Invincible Dad-Chapter 739: Asking Is Too Painful to Recall_1

The male student shivered.

What did I do to cause such a fuss? And I don't even dare to ask.

The male student said nervously, "Alright, I'll go to the pharmacy outside to get some medicine. I won't bother you teachers—"

Before he could finish, Li Shouzhong said sternly, "You think it's just a cold, but what if it's pneumonia?"

"...Thank you for your concern, Teacher," the male student said, his face stiffening.

"It could also be acute nephritis," Yan Gui nodded.

"We can't rule out viral encephalitis."

"Don't be scared, classmate. They're just trying to frighten you," a kindly old lady chuckled.

The male student forced a smile that looked worse than tears. "Thank you," he said gratefully.

Who could have expected what came next?

The old lady's eyes burned with intensity. "Young man, do you get recurrent fevers? If so, it might be the early stages of leukemia."

"..."

The 'enthusiastic' concern from the group of old men and women made the male student's face turn pale.

It's just a common cold! If I stay any longer, I'll probably drop dead and get cremated on the spot, won't I?

Without even saying goodbye, he turned to run.

Unexpectedly, two old men grabbed his arms, and for a moment, he couldn't break free.

"Let's go. Take him to the research lab for a comprehensive physical exam," one of them said, and the whole group of old men and women followed suit.

The male student was utterly confused, his face a mask of bewilderment. Things were taking a turn for the worse...

As he was walked through the campus, he saw many upperclassmen stopping in their tracks, buzzing with discussion.

"Isn't that Director Li walking in front? He's a vanguard of emergency medicine!"

"Teacher Yan! My idol." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Director Li is a genius when it comes to animals. He treated my cat's depression. For some reason, though, she came back pregnant..."

"..."

Hearing the words of the upperclassmen, the color drained from the freshman's face.

It's normal for the school clinic to be run by the head of emergency medicine. Having a neurologist is understandable, and a cardiologist is... well, still acceptable. It shows our school's medical staff is high-quality, equipped to look after students with various ailments. They even have four gynecologists, covering nearly every female health issue. Now *that's* what I call thoughtful! But why are four female gynecologists and two veterinarians all clamoring to give *me* a physical exam?

"Let me go! I really just have a minor cold! I won't take any medicine, I won't eat anything, alright?"

"Help! The Dongli University clinic staff is kidnapping a student!"

"..."

The freshman's cries for help were destined to go unanswered.

In fact, the sophomores, juniors, and even the new seniors were all watching the spectacle with schadenfreude.

"A freshman?"

"Has to be. Otherwise, how could he not know the famous Dongli adage: 'For minor illnesses, go off-campus; for major illnesses, stay on-campus'?"

"Such a young lad. What a pity."

"I'm so jealous. He gets a full check-up without paying a dime."

"Don't be jealous. If you want one, just go with them. Director Li and his team are always complaining about a lack of observation subjects."

"Observation subjects? Isn't that just a fancy term for guinea pigs?! I just wanted some medicine for a sore throat once. Would you believe I was stuck in a hospital bed for a month?"

"What did they do to you?!"

"Don't ask. The memory is too painful to revisit."

"..."

The more the male student heard the discussions among the upperclassmen, the more desperate he became.

What kind of university is this? It's terrifying! I want to go home. I'm not studying at Dongli anymore. I'll go back and repeat a year of high school, and if I can't, I'll study abroad. If I can't study abroad, I'll join the army. And if I can't even do that, I'll just go work at my family's company. I'll be an unremarkable office drone by day and spend my nights as a bored, rich heir who throws money around like it's nothing. I have to escape Dongli, this purgatory. Boohoo... Mom, save me!

...

I wonder how Old Li and the others will treat that new student, Xu Lai mused with a sigh, feeling both sympathetic and helpless.

There was nothing to be done. The medical knowledge he taught was too advanced and required a large number of test subjects for research. Of course, there was definitely no life-threatening danger. With good luck, the worst that could happen was falling into a deep sleep for three to five days. With bad luck... well, they hadn't encountered anyone with bad luck yet.

Xu Lai pushed the thought from his mind.

It was five in the afternoon; time to pick up his daughter from school.

「Galaxy Kindergarten」

Xu Yiyi ran over happily, her two pigtails bouncing with each step.

From a distance, her teacher, Miao Momo, puffed out her cheeks and glared at Xu Lai. "Yiyi's father, please don't take your child away for so long next time!"

In the two months that Xu Yiyi and Qian Xiao had been gone, they had missed not only their regular lessons but also two parent-child summer camps.

Of course, she wasn't just saying that because she was bored without these two clever, mischievous little kids around.

"Teacher Miao, are you just saying that because you were bored without me and Sister Yiyi?" Qian Xiao suddenly piped up.

"Of course not," Miao Momo replied haughtily.

"Then are you mad because you haven't seen Uncle Xu picking up Sister Yiyi in so long?" Qian Xiao asked with the earnest gravity of an old man. "Look, Ms. Miao, Uncle Xu is a married man. This crush of yours is doomed from the start."

"..."

Miao Momo was speechless. Her beautiful eyes narrowed. "Why are you talking so much? Hurry up and get back to your homework. After that, you have to recite ancient poetry."

"Fine by me!" Qian Xiao declared with a theatrical flick of his nonexistent bangs, only to receive a sharp flick on the forehead from Miao Momo.

"Hurry up! What are you dawdling for?"

"..."

After picking up Yiyi, Xu Lai went to get Ruan Tang, and they all headed home.

On the way, Xu Yiyi whispered, "Daddy, the moon doesn't look very round tonight, does it?"

Although it wasn't dark yet, a pale, translucent crescent moon hung in the distant sky, waiting to cast its silvery light in a few hours.

"The moon of the fifteenth is fullest on the sixteenth," Ruan Tang said gently from the back seat, hugging Yiyi. "Today is November first on the solar calendar, but it's September sixteenth on the lunar calendar. Look closely. The moon is very round."

"I heard the moon is roundest on the fifteenth of August, which is a day for family reunions. Mommy must have been very lonely at home by herself."

"..."

Xu Lai's hands tightened on the steering wheel.

In Hua Country, the fifteenth of August—the Mid-Autumn Festival—was an extremely important holiday. But at that time, he had been in the Immortal Domain, searching for the 'gate' and for Yousu Qinghuan. He had been so neglectful of Ruan Tang's feelings that even his daughter had proven more considerate.

"I wasn't lonely," Ruan Tang said, shaking her head with a small smile. "Your Aunt Ruan Lan was with me on the day of the festival."

"So Grandma and Grandpa really didn't..." Xu Yiyi trailed off, then turned to look at Xu Lai, blinking her eyes meaningfully.

Xu Lai smiled, a wave of understanding washing over him.

No wonder. The moon is perfectly round, but my daughter said it wasn't. She wanted me to make up for the Mid-Autumn Festival we missed.

It would have been their first Mid-Autumn Festival together as a family. Not spending it together had surely been a source of regret for Yiyi.

And for Ruan Tang, it was the same.

"Honey," Xu Lai proposed, "why don't we watch the moon together tonight? We can buy a mooncake, too. Here's to our family always being whole and never being apart."

Ruan Tang's lips curved into a soft smile. "Alright. We'll do whatever you and Yiyi want."