novelraw Chapter 223
Chapter 223
Chapter 223: Charm Magic! Then a Fail
Lucia went online to learn more about the Qingming Festival. It was called the Ancestor Worship Festival, and also the Spring Outing Festival.
Spring outing…
As the name suggests, it’s about stepping on the green grass.
Rounding it up, it’s a spring outing!
I heard that primary and secondary school students in human society are arranged by the school for this kind of outing every spring and autumn. The content of the activity is to carry a large bag of snacks to a place with good scenery, then spread a picnic cloth on the ground, and everyone shares snacks together.
——This is simply the most suitable outdoor activity in the world for Lucia!
It’s a pity that Lucia has never been a child, and this kind of activity may be out of reach for her in this life.
But, she is Xia Li’s child.
Xia Li decided to take her out for a play on this half-day Qingming holiday. “Are you ready?”
“Almost!”
Xia Li waited at the door of the living room, glancing into the room from time to time.
The door was only left ajar, and the lights were not turned on. Xia Li could vaguely see the figure moving inside.
It’s just a simple outing…
Stinky Dragon said she wanted to change clothes, so Xia Li brought her back.
Lucia may not understand the sense of ritual of a date, but as a girl influenced by modern society, she still has a love for beauty.
So Xia Li waited very patiently. Who wouldn’t want to see their girlfriend dress up beautifully and go out?
“What color do you like…”
The crack in the door widened a little more, and Xia Li looked inside. Lucia hid behind the door, a white shoulder strap hung on her soft shoulders, a small outline of her flat waist and abdomen was exposed, and the rest was shyly hidden behind the door.
It seemed that she was only wearing underwear.
Xia Li’s eyes fell on it as if they were sucked in and it was difficult to move them away. He stared straight at it like a big bad wolf, and after a while he remembered to answer Lucia’s question.
“Are you asking about the inside or the outside?”
“…”
Lucia blushed and didn’t correct Xia Li.
Does that mean she can choose both?
“Blue and white stripes plus a white skirt.” Xia Li replied immediately.
“There is no such color…”
Lucia didn’t remember buying such a style.
However, she probably knew the color scheme Xia Li wanted.
There was no blue at home, but she could use green instead. She rummaged through the closet for the pure white lace panties and put them on little by little, hooking her instep. It wasn’t until she pulled the corners to her waist that she pinched the edge of the elastic band and tidied it up.
Lucia never liked to wear these close-fitting clothes before, the freedom of dragon nature made her feel that clothes were restraining her.
But Lucia was thin-skinned, and felt that after becoming a human, she had to have some fig leaf on her body.
The so-called ‘freedom’ of the dragon race became a kind of ‘unrestrainedness’ in humans. She didn’t like this kind of unrestrainedness, so she always liked to wrap herself tightly.
After rummaging through the closet, Lucia put on a pair of safety pants, and finally took out a white long skirt.
She liked white, this pure and flawless color reminded her of the white scales on her body.
Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror, she tidied herself up and tied the light green belt behind her back into a small bow.
Hehe…
Lucia held the corner of her skirt and turned half a circle in front of the mirror.
The soft and pure silver dragon tail then fell from between her legs.
The closely arranged dragon scales, in this unlit room, were like the most dazzling Milky Way in the night sky pouring down.
Lucia raised her little butt and looked back at her tail.
She lifted her long and fat tail, and the slender tip of her tail swayed gently, as if greeting.
Well, perfect.
Lucia was very satisfied with her current state.
All her pants had been personally modified by Xia Li, with a hole dug in the middle, as long as she found the right angle when stretching her dragon tail, she wouldn’t tear the pants anymore.
Of course, there were also disadvantages to doing so.
She could only release her tail when she was wearing a skirt. If she really wore those long pants, she could only put her tail away.
“Hehe…”
After admiring her beautiful dragon tail in the mirror for a while, Lucia put her tail away and put on a small straw hat.
As soon as she walked out of the room, she saw the bad Brave Hero staring straight at her at the door.
“…”
Lucia’s small face froze, she pinched the straw hat by her ear and said in a low voice.
“When, when did you stand at the door…”
“Just now.”
“Oh, oh…”
Lucia fled in a panic, and quickly changed her shoes to go out.
When she first came to Earth, she didn’t guard against Xia Li very much. Later, their relationship developed rapidly. After Lucia had a girl’s shyness and reserve, she would sneak into the room to change clothes by herself.
Now…
Forget it, he doesn’t know how many times he has peeked anyway.
Lucia waited outside for a while, but Xia Li didn’t come out for a long time.
She poked her head inside anxiously, and was about to urge him, when she saw Xia Li walking out of the room slowly with a headband in his hand.
This headband looked familiar. It was bought by Xia Li at a grocery store after Lucia wanted to play a cat girl last time, but Xia Li said he liked dragon girls.
I bought it back to make Xia Li happy, and also wanted to increase the so-called ‘fun’ as Zhou Anqi said…
In the end, it was Lucia who was embarrassed and only wore it once.
Fake is fake after all.
Lucia felt that this plastic feel was an insult to the majesty of the dragon race.
“Why are you wearing this…”
Watching Xia Li put the headband on her head, Lucia raised her hand to pinch the straw hat, and then raised it to touch the horns on it.
“Because this dragon horn looks fake.” Xia Li explained.
“It’s fake, so you still wear it out…”
“It’s because it’s fake, that’s why I wear it,” Xia Li helped her put the headband in place, and added.
“To cover up, to confuse the real with the fake… You don’t understand this, do you?
If passers-by see your dragon tail and still have a little doubt about you, then when they see the fake dragon horns on your head, they will only think that you are a girl who plays with popular elements, cosplay, etc., and will not guess you in the direction of dragons.” Xia Li said.
Lucia tried to understand, and felt it made sense.
“But I won’t let my tail out…”
“What if? Wear a headband to take precautions beforehand.”
As Xia Li said, he raised his hand and touched the pair of dragon horns.
Well, it’s hard, not comfortable to touch at all.
When dragons are excited or comfortable, they will wag their tails, which is the habit of this race.
Xia Li hadn’t lived in Azure Continent for long enough, and didn’t know much about dragons, but he must know Lucia.
As long as she eats something delicious, or is in a relaxed state, a silky little tail will fall from between Lucia’s legs.
This would also happen when she was fast asleep. Xia Li would always feel like he was being entangled by a cold little snake in the middle of his sleep, and only when he opened his eyes did he realize that this stinky dragon was already using him as a pillow.
This was Lucia’s ‘habit’ as a dragon.
A cat’s tail and a cat are two different creatures, and so are a dragon’s tail and a dragon, it’s always out of control.
◈◈◈
Drive for half an hour.
The place Xia Li took Lucia to was the Panda Base.
This is also one of the most famous scenic spots in Qingcheng City, and it is a must-see place for many foreign tourists passing by.
Because it rained intermittently all day, there were not many tourists in the scenic spot today.
Xia Li searched around before finding the ticket office, and bought two full-price paper tickets under the surprised gaze of the ticket seller.
“Got it.”
Clutching the paper ticket in his hand, Xia Li dangled it in front of Lucia as if showing off.
Just now his heart tightened.
If the other party also said ‘You need to swipe your ID card to enter the park’, Xia Li’s mentality would probably collapse.
The last amusement park left a lot of regrets, if Xia Li left Lucia with some regrets this time, then he really had to consider using magic.
“Xia Li is awesome!”
Lucia, the little cheerleader, gave a thumbs up and praised Xia Li directly.
Xia Li reached out and pinched the dragon’s face.
“Learn less of this kind of words, you just need to praise me for being handsome in the future.”
Lining up to check the tickets and enter the park, the Panda Base in Qingcheng City is very large, and you can’t see the end at a glance.
Xia Li had been here with his classmates when he was in college. Last time he walked around until his feet were worn out. This time he learned his lesson and bought tickets for the sightseeing bus in advance, saving himself the trouble of spending most of his time walking.
“It’s a pity that it’s raining today, otherwise the weather would be better and we could take a lot of pictures.”
In addition to seeing pandas at the Panda Base, there is also a large area of garden plants to see.
The lavender on the hillside is in bud, and the continuous rain seems to have wrapped a layer of transparent raincoat on the buds. Every flower and grass is bent by the weight of the water droplets, blowing out grass waves like wheat ears in the spring breeze.
Xia Li’s eyes were full of Lucia’s figure.
The girl walked through the lavender flower field, her white and green lotus leaf long skirt was as fresh as the morning dew in early summer.
Time has not left any traces on her body, Xia Li looked at her, only saw the charming and youthful beauty that belongs to young girls.
“If it doesn’t rain today, there will be a lot of people, and it won’t be so fun!”
Lucia said with a smile.
“That’s true.”
Xia Li raised his mobile phone to take pictures of Lucia, and Lucia posed for pictures in various cooperative ways.
Lucia rarely took pictures, and didn’t understand any composition skills. She just made a cute scissor hand gesture over and over again, and then showed a sincere smile on her face.
“Take more pictures and show them to Aunt Fang!”
“You’re so generous now, you wouldn’t let me take pictures before.”
“Hee hee~ I dressed up specially today! And Aunt Fang likes me very much, so I am willing to show Aunt Fang!”
The evil dragon in the lens smiled very sweetly, Xia Li looked at the evil dragon in the picture, and then at the real evil dragon in front of him, always feeling a sense of illusion.
The Lucia seen with the naked eye is more agile and real than the Lucia in the lens, so real that Xia Li feels within reach.
“Come here, come here, take a picture with me.”
He put his arms around the soft little evil dragon with one hand, and adjusted the phone to the front camera. Lucia squeezed beside him, her soft cheeks were flattened by Xia Li’s shoulders.
The background is the gloomy sky and the flower field after the rain, there is nothing special to take pictures of.
But the girl’s bright smile and affectionate eyes at this moment are the most beautiful scenery.
“You, you tilt the phone to that side.” Lucia said, pulling Xia Li’s hand.
“…Like this?”
“Yes, tilt it a little more.”
“Is this okay?”
“Okay, this will make my face look smaller.”
Xia Li: “…………”
What is this stinky dragon thinking about every day?
With her small face, Xia Li could pinch it with one hand, and she still cares about her big face?
However, after all, she is a girl, it is better to study advanced mathematics than to study a girl’s mind.
“Click,”
Xia Li took several pictures in a row.
Even from the most deadly angle, Lucia’s face is flawless.
Intoxicating eyebrows and eyes, smiling eyes, slightly upturned nose, full and pink lips…
The more you look at it, the more you like it.
Xia Li looked left and right, there were no passers-by, he kissed Lucia’s face.
Lucia’s eyes widened, and she looked at him in disbelief.
They were still studying the photos…
The Brave Hero just launched a sneak attack? ?
Xia Li thought that Lucia would bite his arm, or stretch out her little leather shoes to step on him.
But today’s evil dragon changed her direction of attack and fought back on the spot.
It’s strange to say that it was obviously a pair of lips that hadn’t been applied with any lipstick, but it left a large wet mark.
Lucia stood on tiptoe and kissed back.
Now it was Xia Li’s turn to be dumbfounded.
Hmph, look how scared the Brave Hero is.
Lucia knew her lethality was great.
◈◈◈
After visiting three panda enclosures one after another, Xia Li didn’t take Lucia to the remaining two enclosures because they were crowded.
Dating is all about being discreet.
Holding hands when there are few people around, hugging and cuddling when no one is watching, and if the light is dim enough, you can bend down and passionately kiss each other with your tongue… It’s all about the thrill of secretly doing something when no one is watching.
But once the crowd grows, all of the above can be eliminated.
Xia Li had already enjoyed holding hands and cuddling the evil dragon on the stone benches.
Before leaving, he bought Lucia a panda plush toy from the souvenir shop.
The plush toy was palm-sized, chubby like a sesame glutinous rice ball. There was a string on the toy’s butt, which seemed to be for attaching it to a keychain or backpack.
Lucia played with the sesame glutinous rice ball as they walked.
All the giant pandas were afraid of her and wouldn’t even show her their butts, so now she was going to play with the panda plush toy to vent her frustration.
“Xia Li, why do pandas live in such a good environment?” Lucia asked with some emotion after they left the Panda Base.
The pandas had a good living environment and good food.
Seeing them munching on tender bamboo shoots with such gusto made Lucia crave them too.
Compared to that, the zoo Lucia had visited before was not even in the same league.
“Because they’re rare, they have to be carefully kept in captivity,” Xia Li casually replied.
“I know, rare things are precious.”
Lucia now understood a lot of principles.
The rarer something is, the more it is cherished. If something is abundant, no one cares about it.
Lucia looked up at Xia Li, touched the dragon horn headband on her head, and suddenly thought of something.
“What about me?”
“Huh?”
Her sudden three words caught Xia Li off guard. Seeing his confusion, she continued.
“I’m the only dragon in the world…”
Lucia’s tone was rather lonely.
Xia Li couldn’t understand the feeling of being abandoned by the world when his race became the only one left.
“No matter what, you’re the most precious to me,” Xia Li said, rubbing the dragon’s head.
“Hehe…”
Lucia pursed her lips and smiled, then asked,
“Then, what if humans discovered that there was a dragon like me in this world, what would they do?”
Xia Li had always talked about ‘slicing and dicing,’ but Lucia didn’t feel anything.
But today, after witnessing firsthand the human attitude towards these precious giant pandas, Lucia began to wonder…
What if humans treated her as well as they treated giant pandas?
“With your size…” Xia Li pondered for a moment, then said,
“I can only compare you to Titan beasts like Godzilla.”
Speaking of which, Xia Li actually imagined that if Godzilla really appeared in real society, would people keep it in captivity like giant pandas, or… kill it directly.
Xia Li believed
The latter was more likely.
Humans are willing to protect an animal only if it is completely under human control.
As long as there is a little uncontrollable factor, coupled with a ‘dangerous’ label, there is only one outcome for this species.
Nuclear annihilation.
“Definitely not, reality is not as beautiful as movies.
The reason why pandas are kept in captivity and treated well is because they are a species that has evolved in the natural environment of the Earth… If a life form beyond human cognition suddenly appears, whose genes cannot be traced, studied, or controlled, it can only be eliminated,” Xia Li said.
Lucia’s delicate eyebrows gradually furrowed as she listened.
Although it was indeed cruel, she felt understandable if the roles were reversed.
If it were dragons, they would do the same…
“Where to next?”
Back in the car, it was dusk, and the sun finally broke through the clouds before evening came, casting a warm orange glow from the sky.
Lucia’s half-day of paid leave was over, and it was time for her after-work nightlife.
The car to the next stop had already started. Lucia looked out the window at the never-tiring city scenery, a silver dragon tail quietly ‘dropped’ out from under her skirt.
“Wherever you take me, I’ll go.”
Lucia adjusted her seat and lay down, the tip of her tail swaying leisurely.
Xia Li felt that this little thing was a hook, hooking him again and again, making his heart itch unbearably.
The evil dragon was tempting him!
But when driving, he couldn’t be distracted and couldn’t find the time to grab her. Finally, when the next red light came, Xia Li reached out to touch it.
Lucia sat sideways, her long dragon tail wrapped around her belly. She held her tail with her hand, looking pitiful and captivating.
“…”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing…”
Her bright eyes blinked slightly, looking extremely innocent.
The green light turned on, and Xia Li had to focus on driving again.
Wasn’t this clearly playing a brand new heart-pounding game?
It was like when playing games with a guy, and his girlfriend suddenly appeared in front of him wearing nothing.
Dragon girl, you’re playing with fire.
“This road is too congested, let’s go out of the city.”
Countless brake lights filled the busy intersection, and the endless line of cars gave Xia Li a headache.
The evening rush hour during the Qingming Festival was even more congested than usual.
Ordinary office workers who didn’t have a holiday would be busy at this time, coupled with the rain, the entire road was jammed with people and cars.
“Okay~”
Lucia had no requirements for the destination.
Anyway, today’s itinerary was all about going wherever they ended up, and then slowly finding their way back after dark.
Xia Li turned the steering wheel and turned the car around at the next intersection.
The congestion in the suburbs was slightly less severe than in the city.
Lucia was a little hungry, so Xia Li stopped the car, and they ate the biscuits and milk they brought from home to satisfy their hunger.
These foods were originally prepared for the spring outing, but they were so busy taking pictures at the Panda Base that they didn’t even think about eating snacks. They didn’t remember until evening.
Even without friends to share snacks with, or pleasant scenery, just the two of them cuddling in the car and feeding each other was already quite satisfying.
“Can you use your tail to roll up something and stuff it into my mouth?”
◈◈◈
Xia Li said, biting into a wafer biscuit.
Now, just having Lucia hand-feed him was not enough. He needed to try something new.
After all, his girlfriend was a dragon… It would be a shame not to try something new.
“…”
Lucia’s face froze for a moment, surprised by Xia Li’s strange hobby.
But she was still willing to give it a try. She turned around and lifted her butt, raising her tail.
The base of the Silver Dragon’s tail was very thick, and her skirt was stretched out. Fortunately, the safety pants were very elastic, otherwise they would have been torn.
After trying it once, Lucia decisively gave up.
She was not a monkey, and her tail was not that flexible.
Before transforming into human form, the dragon’s tail, besides maintaining stability in the air, only had the function of swinging out to smash prey… Maybe it could also be used for fishing, but Lucia had never succeeded.
How could she possibly ‘roll up biscuits and feed the hero’!
“No way!”
Lucia felt that she must have been led astray by Xia Li to actually try it.
She adjusted her seat to lie flat and reached into the gap under the seat to dig around. The biscuit from earlier had fallen on the floor, and it took her a while to dig it out.
Just as she was about to put it in her mouth, she saw Xia Li’s warning eyes and silently took out the dirty biscuit and threw it into the garbage bag.
“Three-second rule…”
She said uncertainly.
If food falls on the floor, you can still eat it if you pick it up within three seconds.
“It’s been three minutes.”
Xia Li sighed, helped her clean up the biscuit crumbs all over her body, patted her clothes to collect the residue, and then picked up the crumbs on the chair and threw them into the garbage bag.
“You can’t put it in your mouth.”
Lucia was afraid that Xia Li would eat it.
“Why would I put it in my mouth!” Xia Li said with a laugh.
When did he become such a pervert in Lucia’s eyes?
“That’s where my butt sat, it’s too dirty to eat.”
“If you say so, I’m going to eat it.”
“…”
Lucia’s face turned pale, stunned by Xia Li’s words.
It is said that playing the lute to a cow is a waste of breath, and sometimes playing the lute to a human is also quite helpless.
Seeing her dazed look, Xia Li laughed and also laid his seat flat, put his hands behind his head, and looked up at the car roof.
This feeling of resting wherever they went was very good.
It was quite suitable for a dragon like Lucia who yearned for freedom and loved to embark on journeys.
It was a pity that RVs were too expensive, and Xia Li couldn’t afford them, otherwise he would really consider taking Lucia on a trip around the world or something.
But…
Did she still yearn for that ‘freedom’?
What made her stop was no longer the scenery along the way and interesting battles, but the delicious food on the snack street and the discounted eggs in the supermarket.
Compared to freedom, what she wanted had changed.
“Are you going to sleep here?”
Xia Li had been lying down for a long time without any movement, and Lucia thought he was sleepy. She carefully climbed over from the passenger seat and onto Xia Li’s reclining chair.
The car’s seats were quite spacious, and Lucia straddled Xia Li’s hips, half-kneeling on either side with her legs spread apart.
She leaned over Xia Li’s chest to look and found that he wasn’t closing his eyes at all, but staring at her with his black eyes wide open.
Xia Li’s train of thought was instantly broken.
Looking at Lucia who had quietly climbed onto him, he raised his hand and placed it on the girl’s slender waist.
“The window tint isn’t dark enough, people will see,” Xia Li reminded.
Lucia flicked her dragon tail, her cool tail brushing against his legs, and said in a very small voice,
“I’m just looking at you, not doing anything…”
It was strange.
When Xia Li took the initiative to do something to her, Lucia would shy away.
But when Xia Li didn’t do anything to her, Lucia felt like something was missing. To make up for this gap, she would take the initiative, touching Xia Li all over, or swaying her proud tail in his line of sight.
Lucia felt that it was not an exaggeration to say that this behavior was meant to seduce Xia Li.
But once she seduced him, she didn’t want to seduce him anymore.
She couldn’t understand…
Could this contradictory feeling also be part of the complex emotions of humans?
Lucia leaned forward on her arms. Xia Li’s chest was very firm, and his shoulders were broad. She wanted to lie on him and listen to his heartbeat.
The two figures in the narrow car were stacked on top of each other like a hamburger, their bodies touching over a large area. The air became somewhat ambiguous, and even the temperature rose slightly.
Suppressing the deer bumping around in her heart, Lucia raised her half-kneeling knees slightly, wanting to crawl forward half a step, but her raised knee inadvertently brushed against Xia Li’s middle.
She blushed instantly.
At this time, Xia Li also seemed to feel something, he was really uncomfortable being teased by this dragon.
Just as he grabbed her nervously raised dragon tail, Lucia quickly retreated.
Then she rolled over and back to her seat.
No, no, that feeling was coming again.
Xia Li advanced, she retreated.
Xia Li retreated, she wanted to advance.
It was Lucia’s first time being human, it was difficult to understand her own behavior!
But…
Whatever.
Anyway, as long as she was with Xia Li, she would understand one day.
“It’s so hot in the car, let’s go out and cool off.”
Lucia tugged at her collar, pretending that nothing had happened.
As soon as she opened the car door and got out, the cool wind that poured into the car not only made Lucia feel more awake, but also made Xia Li much more awake.
Glancing at the surveillance camera hanging not far away, Xia Li felt that the car was really not a good place, so he followed Lucia out.
The traffic on the street had decreased a lot, and the setting sun was still struggling on the horizon.
The most beautiful moment of the night was when night fell and the dark blue and orange-red colors alternated.
Lucia stretched her arms and legs. Her palms were sweating just now. She actually wanted to grab Zhuizhui. Fortunately, she was thin-skinned and ran fast, otherwise, with Xia Li’s resistance, she would definitely fall for him again.
“Xia Li, where are these people going?”
There were usually no pedestrians on both sides of the suburban road. In such a remote corner where you couldn’t even see a tall building, there should be even fewer people.
But Lucia saw humans hurrying past her, some holding bouquets of flowers, some carrying two or three fruits.
“I’ll take you somewhere.”
Xia Li didn’t answer her directly, but pulled her dragon claw and walked forward.
Lucia observed her surroundings as they walked.
She had seen the solemn and slightly sad expressions on those human faces many times today.
At noon, she saw the same expressions on the faces of those humans by the river who were burning paper money, expressing their longing, and commemorating their deceased relatives and friends.
“Cemetery?”
As they walked to the end of a wide road, Lucia saw a huge stone tablet with the words ‘Cemetery’ written on it.
Xia Li hummed in agreement and continued to walk forward with her.
When they left the city, Xia Li had been purposefully heading in a general direction.
This direction led to Xia Li’s grandmother’s house, which he had visited before.
Before entering the town area, there was a piece of land designated by the government as a cemetery.
Most of the villagers used to bury their relatives next to their own land. Over time, the fields were filled with graves. Later, people began to promote the concept of cemeteries, and gradually the graves were moved out and concentrated together.
That’s what happened to Xia Li’s grandfather.
Those passers-by holding flowers and fruits came to the cemetery at this time to pay their respects at the end of the Qingming Festival.
Xia Li bought a bouquet of chrysanthemums at the entrance of the cemetery. Burning paper money was not allowed in the park, and flowers were the best way to pay respects.
Lucia curiously came closer to take a look and sniffed the chrysanthemums.
“Are these for me, Xia Li?”
“These are not for you.”
It was the first time Lucia encountered such a thing as paying respects to the deceased. She didn’t know the meaning of chrysanthemums, but she had heard the nurses in the hospital say that girls would receive flowers…
Lucia hadn’t received any flowers from Xia Li yet!
This was Lucia’s only regret.
But now Xia Li said that the flowers were not for her, so she pouted a little unhappy and returned the flowers to him.
“You should receive roses, red ones. These yellow flowers are not suitable for you.”
Xia Li didn’t know how to comfort the dragon.
He would explain it to her in detail later.
Lucia’s sulking came and went quickly. As long as Xia Li didn’t give the flowers to another girl, she could accept it.
Following behind Xia Li, they climbed over a small hill. The hill was filled with tombstones, and the surrounding greenery was well-maintained, with lush vegetation. The path under their feet was a small path paved with stone bricks.
The path had been moistened by the rain, and the stone slabs had a soft sheen. Every step they took seemed to echo with the heavy longing.
The design was so ingenious.
Lucia thought to herself, carefully observing her surroundings.
Those people were indeed here to pay their respects.
There were almost no children in the crowd, only adults and the elderly. The expressions on their faces were all the same, solemn. Only Lucia didn’t feel anything in her heart, so she was quite relaxed.
“Xia Li, Xia Li, I’ll do the same when you’re old!”
Suddenly, Lucia saw two elderly people not far ahead.
From their clothes and appearance, it was not difficult to see that they were a couple.
The old man was sitting in a wheelchair, his bald head, brown age spots all over his body, and loose skin already covering his eyelids.
A human of this age was probably in his twilight years.
The old woman standing behind him didn’t look much younger either. She was also unsteady on her feet and walked very slowly. Even though she was shuffling like a baby learning to walk, she still held the handle of the wheelchair tightly and pushed the old man forward slowly.
Lucia wasn’t affected by the depressing atmosphere of the cemetery, but she was a little touched at this moment.
She admired the unyielding spirit of humans.
Xia Li looked over from afar and didn’t say much, continuing to pull the dragon forward.
After going around another path, they reached their destination.
Xia Li’s grandfather was one of the first to be buried here, so he chose his location first. Fang Xia said that she had specially asked a Taoist priest to calculate it, and this direction was the best direction. Xia Li didn’t understand these things, but he vaguely remembered that since he was very young, he had to walk a long way every time he paid his respects.
As he walked, he memorized these paths in his mind.
Xia Li slowly squatted down in front of the tombstone. The tombstone had been cleaned, and a bouquet of white chrysanthemums was placed on it.
It seemed that Fang Xia had already been here once today.
“Xia Li…”
Since Xia Li didn’t explain the current situation to Lucia, she didn’t know what the tombstone in front of her meant. Her attention was all on the next tombstone.
She saw an old woman standing in front of two tombstones. The old woman didn’t hold flowers, fruits, cigarettes or alcohol like the previous mourners. Instead, she stood there blankly, staring at the tombstone under her feet.
It was completely dark now, and only the last glow of the sunset remained in the west. The cool wind blew into her sleeves.
Lucia was never afraid of ghosts or monsters, but standing here, she did feel a little chilly.
“Why is that old woman alone?”
Xia Li looked in the direction she pointed, lowered his voice and replied,
“Maybe her children are busy with work.”
“No one else to accompany her, she looks so lonely…”
“Maybe there were before,” Xia Li looked down and saw the date engraved on the tombstone, then whispered,
“The only person who can accompany her is right in front of her.”
“…”
It took Lucia a long time to understand this sentence.
She thought Xia Li was trying to scare her with talk of souls and ghosts.
But after thinking about it carefully, she realized that Xia Li didn’t mean that.
Looking at the tombstone again, Lucia felt her eyes suddenly getting hot.
The old woman and her lover were very close…
Less than half a meter apart.
But they were also very far apart.
So far apart that they would never be able to see each other again.
“This is my grandfather.”
Xia Li felt that it was not good to discuss other people’s affairs like this. He pulled Lucia’s sleeve to get her attention.
Xia Li had told her before that his grandfather had passed away early.
Lucia knew what ‘passing away’ meant, but she couldn’t deeply understand this feeling.
She had lived for so long, and no one had ever truly entered her world and then left.
She could understand joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, but life and death were still too far away for her.
“Hello, Grandpa…”
Lucia was a little out of it, staring blankly at the black tombstone in front of her.
Xia Li reached into his pocket and pulled out a lollipop.
“When I was a kid, my grandfather also liked to give me candy. He wouldn’t even eat these candies himself, always saving them for me. Sometimes the candy would melt in his pocket without him knowing. When he took it out, the melted candy would stick to his clothes. He would give me the big pieces he peeled off, and lick the remaining bits with his finger. My grandmother scolded him several times for it…”
Xia Li recalled the past, peeled off the candy wrapper, and gently placed the lollipop on the tombstone.
There wasn’t much sadness on his face. After all, his grandfather had been gone for so long, and the only emotion left was longing.
Xia Li picked up a few fallen leaves from the tombstone and gently brushed off the dust.
“Tomb-sweeping means cleaning the tomb. Burning paper money is generally not allowed in this kind of place. Everyone comes to take a look and do some simple cleaning… It’s a tradition.”
Xia Li explained these customs of Sichuan Province to Lucia.
He waited for a moment, but Lucia didn’t speak.
She had been making a fuss for a long time, but now she had stopped talking and become quiet.
Xia Li stared at the tombstone for a while, a sudden thought came to his mind.
Maybe he wanted to make a joke, or maybe he had always had this question deep down in his heart.
He suddenly said with a half-smile:
“After I’m gone, will you come and sweep my…”
Xia Li’s hand was suddenly grabbed. Lucia pulled him, and when she lifted her face again, her eyes were already misty.
“…You are not allowed to say another word.”
She said, her voice choked with sobs.
Xia Li paused and didn’t say another word.
He thought he was three parts calm, three parts joking, and the remaining four parts were all doubts about himself…
But his question seemed to have deeply hurt Lucia.
Her golden vertical pupils were filled with anger and sadness, and for the first time, Xia Li saw an emotion called ‘fear’ in her dragon eyes.
Lucia was always that lively, cheerful, clueless, and carefree Lucia.
Xia Li thought she never thought so much.
But it seemed that he had guessed wrong.
“…I’m sorry.”
Xia Li felt as if his throat was pierced by a thousand needles.
After admitting his mistake, he reached out and gently embraced Lucia in his arms.
This joke was indeed cruel to Lucia.
Between two people in love, the one who leaves first is definitely the most carefree.
And the one who is left behind is the loneliest.
This loneliness was not being abandoned by the world, nor was it the loneliness that flowed in dragon blood.
It was that her world had collapsed.
She had finally managed to accommodate one person in her small world. If this person disappeared, it would be as if her whole world had left her.
This time, Lucia had no intention of dodging Xia Li.
She leaned against him, resting her forehead on his solid shoulder.
Raising her wrist to hug him, Lucia was as aggrieved as a wounded kitten, rubbing her forehead against him, taking two small breaths, and whispering in his arms,
“I won’t forgive you…”
“Hey, I just said it casually, I definitely didn’t mean it… Will you forgive me?”
“No…”
“Just forgive me once.”
“Not even once.”
Xia Li sighed.
Lucia held him so tightly, as if she was acting coquettishly, or as if she was afraid of something and didn’t dare to let go.
He shouldn’t have brought her to a place like a cemetery.
“Shall we go home then?”
Xia Li stood up and picked Lucia up, supporting her legs.
The evil dragon was so light that Xia Li could easily pick her up with his strength. If she wanted, he could even put her on his shoulders and let her experience the feeling of being lifted high.
“Okay…”
Lucia finally relented.
She didn’t like this desolate place either.
She wanted to go home and take a hot bath, then continue to lie in Xia Li’s arms and act coquettishly like this.
—Just thinking about what Xia Li said earlier made her tremble all over. She needed to be comforted several times before she could recover.
Xia Li carried her up and down the hill. The path without streetlights was pitch black, and Lucia turned on her phone’s flashlight to illuminate the way for him.
Although she was still angry with Xia Li, she couldn’t help but care about him.
Finally, the dim path came to an end, and the bright streetlights on the main road could finally illuminate the road ahead.
“Hey, why are you clinging to me like a koala?”
Xia Li shook the evil dragon who was holding him tightly in his arms and couldn’t help but kiss her pretty face.
Her cheeks were still a little wet. Xia Li kissed along her tear stains, like a pecking hen, all the way to the corner of her eye.
“Will you forgive me after a few kisses?” he asked.
Lucia was kissed dizzy by the hero, she couldn’t even find her bearings.
When had she ever been pinned down and kissed like this by the hero? Usually, one or two kisses would make the dragon nervous, but now he was pecking her like a woodpecker, her dragon face was all red.
Lucia covered her face with her hand and pressed down Xia Li’s approaching pig mouth.
“I’ll only forgive you after you kiss me for a lifetime.”
She snorted softly, feeling that this wasn’t detailed enough, and added a prerequisite:
“My lifetime!”