Dragon Raja 5; Chapter 279: For Your Majesty (94)

Dragon Raja 5

As night fell, Christina went drinking with her suitors as usual. The only bar in City 023 offered top-quality liquor free of charge 24 hours a day. After drinking too much, the intelligence agent danced on the table, her skirt fluttering, her straight legs revealing glimpses of her figure, all while being surrounded by applause and whistles.

Lu Mingfei was also present, but Christina acted as if she didn’t recognize him at all, preoccupied with flirting with others. However, none of this mattered to Lu Mingfei; he happily drank with everyone and learned to sing old Russian songs.

The black snake’s remains still writhed in the underground air-raid shelter. Dangerous arms dealers were reveling. Federal Security Service agents had already infiltrated the area, and the Executive Department’s hunting team was probably on their way. He had a feeling that something extraordinary was about to happen in this desolate little town in the far north; this was just the calm before the storm. But he didn’t care much about any of that. Sitting here, sobering up, and daydreaming was enough for him.

The knocking startled Lu Mingfei for a moment, but he quickly relaxed. Maybe it was Christina, drunk, knocking again. In the eyes of the intelligence officer, he should now be a trustworthy informant.

He opened the door, and there stood Zero, wearing a camel-colored cashmere coat that reached her feet and a matching mink hat. Her face was still as cold and aloof as ever, but what she said was an invitation: “I’d like to find someone to go for a walk with me.”

The city of 023 was brightly lit at night. The power system had been restored, and all the streetlights in the city were on. Unlike the dense and dazzling lights of Tokyo, it was as quiet and gentle as a small town in a fairy tale, even in the snow.

The road was covered with a thick layer of ice, so Lu Mingfei had to help Zero walk, just like Bunin did. Zero always wore high-heeled boots, probably because she was very dissatisfied with her height.

The two of them didn’t speak a word the whole way. Occasionally, they would see drunkards arm in arm, singing and marching past, and they would even tip their hats and bow to them, but then they would burst into laughter. They were probably guessing that there was something going on between the princess and her secretary.

Lu Mingfei knew what they meant, but he was too lazy to argue. He also wondered if the princess had any feelings for him, but every time he thought about it, he couldn’t be bothered to continue. He felt he wasn’t good enough for her, and he didn’t have that kind of impulse.

Ideally, Her Highness the Princess would simply want to meet him tonight to relax, or perhaps she would want to clarify the Romanov family’s interests in this matter and reach some kind of deal with Lu Mingfei, so that he wouldn’t feel he owed anything.

“Thank you for what you did with Christina.” Having held it in for too long, Lu Mingfei finally broke the ice.

“I was sleeping in the next room when she barged into your private room, and I heard everything.” Zero’s tone was nonchalant. “The daughter of a high-ranking official in the Republic of Tatarstan, who actually became an intelligence agent in the Federal Security Service, is quite a strange girl.”

“You heard everything but didn’t come to my rescue!” Lu Mingfei suddenly became a little indignant.

“If a pretty girl runs into your room, should I go in to cause trouble or to help you out? Maybe she really wants to talk about feelings with you? Anyway, you won’t lose anything.”

Lu Mingfei was speechless for a moment, and subconsciously wanted to scratch his head, but his right hand, which he usually used, was still supporting Zero.

“What would you do if you opened the door and saw your senior sister?” Zero asked again.

“Am I that kind of person?” Lu Mingfei could only force himself to stay upright. “In Tokyo, she slept in the bed while I slept in the bathtub. Did I ever complain? You can ask Chu Zihang if you don’t believe me!”

“You don’t need to tell me about this.” Zero looked straight ahead and continued walking unhurriedly.

Lu Mingfei was stunned by the retort and simply pretended to be dead and remained silent. Time has passed, and he can now be said to possess superb skills, but there’s really no way to practice being bad at talking.

“Actually, it’s not so bad, right?” After walking for a while, Zero spoke again, “Maybe you’ll like her once you get to know her, anyway, you’ve liked more than just your senior sister.”

Lu Mingfei knew she was talking about Chen Wenwen. He regretted his past actions. He used to have late-night snacks with her all the time, and after a few glasses of red wine, he told Zero everything that had happened since childhood. He even told Zero about Chen Wenwen several times. He didn’t feel guilty telling Zero, as Zero was definitely not a gossip. But he never expected that the princess would write it down to use against him.

“Life is so long, you’ll always meet a few people you like. If you miss one, there’s always another, but there aren’t that many. If you miss them all in the end, won’t you regret it later?” Zero’s words actually had a hint of matchmaking in them.

“What life do I have left?” Lu Mingfei scoffed. “I’ll just go wherever the road takes me.”

“Why don’t you just go wherever the opportunity takes you? Isn’t Christina great? She’s very beautiful.”

“What does her looks have to do with me? Do you really believe she’s an FSB agent?”

“I believe it. I believe everything pretty girls say.” Can’t you be reasonable?

“I’m talking to you about feelings.” “Can’t you leave some room for maneuver? I can’t argue with you, I’ll admit defeat, okay?” If he didn’t have to support Zero, Lu Mingfei would have surrendered.

The two continued their stroll.

This seemed to have passed just like that. Zero strolled around, looking at the toys and old cigarettes and alcohol displayed in the shop windows, making it feel like a real-life Soviet-era museum. When Christina entered City 023, she had also been peering through the shop windows, her eyes wide. Back then, Zero, supported by Bunin, walked at the front, her gaze unwavering, as if she were riding the wind. Now, she too seemed full of curiosity about the city, yet she managed to feign such nonchalance. Lu Mingfei couldn’t help but feel that he would never truly understand what girls were thinking, like Nono, like Zero, and even Chen Wenwen from back then. When they say they hate you, they might not really hate you; when they always want you to be with them, they might not actually like you.

Now he realized that he was indeed a straight man of steel, even straighter than Qin Zhidao.

“You seemed quite happy on the way,” Zero suddenly said. “I saw you go drinking with them and you slept well.”