novelraw Chapter 229
Chapter 229
Chapter 229: Blooming and Bearing Fruit
The bustling May Day Golden Week holiday was in full swing.
This was the first ‘catastrophe’ Lucia experienced after becoming a little intern.
The previous New Year period had been alright. Back then, she hadn’t started her internship yet, and during the holiday, she only felt that the streets were livelier than usual, unaware of the hard work the laborers put in behind the scenes.
Now, she had also become one of those laborers, and this week had been truly difficult.
Busy running around every day, shuttling between various departments and consultation rooms, the Crocs issued by the pet hospital were almost worn out by her.
After getting home, she was completely exhausted. She didn’t even cook anymore, and the two of them ordered takeout every day.
Seeing the dragon so tired, Xia Li felt sorry for her.
But with the exam month approaching in June, Xia Li wasn’t having it easy either. Let alone having time to enjoy life, he couldn’t even guarantee eight hours of sleep a day.
Time flew by. After getting through the most tiring early May, it took Lucia two weeks to recover.
She no longer had the same sense of novelty towards her surroundings as when she first arrived. Many things had become commonplace, and she was getting more and more comfortable using all sorts of small appliances.
Even when it came to grocery shopping, she could go out alone with a basket and return fully loaded an hour later.
Although she was still a little reluctant to pay the small amount of money, she had developed a certain level of independence without Xia Li’s company.
Life always returns to a state of normalcy.
Lucia enjoyed this ordinary life.
Going out to work diligently every day, coming home and wiping the floor while wagging her dragon tail, rolling up her sleeves to cook a delicious meal for Xia Li…
In the evening, being praised by Xia Li and getting a few kisses would make her head spin, then she would happily take a bath and snuggle up in bed waiting for Xia Li to sleep together.
This repeated day after day.
A month passed, and the rose withered.
After several frequent water changes, Lucia couldn’t keep it alive.
She tried to use magic to preserve the life of the flower, but in the end, it only left her with regret and disappointment.
There is no elixir of immortality in this world.
Nor is there any so-called eternal magic in Azure Continent.
She used light magic to completely dry the rose, and the dehydrated petals crumbled at the touch.
Following online tutorials, Lucia used a grinder to crush the petals into small pieces and then stored them in a small jar.
She said this was the first flower Xia Li gave her, and she wanted to keep it well.
Xia Li was both amused and exasperated by this.
Besides the first time, there would be a second, a third, and countless more times… They were always together.
But the dragon’s way of thinking really couldn’t be understood from a normal perspective.
Xia Li tried to change his perspective and look at these trivial matters from her point of view, but the result left him somewhat silent.
She was keeping photos, keeping traces of him, keeping every single thing he gave her…
She was preserving these memories.
What was this dragon really thinking…
Xia Li felt a bitterness in his heart. Beneath this facade of happiness, he didn’t want to tear open the outer layer to contemplate what lay beneath.
◈◈◈
“You have to do your best today!”
“Fighting! Fighting!”
Today was exam day.
Xia Li had to leave early in the morning.
The exam started at 8:30 am, two subjects in the morning, two in the afternoon, and it wouldn’t be over until 5:30 pm.
He really didn’t have time to send Stinky Dragon to work today, so Xia Li planned a perfect route for her, which involved taking the bus and a taxi. Lucia gestured ‘OK’, indicating that she had no problem with it.
During Xia Li’s busiest days of studying, she had gone out to buy groceries alone several times. A simple commute was no big deal.
Standing at the door, Lucia handed Xia Li his backpack, muttering words of encouragement.
“Now you’re even speaking English.”
Xia Li took the backpack, which contained two books, his printed ID card and admission ticket, and a transparent pencil case.
The qualification exam was quite strict, second only to the college entrance exam and high school entrance exam that Xia Li had experienced. It was also very important to him, so he took it very seriously.
“I’ve learned a lot recently!”
Lucia raised her face with a hint of pride.
She believed that her grasp of Chinese was already deeply rooted, so she started to challenge English.
She had encountered several foreigners at work, but unfortunately, Lucia couldn’t understand their language at all and could only watch from the sidelines.
Later, after learning a few phrases from online English tutorials, she was able to pronounce a few syllables in a somewhat decent manner.
“I can also say, ‘come on baby can can need~'”
“…Most likely, those phrases don’t go together.”
Xia Li found it amusing.
Where did Lucia learn her English? Not only was it fragmented, but it was completely off track!
These phrases sounded like she was just messing around.
“I’m going out. You should see if it’s convenient to take the bus later. If not, just take a day off.”
Xia Li’s exam was at 8:30 am, and considering the morning rush hour traffic, he left an hour and a half early.
It was now 7 am. After the Beginning of Summer, mornings in Sichuan Province were bright very early. The sun had already risen, slowly emerging from the horizon like molten gold.
It seemed like it was going to be a good day.
“I’ll be fine!” Lucia said confidently, putting one hand on her hip.
“You’re the one who needs to do your best! If you need me, I can turn invisible and go over there to help you cheat!”
After all, Lucia was also looking forward to opening a small clinic with Xia Li in the future, and she hoped he would succeed on the first try.
“No,” Xia Li interrupted, “There are cameras everywhere in that place, and the invigilators are watching closely… Besides, the anti-cheating system is getting more and more advanced these days, and you might get caught if you go over there.”
Xia Li rejected Stinky Dragon’s bad idea. He had some confidence in the success of his hard work these past few months.
Bending down to change his shoes, Xia Li thought for a moment and grabbed a jacket from the hook.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and turned back.
“By the way, Qin Chuan said he would come over tonight.”
“Oh…”
“He said he’s been binge-watching healing anime lately and has gathered a lot of magic power for us.”
“Great!”
Lucia’s fair face lit up with a smile, her chubby cheeks plump and soft like a peeled egg.
“We’ve almost gathered enough, haven’t we?”
Xia Li looked her up and down.
After discovering the method to quickly exploit the system and farm magic power at the amusement park, Qin Chuan had started to go crazy.
His emotions didn’t have to be triggered by things he experienced himself.
As long as the emotions in the movies or anime were genuine enough to make him immersed in the plot, and he hadn’t been spoiled beforehand, every emotional fluctuation of his could trigger a reaction from the Heart of Stone.
He would come to see Xia Li every week.
After all, they didn’t live far apart, and it only took ten minutes to get here.
Then, through Xia Li’s Demon Repelling Sword, the powerful magic power was converted into the magic power model of Azure Continent.
Xia Li wasn’t sure how much magic power Lucia had accumulated.
But it must have been a lot.
The first time was enough for her to grow a tail, so she must have been able to grow something else by now, right?
Claws? Dragon wings?
Perhaps she had even gathered enough for the dragon horns, symbols of a dragon’s power?
“Not nearly enough…”
Lucia said seriously with a straight face.
“Do you know how much is needed in total?”
Xia Li asked suspiciously.
It wasn’t that he suspected Lucia of hiding magic power, but she had indeed received a lot.
Even though Xia Li didn’t know much about magic, he knew…
Such a huge amount of magic power was definitely enough to cast several high-level magic spells.
It was fortunate that Lucia’s true form was a giant dragon, otherwise, this level of magic power storage would be enough to kill a human countless times.
“I don’t know, but this kind of thing is definitely the more the better.” Lucia said solemnly.
Xia Li thought for a moment and realized that he really didn’t understand things in the realm of magic, so he had to trust Lucia’s words.
◈◈◈
“I’m leaving.”
“Wait, take this with you!”
Turning the doorknob, Lucia stopped Xia Li and quickly went back to the kitchen.
When she reappeared, she was holding a small metal box.
This round stainless steel box looked very familiar to Xia Li.
Wasn’t it the lunch box he used for school in junior high…
The round stainless steel lunch box had a handle in the center, the most common style in hospitals and schools.
“I packed lunch for you!” Lucia said.
“A wife’s loving bento?”
Xia Li was surprised and opened the lunch box to take a look.
Hmm… Braised pork rice, broccoli with stir-fried shrimp, and a small dish of steamed egg.
No wonder the dragon got up so early today, it turned out she was secretly making a bento.
Lucia blushed slightly and didn’t say much.
Xia Li automatically took this as a tacit agreement.
He lowered his head and kissed the dragon on the head.
“Silver Dragon’s blessing, stacking accuracy buff.”
Xia Li said contentedly.
Lucia blushed and covered her dragon head.
“Why accuracy…”
“Because the veterinary qualification exam is all multiple-choice questions.”
◈◈◈
Xia Li went to the exam venue alone.
The exam location was quite remote this time, but there was a subway station nearby.
So he gave up the idea of driving and instead rode a shared bike to the subway station in University Town, then took the direct subway line.
Normally, he would definitely take a taxi to the subway station.
But with a thrifty wife at home, every time he saw Lucia come back from grocery shopping and spend more than ten minutes hunched over the table calculating the prices on the receipts, Xia Li began to reflect on himself.
Living with someone, you will be deeply influenced by them.
At this rate, Xia Li felt that it wouldn’t be a problem to save enough money to change the ‘dragon’s lair’.
As University Town was one of the first few stops, Xia Li was lucky enough to get a seat during the morning rush hour.
He took out his book and reviewed it again, consolidating his memory while closing his eyes for a moment to conserve his energy.
“Ding dong~”
He didn’t pick up his backpack and get off until the announcement for his stop sounded.
Lucia sent a text message at this time, saying that she was about to leave for work too.
For the first time, the two of them weren’t together at this time of day, but were embarking on their own different paths.
◈◈◈
The veterinary qualification exam was divided into four subjects.
Basic subjects, prevention subjects, clinical subjects, and comprehensive subjects.
This exam was somewhat similar to the written test for a driver’s license, with only multiple-choice questions, a total of 400 questions.
Each question was worth 1 point, for a total of 400 points.
A score of 240 points was required to pass the exam.
It didn’t sound difficult. Maybe someone with good luck could pass even by blindly guessing…
Xia Li originally thought so too.
But after he checked online and found that the annual passing rate was only 20%, he knew that this exam was definitely not easy.
The administrative occupational ability test for civil servants was also all multiple-choice questions, but the passing rate was still pitifully low.
Xia Li arrived at the seat indicated on his admission ticket. He had experienced many exams, big and small, from elementary school to university.
But this time was definitely one of the most nerve-wracking.
It was second only to the college entrance exam.
As the prompt tone sounded and the test papers were handed out, Xia Li gripped his pen and began to answer the questions carefully.
◈◈◈
“Little Lu?”
“Little Lu? What’s wrong, something on your mind?”
There weren’t many customers at the Chongyi Pet Hospital today. The few customers who came in were only there for simple consultations, and they left quickly after their consultations were over.
Lucia was sitting on a bench in the lobby, in front of a large floor-to-ceiling window.
The windows on the second floor didn’t offer much of a view, and even sitting here looking up at the sky, she could only see half of the city’s silhouette.
From the orange-hued dawn, to the scorching midday sun, to the sunset in the west.
The other colleagues were all slacking off and chatting, only Lucia had been sitting by the window, lost in thought for a long time.
It wasn’t until a young nurse came over with a glass of water and patted her shoulder that she came back to her senses.
“I, I was thinking about something.”
Lucia was physically present, but her thoughts seemed to have drifted to the other end of the city, clinging to the figure she couldn’t shake off.
“Thinking about what? Tell me about it.”
The young woman in the pink nurse uniform took a sip of hot water and asked Lucia with interest.
When the hospital wasn’t busy, these girls loved to gossip about other girls.
They say women shouldn’t make things difficult for other women, but in the workplace, it was often this kind of gossip that maintained friendships.
Lucia rarely joined them.
She would only occasionally listen in, and although she would compare what they said with Xia Li, she wouldn’t use this method to strictly demand things from Xia Li, nor would she feel dissatisfied because of the differences that emerged from the comparison.
She was already very content with Xia Li.
“My boyfriend is taking an exam today…” She replied softly, turning her head back slightly.
The young nurse smiled, still interested in the topic.
“What kind of exam?”
“Veterin…”
Lucia subconsciously prepared to answer.
But she thought about it and decided that it wouldn’t be good for her colleagues to know Xia Li’s profession. It might lead to gossip and cause trouble for her when she resigned and left.
“Just, a regular small exam.” She said, scratching the little bun on her head.
The young nurse next to her was just an ordinary person who graduated with a degree in animal science. She hadn’t taken the veterinary qualification exam even after working for two years.
The certificate Xia Li was taking was still very valuable.
You never know with people’s jealousy.
Lucia understood a bit about human psychology, so she avoided the topic.
“By the way, the little patients in the ward need their food changed. I’ll go and change it.”
She stopped staring out the window and stood up from the bench.
The young nurse looked back at her, but didn’t ask any more questions.
“Meow.”
Wuqi, who was sitting on the highest cat climbing frame, had been watching Lucia for a long time.
This was what Brother Xia Li had asked him to do today. Xia Li was worried that Lucia would be absent-minded today, so he specifically asked Wuqi to keep an eye on her.
“Meow meow meow~”
『Hey, Dragon Sister, what are you worried about…』
『I think your anxious expression right now is like a husband waiting outside the delivery room for his wife~』
『Haha, funny. 』
『I’ll tell Brother Xia Li about this later~』
PS: In reality, you need to take the adult college entrance exam first, then enroll in a relevant major for two and a half years before you can take the veterinary professional qualification exam.
PPS: The author hasn’t studied this subject, so please don’t take it too seriously if there are any inaccuracies!
PPPS: Today I’m also helping a friend promote their book, it’s about a crossdressing protagonist with an F-cup chest who has a heart as big as the world and can handle anything（）