"Oh no, how embarrassing!"Han Yan was already shy when lifting her shirt to reveal her stretch marks. Now, the idea of unbuttoning her pants to fully expose her lower abdomen for acupuncture made her feel even more self-conscious.
"I'm a doctor," Jiang Chen said gently. "I can't exactly perform acupuncture through your clothes, can I?"
Han Yan covered her face with both hands, her voice barely above a whisper: "Then... do as you see fit."
Do as I see fit? So, she's letting me handle it myself?Jiang Chen muttered inwardly. For a patient as well-off as her—paying ten thousand yuan per treatment—it seemed reasonable for the doctor to assist with even delicate matters like adjusting her clothing. That was just part of the service.
Rich people had their ways—everything could be outsourced. But honestly, getting to treat such a beautiful woman wasn't a burden—it was almost a privilege.
He shook his head with a small sigh, gently placing his fingers on her finely crafted crocodile leather belt."Auntie, I'm going to undo it, okay?"
"Don't ask—so awkward! Just do what you need to do!"Han Yan pressed her hands tightly over her flushed face, turning her head to the side but lying obediently still—clearly granting him permission.
Jiang Chen slowly unfastened the buckle, slipped his thumbs into the soft pink waistband, and lowered her pants and undergarments slightly to expose the needed acupuncture points.
As he moved, Han Yan's body tensed and her knees instinctively curled up.
Sensing her anxiety, Jiang Chen gently pressed her knees down to help her relax. Finally, the targeted acupoints were visible.
"No lower!" Han Yan warned in a tiny voice, still covering her eyes.
"They're exposed now. I'll start," Jiang Chen said as he precisely inserted needles into the abdominal points: Titou, Qihai, and Wailing.
"Does it hurt?"
"I can handle it."
"I'm using shallow needling to minimize discomfort."Then he placed additional needles in her hands and feet—Baxie and Yemen acupoints—completing the seven-point Seven-Star Formation.
As soon as the last needle was in, Han Yan's flushed face calmed, her breathing steadied, and the hunger in her eyes disappeared.
Both sighed in relief.Thank God—nothing went wrong.Jiang Chen silently thought, Dodged a bullet.
Han Yan, now collected, seemed a bit embarrassed."Xiao Fan, I was a little impulsive earlier... please don't think I'm the kind of woman who's loose with men."
"Of course not. For someone your age to go without that kind of intimacy for half a year... that's not easy."
His words made her feel suddenly vulnerable, like someone poor and desperate, while Jiang Chen seemed calm and worldly.
"All done. Your yin and yang are balanced now."She nodded, then hesitated: "Will I become... frigid now?"
"No. I used shallow needling with only a one-month effect."
"One month?"
"Yes, after that, you'll still have normal desires. It won't interfere with anything."
Relieved, she sighed again."Honestly, with the way things are for me now, you should've gone deeper—maybe it would last twenty years."
Jiang Chen didn't respond, instead shifting to massage her shoulders."Aunt Han, your daughter is very pretty—just like you. Chairman Li looks pretty sharp too."
Han Yan gave a faint smile. "You mean she doesn't look like him, right?"
"Something like that."
"Well, Chairman Li isn't her biological father. Her real father disappeared years ago."
"Disappeared? Was it reported?"
"Yes. The police eventually found one of his severed limbs…"
Jiang Chen's hands trembled. A chill ran down his back, sweat soaking his underarms.That sounded exactly like what the ghost said back in Zhao Liang's house—the one who'd lost a limb.
Could that ghost have been Han Yan's former husband?
Han Yan noticed his silence. "What's wrong?"
Jiang Chen quickly stopped the massage to hide his trembling hands."Was your husband... very thin?"
"Huh? Do you know him? Is he alive?"
"No—I guessed based on your daughter's physique."
"You scared me."
"Was he good to you?"
"He was so kind, honest, and gentle to everyone. A month after he disappeared, his eighty-year-old father passed away. My mother-in-law cried herself blind... and followed a year later."Tears streamed down Han Yan's face.
"Before he disappeared... was anyone pursuing you?" Jiang Chen asked carefully.
Han Yan froze. "How do you know? Do you have leads?"
"I just guessed," Jiang Chen lied—he couldn't tell her about the ghost encounter.
"You're lying!"
"I…"
"You suspect Li Yuzhu, don't you?" she suddenly said.
"You… guessed that?"
"Because I've always suspected him too. But I don't dare say it! My husband worked under him as sales director. I've always feared Li Yuzhu had him killed. But I can't be sure. If he knew I suspected him, my daughter and I wouldn't be alive right now."
Jiang Chen knew Li Yuzhu was ruthless—capable of stealing a wife back then, and possibly murder now.
Neither of them spoke again. Everything was said through their eyes.
After a while, Jiang Chen removed the needles and prepared to leave.
But Han Yan wasn't done enjoying the massage. She pulled him back and had him massage her for another two hours, completely relaxed and filled with affection by the end.
Just before he left, she handed him a prepaid card."Use this for whatever you like."