Chapter 11: The Crooked-Mouth Dragon King's Tale (Please bookmark and vote)

As if sensing someone was watching him, Song Jiannian looked up and saw Chen Yuan—the boy he had met at noon.

Their eyes met in midair. Song Jiannian wanted to say something but, shy by nature and unsure how to start, he quietly pointed to the nearby pharmacy, signaling that he was going to buy something.

Chen Yuan nodded, took a few steps forward, and waited for Song Jiannian to come out.

Looking over the task details and requirements, with the annotations, it wasn’t difficult. As long as he took her to see some small animals, the task should be completed.

Chen Yuan immediately thought of the zoo—it was a good option.

But the animals there were quite large and somewhat grimy, hardly cute at all.

A beautiful girl like Song Jiannian probably wouldn’t like that; he needed to find a more suitable place.

Before long, Song Jiannian emerged.

Just as she stepped out, a boy came walking toward her.

“Junior!”

The boy was fairly tall, carrying a milk tea in one hand and wearing basketball shoes. Usually, boys like that came from families with some money and carried themselves with confidence.

Song Jiannian was momentarily stunned as she looked at him approaching.

“Who are you?”

“Don’t you remember me? I’m Li Dongyang. On the registration day, I was the one who took you to the apartment building and even helped carry your luggage.”

“I don’t remember, and my luggage was carried up by Uncle Zhang, not you.”

“I wanted to help you, but you didn’t let me.”

Chen Yuan: ???

“I wanted to help you” = “I helped you carry your luggage.”

Preparing for the civil service exam = doctoral degree.

“This is a milk tea I bought for you.”

Li Dongyang handed her the milk tea. “Here’s your first milk tea of autumn to make up for earlier.”

“I’m not thirsty, thanks.”

“I don’t mean anything else; I just want to treat you to a milk tea. Don’t misunderstand.”

“Then I don’t want it.”

Song Jiannian walked over to Chen Yuan and quietly stood behind him.

Chen Yuan looked at Li Dongyang. “Are you trying to pursue her?”

“Yes,” Li Dongyang said firmly.

“What do you like about her? Go home and write a 2,000-word PowerPoint presentation explaining it.”

“I truly like her. The answer is long—I want to show her every day in the future.”

So utterly sentimental!

It’s acceptable to be shameless in freshman year, but still like this in sophomore year? Have you aged to the point of a dog’s years?

“Then write 2,000 words every day. Also, why did you buy Xiaoxue? You should at least get her something from Bawang Chaji; don’t be so stingy.”

Chen Yuan took Song Jiannian away, their pace slow.

“Thank you. Next time I’ll buy you an expensive fruit tea,” Song Jiannian said apologetically.

“You mean that cup of Mixue from noon?” Chen Yuan said with a smile.

“I was just saying casually. I usually drink Mixue too; Bawang Chaji is too expensive.”

“No, this afternoon I saw a news report saying Mixue Bingcheng used overnight lemon slices.”

“Oh, so that’s what you meant.”

Song Jiannian looked at Chen Yuan seriously. “Doesn’t that matter?”

“My mom cooks a fish dish five times, an overnight lemon slice won’t hurt me.”

“But it’s still overnight.”

She was a bit picky.

As a father, Chen Yuan prepared another line of reasoning.

“If you buy a lemon water at 8 pm, and the lemons were cut at 8 am, do you think there’s a problem?”

“No, it’s the same day.”

“If the lemons were cut at 8 pm, and you buy it at 8 am the next day, would you think there’s a problem?”

“Yes, that’s overnight.”

Damn, this kid’s a bit dense.

“Trust me, drink walnut milk from now on.”

“But I still feel a bit sorry for you,” Song Jiannian said, a little conflicted. “You helped me; I should buy you something expensive. Wait for me.”

With that, Song Jiannian jogged over to the Bawang Chaji store nearby and looked back, asking:

“What do you want to drink?”

“What are you having?”

“I want a Huatian Oolong.”

“Then I’ll have the same.”

Song Jiannian took out her phone, but Chen Yuan beat her to it and paid.

Her phone case was printed on the back with Gallantmon from Digimon, and there was a small charm of Angewomon.

Not many girls watched that anime.

Song Jiannian’s large, beautiful eyes looked at Chen Yuan with pure sincerity.

“I’ll treat you next time.”

Kiddo, no need to keep score; it’s just what a father should do.

After ordering and paying, they stood aside waiting.

Just then, Chen Yuan noticed a middle-aged man in a suit standing not far away, looking in their direction.

Judging by his attire, he didn’t seem like a successful man. He wore a name tag, probably a nearby employee.

This was Zhonghai, not Rongcheng. Chen Yuan didn’t think the man was looking at him but was definitely watching Song Jiannian.

What was this old lamp waiting for?

“What are you staring at?”

Hearing Chen Yuan’s unfriendly tone, Song Jiannian spotted the middle-aged man.

“Uncle Zhang.”

Uncle?

What a misunderstanding.

Song Jiannian quickly walked over and whispered a few words.

From time to time, the middle-aged man glanced at Chen Yuan with a wary look.

But judging by Song Jiannian’s demeanor, they must be close.

They didn’t talk long before the man left, but he kept turning back frequently.

Just an uncle—no need to watch so closely.

One day, Chen Yuan thought of dyeing his hair yellow and riding a motorbike to test his blood pressure.

“That man is your uncle?”

“No, Uncle Zhang is the hotel manager. Since I hadn’t gone back, he came to check on me.”

“Hotel manager? Lanting Hotel?”

“Yes, it’s owned by my family.”

Wow!

What a twist worthy of a crooked-mouth dragon king story.

“So if you need something, you go to him, right?”

“Yes, the hotel has a washing machine. I take my clothes there to wash. Uncle Zhang is very kind to me.”

“Sorry for being rude earlier.”

“It’s okay. I already apologized to him for you. Uncle Zhang isn’t stingy.”

“Good kid.”

After a while, their Huatian Oolong was ready.

It was Chen Yuan’s first time trying Bawang Chaji’s drinks. Not good—no industrial saccharin taste, not authentic at all.

They walked side by side toward the school.

“What did you buy just now?” Chen Yuan asked casually.

“This,” Song Jiannian showed him the medicine: Dailixin.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping lately. The doctor told me to take this.”

Chen Yuan recognized the medicine; he had taken it before during exam stress when his sleep was poor.

But her condition didn’t seem severe; otherwise, she wouldn’t be taking this medicine.

“Is it because of stress?”

Song Jiannian pouted like a little fool, hesitating for a moment. “I don’t even know what it is. My sleep just hasn’t been good.”

“So you keep taking this medicine?”

“Not always. If I can fall asleep sometimes, I don’t take it.”

Chen Yuan thought for a moment, unsure how to comfort her, and then came up with a universal remedy:

“Drink more hot water.”