Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

The bubble burst, completely shattered. The old taxi driver was now drowsy, her eye bags more puffy than the crumpled stack of change in her hand, and she was also quite hard of hearing.

Lu Mingfei held up a crumpled map and repeated the French pronunciation of Chateau Joel Robuchon, the location of Ebisu, and which subway exit was closest to him over and over again. The old man just shook his head in confusion, saying that he had been driving a taxi in this city for forty years and had never heard of any French restaurants. He only knew roughly where Ebisu was and could drop him off nearby so they could find it themselves.

With the appointment time drawing closer, Lu Mingfei leaned over from the back seat again and asked the driver if they could find a faster route to get there.

The driver shrugged, glanced at him in the rearview mirror, and replied in the slow, patient tone typical of an old Tokyoite speaking to a tourist: "Kid, this is Tokyo. In a big city like this, everyone wants to go fast. But not everyone can have their way."

It wasn't like this at all a few days ago.

A few days ago, when Lu Mingfei and Erii went out, all the taxis were brand new, shiny black Toyota Centurys, and the drivers were all energetic young men, with crisp uniforms and snow-white gloves. They were so handsome that they could be taken directly to Ginza to shoot a suit advertisement.

Lu Mingfei leaned back in his seat, barely managing to stammer out the place name in his broken Japanese, when the driver sped off, the tires screeching against the asphalt. Even more absurdly, two kilometers before the traffic jam, someone called the car's speakerphone, demanding the driver take a detour. The voice, coming through the speakerphone, was polite yet utterly authoritative, like someone directing a small army.

The entire map of Tokyo seemed to be engraved in the driver's mind. He turned onto an unknown side road with one hand on the steering wheel, and after a few twists and turns, he saw the light of day again, with a wide and flat thoroughfare unfolding in front of him.

If Lu Mingfei were to say "Could you hurry up?" again, the driver would immediately become excited, revving the engine and roaring, risking a ticket from the police by speeding all the way, flying past one car after another, and as smoothly as if he were sitting on his own living room sofa, never even slamming on the brakes.

Looking back now, those drivers weren't taxi drivers at all; they were clearly top-notch executive drivers and retired race car drivers hired by Lu Mingze.

With Lu Mingze backing him up, he was an absolute big shot in this metropolis, able to get whatever he wanted, and if he was in a hurry, someone would step on the gas and run red lights for him.

Once he left Lu Mingze, he reverted to being an ordinary person who couldn't even be woken up by a taxi driver.

In this vast metropolis, there are over 13 million people crammed here to make a living. Why should all the strangers on this road who are in a hurry to get home make way for him?

He truly felt the weight of this city.

In this city, he was as insignificant as a speck of dust, while his senior brothers were busy saving the world in the midst of a raging storm. But those grand and heroic dramas had little to do with him, the nanny.

In the afternoon, he sent a text message to Lu Mingze and lashed out at him. Afterwards, he did feel a tiny bit of apology.

These past few days, Lu Mingze has been busy taking care of him and Erii, serving them every need like a mother hen, from delivering abalone ramen in the middle of the night to setting up free artists at the entrance of Senso-ji Temple. Although the feeling of being watched made him uncomfortable, his outburst of anger was indeed somewhat impulsive.

But when he sent another text message to Lu Mingze, he didn't receive a single reply.

The little devil's gray avatar lay quietly in the message list, motionless, without even a "typing" notification flashing.

It turns out that the devil is truly an extremely meticulous creature; if he says "roll away smoothly," he really does roll away smoothly, not even bothering to leave a trace. From that moment on, all magic failed.

Erii wasn't worried about the traffic jam at all.

When she was in the car, she would always lean her whole body against the window, her forehead almost touching the cold glass.

This gloomy city, shrouded in rain and mist, was still fresh, vibrant, and colorful in her eyes. Whenever a huge neon sign lit up in the rain, she would crane her neck to look at it until a taxi passed directly under the sign before she would sit up straight and then carefully write a few words in her notebook.

At this moment, the expression on her face was like that of a five or six-year-old child who was seeing this vast world for the first time when she went on a long trip with her parents.

"The world is so big!" she exclaimed, pushing the note towards Lu Mingfei before pulling it back to the car window.

She would always write notes like this and hand them to him, even if it was just a fleeting glimpse of the spire of Snow White's castle peeking out from behind the treetops at Disneyland, she would still make a similar remark.

As Lu Mingfei watched her retreating figure, he suddenly thought of McDull from the "Spring Flower Kindergarten" in Hong Kong.

Mrs. Mak raised McDull alone, with little money, and lived a very frugal life.

All the children in McDull's kindergarten went to the Maldives. When they came back, they were full of pride when talking about their experiences there. McDull believed the advertisements on TV and believed that the Maldives was a "paradise on earth with blue skies, white clouds, coconut palms, clear water, and white sand in the Indian Ocean." His biggest wish was to travel to the Maldives someday. Later, McDull fell very ill. Mrs. McDull was afraid that he wouldn't make it, so she stayed by his bedside and said that she would take him to the Maldives when he got better.

McDull fought desperately against his illness, but when he finally recovered, Mrs. McDull simply couldn't afford to take him to the Maldives.

Finally, Mrs. Mak took him to Victoria Peak and told McDull that this was the Maldives. McDull rode the cable car, saw the bay, and enjoyed the birdsong and fragrant flowers at the mountaintop. It was the happiest day of his life.

While reading this story, Lu Mingfei was so saddened that he could barely continue reading and raised his arm to cover his eyes.

As he stared at Erii's back as she leaned against the car window, that familiar sadness crept up on him again without warning.

The Uesugi family head, who held an extremely high position in the family, rarely stepped out of the house that didn't even have a window. So much so that in her eyes, even a crow perched on a power line, preening its feathers, taking off and landing was a beautiful sight.

In her eyes, Tokyo was already a huge world. She couldn't even imagine what the truly magnificent sights on this planet looked like: beluga whales crossing the Bering Strait in droves, tens of thousands of wildebeest splashing through the muddy waters of the Mara River teeming with crocodiles, the Himalayan snow-capped peaks dyed pink at sunrise, and the aurora borealis hanging down in the Greenland night sky...

She had no idea about any of these things.

When Lu Mingfei casually made up a statement that Disneyland was the world's largest amusement park, she was overjoyed. When he said that Senso-ji Temple was the most efficacious temple in the world, she felt incredibly sacred. When she passed through the Kaminarimon Gate of Senso-ji Temple with its large red lantern, a sense of trepidation, like that of a medieval Catholic who had walked thousands of miles to finally reach the Vatican to meet the Pope, even appeared on her face.

Today, Lu Mingfei said he would take her to a very high-end place for dinner. She spent two and a half hours choosing what to wear: a high-waisted princess dress in white taffeta, an Audrey Hepburn-style little black dress, a beige short trench coat with white high-heeled ankle boots. She tried them on repeatedly, leaving the floor covered with dresses, shoes and socks that she had taken off the hangers.

Lu Mingfei could only lie in the bathtub, staring blankly at a small LCD TV. He would only peek out when Erii gently knocked on the bathroom door to offer a few suggestions on her outfit.

No wonder even the most reserved girls become both shy and excited on their first important date, frantically mixing and matching their few cheap clothes as if they could actually create a beautiful outfit. Even gangster princesses can't escape this spell.

In the end, Erii chose the same blue-purple princess dress with black lace trim she wore yesterday, paired with her favorite white sheepskin ankle boots, and tied a matching satin headband in her long hair. To be honest, the overall effect she created was a little odd.

It's beautiful, but completely out of step with the trends of the times. It's like a little princess who accidentally stepped out of the frame in an 18th-century French court portrait, standing out awkwardly on the streets of Ginza, Tokyo in the 21st century. It's an anomaly woven from shoujo manga and taffeta.

However, Lu Mingfei was too lazy to correct her. Every girl dreams of dressing up as a princess when she's little. Back in Shilan Middle School, Chen Wenwen, who always sat quietly by the window reading, also loved white lace-trimmed socks, and the girls in her class teased her, calling her a princess. Uesugi Erii is a genuine princess, so what's wrong with dressing up as one?

After a few days of taking care of her, he found that serving this underworld princess was not difficult at all.

To put it more bluntly, this weapon, which is considered apocalyptic by the world, is actually just a little paper doll held in his palm. She goes wherever Lu Mingfei tells her to go, believes everything he says, and does whatever he asks her to do.

If Lu Mingfei were to suddenly tell her that the rule of the love hotel is that everyone has to sleep in the same bed or they will be fined 500,000 yen each, Erii might nod and comply.

But holding something so obedient, so beautiful, and yet so deadly in his hand, Lu Mingfei couldn't feel happy.

This trip to see the world won't last long. From the moment he and Erii board that plane bound for overseas, the head of the Uesugi family will officially become the number one priority target for surveillance in the Secret Party's files. The tight surveillance imposed on her by the Secret Party will probably not be much better than the small room that the Snake-Headed Eight Family used to imprison her.

Lu Mingfei personally led her out of one cage, and then personally put her into another cage that was even more inhumane.

Thinking this, he unconsciously reached out and gently stroked her long hair that fell over her shoulder.

I had no romantic thoughts whatsoever; all I felt was that the little girl who was staring blankly at the neon lights outside the car window was someone I couldn't help but worry about.

Erii's hair slipped through my fingers; it was smooth, soft, and carried a faint scent of shampoo, making me almost reluctant to pull my hand away.

Lu Mingfei suddenly snapped back to reality and withdrew his hand as if he had been electrocuted.

Frillie didn't speak; she merely glanced at him. That glance was utterly silent, yet it struck his heart more forcefully than any interrogation.

In the brief half-minute he stroked Erii's hair, he blurred the lines between his relationship with her.

The relationship was clear and safe: he was the nanny, she was the monster; he was the tamer, she was the dragon that could raze the entire circus to the ground at any moment.

But the real Erii is definitely not a fragile little girl who needs someone to protect her.

She is likely one of the most ruthless killers in the world, but for now she is quietly leaning against his taxi, eating the strawberry candy he handed her.

Chapter 815 Reencounter with Uncle's Family

Erii pressed her face against the car window, watching intently.

Rainwater meandered down the glass, turning the neon lights along the street into flowing ribbons of color.

She pressed her forehead against the cold glass, and her breath created a small white mist on the windowpane. She then stretched out her finger and drew a small circle in that mist.

Lu Mingfei stared blankly at his hand. It had just been resting on Erii's hair, and the soft, smooth touch still lingered on his fingertips.

He suddenly realized that in the half minute that he stroked Erii's long hair, Erii did not even have the slightest thought of flinching, nor did she even instinctively shrink her neck.

She lay quietly against the car window, letting the hand slide from the top of her head to the ends, as if this had happened countless times before, as if she had always been waiting for these hands to touch her head. Like a cat, a cat that only allows its closest people to touch its head.

Frillie sat in the back row by the window, her eyes closed, her breathing even and long, but Lu Mingfei knew she wasn't asleep.

Just as he pulled his hand away from Erii's head, she opened her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering in the dim light of the carriage.

Frillie didn't say anything, but simply glanced at him with her eyes as calm as an ancient well.

Then she closed her eyes again.

Lu Mingfei felt that in that instant, too much of his knowledge had been seen through.

"Is this the place? What a luxurious restaurant!" the taxi driver suddenly exclaimed, his voice filled with the typical exclamation of an old Tokyoite.

The car was parked in front of a white French-style building.

Built in 1936, this old Western-style building sits on a quiet slope in Ebisu. Its pale yellow limestone exterior walls, soaked by rainwater, take on a warm honey color. Ivy climbs up the cast iron supports on the walls, rustling in the night breeze.

A delicate bronze plaque hangs on the neatly trimmed boxwood fence at the entrance, bearing the French name Chateau Joel Robuchon. Warm yellow light spills from the arched French windows, offering glimpses of guests in evening gowns and waiters moving about inside.

This place is so quiet, it doesn't feel like Tokyo at all. It's more like a small piece of France that has been moved from the Loire Valley intact.

A waiter dressed in black and wearing white gloves respectfully opened the taxi door, and almost at the same moment, another waiter opened a large black umbrella and sheltered Erii from the head.

Erii's toes landed lightly on the rain-dampened stone pavement, her white sheepskin boots splashing into the shallow puddles, creating a small ripple.

She looked up at the ancient and magnificent building, her blue-purple skirt fluttering slightly in the night breeze, the satin ribbon in her hair trembling gently, and a hint of confusion in her eyes.

“Mr. Sakura Lu?” The waiter took the business card from Lu Mingfei, read the name aloud, and his lips twitched involuntarily. He was probably shocked by a man who dared to be named Sakura.

Lu Mingfei looked embarrassed. He told Erii that his name was Sakura, and from then on, he could only be Sakura in front of Erii. He had drawn his name in his notebook, and Erii recognized the pseudonyms "Sakura".

Caesar had also booked the table for him using this name. Tonight, he was dressed in a sharp black suit, his shirt collar neatly buttoned, accompanied by two very beautiful girls. He was determined to maintain the dignity of a young master in front of this old French mansion and would not back down at the slightest frown from the waiter.

"Please check again. I'm sure I have a reservation. This is the business card the manager handed me when I made the reservation."

“Mr. Lu, I’m very sorry, but you probably haven’t made a reservation.” The waiter frowned and handed the business card back with both hands. “Chateau Joel Robuchon has a very limited capacity. We usually only accept reservations made more than a week in advance. Without a reservation, we are sorry to say we cannot serve you.”

Lu Mingfei, having once been taken by Caesar to dine at the entire Aspasia restaurant, was a walking, talking consumer with a history of spending. He knew that the guests who frequented such Michelin three-star restaurants were either rich or powerful, and the waiters dared not offend them easily.

The waiter in front of them seemed respectful, but the way he answered with a frown clearly showed that he treated them as foreign tourists who didn't know the rules, or even as people who couldn't afford to pay the bill.

Today he was dressed in a sharp suit, accompanied by a very beautiful girl. Frilian had also changed out of her dark green trench coat and was wearing a dark gray off-shoulder dress, making her look like a mysterious princess who had escaped from a royal family in Northern Europe.

If we don't show some class and smooth things over now, are we supposed to turn around and take Erii and Frilian to eat oden on the street?

Moreover, this meal was of utmost importance. He needed to convince Erii to travel with him to that place across the sea called America, and he had to make sure that every step, from the dessert cart to the main course, was impeccable.

He frowned as well, handing the business card forward: "Check it again. I'm sure I have a reservation; the manager gave it to me personally when I made the reservation."

The black business card with gold foil stamping featured the restaurant manager himself.

Seeing his insistence, the waiter became cautious, bowed slightly while holding the business card, and said, "Please wait a moment, I will check the final seating arrangements for tonight."

A few minutes later he rushed back, a look of utter bewilderment on his face.

“There was indeed a Mr. Lu who made a reservation here, but he arrived a long time ago, and the first two dishes have already been served. He said there were only six people in total, and no one else was coming.”

Lu Mingfei thought to himself, "Damn it, which bastard surnamed Lu took my seat?" Suppressing his anger, he said, "I'm afraid you've confused the guests' identities. Take me to see Mr. Lu who's sitting in my seat."

-----------------

"Director Chen, are you still interested in Western food?" the uncle asked reservedly, picking up a slice of Iberian ham from the salad with his fork.

The ham was sliced ​​as thin as a cicada's wing, and under the candlelight, it revealed the marble-like texture of fat. It melted slightly in the mouth with body heat.

He elegantly dabbed his lips with a napkin, then slowly picked up the glass of champagne on the table and took a sip, feeling as if he was exuding a powerful aura with every move he made.

"What are you saying! Director Chen has a higher official rank than you, what hasn't he seen? Eating Western food is nothing to Director Chen. He just likes his wife's cooking, so he doesn't eat Western food much."