Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei's War Journey

When it was noon, Lu Mingfei closed his textbook, which was filled with notes. This was probably the first time in his life that he had listened to a whole morning of classes so attentively.

"Lu Mingfei, are you sure you haven't taken the wrong medicine? You've actually started studying?" Su Xiaoqiang stared at Lu Mingfei beside her in disbelief.

For the first time ever, Lu Mingfei listened attentively to the lecture all morning without showing any signs of dozing off.

Everything Lu Mingfei did today was shattering her preconceived notions.

"Yeah, I've been neglecting my studies for too long. At this crucial moment, I can't be like I used to be. I want to study hard and find a good job in the future," Lu Mingfei said as he neatly placed his textbooks on his desk.

"Lu Mingfei, you've grown up..." Su Xiaoqiang stared blankly at Lu Mingfei's profile. Sunlight streamed in from the window behind him, casting a soft shadow on his well-defined jawline.

The loser who always had his head down, hunched over, and a fawning smile on his face is gone. Now, Lu Mingfei has become very aloof, with sharp eyes that are almost frightening, yet they also have a strange attraction, as if they are hiding many secrets.

"People always have to grow up." After saying that, Lu Mingfei stood up and walked out of the classroom.

He first went to the cafeteria for a meal. As a relatively well-known private school, Shilan School's cafeteria food was quite good. However, when Lu Mingfei saw the colorful meat, he would always hallucinate that it was thin as a cicada's wing, and he would immediately lose his appetite.

Lu Mingfei knew that he wouldn't be able to eat anything meat-related for a while.

He went to a convenience store outside the school to buy some chocolate, the bittersweet taste of which was one of the few sources of happiness for him in that hellish place.

"Boss, another pack of cigarettes," Lu Mingfei said, placing a bag of bread and two chocolates on the counter. He still had some money left over from drinking earlier, so buying cigarettes and chocolates wasn't a problem.

"We don't sell cigarettes to students," the shopkeeper said, glancing at Lu Mingfei.

Although Lu Mingfei wasn't wearing a school uniform, his youthful face and the fact that he came from a neighboring school made it clear at a glance that he was a student.

Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment. If it were before, he would probably have awkwardly picked up the bread and chocolate, lowered his head and left, but now it was different.

He didn't argue, nor did he plead like an ordinary student. He simply raised his head, looked calmly at the boss, and didn't speak. But in his eyes, which had experienced life and death, there was no longer the naivety of a young man, only an almost indifferent silence and a sense of oppression.

The shop owner's impatient expression froze. He had run a convenience store and seen all sorts of people—thugs, drunkards, office workers… but he had never seen such a look on a student's face.

It didn't sound like a request; it was more like a silent warning.

This student is a bit strange.

The boss muttered to himself, subconsciously avoiding Lu Mingfei's gaze. His tone softened involuntarily as he muttered, "You should have just said you weren't a student..."

As he spoke, he hurriedly took a pack of Marlboro cigarettes from under the counter and pushed it over along with bread and chocolate.

Lu Mingfei paid, put the items in his pocket, turned around and left the convenience store without saying another word.

The shop owner watched his retreating figure, wiping away imaginary cold sweat from his forehead, still wondering to himself, "Are all students these days this scary?"

Lu Mingfei walked to the top of the hill behind the school and sat down under a big tree. There were large patches of dandelions next to him, their white fluffy balls swaying gently in the breeze.

There aren't many people here usually, so he no longer has to endure those strange looks. He tore open the bread wrapper and started chewing. Then he unwrapped the chocolate, took a bite, and the familiar bittersweet taste spread in his mouth, which finally made his tense nerves relax a little.

However, the taste was very different from what he had eaten in the Andes Mountains. The flavor was not as rich, nor did it bring him the same sense of happiness. He didn't know if it was because of the chocolate or the environment.

After finishing his meal, he lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and as the nicotine filled his lungs, he stared ahead with a somewhat vacant look in his eyes.

Study hard? Find a good job?

These words might fool Su Xiaoqiang, but he couldn't fool himself. He opened his palm and looked at the red marks left on his palm from gripping the pen too hard that morning. At the same time, he thought of the revolver.

Two completely different paths unfolded before him.

One is a smooth road under the sun, following the path walked by countless people: studying, taking exams, working, starting a family... ordinary, but safe.

The other path disappeared into the mist and darkness, heading towards Chicago to find Nono. After that period of contact, he knew that Nono was very special, and that there seemed to be something extraordinary in this world.

Nono is a member of the other side of the world. Nono doesn't actually want him to come into contact with the other side of the world, otherwise she wouldn't have gone so long without even making a phone call to him.

As for why he didn't leave his phone number, it's because he doesn't have one. He can't very well give out his QQ number, but now he regrets it a little. He should have given out his QQ number. He doesn't even know if QQ works in the US.

His only knowledge of the girl named Nono was that she went to college in Chicago. Sometimes he felt that Nono was a character he had imagined in that icy land, just to give him the courage to live on.

However, through Isaac's memories, Lu Mingfei managed to glimpse a bit of the other side of this world. The only thing he could confirm was that the people on the other side of the world all had a pair of pale golden eyes.

Just then, the wind picked up, and the sudden increase in wind swept across the grass, scattering the dandelion fluff balls. Countless tiny white parachutes danced and spun in the sky, like a sudden snowfall.

Lu Mingfei felt like these dandelions, that the winds of fate would carry him in an unknown direction.

Amidst the dandelion seeds fluttering in the air, Chen Wenwen stared blankly at Lu Mingfei, who was leaning against a tree smoking.

She loved dandelions, so after the dandelions on the back hill bloomed, she would often sneak over during her lunch break.

The white sea of ​​flowers brought her peace. She never expected to meet Lu Mingfei here today, especially since he was here even earlier than her.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on Lu Mingfei. His slender fingers held a cigarette, the smoke quickly dissipating in the wind.

His profile was sharply defined, his brows were slightly furrowed, and his eyes gazed intently into the distance, his whole being enveloped in an indescribable atmosphere of melancholy.

Dandelions danced in the air around him, making the scene before him almost unreal.

For some reason, Chen Wenwen's heart skipped a beat when she looked at Lu Mingfei like this. A strange, heart-fluttering feeling washed over her.

"Impossible...impossible..." Chen Wenwen shook her head violently, her long black hair swaying as she tried to shake off the unbelievable thoughts inside her.

How could she have fallen for Lu Mingfei? That inconspicuous boy who always followed behind her?

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down, then walked towards Lu Mingfei, deliberately making her footsteps more noticeable.

She put on a stern face and said in what she thought was a harsh tone, "Lu Mingfei, you're smoking here!"

Lu Mingfei looked at Chen Wenwen, who had suddenly appeared, with some surprise, but he quickly remembered that he knew about this place because Chen Wenwen liked dandelions.

"What, are you going to tell the teacher?" Lu Mingfei took a drag of his cigarette and said casually, his gaze not lingering on her for long before turning back to the distant mountains.

"You..." Chen Wenwen was speechless for a moment, because that was exactly what she was going to say next.

She stomped her feet on the ground with some anger, her feet clad in delicate little leather shoes.

Then, as if possessed, she walked over to Lu Mingfei and sat down carefully at a distance of about half a meter. Her white skirt spread out on the grass, like a blooming lily.

"Was everything you said in the classroom true?" After hesitating for a moment, Chen Wenwen asked, her voice softer than before, clearly having overheard Lu Mingfei and Su Xiaoqiang's conversation.

"What did you say?" Lu Mingfei turned his head, a half-smile playing on his lips.

"Are you planning to study hard and get into university, or... do you not like me anymore?" As he spoke, he took a drag of his cigarette and then blew the smoke directly into Chen Wenwen's face.

Chen Wenwen was choked by the sudden secondhand smoke and immediately turned her head away, coughing violently, almost bursting into tears.

She covered her mouth, staring at Lu Mingfei in disbelief, her chest heaving with anger and coughing.