AWB Chapter 494 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (105)
Chapter 494 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (105)
Chapter 494 "Infecting the World" Male Mother (105)
Although it was her own house, Lu Liruan felt quite unfamiliar with everything in it. It seemed like a long time had passed since she lived here alone.
Actually, there isn't a season yet.
Everything else in the bedroom was exactly the same, except for the bed...
Although Liao Tingyuan had carefully measured the size, Lu Liruan felt even more unfamiliar with it, probably because it was new and the color was slightly lighter than the previous one.
Liao Tingyuan was adept at all household chores. With a gentle unfolding of his hands, he could make the bed sheets perfectly flat. He would also pull out the slightly thicker quilt from under the bed, put on a freshly washed sheet, and fold it on the bed.
Lu Liruan leaned against the bedroom door frame, watching his movements, and suddenly remembered:
When she was little, her mother's illness wasn't so serious yet, but little Lu Liruan still dragged her big suitcase to school by herself.
My mom said she would give it to me, but at that time, I was very sensible and said to her like a little adult, "It's okay, I can manage on my own!"
When they arrived at the school dormitory, the small room was crammed with four bunk beds. When Lu Liruan arrived, the room was already full of people.
Several aunties were making their children's beds, while a few girls chattered excitedly nearby, carefree and happy to have made new friends...
He would occasionally answer impatiently when his parents asked him where to put his things.
Lu Liruan was quite petite at the time, and even the sheets and blankets on a single bed were not easy to handle; she almost had to squeeze into them.
With a cloth covering my head, the sound seemed to travel through a membrane, making it somewhat noisy and indistinct as it reached my ears.
Some kind aunties around her saw her looking like that and came over to help her with her work, praising her for being so independent... while others casually scolded their own children.
Lu Liruan still remembers the feeling of forcing a smile back then.
The care and attention that everyone else receives is a given, but for her, it's a luxury. Lu Liruan doesn't regret letting her mother rest at home, but the sense of loss and emptiness in her heart can never be filled.
It will never be filled up again...
What happened then is forever lost to time; nothing that happened afterward can bridge the gap of time and fill that void.
Lu Liruan watched Liao Tingyuan's retreating figure.
Although it wasn't quite appropriate, Lu Liruan usually only jokingly said that Liao Tingyuan was like a mother who could take care of people, but at this moment, Lu Liruan still felt that something in her heart was more at ease.
What's wrong?
Liao Tingyuan noticed that the little girl hadn't said anything for a while.
"It's nothing." Lu Liruan pouted, thinking to herself that Teacher Liao wouldn't understand her feelings... Teacher Liao could only hear that she felt he was like her mother again, but it was better not to say it.
Lu Liruan originally only loved Liao Tingyuan, saying that he was like an elder to her.
But at some point, Lu Liruan began to subtly become more careful with her words, trying not to let Teacher Liao think of her as an elder...
After all, they've been so good to me, it's not right for me to keep calling them old.
That's what Lu Liruan told herself.
"Go get me my rubber gloves." Liao Tingyuan had no idea what the little girl was thinking again, pouting one minute and looking at him the next, so he asked her to help.
"Oh!"
When Liao Tingyuan last visited Lu Liruan's home, he was still bothered by Lu Liruan's kitchen.
This time, she brought cleaning agents and finally thoroughly cleaned the stove area. Lu Liruan realized for the first time that her own stove could be so clean that... it reflected her image.
Lu Liruan reached out and touched it; despite it being a cooking area, there wasn't a trace of grease.
"Teacher Liao... um." Lu Liruan hesitated before speaking.
"Hmm?" Liao Tingyuan responded indifferently.
“I can’t usually keep things this clean by myself,” Lu Liruan said, fully aware of her own limitations.
She doesn't usually keep things this clean. When she lives alone, she's content as long as she can get by. Lu Liruan isn't ashamed of it. After all, she lives alone! As long as she's comfortable, who's she trying to impress by keeping things so tidy?
“I know,” Liao Tingyuan replied naturally.
Lu Liruan: ...
You don't seem to have any expectations of me at all, huh?
"What do you want to say?" Noticing that Lu Liruan's silent complaints were almost filling the small kitchen space, Liao Tingyuan glanced at her and asked.
Lu Liruan sighed: "Teacher Liao, what I mean is, you don't need to clean it up so thoroughly. It puts a lot of pressure on me when I use it!"
"..." Liao Tingyuan straightened up, turned around and looked at her silently.
Just as Lu Liruan was wondering if she had said something wrong and hurt the feelings of this cleanliness-obsessed person who loved tidying up.
Then Liao Tingyuan asked slowly and hesitantly, "You... still need it?"
Lu Liruan: ? ?
Why, why don't I need to use it anymore!
The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds with inexplicable expressions.
Liao Tingyuan spoke first: "Didn't you say you don't like to cook? Didn't we agree a few days ago... that you'll still come to my place for meals in the future? I'll cook and bring you a portion... just like before."
His tone trailed off at the end, tinged with a hint of doubt, as if he were simply being presumptuous...
Why can't I even cook myself some instant noodles for a midnight snack?
Oh right, Teacher Liao doesn't like eating late-night snacks either.
Lu Liruan mentally complained.
It felt both heartwarming and funny...
Since I don't use the kitchen, I cleaned it very thoroughly.
Teacher Liao is really...incredibly meticulous.
Seeing that Lu Liruan did not answer, Liao Tingyuan lowered his gaze slightly, concealing a hint of disappointment.
“That’s true!” Lu Liruan nodded. “Then I’ll come to eat here every day from now on. Teacher Liao, please don’t look down on me!” Lu Liruan stuck out a finger and poked Liao Tingyuan’s arm.
"how come."
Lu Liruan secretly decided that if she wanted to eat instant noodles in the middle of the night, she would use the small electric cooker at home to cook them!
We must cherish and protect Teacher Liao's hard work!
That night, Lu Liruan, for the first time in a long time... well, not exactly a long time. In the previous space, she was forced to stay up late almost every day, but tonight, Lu Liruan was staying up late on her own initiative, lying in bed watching variety shows that she had missed many episodes of.
And quite brazenly, he didn't use headphones and played the music directly from the speakers.
Normally, Teacher Liao would knock on the door long before reminding me to go to bed early.
"This is the kind of lifestyle young people should have! This is unhealthy!" Lu Liruan thought to herself. After watching for a while, she suddenly felt bored, yawned, and obediently washed up and went to bed.
Oh no, I've completely adopted a healthy lifestyle.
This was the last thought in Lu Liruan's mind before she fell asleep.
Despite adopting a healthier lifestyle, Lu Liruan still couldn't wake up naturally the next morning; her alarm clock didn't even work until Liao Tingyuan called twice...
"Ruan Ruan, if you can't get up, you can come over for breakfast later. Remember to heat it up if it gets cold." There was the sound of clothes rubbing together on Liao Tingyuan's end, indicating that he was getting ready to go out.
Lu Liruan, her mind still foggy, struggled to understand Liao Tingyuan's words, then sat bolt upright in bed with a thud: "No! I'm getting up right now!"
Lu Liruan launched herself into the air: "I can't lose my perfect attendance record!"
To some extent, Lu Liruan and Liao Tingyuan were very much in sync.
It's not hard work anyway, so why not take the free money!
Lu Liruan casually tied her hair up, changed her clothes, brushed her teeth and washed her face. Before she even put on her shoes, she had already rushed out of the house.
Lu Liruan has been in the office for a few days now and is gradually getting used to it...
Actually, there's no need to gradually adapt.
There is absolutely no stress in office life.
Several colleagues have come over in the past few days; some came to water their plants, and some came to freeload a meal...
In short, people who are not working are all very casual and lazy.
An Tang spends most of her time in the office. In her words, she was influenced by Lu Liruan and Liao Tingyuan and decided to try her luck with a month of perfect attendance.
But Lu Liruan could sense that she was also doing it to take care of herself.
I usually teach myself how to tidy up the yard, how to take care of quails, and how to manage all kinds of plants and animals in the office.
A few days ago, two people were filling out forms in the rain while Liao Tingyuan was out running errands when a Lalamove truck arrived in the courtyard...
When the driver opened the rear cargo door, five glass fish tanks, each nearly half a person's height, were revealed inside.
"Are you... sure you didn't send it to the wrong person?" An Tang and Lu Liruan looked at each other blankly.
“I’m sure I didn’t deliver it to the wrong address! The recipient’s surname is An. Here’s the address!” the driver said, showing the address on his phone to the two people.
The address of the villa is indeed correct.
"..." An Tang and Lu Liruan exchanged another speechless glance.
The driver, holding an umbrella, stood to the side and urged, "Hurry up and move it, I have other orders to pick up later!"
"Aren't you going to help move it?" Lu Liruan asked in surprise.
"Miss, I'm a driver, not a mover! Besides, I dislocated my arm a while ago, so I can't lift heavy things." The driver waved his hand, indicating that he was powerless to help.
Finally, Lu Liruan and An Tang braved the heavy rain and carried the five enormous, heavy fish tanks back to the office.
Suddenly, there was nowhere to stand in the small hall on the first floor.
When Liao Tingyuan returned, he stopped at the door and looked at the two people inside the house who were drying their hair and complaining.
"This is……"
"The boss has decided to keep us all in the water for our offices from now on," An Tang said irritably.
After the last few people ordered takeout and ate their fill, they all... mainly Liao Tingyuan helped move the fish tanks to a place where they could fit them.
Two days later, another truckload of fish arrived.
This time, Liao Tingyuan placed the fish in different fish tanks in his office.
For the next week, Lu Liruan's job became watching videos with An Tang to learn how to raise fish so that the fish in the aquarium would die more slowly.
Fortunately, after some died, the rest survived!
Lu Liruan felt that after she stopped working here, she could go and do work related to agriculture and animal husbandry...
For the past week, every time Liao Tingyuan asked Lu Liruan if she wanted stewed fish for dinner, Lu Liruan would interrupt him with a loud, wailing cry: "Teacher Liao! Don't say such unlucky things!"
The only slightly more extravagant thing Lu Liruan has done lately is that if she gets up late, she takes a taxi to the office.
Anyway, the money from perfect attendance is more than enough to cover her daily taxi fares to and from work, and Lu Liruan doesn't take taxis to and from get off work every day.
Liao Tingyuan usually doesn't ask Lu Liruan for money for meals. After Lu Liruan tried to give him money twice, she found that after she brought it up, Teacher Liao was in a bad mood all day.
Although he wasn't usually that tall, Lu Liruan could still subtly sense his emotional fluctuations.
So Lu Liruan paid for her commute to and from get off work.
The office was much livelier today; two people came in this afternoon.
A woman who looks to be around forty years old, and a boy who is about the same age as Lu Liruan.
The boy's eyes lit up the moment he saw Liao Tingyuan: "Brother Liao! You're back!" He threw his bag on the sofa and then looked at Lu Liruan: "You're the one who went on the mission with Brother Liao, right? Hello, hello! My name is Yan Muyu!"
Lu Liruan shook hands with him without really understanding what was going on.
"Hello, my name is Lu Liruan."
I don't know why, but the moment I shook hands with the other person, I suddenly felt a surge of emotion...
Lu Liruan: ? ?
It felt like something had sprung through my nerves.
An Tang noticed Lu Liruan's unusual behavior and couldn't help but laugh. She gestured to Lu Liruan that she would explain to her later.
The woman walked up to Liao Tingyuan, exchanged a few words with him, and then, following Liao Tingyuan's gaze, looked towards Lu Liruan.
Liao Tingyuan nodded to Lu Liruan, who walked to his side and listened as he introduced her: "This is Sister Fang."
"My name is Fang Mingzheng. You and Xiao Liao can just call me Sister Fang!" Sister Fang looks like a very capable person, and her every move is neat and energetic.
"Hello, Sister Fang." Lu Liruan sensed that Sister Fang was looking her up and down, so she smiled and introduced herself in a well-behaved manner: "My name is Lu Liruan, you can call me Liruan or Ruanruan, it's fine with you!"
Fang Mingzheng's scrutiny of Lu Liruan wasn't for any other reason than that their space mission this time was quite long and their level was not low. For a newcomer, it was truly remarkable that they had such mental fortitude and could cooperate with Liao Tingyuan.
Fang Mingzheng was quite curious about what kind of person Lu Liruan was. After all, someone had temporarily partnered with Liao Tingyuan before, and it wasn't all bad... How to put it, everyone said that Liao Tingyuan was too cold and unapproachable as a partner.
But seeing how naturally and protectively he treated the little girl, drawing her close to him, was something Fang Mingzheng had never seen before.
Yan Muyu was already chatting with Lu Liruan in a very familiar manner.
"Your space this time sounds really interesting... How come I didn't get to join you? Sigh..." he said sincerely.
This was the first time Lu Liruan had ever met someone who loved their work so much and was so driven to improve.
Especially in this workplace.