Dragon Raja 4; Chapter 144: King Descends from the Sky, Fierce and Furious (1)

Dragon Raja 4

Sacred Heart Hospital, Nono sat by Su Xiaoyan’s bed, peeling an apple, while Su Xiaoyan happily ate a piece of chocolate filled with liqueur, a gift Nono had brought for her.

Visiting hours had already ended, but Nono had pleaded with the doctor on duty, saying, “Look at this downpour, I can’t go out in this weather. Could you kindly let me stay a bit longer with my aunt?” The doctor turned a blind eye to the rules. This was Nono’s second visit to see Su Xiaoyan, and each time she had brought a large fruit basket for the doctors and nurses, who all liked her, often commenting on the family’s good genes, saying that both the aunt and niece were so beautiful.

“Nono, how’s your mother doing lately?” Su Xiaoyan asked casually.

“She’s doing well, though she keeps asking when I’ll get married, but I just don’t tell her,” Nono replied just as casually.

Outside, the storm raged, with rain pelting against the windows, but inside the hospital room, the atmosphere was warm and peaceful, as if Nono really was Su Xiaoyan’s niece.

Nono had come to visit Su Xiaoyan under the guise of being her niece, and it didn’t matter if Su Xiaoyan recognized her or not. As long as Nono acted convincingly, the doctors would simply assume Su Xiaoyan’s amnesia extended to not remembering even her relatives. After all, who could clearly remember what their distant relatives’ children looked like?

To Nono’s surprise, Su Xiaoyan had immediately recognized her, clutching the liqueur chocolates to her chest like a little girl, smiling and saying, “You finally remembered to come see me!”

Nono suspected Su Xiaoyan was more interested in the alcohol inside the chocolates.

“Auntie, how long are you planning to stay in the hospital? Feels like it’s been quite a while,” Nono asked, slipping the question in casually.

“About three or four months?” Su Xiaoyan pouted. “That bastard of a husband never comes to pick me up!”

“Why did you wait so long to have a baby?” Nono asked. “If you had a child earlier, they’d be around my age now, right?”

“Well, getting divorced and remarried complicates things! If you don’t meet the right man, how can you feel safe having a baby with him?”

Nono finally managed to steer the conversation toward Chu Tianjiao. Her goal in spending time with Su Xiaoyan was to learn more about that elusive man.

According to the doctor, Su Xiaoyan had been in and out of the hospital for several years. When she was well enough, she’d stay at home, but when her condition worsened, she’d be admitted back to the hospital. Director Lu had been a good husband, but as the saying goes, “Even the most loving family grows weary after long illnesses.” Although his wife was charming and sweet, her mental breakdowns were difficult to handle, and his visits had become less frequent. Still, he never divorced her and continued to pay the high medical bills on time.

Due to her memory loss, Su Xiaoyan seemed unaware that Chu Tianjiao had died. She still believed her ex-husband was working as a driver at Huanya Group. Nono had tried several times to get Su Xiaoyan to talk about Chu Tianjiao, but it was clear that Su Xiaoyan didn’t enjoy the topic.

Nono instinctively felt that there was something off about Chu Tianjiao, though she couldn’t explain why. From the small room where he used to live, he seemed like an ordinary driver. If Caesar’s life scored a perfect 100, Chu Tianjiao’s would barely hit 10, and that was only because Su Xiaoyan added to it. Still, there was a small chance that Chu Tianjiao had deliberately concealed his true identity to avoid detection by those with profiling abilities. It was a battle of wits, with one side trying to unravel the mystery while the other kept making it more complex. It was a cat-and-mouse game.

If that were true, Su Xiaoyan might have married someone not just extraordinary, but brilliant, complex, and perhaps terrifying!

“Wasn’t your ex-husband good to you?” Nono handed over the peeled apple.

“He didn’t make much money, and he lacked ambition. I had enough of him! Why did I ever marry him?”

“But he was handsome and considerate, wasn’t he?” Nono pressed, hoping to catch a clue from Su Xiaoyan’s eyes.

“How would you know if he was handsome or considerate? You never met him.”

“But I did! He even held me when I was little.”

“You’re making that up. You think I’m stupid? I don’t have a niece,” Su Xiaoyan said, munching on the apple like a hamster.

Nono was taken aback but quickly smiled. “If you knew I was fake, why didn’t you tell the doctor?”

“You’re so pretty, and I like talking to pretty girls. Besides, you don’t look like a bad person.”

Nono admired this woman’s nonchalant attitude and was surprised by her sharp mind. She might be whimsical, but she wasn’t dumb or confused.

“I came here to ask about Chu Tianjiao,” Nono said. “You probably know him better than anyone else.”

“Are you a cop? Did he do something wrong?” Su Xiaoyan asked, suddenly a bit nervous.

“No, but I can assure you, we don’t mean him any harm. If he’s done anything, you don’t have to hide it.”

“Do you think he’d tell me anything if he did? He was full of lies. Marrying him was a waste; I never even met his family.”

“Did he ever talk about his past with you?”

“All the time, but it was all just to charm women! Sometimes he’d say he was from a wealthy family and was a spoiled rich kid. Other times, he said he’d spent years abroad—places like Madagascar, the North and South Poles, or the Caribbean. One time, he even said he was a top spy here on a mission. Who would believe that? Trust him, and he’d sell you without you even knowing!” Su Xiaoyan sighed. “But you’re right, he was handsome and very caring.”

“Did you keep in touch after the divorce?”

“Why would I? If he reached out to me, I’d respond, but he never did.”

“Is there anything else you remember about him?” Nono asked. “Something special about him?”

Su Xiaoyan thought for a moment. “He loved braised intestines. I can’t stand that stuff. Imagine me, a dancer, all dressed up, sitting at a street stall with him eating braised intestines. I wanted to be having pizza and wine instead!”

Nono rubbed her forehead, thinking, Not this again! Next, you’ll probably mention double-spicy grilled chicken wings!

“But I think he left something really important with me,” Su Xiaoyan tapped her forehead. “But no matter how hard I try, I can’t remember what it is. People say pregnancy messes with your memory.”

“What kind of thing? Documents? A weapon? A key?” Nono asked, gently guiding her. “Try to remember.”

“I’ve been trying for a long time, but I just can’t. Whatever it is, it’s really important, and I have to remember it! I can’t lose it!” Su Xiaoyan paused. “By the way, why didn’t your friend come with you? Isn’t it dangerous for a girl to be out alone at night?”

“My friend?” Nono was confused.

“Yeah, a boy in a security guard uniform came to chat with me one rainy night. Isn’t he your friend?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Just a guess. He said he was a security guard, but he didn’t seem like one at all. You look like a princess, and he seems like an emperor. You two seem alike.”

The window was suddenly blown open by a fierce wind. Nono stood up to close it, only to discover a black snowstorm falling in the courtyard. The snowflakes drifted down like large feathers, and flocks of black crows perched on the roof and railings, their countless golden eyes all fixated on the hospital room, without making a single sound. Nono reached out to catch a snowflake, only to realize it was a completely withered tulip petal. The hospital’s greenhouse grew many tulips, and not long ago, Nono had seen them flourishing, vibrant in red and yellow. Black tulips do exist as a species, but they are actually indigo in color. Yet, the petal in her hand was as black as burnt ash.

All the plants in the courtyard were withering, even the evergreens that usually keep their leaves through all seasons. The cold, desolate wind slowly blew through, turning everything to a charcoal-black hue.

Nono slammed the window shut and took deep breaths. The air in the garden had a strange, suffocating feel. Some unknown power was invading the space around her. She tried hard to recall everything she’d learned at Cassell College, muttering to herself, “Damn it! Now I regret not reading more when I had the chance!” Advanced Alchemy, a notoriously difficult Level 3 course in the Alchemy Department, had an extremely low pass rate, so she hadn’t chosen it. Yet she felt a bit relieved, thinking that if there really was a Nibelungen in this city, perhaps Lu Mingfei wasn’t crazy. He may have simply seen through the hidden truth.

She pressed the call button at the bedside, but no one answered. The speaker only emitted a faint hiss of static and the soft patter of rain.