NFBE Chapter 510 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (121)
Chapter 510 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (121)
"I'm already here. I probably won't be able to go back until very late tonight. Ruan Ruan, you should get some rest."
Lu Liruan looked at the message and quickly replied, "How is it? Is there a problem?"
"It's not very clear right now, we'll keep observing. We have enough staff here, so you don't need to worry at home." Liao Tingyuan gave a simple and comprehensive explanation of the situation.
"Okay, then try to come back and rest as soon as possible!"
"understood."
Just as Lu Liruan was about to switch back to the game page, another message popped up: "Do you want me to wake you up tomorrow morning? Or should you ask for leave tomorrow? If you want to ask for leave, I can do it for you. You can sleep in until you naturally wake up in the morning."
In fact, Lu Liruan no longer has such a strong desire to wake up naturally, since going to work is not tiring and there is no physical or psychological pressure.
With weekends off, Lu Liruan could sleep however she wanted at home, and she hadn't felt tired in a long time.
Lu Liruan was about to say no, but then she thought that if she had to get up and go to work alone tomorrow, she really wouldn't have much motivation.
wrong!
How can this be your work stuff!
Lu Liruan shook her head violently: The motivation for going to work should be the salary!
"It's okay, I can go by myself tomorrow!"
Lu Liruan understood what Liao Tingyuan meant: he probably wouldn't be able to come back tonight, but he didn't want her to worry.
"Okay, then send me a message when you get to work tomorrow."
"I know, I know!"
After sending the message, although Lu Liruan herself didn't realize it, she suddenly felt inexplicably at ease.
Then, around 11 o'clock...
Another message came in on my phone.
This time, there were only a few words on it: "Ruan Ruan, it's time to sleep."
It's almost midnight.
Lu Liruan: ...
Lu Liruan could almost picture Liao Tingyuan's tone of voice just from reading those two lines!
The key question is, how did he know that I wasn't asleep yet?
I sent a question mark ("?").
"Teacher Liao, how did you know I wasn't asleep yet? Did you just guess? But wait... I usually go to bed early, so how are you so sure I haven't slept tonight?"
"Could it be..." Lu Liruan thought to herself, "Teacher Liao wouldn't be the kind of person who seems gentle on the surface but is actually a pervert who likes to monitor the movements of those around him, would she?"
This doesn't seem like the kind of person who would install surveillance cameras at home!
Rather than worrying that Teacher Liao cares too much about others, Lu Liruan felt that what she should be more worried about was that he was too indifferent, basically not caring about anything, and having almost no presence in human society...
Before Lu Liruan could come up with any more reasons...
Liao Tingyuan sent another message: "Linchuan told me that your game account is still active in the game."
Lu Liruan: ? ?
Zhao Linchuan!
Why do people talk so much? What does it have to do with him?
"He didn't intentionally ask me to inform on him."
Liao Tingyuan seemed to be able to accurately predict how far Lu Liruan was thinking, and he could communicate with Lu Liruan seamlessly, sending her message after message.
He said he just texted you looking for you, but you haven't replied yet, and he's asking if I'm with you right now.
"..."
“I said no, you're probably already asleep. He said no, because he saw that your game account is still in the game.”
"Oh." Lu Liruan felt a little guilty.
"Then I said, if you're playing games, isn't it normal not to reply to him?"
"Hahahahahaha!"
Lu Liruan was amused by Teacher Liao's sudden dry humor.
"But I still replied to you while I was playing the game!" Lu Liruan typed the message quickly.
Before Lu Liruan could add, "Don't you feel happy?"
Liao Tingyuan's message popped up first: "Does this prove that I'm more important to Ruan Ruan than he is?"
Lu Liruan stared at the word "行" for a few seconds, almost unable to believe that Liao Tingyuan would send such a message... How could this... look like he was being coquettish?
"Of course! Teacher Liao, you are the most important!"
Lu Liruan gave it a very positive response.
"Yes, thank you, Ruan Ruan."
There's no need to thank me.
Lu Liruan couldn't help but smile, staring at the screen as if flowers were blooming on it.
"sleep early."
"Okay, I understand. I'm really going to sleep now! Goodnight, Teacher Liao!"
After replying to Liao Tingyuan, Lu Liruan opened Zhao Linchuan's message, which she hadn't noticed before.
He messaged himself, saying that he could still feel Lao Cheng's senses; the chewing gum must be stuck quite firmly to his shoes.
Then she added: Sister Shiyi won't tell him, will she...? She won't make him change his shoes tomorrow, will she?
Lu Liruan thought to herself, "Sister Shiyi seems to be completely too lazy to care about these trivial matters."
Since she expected to have to get up and go to work by herself tomorrow, Lu Liruan dutifully set three alarms, each five minutes apart, trying her best not to fall asleep too late.
The next day, Lu Liruan barely opened her eyes when the second alarm clock rang, and it was already bright outside.
Lu Liruan checked her phone and found that Liao Tingyuan had sent a message.
"Are you up yet?"
“An Tang went home last night and will go to work as usual today. She said she’ll have breakfast together when you arrive.”
"Ruan Ruan?"
"I'm up! Teacher Liao, you didn't come back last night, did you?"
"Yes, I took Xiaoyu to the hospital last night. Sister Fang couldn't manage it all by herself."
"How did it go?" Lu Liruan asked with some concern.
Although I don't know what kind of space Fang Jie and the others entered, if this is caused by the space itself, then could others also be affected...?
"It's not clear yet, but it's highly unlikely. A normal test would show flu-like indicators," Liao Tingyuan replied.
Lu Liruan breathed a slight sigh of relief.
I hope it's just the flu.
Since she didn't have to eat breakfast at home, Lu Liruan had much more free time.
As a result of relaxing too much, after leaving home, Lu Liruan thought about walking to the subway station, but in the end, she lazily chose to take a taxi.
After being stuck in traffic for twenty minutes, Lu Liruan arrived at work to find An Tang had already laid out breakfast on the table.
The meal was exceptionally lavish. Lu Liruan looked around and asked, "Who else wants to eat?"
“No, it’s just the two of us!” An Tang smiled and gestured for Lu Liruan to wash her hands and then sit down.
“We can’t possibly eat all this…” Lu Liruan sat down at the table and remarked, “How is this a fusion of Chinese and Western styles?”
An Tang nodded: "That's what I said too..."
"Hmm?" Lu Liruan understood her implication: "Sister Tang, you didn't buy these?"
"No, I received a call from Tingyuan on the way here. He said he had already ordered breakfast delivery and asked me to pick it up when I got here." An Tang served Lu Liruan a bowl of porridge.
“When I came here, I ran into the delivery guy. I thought that was it, but then a little while later, another one came, and then another one came a little while later,” An Tang said, pointing at the table.
"Huh?" Lu Liruan stopped chewing the bread in her mouth.
"Hmm~" An Tang blinked: "I asked him, 'Why is your breakfast at home always this lavish?'"
"No, we just had breakfast as usual," Lu Liruan murmured.
"Then he told me that he was worried I might be unhappy this morning, so he bought a few more things, there must be something I wanted to eat~" An Tang's voice trailed off with a smile, sounding like he was teasing Lu Liruan.
"What do I mean by unhappy?" Lu Liruan argued, unwilling to admit that she really did seem listless this morning.
"Tingyuan is worried~ How thoughtful of him."
An Tang thought to herself, "I really have said all I can. If the little girl truly feels that you are kind and have the demeanor of an elder, then there's nothing I can do about it."
But Lu Liruan didn't think that way.
"I'll put the rest in the fridge; that should be enough for breakfast tomorrow," An Tang said as she tidied up after finishing her meal.
"Sister Tang, does the space have any effect on a person's body?" Lu Liruan asked casually as she helped out.
An Tang, who had her back to her, paused upon hearing this: "Are you worried about Xiao Yu?"
"Oh, that sounds pretty scary."
"It shouldn't be related, right? I asked Sister Fang too. It seems he caught a cold on his own, but since he's always been healthy, this time it seems quite serious. And he just came out of the space, so Sister Fang probably made that connection, right?"
"..."
“You’ve met Xiaoyu too. He was sick, and he did look… quite deceptive,” An Tang said, choosing her words carefully.
Lu Liruan pondered the few times she had seen him, how radiant he was, how he regarded work as his life and was willing to live and die with it.
If someone like that suddenly falls ill and looks like they're about to die... that's truly frightening. Lu Liruan understood why Sister Fang was so alarmed, thinking he was going to die.
"Should we go take a look this afternoon?" Lu Liruan asked, looking at the office where no one else was.
Today, Zhao Linchuan and Fan Zhenxiang were taken away to handle some business.
In the morning, Zhao Linchuan messaged me looking very energetic, saying that Lao Cheng was also wearing the same shoes as yesterday. He had just reported that Lao Cheng had started exercising and would let me know when he reached his destination.
But Lu Liruan already knew without him telling her.
“Old Cheng and Shiyi went out to play today,” An Tang explained.
"what?"
"Old Cheng goes out to play?" Lu Liruan felt that going out to play was not something that Old Cheng was interested in.
“Oh, there seems to be a subculture exhibition today…” An Tang said casually.
"Oh." This time it's to my liking.
“No need to go to the hospital. Sister Fang specifically told us not to go. If it really is the flu, the hospital will be full of viruses and we’ll all fall ill. Who would go if there was a mission at this time?” An Tang waved her hand.
"If it is indeed confirmed to be the flu, Tingyuan said that only a few of them need to take turns. If the check-up today doesn't reveal any major problems, then Xiaoyu can go home to rest."
After An Tang finished packing her things, she and Lu Liruan snuggled up on the sofa to watch TV.
An Tang hesitated several times before finally saying something.
The test results came back in the afternoon. Thankfully, it was just the flu. The doctor said his symptoms were quite severe and he needed to rest for a few days.
Fang Jie finally felt relieved.
"Xiaoyu said that feeling the deep affection among his colleagues made him feel that his job was more meaningful, and he would work harder in the future to repay the kindness of his company and colleagues!" Antang read out Fang Jie's WeChat message, and the two looked at each other.
Lu Liruan: ? ?
“I can understand thanking my colleagues, but thanking my company is a different story.” Lu Liruan took a bite of an apple… which tasted like peach.
A few days ago, Zhao Linchuan was being silly and said he wanted to leave some little surprises in everyone's lives, so he secretly changed the flavor of the fruit in the kitchen.
Then Lu Liruan ate bananas that tasted like pears, and pears that tasted like grapes...
Well, I guess... Fruity flavored fruit is acceptable, much better than apples that taste like sweet and sour pork, Lu Liruan consoled herself.
Then Zhao Linchuan was strictly guarded by An Tang and not allowed to enter the kitchen. She also entrusted the serious task of watching over him to Lu Liruan.
That's why Lu Liruan squatted with him in the yard, figuring out how to conduct experiments on Lao Cheng.
"The boss said he would reimburse my medical and nutritional expenses," An Tang said.
"How does the boss know everything?" Lu Liruan asked casually.
“Yes… someone who’s incredibly busy can still be so well-informed; that’s why you’d say he’s a boss,” An Tang replied casually.
After dissuading Xiaoyu from his enthusiasm to return to work as soon as possible, Liao Tingyuan sent another message to Lu Liruan in the afternoon, saying that he still wouldn't go back today because he spends most of his time in the hospital and might infect Lu Liruan with the flu virus if he went back. He added that the place he was staying here was big enough, so there was no need to worry about him.
Then Lu Liruan didn't see Liao Tingyuan for three days. He only went home once during the day to get his clothes while Lu Liruan was at work.
"...So boring." Lu Liruan declined Zhao Linchuan's invitation to play games and idly curled up on the sofa.
"Are you in a bad mood?" Zhao Linchuan put down his phone.
"Not really... it just feels a bit boring." Lu Liruan couldn't quite explain her feelings. It was as if a very important part of her life had suddenly become empty. There hadn't been anything sad or painful, nor was it a serious problem, but she just felt a sense of emptiness.
"Brother Liao will be coming to work in a few days!" Zhao Linchuan said casually as he started another game.
Lu Liruan thought to herself, "I didn't even mention Teacher Liao..."
Then I felt too lazy to argue.
But actually... there's no need to refute it.
It's really a little worrying that Teacher Liao isn't around.
Lu Liruan decided not to run away from her feelings at this moment.
"Tingyuan said he'll be back tomorrow, and I'm wondering if I should go help him..." Antang sighed.
"Huh? Why?" Lu Liruan asked, puzzled.
"Because she was taking care of Xiaoyu, Sister Fang also got infected. Now Xiaoyu isn't feeling too bad and says he can take care of Sister Fang, so let Tingyuan come back first. &34;
"Why do they keep doing this in turn?"
"I was thinking about whether I should go help, but Sister Fang said it wasn't necessary. But I'm still a little worried," An Tang pondered.
But all Lu Liruan could think of was "Teacher Liao is going home tomorrow." Although she felt she shouldn't have done that when she learned that Sister Fang was sick... she suddenly felt happy.