Jiang Xiaoshuai was doubled over with laughter yet again.
“What’s got you smiling like that?”
A voice barging in cut his laughter short. The flushed, almost liver-colored face he’d been making was carelessly caught by Guo Chengyu, but Jiang didn’t mind. Hands in the pockets of his white coat, he walked back into the consulting room, expression blank.
“Doc Jiang, I’ve got a buddy with irregular periods—can you fix him up?”
Guo Chengyu’s buddies really had it rough: every few days he dragged one in with some new “symptom.” At first, sticking to realism, they’d slash an arm or kick their own shin before showing up, putting on a good act. When those tricks ran out, he started exploiting innate flaws—skin-and-bones types got labeled “muscle atrophy,” short guys were presented as “cretinism.” Just yesterday he’d nabbed someone with stomach pain… who now seemed to be missing.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Chi Cheng stepped inside.
Jiang, waiting absent-mindedly for today’s hapless victim, choked for a second when Chi Cheng’s figure swayed into view.
Irregular… periods?
Guo Chengyu had been waiting too; instead of the guy with the stomachache, he saw Chi Cheng’s face.
The two men instantly caught each other’s scent; their gazes collided.
“So well coordinated, aren’t we?” Guo chuckled first.
He clamped an elbow around Chi Cheng’s hard neck and murmured, loud enough for only the two of them: “You move fast. I haven’t even got him yet and you’re already charging in.”
Chi Cheng’s face went cold; his eyes bored straight at Wu Suowei.
“He’s the one you’re after?”
Guo’s hand slid to Chi Cheng’s cool cheek, turning his head toward Jiang.
“Wrong—that one.”
While those two fought their silent skirmish, master and apprentice nearby were just as busy.
“They actually know each other,” Jiang whispered, genuinely surprised.
Wu Suowei’s steady gaze swept over the pair. “I’d say it’s more than just knowing—they’ve got history. Their backgrounds match; they probably know each other inside out. If we look for a breakthrough on Guo Chengyu’s side, we might dig up something unexpected.”
