by Dragon King
“Don’t you like the Lin Li? The most popular girl in the school?” Zhou Liren yelled.
“That is you, all right? I never liked her.” Hao Ren shrugged.
“But she is indeed beautiful. Zhao Jiayi likes her too, doesn’t he?”
“F*ck off, don’t mention me, it was obviously you!”
“Zhao Jiayi had so many girlfriends…”
They continued to chat until the morning, which left Hao Ren no chance to go out and cultivate at midnight. However, he actually liked spending all night chatting with his buddies.
Soon it was the next day, another Friday that was so close to the weekend. Su Han asking Hao Ren to go to her office was definitely the hot topic of the day.
Even Xie Yujia who never talked in class was discussing quietly with the girls around her from time to time. Hao Ren could tell that she was talking about Su Han from the looks she threw at him.
The teacher couldn’t concentrate on teaching while the students continued to discuss. Although he had warned them a few times, it didn’t cool down their passion.
“Em, it will probably be over after this weekend. They are just too bored I guess. Last time when a good-looking guy from the fourth-year showed his admiration to Lin Li, everyone was talking about that with great interest. However, they switched their interest to other hot topics after two or three days…” Spinning his pen, Hao Ren hoped helplessly.
Bang bang bang…
The classroom door was knocked on by someone from the outside.
The angry teacher who was just lecturing went to open the door. He was enraged because nobody paid attention to his class, and he assumed it was a student who was late. He was about to release his rage on the “intruder”. However, he found the person standing outside to be vice-principal Lu Qing.
“Vice-principal…” The teacher said quietly and took a half step back involuntarily.
Lu Qing kept a straight face and walked in. He looked at the teacher and then at the students in the class before asking, “How can it be so out of order in here?”
Seeing the vice-principal in person, all the students turned quiet out of fear. No one ever expected that the vice-principal would have an interest in visiting the class by himself. The class coincidently happened to be especially noisy as he walked by.
Lu Qing’s eyes were sweeping over the students in the class. When he made eye contact with Hao Ren, Hao Ren couldn’t help but shiver, feeling his body freeze up for a moment.
“Get your class under control and teach it well.” Lu Qing left his words to the teacher and left the classroom.
The students looked at each other in speechless despair, and no one dared to talk again. The teacher felt such a relief and nodded with satisfaction as he saw all his students finally become quiet. He could finally continue his class.
Hao Ren gave a sigh of relief as well. He had a feeling Lu Qing came here on purpose for him as he felt restrained when Lu Qing’s eyes passed him.
The passion students had with chatting was cut off by the appearance of the vice-principal, which seemed to make the lunch break come faster.
There was no class on Friday afternoon, therefore, whoever lived in East Ocean City could go home in the afternoon.
Hao Ren’s home was beside the ocean and wasn’t that close to the university. Thus, he didn’t go back home every weekend. Cao Ronghua lived even further, so he barely went back home. In terms of Zhou Liren and Zhao Jiayi, they were used to the free life at university, so they weren’t willing to go home if it wasn’t necessary.
They bent their arms around each other’s shoulders and was about to cross the south gate of the campus to go back to the dorm to play cards, but they noticed there was a black Lincoln Stretch Limousine parked at the gate of the dorm area. It looked extremely shining and luxurious in the sunlight.
“Who is that arrogant, getting picked up by a car like that?” Staring at the luxury car, Zhou Liren yelled.
They had heard about some rich kids at the university who got picked up on weekends by BMWs, but it was the first time for them to see someone got picked up by a luxury car on this level.
Not only the four of them, but all other students who lived in this dorm area had never seen a scene like that.
Whoever walked by the gate slowed down either intentionally or unintentionally in order to see who was going to get picked up by the car.
“Is someone trying to show off by getting picked up in this kind of car?” Laying his arm on Hao Ren, Zhao Jiayi said disdainfully as they walked by the car.
“Yeah, obviously they’re showing off. Showing off too much will ruin their luck,” Hao Ren said with a bit jealousy too as he despised this kind of behavior.
There was nothing wrong with maintaining a low profile.
As they walked by the car and expressed their disdain while still putting their arms on each other’s shoulders, the car door suddenly opened. Two giant men in black and a short elder got out of the car.
Seeing the short elder, Hao Ren got bitterly disappointed - because he had seen this elder at Zhao Yanzi’s father’s office.
This elder was Elder Sun, the”old and disrespectful” man Zhao Yanzi hated so much that she wished she could tear him apart.
“Childe Hao, Ms. Zi’s family is inviting you for a visit,” The elder said to Hao Ren pridefully.
12 Just a Meal?
Hao Ren stared at the old man, stupefied. Zhao Jiayi and the others, however, suddenly let go of his arm and kept a distance from him.
There were quite a number of students walking by the dorm entrance - some just got back from their classes and the others were leaving for home with their backpacks. They stared at Hao Ren curiously from where they were standing.
Hao Ren was completely embarrassed but he kept silent.
“Please get in the car,” Elder Sun said to Hao Ren reverently.
“No!” Hao Ren’s stubbornness exploded as he shouted.
“What the hell is this. I didn’t even get a notice beforehand.” Hao Ren wasn’t very pleased.
“Childe Hao, you are already engaged with Zi. It’s best to not act too irrationally on these things,” said Elder Sun.
Although his words might not have been heard by those who were a bit far, Zhao Jiayi and the other dormmates heard every word of it, “Engaged?” they couldn’t help but repeat it out loud.
“Who is Zi?” Zhou Liren asked Zhao Jiayi and Cao Ronghua, confused.
But they simply shook their heads blankly.
“Would you like us to keep waiting here?” Elder Sun asked kindly.
“You win!” Seeing more and more people surrounded them, Hao Ren quickly got into the car after thinking about it.
The black Lincoln Stretch Limousine drove away from the entrance in front of everyone’s stare. It was hard for it to be lowkey as much as Hao Ren wished to.
“What is the deal with Hao Ren!” Zhou Liren spoke up abruptly as the black Lincoln drove further away.
The vehicle drove smoothly through the city for a little while before it arrived at a two-story house.
No one would think of it as the house of a rich family by its unpretentious look.
The vehicle stopped, and Elder Sun accompanied Hao Ren off the car. He pressed the doorbell.
“Come in,” a beautiful lady in an apron opened the door and said softly.
“I brought him here, madam. I’m heading back now, Please call me if you need anything,” Elder Sun said to the woman politely.
“Yes, thank you Elder Sun. I won’t keep you from your work. It seems like you are about to break through the ninth level of Purple Light Scroll. I won’t waste more of your time,” she said softly.
“Thank you, madam,” Elder Sun bowed with his hands folded in front, got into the black Lincoln, and left.
Then, the beautiful woman smiled at Hao Ren who was at the door and said, “Come and sit down.”
A single smile of hers would overthrow a city. And another one would overth
row a country. (Chinese Idiom describing the beautify of a woman) Her hair was tied up elegantly as if she just walked out of a painting. Seeing her, Hao Ren forgot about all the unpleasantness just now.
“Oh…” he answered dully and walked into the room.
The room was delicately renovated and thoroughly cleaned.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you?” she guided Hao Ren as she gently turned and asked.
“No…” he answered dumbly.
He couldn’t get mad at this elegant and beautiful woman in front of him.
“I am Zhao Hongyu, Zi’s mom. Her dad went to pick her up from school, and they should be back soon. Go ahead and take a seat. I’ll go cook.” she led Hao Ren to the couch and smiled. Then she walked into the kitchen.
“This must be the precise definition of what an understanding wife and loving mother are like,” Hao Ren thought to himself as he stared at her back.
Hao Ren sat down and looked around the house. Even though it appeared to be plain on the outside, the interior design and decoration were very pleasing and resplendent.
A white staircase on the left led to the bedrooms on the second floor. There was a study room on the right. A large dark brown bookshelf inside the study room brought about the essence of a scholarly family.
The fluffy carpet in the living room was stainless. The medieval-styled chandelier above him demonstrated the wealth of the family.
Ka! The door opened as Zhao Guang came in with Zhao Yanzi.
Zhao Yanzi was still in her fresh and light blue school uniform. She gritted her teeth hatefully when she saw Hao Ren. Yet she did not show any signs of surprise. “Her dad must have told her about this when he picked her up,” Hao Ren thought to himself.
“You are here,” Zhao Guang greeted him lightly.
“Uncle,” Hao Ren quickly stood up and greeted him. He didn’t really see Zhao Guang as his father-in-law, but he had to be polite since he was a guest here.
He glimpsed at Zhao Yanzi who was pouting over on the side. Hao Ren shivered at the thought of getting engaged and falling in love with a mid-schooler - not to mention their complicated background.
“It’s ok, sit down,” Zhao Guang said calmly and turned to Zhao Yanzi, “You guys have a chat. I still have some work to do.”
Then he walked into the study room and started going through some documents.
Zhao Yanzi stood on the carpet as she stared at Hao Ren. She looked like she wanted to eat him alive.
“Let me warn you. I never agreed to marry you. So if you don’t keep your hands to yourself, I am going to cut them off!” she said aggressively.
“The problem is I never wanted to get married to you either, ok? What can I do when they kidnapped me here?” Hao Ren threw Zhao Yanzi an unfriendly look as well.
Then he thought to himself, “Is it really necessary to get mad at a mid-schooler?” But then he realized that the mid-schooler was his fiancee in the current situation.
“I’m going upstairs to play on my computer. Sit by yourself!” Zhao Yanzi glimpsed at Hao Ren and walked towards the stairs.
“Zi!” Zhao Guang’s stern voice came from the study room on the right.
Zhao Yanzi gritted her teeth and stopped walking at her dad’s words.
She pouted after contemplating seriously for a while, rolled her eyes at Hao Ren, and walked slowly to him as if there were thousands of stones dragging her down.
Bom! She sat on the couch beside Hao Ren reluctantly.
“Watch some TV if you don’t want to talk,” Hao Ren glimpsed at her reluctantly and turned on the TV with the remote control.
Zhao Yanzi kept on staring at him angrily.
Having ignored her, Hao Ren carried on with scanning through the channels.
“Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf?” Hao Ren turned to her, “That’s more like your taste.” (The show is a Chinese animated television series for kids in kindergarten and elementary school.)
“Go to hell!” Zhao Yanzi grasped for something from the table to hit him with.
“Zi!” Zhao Guang called out her name again from the study room. He knew exactly what Zhao Yanzi was doing as if he left a pair of eyes in the living room.
Zhao Yanzi put it down reluctantly yet her eyes were still fixated on Hao Ren. “I’m warning you. Do not make me mad!”
Hao Ren smiled lightly. “You hate me that much?”
Zhao Yanzi pouted. “Well, I don’t like you at all.”
“Me neither. You are always mad, and you are not that pretty. It would be a pity if anyone had to marry you,” Hao Ren said lightly.
“You!” Zhao Yanzi’s opened her eyes wide.
“Stop fighting, you two. You are going to be husband and wife in the future anyway.” Zhao Hongyu walked out of the kitchen with a dish in her hands.
“Mom…he is bullying me,” Zhao Yanzi said in a pettishly charming manner.
“I saw it all, and you were the one bullying him,” Zhao Hongyu smiled softly and walked back into the kitchen to prepare the second dish.
“Fine, Good for you, stinky uncle. Even my parents are on your side,” Zhao Yanzi exposed her “vicious” nature as soon as her mom left. She made a face at Hao Ren.
“Why are you so reluctant? Do you have a boyfriend at school?” he asked as he thought about all the mid-schooler couples on the streets.
13 Obtained a Status
Hearing Hao Ren’s question, Zhao Yanzi glared at Hao Ren and said, “I am not in love like those kiddos!”
Hao Ren looked at her, “You’re not exactly mature yourself either.”
“Of course, I am not as mature as you, uncle!” She emphasized the word “uncle” on purpose.
Hao Ren smiled and stopped arguing with her. He turned around and looked at Zhao Guang who was busy reviewing documents in his study room. He then looked at the Zhao Hongyu who was busy cooking in the kitchen. Lastly, he looked at Zhao Yanzi who looked like the pretty girl next door. He had a cozy feeling about this scene.
This family of three looked like a normal and well-off family. “I suddenly became a member of their family?”
Hao Ren felt confused.
“Dinner time!” Zhao Hongyu brought the last two dishes out from the kitchen and said loudly.
Zhao Yanzi’s father, Zhao Guang, put down the documents in his hand and walked out from the study room.
“Hao Ren, come eat with us,” Zhao Hongyu said to Hao Ren gently.
Zhao Yanzi stared at Hao Ren and looked unsatisfied.
“Don’t make that face. Even if Hao Ren isn’t your fiancé, he’s still our guest,” Zhao Hongyu patted Zhao Yanzi’s head and scolded her.
Hao Ren’s brain froze again when he heard the word “fiancé”.
“Sit down and eat,” Zhao Guang sat down firmly and said to Hao Ren.
Hao Ren felt a little awkward, but he couldn’t resist their invitation. He could only find a seat and sit down.
The table was just big enough for the four of them.
“Are you busy at school?” Zhao Hongyu passed Hao Ren a pair of chopsticks and asked.
“Uh, it’s alright,” Hao Ren answered and felt weird. He just met them. Why was he eat at their house and interact with them like a family?
He thought for a while and finally remembered that he was here to ask about the information regarding the “Dragon Clan”.
“I know that you have a lot of questions about us, but I believe you will get used to it gradually,” Zhao Hongyu said as if she knew what Hao Ren was thinking.
“Zi is just in her second year of middle school. Normally speaking, it’s too early to talk about marriage at this age. However, these type of things could also be settled in our circle at an early age. I must say that Zi’s life is in your hands.”
Hao Ren was stunned. Then he became serious.
“You swallowed Zi’s internal core. In fact, we can take it out by force from your body, but it will definitely cause you a severe injury. Zi is actually a kind-hearted perso
n, and she doesn’t want to solve this violently. From my perspective, I don’t want another person to bear the consequences of Zi’s mistake.”
Zhao Hongyu paused a bit here. Hao Ren couldn’t resist looking at Zhao Yanzi at this moment, but she turned her head away.
“So, we’ve decided to keep Zi’s internal core in your body and make you start cultivating. However, I must mention that this is not entirely safe either. If you can’t reach a certain level in a certain amount of time… in other words, if your body can’t suppress the overflowing energy of the internal core, the aftermath will be dangerous as well,” Zhao Hongyu said.
Hao Ren became nervous when the elegant and gentle Zhao Hongyu suddenly turned so serious.
“I don’t mind telling you more,” Zhao Guang suddenly said, “Actually, there won’t be any negative effects for Zi if we take it out of your body and return it to her. Yet, in order to have other elders believe in us, I asked Elder Lu to lie. He told them that Zi wouldn’t be able to adjust to the dragon core after it has stayed in your body. It was for them to not take away your life.”
After hearing his words, Hao Ren felt like he was amongst countless dangers. He was half a step to heaven so many times a few days ago.
Zhao Guang looked at Hao Ren. “You have two options now. First, let us take out the core by force. This is a huge risk. Second, cultivate according to what we give you. There will still be a risk, but it would be way smaller.”
“What I want to know is…” Hao Ren looked at Zhao Yanzi, “How will Zi be affected after losing it?”
Hearing Hao Ren called her “Zi”, Zhao Yanzi pouted her lips and didn’t comment on it.
“There isn’t any danger at the moment. However, three years later when Zi turns eighteen, if you can’t open up the all the openings of the dragon core and transfer half of the Connate Dragon Essence back to her, she won’t be able to live for more than two years,” Zhao Guang said.
Silence suddenly struck the dining table.
“In other words, if we follow the second option, everybody has to take risks. Zi won’t have to take any risks with the first option, but it will be very dangerous for me. Is that right?” Hao Ren asked.