Raising You This Small Stuff

Chapter 71.1 Yuan Suo’s elf!

The second day of the Lunar New Year.

Mo Yi Cheng took Yuan Suo back to their place and at that moment, it seemed that the two floating souls had finally found their home.

Yuan Suo remembered the wooden horse he had promised Grandpa Abel to give to Grandma Anie at the park every year on the second day of the new year.

He took out a little wooden horse Abel had given him earlier and placed it on the table. Although Mo Yi Cheng had seen all kinds of handiwork from skilled craftsmen, he was still blown away by the dozen or so wooden horses.

“Was that the condition Abel gave in order to teach you how to carve at that time?” The birthday present Yuan Suo had given him, a hand-carved picture frame was on his bedside. There was also the half-finished, chocolate cone ice cream without the cone, lying inside his safe.

“Yes, previously anytime I saw Grandma Anie, she always forgets what she said and what she did. Looking at it now, it seems to be Alzheimer’s.”

“Dementia?”

“En, that’s the common name for it.” Yuan Suo had a serious expression on his face, his brow furrowed.

It was only then that Mo Yi Cheng remembered that when he had seen Yuan Suo in the Second Trial Dimension earlier, he was wearing a white coat and the little girl called him doctor. The information also showed that his identity was that of a cellular reconstruction doctor in the military zone.

“Do you have a cure?” Mo Yi Cheng asked.

Yuan Suo nodded, hesitated for a moment, then said, “Yes, I do. My area of expertise is in the field of cellular reconstruction, which is specific to elves, as they are bound to the system and therefore have different vital signs. I found a way to do this by taking advantage of my interstellar royal bloodline and given a certain amount of time, I’ll be able to cure most of the elves illnesses.”

Mo Yi Cheng was shocked, “What about a world problem like cancer?”

Yuan Suo said, “I’ve cured two cancer patients, but there have been cases of failures, as it depends on the patient’s cellular composition and so on. After all, even the flu can kill a person, let alone cancer.”

Looking at Yuan Suo as he spoke eloquently, it was hard for him to associate him with the Q version from the previous game. Yuan Suo had grown up, but as soon as he saw those starry eyes, he knew immediately that this handsome young man was his Du Du from a few years ago, the little elf who would always call him Mo Yi Cheng and who always trusted him.

Yuan Suo didn’t notice the change in Mo Yi Cheng’s emotions as he turned the conversation back, “But it was Grandpa Abel who entrusted me with delivering something every year on their wedding anniversary. Shouldn’t it be Grandma Anie who is afraid that she would forget and that she wouldn’t be able to do it?”

Mo Yi Cheng became serious, “What you mean is that Abel is likely to have…”

Yuan Suo nodded, “I never could figure it out before until later when I became a doctor in the military district, then suddenly it all made sense.”

Yuan Suo took the little wooden horse and set off for the park.

Just after Yuan Suo set out, Mo Yi Cheng received a phone call from Chen Sheng, proposing that they meet today. He had been scared by what happened to Du Du and even said that Long Bow almost didn’t make it through to the New Year.

After calculating the time, Mo Yi Cheng guessed that Yuan Suo probably wouldn’t be back until lunchtime.

“Alright, I made everyone worry these past few days. Let’s call Kan Ming too.”

Speaking of Kan Ming, Mo Yi Cheng learned from Chen Sheng that Po Fei’s player was still Tian Yao, however Tian Yao’s body was still recovering after she woke up and as she had difficulty moving around, her cell phone was still with Kan Ming for the time being.

“Where’s Chen Jiao? Let’s call him too!” Chen Sheng suggested.

Mo Yi Cheng said, “Forget about Chen Jiao.”

Chen Sheng didn’t understand, “Why?”

Mo Yi Cheng said seriously, “This is the ethics of being a younger brother.”

Chen Sheng: ???

Holding the little wooden horse in his arms, Yuan Suo entered the park. The moment he entered, it was as if he had been here a lifetime ago. The leaves inside the park had almost fallen off in the short span of half a month, and the yellow leaves that hadn’t been cleared away in time were piled up on the ground.

Anie was still sitting in the rocking chair, covered with a thick wool blanket, holding a copy of Wuthering Heights that she had read many times. She raised her head when she heard the sound of movement, a little dazed when she saw Yuan Suo. It took a moment for her eyes to clear a little.

“It’s Du Du, come on, come over here and have a snack.” Anie put her book down, greeting him.

At the same time, Yuan Suo noticed a black watch on her hand. The shape of the watch suggested that it was a bracelet with location and health monitoring, which was consistent with her previous ‘dementia’.

“Grandma Anie.” He walked up and sat down.

Abel’s seat was empty, but the usual cup was still there, even with half-hot black tea in it.

“Grandma, why isn’t Grandpa Abel here?” Yuan Suo was vaguely uneasy.

“Abel?” Anie froze for a moment, then as if remembering something, gave a gentle smile, “He heard that there was a traveling exhibition of world-class wood carvings at the Lin City Museum which is very rare, so he left early in the morning. He said he would be staying there for two days and that he would be back soon.”

“Oh, it turns out it’s like this.” Yuan Suo observed Anie’s expression. The smile on her face was genuine and there was nothing wrong with it.

“Then… this tea?” Yuan Suo pointed to the black tea prepared for Abel.

A trace of confusion flashed through Anie eyes, “Yes, Abel has gone out, why did I still prepare the tea set, ha ha, I’m getting old.” She shook her head then suddenly took Yuan Suo’s hand again, “Du Du, Grandma hasn’t seen you for a long time, Abel usually talks about wanting to see you. Oh, right, did Grandma tell you that Abel has gone to see a wood carving exhibition? He’ll be back soon, wait for him to come back…”

Yuan Suo’s heart sank gradually as he held Anie’s hand…

“Grandma Anie.” Yuan Suo took the little wooden horse Abel had given him earlier out of his arms with one hand, “Look.”

Yuan Suo held a finely carved wooden horse in his slender and white hands. The wooden horse was very vivid, with its head held high and its hooves flying with great vigour.

“Grandpa Abel asked me to bring this to you. Today… is your wedding anniversary.” Yuan Suo choked, eyes hot, his throat blocked.

Anie looked steadily at the little wooden horse for a while, her eyes gradually filling with tears as well, “This old man… he still thinks about me even when he goes out. If I had known earlier I would have gone with him.”

“Grandma, why did grandpa give you a little wooden horse?” Yuan Suo guessed it was just a token of love for the two people back then.

Ever since then, every time Yuan Suo saw an NPC in the game again, he would speculate whether they were virtual characters set up by the game itself, or elves left over after they passed the full level. Though such elves were few and far between.

—

On the way back to his apartment, Yuan Suo’s mood was still down. The last emotion of deep affection he had seen in Anie, as well as the last look he had gotten of Abel’s appearance flashed before his eyes like a slideshow.

As a result, when he came out of the game he was still in a bit of a trance, completely oblivious to the dark figure that pounced on him!

“Oww…” His nose was a little sore from the bump.

“Little thing, where have you been!” Long Bow’s voice trembled with excitement, his one hand patting Yuan Suo’s back as he sniffled, “…. That, have you grown taller?”

Mo Yi Cheng who was standing on the side really couldn’t watch anymore. He picked Long Bow by the collar with one hand and yanked him back, while the other hand hooked Yuan Suo to his side.

“I’m sorry for making everyone worry.” Yuan Suo knew his disappearance must have scared everyone.

It was only after he was rescued from Long Bow’s bear hug that he noticed that there were quite a few people standing inside the room.

Chen Sheng, Kan Ming, Su Yi and Po Fei.

It had been a long time since he’d seen Po Fei, but there was a big difference between this Po Fei and the one he remembered. Although his skin was still so white that he could barely see any blood, his gaze had become much softer and he had put on a little bit of weight, moreover he had a faint smile on his face. The previous gloominess had long since disappeared and standing next to Kan Ming was a shy young man.

Lunch was ready for everyone before Yuan Suo returned. Of course the only two mainstays were Po Fei and Su Yi.

Everyone sat around the table, all curious about where Yuan Suo had been and what he had been through during the last half month of his disappearance, and the elves were even more curious about what the so-called Second Trial Dimension was like.

Apart from the little bit of a scare when he had first crashed into the second dimension, everything went very smoothly and he was soon sitting in a highly valued and protected position as a cellular reorganisation doctor. Everyone was a relieved when they heard this.

“Then does this mean that in the future, elves don’t have to be afraid of getting sick, and that Du Du can cure them with a random reorganisation?” Chen Sheng was amazed at this unbelievable medical technology.

Chapter 71.2 Yuan Suo’s elf!

Yuan Suo said, “It’s best to go through the regular medical channels for simple illnesses, as cellular reorganisation is similar to major surgery in the real world, or worse. Although it can save lives, it still leaves a lot of damage to the body and shouldn’t be done until necessary. And even in severe cases, cellular reorganisation has certain limitations in terms of time and other conditions and doesn’t guarantee 100% success, so don’t over-mythologise this technical tool either.”

A silence fell over the table as Yuan Suo spoke.

“Cough cough, what you just said… is right.” Mo Yi Cheng was the first to come back to his senses.

“Du Du, you really are different.” Long Bow sighed again. It seemed the little thing had changed more than just in size.

“Yes!” Kan Ming said, “But even so, such technical medical means are still unimaginable in the modern world. If only the qualifiers were more than just elves.”

Yuan Suo replied, “Players… are probably also within the scope of treatment, because according to our projections, players are also invisibly bound to the game in some way, so they are technically within the game’s control, but because the technology has been developed for use in the second dimension, no clinical trials have been conducted on the players yet.”

Chen Sheng was shocked, “Then hurry up and do the trials. In case I have a natural or man-made disaster someday, I’ll be counting on you!”

The atmosphere was quite good as they ate.

After the meal, the four elves took care of clearing up, while the three players sat on the sofa comfortably, chatting as they watched the news.

Su Yi was very good at scrubbing dishes while Long Bow on the other hand, couldn’t even wipe the table without getting crumbs all over the floor. Together with Po Fei, Yuan Suo wrapped the rest of the food in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.

“Po Fei, can you sit next to Su Yi when school starts again?” Yuan Suo was referring to the seat at the front in the school bus.

Po Fei’s movements stopped, “I’m used to sitting back there.”

“But then how will you talk to us?” Yuan Suo asked.

Not waiting for Po Fei to say anything more. Long Bow came up, “Come on, come on, the power of the three of us together will surely overthrow Su Yi’s tyranny, although that crazy woman won’t be able to run wild for much longer, she’s leveled…. ouch!”

The four elves emerged from inside the kitchen.

Yuan Suo and Po Fei walked together, joking and laughing. Su Yi had her arms crossed and was looking in askance at Long Bow who had a large bump on his head and was looking both sad and indignant.

After everyone left, Yuan Suo told Mo Yi Cheng about what had happened in the park. The reason why he didn’t tell everyone was because it involved Abel and Anie’s privacy.

Mo Yi Cheng thought about it. Because of Yuan Suo’s previous disappearance, concern and investigation into the elves around the world had gone a step further.

There had been some progress in the investigation of the British nobility. Pulling out the information Kan Ming had sent over earlier, the two found out which Earl had been looking for a good neurologist.

“Although we can’t be sure if there’s a connection between the two, I think we can give it a try.” That night, Mo Yi Cheng sent a reliable person to contact the British side, so that a meeting could be secured if necessary.

Surprisingly, a few days later, Andrew, an earl in England, reached out to Kan Ming. It turned out that this British nobleman had also been using all his forces to investigate the elf game.

And his elves were really Abel and Anie. Moreover it was also because of Abel’s connection, that Andrew’s ‘Elf Circle’ wasn’t any weaker than Mo Yi Cheng’s, that was why he was able to look into Yuan Suo’s disappearance and was also the first to find out about Yuan Suo’s return as a cellular reorganisation doctor after the Second Dimension.

“Yi Cheng, I want to give it a try.” Knowing that Abel hadn’t passed away, Yuan Suo wanted to lend a helping hand.

It was unknown when Yuan Suo had changed Mo Yi Cheng’s name to ‘Yi Cheng’, but when he said it, he liked to drag out the last word a little, softly and gently, causing Mo Yi Cheng to often give in as soon as he opened his mouth.

“I just…”

“Grandpa Abel is a very good and decent person, so I think his owner must be very good too and elves who live in the same world are supposed to help each other. Just like when I was in danger, it was Long Bow who stepped up to help.”

“…”

“Grandpa Abel is a good friend of mine, and I’m willing to help in any way I can. Besides, with the bond between him and Grandma Anie, we can’t… uh…”

Not knowing that Yuan Suo could unexpectedly talk so much now, Mo Yi Cheng had no choice but to use the most useful method — blocking his mouth.

It was only after the air in Yuan Suo’s lungs were almost squeezed dry that he was released. Mouth open, he gasped for breath, but he also asked on a whisper, “So are we helping?”

Mo Yi Cheng narrowed his eyes, “You still have the heart to think about something else?”

“… Not thinking… uh…”

“Hello.” Mo Yi Cheng took Andrew’s offered hand.

“This person is?” Andrew noticed Yuan Suo standing behind Mo Yi Cheng and although before he came here his knowledge of Yuan Suo was only limited to the name “Mo Du Du”, today, with just one glance, he could almost conclude that the person standing in front of him was an elf. After all, he had never seen such pure eyes before, except in the game.

Mo Yi Cheng introduced, “This is my lover, Yuan Suo.”

He wasn’t an elf? Andrew was quite surprised, but after his surprise, he extended his right hand politely and shook hands with Yuan Suo.

After exchanging pleasantries, the three men entered the villa.

Tea had already been prepared.

Andrew naturally didn’t have the heart to enjoy it and cut straight to the chase, hoping that Abel could be treated as soon as possible. After all, Abel’s brain cancer had spread further and he was now in a severe coma that could devolve into a life-threatening state at any moment.

“If I may ask Mr Mo, where is your elf?”

Mo Yi Cheng said with a light smile, “I’m not actually a player.”

“Huh?” Andrew froze then his expression turned serious, “Mr. Mo, I hope you’re not joking with me.”

Mo Yi Cheng’s aura was equally strong, “Naturally, I’m not joking.” Then the conversation turned, “But this doesn’t affect our previous agreement. Because the player is my lover and Du Du is his elf, so there’s no change in the rescue plan for Abel.”

In order to protect Yuan Suo’s identity and safety as an elf, Mo Yi Cheng decided to make a change in his identity and to keep ‘Mo Du Du’ in an invisible state from beginning to end. This way, even if there were any problems on Andrew’s side, there would at least be an additional layer of protection.

Andrew was relieved to hear Mo Yi Cheng say this. Turning, he got up and nodded to Yuan Suo, who was sitting next to Mo Yi Cheng, “Mr. Yuan, thank you for your help. If I may ask, when can we start?”

Yuan Suo, who didn’t know how to lie was a little nervous, “Any… anytime, but… Du Du, hmm, Du Du needs to run a physical test on your elf first.”

“Alright!” Andrew took his phone out.

Mo Yi Cheng said, “However, we hope that Du Du’s identity can be kept confidential, so the entire rescue process, Yuan Suo and Du Du have to be in charge, therefore Mr. Andrew, except for needing your help to a certain degree with the outside conditions, you’ll have to step back in the later half of the process.”

Andrew hesitated for a moment, “Okay, I trust you.” He didn’t have much choice in the matter.