bayedsolid Chapter 498 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (109)
Chapter 498 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (109)
Chapter 498 "Infecting the World" Male Mother (109)
An Tang almost couldn't hide her laughter, but managed to cough lightly before turning back to look at Liao Tingyuan.
Liao Tingyuan knew Lu Liruan loved money... but he never expected...
Lu Liruan just thought she was asking casually, and there was nothing wrong with it. After all, she had been working for several years and had never received this kind of treatment before.
Perhaps only highly talented individuals receive this kind of treatment, but she never expected it to happen to her! Lu Liruan felt a little smug.
"Yes, of course there are subsidies! We really care about our employees' lives here!" The boss smiled and put his hands behind his back. "After all, only when everyone is living comfortably can they work well! Our profession is considered special and involves a certain degree of danger..."
Lu Liruan thought to herself: Look! Look!
What makes a good company and a good boss who cares about their employees!
With an organization like this, who wouldn't work hard!
Just as Lu Liruan was inwardly praising the good benefits at her workplace, she heard An Tang's laughter behind her.
She hadn't intended to laugh, but the little girl's excited expression was just too funny! An Tang had been holding back for a while, but when she met Liao Tingyuan's gaze, she immediately broke down.
It feels like young girls might even pull Liao Tingyuan aside after get off work to discuss whether or not to settle for a marriage of convenience.
An Tang had been observing the interactions between the two these past few days. Although she couldn't be sure what Liao Tingyuan was thinking—no one could be sure what he was really thinking, and the young girl was so carefree that she hadn't thought about these things at all.
An Tang had a lot of teasing things to say, and she thought she might as well tell Liao Tingyuan, "If you're this age and really have feelings for young girls, why not use this as an opportunity? Not only will it suit the tastes of young girls, but it will also allow you to walk directly into the hall of marriage. Why not?"
The more An Tang thought about it, the funnier it became. She couldn't stand the strange and absurd atmosphere any longer, so she gave Liao Tingyuan a look and went upstairs.
The boss didn't seem to notice the awkward atmosphere at all and continued to say to Lu Liruan, "Actually, because we have a small number of employees, each person receives a larger subsidy, and I will also personally contribute a portion!"
Lu Liruan: ? ? ! !
Without realizing it, I took two steps forward.
The boss looks very wealthy and powerful.
"Ruan Ruan."
Before Lu Liruan could say anything, Liao Tingyuan spoke first.
Lu Liruan then realized that this wasn't what they were talking about at the beginning... How did she suddenly get kidnapped?
The boss shifted his gaze to Liao Tingyuan: "Does Xiao Liao also know about this?"
Liao Tingyuan couldn't refuse to answer his boss's question, so he nodded.
"So, if you two get married, you can get double the subsidy!" the boss said, successfully drawing Lu Liruan's attention back.
When the boss asked her earlier, Lu Liruan was thinking about other things, but now all that's left is the subsidy. The unease and shyness she had just felt have long since disappeared. Liao Tingyuan, on the other hand, pursed his lips and felt his ears getting hot.
"I think you two are a perfect match, you're partners, and you even have the chance to live upstairs and downstairs. Isn't that amazing?" The boss's voice had a hint of seduction.
"Boss, your phone is ringing!"
Fortunately, An Tang's voice came from up the stairs at just the right time.
A cell phone rang.
"Okay, I understand." The boss smiled at Lu Liruan, and as he passed Liao Tingyuan, he patted him on the shoulder and walked upstairs calmly and steadily.
After the boss's figure disappeared from the stairwell, Lu Liruan turned to look at Liao Tingyuan and suddenly realized she was a little embarrassed.
But it was only a few points...
The shock of money hadn't subsided yet, and Lu Liruan still didn't know why she loved money so much! Why she couldn't resist the thought of money!
But this is only human nature, Lu Liruan told herself.
"Haha, Teacher Liao... This subsidy is so good, how come you're still not married at thirty?" Lu Liruan pondered for a moment before asking.
She herself didn't know what exactly was winning her mind, but after asking the question, she stood there with her hands behind her back, unconsciously clutching her clothes.
"I hadn't thought about that," Liao Tingyuan said softly.
"Why?" Lu Liruan asked instinctively.
"Perhaps they felt that this wasn't... something they absolutely had to do." Liao Tingyuan's voice was calm, as always, as composed and indifferent as he was.
"Oh." Lu Liruan nodded. "I'm going upstairs to find Sister Antang!"
As Lu Liruan passed by Liao Tingyuan, she heard him speak very softly, as if only the two of them could hear: "But I don't know what will happen in the future... Maybe life doesn't have to stay the same forever."
When Lu Liruan reached the corner of the stairs, she was still trying to understand the meaning of the sentence, but she had already repeated it in her mind several times.
"What are you thinking about?" An Tang handed Lu Liruan a stack of documents and asked her to print them. The girl stood in front of the printer with a blank look in her eyes, not even pressing any buttons.
"what?"
"What are you thinking about? Do you really want to get the boss's allowance?" An Tang leaned against the wall and winked at her.
"Speaking of which, the boss has always had a penchant for matchmaking, but there aren't many eligible men here. They're either too old or too young. As soon as he saw that you and Tingyuan are both of marriageable age, his urge to play matchmaker kicked in again," An Tang said with a smile, pressing the printer button herself.
"Has he ever succeeded?" Lu Liruan asked casually.
"I don't think so," An Tang thought for a moment.
"Aren't office romances usually forbidden? Why is the boss so keen on them...?"
“We’re not in an ordinary office, and we don’t have any issues with not being able to work properly together. On the contrary, if partners have a good relationship, they will be more in sync, and they will be more concerned about each other’s safety when they are in real danger. There’s nothing wrong with that.” An Tang took out the printed paper.
"A few years ago, various organizations even held a special meeting about this."
"Huh? You need to hold a meeting for something like this?" Lu Liruan found it quite novel.
"Yes... After all, it's something without precedent. The development of each unit, whether it's rules and regulations or organizational structure, was all discussed and developed bit by bit. It's only in the last two years that things have gotten a little better. In the past few years, when there wasn't enough manpower in one place, people from other places would go to help. But when they got there, they found that there weren't enough people in other places either, so everyone would go and go to other places together..."
"Although it was a mess at the time, we made a lot of great memories together!"
Lu Liruan felt like she was talking about a spring outing when she heard what she was saying...
"I see." Lu Liruan nodded.
"Did anyone from other units get accepted?" Lu Liruan pondered for a moment, then suddenly steered the conversation back to the topic.
An Tang: ? ?
"I really don't know..."
An Tang nudged Lu Liruan's arm with the back of her hand: "What, does our Liruan want to get married at such a young age?"
An Tang, following normal thinking, teased in a slightly amusing way.
But the little girl blinked and said somewhat shyly, "No, it's not that... I just want to know, has anyone actually received this benefit?"
An Tang: ...
"Don't worry, it's not fake." An Tang smiled, her eyes crinkling, and patted Lu Liruan's shoulder: "The boss always keeps his word."
"Or, why don't you try it yourself?"
If Lu Liruan still couldn't tell that she was teasing her, she would be a silly child.
"Why don't you give it a try, Sister Tang?" Lu Liruan muttered.
“Because I’m not curious about this subsidy~” An Tang couldn’t help but pinch her puffed-up cheek.
Fine, I'm the only one who's so greedy!
Lu Liruan left behind tears of sorrow in her heart.
When Lu Liruan was about to leave work and go home, Liao Tingyuan suddenly stopped her before she entered the house: "Don't you feel comfortable living here?"
"Huh?" Lu Liruan had no idea what he was talking about out of the blue.
"It's nothing," Liao Tingyuan sighed softly.
“I really like it here! It holds special memories for me and Teacher Liao! We fought side by side here!” Lu Liruan said solemnly as she came back to her senses.
These are Lu Liruan's honest thoughts...
Not only do she have these memories, but also the memories of living with Liao Tingyuan in the height of summer. When Lu Liruan thinks about them now, they feel particularly unreal yet warm. Every time she recalls some of these little moments, she can't help but smile.
What Lu Liruan didn't say was that if she had enough money in the future and the landlord was willing to sell, she would be willing to buy the house she was currently living in, so that... she could continue to live very close to Liao Tingyuan.
"Hmm." Liao Tingyuan looked at the little girl's bright, pure eyes in the dimly lit corridor, and subconsciously reached out to them... finally stopping only on the little girl's head, and gently patted it: "Then I'll go upstairs to cook, I'll send you a WeChat message later."
"Ok!"
Both of them continued living like this, each carrying their own unresolved feelings.
Just as An Tang said, the boss is usually elusive, appearing in the office only once every few days, and most of the time he just grabs something and leaves.
The office still had a lazy, relaxed atmosphere.
Nothing has changed, not even the daily routine of receiving packages from the boss.
Lu Liruan brought in another large box that day, and asked in great confusion, "Didn't the boss come back? Why are you still shopping online every day?"
"The boss's biggest hobby is online shopping. A few years ago, he went into a space and the first thing he did after coming out was to take his phone into the office... We thought there was some important thing piled up waiting for him to deal with."
"But then what?" Lu Liruan felt that what followed might not be so serious...
Sure enough, An Tang shrugged: "He spent an afternoon shopping online in his office, and three days later, more than thirty packages were delivered to his office. There was practically no room to even step inside."
Lu Liruan: Rich people have such simple and unpretentious tastes, they feel uncomfortable if they don't spend money.
"Actually, there are some benefits sometimes."
"for example?"
“Last winter, the boss bought a really good quality, really expensive down jacket online. He thought it looked great, so everyone in the company bought one. You know what, you get what you pay for.” An Tang nodded in deep agreement.
Lu Liruan: ...
"So... are we buying it again this year?" Lu Liruan asked softly.
Every time she saw her boss, he would look at Lu Liruan with an encouraging gaze, which made Lu Liruan want to avoid him.
A leader who is too open-minded and cares too much about employees can also put a lot of pressure on people.
Lu Liruan quickly lost interest in thinking about it.
That day, Lu Liruan volunteered to help An Tang deliver documents. When she arrived at the place, Lu Liruan was very surprised to see that this place was also connected to their supernatural organization... If she hadn't come here, Lu Liruan would never have thought of it.
When she returned, as soon as she entered the courtyard, Lu Liruan heard laughter coming from inside the house, which sounded quite lively.
She pushed open the door and went inside. There were two people sitting on the sofa whom Lu Liruan did not recognize.
One male and one female.
The man was wearing a hoodie and casual pants, with a baseball cap on his head. His exposed hands had some tattoos on them, making him look very trendy.
The girl was wearing a shirt and skirt suit and black-rimmed glasses. She looked very quiet and elegant, and just by looking at her, you could feel that she was gentle and scholarly.
The two of them had a very pleasant chat with An Tang.
Seeing Lu Liruan enter, An Tang waved to her. The boy looked over and immediately laughed: "I heard from Xiao Qi that a very young girl has joined us. I was wondering what right she has to call others young..."
"You're not in school too, are you?"
“...According to my age, I should indeed be in school…” Lu Liruan said hesitantly.
"What do you mean?" The boy touched his ears, which had several earrings.
"It means I'm no longer in school."
"Oh, so what if you didn't go? I didn't go to university either!" the man said loudly.
While this isn't something to hide, it's not something to be proudly proclaimed either...
“Even though I didn’t go to university, I can still support myself!” As if noticing Lu Liruan’s strange gaze, he took off his baseball cap, revealing a head of messy red hair, and scratched it as he spoke.
“You… before.” Something suddenly popped into Lu Liruan’s mind.
"What?"
"You weren't a rapper before, were you?" Lu Liruan asked out of the blue.
The quiet girl and An Tang, after realizing what was happening, both burst out laughing.
The boy put his hat back on: "...No."
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." Lu Liruan hurriedly apologized for her wild imagination.
“Actually, it’s somewhat related.” An Tang nodded.
"Huh?" Lu Liruan didn't expect that she could actually be involved.
"I used to teach people how to play the drums."
"Ha...he's a musician too..." Lu Liruan gave herself a thumbs up for her observation skills.