novelraw Chapter 33: Familiar Strangers
Chapter 33: Familiar Strangers
Evil dragon?
Who is the evil dragon?
Ding Heng quickly opened the task list, and sure enough, the task objective had changed from "1" to "2".
A brand new, dark red entry stood out prominently in the list:
【Wings of Calamity: Dragongrass】
[Current Status: Enraged Evil Dragon]
[HP: 100% (Please reduce the evil dragon's HP to zero as soon as possible!)]
"Longhe..."
Ding Heng's lips twitched involuntarily.
Damn system, is having the surname Long automatically making you an evil dragon?!
As childhood sweethearts born in the same hospital, only two days apart, Ding Heng hadn't seen Long He for over a year.
Longhe is from a single-parent family. Her father was well-versed in Yilin magazine in his early years, but against his parents' wishes, he abandoned his wife and daughter and went abroad. He has not been heard from since.
Ding Heng's mother was a colleague of his father at the toilet station, and the two families had a very good relationship.
Back then, Hunan TV was at its peak, especially its programs "Happy Camp" and "Upward," which were practically must-visit spots for all celebrities.
Unlike Ding Heng's father, Long He's mother was extremely career-oriented.
She was a core member of the program planning team, and with her excellent skills and abilities, she quickly rose to a senior position. Eventually, she was poached by an internet team in Shanghai with a high salary.
During those years, the online film and television industry developed rapidly, and major manufacturers fiercely competed with each other.
Longhe's mother devoted herself to her career and almost neglected her daughter, so Longhe became a "left-behind child" living with her grandparents.
Ding Heng's parents felt sorry for her and treated her like a daughter, taking her along for meals, drinks, and entertainment, and often letting her stay overnight at their home.
And so, Long He and Ding Heng grew up together until they were sixteen.
At the end of the year before last, Longhe's mother was successfully promoted to the head of the entertainment division of an internet company, and only then did she bring her daughter to live with her.
The next time Ding Heng saw Long He was on the trending topics list—#LongHe'sHeavenlyVoice#, #LongHe'sExplosiveDebut#, #LongHe'sGeniusGirl#...
Although he didn't know why Long He chose the path of becoming a star, Ding Heng knew that the two of them wouldn't have much contact after that.
All those days...all those days...
No matter what, I wouldn't kill my childhood sweetheart just for a little mission reward, would I?
Ding Heng picked up his phone again and tapped on the milk faucet icon.
[Ding Heng]: Are you there? Is it convenient for you to take a call?
He sent the message and stared at the screen for a while.
【Sister Long is a dragon, not a milk dragon】: Please wait.
A few minutes later.
[Sister Long is a dragon, not a milk dragon]: It's convenient now.
Ding Heng immediately dialed the phone.
"Beep...beep..."
"Feed?"
A familiar, clear female voice came from the other end of the phone, with a slight tremor in her tone.
"Ding Heng..."
Long He called out softly, as if he had many things to say but hesitated.
"Longhe!"
Ding Heng didn't give her time to gather her emotions, interrupting her somewhat harshly, "Are you at the Chujiang Hotel right now?"
There was a noticeable pause on the other end of the phone.
How did you know?
Longhe asked in surprise, "Our team's itinerary was exposed so quickly?"
Ding Heng asked somewhat urgently, "Could you please choose another hotel?"
Why?
Long He looked puzzled.
Ding Heng gave a wry smile and sighed, "Never mind why, just help me out, okay?"
He wanted to test whether the system would still insist on "killing" Long He if he left the hotel's territory.
After a few seconds of silence, Long He's voice suddenly turned low.
"Okay, I'll go ask the agent."
"This is troublesome."
Just as Ding Heng was about to hang up, Long He's voice came through the receiver again.
"etc."
"Um?"
"Ding Heng..."
Long He's voice was very soft, almost as if it would float away: "You called just about this?"
Ding Heng was stunned.
"I……"
He had barely uttered a word when he heard shouts coming from the far end of the phone.
"Longhe! Are you done yet? The makeup artist is here!"
Long He immediately responded, "Right away!"
She then turned back to the microphone and spoke faster.
"If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."
"it is good."
The phone hangs up.
Ding Heng sat on the edge of the bed for a while, holding his phone, his mind a jumble of thoughts.
He didn't think about it any further, got up, changed his clothes, and went downstairs to his usual rice noodle shop at the entrance of the community.
I had just slurped up a couple of mouthfuls of noodles when my phone vibrated.
[Sister Long is a dragon, not a milk dragon]: The hotel was arranged by the TV station, so the agent wouldn't allow the change of hotels.
Ding Heng frowned, about to reply, when another message popped up.
[Sister Long is a dragon, not a milk dragon]: But don't worry, I'll figure something out myself.
[Ding Heng]: Will it be too much trouble for you?
This time, Long He did not reply immediately.
About a minute later, a row of ellipses popped up in the chat box.
[Sister Long is a dragon, not a milk dragon]: ...
Ding Heng couldn't figure out the meaning of the ellipsis for a moment, so he simply sent a black man with a question mark emoji.
He thought Longhe would reply with a funny or teasing emoji, just like before, to start a meme war.
But not this time.
The "The other party is typing..." message flashed at the top of the chat box for a while, and finally a voice message popped up.
Ding Heng opened the phone and held it close to his ear.
Long He's voice came through the receiver, calm in tone, yet tinged with resentment.
"Ding Heng, aren't you being a little too polite with me?"
After the audio finished playing, an emoji was attached—[Milk Dragon Sighing.jpg]
Ding Heng sat in the noisy rice noodle shop, holding his phone, looking dazed.
indeed.
The tone of my voice when I spoke to Long He just now was as if I were discussing business with a stranger.
No matter what, he and Long He have known each other for more than ten years.
Even if she's a celebrity now, there's no need for me to treat her like a stranger.
And during that phone call just now, besides asking about the hotel, shouldn't we... also ask a couple of questions?
Ask her how the past year has been? Is she tired? Is she adjusting well?
A belated sense of annoyance flashed through Ding Heng's mind. Just as he was about to say something to make amends, the system interface popped up in his mind again.
【Wings of Calamity: Dragongrass】
[Current Status: Enraged Evil Dragon]
【HP: 99%】