Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from Japan

At the same time, Chen Wenwen nervously gripped the straps of her backpack, her heart pounding with anxiety and confusion.

Lu Mingfei's house... doesn't seem to be in this direction, does it? Chen Wenwen thought to herself, looking down at her toes.

Lu Mingfei had ridden in her car twice, and each time he got off at a different place. Chen Wenwen was already puzzled.

As a result, Lu Mingfei took a completely different path today than the previous two times!

Moreover, whenever I walk a little faster, trying to shake him off, he immediately quickens his pace to catch up. And when I deliberately slow down, wanting him to go ahead, he appropriately slows down, always keeping in a straight line with me, walking side by side.

It's like walking home from school with yourself, something that happens naturally and effortlessly.

Chen Wenwen bit her lip, wanting to ask Lu Mingfei a question, but when she saw Lu Mingfei deep in thought, she felt a little embarrassed to disturb him.

The two walked side by side until the sun began to set on the horizon. When they passed a familiar little river, Chen Wenwen suddenly stopped by the roadside.

Chen Wenwen's sudden stop interrupted Lu Mingfei's reverie. Lu Mingfei snapped back to reality and realized that he had unconsciously started walking back to his uncle's house.

Damn, did this muscle memory kick in because he went home with Chen Wenwen?

But that's fine, he happened to have something else to do.

"Chen Wenwen, I..."

Just as Lu Mingfei was about to speak, Chen Wenwen suddenly turned around and said, "Lu Mingfei, wait for me, I'm going to pick some dandelions."

Autumn has arrived, but dandelions are still blooming on the yellowing grass by the river, their fluffy little balls tinged with golden light by the setting sun.

Chen Wenwen skipped and hopped to the riverbank, put her schoolbag down beside her, and squatted down on the grass to pick one dandelion after another. Just then, a gust of wind blew, scattering the dandelions on the ground, the white fluff rising and falling like a sudden light snowfall.

Chen Wenwen's hair was covered with dandelions. She gently patted her hair while secretly glancing back to see if Lu Mingfei was laughing at her. But when she turned around, she found that Lu Mingfei was no longer there.

She thought Lu Mingfei had left first, but when she went back to get her schoolbag, she found that Lu Mingfei's schoolbag was placed together with hers.

The backpack is still there, but where did the person go?

A gust of wind blew along the riverbank. Chen Wenwen tucked her ruffled hair behind her ear and looked around. Then she saw Lu Mingfei jogging over from the next fork in the road, carrying a paper bag in his hand.

"Sorry, Chen Wenwen." Lu Mingfei's chest heaved slightly. "You didn't keep me waiting, did you?"

"Where did you go?" Chen Wenwen asked, looking at the somewhat familiar paper bag in his hand.

"Oh."

Lu Mingfei scratched the back of his head.

“I just looked around the neighborhood but couldn’t find a cake shop. Then I remembered that Open Mind is nearby, so I went and bought a Swiss roll. I remember we didn’t get to eat the strawberry Swiss roll last time. Luckily, there was one left today, so I bought it for you right away. You really have to accept it this time.”

Chen Wenwen blinked blankly, "Why did you...buy this for me?"

She asked that question aloud, but what she was really thinking was something else entirely.

“Aren’t you quite tired lately? You have to handle class affairs, student council matters, and literary society matters as well,” Lu Mingfei said.

It seems it wasn't what she thought. Chen Wenwen breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then heard Lu Mingfei continue:

"Today is October 10th, it's your birthday, right, Chen Wenwen?" Lu Mingfei said, handing the paper bag to Chen Wenwen. "You've been working hard lately, happy birthday."

……

Chapter 177 Just Call Me By My Name

"Happy birthday."

Chen Wenwen stood in front of Lu Mingfei, looking into his eyes as he stuffed the paper bag into her hand. Suddenly, it felt like a little bird was fluttering in her heart.

Just as she expected, Lu Mingfei actually knew it was her birthday today.

Although it's no secret that October 10th is her birthday, she'll tell people the truth whenever they ask. Several of her close female friends know it's her birthday today. Zhao Menghua had asked her about it before. Today, Zhao Menghua even came to ask if she was free in the afternoon; he had arranged to go karaoke with some classmates.

Chen Wenwen naturally declined, not because she disliked the occasion, but because she had been too busy lately. Lu Mingfei had even come to help her edit the club magazine, and she couldn't very well leave him behind to go out and have fun with her classmates.

But as far as I can remember, Lu Mingfei never asked her what her birthday was.

"Squad Leader Lu," Chen Wenwen asked after a moment of silence, voicing her question, "how did you know it was your birthday today?"

"what?"

Lu Mingfei was taken aback for a moment, then quickly made up an excuse, "You forgot that we filled out the class roster when school started? I saw your birthday was October 10th on the roster."

After the class roster was filled out, it was always handed over to the teacher by the class monitor, so Lu Mingfei's excuse was quite reasonable.

However, these words took on a different meaning when they reached Chen Wenwen's ears.

When most people look at a roster, they just glance at it briefly and rarely remember key information about other people, unless that person is exceptional.

Chen Wenwen was thinking that Lu Mingfei knew her birthday from the roster. If he had just glanced at it casually, he definitely wouldn't have remembered it.

In other words, he made a point of paying attention to his birthday?

Once that was on her mind, it all made sense. No wonder Lu Mingfei had walked such a long way with her today. Was he waiting for the opportunity to bring her a birthday cake?

Although in the end, what they gave us wasn't a birthday cake, but a strawberry Swiss roll.

But in Chen Wenwen's opinion, this strawberry Swiss roll seemed to have more meaning for the two of them.

The two of them first met because of this strawberry Swiss roll.

But why would he do these things? Isn't his rumored girlfriend Liu Miaomiao?

Once a young woman with an artistic temperament starts to let her thoughts wander, her imagination runs wild.

Literary classics are replete with stories of abandoning stable relationships to pursue true, free love. From the oldest classic, Jane Eyre, to the more recent Anna Karenina, and the contemporary Love in the Time of Cholera, the act of breaking free from societal constraints and defying worldly prejudices in pursuit of love seems worthy of praise.

Moreover, it seems that the relationship between Liu Miaomiao and Lu Mingfei has not been personally confirmed by the two parties involved. All the rumors come from a novel on the Shilan Middle School forum, and the author of that novel is himself. Even the idea that Lu Mingfei and Liu Miaomiao are engaged and have a marriage arranged by their parents is an out-of-character (OOC) setting he created.

However, Chen Wenwen's thoughts only drifted for a moment before she quickly brought them back. Although she was a master of romantic overthinking, after a moment's consideration, she still felt that Lu Mingfei definitely wouldn't have done this on purpose because he liked her.

This artistic young woman not only had a vivid imagination, but also incredibly sensitive and perceptive eyes. Whenever Lu Mingfei and Liu Miaomiao were together, she could see a sparkle in their eyes. A similar light appeared in Lu Mingfei's eyes when he was alone with Su Xiaoqiang.

But did Lu Mingfei see that in his own eyes?

Chen Wenwen didn't know, because Lu Mingfei's eyes never really looked at her; every time their eyes met, he would look away immediately.

Actually, it wasn't that Lu Mingfei never looked at Chen Wenwen. Perhaps it was a subconscious habit, but when he occasionally spaced out in class, his eyes would unconsciously glance at Chen Wenwen's profile.

Chen Wenwen has a habit of tilting her head, so she always shows half of her face to Lu Mingfei.

Although Chen Wenwen's face isn't as striking as Liu Miaomiao's or Su Xiaoqiang's, the profile of a literary girl is always perfect. This perfection is a blend of poetic beauty and breathtaking romance, along with a gentle and serene tenderness.

Chen Wenwen was able to compete with Liu Miaomiao, the piano prodigy, and Su Xiaoqiang, the rising star, at Shilan Middle School because of her unique and independent temperament.

Countless boys, just by occasionally brushing past Chen Wenwen and catching a fleeting glimpse of her profile beneath her flowing hair, were instantly captivated by her beauty, their dreams bathed in a soft, moonlit glow.

Whenever Chen Wenwen seemed to notice his gaze and turned to look at him, he would suddenly shift his gaze to another direction, pretending to be looking at the blackboard.

That's why Chen Wenwen felt as if Lu Mingfei's eyes had never seen her.

Little did she know that in certain years, this boy's eyes had only ever been on her.

Although Chen Wenwen couldn't understand why Lu Mingfei would specially celebrate her birthday, she could sense his goodwill from his actions. Whether this goodwill was mixed with affection or not, it was at least not ulterior motives; Chen Wenwen didn't perceive any.

Every beautiful girl knows she's beautiful, and as she grows older, she can sense a subtle, almost imperceptible, attraction from men. It's like they want something from her.

Rumors spread quickly in middle school, and it was common knowledge not only among the boys but also among the girls that which boys liked which girls. Chen Wenwen also knew that several boys in her middle school class were vying for her attention.

However, Lu Mingfei seemed to have no particular purpose. Just as he said, it seemed that he was just too tired recently, so he bought a cake to reward himself and celebrate his birthday.

"Thank you for the Swiss roll, class monitor," Chen Wenwen said, holding the paper bag to her chest.

Whether it was the romantic glow of the sunset or not, a blush of red spread across their faces.

"Well," Lu Mingfei scratched his head, "there's something else I've been keeping to myself for a long time, and I don't know if you, Chen Wenwen, would be willing to help me."

"There's one more thing?" Chen Wenwen was taken aback.

The female lead accepted the birthday cake...or rather, the birthday Swiss roll from the male lead, and they were about to leave to go their separate ways when the male lead suddenly called out to her, and then the sun was setting and dandelions were flying everywhere like snowflakes.

The scene and atmosphere have been set up like this, what else could happen? What else could possibly happen?

Chen Wenwen felt the little bird in her chest suddenly turn into a hopping deer. This little deer was either extremely hungry or because spring had arrived, so it was unusually excited and kept thumping in Chen Wenwen's chest.

Before she could even figure out how to refuse, or rather, whether she should refuse at all, she heard Lu Mingfei continue:

"Can you just call me Lu Mingfei from now on?" Lu Mingfei asked. "Always calling me 'class monitor' feels a bit distant."

Chen Wenwen was taken aback, and so the little deer of spring fell silent again, turning back into the little bird that was faintly hopping around.

"Wouldn't it be a bit impolite to just call you Lu Mingfei?" Chen Wenwen asked.

“It’s okay, that’s what your... your classmates used to call me,” Lu Mingfei said.

Chen Wenwen lowered her head and then raised it again, blinked, and looked at Lu Mingfei.

"Well... thank you for the cake, Lu Mingfei." Chen Wenwen tilted her head and smiled.

Her voice fell softly like a dandelion seed falling to the ground without wind. Lu Mingfei was momentarily stunned, feeling as if he had returned to many years ago.

He was probably in high school at the time. He and Chen Wenwen would often walk by this river. Chen Wenwen always liked to pick dandelions by the river, and sometimes they would soak their feet in the river together.

He stood there, stunned, not having had time to avoid Chen Wenwen's gaze for the first time, meeting her eyes for the first time.

Chen Wenwen's eyes flickered slightly.

It seems there's a tiny bit of light, isn't there?

……

After leaving the riverbank, the two walked together for a while longer before parting ways at the intersection Lu Mingfei was familiar with. Chen Wenwen smiled and waved to him, then her graceful figure disappeared into the receding twilight.

After confirming that Chen Wenwen had gone far away, Lu Mingfei turned around, walked back to the main intersection along the familiar road he had traveled countless times, and then hailed a taxi to go home.

As soon as the door was opened, Xia Mi's complaints came rushing in.

"Why are you back so late again!" Xia Mi knelt on the sofa, her chin resting on the backrest, staring intently at Lu Mingfei. "I'm starving."

"Didn't I tell you I've been quite busy lately? I might be even busier when I get back," Lu Mingfei said as he changed into his slippers. "And didn't I leave you five hundred yuan yesterday so you could go out and get something to eat if you got hungry?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Mi immediately fell silent, her eyes shifting away guiltily.

Lu Mingfei suddenly sensed something was wrong: "Where's the money?"

"No, that's all." Xia Mi pouted.

"Gone?" Lu Mingfei was taken aback. "How could it be gone?"

"It cost money." Xia Mi lowered her head, her voice growing softer and softer.