Han Luoli was thrown into a panic by Gu Xiaoer's sudden sobbing. She put down the porridge and held the little one's face with extra tenderness, "Baby, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Wu wu…" Gu Xiaoer nodded vigorously, "It hurts so much, Da Luoluo, it hurts here…"
She pointed to her chest through the blanket. The pain there was so sharp; it was the wrenching pain of fearing his departure, the dull ache of being moved by him, the raw pain of being helplessly immersed.
Perhaps feeling empathy, Han Luoli quickly understood the meaning behind Gu Xiaoer's words, and fished her out from under the covers, holding her in his arms.
He hugged her very tightly, very firmly.
Gu Xiaoer also wrapped her arms tightly around him, responding to his embrace. His hug felt so solid and substantial, so full of life and strength.
His lips landed on her cheek, kissing away the salty tears and swallowing them completely.
"My woman can only shed tears of joy, understand?"
He said this in such a domineering and deep voice, a vow resembling a promise that made Gu Xiaoer's tears flow again.
Alas...
Han Luoli cradled her porcelain white cheeks in his hands, delicately kissing away the tears once more.
"Silly girl, will you still rush me away in the future?"
"I didn't rush you away…"
"Do you still despise me?"
"I don't despise you, no matter what you do, I don't despise you…"
...So that means, in your eyes, I'm still the rental guy, huh.
"Xiao Er, you said it yourself, no matter what I do, you can't despise me!" Han Luoli held her shoulders, looking at her intently with such an insistent gaze, waiting for a definite answer, until the girl also solemnly nodded. He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Xiao Er, I hope when you know the truth, you'll keep your promise and never despise me.
In this lifetime, you won't be able to escape from me, definitely!
After feeding Gu Xiaoer and giving her medicine, she went to sleep.
Han Luoli took out his phone and called Bai Xiaoyu directly, "How's the investigation on Gu Xiaoer's plagiarism going?"
"It's been clarified. Someone stole her work and then gave it to Ning Fangyuan," Bai Xiaoyu's voice remained cold as ever, unemotional even when speaking with his direct superior.
However, there was a pause in his tone before he continued, "The work passed through several hands. I only have partial evidence, but this evidence is not enough to catch the mastermind."
"Since they like to play dirty, let's play along with them properly!"
"Are we dealing with the small fries too? Isn't that unnecessary?" Bai Xiaoyu also knew some of them were just intermediaries, not the masterminds. If it were up to Luoli's temperament, perhaps...
There was silence for a long while from the other end, but even through the phone, Bai Xiaoyu could feel the bone-chilling coldness emanating from the other side.
After a long time, Han Luoli spoke lightly, "Anyone who dares to offend my woman should be prepared to die!"
"Okay, I understand," Bai Xiaoyu replied.
…
The girl slept groggily until the afternoon, wriggling lazily in bed.
Seemingly remembering something important, the caterpillar-like wriggling suddenly bounced up.
"Ah! Han Luoli, I forgot the most important thing!"
Han Luoli was leaning against the bed reading a book, and only slightly startled before returning to his composed state, "What is it?"
"The design, my graduation design! I didn't plagiarize!"
"Good girl, don't worry, leave this matter to me. I've already sent someone to investigate."
"Sent someone?"
"Uh… I asked a friend of Shenghan to look into it." Being a great CEO, yet having to lay low, felt exhausting!
Gu Xiaoer didn't have time to think too much, hurriedly getting off the bed to rush out, "There's no need for all that trouble, I have evidence!"