Villain Boss Chapter 163
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 163: Enjoying The Praise
After the nurse finished her words of gratitude, she carried a pile of medicines to the ward at the end of the corridor.
Si Xu looked at the nurse's departing figure as she left, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Noticing the change in his expression, Jiang Ran came forward and waved her hand in front of his eyes. When he looked over, she smiled slyly. "Does being praised make you feel good?"
Touching the top of her head, Si Xu admitted, "At least it won't make me feel worse."
Jiang Ran grabbed his hand and led him out of the sanatorium.
"When I was a kid in the orphanage, my favorite thing to do was help others and wait for the director to praise me."
"Does the director's praise make you happy?"
"Of course. But there's a more important reason." Jiang Ran absentmindedly stroked his sinewy fingers with her fingertips. "The director would reward me with all kinds of candy."
Si Xu's eyebrows arched slightly, and a glint appeared in his eyes. He asked with a smile, "Do you like candy?"
"Not particularly, but it's always nice to get rewards." Jiang Ran smiled mysteriously. "The director would give me candy as a reward, and I'd share it with everyone. Then everyone would like me, the director would like me too, and I'd be even happier."
"..."
"A child's happiness is that simple—gaining recognition and praise. How wonderful it would be if people could always be children. We wouldn't have so many desires and greed, and we wouldn't be so obsessed with intrigues all the time," Jiang Ran said casually as she held his hand restlessly, rubbing along his slightly cool skin.
Her fingers were warm, unlike his own, and they felt warm and soft against his skin.
Si Xu indulged her little thoughts. "You seem to like my hands?"
"Of course, your hands are beautiful," she said, raising his hand. "Beautiful things are always attractive—just like your face."
This was also a compliment, and Si Xu accepted it all. "Jiang Ran, what you said just now was a little wrong."
"What?" Did he think his hands and face weren't beautiful?
"Everyone, at all times, has their own greed and desires—it's just that most children have pure minds, and their thoughts originated from their minds. Pure greed always motivates people, so no one steps forward to criticize."
"...Ah, actually, that's true too." Just like when she was a child, she always wanted praise and recognition, so she worked harder to prove herself—this was also her greed, but no one would criticize her for it.
"As people grow up, they want more and more things, and their greed grows. When their greed becomes too great, their own strength becomes inadequate. Some people learn to cut their losses, while others choose to take crooked paths." How many people in this world could truly achieve the state of having no desires?
"Si Xu." Acknowledging his words, Jiang Ran tilted her head to meet his gaze, curious. "Do you have any greed yourself?"
If, in his eyes, everyone possessed greed, then he was the one who transcended the mundane.
He wasn't obsessed with life or death, with beauty, or greedy for money... It was as if nothing in this world could capture his attention, and worthy of his time.
"Yes," Si Xu answered her question openly, "you." His attitude was as serious as when he was conducting an experiment or writing a report.
Jiang Ran's cheeks flushed slightly, and she teased him, "Does this count as indulging in love, Professor Si?"
"That’s not right," Si Xu corrected her. "It's indulging in you." It was simply because that person was you that I had endless greed.
Jiang Ran snorted and muttered, "Do you think you’re coaxing a child..." The smile in her eyes grew brighter, like the moon reflected in winter snow, or a galaxy of stars pouring down.
……
The zombie crisis was resolved, but with the numerous injured and the shortage of medical staff, many patients in the slum were left unattended.
Qiao Yi led his team out of the city twice to search for medical supplies to solve the urgent needs of the slum. However, the supply was insufficient to meet the demand, and the death rate in the slum continued to rise.
To prevent the spread of diseases, the base erected a fence around the slum, strictly controlling access.
"I live here. Why can't I go in?!"
"A superhuman living in the slum area? Miss, are you kidding me?"
"Who said superhumans can't live in the slum area? My family is here, so I live here too. What’s wrong with that? How does my living in the slum bother you? I'm not relying on you to support me!"
"Miss, the slum area is under strict control now. You can't come and go as you please."
"Hey, you..."
Outside, the sound of an argument could be heard faintly. Inside the wooden house, a young man lazily leaned on the sofa, eating sunflower seeds.
"It's Qiao Qiao." Yi Xi and Zhou Jian entered. The former briefly explained the situation outside. "I suppose she’s looking for you. She got into an argument with the guards outside."
"Good timing," Qiao Yi mumbled, chewing on a sunflower seed. "Don't let her in. She gets on my nerves."
It must have been Xue Weixin’s idea to get Qiao Qiao to come here. Qiao Yi had left their team because he couldn't stand how uptight Xue Weixin got over a woman.
The argument continued, and Zhou Jian hesitated. "Will something happen if we let them quarrel like this?"
"No." Qiao Yi sneered. "If she can't get in, she’ll go back obediently."
Sure enough, not long after, the commotion outside stopped.
Qiao Yi shrugged. "See?"
Zhou Jian, "..."
The three of them were silent for a moment until Yi Xi said, "We’ve searched most of the pharmacies around the base. Are you still going out today?"
"No." Qiao Yi said, "Since those people want to trap us to death, we'll just do as they wish."
"What?" Zhou Jian blurted out, "Who wants to trap us to death?"
She had been finding it strange. This phenomenon in the slum had been going on for a few days, yet they suddenly set up a cordon in the past two days. It turned out that someone was deliberately targeting them.
Yi Xi knew who he was talking about. "Did she find out about you?"
"I'm afraid so." Qiao Yi rolled his eyes. "Otherwise, why would they seal this place off?"
Yi Xi sighed. "We can't just sit idle and wait for death."
"No, let's wait for someone to come and rescue us." Qiao Yi sat up, resting his arms on his knees, grinning wildly. "They're making such a commotion. It's only a matter of time before Jiang Ranran hears about it."
"You expect her to rescue you?" Jiang Ranran was probably too busy fending for herself. How could she possibly have the energy to save them?
Qiao Yi said matter-of-factly, "She's my sister. She can’t just stand by and watch me die."
Rendered speechless by his shameless tone, Yi Xi frowned. Seeing that he seemed completely relaxed, she couldn't continue to argue with him. She turned to walk out.
"I'll tell them not to get into any fight with anyone outside for the next few days."
……
The binoculars gave a clear view of the situation outside the slum's barrier. Luo Rui kept adjusting her angle, carefully observing the people coming and going at the exit.
Xie Chengzhi poured her a cup of tea and put one hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure that guy lives in the slum?"
"Yeah," Luo Rui said. "The men we sent to follow him lost him at the entrance of the slum last time, but they are sure that he entered the slum."
"Ruirui." Xie Chengzhi frowned, not quite understanding Luo Rui's intentions. "With such a big fanfare, that guy won't show up easily."
Luo Rui put down the binoculars, picked up the teacup and took a sip. "It doesn't matter. I don't believe that he’ll hide in the slum forever."
"If you find him..." Xie Chengzhi said, "how do you plan to deal with him? If that guy is really Si Xu's subordinate, I'm afraid Si Xu won’t let it rest if he’s killed."
"Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to winning every battle—first, we’ll find out what forces are under his wing, then see if we can find a reason to uproot those forces."
They were now using the pretext of quarantine as a legitimate reason. Not even Si Xu could stop them.
Once they found the guy, they'd eliminate him in the quarantine zone, unnoticed. What could Si Xu do?
