CH 110

Chapter 110 – The Search

The next day, Xu RenDong arrived in City B alone.

His idea was simple: since he couldn’t find Lian Qiao, he would go look for Lian Qiao’s father.

Although his knowledge of Lian Qiao and his father is limited to his being a doctor, the surname “Lian” was quite rare. There are only dozens of large and small hospitals in City B. Even if Xu RenDong goes to each one by one to investigate, he will always be able to find this “Doctor Lian”!

This was easier said than done. Firstly, he browsed through the official websites of all the hospitals he could find, trying to find Lian Qiao and his father in the specialists  introductory pages. He found a few “Doctor Lian’s” but when he looked at the photo, they didn’t look like Lian Qiao.

He made a field trip to various hospitals and didn’t find Lian Qiao’s father but instead found “Dr. Lin” and “Dr. Nian”.

Three days passed quickly without Xu RenDong finding anything and Lian Qiao still didn’t contact him. Every night Xu RenDong opened the live broadcast room and stared at the empty black screen in a daze.

He thought that Lian Qiao must be in a panic right now and it was unknown if he would do something impulsive.

The more he thought about it, the more worried he became. Xu RenDong couldn’t sleep at night. The next morning, he embarked on a journey to find “Doctor Lian” again.

This time, he changed his mind. Every time he went to a hospital, instead of asking the nurses at the doctor’s desk, he went to the scalper near the registration window.

The bigger the hospital, the busier the nurses and they don’t have much time to take care of him. The scalper is different. Seeing Xu RenDong’s extraordinary temperament, he knows that he is a master who was willing to pay for information. Xu RenDong soon got some important information.

There is an expert consultant surnamed Lian in XX Hospital who just returned from a meeting from the provinces. He will be at his specialist clinic tomorrow!

So Xu RenDong paid another sum of money and got registered to see Director Lian. He arrived at the hospital early the next morning.

The specialist clinic was extremely busy and there was a huge crowd of people in the waiting area, all of them waiting impatiently. Xu RenDong looked at the consultation room from a distance and, at a glance, he saw Director Lian surrounded by several interns. His heart skipped a beat. {‘Director’ is being used for a high level, specialist consultant doctor.}

That’s right! This is Lian Qiao’s dad!

Those facial features, that demeanor, it is simply the middle-aged elite version of Lian Qiao in society!

Xu RenDong’s heart beat faster and he couldn’t help walking towards the consultation room, but was stopped by the nurse at the triage table.

“What’s the hurry! Wait until your number is called before you go in!”

Xu RenDong wanted to explain but other patients also called out.

“Yeah! You’re young, you don’t have any manners at all! Don’t you know how to line up!”

“It’s a handsome young man, but unfortunately he hasn’t been brought up well!”

Xu RenDong was anxious but he could only keep his temper and wait for the doctor honestly. He waited from 7:30 to 11:30. Seeing that there were more than 40 numbers to arrive, he finally couldn’t bear it anymore. He took the registration slip and asked the nurse, “When will the specialist clinic end? How long will it take to see me?”

The nurse had been busy all morning and must have been exhausted. She waved her hand impatiently and said, “He will see you when he sees you. The director won’t get off work until he has called all the numbers, don’t worry!”

Xu RenDong returned to his seat angrily, thinking that it’s no wonder that Lian Qiao couldn’t find a chance to communicate with his parents. His dad was so busy that don’t even think about parent-child communication, he probably didn’t even have time to eat.

Sure enough, when Xu RenDong’s name finally sounded on the radio, it was already half past one in the afternoon.

Xu RenDong entered the consultation room and the row of interns around Director Lian raised their heads in unison. The eyes of the two girls lit up, as if they had seen a rare sight. Director Lian just glanced at him quickly and asked him to sit down a little tiredly.

Xu RenDong got straight to the point and said that he was not actually here to see a doctor but to talk about Lian Qiao. Director Lian’s expression changed. Due to the presence of the interns, he had to say solemnly: “Okay. I still have a few patients to see here. Please go to the vacant consultation room next door and wait for a while. I will come right away.”

Lian Qiao’s father didn’t throw his cup onto the ground and tell him to get lost on the spot, which made Xu RenDong feel a little at ease. He followed his instructions and waited obediently next door. After another half hour, Director Lian finally came.

He closed the door with his backhand when he came in and didn’t bring the intern in with him. Xu RenDong quickly got up and introduced himself solemnly: “Hello, Uncle Lian, I’m Lian Qiao’s friend Xu RenDong.”

Director Lian looked him up and down: “What do you want with me?”

Looking at his reaction, it seemed he wasn’t aware of Xu RenDong’s identity. Xu RenDong thought for a while and said, “I can’t contact him so I got a little worried. Is he at home now?”

Director Lian said decisively: “No.”

Xu RenDong: “Before he left, he told me that he’s going home because he had something to discuss with you. Didn’t you see him?”

Director Lian snorted coldly: “He came back but then he left again. I don’t know where he is now.”

Xu RenDong pretended to panic and took out his mobile phone: “Then you have to call the police quickly! If all of us can’t contact him, something might have happened to him!”

Director Lian was shocked when he saw this and quickly stepped forward to stop him: “No, no, no need to call the police…”

Xu RenDong was surprised and asked very sincerely: “Why?”

Director Lian coughed: “Actually… he is at home. There’s some things going on at home so he probably didn’t have time to contact you…”

Xu RenDong asked sincerely again: “What’s going on at home?”

Director Lian: “Cough, this, it’s not convenient to say…”

Xu RenDong said repeatedly: “Understand…” The conversation changed, and he said, “Actually, the reason I came to look for him is also a bit of a personal matter. I have to talk to him face to face…”

Director Lian: “What’s the matter?”

Xu RenDong: “Cough, this, it’s not convenient to talk about…”

Director Lian: “…” How come it feels that this young man set him up!?

Under Xu RenDong’s half-coaxing and half-deception, Director Lian, who had a guilty conscience, finally agreed to take Xu RenDong home. Xu RenDong was overjoyed but his face remained impassive. Getting into the car of Lian Qiao’s father, Xu RenDong behaved politely and courteously the whole way, with the attitude of a humble junior.

On the way, he even figured out to spring Lian Qiao out of his confinement.

Lian Qiao’s family lived in a high-end community near the suburbs, with a huge green area. It was evening and the sun was just right. Many residents took their children and dogs out to enjoy the grassy areas.

The car drove to a residential building and stopped. Lian Qiao’s father led Xu RenDong up to the seventh floor and, as soon as the door opened, a middle-aged woman in an apron greeted them.

Xu RenDong said “Hello Auntie” but Director Lian said that this was their nanny. He left the nanny to greet Xu RenDong and went to the inner bedroom by himself.

Xu RenDong noticed that before he entered the bedroom, he took out a key to unlock it.

Soon, there was a quarrel in the bedroom.

They were too far apart and Xu RenDong couldn’t hear the content of the quarrel. He couldn’t even tell if it was Lian Qiao’s voice. The nanny was pouring tea for him and, when she heard the quarrel, shook her head with a sigh. Xu RenDong tried to ask her about Lian Qiao’s situation but the nanny kept silent, apparently Lian Qiao’s father had already ordered it.

However, Xu RenDong’s guess was soon confirmed.

Papapa… a sound of slippers hitting the floor. A man ran out of the bedroom in a hurry and, while running, he turned around and shouted, “Dad, you are breaking the law! You can’t shut me up like this!” He ran so fast that he even lost one of his slippers. Xu RenDong got up to meet him and the man accidentally bumped into him and fell into his arms.

Fuck!” Lian Qiao was taken aback and subconsciously wanted to struggle. However, Xu RenDong hugged him tightly and said with a trembling voice:

“…It’s me.”

Lian Qiao opened her eyes in disbelief and countless emotions flashed in her eyes, as if there were thousands of words he wanted to say. However, when he opened his mouth, he just shouted with a crying voice: “Brother RenDong!”

“Yeah.” Xu RenDong felt that his voice was a little choked. He forced himself to act like an adult and touched Lian Qiao’s head soothingly, “I’m here to save you.”

Lian Qiao’s father followed closely. As soon as he entered the living room, he saw his son hugging the man and his jaw dropped in shock. At this time, he completely lost the demeanor of “Specialist Director Lian”. He pointed at Xu RenDong and, forgetting etiquette, said with trembling fingers: “You, you… what are you doing?!”

Xu RenDong took a deep breath. As the older party, he felt that he had to stand up to protect Lian Qiao at this time.

However, before he could speak, Lian Qiao suddenly took a step forward and held his hand as if showing off: “—He is my partner!” When he said this, everyone present was stunned.

Without considering Lian Qiao’s father, even Xu RenDong felt that Lian Qiao’s coming out of the closet was too sudden and did not give people enough psychological preparation. The nanny aunt who was eating melons silently also walked away silently at this time. As a nanny for a high-level intellectual family, she naturally knew which melons can be eaten and which ones will cost her her job.

Lian Qiao’s father was clearly in great shock which made Xu RenDong feel a little embarrassed. He was afraid that the old man would be too stimulated and his heart would not be able to bear it, so he wanted to help him sit down and said politely, “Don’t be angry, let’s sit down and talk about it properly, okay?”

Lian Qiao’s father angrily threw away his hand: “Is this your home or my home, when is it your turn to invite me to sit down?!”

Xu RenDong felt that what he said was very reasonable, so he turned to look at Lian Qiao.

Lian Qiao understood and said sincerely: “Then let me talk to you. Dad, sit down first and let’s have a good talk, shall we?”

Lian Qiao’s father looked at his son’s sincere and innocent eyes and suddenly remembered that Xu RenDong was there. He remembered it was the exact same expression Xu RenDong had when he was running him around in circles at the hospital and couldn’t help bristling with anger. He shouted angrily: “I don’t want to sit!”

Lian Qiao & RenDong: “…”

RenDong: “Then let’s stand and talk.”

Lian Qiao was fluent in kindness: ” Alright, let’s stand and talk.”

Lian Qiao’s father: “…” What are you, some kind of parrot!? I’m really pissed off!

Although the old father was angry, he finally sat down and started negotiations with the two young people.

When Lian Qiao came home this time, his original intention was to first deal with the problems left over from before, cultivate his feelings with his parents for a few days to ease the relationship and then introduce RenDong to them. Unexpectedly, this first step fell apart. The furious old father not only did not agree with him to continue being a livestreamer, he even confined him and and only fed him three meals of porridge a day to force him to calm down.

Now RenDong fell out of the sky and while he was there to save him, it also disrupted his plans. So Lian Qiao had no choice but to push through. In a resigned manner he said, “I don’t have to be a livestreamer but you have to accept RenDong and admit that he is my partner and a member of our family.”

The  old father refused decisively: “No.”

Lian Qiao was taken aback for a moment . .

RenDong voluntarily gave in: “We can talk about us later but his live broadcast can’t be delayed any longer. Let him resume the live broadcast first…”

The old father interrupted cruelly: “No.”

RenDong was also stunned.

The old father glared at the two of them: “Work and marriage are all important things in life, how can there be any room to bargain?”

Lian Qiao was also angry: “This is not good and that is not good, are you trying to force me to death? !”

The old father roared: “You don’t listen to this and you don’t listen to that, I think you’re the one who wants to kill me!”

Although Xu RenDong wasn’t great at knowing how to deal with family relations, he knows that at this moment the swords are drawn and that it was impossible to reach a mediation. He frowned and was about to persuade Lian Qiao to calm down but then Lian Qiao suddenly shot up and shouted in an out of control manner, “Then I will die and show you!”

Very quickly, Lian Qiao jumped up onto the balcony.

Lian Qiao’s father was shocked: “What are you doing? Come down quickly!”

“I won’t!” Lian Qiao was so angry that not only did he not listen to the persuasion, he even continued to climb up the railing with his hands and feet.

“Lian Qiao!” Xu RenDong scolded sharply, “Don’t make trouble, come down!”

Xu RenDong’s scolding was obviously more effective than his old dad’s. Lian Qiao’s figure was stunned and his expression was obviously cowardly.

The old father hurried to coax him and said a few persuasive things through clenched teeth but Lian Qiao was still clung to the railing, looking like a child throwing a tantrum. Xu RenDong didn’t talk nonsense with him and just decided to grab him.

The old father was still worried about whether Ren Dong’s rash action would irritate Lian Qiao. He didn’t expect that Lian Qiao would not dare to hide. He curled up like a kitten and obediently let Xu RenDong grab his arm and start dragging him in.

While climbing down along the pole, he smiled flatteringly: “There’s no way I would really jump, I was just trying to scare him…”

Xu RenDong scolded: “You are crazy! You are joking with your own life! Is this something that can be used for fun?!”

Lian Qiao’s mouth was flat and he said aggrievedly, “Aren’t I doing this for you…”

Standing on the side, the old dad’s heart felt even more so when he saw this man had trained his son to act like a grandson.. However, there is no way for him to do anything now, the most important thing was to save his son.

Lian Qiao was dragged by Xu RenDong’s arm and moved in little by little. Even his father quickly reached out to help him.

Seeing that he was about to climb back through the window, Lian Qiao grinned and, with a grin, was about to throw himself into the arms of RenDong. Suddenly, for some reason, his foot slipped. His entire person didn’t have time to react and he quickly fell back.

Xu RenDong’s pupils shrank suddenly and he exclaimed: “Lian Qiao!”

In the  flash of light, not only did RenDong not let go but clung onto Lian Qiao even more tightly. So of course he was dragged down with him.

“Son!—” Father Lian shouted heart-rendingly, watching the two young men fall from the seventh floor.

At this moment, time came to an abrupt end—

In a place that not even Lian Qiao’s father  could see, a silver-white metal door slowly opened in mid-air.

Without warning, the two young people hugged each other tightly and fell into the open elevator.

Bang!

The elevator doors closed immediately.