Chapter 110: Boyfriend from the Countryside

Chapter 110: Chapter 110: Boyfriend from the Countryside

"Mommy can only have Tuantuan as her little dog. You can’t raise other little dogs." Tuantuan felt a little wronged. "You can’t raise other little pigs, either."

"Okay." Deng Yuyuan set down the supplies. "But Tuantuan is Mommy’s little person, not a little dog or a little pig."

"That’s what you get for joking around with a child," the AI customer service chimed in. "However, Tuantuan can be a little dog or a little pig, but she will absolutely never be a little fool."

Hearing this, Tuantuan immediately pursed her little mouth. Her two tender pink lips pressed into a stubborn, downward-curving little arc, and those big, round eyes instantly widened even more. She looked just like a little pufferfish trying hard to puff up its cheeks.

"Tuantuan is not a fool! Tuantuan knows she is a person! But Tuantuan also wants to be Mommy’s little dog, little pig, little cat, and little chicken. Mommy can only have Tuantuan as her one and only little baby." She pointed a chubby finger at herself, her fine, soft hair bouncing with the movement. Her cheeks flushed with a healthy blush from her anxiety and vigorous defense, making her look like a sweet little apple.

"Okay, Mommy promises you. I only have Tuantuan as my one little baby." Deng Yuyuan picked Tuantuan up and asked Chu Tiankuo to take the wild dog outside.

"Are you crazy?!" the AI exclaimed. "You’re still so young. You can completely give Tuantuan another younger brother or sister in the future."

Deng Yuyuan locked the door and ignored the AI customer service.

"You can’t sacrifice the rest of your life for Tuantuan," the AI insisted. "Deng Yuyuan, listen to me. If you and your future husband don’t have a child of your own together, it will be very difficult for your relationship to be stable."

"...So, you don’t love Tuantuan anymore?" she asked.

"What?" the AI replied.

"Tuantuan’s former toxic solo fan."

"Some words are fine for coaxing a child. When Tuantuan grows up a bit, she will understand that it’s no big deal for her mother to have a younger brother or sister. You can’t indulge her unwarranted possessiveness..."

Deng Yuyuan chatted softly with Tuantuan in her arms.

"...I just hope that both of you can be happy," the AI replied softly. "It’s not that I don’t love Tuantuan anymore, but I don’t want you to lose the chance to bear the fruit of your own love because of her."

"I’m not giving it up for Tuantuan. I’m choosing to give it up voluntarily," Deng Yuyuan told the AI customer service. "Even if I didn’t have Tuantuan, I would probably live alone for the rest of my life, or find a soulmate to spend my life with. Having children was never within my consideration.

"A person’s energy is limited. I prefer to invest my limited energy into scientific endeavors.

"Tuantuan was an accident, but more importantly, she is a treasure bestowed upon me by the heavens."

The hardworking Tuantuan had already started packing up the bucket her mother had brought. Deng Yuyuan asked her how she was getting along with Uncle Chu. Tuantuan puffed out her chest and declared, "Tuantuan likes Uncle Chu very much!"

Deng Yuyuan adapted to her university life very quickly. She would take Tuantuan along to classes, and Tuantuan would sit quietly in the corner of the classroom with her mother. When she was tired, she would just lie down on the bench and sleep.

The surrounding classmates also adored this beautiful mother-daughter pair. After class, they often went over to tease Tuantuan. Even the teachers would come to hug Tuantuan during breaks.

When she didn’t have class, Deng Yuyuan would sometimes take Tuantuan out to play. Other times, when Chu Tiankuo came to the faculty dormitory to look for his father and happened to run into Deng Yuyuan and Tuantuan, he would help look after Tuantuan, allowing Deng Yuyuan to head to the laboratory.

There were also professors from the Agricultural Research Institute teaching at Jinghua University. Deng Yuyuan gave her introduction letter and rice grains to one of those professors, who happened to be a friend of Mr. Cheng. After they exchanged ideas, the professor found that many of Deng Yuyuan’s concepts were not only ahead of their time but also possessed a solid theoretical foundation. He recommended her to an advisor who focused on the same research direction.

Because of this, Deng Yuyuan started spending her nights immersed in the laboratory right from her freshman year. Every day, after coaxing Tuantuan to sleep, she would get up and leave.

The laboratory was permeated with the scent of rosin and metal. On the long lab bench, the dark green tabletop was occupied by various instruments: a bulky DC stabilized power supply, an oscilloscope flashing with green light waves, and a signal generator emitting a constant TICK TOCK.

At night, very few people came to the lab, so Deng Yuyuan practically had exclusive use of all the experimental equipment.

Chu Tiankuo often stood outside the window, looking at Deng Yuyuan inside through the gap between the curtains.

Deng Yuyuan wore a dark blue lab coat. She held a soldering iron in one hand and gripped a tiny transistor with tweezers in the other. The moment the soldering iron’s tip touched the solder joint, a wisp of blue-white smoke rose, accompanied by the smell of rosin. From time to time, she would look up to cross-reference the hand-drawn circuit diagram spread out in front of her, then carefully measure the voltage of a specific point with the multimeter’s probes, her brows slightly furrowed.

This continued until one day, a security guard on patrol discovered this sneaky young man. Just as Chu Tiankuo was about to explain himself, the laboratory door opened from the inside.

Light poured out, outlining Deng Yuyuan’s slender figure. She still carried the faint scent of rosin and metal unique to the lab.

Seeing the two men confronting each other at the door, her face didn’t reveal the slightest bit of surprise, as if she had merely stumbled upon a common, everyday occurrence.

"Master Li, this is my friend, Comrade Chu Tiankuo. He came over to wait for me to finish my experiment so we could discuss some things and head back together. I asked him to wait at the door first because I was afraid the lab has too many rules, and it wouldn’t be convenient for him to come inside."

After saying that, she turned to Chu Tiankuo, her tone carrying a hint of familiarity. "Have you been waiting long? I just finished. Let’s go."

Only after the security guard left did Chu Tiankuo look at her with complex eyes. "Did you know all along that I would be watching you here?"

"I only found out it was you today. I was actually still thinking about how to catch that person with bad intentions." Deng Yuyuan silently pulled some distance away from Chu Tiankuo.

Chu Tiankuo’s overtures came suddenly and passionately; naturally, Deng Yuyuan could tell that he had feelings for her.

"So, will you allow me to continue pursuing you?" Chu Tiankuo raised his eyes to look at her, his gaze carrying a hint of caution.

He didn’t dare to expect Deng Yuyuan’s affection; he only hoped she would give him a chance for feelings to grow over time.

"I’m afraid not. I have a boyfriend back in the countryside," Deng Yuyuan declined tactfully.

What little color was on Chu Tiankuo’s face faded at a visible rate.

He looked as if he hadn’t understood, or perhaps he had understood but couldn’t process the information. He froze in place, his breathing hitching for several seconds. Those eyes, which always held a gentle smile, visibly trembled at this moment. The light inside them abruptly dimmed, like a suddenly extinguished candle.

"So... that’s how it is." He subconsciously opened his mouth, as if wanting to ask more, but only managed to force out a faint, bitter smile. "Then let’s just try it out while we’re in university, okay? Your boyfriend won’t find out. We can try it out in secret, can’t we?"

Deng Yuyuan stared at him, utterly bewildered.

"I think my boyfriend would mind, and I would mind too," Deng Yuyuan politely rebuffed him.

"Please, just give me one chance, okay?"