Dragon Raja: Reboot

"Mingfei! What are you doing up there so early in the morning? Stop watching those melodramatic soap operas, go downstairs and buy a bag of Cantonese sausages and a bunch of scallions, and while you're at it, check the mailroom to see if any new packages have arrived!"

The extremely penetrating demonic sound pulled Lu Mingfei back to reality.

Hearing his aunt's voice, Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment, feeling a sense of disorientation.

This housewife in Tokyo, who kept saying she would cut ties with him, but at the last minute worried about whether he could swim, was a family member he couldn't bear to part with in this world.

And with her rebirth, she reappeared in his life.

If history had followed its original course, then Uncle Yao's family would have fallen at Deadpool's feet before the final battle because of him...

This housewife, who cursed herself as a jinx who brought utter disaster to her family before her death, never asked him to save them.

His stubbornness is incomprehensible.

This home, which raised him for six years but also filled him with immense frustration and resentment, always seemed to offer various reasons for reconciliation.

Lu Mingfei gave a vague reply, then rubbed his face hard with both hands for a while before taking a deep breath and regaining his composure.

"Hurry up, hurry up! A grown man like you who dawdles like this, what girl will ever want you!"

Increasingly sharp, soul-piercing blows followed one after another.

As soon as Lu Mingfei clicked the "send" button, a new window suddenly popped up on the screen.

"RicardoM.Lu, you have 1 unread email."

……

Ricardo:

According to your admission information, you were born on July 17, 1991, and you are turning 19 today.

On this important day, on behalf of Rector Hilbert Jean Angers and all the professors on the Academic Board, I wish you a happy birthday.

Thank you for studying at Kassel College and for sharing wonderful times with us. It's an honor to grow together with you.

You are sincere, Norma.

P.S.: According to school rules, students celebrating their birthdays can receive a free birthday cake at the college cafeteria. However, since you are currently on summer vacation in China, the free birthday cake service is cancelled. Also, the summer mini-semester will begin on July 20, 2010. Your transcript from last semester shows that you received two grades of 'D', meaning you failed or did not pass. Therefore, I regret to inform you that you must attend and retake the classes during the mini-semester. I have arranged your return flight to the main campus; please be prepared to depart at any time.

……

Lu Mingfei, who was about to leave the room after quickly glancing at the emails, suddenly slapped his forehead.

He hadn't celebrated his birthday in a long time and had completely forgotten about it.

In other words, that guy who always likes to disgust people deliberately sent himself back to his birthday.

Are you nineteen?

but……

Did you fail two courses?

Lu Mingfei covered his face with his hands, unable to bear looking at the terrible report card.

As the only S-rank student currently enrolled in the school, it's truly appalling; it must have tarnished the reputation of all the previous generations.

However, if we go back to headquarters this time...

Could I be a good third wheel?

It seems pretty good.

Lu Mingfei grinned, grabbed a few handfuls of his messy hair, and strode out of the house before his aunt could unleash her next devilish voice.

As soon as I stepped out of the house, I bumped into my aunt who was coming towards me, holding a seat ring in her hand.

"Hey, wait a minute, your uncle just cracked the toilet seat. Go to the building materials market and buy me a new one, a high-end one made of beech wood. I'm taking Mingze out later... Hey, what's wrong with you, kid! Did you hit your head on the wall?!"

Before the housewife could finish speaking, a big hug enveloped her, startling her so much that she turned pale and frantically waved her hands, patting Mingfei's shoulders.

Could it be that this brat is out of money?

Haha, I knew that Kassel College scholarship was a scam!

Fortunately, I had the foresight to do so; otherwise, would Mingze have been able to get into the University of Austin?

"I know you're going to buy suits. You'll be back at 4:30 this afternoon. I'll help you steam the sausages, chop the scallions, and cut some radishes for soup."

My mind is clearer than ever before; past memories are as vivid as a movie that can be played on repeat.

Lu Mingfei rattled off a string of words, then tightened his arms around her, causing the housewife to cough twice. If she hadn't had some self-awareness and their kinship, she would have yelled and cursed this inexplicable brat for taking advantage of her.

"By the way, I love you all, just as you love me."

Leaving these last words behind, Lu Mingfei turned and rushed out of the house without looking back.

The bewildered housewife was left standing there, stunned.

Several tens of seconds later.

She snapped out of her daze, spat fiercely, and muttered, "Who would love you, you little bastard?"

Lu Mingfei rushed downstairs and followed the engine sound to find his uncle sitting in the little BMW.

"Mingfei, are you heading out? Would you like your uncle to give you a ride?"

My uncle leaned out to the side, put a cigarette in his mouth, and asked a question before even lighting it.

The next second, the uncle stared in disbelief, and the cigarette in his mouth fell onto his thigh.

Lu Mingfei leaned into the car, first giving Mingze's neatly combed hair a good yank, then lowered his head amidst his brother's wails and roars, his forehead touching his uncle's, and whispered with his eyes closed:

"Uncle, thank you for protecting me all these years. I will always be a member of the Lu family."

Watching Lu Mingfei's figure rushing away as if fleeing, the uncle stood there for a while, feeling somewhat confused and touched, but unable to quite put his finger on what kind of feeling it was.

It's as if the child in the family suddenly grows up and becomes sensible, turning their back on their family and embarking on a journey to a distant place alone.

This road was destined to be full of thorns, blood and fire, conspiracies and crises, yet his figure was always moving forward without hesitation.

Could it be that this year in America...

Mingfei discovers that he is not actually a descendant of the Lu family.

But that doesn't make sense. How could Mingfei not be a descendant of the Lu family? His older brother has never mentioned such an important matter to him!

He suddenly turned and glared at his still wailing son, yelling, "You brat, a haircut has made you so miserable? Stop babbling!"

The chubby boy turned around with a wronged expression and peered over the back of the car, trying to find his brother.

……

……

Lu Mingfei walked out of the residential area, entered the subway station, and took out his mobile phone from his pocket.

Three messages came into view.

The first message came from my senior brother Chu Zihang. It was a short birthday greeting, as simple as a webpage with a survey format. You could tell it was his style at a glance.

Happy birthday, Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang.

Hey, senior, long time no see.

The next message was a secret email, which somehow ended up on his phone.

……

RicardoM.Lu:

The Executive Department has assigned you a temporary task. You need to arrive at the South Railway Station before 10:00 AM this morning to hand over an important document to Executive Department Specialist B007 and take it back to the main campus. Your return flight is booked for the early morning of July 18, 2010.

Norma.

……

My memory was instantly pulled back to that day.

The senior brother who had been chatting with me for so long, who hadn't even had time to give his real name and had only left me with a number, suddenly lost his life right in front of me.

That won't do, junior sister. Your hands are stained with too much blood of the Secret Party. How can you stand by your senior brother's side?

Lu Mingfei muttered to himself.

He glanced at the time, didn't even look at the third text message, and stepped directly into the subway.

He had already remembered the contents of the third text message.

That was a text message from Chen Wenwen.

The thought of that name still brings back vivid memories of that day.

……

It was summer, and the cicadas were chirping wildly outside, just like today. The shadows cast by the eaves were as sharp as knives on the ground, and the sun was blazing outside. He leaned against the windowsill, bored out of his mind. Chen Wenwen was wearing a blue and white striped dress and low-heeled sandals. She walked lightly, as if she were tiptoeing through the night, as if she were about to dart past him.

"Are you Lu Mingfei? Do you like reading?" Chen Wenwen stopped in front of her.

He had been staring down at the floor, but upon hearing this, he looked up in surprise and saw Chen Wenwen's eyes reflecting the sunlight like the surface of water.

It was so dazzling that it seemed impossible to look directly at it.

……

Lu Mingfei once thought he had fallen hopelessly in love with her.

But it wasn't until much later that Lu Mingfei realized that it was just longing, not love.

It was just a lonely boy who lacked love, and when faced with the rare kindness from others, his heart suddenly overflowed with longing.

He wanted to get more care or attention from Chen Wenwen.

It can be between lovers or between friends.

Even a teenager who is used to being alone will sincerely hope to have a friend by his side with whom he can confide his heart.

They could confide in each other, steal coal from other people's houses to grill sausages on the rooftop, sit together on the edge of the rooftop swinging their legs, watching the sun dim in the distance, watching the city quiet down in the sunset, and watching the streets light up one by one, converging into a galaxy.

He was just too lonely, too isolated.

He was so lonely that he would easily fall for girls who were willing to reach out to him and show him kindness, but he never considered whether the other girl needed his affection.

They just happened to pass by his life and saw that the poor kid was so miserable that they couldn't bear to look at him. It was as if the whole world was against him, so they gave him a bit of kindness out of sympathy.

They are all kind people.

Kind people deserve happiness.

But this happiness is not something that only you can give yourself.

What they like might just be an added burden for them.

But when faced with the girl who truly needed him, the foolish, hopeless, and utterly worthless version of himself failed to grasp her hand in time.

He promised her that he would fight off all the attacking Ultramen for her.

But he failed to do so.

He thought she was a princess who owned the whole world, but she thought she only owned you and her toys.

He was always so hesitant and timid, only beginning to regret it when he truly lost it, only beginning to understand it when he lost everything, and only knowing to move forward when there was nowhere left to retreat.

Really...

What a worthless life.

The excruciating pain spread through his heart again, as if vines had taken root there and blossomed into blood-red flowers.

Lu Mingfei slowly raised his head and saw a young man with messy, unkempt hair but eyes as if cast in gold, exuding an imposing and dignified aura, reflected in the car window.

He whispered to the young man in front of him.

A man who breaks a promise doesn't deserve to be called a man.

A man should keep his word.