PNB Chapter 452 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (63)
Chapter 452 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (63)
Liao Tingyuan: ?
Although I knew from Lu Liruan's tone and manner of speaking that it couldn't have been anything good.
It probably won't sound good.
But I didn't expect it to sound this bad.
In fact, Lu Liruan had previously mentioned the scene to him in a veiled manner, but under these circumstances, hearing Lu Liruan say the words "paper effigy" was still a shock.
Liao Tingyuan couldn't help but touch his face.
"Thank you."
Liao Tingyuan said calmly.
Lu Liruan was observing his expression, wondering why she was suddenly being thanked.
"what?"
"Thank you. You thought I looked like a ghost back then, but you were still willing to be my friend. You're so kind," Liao Tingyuan said sincerely, gently squeezing Lu Liruan's wrist with his fingertips.
Lu Liruan: ...
It's starting to sound sarcastic and unsettling.
"See! Doesn't this prove what you just said? We should both be friends with each other, instead of deciding to be friends with each other with ulterior motives, by targeting each other's weaknesses!"
Lu Liruan understood what he meant.
I also feel that my problem is a bit too narrow-minded.
Indeed, if you have already identified the other person's weaknesses before making friends or getting to know them, and are thinking about how to use them and how to control those weaknesses, that would be a great advantage.
That's not making friends, that's scheming.
"And then what..." Liao Tingyuan suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Lu Liruan didn't quite hear her, so she leaned closer and asked, "What did you say?"
Liao Tingyuan sighed as he looked into her ear and pinched her earlobe.
Lu Liruan felt itchy as Liao Tingyuan's cold fingertips brushed against her skin, making her heart tremble.
"Say it again! Don't keep me in suspense!"
Fearing he would stop talking and leave her hanging, Lu Liruan hurriedly pressed him for more information.
"Hey, Ruan Ruan, what about the future?" Liao Tingyuan looked into her eyes and asked earnestly.
Lu Liruan could see the searching in his gaze.
He seemed desperate to get an answer from himself.
"What do you mean... what did you say later?" Lu Liruan felt that his question was incoherent and made no sense.
"Our relationship is... so good now."
When the topic turned to their good relationship, Liao Tingyuan nodded to himself, as if confirming and firmly believing in his statement.
"Then if in the future you find that I have shortcomings, or that I am different from what you think, it might... not be good?" He seemed to be carefully considering his words.
Will we still be friends?
Liao Tingyuan had never experienced anything like this before. At thirty years old, he couldn't speak with any confidence in front of a girl in her early twenties.
I even felt ashamed.
How could you ask such a childish question?
Liao Tingyuan blamed himself in his heart.
But he really wanted to hear something from Lu Liruan... something like a guarantee.
It seems that having a vague, legally binding guarantee from a young woman in her early twenties would satisfy him.
Lu Liruan was stunned by his question.
This doesn't sound like something Liao Tingyuan would ask...
Lu Liruan also sensed it.
But what followed was a sudden surge of responsibility.
It was as if she had suddenly gained a voice in front of older people.
Older people are not ashamed to ask questions of those less knowledgeable.
It seems to make the younger person feel very excited.
Lu Liruan almost didn't hear his question.
"It's okay, you don't have to answer." Liao Tingyuan adjusted the buttons on his shirt cuffs.
He seemed to be working in an orderly manner, but in reality, he spent a long time trying to fasten the button, but he couldn't manage to push the thin button into the buttonhole.
"No! I'll talk! I'll talk!" Lu Liruan raised her hand as if she were answering a question in class, blinking her eyes hard!
"How come you think more than I do?" Lu Liruan tilted her head.
But it must be said that Liao Tingyuan's question suddenly dispelled Lu Liruan's sense of helplessness and vague uncertainty.
So he had his worries too!
After learning about this, Lu Liruan suddenly felt a subtle balance in her heart.
That feeling of smugness, which came from nowhere, made Lu Liruan feel somewhat guilty.
You shouldn't think like that...
But she couldn't control it; how can one control their own thoughts?
Hearing that Liao Tingyuan was also worried about whether she would be willing to be friends with him and whether she would be willing to continue to get along with him, she was very touched.
Lu Liruan's hidden thoughts suddenly swelled up!
It's as if it has pushed open the soil above and sprouted.
It turns out that I am quite important to the other person.
If only the other person was important to her, Lu Liruan would feel it was unfair. Now that she knows she is also important to the other person, she instantly feels at peace and happy.
"Of course not!"
"is it?"
“Of course! Nobody’s perfect. If everyone were like that, and would distance themselves from or break off friendships with friends the moment they discover a flaw or have an argument with them, then where would they find friends?” Lu Liruan rolled her eyes.
"Hey……"
She frowned and took two steps closer to Liao Tingyuan: "What, do you have something to hide?"
She asked jokingly.
Liao Tingyuan curled the corners of his lips, then imitated her, bending down and bringing his mouth close to Lu Liruan's ear, whispering seriously, "Yeah...that's why I'm especially afraid of being found out by you. What if you find out and then ignore me?"
Lu Liruan nudged him twice with her elbow: "Then why don't you just be honest with me first? If you tell me in advance, I'll be mentally prepared and won't be surprised later, right?"
"laugh--"
Liao Tingyuan suddenly straightened up and, under Lu Liruan's questioning gaze, tapped her forehead with his finger: "Trying to get information out of me."
"Hey? You found out!" Lu Liruan wailed, "What do you want to say? Tell me, tell me! You always keep me in suspense—"
"Then let it hang there." Liao Tingyuan suddenly smiled and said softly, "I'll remember what Ruan Ruan said today."
"Oh, so what?"
Lu Liruan sighed.
"If Ruan Ruan wants to break off our friendship because of what I promised today, I will not agree to it."
His expression turned serious, and his beautiful, light-colored eyes stared at Lu Liruan as if he were assessing something.
The moment Lu Liruan looked up and met his gaze, the scrutinizing and probing look vanished instantly. He took his phone out of his pocket and waved it.
"What?" Lu Liruan didn't understand.
Liao Tingyuan lit up the screen and said softly, "Although it's not a good thing, I'm just learning and applying it now."
Lu Liruan saw a recording icon on his screen.
He tapped it. The conversation between the two people was then played back.
Lu Liruan: ?
Although I didn't do well in school and was basically illiterate, isn't this how you use the phrase "learning to apply what you've learned"?
"Whatever! I won't go back on my word!" Lu Liruan patted her chest, intending to express that she was fearless.
As a result, he used too much force and started coughing from patting himself.
"..."
Lu Liruan was patted on the back by Liao Tingyuan to help her catch her breath.
There are many recordings of the male homeowner and his accomplice.
The male homeowner is a very cunning and cautious person; he doesn't miss any information.
He would record every single phone call.
Interspersed among them are some recordings of his daily phone calls with the lady of the house.
You could tell from their voices that the relationship between the two of them was very tense.
The lady of the house was completely cold towards him.
It's also clear that the male homeowner treats the accomplice and the female homeowner differently.
Even before he was exposed to the public, he was still wearing a disguise when he was on the phone with the lady of the house...
He seemed very gentle, like a good husband.
If someone who doesn't know the full story hears these recordings, they'll probably think that the woman is the problem, and that her attitude is what's causing instability in the family.
The male homeowner had already treated her so gently and kindly, yet she spoke with barbs and extremely unpleasant words.
They might even feel sorry for the male homeowner.
"You really do have a performative personality; you're absolutely right!" Lu Liruan felt extremely uncomfortable listening to this.
I wonder how much pain the woman must have been in while talking to him on the phone...
Especially after learning what he had done, Lu Liruan thought to herself: The fact that the mistress didn't vomit while on the phone shows she has a strong mental fortitude.
"He must have had a purpose in doing this," Lu Liruan thought, feeling that she had already guessed it.
"If the wife brings up divorce again or does something he can't accept, he'll let his relatives and friends hear it, or tell other people."
"By portraying oneself as a perfect person and blaming others for all the mistakes, the woman becomes the one at fault and is criticized by others, while the man becomes the victim, right?"
After thinking it over, Lu Liruan felt a little strange: "Then tell me, doesn't anyone find it odd? Why does he record every phone call? It makes him seem... kind of scary."
Liao Tingyuan shook his head: "Actually, any reason will do. For example, he always has a habit of recording when he answers a client's call to avoid missing their request or causing any disputes later. So, he might as well record the call with the lady of the house."
Lu Liruan shrank her shoulders: "Wow, you're so scary, you actually thought of everything so thoroughly!"
Liao Tingyuan gave her a half-smile: "Yeah, I'm so scary. Didn't I record what we were saying just now?"
Lu Liruan: I can't argue with that!
Once you get to know him, you'll find that Liao Tingyuan is very good at shutting down other people's words.
He always spoke in a calm, gentle, and understated manner, saying many things that left people speechless...
Surprisingly, the male homeowner even seemed quite concerned and talked to the female homeowner about the children.
He sounds exactly like a father who loves his child very much!
The woman, on the other hand, appeared somewhat hysterical.
"I told you, this is none of your business! None of your business! Can't you understand human language?"
"Yuanyuan is also my child."
"I wish Yuanyuan wasn't your child. I'm telling you again, if you dare to have any designs on Yuanyuan again, don't blame me..."
"Don't blame me for anything. The way you're talking makes it sound like we have some deep-seated grudge." The male host suddenly laughed, and Lu Liruan could hear the deep malice and smugness in his laughter.
Then his voice turned cold: "If Yuanyuan isn't my child, whose child is she? Are you saying you've wronged me? That you had a child with another man?"
That's absolutely infuriating!
It's unbelievable how much mental stress the woman must have endured living with this kind of person.
This person is clearly doing it on purpose, not wanting her to have an easy time, yet no one can find fault with him.
It's pure mind control and psychological suppression...
He tried to torment the mistress in this way; the angrier and more hysterical she became, the happier he was!
The next call came faster and with a more gentle and friendly tone.
If it weren't for this incident, where the mistress discovered it, Lu Liruan wouldn't even dare to imagine what methods the mistress would use to get rid of him!
This should be the only chance she has.
Therefore, the woman appears even braver and more determined. Despite living with such people for so many years, she has not been assimilated or suppressed.
The next few recordings, in Lu Liruan's opinion, were the most terrifying she had heard in the past few days.
"Brother, there's another cat, but we can't find it anywhere!"
"I know," the man's voice was somewhat cold. "He's in my house now."
"Huh? In your house! Why, in your house? Brother, you arrested him?"
"Didn't I say I wouldn't put them in your house? Aren't you afraid of your sister-in-law..."
"My son picked it up and said he wanted to keep it at home." The man suddenly laughed.
"It seems my son, like me, really loves these little animals."
"What, your son too..."
"He didn't inherit a single ounce of me, he's nothing like my son! Cowardly, timid, stupid, just like his mother. He doesn't resemble my offspring at all!" the man spat.
"He even said he'd buy the kitten a cat bowl... I was never this kind when I was a kid!" The man's tone was sarcastic, as if the kitten wasn't his son at all, but just a pet that didn't suit his taste.
His attitude towards the woman and the child was exactly the same as how he treated small animals.
"Then, what should we do? Should we just give up..."
"Forget it? Isn't this perfect, effortless? I'll wait until tomorrow, and I'll bring the cat over to you."
“Then your son… Brother, this isn’t quite right.”
The accomplices here clearly thought it was all too absurd.
"What's the big deal? When he's a little older, and he asks me again, 'Dad, where did the kitten go?' I can show him this video and tell him, 'The kitten is here!'"
"It'll save him from hearing his mom lie to him every day, saying things like the kitten ran away on its own... the kitten went out to find its mother... I'll show him the video of the big cat again and tell him that it really did go to find its mother, hahahahahahaha!"