Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from Japan

Upon seeing the two return, Louis greeted Lu Mingfei from afar, and Lu Mingfei quickly bowed in return.

After watching the two enter the villa, Professor Mans withdrew his gaze, exhaled a puff of smoke, and asked casually, "She must be Gloria's daughter?"

“Yes,” Louis said.

"Yes, her eyes are just like hers, as proud and resolute as hers, like a rose that blooms amidst a hundred flowers, beautiful yet with thorns. Time really flies. I still remember holding her when she was little, and now she's grown up so much."

As Mans spoke, he tossed the remaining bit of his cigar on the ground and extinguished it. At his feet lay countless cigars, all stubbed out and broken; it was impossible to tell how long he and Louis had been talking there, or how many cigarettes they had smoked.

"What's her Chinese name again?"

“Su Xiaoqiang,” Louis said, “but not the Qiang of roses, but the Qiang with the wood radical.”

“Su Xiaoqiang, Su… Hmph! Rosella’s name is much easier to pronounce.” Mans snorted through his nose.

Louis chuckled softly. "After all these years, you still haven't let go?"

“This isn’t about letting go or not, you don’t understand, Louis.”

Mans shook his head and said.

"Gloria was the most charismatic leader among our students. On Freedom Day, she led our Lionheart Club to victory, her long hair flowing as she wielded a sniper rifle, looking every bit the valiant Valkyrie. Back then, she was like the sun in our hearts. Yet, such a dazzling sun eventually left the world of hybrids and became an ordinary housewife. How can those of us who looked up to her accept that?"

“Of course I understand. I understand you perfectly, Mance. You know, the Night’s Watch has also said that Gloria is the most talented alchemist of the younger generation of the Valentine family,” Louis said.

Mans sighed and changed the subject, saying, "Let's not talk about this—if I remember correctly, Rosella should be in her final year of junior high or her first year of senior high now, right? She'll graduate from high school in two or three years?"

“Don’t even think about making a move on her.” Louis turned his head, looking calmly at Mans beside him, and said, word by word, “Don’t forget, the academy had an agreement with Gloria. You are not allowed to have contact with her.”

"Don't worry, of course I remember. I was just asking casually. Look at you, you're still as easily nervous as you were back then."

Mans met Louis's gaze, suddenly smiled, shrugged, and said:

"Don't forget, it was I who brokered the negotiations to keep Gloria's daughter out of the mixed-race world."

“Good that you remember,” Louis said. “You must have already told your students not to mention anything related to dragons in front of Rosella.”

“I already said. If you hadn’t insisted on hosting this family dinner, I wouldn’t have allowed my students to meet Rosella.” Mans pulled a cigar case from his pocket and lit a new cigar. “So, who’s that kid next to Rosella? Her boyfriend?”

“Who knows? Maybe.” Louis chuckled and shrugged.

Mans shook his head: "You're a really bad uncle."

"If you are interested in him, you may have another chance to get to know him in the future."

Mans frowned: "What does that mean?"

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” Louis said. “Let’s get down to business. What were the results of your investigation today?”

Seeing that Louis was trying to change the subject, Mans didn't say anything more. He had known Louis for many years and knew that if Louis didn't want to talk about something, no matter how much you pressed him, he wouldn't say.

He lit the brand-new cigar in his mouth, took a puff, and said, "Overall, it went fairly smoothly. We got what we wanted from all four of the selected targets."

"Is there anything suspicious?" Louis asked.

“Of course there are doubts,” Mans said, “but there are other things that deserve our attention more than those doubts.”

“For example?” Louis asked.

"For example, it seems that we are not the only ones keeping an eye on the 'antimony' issue. Other forces are also involved."

"It seems you've gained something unexpected?"

“It wasn’t exactly an unexpected gain. It was just that one of my students encountered an accident while on a mission, and then a stranger suddenly appeared and helped her out of the crisis,” Mans said.

"A stranger?" Louis asked. "Also of mixed race?"

“I don’t know, but at least for now, they don’t seem to be hostile towards us,” Mans said. “That’s why I wanted to ask you if you have any leads on this matter. After all, this whole of Western Europe is part of your Valentine family’s territory.”

“What clues could I possibly have?” Louis said in a nonchalant tone. “You know, I haven’t really paid much attention to mixed-race things lately. Brewing wine and riding my bike are my daily routines. By the way, I won the Tour of Portugal last month. Do you want to see my medal?”

“You must be one of the most irresponsible board members in the history of Kassel College, right? The youngest daughter of the Göttingen family attends more meetings than you do.” Mans chuckled softly. “But to be honest, sometimes I really envy your life. After holding a gun for so long, sometimes I want to hold a fishing rod or something.”

"There's nothing I can do. I wasn't originally the designated heir of the Valentine family. My older brother passed away early, and my older sister married a Chinese man for love. That's how I ended up becoming the head of the Valentine family by chance."

Louis sighed helplessly, "Do you think my retirement life is leisurely? Every day I open my eyes to feed tens of thousands of mouths and deal with hundreds of documents. I'm even considering donating the entire Valentine family business to the college."

"Then why don't you donate?"

Louis shrugged: "Although I am the head of the Valentine family, it doesn't mean I have the final say. Just like Angers is the principal of Kassel College, but can Angers make all the decisions about Kassel College? Every time there is a slightly important decision, the board of directors has to be convened."

"makes sense."

Mans nodded, flicked the last cigar onto the ground, and stubbed it out with the sole of his shoe.

……

After dinner, Lu Mingfei returned to his room.

Although yesterday's family dinner was supposedly a special welcome dinner for Lu Mingfei and his group, tonight's meal was just as lavish as yesterday's, only the atmosphere was a little less lively.

Perhaps because it was the first day, everyone had already met and gotten to know each other, so there was less formality. Or perhaps Aki and the others were too tired from their mission, so they weren't as enthusiastic about participating in the conversation.

Because she was sitting directly opposite Lu Mingfei, Aki's fatigue was quite obvious to him.

Although Lu Mingfei didn't know exactly what Aki and the others had done, he did know that they had gone to Lisbon today.

Although Ye Sheng and Aki were considered outstanding students even at the highly competitive Kassel College, Lu Mingfei estimated that the mission might not be easy for these first- and second-year students, judging from their exhausted state. Only Professor Mans seemed to be in relatively normal spirits.

After dinner, Lu Mingfei followed Aki and the others upstairs. Their guest rooms were on the left side of the large villa, while Lu Mingfei's were on the right.

After returning to his room, Lu Mingfei took a shower and collapsed onto his bed.

Although he didn't go on any missions like Aki and the others, the exhaustion of shopping with girls was no less than when he was on a mission.

Lu Mingfei yawned. He had only intended to close his eyes and take a nap, but he ended up falling asleep and unconscious. He didn't know how long he slept before waking up. He checked his phone and saw that it was 12:05 PM, which was Beijing time.

After arriving in Portugal, he experienced a lot and completely forgot that he needed to adjust his phone's time zone to Lisbon time.

However, upon seeing this time, Lu Mingfei had a sudden thought.

It's 12:05 PM in China now, so the little girl should have finished class by now. Should I give her a call?

After all, it was his first relationship, and they had only been apart for a few days, but Lu Mingfei already missed the cute girl who was always clinging to him.

But after thinking about it, he realized that Liu Miaomiao might be eating right now, so he decided to wait a few more minutes and call her after she finished eating.

However, just as he was about to put his phone away, the QQ message notification sound rang out.

Lu Mingfei was taken aback and immediately opened QQ on his phone. On the first page of QQ, Kero-chan's avatar from Cardcaptor Sakura was flashing at the very top.

Xi Yuhuai: Mingfei, are you here now?

Upon seeing the QQ message, Lu Mingfei immediately went to the window, opened it, and dialed Liu Miaomiao's number under the moonlight.

She answered almost instantly.

……

I'm writing a long chapter of over 5000 words, but I'm experiencing writer's block and the writing is a bit slow.

Chapter 217 My Vast Heart

"Mingfei!"

Liu Miaomiao's voice hopped around like a happy little sparrow, accompanied by a cacophony of voices nearby. Lu Mingfei immediately knew that Liu Miaomiao was probably in the cafeteria.

"It's me, Miaomiao." Lu Mingfei touched his nose, and was about to say "long time no see," but then felt that since they were on the phone, it wouldn't be appropriate to say "long time no see."

After a few seconds of hesitation, a faint sound, barely audible, came from the other end of the microphone.

"……I miss you."

The voice, tinged with shyness, longing, and deep affection, made Lu Mingfei's heart flutter with joy. It was so new and exciting; his heart felt like it was being tickled by a thousand tiny claws. Suddenly, he realized how happy and blissful it was to have a girlfriend.

Even if you are separated by tens or hundreds of thousands of kilometers, you know that on the other side of the world, there is a beautiful and lovely girlfriend who misses you and conveys her longing to you in a shy voice. Her surroundings may be noisy and bustling, and yours may be gloomy and lonely, but the two of you have your own world. This world belongs only to you, allowing you to freely be close and express your lonely longing.

Even though he knew he was definitely alone in the room... of course, it wouldn't count if the little devil suddenly jumped out and disturbed the spring breeze... Lu Mingfei still subconsciously looked around and then spoke in a very low voice to Liu Miaomiao on the other end of the phone.

“I miss you too,” Lu Mingfei replied with a smile.

He was already in his twenties, and he wasn't as shy as Liu Miaomiao when he called his girlfriend to express his longing. But when he said those words, Lu Mingfei still felt a little nervous. After all, this was his first real love.

Liu Miaomiao gave a soft hum, and Lu Mingfei could almost picture her pouting angrily: "I don't believe it. If you missed me, why did it take you so long to call me?"

Although the two did not agree on how often to talk, Lu Mingfei initially planned to report his whereabouts to Liu Miaomiao every day.

However, he encountered more things on this trip to Portugal than he had imagined. He inexplicably met a mixed-race person on the train and people from the Kassel College. In addition, there is a significant time difference between Portugal and China. By the time Lu Mingfei had some free time, Liu Miaomiao had already fallen asleep again.

Therefore, many things that I wanted to say on the phone could only be communicated with Liu Miaomiao across time zones via QQ and text messages.

However, Lu Mingfei did not intend to make excuses, since it was indeed his own fault that he only called Liu Miaomiao after two days in Portugal.

"I have deeply realized my mistake! I promise you, I will call you every day from now on, once in the morning, once in the afternoon, once in the evening, and once before bed!"

Liu Miaomiao on the other end of the phone chuckled at his words: "Why make so many calls? One a day is enough! Besides, international roaming charges are so expensive..."

Liu Miaomiao paused, seemingly struggling with something, and then Lu Mingfei heard her softly say, "However, if I could hear you say goodnight to me every night before I go to sleep..."

“Okay.” Before Liu Miaomiao could finish speaking, Lu Mingfei agreed with a smile, “Then it’s settled. I’ll call you twice a day, once at noon and once before bed.”

Although the voice wasn't loud, Lu Mingfei could still hear Liu Miaomiao's happy laughter on the other end of the phone. He could even imagine Liu Miaomiao holding the phone and smiling gently.

"By the way, Mingfei."

Liu Miaomiao paused, seemingly hesitating about something. Lu Mingfei waited patiently for more than ten seconds before hearing Liu Miaomiao ask, "After you arrived in Portugal, did you find Qiangqiang?"

"Yes, I've found her. I'm currently staying at her house," Lu Mingfei said.

"Living at her house?"

Hearing Liu Miaomiao's voice suddenly tense on the other end of the phone, Lu Mingfei immediately explained, "It's not what you think... It's just that her maternal grandmother's house has a manor with many guest rooms, and I'm currently staying in one of the guest rooms."

Liu Miaomiao gave a soft "tsk~" and said, "I didn't say what I was thinking... By the way, Mingfei, have you had lunch yet?"

After saying that, Liu Miaomiao immediately added, "Ah, I'm so stupid! I forgot it should be evening where you are..."

Lu Mingfei thought to himself, "You're in the top fifty in the whole school, and you're also the piano princess of Shilan Middle School. You're definitely a prodigy with exceptional talent. If you were stupid, there wouldn't be many smart people in the whole school."

However, before Lu Mingfei could answer, he heard Liu Miaomiao, who had just calculated the time difference, exclaim on the other end of the phone, "Isn't it already 5 a.m. where you are? Aren't you asleep yet?!"

"Of course I slept, and I even dreamed about you, so I called you right away."

Sweet words from her crush drifted softly through the receiver. Liu Miaomiao's voice paused abruptly on the other end of the line, then she asked in a gentle, delicate voice, "Really? You're not just trying to fool me, are you?"

"Of course it's true," Lu Mingfei said without batting an eye.