novelraw Chapter 186
Chapter 186
Chapter 186: You Can’t Just Say Anything
Today’s dinner was especially simple.
The refrigerator at home had been empty for a long time. This time, Xia Li didn’t even order takeout. He simply made do with a few cups of instant noodles.
Lucia the dragon was never picky about food. Whether it was delicacies from the mountains and seas or instant noodles, she ate them with great relish.
At this moment, the evil dragon had no idea what the New Year’s Eve dinner meant to ordinary families.
It meant… that there would be endless leftovers for the next few days.
The New Year’s Eve dinner in the southern regions is definitely a table full of food. It’s normal to eat one meal for three or four days, and it’s basically all meat dishes. By then, you’ll be craving this instant noodles.
“Just make do with this today, fill up your stomach. You’ll have plenty to eat tomorrow night.”
Xia Li put the instant noodles and sausages into Lucia’s noodle cup.
Lucia lowered her head to search for noodles and turned her head to bite the sausage that was thrown into the cup, munching on it with a smack. Lucia was still looking forward to tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve.
It was said to be the grandest festival in the world.
Now every household was decorated with lanterns and festoons. The community was hung with red lanterns and small red flags, and the atmosphere was heightened to the extreme.
Before this, the grandest festival Lucia had ever seen was the founding ceremony of a certain kingdom.
In her memory, there were flowers, white doves, and the sound of bells of blessing.
However, when she spread her wings and soared through the sky, those humans would immediately flee in panic.
“Eat slower.”
Xia Li’s hand was still on the mouse when he turned around and saw that Lucia had eaten half of her instant noodles. He interrupted her with some urgency.
“I chew it up and swallow it.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“Then… oh, I know. The noodles aren’t hot, I won’t drink boiling water with them.”
“No,” Xia Li said, looking at the cup in the evil dragon’s hand, “I haven’t found a video to watch while eating. Wait for me.”
“…”
Lucia slurped the noodle from her mouth, put down her fork, and waited for Xia Li.
Humans always like to watch something while eating…
But it’s understandable.
When Lucia was in a good mood, she would also grab some food and go to the top of the mountain to eat while enjoying the scenery. It seemed that this would make her appetite even better.
As the computer sound rang out, a string of gibberish that Lucia couldn’t understand entered her ears.
“What is this?”
Lucia’s fair face reflected the flickering colored light from the screen.
“Anime,” Xia Li said, slurping a mouthful of noodles.
An evil dragon from another world watching anime from another world.
Quite interesting.
Let her see how those Earth male protagonists who transmigrated to another world were involuntarily involved in wars. Maybe Lucia would understand his actions.
“In your anime, dragons are basically villains.”
Lucia lowered her head and blew on the noodles.
This point was very similar to the humans on the Azure Continent.
In their stories, the dragon race was the big bad guys, similar to the stories on Earth.
“There are also good dragons… but we can’t be blamed for this. In our own cultural stories, our own race is of course the righteous one, so foreign races easily become villains,” Xia Li explained.
Lucia buried her head in her noodles. She didn’t really care about this point.
While she was enjoying the noodles in her mouth, Lucia raised her eyes and inadvertently caught a glimpse of the male protagonist kissing a big-eared foreign girl on the bed.
This was only the fourth episode…
So exciting.
As expected of the “video to watch while eating” that the Brave Hero found.
Lucia was a little embarrassed to watch this scene. She glanced at it and pretended not to see it, bending down to pick up Little Cotton, who was passing by, and petting her.
“Are you full already?”
“Almost…”
“Aren’t you going to watch anime with me?”
Lucia was about to slip away when Xia Li grabbed her and questioned her.
She shyly glanced at the screen again. Good heavens, it was even more exciting.
Her ears slightly reddened. Lucia sat down with Cotton in her arms, only looking at Cotton, and never at Xia Li’s computer.
“Then I’ll watch for a little while, but not too long,” Lucia whispered.
This scene reminded Xia Li of when he was a child watching movies with his parents.
When he saw the male and female protagonists kissing, he would also avert his gaze like this.
“Haha…”
Xia Li suddenly felt amused and chuckled.
Lucia silently turned her body to the side, not saying another word to him.
Making Lucia understand human emotions…
Xia Li felt that this step had already been more than half successful.
The next step was to understand the emotions in human actions.
In this aspect, Lucia was still far behind.
Xia Li wanted Lucia to know that when she felt overwhelmed with emotion, she should close her eyes and kiss the other person like on the computer, instead of suddenly taking a bite of his arm like last time.
“Look, why aren’t you watching? It’s the best part,” Xia Li said while eating noodles.
Lucia touched Little Cotton’s nose and then her own.
As if she had remembered something, she put her finger on her cheek and asked thoughtfully,
“Xia Li…”
“Hmm?”
“You said that we can go back to the Azure Continent when we have enough magic power. How much do we need?”
“Well,” Xia Li was unsure, “We probably need a lot more.”
“How much is ‘a lot more’?” the evil dragon raised her face and asked again, “As much as buying a new lair?”
“Maybe… about the same?”
Xia Li pondered for a moment.
He had no idea himself.
To collect magic power bit by bit through the Demon Repelling Sword and Wuqi’s Golden Bell was a very long process, so long that it would take years.
He planned to take it one step at a time.
For example, it might only take a few months to self-study for the veterinary qualification certificate, and about the same time to open a pet hospital…
As for collecting magic power, going back to the Azure Continent, and obtaining an ID card, Xia Li couldn’t estimate the time for these three steps.
Thinking of this, Xia Li became anxious.
“What do you think is more important, integrating into society or gaining social recognition?” he asked Lucia in return.
Lucia was stunned for a moment: “Aren’t these two the same thing?”
“They’re not the same… Integrating into society is getting used to the social life here, while gaining social recognition is obtaining an identity here,” Xia Li replied.
But thinking about it carefully, it seemed that what they had been working hard for, what they had always wanted to do, was the same goal from beginning to end.
That was to make Lucia completely a part of human society.
They had been working hard on the same thing, and they were on the right track.
“It’s useless to think so much.”
It was Lucia who raised the question, and now it was Lucia who comforted Xia Li.
She patted the cat hair on her hands and said, “As the ancients said, the boat will naturally straighten when it reaches the bridgehead!”
Xia Li smiled: “It’s a boat, not a bridge.”
◈◈◈
New Year’s Eve.
The sound of firecrackers had been going on since dawn.
Xia Li was woken up by the noise and got up to tidy up.
Fang Xia and the others would come back here today to celebrate the New Year with Xia Li, but it would probably be noon by the time they arrived. Xia Li had to take care of breakfast himself.
After looking through the takeout options on his phone, he found that all the small shops around, like the steamed bun shop and noodle shop, were closed for the holiday.
After struggling to find the last two eggs in the empty refrigerator, Xia Li took some biscuits and milk powder from the snack shelf. This was his breakfast for today.
The evil dragon was still sleeping in. Xia Li tidied up the living room and remembered the Spring Festival couplets he had bought on the street a few days ago.
He had planned to go to the door and paste the couplets himself, but then he thought that Lucia had never seen such things before.
In order to let the evil dragon broaden her horizons, Xia Li walked to the bedside and shook the dragon.
“Lucia, wake up.”
Lucia’s whole body was like water, swaying back and forth as Xia Li pushed her.
“…”
Scratching her belly, Lucia showed no sign of waking up. She turned over and continued to sleep.
“We’re under attack!” Xia Li suddenly said.
Still no reaction.
Once dragons entered a state of sleep, they would sleep very soundly. Their brains seemed to be able to automatically filter out unimportant things.
Perhaps Lucia’s subconscious mind was all too clear that the probability of encountering an enemy attack at home was lower than getting two noodle cakes in a cup of instant noodles.
Staring at that cute sleeping face, Xia Li sighed silently.
He reached out and hooked a strand of hair with his finger. That small bunch of hair was stained with dragon saliva, sticky and leaving a wet trail on her face.
Xia Li softened his voice and said in the evil dragon’s ear,
“Someone wants to snatch me away.”
“…Who!”
Lucia sat up like a zombie.
Her eyes quickly scanned the room until she saw Xia Li beside her. Her eyes widened, and she hugged Xia Li’s arm.
This possessiveness…
A burst of warmth and softness crashed into his arms, and the corners of Xia Li’s mouth curled up slightly.
“Get up, it’s New Year’s Eve today, and there are a lot of things to do.”
“Humph…”
Lucia probably guessed that she had just been tricked by Xia Li. She mumbled and got out of bed to put on her shoes.
◈◈◈
She had wanted to bite Xia Li, but she decided to let it go.
Lucia had asked Zhou Anqi about the New Year yesterday. Zhou Anqi was surprised that Lucia had never experienced a family reunion in her eighteen years of life and felt sorry for her.
The human New Year was very important. They were very concerned about their luck and experiences during the New Year period.
There were many customs and things to avoid during these days.
For example, not wearing old clothes, not throwing out garbage, not getting a haircut on certain days…
Lucia felt it was troublesome, thinking that she just needed to pay a little attention. So she let Xia Li off the hook and wouldn’t bite him today.
“Which side is the first line of the couplet?”
Outside the half-open metal door, Xia Li held up the Spring Festival couplet smeared with paste, thought for a moment, and then moved it to the right.
Lucia stood at the door, wearing a pair of newly bought bunny slippers, tilting her head to look at Xia Li, munching on a biscuit in her mouth like a little squirrel.
“Left,” Lucia said casually.
“Then it must be the right.”
Lucia: “…”
Xia Li pasted the first line of the couplet, ‘Dragon dances in the nine heavens, singing the earth,’ on the right side.
The Spring Festival couplet was read from right to left, so there was no problem with doing this.
“Come over and help me.”
Looking at the dragon behind him eating biscuits and watching the show, Xia Li felt that this was not good.
“Can’t you reach it?”
Lucia patted the biscuit crumbs off her hands, rubbed them on her clothes, and then bent down.
With a ‘whoosh’.
Xia Li felt his body lighten and was actually lifted up by this evil dragon!
“You…”
He stopped himself from speaking, and said with a cold face,
“Put me down.”
“Oh.”
His feet touched the ground again, and Xia Li felt his anger rising.
He stuffed all the things into Lucia’s small hands, then half-squatted down and lifted her up, letting her paste the couplets one by one.
The two stood at the dilapidated gate, the couplets on both sides of the gate pasted very neatly.
Xia Li looked up and admired it, finally feeling satisfied.
That’s right.
He could give in to Lucia on anything.
But not on this.
This position couldn’t be reversed.
“What does ‘everlasting’ mean?”
Lucia asked, looking at the four characters on the horizontal scroll.
She really couldn’t appreciate these human customs, but the red characters on a black background looked very grand.
“It means forever and ever,” Xia Li said, pulling her into the house.
“Forever… what can last forever?”
“My love for you.”
“…”
Lucia washed her face and came out, the temperature on her face finally dropping.
Today’s breakfast was just some random snacks and biscuits.
Xia Li said that they had to empty out everything in the house today. Tomorrow was the first day of the New Year, and they couldn’t throw out garbage, so everything that needed to be thrown out had to be dealt with today.
As noon approached, the sun broke through the clouds.
Beams of light fell down through the haze.
There were more elderly people and children in the courtyard, the sound of firecrackers and fireworks continued, and Little Cotton at home was so scared that she hid in her cat bed.
A few days ago, Lucia would still be startled by the sudden sound of firecrackers, but now she was used to it.
She went to the balcony to organize her small box and took out the bag of fireworks she had bought last time, looking at them from side to side.
“We’ll set them off tonight.”
“Okay!”
Xia Li’s words made Lucia’s mouth break into a smile.
Secretly glancing at the little brats downstairs who were setting off firecrackers in the flower bed, Lucia’s expression was no longer as envious as before.
Her eyes seemed to say, ‘You have them, I have them too!’
Childish…
Xia Li sighed inwardly.
“Meow~”
A black shadow flashed out from the balcony, landing on the ground with agility.
Half of the cow cat’s face was black and half white, and the white fur still had strange colors on it.
“Meow meow!”
『Those little brats set off firecrackers at me, luckily I ran fast. 』
Wuqi sat on the railing of the balcony licking his paws, stretched languidly, and then jumped down.
He circled around Xia Li’s legs, his tail hooking around Xia Li’s ankle like a hook, and meowed softly again.
『Happy New Year, brother. 』
“Happy New Year. Do you want some extra food?”
Xia Li remembered that there were still two cans of cat food at home.
He hadn’t seen Wuqi for a few days, and he had gained a lot of weight. Was the food for stray cats so good now?
“Meow!”
『No need, just came back to see you. 』
Wuqi patted Xia Li’s shoe with his paw and said, 『Record a couple more videos, I might not be back these days. 』
Although he only meowed continuously, it was not difficult to see the smug look in Wuqi’s eyes.
Xia Li followed his gaze to the balcony.
Sure enough, he saw several cats of different colors and breeds sitting on the unoccupied balcony not far away.
They were not familiar with Xia Li and remained vigilant, but at the same time, they were afraid but unwilling to leave.
“You…”
『Yes, my wives. 』
Wuqi deliberately emphasized the word ‘wives’.
Coupled with that smug expression, he had the smugness of an old man after the fact.
“…”
Xia Li was speechless for a moment.
To coax a few female cats to follow him was not a problem at all for Wuqi with his intelligence.
What made Xia Li curious was that this guy had been neutered, so where did he get the ability?!
However, Xia Li had checked online before.
Even without cat balls, it didn’t prevent him from getting hard.
In other words, he could get on the bus… without buying a ticket.
“Alright, alright, go on and have fun. I’ll leave you water and food on the balcony. If you can’t find a place to eat, bring your girlfriend… wives, over to eat together.”
Xia Li took out his phone and recorded two videos. It just so happened that there were kids setting off fireworks downstairs. This kind of video with fireworks as the background looked very new, and it was obvious that it was shot during the New Year period, so it could be used to fool the hospital for a few days.
『Thanks, brother, you’re so nice, love you. 』
Wuqi blew a kiss from afar.
It was a pity that a cat’s mouth really couldn’t pout like a human’s, so his action was as awkward as it could be.
After greeting and completing the task of recording the return visit video, Wuqi had no worries. He turned around and led his harem away.
“He has so many girlfriends?”
Seeing this scene, Lucia roughly guessed what had happened based on Xia Li’s one-sided conversation.
“Yes.”
Xia Li replied casually, pulling the dragon back into the house to warm up.
The sun was hot enough today. Xia Li put the heater aside and placed the melon seeds, peanuts, and candy he had bought a few days ago on the coffee table. He also piled the oranges together, making it look very New Year-like.
Fang Xia and the others would be home in a while, and Xia Li was fully prepared.
“Do you also want so many girlfriends?”
Lucia sat on the sofa cracking melon seeds and suddenly asked.
“I never thought about that!”
“But your expression just now… clearly showed that you really wanted it.”
“You can eat melon seeds carelessly, but you can’t just say anything.”
Xia Li snatched two melon seeds from the evil dragon’s little claws and started cracking them too.
He felt wronged.
He had absolutely no intention of envying Wuqi just now, just a little admiration for Wuqi’s energy.
He was already busy enough dealing with Lucia’s matters, and Wuqi, a neutered cat, could actually juggle five or six female cats, and the key was that there was no drama.
“I think it’s quite normal.”
Lucia swung her feet, her snow-white ankle socks very alluring in the sunlight.
She paused and then said, “According to the traditional concept of our world, it’s very common for the strong to take three or four wives… Just like those purebred male dragons who like to sow their seeds everywhere, humans who stand at the top of power and strength will also spread their branches and leaves.”
Lucia talked about the traditional concept of the Azure Continent, and Xia Li’s hair stood on end as he listened.
“Shh…”
He put his finger to her cherry lips and made a silencing gesture. Xia Li heard the familiar footsteps coming from the corridor.
When Xia Li was a child living in this old house, he had countless experiences of being caught watching TV without finishing his homework, so he was both familiar and sensitive to this kind of footsteps.
“My mom is back.”
Xia Li quickly stood up, dusted the melon seed shells off his clothes, and pulled Lucia to open the door to greet them.
“Don’t say anything later… especially about what we were talking about just now, don’t even mention it.”
Sorry for the late update today! QWQ