Dragon Clan: Lu Mingfei Returns from Japan

Chapter 726 Family Gathering
About half an hour later, Lu Mingfei and Charlotte, who had gone out to buy hot pot base and beef rolls, also returned home.

To be honest, having ten people crammed into a house to eat hot pot in the middle of summer sounds a bit inappropriate. This should be a standard activity for friends gathering in winter.

However, Liu Miaomiao and Su Xiaoqiang were already behaving like typical housewives, having already set up the hot pot. Plastic stools, costing ten yuan each, were placed around the round table from the downstairs convenience store.

Seeing that Lu Mingfei and the others had finally returned, she hurriedly called out to Lu Mingfei to give her the hot pot base, and went to the kitchen to help Chen Wenwen and Xia Mi prepare the dishes.

The cold air from the standing air conditioner blew loudly, the girls' cheeks flushed slightly, they loosened their clothes, and their beautiful red lips opened and closed, occasionally letting out subtle humming sounds.

The only boy, Lu Mingfei, sat among the girls, listening to the soft humming around him, and a thought unconsciously stirred within him... He realized that the hot pot base he bought was still too spicy.

In the middle of the induction cooker hot pot, brownish-red butter was bubbling away.

Sitting next to Lu Mingfei, Xia Mi gasped for breath from the spiciness: "Senior brother, why did you buy such a spicy hot pot base? Are you trying to kill me with the spiciness?"

Lu Mingfei watched Xia Mi complain while stuffing a piece of fatty beef into her small, red mouth, thinking to himself, "It's so spicy, why didn't you eat less, Junior Sister? There's still half clear broth left, isn't there?"

It's amazing that the mighty Earth and the King of Mountains are afraid of spicy food.

He looked at Erii beside him and said, "Erii, what do you think? Isn't it a bit too spicy? How about we have the clear broth hot pot instead?"

Erii quickly put down her chopsticks and shook her head. She then typed out a message to Lu Mingfei on her phone, word by word: "It's not too spicy. I think it's delicious."

That's what she said, but Erii's pretty little face was already flushed, and she was breathing heavily just like Natsumi, even her almond-shaped eyes were misty with tears. She had already drunk three cans of Meiji strawberry milk beside her.

Lu Mingfei could only manage a helpless smile at Erii, who was both a glutton and a foodie. It's known that Erii, who grew up in Japan, was even less able to handle spicy food than her junior sister, but the underworld princess seemed to be addicted to this kind of flavor.

He had specially fished out the brisket for her from the clear broth pot, but Erii wanted to have it reheated in the spicy broth pot before eating it.

In contrast, Aki was more conservative. Knowing she couldn't handle spicy food, she only ate the vegetables from the clear broth hot pot. When the food in the hot pot was almost finished, she would be the first to notice and proactively add a new plate.

It seems that you can tell the different personalities of each girl just by looking at them at the dinner table.

However, Lu Mingfei made a mistake in his judgment. He thought that Miss Sakura might be more like Aki, a conservative, and would not eat spicy hot pot if she knew she couldn't handle spicy food.

Unexpectedly, she was the kind of person who was quiet and stubborn, even though she was already suffering from the spiciness and her eyes were almost watering, she kept eating the spicy hot pot. She tried hard to suppress the sound of her breathing, as if that would make others not notice her.

Lu Mingfei simply couldn't figure it out...

Charlotte, who keeps eating hot pot while staring intently at me—what kind of personality does she have...?

His little eyes were still full of resentment, as if he had done something wrong.

"Was it because the hot pot broth I bought was too spicy?" Lu Mingfei thought to himself. He remembered that Austria borders Germany, and their cuisine is quite similar; they both love sausages and roasted pork knuckles and can't handle spicy food very well.

……

After dinner, the group played some group games on the Nintendo Wii for a while, and then it was time to go home.

Although Su Xiaoqiang jokingly suggested that Lu Mingfei could stay at Zero's house downstairs for the night, so that Erii and Yabuki Sakura could stay over, she couldn't actually let Lu Mingfei stay at Zero's house.

I'm familiar with Zero, but she's just so incredibly beautiful...

If Lu Mingfei were to move into Ling's house, who knows, one day Ling's house might actually become Lu Mingfei's house. That guy is the type who can't look away from pretty girls.

Liu Miaomiao and Su Xiaoqiang, who had not previously participated in preparing the food, volunteered to wash the dishes.

Lu Mingfei escorted Erii and Aki downstairs.

Sakura Yabuki got into the driver's seat of the Toyota Hiace and started the car. Seeing that Charlotte and Lu Mingfei still had things to talk about, Aki sensibly stepped back a few paces to give them space. Erii got into the car and looked out the window at Lu Mingfei and Charlotte talking.

“I will be staying in the capital for a while longer and will not be returning to Austria for the time being. So I cannot give you the Book of Ragnarok immediately, but I can promise you as soon as possible,” Charlotte said.

"It's alright," Lu Mingfei said. "You just go about your own business. I'm not in a hurry."

He wasn't in a hurry. After all, as Charlotte said, there might not be any connection between the Holy Palace Medical Society and the Holy Maiden Medical Society; and with his current knowledge of alchemy, the Book of Ragnar was probably like a foreign language to him, and he might not understand much of it.

If all else fails, it's not too late to borrow books from the library after officially enrolling in Kassel College. His rank is S-level, which gives him extremely high authority within Kassel College, probably only slightly lower than that of board members like Angers, the vice-principal, and Charlotte.

"The matter of borrowing Samson's dragon bone from the Zhou family will probably not be too late, and it is estimated that it will be put on the agenda within the next two or three months."

Charlotte said, "The Double Ninth Festival is just a few months away. It's a festival for worshipping gods and ancestors in Chinese mythology. The Zhou family won't be receiving guests during this time. I estimate that Angers will arrange a meeting between you and the Zhou family before the Double Ninth Festival."

Lu Mingfei asked, "Does the Zhou family still have the custom of offering sacrifices on the Double Ninth Festival?"

During the Double Ninth Festival, the Zhou family does not receive outside guests. Lu Mingfei could only imagine that the Zhou family, like many clans in China today, still retains many ancient sacrificial customs.

Charlotte said:

"Alchemy and astrology are both forms of mysticism and are closely related to each other. Alchemy is actually quite metaphysical. The star Alpha Leonis is called Regulus in Chinese culture."

"It is said that when Hermes first forged the Philosopher's Stone, the planet Regulus was passing through Earth's zenith. Therefore, the unrefined Philosopher's Stone is also known as 'Regulus,' which is star antimony. Many alchemists choose to attempt to forge star antimony on the day Regulus passes through Earth's zenith, as it is said that the success rate of forging star antimony on this day is the highest."

“If you understand Greek, you’ll know that Regulus is called ‘alb Al Asad’ in Greek, which means ‘the heart of a lion.’ It’s the same name as the Lionheart Society founded by Menek Kassel and his group. This is no coincidence. Whether in China or Europe, Regulus is regarded as the ‘heart of a king,’ which is why Menek Kassel named his organization the Lionheart Society.”

"Your Chinese lunar calendar is actually your own form of astrology. The dating system used by various dynasties in ancient China was deduced by the great alchemist. Although I am not very familiar with your Chinese festivals, the Double Ninth Festival has been regarded as a major day for sacrifice throughout history, and there must be a reason for that."

Although Lu Mingfei didn't quite understand what Charlotte was saying, he was still deeply shocked.

At this moment, Charlotte suddenly said, "Did you see Lisa today?"

Lisa is, of course, Elizabeth Laurent. Lu Mingfei didn't hide it: "Yes."

Charlotte nodded: "...She's very pretty?"

If his junior sister or the little fairies Miaomiao and Wenwen had asked him this question, Lu Mingfei probably wouldn't have dared to answer directly. But facing Charlotte, Lu Mingfei answered frankly, "To be honest, she's quite beautiful. She could even be considered one of the top three girls I've ever seen in my life."

The top three is actually a conservative estimate. Putting aside emotional factors, in his mind, the school board member and Mai Shude are the two who are aiming for second place and competing for first.

Besides their unparalleled figures and faces, both of them possess a unique charm, which, to put it bluntly, is a "maturity" that only those who have experienced many stories can possess.

The little fairy's face and figure are certainly stunning, but she lacks the sense of story that these two have.

In the timeline before Lu Mingfei's rebirth, the young CEO Su, who had taken over the company after her father's serious illness, might have possessed the unique and noble temperament of a school board chairwoman. However, the young woman now, nourished by love, exudes a stronger girlish charm.

The reason Lu Mingfei only mentioned the top three is because, in his eyes, Su Xiaoqiang still has a lot of room for growth. A few years older, this little darling might not be inferior to the school board members... and of course, her figure also has great potential!

Hmm... maybe Nono could compete for this ranking?
However, for some reason, Charlotte suddenly became somewhat unhappy after hearing Lu Mingfei's blunt truth.

"You're a married man, so you need to be careful about your distance from Lisa. Although she's very beautiful, she's not as easy to bully as she looks, and she's quite a difficult person to deal with. Especially when you're 'doing business' with her. She's very good at setting traps for people. If she offers to cooperate with you, you must be careful not to fall into her trap."

Are you good at setting traps for others?
As Lu Mingfei listened to Charlotte's description of Elizabeth Laurent, he thought about the school board member he had teased until she blushed earlier that day, and wondered if the "Lisa" he had met was really the same person as the "Lisa" Charlotte was talking about.
However, Lu Mingfei naturally wouldn't tell Charlotte the details of what happened during his negotiations with Elizabeth.

Of course, it wasn't because of Charlotte's relationship with the Little Fairy that Lu Mingfei was worried that the matter would eventually reach the Little Fairy's ears... Well, that was actually one of the reasons.

But the more important reason is that the most important thing in cooperation is integrity. Elizabeth deliberately sent the servants away and chose a soundproof room to discuss the cooperation with him, presumably because she didn't want the matter to get out.

"There's nothing else, so Erii and I will head back now."

Charlotte got into the car as she spoke.

As Lu Mingfei rolled up the car window, he vaguely heard Charlotte muttering softly, "...And it's just that she's a little prettier, in a few years I'll be too..."

The engine started, drowning out the sounds coming from behind Charlotte.

It wasn't until the Toyota Hiace drove into the neon-lit night of the capital and disappeared into the traffic that Aki, who had been standing to the side, approached.

"What did you and Charlotte talk about just now?" Aki asked, her hands behind her back, turning her head to look at the boy beside her. Her eyes sparkled under the streetlight.

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, and since falling in love, Aki's captivating eyes have become increasingly charming, making Lu Mingfei's heart flutter. His hand instinctively wrapped around the waist of the girl beside him, pulling Aki into his arms: "Want to know?"

"I don't want to," Aki pouted, but her soft voice lacked persuasiveness. Lu Mingfei's hands, which were wrapped around her slender waist, were not very well-behaved, touching the ticklish spots on her waist in a strange way. Although she was trying to resist, her body had already obediently pressed against the boy's embrace.

"Where do you live?" Lu Mingfei asked. "You've been in the capital for so long, and I still don't know where you live?"

"The school has provided us with single apartments."

"Is it far?"

"Not far, it's in the vicinity."

"Shall I take you home?"

Aki blinked, then suddenly said seriously, "Lu-kun, do you know that it's very impolite to ask to enter a girl's room before she invites you? Even if I'm your teacher."

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"Aki, could you invite me?"

"No way~ You're obviously up to no good... Oh! Hahaha... No way... Hehe..."

Aki had just given a haughty refusal when she suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter. It turned out that Lu Mingfei's large hands were on her slender waist and suddenly began to tickle her. The sensitive Aki couldn't resist this; she felt waves of electric shocks surging from her waist, tingling and numb. After only a few tickles, she went limp in Lu Mingfei's arms and couldn't help but beg for mercy.

Taking the opportunity, Lu Mingfei asked, "Are we still going to invite them now?"

Aki had no choice but to give in: "Invite... Hahaha... As long as you let me go... Hehehe... Please... Hehe..."

Feeling Lu Mingfei's devilish hands finally stop, Aki breathed softly in his arms, biting her lip and giving him a slightly resentful look, her pretty face flushed: "Mingfei, you're so bad..."

"Really?" Lu Mingfei blinked. "Aki, you have no idea there are even worse ones."

Before Aki could react, Lu Mingfei had already lowered his head and captured his girlfriend's soft, fragrant lips. The wet, moist sounds were the sounds of lovers exchanging their feelings.

Inside the room, Su Enxi looked at the figures embracing under the streetlights outside the residential complex and pouted.

The sound of the door opening and closing came from the living room. Su Enxi immediately and silently drew the curtains, walked to her bedroom door, leaned against the door frame, and looked at Ling, who was squatting down at the door to change her shoes, holding half a bag of potato chips.

"How's it going this week?" Su Enxi asked, munching on potato chips.

"What's the progress?" Ling picked up the little leather shoes and neatly placed them under the shoe cabinet without turning her head.

"As for the progress of your relationship with Lu Mingfei, I specially arranged for you to sit next to Lu Mingfei."

Ling stood up and thought about it seriously: "This Wednesday, Lu Mingfei borrowed my 'Magic Mechanics' class notes, thanked me, and even treated me to cake."

"..."

Su Enxi suddenly choked. What kind of progress was this? Ling, are you still some high school girl? You'd be happy for a whole month just because you lent your favorite boy his notebook to copy…

"Never mind, it's only been half a month since school started, so it's normal that there hasn't been much progress yet."

Su Enxi waved her hand in front of her: "The meeting between Lu Mingfei and the Zhou family is probably within the next two months. Are you going with Lu Mingfei, or should I go with him? Have you decided?"

……

(End of this chapter)