Dragon Raja 4; Chapter 85: Young Schoolmates (1)

Dragon Raja 4

When Nono woke up, her eyes were covered with a black cloth, her mouth sealed with tape, and she felt herself curled up in the backseat of a small car.

Her last memory was in the wine cellar, where Lu Mingfei walked away with his hands in his pockets, fading into the distance. The damp, cold air was thick with the scent of departure. Just as she was about to decide to give him one last hand, thinking to herself, Screw it, I’m still that girl who used to drive a Ferrari with one hand, a sudden boom filled her head, her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.

She guessed she had been kidnapped, and her captors weren’t ordinary people. They dared to act against her right in front of Lu Mingfei and Finger—and succeeded.

She didn’t panic. Instead, she continued pretending to sleep, analyzing her surroundings. She figured she was no longer in Malta; this place wasn’t near the sea. The temperature and humidity were quite comfortable, and there was a faint scent of vegetation in the air, probably somewhere inland in a subtropical region. Based on the bumps and the feel of the seats, she was in an economy-class car, driving on a smooth highway at moderate speed, with a cheerful guitar tune playing on the radio. She was tied up, but not with ropes, rather with seat belts. Her whole body was sore, but not because she had been violated—more likely because she had slept for a long time without moving. It seemed like they had used some kind of sedative on her, and now that she was awake, she surprisingly felt quite refreshed.

“Junior sister’s like a pig, really—must be the reincarnation of Zhu Bajie. The sedative should’ve worn off long ago, but she’s still sleeping soundly. I’m a bit envious,” said the driver suddenly.

“If she really were the reincarnation of Zhu Bajie, aren’t you afraid she’d smash your head with the Nine-Tooth Rake?” said the person in the passenger seat. “Think about how you’re going to explain this to her.”

Nono couldn’t pretend any longer. She suddenly sat up, broke free from the seat belt, tore the tape off her mouth, and locked her arm around the driver’s neck. “You two have a death wish?”

Lu Mingfei and Finger exchanged terrified glances and pointed at each other in unison. “It was him! It was him!”

“I didn’t ask whose idea this was. First, tell me, where are we?” Nono glanced at the dashboard. “And what kind of junk car is this? Not even a navigation system?”

At that moment, a police car came up from the side, overtook them, and changed lanes, blocking their path. The police lights flashed, signaling them to pull over.

Nono thought, Perfect timing. I was just wondering how I’d get a ride back. This is like someone handing you a pillow when you’re drowsy.

Finger obediently pulled over, and a police officer got out, approached the window, and saluted. “Hello, sir, may I see your driver’s license and registration, please?”

Finger handed over a black and a blue booklet. “Officer, we’re law-abiding citizens from America. Here’s my Chinese driver’s license.”

Nono froze at this and quickly leaned out the window. She saw the highway winding through lush, green mountains, with a sign overhead that read, “125 km to Shanghai.”

The mountain breeze blew, making the bougainvillea sway. Nono was dumbfounded, her mind blank. She had fallen asleep in Malta and woke up in China?

“Your name is Zhang Facai?” The traffic officer looked at Finger with suspicion.

“That’s right. Surname Zhang, given name Facai. Friends call me Xin Xin.”

“Alright, sir, we don’t need the nicknames,” the officer interrupted. “You don’t look Chinese at all, but you speak fluent Mandarin, have Chinese documents, and even a Chinese name. Can you explain?”

“Just because I’ve got a high nose and blue eyes doesn’t mean I can’t have the surname Zhang or speak Chinese. That’s prejudice!” Finger declared righteously. “Let me tell you, since the Tang Dynasty, the streets of Chang’an were full of people who looked like me—selling lamb, pastries, wine. They didn’t consider themselves outsiders. Li Bai even wrote a poem about it…”

“Thank you for your cooperation.” The officer quickly handed back the driver’s license and glanced at Nono in the back seat. “I thought I saw some kind of struggle in the car. Are you alright, ma’am?”

“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be? I’ve slept like a pig for 30 hours, and I feel great!” Nono replied coldly.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” the officer asked again, still worried.

Nono was wearing a white beach dress—bareback, off-the-shoulder, with gold rings on the straps—looking like a Greek statue. But she was sitting in a bright pink BYD F3 with a seat pattern imprinted on her face. The combination was enough to raise anyone’s suspicions.

“These are my good buddies, and we’re on a road trip across China,” Finger chimed in, pointing at Lu Mingfei in the passenger seat.

Lu Mingfei, in a tailored suit, barely held it together under the officer’s scrutiny. The officer didn’t recognize it as a Savile Row bespoke suit but could tell it was expensive. Seeing that there was a passenger who matched the female passenger’s style, the officer found Finger’s story somewhat credible.

The officer saluted and left, unaware that as soon as he turned his back, both male passengers were trembling like rabbits caught by a lion.

Nono locked her arm around Finger’s neck again, squeezing tighter. “Great Dragon Slayer, say your last words—keep it short.”

“I, the Great Dragon Slayer Finger von Frings, have always valued loyalty. If my brother’s in trouble, I can’t leave him to fend for himself. If my brother deserves the death penalty, I’ll face it with him. The truth is, my brother benefits from this, and I’m just helping him fulfill his wishes. If you want to shoot him, he has no complaints. Once you’re done, you can slap me, and I won’t resist…”

“Shut up!” Nono twisted Finger’s ear, bringing tears to his eyes.

She turned and shot a cold glance at Lu Mingfei, gave him two imaginary slaps in the air, and said, “Forget it! I won’t stoop to your level—you’re insane!”

She had softened for a moment, but after glancing down at her own chest, she was enraged again. Couldn’t these two have at least dressed her properly before dragging her around? They’d spent the whole trip under the glorious spring sunshine!

Then she thought again—if they had actually changed her clothes, she really would have killed them!

“Why did you bring me to China?” She kicked the front seat in frustration.

“Listen to me, junior sister—calm down and hear me out,” Finger said cautiously. “Let’s assume some kind of super Yanling erased Chu Zihang from our memories, like a mass hypnosis. After Chu Zihang disappeared, our memories adjusted to make sense of a past without him. But physical evidence can’t be erased, right? Whoever did this would have to manually destroy Chu Zihang’s photos and delete his files. In that process, there would definitely be some oversights. To prove Chu Zihang’s existence, we need to find those traces…”

“You think Chu Zihang spent the first 18 years of his life in China, and that it’ll be easiest to find traces of him here?”

“Exactly!” Finger gave a thumbs-up. “And junior sister, you’re best at deducing the truth from small clues. We need your talent!”

“You need me, so you kidnap me?” Nono got even angrier when she heard this. “You had to fly to China. Did you hijack a plane or something?”

“We did hijack a small business jet! The flight attendant even had a nice chat with me and added me on WeChat!”

“She was getting ready to report you to the police!” Nono facepalmed.

“Don’t underestimate my charm! She gave me free juice and complimented my muscles!”

“You hijacked the plane—why would she charge you for juice?”

“Don’t question the kindness of a lovely flight attendant! Not every woman is as practical as you, junior sister!”

“Practical, my foot! If I were truly practical, you’d be sitting in that police car back there right now! Did you really add her on WeChat? Do you think EVA is just decoration?”

“On second thought, I decided not to. A flight attendant in her 40s is the backbone of the airline. She’s got a promising career ahead of her, while I’m living on the edge. How could I drag her down?”

“Just 40? How youthful.”

“I sense a tone of superiority in your voice,” Finger pointed at Nono’s nose. “But look at yourself—you’re not that young freshman anymore, are you?”

Nono glared. “I may not be a little girl anymore, but you’re basically a wannabe middle-aged man! Cigars, fitness, and sailing—just look at your whole vibe!”

While Nono and Finger bantered, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Lu Mingfei, chin propped on his hand, staring dreamily out the window, seemingly lost in thought.

“Aren’t you going to say something? Does this have nothing to do with you?” Nono slapped the back of his head.

Lu Mingfei scratched his head. “Finger was definitely reckless, but he was just trying to help me…”

Series Navigation

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