Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 49: Black Sea and White Moon (1)

Dragon Raja 3

“The endless expanse of the frozen sea. Lu Mingfei walked on the ice-covered surface, with the Milky Way spanning the sky above, and the dark, enormous silhouettes of whales swimming beneath the ice. In the distance, a massive white moon slowly rose over the horizon. Half of its disk was above the sea level, while the other half remained below, and every crater on its surface could be seen clearly. The reflection on the ice formed a perfect full circle together with the half-moon in the sky. A boy sat within the moon’s reflection, fishing with a long rod suspended above a hole in the ice, revealing a pool of deep blue seawater.

‘What’s the deal here?’ Lu Mingfei stopped behind the boy, ‘Is this supposed to be fun?’

It was obvious that the boy fishing was Lu Mingze. Such a scene could never be a natural phenomenon; it would only appear in the works of an abstract painter. The only one who could make such an image a reality was Lu Mingze. He was a devil—he could do anything.

‘Isn’t it refreshing to change up the scenery for every meeting? Even in Street Fighter IV, you can choose the battlefield, can’t you, brother?’ Lu Mingze smiled. The guy was dressed appropriately for ice fishing: a thick wool coat, fine deerskin boots, and a bearskin hat with ear flaps.

‘Then do me a favor next time and switch to the Moulin Rouge in Paris, alright? With the girls on stage dancing, I’d be interested in staying for a longer chat.’ Lu Mingfei pulled his collar up against the cold and sat down next to Lu Mingze. ‘You want me to appreciate the moon in the freezing cold with another guy? Just get to the point already; I’m freezing to death here.’

Lu Mingze smiled and handed something to him. It was a soft cashmere scarf, wrapped around a warm hand-warmer. Lu Mingfei wrapped the scarf around his neck, pressing his nearly frozen hands to the heater, and warmth immediately began to flow through his body. His whole body seemed to loosen up like an old machine that had just been lubricated. He had to admit, the little devil could be quite considerate. Thinking back, every time he met Lu Mingze, it was in some cozy, hidden corner of the world—a place where it felt like only the two of them existed. Now that he was warm, everything around him seemed more agreeable. The massive moon, the tranquil sea, and the act of sitting side by side fishing suddenly felt quite peaceful. If only the coals in the hand-warmer would never go out, and if there were a flask of strong liquor to ward off the cold, it would be perfect.

As if reading his mind, Lu Mingze handed him another item—a flat metal flask.

‘Aged thirty-year Macallan whiskey. It’s like swallowing fire,’ Lu Mingze said. ‘They say if you drink enough of it, you can jump into the frozen sea for a swim.’

‘Are you a parasite in my stomach or something? You always know exactly what I’m thinking.’ Lu Mingfei took a small sip from the flask, and it indeed felt as Lu Mingze had said—like a fiery warmth spreading through his entire body.

‘That’s because I’m your younger brother. Brothers tend to feel the same things. When I crave a good drink to warm myself up, I figure you must too.’ Lu Mingze smiled faintly. ‘I even prepared a cashmere scarf and hand-warmer for myself as well.’

‘You’re talking about loyalty like it’s a point of pride. Don’t you think it’s kind of pathetic?’ Lu Mingfei sneered.

‘How can loyalty be pathetic? If it were, wouldn’t Lord Guan be a total failure too?’

‘But come on, brother, your role isn’t the same as his. Lord Guan earned his keep through loyalty to Liu Bei and charm towards Cao Cao, while you rely on cunning and deceit to trade souls for your livelihood. Talking about loyalty while you’re just a crafty merchant—it just doesn’t fit.’ Lu Mingfei took another lazy sip of his drink. ‘But I know you’re up to something again. You’re too sly to meet me just for some casual fishing and catching up. So what’s up? And for the record, I have no intention of selling you my soul. I’m healthy, everything’s going smoothly, I aced my midterms, I’m eating well, I even had two portions for my late-night snack tonight—everything’s great except for a couple thousand dollars in credit card debt I haven’t paid. Life is good! La la la~’

‘Life is good, huh? Maybe we’ll see if that still holds true after Caesar and Nono’s wedding,’ Lu Mingze said lightly.

‘Don’t even start. You’re the second person tonight to bring that up.’ Lu Mingfei twisted his mouth in annoyance. ‘Why do all of you see me as some lovestruck fool? Do you really think I’m going to slit my belly in despair just because she’s marrying someone else? Let me tell you, I’m a bit of a scoundrel. Even if I became a monk, I’d still try to flirt with the nun next door.’

‘I believe you would flirt with the nun next door, just like how you’re feeling sad now but still have your computer on downloading love movies from that certain island nation. You’re the kind of person who can always adapt to circumstances, no matter who leaves your life. You’re like a cockroach—no matter how many times you’re stepped on, you never die. But not dying and not feeling sad are two different things. Oh, by the way, the Vice Principal is very interested in your download folder; he has backups of all your downloaded love movies.’

Lu Mingfei’s eyes widened. ‘Damn, you even know all these secrets—what am I supposed to do now? Though I guess it’s not surprising since you’re the devil. But why would the Vice Principal know about this too?’

‘Because he’s actually the highest authority in the campus network. Not only does he know about the love movies, but he also knows you registered a small account on the Night Watchers forum just to follow Nono’s posts.’ Lu Mingze grinned mischievously. ‘He’s quietly watching your small account, but he’s hidden, so you can’t see him.’

‘I always thought he only watched the pretty girls…’

‘Everyone likes a bit of gossip. Watching a loser quietly fall in love with a goddess, trying hard in silence, and then quietly having his heart broken—it’s the kind of thing that makes people appreciate their own stable lives even more after a good meal. After Caesar’s wedding preparations were announced tonight, all the senior students started discussing whether you’d attend the wedding. At least half the students know you have a crush on Nono. They secretly set up a betting pool. The odds that you’ll kick Caesar over and steal Nono are 1 to 1220—higher than the odds of the Chinese team winning the World Cup.’ Lu Mingze smirked. ‘The only person who thought of comforting you was Chu Zihang. Such an action can probably only be understood as “misery loves company.”’

“That’s nonsense. How could I compare myself to that handsome guy? Honestly, I’ve always felt that Xia Mi secretly likes Senior Chu, but she’s just stubbornly refusing to admit her cross-species forbidden love,” Lu Mingfei said. “Those two are basically mutually in love.”

“I think it’s just a case of shared suffering,” Lu Mingze said softly. “Seriously though, why don’t you make a wish and let me help you take Nono away? Before you make your wish, I’ll even lend you a few thousand bucks so you can bet on it. That way, when you get Nono, your bet will pay off 1,220 times. You could not only win the girl but also become rich overnight. Now, wouldn’t that be a perfect life?”

Lu Mingfei was silent for a while, then shook his head. “This has nothing to do with you, so keep your distance. I’m just feeling a bit down; I’ll be fine after some time. Damn it, who hasn’t secretly had a crush on a class beauty and felt disappointed a few times when they were young? By the time Caesar and Nono hold their wedding, I might even have a girlfriend. I’ll be catching the bouquet; I might even be the flower boy.”

Series Navigation

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