Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 366: Grand Escape Into the Sunlight (3)

Dragon Raja 3

“I remember. Why?” Su Enxi asked, confused.

“Suzuki said that a monster’s inner world is a maze. Every monster lives in their own labyrinth, so it’s difficult for them to find each other. Only the monster itself can cross the maze and find the exit, and it’s only at the exit that they can meet. That’s when they’ll have feelings for each other. The relationship between Lu Mingfei and the head of the Uesugi family isn’t something we planned. They embraced on a dark street in the pouring rain, after being chased by the yakuza across all of Tokyo with hundreds of blades behind them. That wasn’t a moment where anyone should’ve fallen in love with a stranger, but at that moment, the two monsters walked out of their respective mazes. That’s a miracle, and miracles can’t be forced. Like you said to me last night, we can accelerate a relationship, but we can’t create it from nothing.”

“I was just making stuff up to comfort you… You were feeling down! What are we going to do if we can’t finish the mission and the boss loses it?” Su Enxi said, shocked.

“Who cares? It’s not like he can fire us. The boss is a calculating man, and we’re all just pawns in his game. Whether or not the wedding happens tomorrow is probably something he’s already factored in. We just need to do our part and wait to see the miracle he’s creating.” Mai ended the call.

At that moment, another group was also struggling to chase after Lu Mingfei, but their car had broken down.

The aging Toyota family car had stalled on the highway to Shikoku. Caesar opened the hood, and thick white smoke billowed out, carrying the acrid smell of burning rubber. The Toyota’s engine couldn’t compare to the Porsche 911, and even though Caesar, a master driver, had pushed it to its limits for 15 kilometers, the engine had overheated and died.

“You should’ve rented a better car,” Chu Zihang said with a frown.

“How was I supposed to know they’d rent a Porsche 911? For tailing someone, inconspicuous cars are the best,” Caesar replied, rummaging through the glove compartment. “Besides, we’re out of money. We gave all our funds to Lu Mingfei for him to squander. I’ve even quit smoking cigars because of this. Do you think someone who’s too broke to buy cigars can afford to rent a Ferrari? Suck it up. If a Gattuso man can tolerate driving a Japanese car, what’s a Chinese rich kid like you complaining about?”

“That’s not the point! The point is we’ve lost track of Lu Mingfei!” Chu Zihang retorted, frustrated by Caesar’s twisted logic. “What are you looking for?”

“The owner’s manual. We need to figure out how to fix this piece of junk. I used all our remaining money as a deposit—600,000 yen.” Caesar finally found the owner’s manual. “Damn! It’s in Japanese!”

“Haven’t you been driving supercars since you were 14? Don’t you know how to fix a family Toyota?”

“It’s embarrassing that you even asked that. Just because we can drive doesn’t mean we have to fix our own cars. It’s like how I can cook, but only milk pudding and pasta.” Caesar stood in front of the engine, comparing the parts to the manual. “The engine, carburetor, oil cap… wait, no, this is where the Japanese put the windshield washer fluid… damn it! Where the hell is the oil cap?”

“I didn’t understand your reasoning about the milk pudding and pasta,” Chu Zihang said, standing behind him.

“When making milk pudding, you can hold a girl’s hand and teach her to stir the milk. When making pasta, you can stand behind her and playfully knead the dough together with her. That kind of cooking is sexy—it makes girls fall for you. Barbecuing, on the other hand, is different. When you’re barbecuing, there’s usually a bunch of hungry people hovering around you, eager to snatch up the chicken wings before they’re even cooked, and you’re covered in soot, looking like someone from Equatorial Guinea. That’s why I only make milk pudding and pasta. Driving fast is very manly, but fixing a car isn’t sexy. Trust me, girls don’t want to hug you when you smell like motor oil.” Caesar finally found the dipstick, pulled it out, and wiped it with a napkin. “Damn! The oil level is too low!”

Chu Zihang finally couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed the dipstick from Caesar’s hand and pushed him away from the car. “Leave the car repairs to me. If you don’t want to get oil on yourself, stand back. And by the way, low oil has nothing to do with the engine overheating.”

“Oh! How could I forget that I brought a mechanical expert with me?” Caesar was more than happy to hand over the dirty work and stepped aside from the engine compartment.

Chu Zihang took off his shirt and threw it into the car. He had left in a hurry, wearing the clothes from the host club in Takamagahara. They issued top-brand clothing to the hosts, and getting them dirty would be costly to replace. As Caesar had mentioned, they were short on money right now.

From the trunk, Chu Zihang pulled out a toolbox and skillfully began disassembling the engine. He had never formally learned car repair, but a family car’s engine wasn’t too complicated. Once he understood the basic principles, he could expertly dismantle various common mechanisms.

“I need to revise what I said earlier. If it’s you, even fixing a car could attract naive girls,” Caesar said, leaning against the car door.

The road they were on was a straight, green tree-lined path. The good weather had brought people outside, and girls in pretty plaid skirts cycled by, the dappled sunlight casting patterns on their backs.

“This is the Japan I imagined. For the past few days, I felt like I was living in the rainy season of the Amazon River basin.” Caesar whistled brightly at the backs of the girls. “By the way, don’t you think Lu Mingfei has a thing for the yakuza princess?”

“Your topics and logic jump around too much. First of all, I need to correct you—the Amazon River basin doesn’t have distinct rainy and dry seasons. It rains all year round. Second, I don’t think it’s Lu Mingfei who has feelings for the head of the Uesugi family—it’s the other way around,” Chu Zihang said without looking up. “And lastly, we’ve got a coolant leak. After the engine cools, we’ll need to refill the coolant.”

After coming to a temporary truce, the Student Council president and the Lionheart Society leader discovered that they had a certain conversational synergy. As a flamboyant Italian, Caesar’s topics and logic always jumped around, but Chu Zihang could precisely capture every logical point, responding to each one without missing a beat. Caesar was like a flirtatious frog, hopping between lily pads, and only Chu Zihang could predict where he would leap next and follow him.

But to an outsider, their conversations might sound like the ramblings of two crazy frogs, hopping from one topic to another in perfect sync.

“I hope that girl can safely reach Fujian,” Caesar said. “I could write the report in a way that makes her sound dangerous, so she wouldn’t end up imprisoned. Maybe she could even attend the College.”

“And join the Lace White Dress Girl Squad of the Student Council? You never miss an opportunity with any pretty freshman.” Chu Zihang drained the remaining coolant and waited for the engine to cool.