novelraw Chapter 180
Chapter 180
Chapter 180: You Don’t Ride, I Ride!
As soon as the New Year arrived, there was a stark contrast between the old and new districts of Qingcheng City.
Most of the residents in the new district were non-locals who had moved to Chengdu for work. Once the New Year holiday began, they all returned to their hometowns, making the city center even quieter than usual.
On the other hand, the small streets and alleys of the old district were bustling with people. The pedestrians passing by were mostly unfamiliar to each other, yet they nodded and exchanged greetings.
To stimulate the economy, the Wanniu District had made a rare exception by opening up the streets, allowing residents to set up stalls in designated areas.
In the past, urban management officers would chase after street vendors, determined to eradicate these mobile businesses. Now, things were different. Not only were the officers maintaining order on the streets, but they were also joining in, actively helping some elderly vendors carry their goods.
With the New Year approaching, every citizen had a benevolent smile on their face, and the city was filled with a harmonious atmosphere.
“Fireworks are so expensive…”
Lucia had never seen so many people before. The small street was filled with vendors sitting on the ground, and the two-lane road was so crowded with people that it was impossible for cars to pass through. The sound of people talking and car horns honking was incessant.
This was even more lively… or rather, crowded… than Chunbei Road, where Xia Li had taken her. Lucia glanced at the red and green firecrackers on the stalls, her gaze fixated on the price tags.
“Do you want the ones that make noise or the ones that don’t?”
Xia Li grabbed a missile-shaped firework and turned to ask Lucia.
Lucia immediately replied, “The ones that don’t make noise.”
Xia Li couldn’t help but smile.
This Silver Dragon Queen, whose dragon breath could melt stone.
Afraid of firecrackers?
She had integrated into modern society so well…
After buying a bag of noiseless fireworks for 200 yuan, Xia Li carried the bag and went to the next stall.
Lucia stuck close to Xia Li’s arm, wary of the flow of people around them.
“Will there be bad people…?” she asked uneasily.
Statistically speaking, the more people there were, the more likely it was to encounter bad people. Lucia had encountered one on the subway last time.
“There aren’t that many bad people,” Xia Li said. “There are so many Uncle Police officers patrolling nearby. Even if there are bad people among the citizens, those bad people wouldn’t dare to act rashly. However, you should be wary of pickpockets.”
Glancing at the short Dragon Daughter beside him, Xia Li thought for a moment. Lucia didn’t have any valuables in her pockets, so there wasn’t much for pickpockets to steal.
However, he still pulled Lucia closer and whispered in her ear.
“Keep an eye on me. If a bad person snatches me away, you won’t be able to catch up.”
Hearing this, Lucia’s hand instinctively tightened its grip.
She clutched Xia Li’s three fingers tightly. After thinking for a moment, she decided that Xia Li was deliberately trying to trick her, so she snorted softly and held on even tighter.
Xia Li bought some essential New Year snacks at the market, like sunflower seeds and candy.
These snacks were childhood memories for him. When he was young, the things he looked forward to most during the New Year, besides red envelopes, were these two treats.
But after he went to high school, these things seemed to disappear without a trace. It wasn’t that his family didn’t have them anymore, but rather that Xia Li had simply stopped paying attention to them.
Now, with Lucia by his side, Xia Li wanted her to experience the same New Year atmosphere he had as a child, so he bought all the necessary New Year goods.
The goods sold at the stalls here were all very similar, probably all wholesaled from the same vendor. Food, toys, clothes, and daily necessities were all dyed in a festive bright red.
In the other world, the bright red that met the eye was a symbol of battlefields and despair.
But on Earth, especially in China… bright red was no longer a chilling color, but a color of celebration and blessings.
Xia Li finally squeezed out of the crowd and looked back to find only a dragon claw in his hand. Lucia’s body was still stuck behind. He let go of the dragon claw and said,
“Wait for me.” Then he turned around and pointed at the goods on the shelf, saying to the stall owner, “Give me a pair of Spring Festival couplets and two lanterns.”
First line: Dragon dances in the nine heavens, singing of the earth
Second line: Fortune descends upon ten thousand homes, bringing joy
Horizontal inscription: Everlasting and enduring
Young people didn’t have to be too particular about buying New Year goods. The main thing was to go with what caught their eye. Simple and straightforward.
After paying, Xia Li took the couplets and fought his way out of the crowd. He saw Lucia waiting for him in the same spot, her small face hidden under her scarf, making her fair cheeks look rosy.
“Speaking of which, this year happens to be the Year of the Dragon.”
Xia Li unfurled the couplets to have a look. Hanging this dragon-themed couplet at home would definitely bring good fortune.
“Year of the Dragon?” Lucia looked up at him.
“The twelve zodiac animals, have you heard of them?”
“I know a little… but not very well,” Lucia replied.
She had seen netizens discussing “why there are no cats in the twelve zodiac animals” online. She only knew that there were no cats, but she didn’t know the specifics.
“So there are dragons too?”
Lucia felt that the years in human society were truly magical.
Clearly, there were no “dragons” in this world. Dragons were mythical creatures to them, yet one could appear in the twelve zodiac animals.
“So this year is my zodiac year,” Lucia suddenly thought of the term.
Xia Li chuckled. “That’s not how zodiac years are calculated… Next year is also my zodiac year. It’s the Year of the Snake, but I have nothing to do with snakes.”
Lucia fixed her gaze on him, scrutinizing him.
How could this Brave Hero resemble a snake…?
From Lucia’s perspective, snakes were long and slender creatures, but Xia Li looked thick and flat （referring to his body shape）, indeed having nothing to do with snakes.
Oh, right.
Snakes coil around people…
Xia Li was quite clingy when he slept at night. He would secretly hug her in the middle of the night, as if he wanted to be intertwined with her.
“Then you really are like a snake.”
The evil dragon nodded slightly, summarizing her conclusion.
Xia Li couldn’t keep up with her train of thought. He was still pondering the Year of the Dragon.
Bringing a dragon wife home in the Year of the Dragon…
How auspicious.
He silently glanced at the short dragon beside him. The few soft white scales on her jade-like face shimmered in the natural light, making her pretty face even more radiant.
“Radiant” might not be an appropriate word to describe a human face, but when he thought of Lucia’s true form as a silver dragon, the word became quite fitting.
Noble, magnificent, extraordinarily beautiful.
Why didn’t he find the dragons of Azure Continent beautiful before?
Back then, because of his preconceived notions, after concluding that dragons were symbols of evil, Xia Li had never truly appreciated this race. Now, after a long time, he suddenly remembered those majestic figures, and only one word came to Xia Li’s mind to describe them: “beautiful.”
Oh no.
He suddenly snapped back to reality.
Xia Li felt that his preference was not right.
He had already started to appreciate dragons in their dragon form?
He hadn’t even fully appreciated dragons in their human form yet.
Squeezing the little claw in his hand, Xia Li cleared his throat and continued from where he left off.
“The dragons in China are different from your kind. Chinese dragons are auspicious symbols, representing good fortune. Your appearance is more in line with Western dragons, which are feroci…”
“Feroci?” Lucia looked up.
“Different worldviews, you can’t generalize.”
Xia Li shook his head, retracting his statement.
The evil dragon beside him was still touching her chest. She wanted to hear more about what was wrong with Western dragons’ chests, but Xia Li didn’t continue. He pulled her into a shopping mall.
◈◈◈
The small shopping mall in the old district was experiencing its busiest time of the year.
The sound of hawking rose and fell in waves. Large purple and red billboards were filled with promotional activities, and merchants were taking advantage of this wave of customer traffic to boost their year-end sales.
“Xia Li.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you want to ride a dragon?”
“I… what???”
The indoor shops were filled with the sound of people talking. Xia Li thought he had misheard and bent down to listen.
Lucia stood on tiptoe, cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted in Xia Li’s ear.
“Have you ever ridden a dragon?”
“What do you think?” Xia Li retorted.
“I’m asking you!”
“I haven’t!”
The two of them were shouting at the top of their lungs. Xia Li’s head was buzzing from the noise.
◈◈◈
After staring at Lucia’s jade-like face for a while, he pulled her aside and asked.
“You… what do you want to say?”
“Over there.”
Lucia stretched out her arm and pointed to the entrance of a shop.
Xia Li followed her gaze. It was a shop selling children’s clothes. Usually, these shops would place a few arcade games outside to attract children’s attention.
This shop also had arcade games outside, including the common ring toss game and a rocking horse ride.
Lucia’s finger was pointing at the rocking horse ride.
Perhaps because the Year of the Dragon was approaching, the rocking horse was designed in the shape of a red Chinese dragon. It had a chubby body, cartoonish eyes, and two long whiskers that wrapped around its body.
“I want to ride it,” Lucia said, pointing at the rocking horse.
Xia Li: “…”
“That’s for children to ride. You, you…”
He looked down at the short dragon, hesitant to speak.
To be fair, although Lucia was small and slender in Xia Li’s eyes, her physique had nothing to do with “children.” She was undoubtedly a young woman.
It would be somewhat awkward for a young woman like her to sit on a children’s rocking horse.
But if she didn’t mind the stares of those around her, it was a consensual transaction.
“I want to ride the little dragon,” Lucia said loudly.
Xia Li whispered, “I also want to ride the little dragon.”
“Then let’s ride together!”
“…I’ll pass. You ride it yourself. I’m overweight.”
Xia Li touched his trouser pocket. He hadn’t carried loose change for a long time. He went to the shop to exchange for a few coins and placed them in Lucia’s palm.
“See the coin slot in the middle of the rocking horse? You just put the coins in there.
You queue up here to ride the rocking… dragon. I’ll go buy something across the street.”
Xia Li pointed to the electronics store opposite the children’s clothing store.
The evil dragon nodded, her eyes filled with reluctance.
“Then when will you come back…”
“I’ll be back after I’m done buying. You wait here.”
Xia Li rubbed the dragon’s head and turned to leave.
It just so happened that there were too many people over there. Lucia could even sit on a small stool while queuing for the rocking horse.
With the New Year approaching, although there were many petty thieves, it was not common for people to be kidnapped. Besides, Lucia was so strong, who could possibly snatch her away…
Unless she let go herself.
Thinking of this, Xia Li turned back cautiously.
Lucia was sitting obediently on the small stool, her eyes fixed on Xia Li.
She looked like a kindergarten child waiting for her parents to pick her up.
Her eyes were full of anticipation.
Xia Li went to the electronics store and bought a pair of heated knee pads. These were for his grandmother. Her old knee problems would act up whenever it rained, causing her a lot of pain. These heated pads could alleviate the pain to a certain extent.
Turning back, he found that Lucia was still queuing there, so he went to another shop and bought two boxes of fruit and milk. When passing by a daily necessities store, he stopped again to buy a set of skincare products for Mrs. Fang.
Women’s skincare products were not cheap. A whole set cost over a thousand yuan.
Xia Li didn’t know what use these things were, but he knew that Mrs. Fang would definitely be happy to receive them.
As long as the Empress Dowager was happy, everything else was secondary.
Returning to the children’s clothing store, Lucia had just gotten on the rocking horse.
The surrounding human children cast envious glances at her. When she couldn’t figure out where to press to start the ride, a human child even helped her out.
“I have horns on my head, a tail behind me…”
The rocking horse started to move.
One second Lucia was curious about the structure of the rocking horse, the next her eyes lit up.
Coupled with the background music of the little dragon song, Xia Li felt that it was quite fitting for a dragon to be sitting on a dragon.
“Hee hee hee…”
“Is it fun?”
“It’s so much fun! I want to ride it a billion more times.”
“Save it, the human children queuing behind you are about to cry.”
Xia Li lent a hand and helped Lucia down.
Lucia was still smiling, her lips curved into a wavy line, her clear eyes crescent-shaped.
“Then, then let’s ride it again next time,” she said, somewhat reluctantly.
Xia Li picked up the boxes on the ground. In just over ten minutes, his hands were full of things.
If it were a girl shopping, this amount of purchases would be enough for half a day, but men were different. Men were decisive and efficient when shopping, focusing on precision and speed.
“This is for you.”
Xia Li placed a small box in Lucia’s hand.
Lucia thought Xia Li wanted her to help carry it, so she unhesitatingly took it and held it in her arms.
However, Xia Li said, “Open it and see.”
“Hmm?”
“This is for you.”
“For me?”
Lucia looked at the gift in her arms with surprise.
“Didn’t you say that the Year of the Dragon is your zodiac year? So this is a gift for you,” Xia Li said.
“Is it red underwear?” Lucia started to open the box.
Xia Li was speechless for a moment. “…What have you been learning?”
“The internet says that wearing red underwear during your zodiac year is good luck, and the red underwear will fade, dyeing your little butt red… Next year it’ll be your turn to wear it!”
“But this isn’t underwear!”
Xia Li felt both exasperated and amused.
This dragon’s way of talking was really something. Where did she learn all this stuff?
Lucia opened the box and blinked.
Inside was not a plush toy, nor a beautiful crystal ball, nor gloves or hats or anything like that.
Those things were all show and no substance, meant to deceive girls with their cheapness. They were not within Xia Li’s purchasing scope.
He had bought two sets of skincare products in total, one for Mrs. Fang and one for Lucia.
Lucia was first attracted by the beautiful little bottles, then she lifted the box and started to look it over, her fingers tapping on the surface.
“What are you doing?!”
“Why isn’t there a price tag?” Lucia asked, sounding very concerned.
This gift was packaged so well, it looked very expensive at first glance.
Based on the pictures and descriptions on the box, Lucia could guess that it was for skincare, but she didn’t really need these things.
“Why do you care about that?”
“I don’t need something so expensive. My face isn’t worth that much money…” Lucia said, somewhat apprehensive.
It would be better to buy a few more bricks to build a new lair than to spend money on her dragon face!
“Who says your face isn’t worth money? Didn’t I say it’s priceless?”
“Worthless…”
“Nonsense! Priceless means it’s a priceless treasure, irreplaceable!”
Xia Li’s hands were full of things, but he still freed up an index finger and hooked it around Lucia’s hand.
This dragon used to be easy to reason with. As long as Xia Li corrected her once, she would immediately change her mind.
But now she had her own ideas and had become stubborn.