novelraw Chapter 99
Chapter 99
Chapter 99: The Brave Hero’s…Big Gold Coin!
Early the next morning, Xia Li lay in his pitch-black little room, staring at the familiar ceiling in a daze.
Does the universe have an end?
When did time begin?
What is the meaning of life??
If it were in the past, Xia Li would have scoffed at anyone who pondered such things, thinking, ‘Tch, what a loser, already in sage mode after just one night cuddling?’
But now, Xia Li would say, ‘Brother, I feel you.’
Perhaps it was because he had experienced countless life-or-death situations in the other world, that this peaceful life seemed especially precious.
A simple hug and a night’s sleep seemed to have finally grounded his heart, which had been adrift for three years.
“Xia Li, do you want yours spicy?” At the half-open door of the room, Lucia’s small head poked in, her eyes shining brightly as she looked at Xia Li.
“…”
Xia Li snapped out of his daze and sat up, addressing the little chef at the door.
“Don’t move, I’ll get it myself.”
“Not teasing you this time~”
Lucia leaned against the doorframe, her voice as gentle as her expression.
Oh, so you knew you were teasing me last time!
“What’s for breakfast?” Xia Li asked, propping himself up on his elbow.
“Porridge.” Lucia replied.
“Porridge definitely doesn’t need chili peppers. Even the most chili-loving Sichuanese wouldn’t put them in porridge.”
Muttering to himself, Xia Li got up, put on a jacket, and followed Lucia to the kitchen.
In the rice cooker, the cooked white porridge released a puff of steam the moment the lid was lifted, and the aroma instantly filled the air.
Looking at Lucia bustling around the rice cooker with a bowl and spoon, wearing a pink polka-dot apron, Xia Li vaguely recalled a phrase he’d seen online: “It’s not the late-night drinks that are fatal, but the morning porridge.”
If last night’s hug had been enough to satisfy Xia Li,
then this morning’s bowl of porridge was a critical hit.
“I added vegetable leaves. The internet said it’s more nutritious with them.”
Lucia scooped a generous portion of porridge from the pot with a ladle, transferring it spoonful by spoonful into Xia Li’s bowl.
Because the bowls at home were all made of stainless steel, they didn’t insulate well. Lucia held the bowl for a while before realizing it was a bit hot. She put the bowl down and pressed her slightly warm fingertips against her cool earlobes to cool them down—another trick she learned online.
Xia Li stood at the kitchen door, silently watching this scene.
He felt like…Lucia was becoming more and more ‘human.’
Her common sense, her behavior, the way she spoke, the playful smile when she deliberately teased him, and her ever-improving cooking skills…
Standing before him was no longer a distant and aloof pureblood giant dragon, but a living person.
A ‘person’ who was busy cooking to fill her stomach, who wiped up spilled porridge with a towel, who took action for everyday life.
A ‘person’ who was his girlfriend.
Since her words and actions were becoming more and more human, then wouldn’t her feelings also…?
Thinking this, Xia Li walked over and leaned in to look at Lucia’s face.
Lucia filled two bowls of porridge and then used a heat-resistant pad to take out the inner pot of the rice cooker to rinse it in the sink.
The rice cooker, after cooking porridge, was not as easy to clean as after cooking rice. The porridge was thick, and the rice grains stuck to the sides of the pot, requiring a sponge brush to scrub them off.
With the tap running, Lucia diligently scrubbed the pot at the sink.
She usually tied her long hair up when working. This was a method she learned from videos. Tying her hair in a ponytail kept it out of her sight and prevented strands from falling into the food.
However, today, Lucia not only tied her hair into a rather capable-looking ponytail but also coiled it up into a large bun at the back of her head.
The bun wasn’t tied very well, and a few rebellious strands hung down behind her head like little tails.
Lucia didn’t react to Xia Li’s approach.
He bent down, his chin almost resting on her shoulder, but Lucia was still focused on the task at hand.
His increasingly bold chin successfully landed on Lucia’s delicate shoulder.
Xia Li took a deep breath, and only then did Lucia stop what she was doing and turn to look at him.
“You smell nice too.” Xia Li complimented.
Lucia washed the pot clean, wiped her hands with her apron, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, then turned around and wrapped her arms around Xia Li.
Then, imitating what Xia Li had done earlier, she nuzzled her nose against his pajamas on his chest and took a sniff.
“You smell nice too!”
Lucia repeated Xia Li’s words.
“…”
Xia Li was caught off guard by the little dragon suddenly snuggling into his arms.
Xia Li had something on his mind, and his raised hands rested on Lucia’s waist with an awkwardness he couldn’t hide.
Especially after meeting Lucia’s innocent and flawless eyes, Xia Li couldn’t bring himself to feel at ease.
He cleared his throat and asked the little dragon in his arms.
“Lucia, be honest, do you like me?”
“To be honest, I do like Xia Li.”
Lucia nodded seriously.
Damn it!
He clearly wanted this answer, but not like this.
When would the dragon finally say ‘I like you’ in a shy and blushing manner in his arms?
This kind of serious confession was not the reaction a human girl should have when facing the person she liked.
Xia Li was sure that he was still just gems and gold coins in the dragon’s eyes.
“Let’s eat!”
He angrily took the bowls away and added a small plate of Sichuan pickled vegetables.
After finishing his porridge in two mouthfuls, Xia Li took on the responsibility of washing the dishes. Seeing that there was nothing left for her to do in the kitchen, Lucia went to the balcony to do laundry.
After nearly a month, Lucia had become quite adept at these household chores.
She picked up the clothes Xia Li had piled in the laundry basket and, as if inspecting them, brought each one to her nose for a sniff.
“This one smells nice.”
◈◈◈
“This one smells nice too.”
“This one…smells nice and stinky.”
After sniffing through all the clothes, Lucia put them one by one into the washing machine.
This wasn’t some peculiar habit, it was purely a dragon’s way of defending her territory.
If she smelled any intruder’s scent…for example, the scent emanating from a female, Lucia would take the clothes to Xia Li and ask about the situation.
Unfortunately, Xia Li hadn’t been going out lately, so the scent on his clothes was limited to his own.
She poured in laundry detergent and pressed the start button on the washing machine.
With a crisp ‘beep~’, the washing machine started to run.
However, this time the operation wasn’t as successful as the last.
After filling with water and agitating a few times, the washing machine stopped working.
“Beep~ beep~ beep~”
The warning sound from the washing machine made Lucia take a few steps back.
She quickly hid behind a mop, her eyes silently fixed on the stalled washing machine.
It’s…it’s going to unleash its ultimate destruction magic!
Strange symbols appeared on the washing machine’s black and white display, and Lucia knew it must be English, which she hadn’t encountered before.
“Xia Li, the washing machine is going to explode!”
Lucia shouted from behind the mop.
“…”
Hearing the commotion, Xia Li came over from the kitchen.
He glanced at the English letters on the washing machine and then checked the error code reference sticker on the machine.
“Drainage problem.”
Xia Li quickly diagnosed the cause.
He unplugged the power, lifted the lid, and took out the wet clothes one by one.
He couldn’t fix the range hood, but he knew a thing or two about commonly used appliances like washing machines.
Lucia stood not far behind, her small mouth agape in surprise as she watched Xia Li slowly get swallowed by the washing machine.
A brave hero who could fix machines was a little bit handsome.
Oh, he was also handsome when he was fixing dragons.
After a while, Xia Li was spat back out by the washing machine monster.
Wringing out his waterlogged sleeve, Xia Li pulled out a shiny golden object from the washing machine.
He held it up to the sunlight and examined it.
After being washed and soaked for so long, the small golden object was exceptionally clean. Under the sunlight, one could even see the ancient patterns on it.
The image of a snake and a tiger.
Xia Li had seen this before, it reminded him of the common currency in the human kingdoms of Azure Continent.
“It’s a gold coin,” Xia Li concluded.
“The washing machine produces gold coins!” Lucia exclaimed in surprise.
“Silly, it must be one of the gold coins you were carrying before. You must have dropped it in while doing laundry and we only just found it now.”
“Oh…” Lucia thought it was possible.
Her amber eyes were fixed on the small, round gold coin in Xia Li’s hand, her dragon pupils reflecting the golden gleam.
“Here, for you.”
Seeing this, Xia Li carefully placed the gold coin in Lucia’s hand.
He had tricked her out of a gold coin last time, and even turned around and sold it. Now that he had luckily obtained another one, Xia Li decided to let the dragon keep it.
“Do you want to exchange it for some pocket money…?”
Lucia held the small gold coin in her palm.
Back in Azure Continent, it used to take a whole warehouse of gold coins to make her happy for a while, but now a single coin could bring her satisfaction.
Lucia realized that her greedy nature seemed to have weakened.
Was it because she was living in this abundant world with Xia Li?
Lucia stealthily glanced at Xia Li.
Xia Li’s upper body was swallowed by the washing machine monster again as he rummaged inside for more gold coins.
Thinking about it carefully, Lucia realized that her greedy nature hadn’t actually weakened, it had just shifted its target.
Looking at this cool brave hero who could fix both machines and dragons, Lucia had a desire to see him every day, like she would with gold.
She wanted to turn Xia Li into her own little gold coin.
“There’s no more, the one you have is the only one.”
Xia Li rummaged for a long time, his pajamas completely soaked, but he didn’t see even a shadow of another gold coin.
This gold coin must have fallen out when Lucia first washed her clothes from the other world.
“Don’t sell this one, keep it. It’s a good reminder of your homeland.”
Straightening up, Xia Li turned and said to Lucia.
Lucia stared at him blankly, her slightly parted lips almost drooling.
“Xia Li big gold coin…”
Lucia suddenly said, looking at Xia Li’s forehead.
Xia Li: “???”