cheng took out a blue notebook, wrote a few sentences, and then nodded. "I know."

Afterward, Pi Ruan started pouring out his troubles like a string of beans, listing all his efforts in his relationship, only to be met with his girlfriend's lack of understanding.

As he spoke with deep emotion, tears began to fall.

Fatty washed his hands and came out of the kitchen.

Pi Ruan was still speaking agitatedly. Jiang Cheng didn't show much empathy, only interjecting a sentence or two occasionally, mostly just listening.

Fatty was very curious about Jiang Cheng's work, so he pulled up a chair and sat to the side to watch.

When he heard about how much Pi Ruan had sacrificed, yet his girlfriend still suspected him, Fatty couldn't help himself. But before he could offer words of comfort, he met Jiang Cheng's gaze.

Fatty silently swallowed the words that were already on the tip of his tongue.

"Doctor Jiang," Pi Ruan finally said, tiredly rubbing his forehead. "That's the general situation. In short, my girlfriend suspects my motives for being with her are impure and that I have ulterior motives."

Jiang Cheng closed his notebook and clipped his pen to it.

"Doctor Jiang, please provide a treatment plan for my girlfriend's condition as soon as possible. Thank you for your trouble."

Jiang Cheng nodded. "It's my duty."

Pi Ruan left with a sigh.

As soon as he was out the door, Fatty leaned in. "Doctor, this guy is decent. Although he has a bit of a 'weak' problem, he's truly sincere to his girlfriend. I really don't understand why his girlfriend insists he has impure motives."

Jiang Cheng opened a drawer, put the notebook inside, and looked up. "That's what you think?"

Fatty blinked, as if he didn't understand Jiang Cheng's meaning, and vaguely asked, "What are you trying to say?"

Jiang Cheng motioned for Fatty to be quiet. A few seconds later, the door was pushed open again, and Pi Ruan strode in, apologizing. "Doctor Jiang, look at my memory! I almost forgot the most important thing. My girlfriend's 80th birthday is the day after tomorrow. You must come!"

Jiang Cheng replied unhurriedly, "Congratulations, I will definitely be there."

After receiving his answer, Pi Ruan left, satisfied.

Fatty's mouth formed an 'O' shape.

When the door opened, Fatty noticed a young woman dressed as a secretary outside. She wore a white shirt, a black professional skirt, and black-rimmed glasses, exuding both intelligence and charm.

After Pi Ruan left, he habitually put his left arm around the woman's waist. They walked away, chatting and laughing.

Fatty silently picked up his shattered worldview, finding it impossible to piece back together.

Jiang Cheng tidied some documents on the desk and then filed some of them in order into the medical records cabinet. When he turned around, he saw Fatty still staring intently out the door.

A blue supercar roared away, its engine revving.

"What are you looking at?" Jiang Cheng asked.

Fatty suddenly said, "I don't want to work hard anymore. I think his happiness is so pure."

Jiang Cheng thought for a moment, then turned and walked back to the medical records cabinet, pulling out a few folders marked with red sticky notes.

He opened one, then turned to face Fatty, holding the others under his arm. "Zhao Guiqin," he read aloud. "Private entrepreneur, owns 9 villas, countless luxury cars, assets over 100 million, age 89." He looked up at Fatty. "Currently single."

Fatty's lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something but found it inconvenient.

Jiang Cheng put on a look of sudden realization and picked out another folder from the ones under his arm. "Liu Niuma, landlady, owns dozens of apartments, age 77, also single." He put down the folder and earnestly advised, "Don't be fooled by her age; she's very ill and has no children."

Fatty took a deep breath and said firmly, "I think I'm still young, I can work harder."

Jiang Cheng clicked his tongue a few times and regretfully put away the documents in his hand.

Following behind Jiang Cheng, Fatty asked doubtfully, "How do you have their information? Are they all your patients?"

"You could say that," Jiang Cheng replied.

"What are their illnesses?"

Jiang Cheng looked at Fatty and said, word by word, "Lonely and cold at night."

Fatty shivered unexpectedly, then, as if suddenly realizing something, his eyes widened. "So, you were the one who introduced a girlfriend to that brother Pi Ruan just now?"

Jiang Cheng sheepishly touched his nose. "It's my duty as a doctor. Seeing the smiles bloom on their faces after a long time brings me genuine joy."

Fatty: "... Honestly, how many kickbacks have you taken from rich women?"

Jiang Cheng ignored him and went upstairs, mysteriously busy with something.