NFBE Chapter 471 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (82)
Chapter 471 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (82)
Lu Liruan carried the watermelon to the kitchen table and turned around to see that Liao Tingyuan had already sorted and put the other vegetables into the refrigerator.
...Something just feels off.
Lu Liruan pondered that Liao Tingyuan's expression was different from usual, looking more like... when she first met him.
At that time, Liao Tingyuan seemed indifferent. Even though his words and actions were gentle and considerate, Lu Liruan still felt that he was quite distant.
Later, as they spent more time together, that feeling gradually faded. Now, Lu Liruan had almost forgotten her initial assessment of Liao Tingyuan, but today Liao Tingyuan seemed to have reverted to that past impression.
“Teacher Liao…” Lu Liruan blinked and asked tentatively, “What’s wrong?”
"Huh?" Liao Tingyuan didn't understand what she meant.
"Who made you unhappy?" Lu Liruan poked at the watermelon with her fingertip.
"Do you want to eat it now? Or should we cut it up and put it in the refrigerator to chill?" Liao Tingyuan washed his hands and went to the kitchen to get a knife for cutting watermelons.
"Let's chill it for a bit first." Lu Liruan tacitly handed over the cutting board for cutting fruit.
"Click——"
The watermelon made a crisp sound as it was cut open, revealing its bright red flesh and releasing a sweet, refreshing aroma.
"Teacher Liao, did something happen to you outside? Did someone bully you?"
Seeing Lu Liruan looking at the watermelon, Liao Tingyuan naturally cut off a slice from the middle of the watermelon and handed it to Lu Liruan.
Lu Liruan stretched her neck and put it in her mouth, then mumbled something as if she wanted to speak again.
"No," Liao Tingyuan replied, wrapping the remaining watermelon in plastic wrap and putting it in the refrigerator.
"Teacher Liao, you're not good at lying." Lu Liruan swallowed a watermelon and pouted, "You don't seem very happy."
"Unhappy? No, right?" Liao Tingyuan was stunned for a moment, and unconsciously touched his face. He really didn't feel unhappy.
only……
At first, Liao Tingyuan was indeed thinking about how to quickly solve this problem, since what office workers hate most is working overtime, especially this kind of endless overtime.
But at some point, Liao Tingyuan stopped agreeing with Lu Liruan in his heart when he heard her shouting, "When can we get out?" "When will this space be resolved?", even though he still verbally echoed her words.
Even though we've left this space, we can still continue to spend time together with Lu Liruan.
but……
Liao Tingyuan didn't know what he was thinking either. Perhaps it was the close contact in such a short time, or Lu Liruan's dependence on him...
It made him feel needed for no apparent reason, a feeling completely different from his previous life.
But if she leaves this space, the little girl will have to meet other people and experience other things, and may no longer need his care...
What will it become?
Liao Tingyuan couldn't help but think about it, but whenever he had such thoughts, he always stopped himself in time.
That's too strange. Besides, it's the girl's freedom to do whatever she wants, and I have no reason to interfere in the slightest.
Although I've always had this thought, seeing my colleague today made it finally become a reality.
There's a feeling... that something is about to end.
Liao Tingyuan himself was unclear about what he wanted or what he wanted to express, and he was also unsure whether he was truly unhappy.
why?
When Lu Liruan said that, Liao Tingyuan was even a little surprised.
Is it that easy to spot?
He turned to face the refrigerator, answering Lu Liruan's question in as calm a tone as possible.
But the little girl wouldn't give up, swaying from the living room to behind him like a clingy little tail, or a buzzing little bee.
"Teacher Liao, if you're unhappy, don't keep it to yourself!"
"understood."
"Can I relax now?"
"Don't worry, I'll tell you if anything happens..." Liao Tingyuan patiently answered Lu Liruan's deliberately persistent questions.
Lu Liruan thought that as long as she persisted and asked repeatedly, she would find out what had happened to Liao Tingyuan, because Teacher Liao was not usually a very tight-lipped person.
This is Lu Liruan's impression of Liao Tingyuan so far.
As long as she acts cute, she can basically get what she wants.
But today Liao Tingyuan was unusually tight-lipped. The more he said nothing was wrong, the more Lu Liruan felt something was amiss. This feeling of piquing her curiosity made Lu Liruan keep glancing at Liao Tingyuan all afternoon, whether there was something to it or not.
Her actions were obvious, and Liao Tingyuan certainly noticed them.
They could only pretend not to notice, each with their own thoughts...
Lu Liruan tried adding the other party on WeChat several more times, but still received no response.
After dinner, Lu Liruan and Liao Tingyuan went out for a stroll and ended up at the place that the dog-owning couple had mentioned before, where they had previously poisoned small animals.
Sure enough, in the bushes there, there was a sign that someone had placed there with a warning: "Danger may be present here, please proceed with caution."
Lu Liruan stopped and looked around. Sure enough, there were no people walking their dogs or playing with their children in this area.
The sound of children talking came from behind them, and Lu Liruan and Liao Tingyuan stepped aside and looked back.
Then the father picked up the child and quickly walked through the area.
Lu Liruan frowned, it seemed that not only were pet owners affected, but parents were also feeling uneasy.
"This kind of person is really dangerous," Lu Liruan remarked.
"Let's hurry up and go... We can't get anything on our shoes, right?" Lu Liruan lifted her leg to look at the sole of her shoe.
"..." Liao Tingyuan was about to say something.
Then Lu Liruan blurted out, "It's okay, I don't lick shoe soles anyway."
Liao Tingyuan: ?
We went to the supermarket, bought some snacks, and then went home together.
"Teacher Liao, do we still need to go over tonight?" Lu Liruan asked uncertainly.
"We'll see..." Liao Tingyuan was also unsure.
After dinner, Lu Liruan noticed that Liao Tingyuan was looking down at his phone again.
Liao Tingyuan doesn't usually use his phone much; he spends most of his time reading. Lu Liruan has never seen him play games or anything like that.
But Lu Liruan had seen him looking down at his phone several times today, seemingly quite engrossed.
Lu Liruan tiptoed closer to Liao Tingyuan like a kitten.
They got quite close, and she thought Liao Tingyuan would notice, but to her surprise, Liao Tingyuan seemed lost in his own thoughts and didn't notice his surroundings at all. He seemed genuinely unaware of Lu Liruan's approach.
They no longer seemed inclined to cover the phone screen.
Lu Liruan hesitated. Although she was curious, it was impolite to peek at someone else's phone. Putting herself in their shoes, Lu Liruan also disliked people coming over to peek at her phone screen without asking.
Lu Liruan stopped and resumed walking normally, while coughing to indicate her arrival.
"Ahem—Teacher Liao, what are you looking at so intently!"
"Hmm?" Liao Tingyuan only looked up when he heard her voice.
Lu Liruan glanced over unintentionally and saw the chat interface on Liao Tingyuan's phone screen.
Hey?
Who else can Teacher Liao contact?
Lu Liruan didn't mean anything by it; it's just that after knowing each other for so long, Liao Tingyuan almost never contacts anyone, and Lu Liruan has never heard him mention anyone.
what happened today?
Did the person opposite him make him unhappy?
its not right!
Lu Liruan thought for a moment... How was Liao Tingyuan able to contact other people?
Could it be that the person on the other side is also inside the space, or... does Liao Tingyuan have some way to contact the person outside the space?
Lu Liruan felt strange, but she didn't ask.
Liao Tingyuan was indeed in contact with someone else.
"Are you sure you don't need our help?"
"Well, no need."
Liao Tingyuan typed: "It will be over soon."
As he typed this, Lu Liruan was eating watermelon. Liao Tingyuan watched her back and a strange feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.
What if it didn't have to end?
But how could it not end? The problem of the space must be solved. The little girl has already fallen ill from staying here. The sooner it is resolved, the better. We can't afford any further complications.
"Xiao Heng told me that besides you, there are other people in the space who are traveling with you, is that right?"
The person on the other end asked again.
Liao Tingyuan thought for a moment, then answered, "Yes."
"what happened?"
"I'll explain when we've sorted things out here and get back to the company," Liao Tingyuan typed, then deleted, and replied with this message.
It seems that only in this way can he truly spend more time alone with Lu Liruan...
The other party was clearly not as easy to fool as the red-haired youth.
"Old Liao, if he's like you... you can't keep it from him."
"You know, the boss takes this very seriously."
"She is different from me."
The woman on the other side of the screen frowned slightly as she looked at the word "she".
"Okay, you know what you're doing. Remember to protect yourself and contact us anytime if you need anything."
"Old Liao... everyone is very worried about you. This time it was really scary."
"I understand, thank you." Liao Tingyuan pursed his lips. "We'll get back safely."
Liao Tingyuan saw Lu Liruan casually walk past him several times and sighed, "Ruanruan?"
"Huh?" Lu Liruan pretended to be stupid.
"I didn't do anything!" Lu Liruan's attempt to cover up her lie only made things worse, revealing a clear case of "protesting too much."
"Someone contacted me." Liao Tingyuan was amused by her and finally told her. If he didn't, the little girl would be so curious that she couldn't sleep at night.
"Ah...I see." Lu Liruan's eyes darted around.
"Don't bother trying to trick me into revealing anything; he's someone from my workplace." Liao Tingyuan raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?" Lu Liruan was indeed somewhat surprised.
Although Liao Tingyuan had mentioned his workplace before, this was the first time Lu Liruan had heard any concrete information about his company.
"How did you get in touch?" Lu Liruan blinked.
"It seems like we can now make contact with the outside world."
"Huh?" Lu Liruan was genuinely surprised this time.
"It's not that it wasn't resolved..."
"I don't know, I received a message from the company during the day." Liao Tingyuan nodded.
Lu Liruan hurriedly ran back to her room and grabbed her phone to check.
Sure enough, I saw it...
On the recruitment app, the messages I sent earlier have already received replies.
And the reply was that she was welcome to come for an interview.
“Ha…” Lu Liruan let out a somewhat regretful sigh.
"What's wrong? Is there some bad news?" Liao Tingyuan asked, noticing her expression.
Lu Liruan showed her job posting to Liao Tingyuan.
Liao Tingyuan browsed through it:
Night shift security guard, salary is four thousand per month.
"The benefits are quite good..."
Lu Liruan was still a little disappointed. She looked up at Liao Tingyuan, who was looking at her with affection, and pointed at him with her finger: "Teacher Liao... your company really can hire me, right?"
"Look, I could have had a really good job opportunity," Lu Liruan said slyly. "If your company didn't hire me, shouldn't you give me some compensation?"
Although Teacher Liao is a good person, not everyone in his workplace is a good person!
Lu Liruan has worked for so many years that she has seen all sorts of strange and monstrous things.
Thinking back to earlier today, Liao Tingyuan had contacted his workplace, but behind his back, and his expression wasn't very pleasant.
Although she didn't find out why, Lu Liruan began to speculate pessimistically that maybe Teacher Liao had told someone about her situation and the person disagreed.
If that's the case... I need to complete my task, but I can't make things difficult for Teacher Liao. Anyway, as long as Teacher Liao doesn't move out, the two of them will still live very close to each other...
Lu Liruan herself didn't know why she was having such wild thoughts.
"...Don't worry." Liao Tingyuan didn't know why Lu Liruan was so enthusiastic about going to work.
"I'll definitely get you a job." Liao Tingyuan stroked Lu Liruan's hair, thinking to himself: The age gap is really obvious here...
When evening came, Lu Liruan and Liao Tingyuan could feel that they had entered the space, but it was still very quiet outside, and nothing happened.
Liao Tingyuan stood at the door for a while and saw that apart from the door not closing, there was really nothing else there.
Lu Liruan breathed a sigh of relief and put the large spoon back in the kitchen.
The room was dimly lit, and the atmosphere was thick and heavy.
"Ruan Ruan, you can go to sleep first," Liao Tingyuan said to her.
Lu Liruan thought to herself, "I need to be able to sleep too!"
So she kept saying that the online space should end soon so she could get back to a normal routine, but actually, after staying up all night for so many days, Lu Liruan couldn't fall asleep at this time anymore... Sometimes when she came back from outside, she could still play on her phone for a while after lying in bed.
The two sat idly on the sofa.
Lu Liruan's eyes suddenly lit up: "Teacher Liao, let's go out and take a look!"
"Where to go?"
"Anywhere is fine, let's take a look around! It turns out that when we came back, the space-time was about to end before we even finished. What if there's anything in the courtyard and around outside that we didn't notice?"
"There might be something different inside and outside of spacetime!"
Liao Tingyuan stood up from the sofa after hearing her words.
"Makes sense."