Dragon Raja 5; Chapter 374: For Your Majesty (189)

Dragon Raja 5

“Lu Mingfei, you must have won the lottery!” Chen Wenwen said with a smile.

“My family received a large sum of money from the demolition compensation. It’s nothing compared to rich people, but we’re not in dire straits either,” Lu Mingfei said, going along with her. “I’ll make up for all the meals I missed treating you to before. You all have to come along and have fun!”

“You think you can just go out and have fun with the demolition compensation? You should find yourself a job first! The compensation is only a small amount; it can be spent in no time.” Zhao Menghua’s tone remained cold.

“I’d love to too! I was even hoping everyone could help me find a good job,” Lu Mingfei laughed. “If it works out, I’ll definitely give them a big bonus.”

He had an innocent, harmless look on his face, so no one felt the need to give him a hard time; he’d always been that kind of unassuming guy. Lu Mingfei eagerly asked all sorts of questions, like where they were working after graduation and how they were doing. Except for a few who looked a little downcast, everyone seemed to be doing well. Chen Wenwen went to work as an editor at a publishing company—that was considered a bad start; Liu Miaomiao was going to study piano at Juilliard, and her boyfriend was also highly educated and from a wealthy family, so her family didn’t expect her to earn money in the future; Su Xiaoqiang was naturally going to take over the family business and was interning in the purchasing department of her family’s company; she would likely be frequently traveling between China and the UK.

Lu Mingfei praised everyone’s recent situation and enthusiastically urged them to drink. Everyone said that Lu Mingfei’s speech was much better after he was sick for a while. Except for Zhao Menghua, who still thought that his proposal to Nuonuo was too far-fetched, everyone else gave perfunctory blessings.

“Even if Nuonuo agrees, will her father agree? Will her Italian boyfriend agree?” Zhao Menghua twisted his champagne glass.

“I’ll take her to Italy to talk to her boyfriend and clear things up,” Lu Mingfei said with a smile. “And while I’m at it, I’ll take her around the world—to the Seychelles to see lizards, to the Taj Mahal to smoke shisha, to Mauritius to surf. Tell me, what girl wouldn’t like me with that kind of lifestyle?”

“You’re just bragging! Even daydreams aren’t done like this!” Xu Leilei said, getting a little impatient.

“No, no, it’s not a daydream. What should I call this? A reality show? ‘Lu Mingfei’s World’?” Lu Mingfei smiled faintly, leaned back on the sofa, and slowly looked at each person one by one, his gaze lingering on each person’s face for an average of two or three seconds.

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold, and the students looked at each other in bewilderment.

“Or it’s some kind of dream I can’t wake up from, anyway, it’s something that’s deceiving me, and it’s so real that I can’t find any fault with it. I’ve tried all sorts of ways to escape from here, but none of them work,” Lu Mingfei continued.

“Lu Mingfei, what nonsense are you talking about? Are you drunk?” Chen Wenwen said worriedly.

Lu Mingfei silenced her with a single gesture—a simple gesture, yet incredibly powerful. But then he smiled and poured Chen Wenwen another drink. “It’s impolite to interrupt a lady, I’ll apologize in a moment.” He turned his head to look out the window. The weather was beautiful today, with a clear blue sky and a vast expansion of water. The CBD buildings were all below the Clock Tower, their glass curtain walls resembling rows of mirrors.

In that instant, he fell silent, and in the vast Aspasia restaurant, it was as if he were the only one sitting by the window.

“Your world is so wonderful. Here, I’m just an ordinary person, a nobody. The girl I like only pities me and gives me a little affection, and she’s a bit of a jerk. My classmates are all doing very well, but they look down on me a bit. But I haven’t opened that door, haven’t seen the dark side of the world, and don’t need to fly around in a private jet to save the world. I still have my parents by my side. My dad said he saved up his allowance for traveling abroad to buy me a house. Do you know that feeling? It’s not about how much money it is, but that there’s someone in the world who, no matter how hard or bitter you are, no matter how stupid the things you do, you can go to them. They may not be able to help you, but they won’t harm you or look down on you.” He spoke softly, lofty and ethereal.

If he were to glance back at the expressions on everyone’s faces, he would realize they hadn’t understood at all, but no one dared to interrupt him. He was lonely, yet dignified, like an actor in a rambling dream, or a solitary king.

“I just wish I were still that fool, so I wouldn’t doubt myself, wouldn’t think I really had a hysteria, that I’d woken up from a nightmare. You wouldn’t understand, I want to believe all of this more than you do. Last night I stood outside my parents’ door for a long time, wanting to push it open and tell them how much I love them and how much I miss them.” He finally turned around, looking at those familiar yet grown-up faces, “And you, no matter how much you look down on me, how much you think I’m unworthy to be your classmate, I’m grateful to you. At least in your script, you didn’t want to kill me, and I didn’t want to kill you either.”

Everyone instinctively stepped back. When the word “kill” was uttered, it was as if a chilling current truly swept through the restaurant. The thin, frail boy looked like a demon returning from a battlefield of carnage.

“Don’t be afraid,” Lu Mingfei realized he had misspoke and smiled apologetically. “I really didn’t mean you any harm… well, I can’t say I wasn’t up to any mischief. I thought about causing some trouble in this script, like chasing after you. Don’t believe me? I’m pretty good at chasing girls now.” He pointed at Chen Wenwen. “Like stealing your job. I know all your fancy tricks, and I’m even better at them than you.” He then pointed at Zhao Menghua. “But I was really happy when I met you guys. I just wanted to play along and be a coward in this world. That was already a happy thing.”

“Don’t believe him! He’s just having a mental breakdown! Someone call the hospital! Waiter! Waiter! Security! Security!” After a few seconds of silence, Zhao Menghua shouted angrily.

Just then, Nuonuo came running in, panting, without carrying anything in her hands. Either she had discovered her phone was missing on the way, or someone had told her through other means that something terrible had happened here.

“The female lead has arrived at just the right time.” Lu Mingfei stood up, and everyone naturally made way for him, because no one wanted to get close to him.

He strode towards Nuonuo, a smile on his face, and took her hands in his, gazing into her eyes. He could almost feel the angry and uneasy gazes behind him, like a swarm of sharp arrows, but he didn’t care. His eyes were only on this anxious girl. She had been bare-faced before, but now she wore light eyeshadow, with shimmering, colorful specks. Perhaps it was to prepare for the upcoming consulate interview, or perhaps it was a decision to stay a little longer in Aspasia. Lu Mingfei had become someone worth her staying longer, someone worth putting on light makeup for.

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