Quick Transmigration: What to Do When the Male Supporting Character You Saved Becomes Obsessed with

"Wh...what does that mean?" Before Lu Liruan could figure it out, a strange chill ran through her.

What do you mean by "disappeared a long time ago"? How long ago?

Liao Tingyuan noticed Lu Liruan's confusion, so he gently pinched her wrist with his fingertips to reassure her.

"When Jiang Ming first discovered he had lost contact, he tried to search for him again for a while. At that time, he was abroad and didn't think that the welfare home would really disappear suddenly. He just thought that some factor had affected the contact, since the contact hadn't been very close before..." Liao Tingyuan continued from where he left off.

Lu Liruan nodded; she understood what it meant.

The welfare home is a specific place, after all, it's a specific place that has existed for many years.

Just like people firmly believe that friends who have exchanged contact information, or even further, neighbors who live in the same building and get to know each other... or even more abstractly, a statue built in the small garden downstairs.

They won't just disappear for no reason, without any warning.

This kind of disappearance is not like friends going abroad, neighbors moving, or sculptures being removed.

Instead, it disappeared completely.

Just as you never had this friend or neighbor, the statue in the park was never built.

You ask other people, and they tell you that you've never made this friend, and no one has ever seen your neighbor. You go to the place that's in charge to ask, and they say that the statue wasn't placed by them... They don't even remember the statue you're talking about, and they ask if you're mistaken.

When you receive these answers, you will definitely feel very strange and bewildered, as if you have been instantly isolated in a strange place, unable to prove something that you remember completely and have never doubted.

"And then he contacted you?"

"Yes, when he first told us about this, we also thought it was absurd and didn't completely believe him..."

“You don’t think he has mental problems, do you?” Lu Liruan interjected.

“It’s not that bad…” Liao Tingyuan said helplessly, feeling that Lu Liruan’s expression at this moment was as if she was listening to a ghost story, and she was following the common pattern of ghost stories.

“We’ve known each other for many years, so we wouldn’t easily assume that the other person has mental problems. Besides, his speech and behavior are all normal,” Liao Tingyuan added, and sure enough, Lu Liruan breathed a sigh of relief.

I guess he was thinking that many of the people who discover problems in horror movies are crazy.

Lu Liruan did have that thought for a moment, but Liao Tingyuan knew the girl too well.

"Then we tried to contact them, just like him, and gradually we found that he was right, the traces of the orphanage... really seemed to have disappeared." Liao Tingyuan recounted in a simple way.

“Our understanding of this information is lagging. Even Jiang Ming doesn’t know exactly when the welfare home ‘disappeared.’ We got the information from him, so we have even less of a chance to be sure when the incident happened. It happened when no one was paying attention,” Liao Tingyuan explained the words he had just used to describe the situation.

Lu Liruan understood. They wanted to know exactly when...the exact day and time when the incident at the orphanage occurred, but they had no way of knowing, and the timeframe was quite long...

This is very important information. At the very least, we need to know exactly when the change occurred in order to accurately investigate what happened at that point in time and what factors led to this result.

Seeing that Lu Liruan looked deep in thought, Liao Tingyuan paused for a moment.

"And then?" Lu Liruan pressed, seeing that he remained silent.

It has to be said that she has become very interested in this matter, not only because it is indeed very strange... but also because it is about Liao Tingyuan, about Liao Tingyuan's past, those days that she has never seen or known.

Lu Liruan wanted to know everything about Liao Tingyuan and also wanted to help him solve his troubles.

"After that, we tried to contact people in the welfare home and people related to the welfare home, such as... people who had previously sponsored the welfare home." Liao Tingyuan opened a memo on his phone, which contained a list of names and dates, most of which were marked with an X.

Those that have been determined to provide no valid information.

“We’ve been gone for years, and most of the others haven’t been in contact with the welfare home for many years either.” Liao Tingyuan pointed to the names: “After all, we just lived in the welfare home back then and didn’t know much about its operation and donations. That’s about all we knew.”

Lu Liruan understood that they were just children from an orphanage back then, just as students don't understand the specifics of how a school operates; they had no way of knowing most of the information.

“We tried to contact people who had been in contact with the welfare home, and then contacted the people who worked there, but to no avail.” Liao Tingyuan obviously also felt that this was unreasonable, but that was the reality.

“You…” Lu Liruan tentatively asked, “When you left the orphanage, what were your names with the staff there? Teachers? Didn’t you have any contact information?”

Lu Liruan found it strange. Even after leaving her previous job, Lu Liruan did not delete her former colleagues' WeChat accounts. So, did Teacher Liao delete all contact information when she left the orphanage?

That's incredibly heartless and devoid of love...

Liao Tingyuan raised his hand and waved it in front of Lu Liruan's eyes. The little girl was clearly lost in her own thoughts again.

"This orphanage places great emphasis on cultivating children's independence," Liao Tingyuan said casually. Lu Liruan felt that he didn't actually have a deep affection for the place, but she could still sense Liao Tingyuan's emotions.

“Even though they live in the same welfare home, many children are not familiar with each other. The staff and children are mostly not close. When it’s time to leave the welfare home, the welfare home not only does not encourage them to return, but also actively cuts off contact. Even the donation account is ours, not the welfare home’s account, as if they are deliberately avoiding more contact,” Liao Tingyuan explained.

"Ah..." Lu Liruan really didn't know what a typical welfare home was like.

But shouldn't such a place... hope that the children can feel at home? Even if they don't have a real home with parents and relatives, living in an orphanage with other children doesn't make them lonely.

At least that's how Lu Liruan understands it.

How could there be such rules in a welfare institution?

"The staff at the welfare home don't have a close relationship with the children; they're more like administrators than teachers," Liao Tingyuan summarized.

“It’s… kind of strange.” Lu Liruan thought for a moment and said seriously.

"Mm," Liao Tingyuan agreed.

But while it's strange, it's not exactly wrong. After all, the purpose of a welfare home isn't to take good care of the children or make them successful; it's simply to ensure that these children without parents can survive.

"Don't you know anything about the backgrounds of those staff members?" Lu Liruan still found it a bit unbelievable.

"I don't know," Liao Tingyuan replied without hesitation.

……

"Did you find anyone connected to the staff later?" Lu Liruan was still thinking about what Liao Tingyuan had just said.

Some of them have been missing for a long time.

“We did find a few.” Liao Tingyuan looked at Lu Liruan: “Through some connections, we found a few people who knew the staff, but we couldn’t contact them all.”

"The one we made contact with, when she heard what we wanted to ask her, acted very strangely, which is the strangest part of the whole thing so far."

Liao Tingyuan paused for a moment: "She said that person had disappeared a long time ago, at least in her understanding, a long time ago."

“Missing…” Lu Liruan repeated… The word itself sounded ominous.

If someone goes missing, it means they are gone, cannot be contacted, and even with effort, their whereabouts cannot be found. This is a disappearance in the general sense.

“But she said it a long time ago… At that time, that person was working at the welfare home.”

Liao Tingyuan spoke calmly, uttering words that sounded strange no matter how you looked at them.

Lu Liruan pursed her lips: "Working at an orphanage, how can that be called missing?"

"Wasn't your welfare home a normal workplace before?" Lu Liruan narrowed her eyes.

Having experienced her workplace—which sounds strange, and is indeed very strange, despite the good salary and benefits—Lu Liruan did begin to have doubts about some things.

“…Yes.” Liao Tingyuan said helplessly. Lu Liruan had already suspected it was a horror movie several times since the beginning.

For example, right now, Lu Liruan lowered her voice and asked, "Twins? Or the living dead?"

Liao Tingyuan bent his finger and tapped her forehead, which was already very close to his, as she unconsciously leaned in: "No."

"How can you be so sure..." Lu Liruan felt that at least her suspicion about the twins wasn't that far-fetched, and the living dead thing could be put aside for the time being.

“Because the person we found is her sister…” Liao Tingyuan replied.

Lu Liruan opened her mouth, "Okay, this is really confirmed."

“They’re sisters, how could they not keep in touch? Is their relationship bad?” Lu Liruan guessed.

"Hmm." This time, Liao Tingyuan confirmed her guess.

"According to her sister, her younger sister works at the welfare home because she was lost when she was young. Because she was too young at the time, she couldn't remember whether she got lost or for some other reason, or what happened afterward. She couldn't remember whether she couldn't contact her relatives or because of something involving a crime... In the end, she was sent to a welfare home in another city, where she lived until she was over ten years old before her family found her."

"Huh?" This is too dramatic. Lu Liruan never expected to hear such an experience.

"Although he returned home, it is said that his relationship with his family has never been close. After that, he went out to work alone, and over the years, he has had very little contact with his family." Liao Tingyuan briefly recounted the other person's life experience.

"That doesn't count as...disappearing, does it?" Lu Liruan felt that if it was this kind of relationship, disappearing might just be a one-sided attempt to sever ties, such as resenting the original family or parents for being irresponsible.

"Have their parents passed away?" Lu Liruan guessed.

"Yes, my father died in an accident, and my mother died from illness."

"Is it really a missing person?" Lu Liruan pouted, seriously feeling that this was something worth confirming.

“When their mother was about to pass away, she wanted to see her one last time, so her sister went to look for her, only to find that she had vanished.” When Liao Tingyuan said “vanished,” Lu Liruan could understand the extent to which he meant it.

"Can't you find it anywhere?"

"Her sister also reported it to the police at the time, but because she was an adult and there were no obvious signs that something had happened, they did not file a case. Later, they also tried to find some connections, but this person just disappeared out of thin air. Even everything under her name that might have left contact information disappeared, including her house, car, and even her bank cards. There were almost no travel or spending records."

That does sound like they've really disappeared. But even if they've disappeared, things that were once under their name won't just disappear, right?

Seeing that Lu Liruan understood, Liao Tingyuan pointed to the remaining few names that had not been crossed out.

"Actually, there probably won't be any results from this."

"Compared to those who have even less news, we think we should first find out how the people working at the welfare home ended up missing in society. For now, we can only follow this line of inquiry."

Lu Liruan nodded: "Then I'll go with you from now on! I'll help too!"

Liao Tingyuan's eyes softened with a faint smile. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he only said softly, "Thank you, Ruan Ruan."

At least the girl is still willing to be with him, which is like a guarantee.

Lu Liruan realized what he was thinking when he looked at her like that.

"I already said... I won't leave. We'll be the same as before. Don't let today's events..."

Lu Liruan was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly felt something was wrong. Was it still the same as before?

Is it really still the same? Are Liao Tingyuan and I really still the same as before?

Lu Liruan felt the touch on her hand and looked down. Liao Tingyuan held Lu Liruan's hand more firmly than ever before, but only replied, "Okay."

Lu Liruan opened her mouth, then subconsciously grasped his hand in return.

Liao Tingyuan's hands were still icy cold, but Lu Liruan felt at ease.

I felt more at ease than ever before, as if Liao Tingyuan had suddenly come close to me.

It's not that I'm just staying in his life... but today, Liao Tingyuan has truly become a complete part of my life.

The long-awaited joy and excitement made Lu Liruan feel warm all over, as if her blood circulation had quickened...

She warmed Liao Tingyuan's hands to the same temperature as her own.