Dragon Clan: Force me to be reborn and slay dragons

Chapter 327 The Dilemma of Lugu City, the Helplessness of a Middle-Aged Man

Lu Mingze's bedroom curtains were tightly closed, shutting out the neon lights of the night, leaving only a dim yellow desk lamp casting a faint halo on the desk.

The room was filled with a murky, mixed smell of sweat, snacks, and unwashed socks. The lower bunk of the bunk bed was piled with clutter, while the upper bunk was covered by a blanket that had bulged out in the shape of a person, and the person remained motionless.

"Mingze, Mom made you some white fungus and lotus seed soup, your favorite." The middle-aged woman carefully pushed open the door, holding a bowl of steaming dessert in her hands, her face full of a flattering smile.

The figure inside the blanket stirred slightly, but did not respond.

This was already the second day of Lu Mingze's "seclusion and recuperation".

Ever since that epic social disaster at school yesterday, he felt like his soul had been ripped out, and he completely collapsed.

The middle-aged woman placed the bowl on the bedside table, looking with heartache at the greasy tuft of her son's hair sticking out from under the covers. His hairstyle, which he used to meticulously style with hairspray every day, hadn't been washed for two days.

"Mom..." a muffled voice finally came from under the covers, "Where's my phone?"

The middle-aged woman's eyes lit up, and she quickly picked up her son's phone from the table and handed it to him: "Here it is, Mom has charged it for you."

She hesitated for a moment: "But... there are a lot of messages in the class group, why don't you stop looking at them for now?"

Lu Mingze abruptly threw off the covers and grabbed his phone. His eyes were bloodshot, his face was frighteningly pale, and the stubble around his mouth resembled the stubble of a middle-aged man after staying up all night and drinking heavily.

His fingers were visibly trembling the moment he unlocked the screen.

The class group chat has over 99 messages. At the top is a notification @all members: "This Friday is the mock exam for the basic academic knowledge test. Please be prepared!"

But Lu Mingze's gaze immediately jumped to the chat history below—

"How long is Lu Mingze planning to take leave?"

"Hahaha, he always brags about how great he is, saying he taught his awesome cousin, but one look from the real guy and he peed his pants!"

Does anyone else have the video? Please send it again!

"The teaching affairs office told me to delete it, but I made a backup, hehe..."

"Holy crap, you're going against the grain, aren't you?"

Lu Mingze's fingers froze on the screen, and he let out a whimper that sounded inhuman.

The nightmarish scene resurfaced before his eyes: his suddenly powerful, good-for-nothing cousin appeared while he was showing off and bragging, merely glancing at him with a sharp look that instantly pierced through all his pretense and severed his control over his bladder. A surge of heat flowed uncontrollably down his thigh, and the laughter that erupted around him still echoed in his ears.

"Smash!" The phone was slammed against the wall, and the screen shattered.

Lu Mingze curled up like a wounded beast, burying his face in his knees, his shoulders shaking violently with a sharp crack.

"Mingze! Mingze, don't do this!" The middle-aged woman frantically grabbed her son's large body, gently comforting him, "It was just an accident. I'll go to the school and settle accounts with those ill-mannered kids tomorrow!"

“It’s no use…” Lu Mingze’s voice was hoarse, “They all saw it…everyone saw it…”

He looked up, his eyes gleaming with a sickly light: "Mom, I want to transfer schools. I can't go back to Shilan Middle School!"

The middle-aged woman was so distressed that she almost burst into tears: "Silly child, what nonsense are you talking about? Shilan Middle School is the best school in our area, and the tuition is tens of thousands a year."

It's just a small setback; we can grit our teeth and get through it.

There's a saying that goes something like this: "What's a little pain in the face of wind and rain? Wipe away your tears and don't be afraid, at least we still have dreams."

Lu Mingze's torrent of sobs stopped abruptly. He looked up, revealing a face streaked with pimples from a torrent of tears: "Mom, that's a song."

"It's all the same." The middle-aged woman stroked her son's greasy hair and brought over the boiled white fungus and lotus seed soup: "How about you drink the white fungus soup first? You haven't eaten properly for two days."

"No, I want to transfer schools!" Lu Mingze rarely felt such strong maternal love and wanted to stand up for himself.

He didn't want to go back to Shilan Middle School, afraid of seeing the sarcasm and ridicule in his classmates' eyes and faces.

Prince Ze had no other desires in his life except for his pride. Yesterday's shocking kneeling incident almost crushed all his pride, causing him to fall from the clouds to the dust.

But how could the middle-aged woman agree? She was holding back her anger and wanted Lu Mingze to get into a good university, preferably a prestigious foreign university, so that she could leave that ungrateful Lu Mingfei far behind.

"That Han Han, who endured humiliation and eventually became a top figure, isn't he? If you can get through this, you can also rise from the ashes like a phoenix." The middle-aged woman racked her brains for words to comfort her eldest son. "You don't want to be seen by your classmates as someone who can't accept defeat and chooses to run away from difficulties, do you?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Mingze hesitated, wanting to say something, but seeing his mother's large hand, which was so strong that it deformed the railing, he didn't say anything more.

He nodded mechanically, took the bowl, but didn't drink it. He just stirred the white fungus inside with a spoon, his eyes still empty, as if his heart had been stolen by that pee, and he might never experience joy or sorrow again in this life.

Seeing her son like this, the middle-aged woman's anger burned even brighter.

It's all that ungrateful bastard Lu Mingfei's fault!

They're family, yet they made their cousin look so bad in front of everyone!

After coaxing Lu Mingze to finish the white fungus and lotus seed soup, the middle-aged woman turned and left with the empty bowl. The moment she closed the bedroom door, her face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. She gritted her teeth and plotted to force her husband to go and demand an explanation from Lu Mingfei tonight.

Her son is about to take his academic foundation exam, and if this affects his performance, she'll never forgive Lu Mingfei!

……

As night deepened, the atmosphere in a private room of a high-end hotel was lively with the clinking of glasses.

Lu Gucheng, his face flushed, held up his wine glass, and several leaders who usually ignored him were now showing him goodwill.

"Old Lu, I never expected your nephew to be so successful!" Director Wang of the branch office patted Lu Gucheng on the shoulder. "He's on the news in Japan and here too!"

Lu Gucheng smiled modestly: "It's just a kid messing around, I'm sorry to have made you leaders laugh."

"Hey, what are you saying!" Director Chen from the personnel department joked. "My daughter has been singing your nephew's song every day at home these past few days. Lao Lu, when do you think you should arrange for my daughter to meet her idol? Haha."

"I have to say, that song was actually pretty good. I didn't know your family had such a musical talent, Lao Lu."

"I heard that Lao Lu's son is a little pianist. I wonder when he will make a name for himself. Maybe our TV station will even invite the two brothers to perform together."

"Haha, not at all, it's just a kid practicing for fun. I don't know how he suddenly got it." Lu Gucheng waved his hand, his face still bearing his usual humble smile, but his eyes couldn't hide his pride and joy.

only……

After a few rounds of drinks, Lu Gucheng's phone vibrated again.

He glanced at the screen; it was his wife calling again.

Lu Gucheng felt like he was about to see the death star shining brightly tonight if he didn't answer the phone, which already had five missed calls.

He sighed quietly and left the private room, making an excuse to go to the restroom.

"Hey, wife, I'm at a social event..." He tried to explain, but the other end didn't give him a chance. "Lu Gucheng! Do you even care about this family anymore?" A piercing scream came from the other end of the phone. "Your son is depressed like this, and you can still drink?"
"I'm telling you, if you don't bring that little bastard Lu Mingfei back tonight to apologize to Mingze, don't even think about coming back!"

Lu Gucheng rubbed his temples: "Wife, what does this have to do with Mingfei? It's Mingze who insisted on acting like a big shot at school..."

"Bullshit!" The middle-aged woman's voice rose eight octaves. "What did Mingze say wrong? Isn't Lu Mingfei his cousin? What's wrong with brothers borrowing each other's names? But he went and embarrassed Mingze in front of the whole school!"
"Let me tell you, Lu Gucheng, if you're still a man and a father, go find your good nephew and settle the score!"

Lu Gucheng opened his mouth, but in the end he just said in a low voice, "I'll talk about it when I get back later."

He hung up the phone before the other end could erupt in further shouting.

A tired middle-aged face was reflected in the bathroom mirror. Lu Gucheng turned on the tap and splashed cold water on his face.

He knew how shameful his son's behavior at school was, and he also knew that his wife's consistent pampering and his own indulgence were the root causes of his son's behavior.

But in this family, reason was never important, and his opinions were always insignificant.

Back in the private room, everyone was already quite drunk and it was almost time to leave. Some went home, others washed their feet. Director Wang put his arm around Lu Gucheng's shoulder and pointed upwards with one finger:
"Old Lu, there's an inspection team going to Beijing in the second half of the month, and I specially applied for a spot for you! You can bring your nephew along to broaden his horizons. I heard that some leaders there are interested in him."

Lu Gucheng nodded respectfully with a smile, his face showing joy, but his heart was filled with bitterness.

The contrast between his temporary success at work and the chaos at home made him feel as if he had been torn in two.

……

At 11 p.m., Lu Gucheng finally dragged his tired body home.

As soon as he inserted the key into the lock, he heard the sound of the television coming from inside. It was so late; his wife was probably waiting for him to settle accounts again.

"Lugu City!" Sure enough, as soon as the gate opened, a furious roar came from the front.

Although he had expected it, Lu Gucheng was still startled, and the effects of the alcohol almost woke him up.

Looking up, I saw a middle-aged woman, whose out-of-shape figure couldn't be hidden even by her loose pajamas, standing with her hands on her hips, staring at me with visible anger and dissatisfaction on her face.

"Keep your voice down, the neighbors are all asleep..."

Seeing his wife's fierce expression, Lu Gucheng quickly closed the door to prevent her from venting her anger and becoming the main topic of gossip for the neighbors the next day.

"Sleep? My son is almost driven to the brink of suicide, and you're concerned about the neighbors?"

Although the middle-aged woman lowered her voice, her anger was not diminished at all: "Look at Mingze now? He hasn't eaten or drunk anything for two days. The academic foundation exam is just around the corner. If he fails the exam, can you take responsibility for that?"

She couldn't guarantee that Lu Mingze would have the same luck as Lu Mingfei and be accepted by a prestigious foreign university, so she still had to secure a place in a domestic university. Therefore, this weekend's exam was especially important.

Lu Gucheng put down his briefcase, stood there spreading his hands, trying to reason with them: "I asked their homeroom teacher today about Mingze's recent performance at school..."

"I don't care what he does at school!" the middle-aged woman interrupted rudely. "I know he's like this because of Lu Mingfei!"
Go find him tomorrow and make him apologize to Mingze in person!

Gu Cheng took a deep breath: "Wife, this really isn't Mingfei's fault. It's Mingze's fault..."

"Smack!" A pillow slammed into his face.

"Lu Gucheng! Which side are you on?" The middle-aged woman's eyes flashed with a dangerous light, like a roaring tigress in the mountains:

"What kind of bewitching potion did that ungrateful little brat give you?"

Don't think I don't know that you're socializing more these days, and your boss is being more polite to you because of him!

What, now you're trying to curry favor with your nephew for your own future, neglecting even your own son?

Upon hearing this, Lu Gucheng felt utterly powerless.

Although his wife's words were harsh, they weren't entirely without reason. Recently, people at work had indeed started to look at Lu Mingfei differently because of him.

However, this special treatment wasn't entirely based on optimism. After all, after Lu Mingfei became famous, rumors began to circulate about how he was mistreated at his uncle's house and how he was forced to run away from home just before the college entrance exam.

Although the leaders don't know yet, the rumors will eventually get out.

When that time comes, his situation will be very awkward.

“I will talk to Mingfei,” he finally conceded, “but not to make him apologize, but to see if I can talk to Mingze.”

"Guide?" The middle-aged woman sneered. "Fine, Lu Gucheng, you think you're so capable now. Sleep on the sofa tonight, and talk to me again after you've thought it through!"

After saying that, she turned and walked into the bedroom, slamming the door shut.

Lu Gucheng stared at the door that slammed shut and was then locked. He looked at the adjacent bedroom, where a faint light was still shining through the crack in the door. It was clear that Lu Mingze was not asleep either, but he was oblivious to his parents' argument.

A deathly silence fell over the living room. Lu Gucheng stood there for a moment, then quietly walked to his son's door, hesitated for a moment, and then knocked:

"Mingze? Daddy, may I come in?"

There was silence inside the door; no one responded.

Lu Gucheng sighed and returned to the sofa.

He took out his phone, scrolled through his contacts, wanting to send a text message or make a call to Lu Mingfei, invite him out for a meal, bring Lu Mingze over to apologize to him, ask for forgiveness, and hope that they could put aside their differences and still be family.

But after searching for a long time, he was shocked to realize that he didn't have Lu Mingfei's contact information at all.

Outside the window, a cold moon hangs high in the sky.

Looking at the ceiling, Lu Gucheng felt for the first time that this house was like a sinking ship, with only room for women and children in the lifeboats.

……

While things were in turmoil at Lao Lu's house, Lu Mingfei, the central figure in the conflict, had already forgotten about the matter and was working on persuading Chu Zihang.

"That makes sense. There are good and bad people, and there are good and evil dragons. We can't condemn all dragons based on stereotypes."

Dragons are also intelligent beings; they have hearts, livers, and feelings!

Have you seen Twilight? Vampires can fall in love with humans listed in the recipe book and even have a love triangle with werewolves. Nothing is impossible between humans and dragons.

"With enough emotion, even a human drill can break through the heavens!"

Lu Mingfei spoke with such certainty that Chu Zihang couldn't help but suspect he was implying something. After all, he certainly knew more than Chu Zihang, but was just worried about something and couldn't reveal everything.

Chu Zihang knew that he was considering his feelings, and he also knew that he was not ready yet. There were many things to do later, and he could not get bogged down in these romantic feelings.

"Do you know who rescued Shao Nanyin?"

(End of this chapter)