Chapter 214: Ch 214: Are you not going to Regret? - Part 4

It turned out that being ’told’ what he had done wrong was just a fancy way of saying that he was being punished. By the time he was done, his legs were red, and he could barely stand.

But the head researcher had no remorse for him, even though he had received lashes to the legs as punishment for aiding the kids during their grieving period.

"I hope you won’t make such a mistake again. The specimens who are dear to you can become a source of contamination for the labs and are, hence, reported to us. We decide what to do with the body and act accordingly. You should not decide something this dangerous on your own, alright, Noah?"

The head researcher’s voice was incomparably gentle as he spoke these words. His hands also patted Noah’s head, making his mind go blank.

He did not want to be touched, but the head researcher was so gentle and patient that it made his heart skip a beat.

Perhaps, it was not so bad that he was getting cosy with the head researcher. At least his mind felt calm... until a sudden pain burned his scalp, and he looked up at the head researcher’s frowning face.

"What are you thinking so hard about? Tsk, this is not a good habit. You should be paying attention when I am talking to you."

The head researcher told Noah, and he tried to nod. But his body felt heavy, and it was so hard to concentrate. Why was he trying so hard to recall something like this anyway?

Sigh.

"It seems like the dose of medicine in your injection was too high. You have started to lose consciousness as well. You are lucky that your unique constitution did not allow you to get knocked out."

The head researcher spoke softly, and his tone almost had a hint of affection for Noah.

It made Noah want to rub his face all over the head researcher’s lap and show him that he wanted more physical contact.

After all, physical contact helped him stay grounded.

But Noah held back and concentrated on keeping himself awake.

After a few minutes, the numbing and tingling feeling began to subside, and he was able to pull himself back up.

He noticed the head researcher looking back at him with an almost fond look on his impossibly young and handsome face.

That look made Noah’s heart skip a beat, but he was not sure whether it was from excitement or fear. What he did know, however, was that he needed to leave this room before it was too late.

"I... should head back to my room. And I should also check on the other kids. They must be startled to see me getting into trouble."

Noah’s instincts told him to get out of the head researcher’s lab as soon as possible, and he took this chance.

But the head researcher gave him an amused look as he watched him run away.

"Noah, I wonder if you are running away because you care about those kids, or if you are doing this because you feel guilty for making your own batch run away before it was their time. It is a little hard for me to figure this out."

Noah tried his best not to show how nervous he was as he looked back at the head researcher.

His tongue had a lot of answers, but he was not able to voice a single one.

And perhaps his lack of an answer was enough for the head researcher to let out a small scoff and otherwise signal for him to get going..

Noah did not waste any more time and quickly left the room, but he could still feel the head researcher’s gaze following him even after the door had closed behind him.

He did not know what that man wanted from him, and that was perhaps the most frightening part of their relationship.

The head researcher was always gentle with him, even when Noah made mistakes that would have earned anyone else a much harsher punishment, but there was something about that gentleness that made Noah feel as though he was being carefully examined from every possible angle.

It was almost as if the man wanted to peel away every layer of his mind and see what was hidden underneath.

And Noah did not want that to happen.

He had already lost so much of himself that he was no longer certain what remained, and the last thing he wanted was for someone else to decide what he should remember or forget.

When Noah finally returned to the child-rearing facility, the children immediately gathered around him, their anxious expressions making it obvious that they had been waiting for his return.

"Sir, are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

The eldest child approached him first, his gaze immediately dropping to Noah’s legs before he quickly looked away, as if he felt guilty for asking Noah to help them in the first place.

"I am fine. They only gave me a warning, so you do not need to worry about it."

Noah smiled at him, although he could tell that the child did not believe his words.

"But you can come to me if anything happens, alright? You do not have to endure everything alone."

The eldest child stared at him for a moment before nodding slowly, and Noah felt a strange ache in his chest when he saw how desperately the child wanted to believe him.

He wondered if he had once looked at someone in the same way, hoping that an adult would come to his rescue and tell him that everything would be alright.

But no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember who that person might have been.

Perhaps there had never been anyone like that in his life.

Noah lowered his gaze and forced himself to smile again, unwilling to let the children see the uneasiness growing inside him.

After all, he was supposed to be the adult here, and he could not afford to become just another person they had to worry about.