sjar Chapter 402 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (13)
Chapter 402 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (13)
Lu Liruan didn't expect to hear such a serious and practical answer.
It felt like it had been a long time since anyone had cared about her like this. In Lu Liruan's memory, she had been living alone for a long time, working alone, eating alone, and going home alone.
When wronged, all one can do is pour the spicy hot pot broth on the other person...
I was quite touched.
This sudden surge of emotion left Lu Liruan somewhat embarrassed, unsure how to respond.
Liao Tingyuan didn't care whether she responded or not, and simply asked, "Do you want to stay here? I'll go get another blanket."
"No, no need." Lu Liruan coughed lightly twice, lowered her gaze, and blinked quickly to cover up her earlier lapse in composure.
“It’s late at night, it’s not that hot anymore. When it gets unbearably hot, I’ll come and take over!” Lu Liruan grinned and joked.
Then, grabbing his keys, he dashed out the door like a hopping rabbit.
When Lu Liruan got home and closed the door, she realized that her kitchen knife was still at Liao Tingyuan's house.
Lu Liruan didn't see that after she went out, Liao Tingyuan blocked the door behind her instead of closing it directly.
Instead, he leaned against the door, listening to Lu Liruan's footsteps as she came downstairs. Only after he heard her open the door and return home safely did he gently lock the door.
He yawned, picked up the kitchen knife that Lu Liruan had left at the door, washed it, and put it in the kitchen.
Lu Liruan turned on the light and looked at the room. It was exactly the same as when she left. Everything that had just happened seemed to be completely separated from the present moment.
Looking up, Lu Liruan subconsciously glanced at the old wall clock.
It wasn't the hour yet, so all that was inside was the metal second hand, ticking away in a monotonous, visible way.
Lu Liruan stared at it unconsciously, a strong drowsiness washing over her.
Lu Liruan felt that she had used up her last bit of strength to avoid collapsing into bed in the living room. Instead, she struggled to move into the bedroom and threw her body onto the bed.
I slept soundly without any dreams.
When Lu Li woke up, she even felt that she had never had such a deep sleep in her life.
It made her feel that from closing her eyes to waking up, it was as if only a few seconds had passed in the blink of an eye.
It was already bright outside, but today's brightness wasn't sunny; it was grayish, still very bright, and the low air pressure was palpable, creating a natural sense of oppression and generating feelings of irritability.
Lu Liruan heard voices coming from outside the gauze window in the courtyard. While brushing her teeth, she sleepily went over to see what was going on.
As a result, we saw a burly man who looked to be about 200 pounds and over 1.8 meters tall lift up his T-shirt, revealing his unsightly beer belly.
I was standing next to the exercise equipment, talking to someone...
"Yes! Right here! Damn it, it scared the hell out of me, and cold sweat poured down my spine!"
"Who knows if that bastard is a human or a ghost! I was completely drunk at the time!"
"Two!" The older brother said, holding up two fingers as he got emotional.
Lu Liruan: ?
She stopped brushing her teeth, as if... she was saying...
The older brother was clearly furious: "They were all dressed in white, swaying back and forth on that equipment, their feet barely touching the ground! Look, you're scared too! Who's so inconsiderate! If someone's scared to death, won't they pay with their lives?!"
"You're crazy! What bad luck!" the older brother concluded viciously. "Next time, I'm never going to come home drunk late at night again!"
Lu Liruan thought for a moment, remembering the white she wore yesterday, and the white shirt Liao Tingyuan was wearing.
Hmm, how can it not be considered playing tricks?
After washing up, Lu Liruan opened the refrigerator, looking for something to eat.
There's not much ready-made food left in the fridge. I should have bought some when I went to buy a kitchen knife yesterday, but I was too busy and forgot!
Lu Liruan thought for a moment and decided to go downstairs to the entrance of the community to buy some things.
Today is Saturday, and there are more people in the courtyard of the community than usual. There are elderly people playing with their children, elderly people sitting under the shade of trees playing chess, and people playing badminton.
When Lu Liruan arrived downstairs, her older brother had already finished venting his anger and was now standing behind the people playing cards, watching the commotion with his hands behind his back.
Lu Liruan walked away a little guiltily. Who knew if her older brother had seen her face last night? What if he saw her and suddenly remembered her?
Following the aroma, Lu Liruan stopped in front of the hand-pulled pancake stall and bought herself a corn sausage with tomato sauce.
After thinking about it, I bought a double hot dog with ketchup, intending to bring it to Liao Tingyuan later. Otherwise, if he hadn't eaten breakfast, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to eat alone in front of him.
Lu Liruan felt she was being very generous; adding an extra sausage would only cost two yuan more.
When Lu Liruan knocked on Liao Tingyuan's door, she was slightly taken aback and looked him up and down.
"What's wrong?" Liao Tingyuan was puzzled. He looked down at himself and saw nothing amiss.
Lu Liruan looked at him and saw that he was already dressed neatly, with a clean white short-sleeved T-shirt and beige casual pants, making him look fresh and clean.
Although he was wearing a suit... well, he looked very good, but that strong class vibe was just too overpowering, to the point that Lu Liruan felt it suffocated her nose.
He now looks brighter and gentler.
"Why are you dressed like this today?" Lu Liruan asked as she entered the room and changed into slippers.
Liao Tingyuan thought for a moment before realizing what she was talking about: "Today is Saturday."
“I know today is Saturday!” Lu Liruan nodded.
"This is what I would wear on my day off."
"Huh?" Lu Liruan blurted out her first thought: "Holy crap! You have weekends off?"
Liao Tingyuan: ...
"Normally, it's a two-day weekend."
"What about when things aren't normal?"
Lu Liruan noticed that Liao Tingyuan remained silent.
Oh, the abnormal time is now.
"Why are you so surprised to hear that I have weekends off?" Liao Tingyuan couldn't understand why the girl had been so surprised.
Lu Liruan hesitated for a moment: "I thought you guys were 007."
"Why?" Liao Tingyuan frowned reflexively upon hearing "007".
“I think your job is similar to that of Ultraman or Sailor Moon. I’ve never heard of Ultraman or Sailor Moon having weekends off.” Lu Liruan’s voice grew softer as she spoke.
"Do you know what Ultraman and Sailor Moon are?"
Liao Tingyuan sighed: "I know."
"Oh."
“We are a legitimate and legal workplace.” Liao Tingyuan sighed and explained, “Unless there are special circumstances, we have weekends off and we have staff on duty for weekends and emergencies.”
“Oh.” Lu Liruan nodded, listening to Liao Tingyuan continue, “We are different from Ultraman, Sailor Moon, and others.”
"what?"
"Our company will pay for our five social insurances and one housing fund."
Lu Liruan: ...
"Plus a huge personal accident insurance policy, the kind that will be 100% effective."
Lu Liruan became interested: "Huge? How huge?"
"Probably... he died at work, and the compensation is enough for the beneficiary to live a luxurious life." Liao Tingyuan carefully chose his words.
Good guy.
Just as Lu Liruan was about to indulge in some daydreams, she suddenly realized... if she really joined this organization and died at work, there wouldn't even be anyone to list as a beneficiary.
It suddenly lost its nature.
Suddenly, Lu Liruan felt something was off: "Wait a minute! You've been stuck here and haven't been able to go to work for the past few days! Why were you still wearing your work clothes when I ran into you?"
"Because the clothes I'll be wearing every day this week were prepared in advance last weekend," Liao Tingyuan said casually.
"so……"
Why do I see you wearing the same thing for several days in a row?
Perhaps it was the expression on Lu Liruan's face that was too expressive of her thoughts.
Liao Tingyuan slowly explained, "I bought ten identical suits wholesale."
Lu Liruan: ?
"I bought them with my colleagues. We each bought ten sets, and the store gave us a 15% discount."
Lu Liruan turned her face away: In every sense, it feels a bit pathetic.
Last weekend I prepared five identical suits. Even though I didn't have to go to work in between, I was too lazy to find new clothes and just wore whatever I had.
It wasn't until Saturday that it came back to life like this.
How pathetic are these corporate slaves.
Lu Liruan decided it was best not to ask any further questions, remembering that she was still holding a scallion pancake in her hand.
"I brought you one, have you eaten it?" Lu Liruan handed him a bag.
Liao Tingyuan was somewhat surprised, but he still took it, a hint of embarrassment on his face: "I've finished eating."
What time did you get up?
"About seven o'clock."
"You went to sleep around 2 a.m. last night, but you woke up around 7 a.m.?" Lu Liruan asked, puzzled.
"It's probably due to my biological clock." Liao Tingyuan placed the pancake on the table. "I made soy milk this morning, do you want some?"
"drink!"
"With sugar?"
"Add!" Lu Liruan raised her hand like a primary school student.
The color of the soy milk was a bit strange. When Liao Tingyuan saw her looking at it, he explained, "I added black beans to it, which are good for your health."
Lu Liruan took a bite; it was very mild and mellow, with just the right amount of sweetness. One bite warmed her stomach.
Lu Liruan usually just grabs a quick bite in the morning, and it's been a long time since she's had the time to fully enjoy a cup of soy milk.
Liao Tingyuan sat next to her, looking at his phone while keeping an eye on Lu Liruan out of the corner of his eye.
The girl ate with great relish, and it was as if you could tell from the way she ate that she was a vibrant, optimistic, and positive person.
Suddenly, Liao Tingyuan noticed that she paused, then leaned closer to take a look.
Reaching out, I picked one out of the pancake; it looked like some kind of fluffy stuff that had fallen from a tree…
Just as Liao Tingyuan was about to say something, he saw Lu Liruan wipe her hands with a tissue and continue eating the rest of the pancake as if nothing had happened.
After taking a bite, Lu Liruan noticed Liao Tingyuan looking at her with a hesitant expression, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
He waved his hand and said, "It's okay~ A little dirt won't hurt you."
Liao Tingyuan took her cup and asked, "Would you like another drink?"
"drink!"
"How about I make an extra portion tomorrow? You can come eat here whenever you want." Liao Tingyuan, who is very strict about food safety when cooking, simply couldn't accept what he had just witnessed.
"Isn't this... too much trouble for you?" Lu Liruan feigned refusal.
"It's okay, making a single serving is actually harder to control the quantity." Liao Tingyuan curled the corners of his mouth, finding Lu Liruan's behavior quite adorable.
Lu Liruan wasn't just here to mooch soy milk today. They had agreed last night that Lu Liruan would help him go out for a stroll today and see if they could run into his colleagues.
"But there's a problem." After finishing her drink, Lu Liruan went to the kitchen to wash the cup herself.
How am I supposed to recognize your colleagues?
Liao Tingyuan took a small box from the bedroom, opened it, and inside was a brooch.
Lu Liruan didn't know what material it was made of, but it looked like a rough, triangular stone, dark in color, with irregularly polished edges.
It is surrounded by shiny metal, giving it a somewhat serious look.
“If you wear this, they will keep a close eye on you if they are also looking for me.”
“Unless…” Liao Tingyuan paused for a moment, “the person who came is blind.”
"Huh?" Lu Liruan was startled. How could she hear such aggressive words coming from Liao Tingyuan's mouth?
"If they didn't see it, they didn't see it. There are so many people on the street, they might not have seen it. Don't call them blind!" Lu Liruan said vaguely.
"No." Liao Tingyuan shook his head: "I didn't swear. There is a colleague in my unit who is really blind."
Lu Liruan: ...
"Your company... hires disabled people?"
“His mental strength is very high. This kind of infection that creates space is very likely because he was sent here to investigate,” Liao Tingyuan explained.
"They should also wear these kinds of brooches on their chests, so keep an eye out for them."
"Ok."
Lu Liruan was wearing an avocado-colored short-sleeved T-shirt today, with a brooch on it that was quite eye-catching and even looked nice.
Liao Tingyuan used the map app on Lu Liruan's phone to mark the streets she had visited that day, and then the two of them went their separate ways.
Because she had no experience, Lu Liruan searched very carefully. She originally scanned a shared bicycle, but found that the speed on the bicycle was too fast and she couldn't see clearly, so she had to get off and walk.
Fortunately, there was not much sunshine today, but after most of the day, Lu Liruan was also feeling unbearably hot, and she drank four bottles of iced mineral water.
Then, as she walked down the last street, she received a WeChat message from Liao Tingyuan: "Is it over?"
"What do you want to eat tonight? Do you like eggplant?"
Lu Liruan replied with an "ok" emoji, turned around, and walked towards the residential area.
As soon as I entered, the air conditioner was already on, and the room was completely cooled down. A mouthwatering aroma wafted from the kitchen.
"I just cut the watermelon. The food will have to wait a bit. Eat something to cool off first!"
Hearing the sound, Liao Tingyuan, wearing a dark gray apron, poked her head out of the kitchen.
Lu Liruan was so tired that she didn't want to talk anymore, but after eating two pieces of iced watermelon, she felt like she had come back to life.
When she came out of the bathroom after washing her face, two dishes and a soup were already laid out on the table.
Lu Liruan suddenly exclaimed in her heart: What great treatment this is!