Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 200: "My Only Family Is Mom.

Rory Linden and Ryan Sterling only communicated via WeChat, so she knew calling him directly might be impolite.

But the patient’s situation was urgent. Time was of the essence.

She had to sort things out with Leo Linden as quickly as possible so she could get to surgery.

The first time she called, Ryan Sterling didn’t answer.

By now, Rory Linden had calmed down a bit.

Ryan Sterling had indeed told her several times that she could ask for help whenever she needed it.

’It was probably just a polite offer.’

’And here I am, asking for his help so soon...’

’I should ask Sherry first.’

’I’ll find a nanny tomorrow, over the weekend.’

Just as Rory Linden was about to call Sherry Walsh, a WeChat voice call came in from Ryan Sterling.

"Sis... Rory Linden, Rory Linden, did you need something? I didn’t hear my phone just now."

Ryan Sterling’s surroundings were extremely quiet.

So quiet that Rory Linden could clearly hear him breathing heavily.

He’d rattled off three different ways of addressing her, clearly a bit flustered.

"I’m sorry for calling you out of the blue." Rory Linden didn’t have time for pleasantries, so she got straight to the point. "I have an emergency surgery at the hospital. Could I trouble you to pick up Leo from Greenwood Kindergarten at six? He’s in the intermediate class, and I’ll call his teacher ahead of time."

She quickly added, "If it’s not convenient, that’s okay. I can ask another friend."

"It’s convenient, it’s convenient." Ryan Sterling replied almost without thinking. "Six o’clock, right? I’m at the university now, so I can head over right away. I’ll let you know once I’ve picked him up."

"Thank you, but I’ll be in surgery then, so I probably won’t be able to reply."

"Then I’ll take him to the plaza to play. Just let us know when you’re done, and I’ll bring him back."

"...Okay, thank you."

Rory Linden was still a little worried, but since she was entrusting Leo to Ryan Sterling, she chose to trust him.

After hanging up, Rory Linden immediately changed into her scrubs and entered the operating room.

The surgery lasted three hours and went very smoothly.

Rory Linden finished the main part of the procedure, left the final closing to her assistant, and stepped out.

When she checked WeChat again, she saw seven or eight messages from Ryan Sterling.

The first was a voice message.

When she played it, Leo Linden’s young voice came through: "Mommy, I’m with Mr. Sterling. You don’t have to worry."

The next few were videos and photos of Leo Linden skateboarding, which had just been sent.

While Rory Linden was still watching, Ryan Sterling sent another video.

In the video, Leo Linden skillfully performed a tic-tac.

Seeing the message, Rory Linden sent a reply: [I’m driving over to find you.]

Ryan Sterling’s reply came back quickly: [Are you done with work? Great, I’ll wait here with Leo for you.]

After replying, Ryan Sterling stared blankly at his phone again.

He wanted to send another message but didn’t know what to say.

"Yo, Mr. Sterling!" a friend came over and joked, "Who’re you messaging over here? Why aren’t you watching your little brother?"

"Shut up, you. Leo is my student."

Ryan Sterling casually slipped his phone into his pocket.

He and a few friends usually hung out and skated together at this plaza.

Before, he would always find a less crowded corner to teach Leo.

Since Rory Linden wasn’t here today, he brought Leo Linden over to hang out with everyone.

His friend stopped his board and sat down next to Ryan Sterling, looking at Leo Linden a few meters away.

"You should’ve told me you were making money like this! I’ll pay you to teach me. I’m way easier to handle than that little guy, and I’ve got the basics down! I can even play support for you in video games."

"You, play support for me? I’d like to live a few more years, thanks."

As Ryan Sterling spoke, his eyes were fixed on Leo Linden.

Even though the boy was already a skilled skater, the area was crowded with people coming and going, so it was easy to bump into someone.

After sending the message, Ryan Sterling got on his own skateboard, rolled over to Leo Linden’s side, and told him:

"Your mom’s off work. She’ll be here to pick you up soon."

"Okay!"

Leo Linden nodded seriously.

Ryan Sterling noticed Leo Linden was a little out of breath and asked, "Want me to buy you a bottle of water?"

"Okay!"

"What do you want to drink? Is Coke okay?"

"Mommy doesn’t let me drink Coke. She says I can only drink plain water."

"Bottled water it is, then."

Ryan Sterling had no experience with kids.

Previously, when Rory Linden brought Leo Linden over, she always carried a small water bottle with her.

Today, he was the one who picked Leo Linden up, so of course, there was no water bottle.

Ryan Sterling bought a bottle of mineral water for Leo Linden and a can of Coke for himself.

The big one and the little one sat drinking by a flowerbed.

Ryan Sterling asked casually, "Is your mom always this busy with work?"

Leo Linden nodded.

Ryan Sterling asked again, "So... what happened before when your mom was busy? Who picked you up from kindergarten?"

"There used to be an Auntie Alice who lived with us, but her family is in another country, so she couldn’t come to Celestria with us."

Leo Linden explained earnestly to Ryan Sterling.

These were all things Rory Linden had told him before.

Ryan Sterling followed his lead. "What about your family? Are they abroad or in Celestria?"

"My only family is Mommy." Leo Linden added, "And Mommy’s only family is me."

"So... do you have a grandpa and grandma?"

"No."

"What about a grandpa and grandma on your mom’s side?"

"No."

Ryan Sterling took a deep breath. After beating around the bush, he finally asked the question that was really on his mind. "What about your dad?"

"I don’t have a dad." Leo Linden thought for a moment, then quickly corrected himself. "No, that’s wrong. I do have a dad. I saw my dad the other day."

"Yeah, everyone has a dad."

Ryan Sterling felt a pang of regret for asking.

His job was just to teach Leo Linden how to skateboard.

Everything else was their private business and had nothing to do with him.

Ryan Sterling was about to drop the subject.

But in the next second, Leo Linden spoke first: "But I’m my dad’s illegitimate son."

"..."

The air was silent for a few seconds.

Ryan Sterling subconsciously glanced around, making sure no one was paying attention to them, then quickly leaned in and lowered his voice. "That’s impossible. How could you be an illegitimate son? You’re just a little kid, you must have it wrong."

’Illegitimate son.’

Ryan Sterling’s understanding of the term was purely social.

Usually, the child of a mistress was called an illegitimate son.

He didn’t know Rory Linden well, but he was convinced she was a good, upright person who would never do something to break up someone else’s family.

"But I am," Leo Linden explained seriously. "An auntie told me that a child whose parents aren’t married is an illegitimate son."

"That auntie was probably lying to you."

After all, Ryan Sterling didn’t know the truth of the matter.

He assumed this "auntie" was probably Leo Linden’s father’s legal wife.

There were some things he didn’t understand, and he didn’t want to make wild guesses.

Ryan Sterling didn’t forget to add, "By the way, we were just chatting casually. Don’t tell your mom about this, okay?"

Leo Linden nodded obediently.

Ryan Sterling asked again, "Do you want some ice cream? I’ll buy you some."

Leo Linden nodded again.

The two of them had just bought ice cream and returned to the plaza when...

"Mommy!"

Leo Linden spotted Rory Linden in the crowd instantly.

He ran toward her, holding his ice cream, but lost his footing and stumbled forward.

The ice cream in his hand went flying.

It hit the ground with a SPLAT.

Rory Linden rushed over to check on Leo Linden.

The little boy sat up, looked at his fallen ice cream, then threw his arms around Rory Linden and burst into tears with a loud "WAAAH!"

Ryan Sterling froze on the spot. ’His world came crashing down.’

After all his hard work taking care of him all evening, he’d looked away for one second and let Leo Linden fall.