Translator: Wryn Proofreaders: Catchkatch, Arc, Wryn Theodore! Someone tapped Theodore Avery on the shoulder. Want to grab a drink after work? Theodore turned and saw his lab mate behind him. Although cultivating good relationships was important for a research student--for the purposes of getting someone to monitor experiments if you had a date, churning out lab reports when stuck, and getting backup when the professor was out to get you, etc--he regretfully had to decline. Sorry, I need to rush home after the experiment is done. Another lab mate elbowed the person who had extended the invitation, hissing under his breath, Idiot! Theodore needs to take care of his kid brother at home! Oh! In that case well head off first. The man was puzzled, but replied apologetically after several hints from his friend. Theodore nodded and watched them leave, catching snippets of conversation. Theodore needs to care for his brother? How old is his brother? I heard that hes only ten and has serious health issues. What about his parents? Are you stupid? Dont you know that Theodore came from an orphanage? I see Theodore smiled bitterly. He raised his head to look at the clock. Time had slipped by without him realising and it was already six in the evening. Although he wanted to continue working on his experiment, the thought of the ten-year-old at home made him stop. He packed up his things, locked up the laboratory, and left. On the way home, he randomly picked a takeaway stall and bought two meal boxes. His house wasnt far from the laboratory, but because of rush hour traffic, it was seven by the time he arrived home. As he opened the front door, a moving object flung itself at him, giving him quite a shock. Theodore gazed at the child in his arms, who was squeezing him for all he was worth. He dared not struggle for fear of hurting this fragile youth. Let me go. The food will get cold, he said haplessly. The child dropped his arms. Jiefu[i], welcome back... he greeted meekly. Yes, Im back.[ii] The greeting made Theodore slightly annoyed. Theres probably nobody as stupid as me. During his rare free time outside of experiments, he had finally managed to get a girlfriend. But just after they became engaged his fiance dumped him for someone else. However, that was not all she did. She dumped her little brother on him and disappeared without a traceIt was preposterous! Theodore even suspected that his fiance had approached him and agreed to the engagement just so she could ultimately abandon her brother with him. She knew that he was specialising in artificial organ transplants. This child was born weak. Not only did he have a congenital heart disease, his immune system was also shot. Excluding minor issues, half his body was as good as useless. Despite his urge to involve social services, Theodore knew that if this child was not given specialist medical attention he would depart from this world within a year. He was acutely aware of the fact that the social services orphanage did not garner the services of a medical specialist. After all, he had lived there. Knowing that sending the child to the orphanage was equivalent to a death sentence, Theodore dragged his feet, and before he knew it a year had passed since his fiance had left them. Yet the child was still alive. Theodore was a little proud of his accomplishment. However, he was still unhealthy. Ridiculous. Even if I have the skills, I do not have the money. Theodore glanced at the child from the corner of his eye. Not only skill was required to make this child healthy, but also time and money. Even if the three prerequisites were met, there was a significant probability that his body would not be able to endure a series of operations. Jiefu, Im very hungry The child salivated at the aroma of the food. En. Theodore nodded and gently reminded, Go take your medicine first. The child nodded obediently and ran to the kitchen. He removed his personal pill box and began popping open bottle after bottle of pills, placing them on his palm one by one. He sang as he gathered them. Remember! The pills taken before each meal are in the white bottle. The pill taken before dinner once a day is in the black bottle. Take five in total before dinner. Dont count it wrong! Theodore shrugged off his jacket and set down his briefcase as he listened to the child sing. That was the method he had painstakingly created to teach the child which pills to take. He could only have dinner with the child, so he had to train him to take his pills by himself. After the child downed the pills, they sat down for dinner together. Even though it was just two take-away dinners, the child was munching away at his food happily and bugging Theodore to let him watch cartoons. Although it was bad to watch television while eating, he caved under the childs pleading. He put on a cartoon and wound up enjoying it himself. Cartoons these days were violent but entertaining. Brilliant! But unsuitable for young children. Though Theodore knew that it was wrong when he saw the child roaring, Charge! Kill all the baddies, Rescue the girl and the like, he only shrugged nonchalantly. He was a doctor, not an educator. As for the childs future character development if he could survive until the future, it would be a miraculous blessing.

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*********** Eclipse Hunter Extra 2 END ************