Phi-Fic Chapter 430 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (41)
Chapter 430 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (41)
When did he arrive?
Lu Liruan hadn't expected this turn of events.
Lu Liruan's disgust for the male master had reached its peak.
"I don't know then." Liao Tingyuan shook his head.
"He must have come when no one was around. After all, he's the dean here, so he must have a key to this place."
"What's he doing back here? He's turned the office upside down like this. Did he take something from the office?" Lu Liruan asked, somewhat annoyed, as she began searching the desk again.
“After what happened, he would sneak in at night to find and take something away. What was it that was so important to him, even under those circumstances?”
Lu Liruan flipped through the desk from left to right, but the desk was only so big, and apart from a stack of documents and medical records, there was nothing else worth noting.
Liao Tingyuan leaned against the table. Seeing that he wasn't moving, Lu Liruan reached out and poked his back: "Hey! Don't just stand there, why are you spacing out? Hurry up and come find me!"
Liao Tingyuan shrugged helplessly.
He wasn't oblivious to Lu Liruan's current agitation.
He turned around and gently pressed the back of Lu Liruan's hand as she rummaged through the things.
"Alright, you won't find anything more by searching." He sighed. "I already told you, he's already taken the things. Aren't you just making things difficult for yourself by continuing to search?"
Once held down by Liao Tingyuan, Lu Liruan truly stopped moving.
She knew perfectly well that they were just anxious. This whole thing was dragging on and on, leading them here and there!
Lu Liruan felt like she and Liao Tingyuan were being led around like dogs by a leash! When would this ever end?
That's how the exploration process works. Because they had no idea what the specific source of infection was, they kept searching, following up, and analyzing.
Despite facing numerous dangers, there are still other mysteries to be solved!
This kind of work, where there's no sense of accomplishment and you never know when the boss will be around, is indeed very frustrating.
"Don't you think..." she frowned, looking very serious.
Liao Tingyuan thought she was going to say something serious.
Lu Liruan then placed her hands on her head, making ear shapes, and swayed them back and forth, asking, "Don't we look like dogs?"
"Huh?" Liao Tingyuan didn't react.
Lu Liruan placed one hand on her head and used the other to reach for Liao Tingyuan.
I put my hand on his head and made an ear shape with my fingers.
"Don't we look like hunting dogs?"
Liao Tingyuan then understood what she was talking about.
This kind of metaphor, though not novel—for example, being as tired as a dog, or as poor as a dog—…
But when Lu Liruan said it, it felt both serious and funny.
Liao Tingyuan teased her, then shook his head: "Doesn't seem like it."
His light-colored eyes scrutinized Lu Liruan from head to toe, then he beckoned her with his finger as if toying with a child, like calling a puppy.
"Unlike a hunting dog."
Lu Liruan looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Liao Tingyuan said in a serious tone, "You look like a Corgi."
Lu Liruan: ?
"How could you do this to me? I'm already feeling terrible enough, and you're just attacking me when I'm at my most vulnerable and helpless!"
Lu Liruan compared her own height to Liao Tingyuan's.
For a moment, I was speechless. I didn't know what kind of dog Liao Tingyuan resembled, because none of those dogs seemed to have such long legs...
"Okay, don't be angry. Let's go out for cold noodles later." Liao Tingyuan suggested, seeing that she wasn't as agitated as before.
Last night, Lu Liruan was lying on the sofa, saying she wanted to eat cold noodles, but Liao Tingyuan had already prepared the meal.
"If you really want to eat it, just order some takeout," Liao Tingyuan suggested.
Actually, Lu Liruan was just saying it casually at the time, and after she finished speaking, she felt that she had gone a bit too far.
After all, it seems very disrespectful to other people's hard work...
Lu Liruan felt a little embarrassed and wanted to apologize, but then Liao Tingyuan made a very calm and gentle suggestion.
“When I was little, if I told my mom I wanted something else after she had cooked or decided what to eat, she would scold me and say, ‘Why didn’t you say so earlier? Now you’re just causing her trouble,’” Lu Liruan muttered.
“But the next day, she would cook what I wanted to eat. Thinking about it now, my mother is so good…” Lu Liruan seemed a little melancholy.
She had been on her own for far too long. These days, being cared for and appreciated by others felt like a return to her childhood.
Lu Liruan would often get lost in memories of the past.
After speaking somewhat dejectedly, Lu Liruan suddenly changed her demeanor, jumped off the sofa, ran to Liao Tingyuan's side, put her hands behind her back, and rolled her eyes.
She leaned closer to Liao Tingyuan, a little embarrassed to be so direct and offer genuine compliments.
She pursed her lips and whispered, "You're so kind. It's been so many years since anyone has been this kind to me! You're so good."
The little girl is naturally sweet, and it's not just her face that's sweet. Rather, she has an unconscious quality that makes her look very young, like a sweet, juicy candy.
Liao Tingyuan didn't feel that he had done anything intentional, nor did he expect Lu Liruan to thank him in any way.
He didn't even realize how meticulously he had taken care of the little girl...
Even someone as mild-mannered as Liao Tingyuan found her words quite pleasing now.
But it is precisely in this context of beginning and end, transition and resolution...
Very sincere, very cute.
But somehow...
Liao Tingyuan suddenly had a feeling that the little girl might, in the next second, open her mouth and call him "Mom," just like the kindergarten children he used to teach.
Because of this thought at the time, Liao Tingyuan was deeply impressed by Lu Liruan's praise of him.
She also told Lu Liruan that she was deeply impressed by her desire to eat cold noodles.
Just in time, I can take it out to appease the little girl who's on the verge of getting angry and is arguing with herself.
Lu Liruan didn't know his thought process, but she was also aware of it.
I was definitely emotional today.
It was probably because of what she had just heard that had enraged her.
It could also be because the weather outside was very cold, with low air pressure and low-hanging clouds that made it hard for pedestrians on the street to breathe.
Damp and wet...
Clothes stick to your body, which is extremely irritating.
Regardless of the reason, she shouldn't take her temper out on Liao Tingyuan.
Liao Tingyuan was still patiently coaxing her, so Lu Liruan took the opportunity to back down. The emotions that had suddenly surged up in her heart had now calmed down considerably.
Lu Liruan conducted a thorough search one last time and found that there was indeed nothing left. She then turned and walked out with Liao Tingyuan.
"Did you find it?" asked the Miao doctor, who was stuffing things into the box. "We've been searching for so long."
"No, I can't find it." Lu Liruan shrugged. "It's a mess inside."
"A mess?" Dr. Miao suddenly seemed to think of something and repeated in a low voice.
They probably realized something was wrong.
Given their experience working together, how could they not know that the male homeowner is a clean and tidy person?
The office is a mess...
Lu Liruan's words were meant to exonerate herself.
Something was indeed missing from the office. The woman of the house quickly came over, and then these people blamed it on her and Liao Tingyuan.
He realized that his and Liao Tingyuan's nonsense about coming here to search for things had been exposed.
It's uncertain when this problem can be resolved. If the mistress sets her sights on it first, given her current hysterical state, things could get complicated.
We still need to let them know that the male head of the household should have already returned.
If there are any further developments, they will probably pin the blame on the male homeowner who ran away and went missing.
Before leaving, Liao Tingyuan went to the nearby milk tea shop and bought three iced drinks to give to a few people when he returned.
"It's so hot outside, have something to drink first. Be careful not to get heatstroke." He very kindly handed over the food and then thanked him again.
"Thank you!"
"Thank you!" The group didn't refuse.
Nurse Gu saw them to the door, winking at them as she said, "Don't worry, we'll keep your visit a secret. But seeing that you two didn't find anything, you probably won't be able to help Yuanyuan."
“He’s a kindergarten teacher. Next time you see Yuanyuan, ask him to give the child a good talking-to!” Lu Liruan patted Liao Tingyuan on the shoulder and said with a smile.
Nurse Gu glanced at Lu Liruan, then at Liao Tingyuan, and suddenly said, "You two are really beautiful, kind-hearted, and have a great relationship!"
Lu Liruan: ?
Inside, Dr. Miao and Dr. Zhu were exchanging glances and their eyes were locked; they were practically doing somersaults in mid-air!
You're turning a blind eye and a deaf ear, completely oblivious... How come you're making things up out of nothing, stirring up trouble, and spouting nonsense right here in front of us?
Lu Liruan gritted her teeth, maintaining her fake smile: "Haha, really? Thank you for the compliment. We'll be going now~"
After turning the corner, Lu Liruan's expression fell: "Does he have any sense or not?" Lu Liruan asked Liao Tingyuan.
Liao Tingyuan raised an eyebrow: "Who knows? This place up ahead seems to have cold noodles."
"Yay!" Lu Liruan's attention was successfully diverted. She had used up her energy looking for things, and now she was really hungry.
The cold noodles at this restaurant were just average, but at least I got to eat what I wanted.
Moreover, the air conditioning in the room was very strong. The moment Lu Liruan stepped in, she let out a long sigh of relief, feeling much more refreshed.
Seeing that she had almost finished eating, Liao Tingyuan handed her a tissue.
"Do you think that when the male homeowner went to the office, he might have taken away the thing that the key could open?" Lu Liruan felt that since the small key appeared in the space, it must have some significance.
Liao Tingyuan nodded, then shook his head.
“That little key must be for opening metal boxes or something,” he said.
Lu Liruan nodded.
“He went to the office in the middle of the night to get a box… If the contents were that important to him, why didn’t he keep it at home? There’s a lock on it, and even if he kept it at home, only he would have the key, and the lady of the house and the children wouldn’t be able to open it.” Liao Tingyuan pondered, feeling that it didn’t make sense.
Lu Liruan also thought it made sense. If it was something so important and private, the doctor's office was a semi-public place, so the privacy conditions were naturally not as good as at home.
“Actually…” he tapped the table with his fingertip, “I have another idea.”
"Tell me, tell me!" Lu Liruan put the straw into her mouth and started slurping down the cola in the glass bottle.
"Do people who commit acts of cruelty and killing of small animals have any love or conscience?" Liao Tingyuan suddenly posed a question with an obvious answer.
“Of course not!” Lu Liruan frowned.
"So, what was the purpose of the person who took him in?"
“They did bad things together!” Lu Liruan assumed.
"But only the male homeowner was mentioned in the online reports."
After entering the store, the two of them searched for this matter on a search engine and found that it was indeed a very popular topic of discussion.
Even the male homeowner's photo and past resume were dug up and displayed on it.
There was also someone who claimed to be a college classmate who came forward to expose the information.
He said that when he was in college, he secretly dissected small animals in the laboratory without the teacher's permission.
After being discovered, he argued that he had only come across a small animal that had died of disease and wanted to use it for research.
Since no other evidence was found, the matter was simply recorded as a demerit and then dropped.
"They did it together. The male homeowner was discovered. Will he cover for him, his accomplice?" Liao Tingyuan asked a question that Lu Liruan hadn't considered.
“Yes, the male homeowner has such a cruel and extreme personality. If he suffers such a huge shock and everyone knows about the scum he has done, while his accomplices get away with it, I don’t believe he would let that person hide forever and bear all the blame alone.” Lu Liruan shook her head.
"what do you mean……"
Lu Liruan put the glass bottle aside with a "bang," which attracted the attention of the people eating at the next table. Lu Liruan quickly withdrew her hand.
After everyone's attention was diverted, Lu Liruan leaned forward slightly and said, "You mean, the reason the male homeowner didn't expose this accomplice is that he used this to threaten the accomplice into taking him in, so that he can have a place to hide now!"
"Ah."
Liao Tingyuan nodded.
"Could the things he took from the office overnight be related to this accomplice?"
"I knew it! I knew something felt off!" Lu Liruan exhaled.