Dragon Raja: Reboot

After exchanging a few words, Chu Zihang continued to treat his wound.

He wiped the wound directly with an alcohol swab, which was tantamount to cutting the wound again, but there was nothing better disinfectant than alcohol in a home medicine cabinet.

After all the alcohol-soaked cotton balls were stained red, the wound stopped bleeding.

Seeing his senior brother covered in sweat, biting a towel and not uttering a sound despite his exhaustion, Lu Mingfei thought to himself that his senior brother was indeed a tough guy among tough guys!

Chu Zihang applied Yunnan Baiyao ointment to a piece of gauze, pressed it onto the wound, and then wrapped a bandage tightly around his waist.

He changed into a white shirt, tucking the hem into his belt so the bandage was completely hidden. He looked normal in the mirror, except his face was a little pale.

Finally, he put the blood-stained cotton balls, tissues, syringes, and broken glass into his tennis bag, grabbed a towel and wiped the bloodstains off the floor, and checked every corner of the bathroom to make sure no traces were left.

I don’t know when he developed this habit, erasing all traces at home. Chu Zihang living in this house is a completely different person, with no connection to Kassel College and nothing special about him—obedient, studies hard, likes to play basketball, doesn’t watch TV, likes to surf the internet, occasionally plays video games, and even his favorite idol is a so-called “high-quality idol”.

Sometimes Chu Zihang himself felt that such a person was as pale as a paper doll, but his parents were quite proud to have such a paper doll-like "high-quality offspring".

If they saw these blood-stained things, they would probably never be proud again, and would feel like they had raised a monster.

No one likes monsters, even if a monster has many, many secrets in its heart, a deep and long history like an ancient road, but no one will explore it.

Chu Zihang didn't blame them. He deliberately put on a pale and handsome appearance in the hopes of making his parents happy.

Whether their self-perception is true or false seems unimportant.

"Senior brother, what kind of person is your mother?" Lu Mingfei suddenly asked.

Chu Zihang paused for a moment, organized his thoughts, and finally gave a four-word evaluation: "Quite... carefree."

"Senior brother, you've never let her see you like this before, have you?"

Chu Zihang nodded silently.

Of course, she can't see herself like this, otherwise she'll be worried and afraid, even terrified that she's given birth to a monster.

"Senior brother, even if one day the whole world forgets you, there will still be two people in this world who remember you."

Lu Mingfei said softly. At that moment, Chu Zihang turned his head and saw his junior brother's deep and sorrowful eyes.

The sorrow was so heavy, it struck his very soul, making him feel it as well, and his heart clenched tightly.

"Which two people?" he asked in a low voice.

"The first person is of course your mother!" Lu Mingfei thought to himself, "Senior brother, your mother is a heroine. Don't be fooled by her sleeping posture just now. When it comes to her son, she has never been ambiguous in her life."

Chu Zihang remained silent. Even if the whole world forgot him, would that woman never forget him?

But if it were possible...

He hoped the opposite would be true.

Whether the whole world remembers him or not, what does it matter to him?

But if one day he dies on the road to revenge, in some dark corner he can never return to, he hopes his mother will forget him completely and never try to find his traces again.

She just needs to live carefree and without a care in the world under her "father's" protection, just like she does now.

Ideally, if circumstances allow, she should have another normal child with her "father" so that they will never be associated with the dragon race.

Perhaps this is... the best ending.

"And the second person? Is it Dad?" Chu Zihang asked in a hoarse voice.

That man is dead, on that rainy night, on that elevated highway that never seems to end.

"Me? Of course, it's me, your junior brother! Even if the whole world forgets you, I, your junior brother, will never forget you!"

Suddenly, his junior brother leaned in, winking and making faces at him, grabbing his shoulders with both hands and looking at him with deep affection in his eyes.

The junior brother who had previously looked sorrowful and profound suddenly disappeared, seemingly reverting to his original, eccentric and unreliable self.

Chu Zihang stood silently.

A soft spot in my heart was gently bumped.

No one ever promised him protection, and he felt from a young age that he had to take care of many people.

But at this moment, a silly junior brother promised him that even if the whole world forgot him, he would never forget him.

The feeling is a bit complicated, but it seems... not bad.

"Let's go, I'll get my passport, you hold my tennis bag, we're getting ready to head to the airport."

Chu Zihang handed over the tennis bag, turned around, and walked out of the bathroom.

Watching his senior brother's retreating figure, Lu Mingfei stood there with a smile.

Senior, we really look alike.

They are all so lonely, yet they always cherish the kindness of others, carefully warming themselves and treasuring those around them...

But you're so much stronger than I used to be, I really envy you.

……

Chu Zihang took out his luggage, checked the validity of his passport, and went downstairs.

There's always a neatly packed suitcase and a bag for a laptop in the bedroom, so you can leave anytime.

He was always ready to go to the battlefield at any time.

His mother was still sleeping on the sofa, she had just rolled over. Chu Zihang tucked the four corners of the blanket in and sat down beside her, silently observing her face.

I didn't go out all day today, so I didn't put on makeup. As a result, I look older, with fine wrinkles around my eyes. A woman who was too beautiful when she was young, paired with the aged look after drinking, makes one feel a bit desolate.

It's not easy to figure out that such a woman is your mother.

In my memory, the time she was most reliable to me was when she gave birth to me.

But according to that man, she also wanted to give up that time, saying that giving birth to a son would be very painful, so she might as well have an abortion.

Unfortunately, Chu Zihang was already eight months pregnant at that time. The doctor solemnly warned the woman that having an abortion at this point was tantamount to suicide, which saved Chu Zihang's life.

From the moment Chu Zihang could understand human speech, the woman would hold him in her arms and murmur, "It hurt so much when Mommy gave birth to you. You have to grow up quickly and protect Mommy." On rainy days, she would say that Mommy was afraid of thunder and that she had to grow up quickly and protect Mommy. Even when she was working at the dance troupe, she would say every time she came home, "Mommy works so hard. You have to grow up quickly and earn money to take care of Mommy... Mommy is so fragile, Mommy is so tired, Mommy has suffered so much..."

Because his mother had such a hard life, she didn't come to the parent-teacher conference, no one prepared lunch for him on the school trip, no one picked him up on rainy days, and when he had a high fever... His mother was there for him then, but she had no experience in taking care of a feverish child, so she neither gave him medicine nor water, but instead touched Chu Zihang's little forehead and said, "Are you dizzy? Let Mom sing you a nice song..."

But Chu Zihang never blamed her.

Because Mom is already very, very good.

The rain pattered against the floor-to-ceiling windows, and Chu Zihang sat quietly beside his mother.

The woman turned over and kicked him unconsciously. Chu Zihang then covered her with the blanket that she had thrown off.

He wasn't worried about his mother waking up; once she fell asleep, she never woke up and never got enough sleep.

She's clearly not young anymore, but she always seems heartless and carefree, only knowing how to drink, shop, travel, and party with the aunties...

She's so lucky. She had a man who protected her before, and then another man who protected her. Her son doesn't cause her any worry either. She could live a carefree life without a care in the world.

Lu Mingfei once said that even if the whole world forgets him, this woman will never forget him.

Given the woman's numerous bad records, Chu Zihang had to be skeptical, yet he also genuinely believed in her.

His fingertips gently smoothed his mother's brow; it seemed there would be no chance to say goodbye before he left today.

If, he meant if that day really came...

I really did die quietly in some corner of the world...

I hope you can forget me like everyone else.

Chu Zihang gazed at the sleeping woman and murmured to himself.

The door creaked open.

Chu Zihang turned his head, and Aunt Tong, the family's employee, pushed open the door and came in, wiping her hands with an apron. Lu Mingfei was also with him.

The two chatted and laughed, seemingly enjoying their conversation.

"Zihang, is this your classmate? He told me that you guys are rushing to catch a flight."

"Okay." Chu Zihang glanced at Lu Mingfei and then said, "Aunt Tong, don't let her sleep in the living room anymore, she'll catch a cold."

"No, no, she just fell asleep," Aunt Tong quickly said. "She was in the kitchen cooking something and asked me to go to the supermarket to buy vinegar. When I came back, I saw she was asleep."

"She's cooking?" Chu Zihang was taken aback.

"Not even bothering to pick up a fallen oil bottle" is a proverb that seems tailor-made for my mother.

"Oh no... she doesn't know how to use fire, I hope nothing goes wrong in the kitchen!" Chu Zihang exclaimed in alarm.

The two hurriedly ran into the kitchen, with Lu Mingfei following behind with amusement.

Upon entering the kitchen, a burnt smell hit me immediately, and the kitchen was filled with smoke. The range hood wasn't even on, and the smoke alarm would have gone off if it had gotten any thicker.

Chu Zihang turned off the gas valve and opened all the windows. As the smoke dissipated slightly, Aunt Tong took a blackened pot off the gas stove. This pot belonged to a set of German-imported stainless steel cookware, which Aunt Tong polished every day until it could be used as a mirror.

"What is this?"

Chu Zihang covered his nose and could only see a burnt mess in the pot, completely charred, making it impossible to tell what was being cooked.

Aunt Annie probably took her to some trendy kitchen training class again, which made her eager to try her hand at cooking.

This wasn't the first time my mom had gone to one of those kinds of classes. A group of incredibly stylish aunties were being taught how to cook by a chef. The dishes ranged from "coconut protein king crab with Trimbach family Alsace Pinot Gris" to "tiger paw mushroom and green plum braised pork with Giganto Royal Red Wine". She would then demonstrate these dishes to Chu Zihang when she got back.

Every time Chu Zihang faced a pile of indistinct objects in a porcelain dish, he would pick up a small piece with the tip of his fork, take a bite, and then suggest, "Mom, why don't you try some too?"

Every time my mom tasted it, she would look miserable and say, "The one I made in class is clearly not the same thing at all!"

Chu Zihang understood why they were completely different things.

Someone washes and prepares the vegetables, and a chef stands behind you to tell you how much heat to use, how long to fry them, and how many times to flip them. Even the old man from northern Shaanxi who sells roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) outside the neighborhood can make authentic French cuisine.

"I get it, your mom's cooking dumplings!" Aunt Tong slapped her thigh.

Chu Zihang was taken aback.

Boil dumplings?

"Dumplings for getting on the horse, noodles for getting off; your mother cooks dumplings for you," Aunt Tong said earnestly. "Isn't she from Shaanxi?"

Chu Zihang subconsciously touched his chest, and a small area deep inside trembled slightly.

He turned to look at the kitchen island, where flour was scattered on the stainless steel countertop used for preparing salads, and a thick rolling pin lay across it...

No wonder they asked Aunt Tong to buy vinegar; it turns out they wanted to eat dumplings.

Dumplings before leaving home, noodles before departing – this dish must have been passed down from my grandmother.

"Celery and pork handmade dumplings with 2010 Zhenjiang vinegar"?

No wonder she didn't go out today, Chu Zihang thought to himself, he had assumed it was because of the rain...

He scooped a piece of burnt dough from the pot and stuffed it into his mouth. The terrible taste made him cough violently a few times, and his nostrils smelled burnt, as if he had just been used as a chimney.

"We can't eat this anymore, let's just throw it away," Chu Zihang said softly.

He washed his hands silently.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of that man.

Every time I think about it, I feel that man's life is ridiculous. He always said things like "I can only drive," but his terrible lineage was only revealed at the very end.

In fact, if one uses that kind of bloodline, many things will be readily available—that bloodline that is superior to all others and kills people like dogs.

When you possess the power to easily annihilate an individual into ashes, would you really care about its existence?

Yes, it will.

That man still loved his mother so much, hiding his bloodline and humbling himself to please her.

Kassel College has been teaching "The Sorrow of Blood" since the introductory course.

All mixed-race people spontaneously come together because of the loneliness caused by their bloodline. Your bloodline determines that your abilities are not accepted by the world, so you can only hug each other for warmth.

Just like ordinary geniuses can live a good life, but geniuses among geniuses are often labeled as madmen and locked up in mental hospitals.

Thinking of this, Chu Zihang suddenly looked up and saw his junior brother reflected in the glass window.

Lu Mingfei was standing close to the burnt pot, admiring the masterpiece of the heroine Su Xiaoyan with a look of amazement.

Following this logic, the junior brother must have been an accident, right?

Chu Zihang thought to himself silently.

"Aunt Tong, please remind my mom to drink milk every day."

Chu Zihang opened the refrigerator, took out a carton of milk, and showed it to Aunt Tong.

"Just buy this Sanyuan low-fat milk. She won't drink anything else. I have to add a sugar cube, microwave it on low for five minutes, and watch her drink it before bed every night."

He skillfully prepared the milk, put it in the microwave, set the timer, and said, "Heat it up for five minutes, then call her to get up and drink it."

"I know, I know, it's the same as before," Aunt Tong said.

She didn't quite understand Chu Zihang's habit of going through the whole process again before each trip abroad. She was the one who heated the milk when Chu Zihang wasn't home; she was already very familiar with the procedure.

"I'll park the car in the airport parking lot. I've put the car keys and parking card in the glove box and asked the family driver to bring the spare key to retrieve them."

Chu Zihang paused for a moment and then said, "I'm leaving."

"The milk isn't warmed up yet... Zihang, tell your mom later..."

"I'm not used to saying goodbye to people... Every time she sees me off... she kisses me passionately..." Chu Zihang paused, "Anyway, I'll be back for winter break."

He dried his hands, picked up his suitcase, and disappeared into the rain with his junior brother.