Dragon Clan: Lu Mingfei Returns from Japan

Chapter 738 A Restless Night
As the sun sets, the melodious chirping of insects in the deep summer air fills the garden, and from this moment on, Zhou Garden officially enters night.

However, for some people, nighttime does not necessarily mean tranquility.

Su Enxi soaked in the square bathtub. Under the light, the hot spring water in the bathtub reflected the hazy light red of the cedar wood. Rose petals floated on the surface of the water, and wisps of white mist rose from the water. The faint scent of wood and roses mixed together.

White mist drifted out from the small bathroom window. Su Enxi tilted her head back, resting it on the edge of the bathtub. Perhaps because she had been soaking in the hot spring for too long, her beautiful face was faintly flushed, just like the water's surface. Her slightly hazy eyes gazed at the night sky outside the window through the mist.

The moon is usually full on the 15th or 16th of the lunar month. It's only early July now, so there shouldn't be much to see tonight. But Su Enxi actually saw a starry sky that she rarely sees.

Life in the mountains isn't as convenient as in the city, but it has its own charm. Su Enxi couldn't remember the last time she'd seen stars in the night sky, and she realized that even without the moon, a night with stars wasn't so dark.

She stretched comfortably in the hot spring water, and as if possessed, stretched her head and looked out the window again.

After confirming that Ling and Lu Mingfei's room door was still closed, and that Lu Mingfei had indeed obediently not left the room, Ling submerged half of his head below the surface of the water again, leaving only his beautiful and cunning eyes showing.

Immediately, the hot spring water gushed out from the edge of the cedar wood bath with a "whoosh".

After taking a bath, my thoughts did cool down a bit, and when I thought about my conversation with the clueless girl in the room that afternoon, I no longer felt so embarrassed that I wanted to dig my toes into the ground.

She didn't know why she suddenly had that strange thought. Su Enxi felt it must be because she had interfered too much in Sanwuniu's affairs, and recently, living downstairs from Lu Mingfei's room and hearing those strange noises every day, she herself had become a bit strange.

Looking back now, it's hard to say whether her joining this mission was a mistake. Perhaps this mission should have been handled by Sanwu and Lu Mingfei themselves? Actually, Mai could have been a negotiator, right? Although she's not as professional as me, Mai is still quite eloquent and persuasive.

But while Mai could handle her job, she couldn't. She was an office worker, a pampered young lady with a servant's fate. Without weapons, she might not be able to defeat the wolves of the Siberian plains; sending her to Siberia to brave the cold winds like Mai would truly be fatal!
Bubbles rose and gurgled on the water's surface. Su Enxi blew air outwards, hoping in her heart that this mission would be completed quickly and smoothly. She hoped it wouldn't drag on any longer.

After showering, Su Enxi came out of the bathroom and returned to her room, snuggling into the soft blankets and turning off the bedside lamp. All she wanted now was a good night's sleep. She had always been a carefree girl; when faced with such upsetting things, a good night's sleep was usually all she needed to forget.

I just don't know why, even though tonight's night isn't as lively and festive as usual.

But she couldn't help but recall the melodious voices that used to linger in her ears.

"..."

sleep!

Su Enxi rolled over in bed and pulled the blanket over her head.

After a period of quiet, she couldn't help but peek out from under the covers, biting her lip in a huff. A not-so-bright crescent moon hung outside the window, its light falling on her slightly flushed face.

Tonight is really the last time, never again...!
As she thought this, she reached into her bag by the bedside and took out a pack of sanitary wipes that she had prepared in advance.

……

"I just went to check, Enxi has already finished showering. Do you want to shower first?" Ling pushed open the door from outside and entered, looking at Lu Mingfei in the room.

"I'll go wash up first," Lu Mingfei replied.

Logically speaking, if Lu Mingfei were to act like a gentleman, he should have let Zero go wash first.

But how to put it... the thought of sitting on the bed, waiting for Zero to finish her shower and return to the room made Lu Mingfei feel that the atmosphere was a bit strange. Plus, the form-fitting slip dress Zero was about to change into made it hard for him to find a place to look.

That's why Lu Mingfei thought he should take a shower first. Girls usually take a long time to shower, so after he finished, he would quickly fall asleep while Ling took hers. That way, he wouldn't have to face such an awkward atmosphere.

Ling, of course, had no idea what Lu Mingfei was thinking. She had never really cared who washed first or last.

Summer nights deep in the mountains don't feel particularly stuffy; in fact, a gentle breeze brings a touch of coolness. The bathroom and toilet are separate and located in the courtyard.

Lu Mingfei carried a change of clothes into the bathroom. The spacious bathroom not only had separate dry and wet areas, but also a separate sauna. It was said that the Zhou family's bathwater was drawn from hot springs in the nearby mountains, and the bathroom floor and bathtub were all made of cedar wood, the kind only found in star-rated hot spring hotels.

Stripped naked, Lu Mingfei walked to the edge of the bath. With a "whoosh," the hot spring water overflowed from the edge of the bath. Lu Mingfei lay back on the edge of the bath, closed his eyes, and felt his tired cells being replenished with energy at this moment.

Wisps of mist rose from the water's surface, faintly releasing a delicate fragrance. Perhaps it was the scent of cedarwood that had been soaked in warm water?
Lu Mingfei peeked through a crack in his eye, watching the petals floating on the water's surface, and reached out to touch them.

"..."

Lu Mingfei suddenly opened his eyes and realized something.

Why are there rose petals in the bathtub?
When he usually takes a bath at home, Miaomiao and Wenwen would fill the bathtub with warm water beforehand, so when he saw the hot spring water in the tub, he naturally lay down in it as usual.

But right now he's at the Zhou family home, and none of his girlfriends are around...

In other words, the water he is currently soaking in is the same water that Su Enxi just soaked in.

Lu Mingfei remembered that before taking a shower, Su Enxi had knocked on his door and told him that she was going to take a shower and that he was not allowed to leave the room or peek at her. At the time, the strange bath products she was carrying did indeed include rose petals and things like Himalayan bath salts.

It was obvious that she forgot to drain the water after taking a shower, and when Lu Mingfei entered the bathroom, he saw that the bathtub was full of hot spring water and subconsciously soaked in it.

"..."

Thinking of this, Lu Mingfei quickly stood up from the bath. If the girls at home found out that he had shared a hot spring with another girl on his first day away from home, who knows what kind of big trouble would happen... even if he and Su Enxi bathed separately.

Lu Mingfei stood by the bathtub, waiting for the water to drain. Perhaps because of the rose petals from earlier, he carried a faint, unfamiliar fragrance.

……

Twenty minutes later, Lu Mingfei returned to the room with a towel wrapped around his head.

Zero, sitting on the sofa, looked up at the door and asked, "Have you finished showering?"

"Ah."

Lu Mingfei answered, sat down on the edge of the bed, and looked at Ling, asking, "By the way, Ling, do you know where the hair dryer is?"

Zero replied: "It's in the first drawer of the TV cabinet on the right. Let me get it for you."

As Ling spoke, she stood up from the sofa, squatted down in front of the TV cabinet, took out a hair dryer, walked to the bedside, and handed the hair dryer to Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei took it: "Oh, thank you so much, Zero."

"It's ok."

Ling gave a curt reply. Lu Mingfei plugged the hairdryer into the socket next to the bed. The moment the hot air blew out of the hairdryer, Ling's delicate eyebrows suddenly furrowed.

Immediately afterward, her delicate little nose twitched slightly. "What's wrong?" Lu Mingfei looked at Ling standing in front of him, her icy blue eyes staring at him intently. He paused for a moment, wondering if there was something on his face that he hadn't washed properly.

After a slight pause, she simply shook her head and turned to get a change of clothes from the sofa: "...It's nothing, I'm going to take a shower."

Lu Mingfei watched Ling walk towards the door, and just as he answered "Okay", he seemed to remember something and immediately said, "Wait a minute, Ling... I think I forgot to fill the bathwater. I'll go fill the water first."

“…It’s okay, I’ll put it in.” Zero replied.

The door slammed shut behind me.

Ling, carrying her clothes, walked towards the bathroom in the radiant moonlight, still thinking:

"...Why does he smell like potato chips?"

During her preparatory year, she often smelled the scents of Liu Miaomiao and Su Xiaoqiang on Lu Mingfei. However, this wasn't surprising, as Lu Mingfei and they were already in close romantic relationships.

Sometimes, for example, when they were in Japan, Lu Mingfei would occasionally smell of Mai. This was normal, because she knew that Lu Mingfei and Mai were "kissing buddies" who could kiss each other—a term she made up herself.

But when she handed the hair dryer to Lu Mingfei just now, she smelled a scent that only Su Enxi had... Why is that?

A small seed was planted in Zero's heart.

Thinking about these things, Zero went into the bathroom. Sure enough, Lu Mingfei had forgotten to fill the bathtub with water.

Zero took off her clothes and walked to the edge of the bath. Her jade-like toes gently skimmed the surface of the water, but instead of turning the water down, her entire body was submerged.

A comforting, familiar scent enveloped her in the hot spring water. Rei lay in the pool, deciding to temporarily put aside these complicated and unsettling thoughts.

When Zero finished showering and returned to the room, the lights were already off. However, Lu Mingfei had thoughtfully left a hallway light on for Zero.

Lu Mingfei was already in bed, seemingly asleep. Ling took off her slippers at the door, picked them up, and tiptoed back to the sofa.

Looking at the boy's profile, Ling had a fleeting thought, but ultimately she suppressed the urge to go over and do something "bad".

She sat down on the sofa, looked at the boy on the bed, her lips moved slightly, and silently said "Goodnight" before pulling the blanket over her head, turning off the hallway light, and lying down on the sofa.

After sensing that the hallway light had gone out and the noise on the sofa not far away had gradually quieted down, Lu Mingfei opened his eyes slightly and looked at the petite figure on the sofa. He murmured and silently said, "Sweet dreams."

……

I can't even have a sweet dream...!
Lu Mingfei, who didn't know how many times he had been startled awake from his dream, stared at the dark ceiling, half-asleep and half-awake.

"Confused" refers to his current mental state. After a long day of travel, even though he is an S-level hybrid, he is still tired and desperately needs to sleep to recharge.

"Spirit and energy" refers to his current mental state. The crescent moon was still hanging halfway in the sky outside the window; it was still midnight, but this was the nth time Lu Mingfei had woken up from his dream, his tense mind daring not to calm down even a little.

After taking a shower and returning to his room, Ling fell asleep and has had several dreams since then... They weren't nightmares; if you had to describe them, they were all pretty good dreams, the kind of dreams that a hot-blooded young man likes to have.

What really cheered him up was... all the female protagonists in his dreams were zeros!

By now, Lu Mingfei was no longer the young Chu Nan he once was, and he had already slept in the same room with many girls. Logically speaking, simply sharing a room with Ling shouldn't have caused him such an excited stress response.

However, before the night was even halfway over, he had already had several dreams about Zero... Each time, at the most crucial moment, Lu Mingfei stopped in time and suddenly woke up.

That's really weird. He's no longer the Chu Nan who could be happy all night just by touching a girl's finger with someone he likes.

Why does he keep having dreams about Zero even though he sleeps in the same room as Zero?
Could it be that, deep down, he's always harbored feelings for Zero...?

Lu Mingfei shook his head violently a few times, trying to shake off the thoughts that were beginning to distort his friendship with Ling.

Lu Mingfei thought this must be because it was the first day away from his girlfriends, and he was experiencing some withdrawal symptoms. He would get used to it after a few days.

Wash your face, wash your face...

Lu Mingfei tiptoed out of bed. As he passed the sofa, he glanced at the petite figure on it before quickly looking away and leaving the room as quietly as possible.

The cool breeze of the summer night cooled his head down a bit.

The night was beautiful, but Lu Mingfei had no interest in appreciating it; he just rubbed his eyes listlessly. Feeling his thoughts had calmed down considerably, he yawned and turned to walk back to his room.

I pushed open the door and quietly climbed into bed, trying not to disturb Zero.

It seemed he hadn't been out of the room long, because the bed was still warm, and there was that same rose petal scent he'd smelled while showering that night.

Lu Mingfei lay on his back with his eyes closed, trying his best not to look in the direction of Zero, to avoid letting his mind wander.

The cool breeze seemed to work well; before long, Lu Mingfei's breathing became steady, and he drifted off to sleep.

Just a moment later, a groggy mumble came from the other side of the bed:

"...Who pulled my blanket away?"

Feeling the air conditioning blowing a bit cold, Su Enxi, half asleep and half awake, shivered and instinctively reached for the blanket.

He reached out, but instead of touching the blanket, he touched something else.

"This is……"

After feeling the shape for a while, Su Enxi found it increasingly strange.

I simply turned around and groggily opened my eyes.

"...?...!!!"

Then, right next to her pillow, she saw the profile of the boy she knew all too well, the one who had accompanied her to sleep in her imagination every night.

……

(End of this chapter)