HLnovel Chapter 528 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (139)
Chapter 528 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (139)
Gao Shiyi had considered what would happen if Lu Liruan found out, but it was only out of professional habit that she made some predictions and simulations about Lu Liruan's personality after she met Lu Liruan.
After all, An Tang had confidently stated that she wouldn't let Lu Liruan know.
Of course, Gao Shiyi knew that it was Liao Tingyuan who made this decision, because An Tang had once told her that she had advised Liao Tingyuan that if there was an opportunity, he should let the young girl be mentally prepared.
After all, it's clear to everyone that this isn't something that can be easily accepted...
Telling the little girl would inevitably put her under psychological pressure.
But in Gao Shiyi's eyes, Lu Liruan was definitely not the kind of person who was fragile. On the contrary, beneath this girl's cute and lively appearance was a very resilient and optimistic heart.
This young girl did not hide or conceal her past experiences or the various things that happened to her, nor did she regard them as her pain, avoid them, or feel sad when others touched on them.
Everything that happened to her has become nourishment on her path of growth, helping her become who she is today.
This sounds simple, but it's actually not simple at all, especially since Lu Liruan didn't have any professionals to answer her questions or guide her through her journey of growth.
She got to where she is today on her own, and she is definitely not someone who can be easily hurt or defeated.
Gao Shiyi felt that An Tang and Liao Tingyuan, who were older than her, subconsciously treated her like a child. A natural protective instinct made them take care of Lu Liruan according to their own ideas, even though they could sense her personality. But these were all personal choices.
Of course... it's a reasonable personal choice for the young lady to be so angry right now.
She didn't stop An Tang and Liao Tingyuan back then, and of course she won't stop Lu Liruan from being angry now.
She actually wanted to say to Liao Tingyuan, who was clearly out of control and agitated: "It's actually a good thing you're angry. If you keep holding it in, that's when things will get complicated..."
But clearly, Gao Shiyi felt that he couldn't listen to anything right now.
So she might as well remain silent. After all, she was sent by her boss to check whether Liao Tingyuan's psychology and spirit had been affected by the energy radiation, not whether he had any problems after angering the young girl.
Old Cheng stood beside her, looking at his girlfriend's unchanged expression, but he could tell that she was in a pretty good mood.
"Hey, don't just stand by and watch him die! Save him!" An Tang walked over to Gao Shiyi, nudged her with her shoulder, and whispered in her ear.
"Heh..." Gao Shiyi raised an eyebrow: "Actually, I think Li Ruan should be angry." Gao Shiyi said calmly, sticking to her point of view. These days she and Lu Li Ruan had been getting along very well, and now she was probably being regarded as an accomplice by the young girl, which had also delayed her emotional communication with Lu Li Ruan. How could she not be implicated?
"You really don't care?" An Tang sighed. "Tingyuan really didn't do it on purpose."
“It’s a personal choice, anyway, I’m on Li Ruan’s side.” Gao Shiyi’s eyes curved into a smile as she calmly stated her opinion: “I feel sorry for that young girl, betrayed by you so-called adults…” Although she was smiling, her tone was chilling, with a hint of schadenfreude.
An Tang immediately deflated. Although she had been standing next to Lu Liruan, she had felt very guilty and hadn't even dared to look into the girl's clear eyes, which were filled with incomprehension and anger.
"Actually, there was no malice intended." She sighed.
"Whether you feel comfortable or not is something only the person being treated has the right to express." Gao Shiyi looked at Zhao Linchuan, who was also looking at her expectantly, but didn't budge an inch.
Zhao Linchuan felt his shoulders slump down.
"Will Li Ruan stop talking to me from now on?" he sighed and asked. "Li Ruan promised to go out with me." He was very disappointed.
He didn't realize anything while he was doing it; he wasn't the type of person who would think a lot about others. But when Lu Liruan actually discovered it, he felt completely at a loss.
"Don't worry about whether Li Ruan is paying attention to you or not! The most important thing now is whether Li Ruan is paying attention to your brother Liao..." An Tang gestured for him to look at Liao Tingyuan.
“Brother Liao and Li Ruan…” Zhao Linchuan glanced at Liao Tingyuan, whose face was pale, and suddenly felt that his crime might be slightly less serious. Li Ruan would definitely think that Brother Liao was the main culprit…
For a moment, Zhao Linchuan didn't know whether he should feel fortunate.
The people in the room each had their own thoughts.
Liao Tingyuan was cold and weak at this moment, but when he thought of how Lu Liruan looked at him just now, he felt a tightness in his chest, as if there was a damp cotton ball blocking it.
It seems he... made the girl sad.
Perhaps... it's more than just sadness.
Liao Tingyuan's thoughts were in disarray. What he could feel most clearly was his worry... his worry that all the trust and understanding he had shared with the girl had vanished today. This was no longer just a worry for him, but... a fear.
Liao Tingyuan hadn't felt fear in a long time.
His emotions had become dulled after a certain point, but Lu Liruan gave him a different feeling, as if she had activated a part of him, injecting his seemingly decaying body and soul with the passion and vitality of a young girl. But before he could properly savor what he was thinking or what he wanted to do, he was left to ponder the situation.
Is it... all we're going to lose?
Liao Tingyuan clenched his fist, and the blue veins on the back of his hand bulged.
“I’ve never seen Li Ruan this angry before,” Zhao Linchuan added.
An Tang pursed her lips at him, signaling him to stop bothering his brother Liao. He was already vulnerable, and things might get complicated if he didn't! Zhao Linchuan huddled on the sofa, sighing pitifully. He wanted to send Lu Liruan a WeChat message, but he didn't know what to say, so he opened the page and then exited.
But he was also worried that if he didn't say anything, Lu Liruan would think he didn't want to apologize.
In the end, all they could manage to say was a dry, "Sorry, we didn't mean to..."
Unsurprisingly, no reply was received from Lu Liruan.
An Tang saw his screen, patted him on the shoulder, and thought to herself that in the girl's mind now, they were all in cahoots. The most important thing was when she would forgive the ringleader.
Despite these thoughts, An Tang still noticed that it was almost time, so she went into the courtyard and called Lu Liruan.
Lu Liruan did not reject An Tang's call.
"Hello, Sister Tang." The voice on the other end of the phone sounded no different from usual.
But the calmer things are, the more they try to gloss over the truth, the more something seems amiss.
"I've already sent the documents over and I'm on my way home now. They've confirmed that they accepted them. Sister Tang, you can call and confirm again."
“Li Ruan…” An Tang thought to herself, I’m not really worried about that, but I guess the girl doesn’t want to talk to me about anything else right now.
“Okay, I understand. You can go home alone when it gets dark. Send me a message when you get there. I’ll drive Tingyuan home after he’s done there. Don’t worry about me,” An Tang said proactively.
“Okay, I understand. If Teacher Liao is not feeling well and it would be more appropriate for him to stay at the office, there’s no need to force him…” Lu Liruan stopped halfway through her sentence. So many people care about Liao Tingyuan, why should she say anything more?
"Okay, don't worry about leaving it to me," An Tang said, feigning ease.
After hanging up the phone and returning to the house, she saw Liao Tingyuan, who had been keeping his eyes closed, suddenly look over. She shrugged helplessly; Liao Tingyuan had obviously guessed that she had called Lu Liruan.
“I said I’d take you back later, but Li Ruan said that if you’re not feeling well, you don’t have to go back…” An Tang couldn’t lie to Liao Tingyuan, and lying wouldn’t have helped, so she could only tell him the truth.
The light in Liao Tingyuan's eyes dimmed noticeably, making his face appear even paler and giving him a rather pitiful look. An Tang, watching him, thought, "You're going to show this to Li Ruan when you get back. Showing it to me is just a way of flirting..."
This was indeed the first time An Tang had seen Liao Tingyuan so vulnerable, not just physically, but also in his expression and attitude.
Are you only just beginning to experience romantic feelings at such an advanced age?
An Tang felt that Liao Tingyuan himself probably didn't even realize what he looked like right now. He looked like a pitiful pet that had been abandoned and was too scared to chase after someone.
Of course, this only applies to Lu Liruan; Liao Tingyuan usually doesn't feel that way at all.
It's quite amazing. An Tang has known Liao Tingyuan for so long, but in the end, he was so flustered by a girl like Lu Liruan. Indeed, the fate between people is unpredictable.
“You…go back and talk to Li Ruan about what you’re thinking. Li Ruan will definitely understand you.” An Tang and Liao Tingyuan are about the same age, and her partner is even younger than Lu Li Ruan, but she doesn’t have much experience to draw on. After all, she has always treated the other person like a child, but Liao Tingyuan’s behavior clearly doesn’t treat Lu Li Ruan like a child!
There is a complete difference between being a parent and being a…!
Thinking of this, An Tang quickly added, "Don't think you're always right! Don't act like a parent! Don't think they're too young to understand! These are taboo words, understand? You need to talk to your child on an equal footing, okay?"
Liao Tingyuan frowned slightly: "I don't think what I did was right..."
But you still did it, so in a sense, it's more serious, like a child knowingly doing something wrong at school. Applying this to her own experience, An Tang sighed, "Don't say that to Li Ruan. Think carefully about how you can avoid making Li Ruan even angrier..."
Liao Tingyuan: ?
Zhao Linchuan kept staring at the IV drip, and when it finally ended, he breathed a long sigh of relief.
Looking at Liao Tingyuan, who looked listless and was slumped in his chair, I felt incredibly inhumane and said, "Brother Liao, could you please tell Li Ruan not to be angry with me and not to stop playing with me?"
"...Shut up!" An Tang shoved him toward Gao Shiyi, who was playing on her phone. "You and Lao Cheng take him out to eat." Stop talking nonsense! Whether this little girl can even hang out with your brother Liao right now is a huge question mark, let alone hang out with you. Can't you tell what's important?
"Rest a little longer." An Tang reached out and touched Liao Tingyuan's forehead, discovering that his body temperature was frighteningly low.
Gao Shiyi sat down next to him: "Although I know you're not in the mood to talk to me right now... but how are you right now?"
"Same as before." When it came to work-related matters, Liao Tingyuan remained very calm and answered Gao Shiyi's routine questions.
"If any problems arise, don't try to handle them yourself, because this is not just about your own safety," Gao Shiyi instructed as usual.
"If you want me to give you some advice on Li Ruan's matter..." Gao Shiyi felt Liao Tingyuan's gaze and still said, "Just explain it to her as you think it is. Don't tell any more lies, it will only make people angrier."
Liao Tingyuan nodded: "I never intended to lie to her, never."
"Hmm, I believe that, but my belief is useless." Gao Shiyi stood up with a smile: "I'm going to have dinner with Lao Cheng first, you can rest for a while longer." As she spoke, she got up, pulled Lao Cheng along, and also dragged Zhao Linchuan, who didn't want to have dinner with them at all, away as well.
Zhao Linchuan felt that the retribution for joining in the deception of Lu Liruan was that he would have to spend dinner with Lao Cheng that night.
An Tang brought a hot water bottle from downstairs and had Liao Tingyuan hold it. Seeing that he was trying to stand up anxiously, she comforted him, "It's not a big deal if you fall down again when Li Ruan says something to you later, or you'll scare her."
"Don't try to use a self-inflicted injury as a ploy! I'm not giving you advice!" An Tang realized the flaw in her words.
"...Aren't you reminding me now?" Liao Tingyuan said helplessly.
Two people, both interacting with the same little girl but with completely different mindsets, sat together, looking at each other in bewilderment.
Liao Tingyuan looked at his phone and found that there were no messages on it, which made him feel a little disappointed.
Undeniably, he did harbor the unrealistic hope that Lu Liruan might still care about him. His life couldn't exist without Lu Liruan. Whether the girl was happy or frustrated, laughing or angry, Liao Tingyuan wanted to always be a part of her life, to be with her…
"Are you feeling better? Are you really alright?" An Tang asked as he got up, looking much better.
"Hmm, nothing different from usual, it's not the first time," Liao Tingyuan said calmly. "Could you please take me home?"
“Alright, let’s go.” An Tang knew he was eager to get home and didn’t want to stay outside for even a moment, so she readily agreed.
As a result, Liao Tingyuan suddenly asked her to detour to Lu Liruan's favorite pastry shop halfway there.
Then An Tang saw him come out of the store carrying several large bags.
"You bought out the entire store?"