Dragon Raja: Back from Tiling, My Mother Lu Mingfei

Principal's Office.

Angers leaned back in his chair, holding a cup of red tea, his gaze fixed on the two answer sheets on the table.

One of them is from the Huaixu period.

One of them is by Lu Mingfei.

According to the rules, the answer sheets for the 3E test should have been sent directly to Norma for grading. But Angers intercepted them on the way, and although Manstein looked reluctant, he clearly had no right to object to the principal's decision.

Huai Xu's answer is very neat and standard.

It's so standard it looks like it was copied from a standard answer.

The handwriting is elegant and expressive, like writing poetry or a love letter to a sweetheart.

After reading the answer sheet, Angers put it aside.

Then I picked up Lu Mingfei's.

It is a painting.

Angers stared at the painting in silence for a long time, then picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked somewhat dazed.

Just then, the phone on the table rang.

Angers put the answer sheet back on the table and answered the phone.

"Principal." A synthesized female voice came from the other end of the phone; it was Secretary Norma.

"explain."

"S-class freshman Huai Xu is attempting to make contact with the surveillance target."

Angers' eyebrows twitched slightly. "Where is he now?"

"A rental house in a poor neighborhood in Franklin, New York. Arrived five minutes ago."

There was a few seconds of silence.

"What is his purpose?"

"It's unclear at the moment." Norma's voice was devoid of any emotion. "Should we arrange for a specialist to observe closely?"

Angers thought for a moment, "No need. Just report back whenever needed."

"clear."

The phone hangs up.

Angers leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest twice.

An S-class freshman who has only been at the academy for two days travels thousands of miles to the slums to find someone he has no connection with at all.

Angers picked up his teacup and took another sip.

"interesting."

……

Franklin District.

The least New York-like place.

There are no skyscrapers, no neon lights, and even the streetlights were installed in the 1980s, some of which are broken and no one has come to repair them.

The street was lined with rows of low, terraced houses with mottled exterior walls. Some windows were boarded up, and some lawns in front of the houses were overgrown with weeds.

The air was filled with an indescribable smell, like marijuana and cheap fast food mixed together, then fermented by the sun into something nauseating.

Huai Xu parked the car on the side of the road and turned off the engine.

He glanced at his face in the rearview mirror.

Dark gray three-piece suit, white shirt, and tie.

That's a bit too formal.

He looks like an insurance salesman.

He ripped off his tie, unbuttoned one button, and put his white coat back on.

Yes, it's the kind of white coat doctors wear, with a pen tucked into their left breast pocket.

After thinking for a moment, he took out another ID card, glanced at it, and put it back in his pocket.

I spent $100 on the way to get a fake mental health counselor certificate.

Yes, this one is more approachable.

As for the fake documents of the priest, the Taoist priest from Maoshan, and the FBI...

spare.

Huai Xu took a deep breath, opened the car door, and got out.

He walked to a door, raised his hand, and gently knocked.

knock knock knock.

A rustling sound came from behind the door.

The prelude to the locust tree begins "the futility of love".

A clear sense of awareness flooded in.

-

Are you here to borrow money from me?

Or when did they become enemies?

Dirty stuff?

Who will come looking for me?

I haven't been swearing online lately.

-

Huai Xu remained calm and knocked on the door again.

"Excuse me, is Mr. Ronald Don here?"

The mood behind the door changed.

-

Holy crap, where did this handsome guy come from?

He doesn't look like he's looking for trouble...

Why wear a white coat?

Foreigners see psychologists too?

Never mind, let's see first.

-

A few seconds later, the door was opened a crack, and a head peeked out.

A very cheerful face.

His black hair was a bit long and oily, as if it hadn't been washed for several days. His signature sloping eyebrows, paired with his slightly bewildered eyes, gave him the illusion of being easy to bully.

The room was pitch black, the curtains were drawn tightly, and there was a strong smell of fast food in the air.

fries.

Hamburger.

And...pickled cucumbers?

It was Ronald Don.

Lu Mingfei's best buddy, Lao Tang.

Old Tang looked Huai Xu up and down. "Dude, you've got the wrong person, haven't you?"

Huai Xu smiled slightly.

That smile was gentle and warm, exuding approachability.

It's just like that kind of therapist who will listen attentively to whatever you say and then charge you $300 an hour.

He silently began "Twelfth Night".

"Look at what you're saying! Didn't you ask me to come?"

Old Tang was stunned for a moment.

"Me? I sent you?"

"Yes." Huai Xu took out the psychological counselor's certificate from his pocket and handed it over. "I'm a psychological counselor at OIO Psychological Counseling Center. We met last time."

Old Tang took the documents, looked down at them, and a blurry image suddenly flashed through his mind.

A simple office.

Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the blinds, casting streaks of light and shadow on the floor.

He was lying on a recliner.

Huai Xu sat in the chair opposite, holding a medical record book in his hand, his expression focused and gentle.

What are they talking about?

Let's talk about his work.

Talk about his life.

Talk about his...childhood?

How was your sleep this week?

"Still the same old story, I can't sleep soundly."

"Are you dreaming?"

"I did it... but I don't remember exactly..."

"It's okay, take your time to think about it."

The image flashed by.

Old Tang blinked, another memory appearing in his mind.

Near the end of the counseling session that day, Huai Xu closed his case file and said, "For next week's session, I suggest a different environment. Let's have it at your place. I'd like to get a feel for your daily life. What do you think?"

The version of myself in my memory nodded.

"Okay, I'll go back and pack up."

"No need to tidy up specially, just keep it as it is."

"Then... next Wednesday?"

Next Wednesday.

"Okay, it's settled then."

That concludes my memory.

Old Tang shook his head.

I've been eating too much junk food these past few days, and my memory has started to decline.

I just saw this guy last week, and I've already forgotten about him...

"I'm sorry..."

Old Tang quickly stepped aside to make room for him. "I've been staying up late these past few days, completely out of it, I'd forgotten all about it. Please come in, please come in!"

Huai Xu smiled and nodded, then went inside.

The room clearly wasn't cleaned often; several delivery boxes were piled in the corner, fast food containers were scattered all over the floor, and the blankets weren't made...

It has a strong sense of everyday life.

The smell of garbage was also very strong.

Huai Xu casually found a chair to sit down, straightened the hem of his white coat, took out a notebook from his pocket, and opened to the first page.

"Let's begin."

Old Tang also sat down by the bed, his hands on his knees, looking like a well-behaved elementary school student.

"How have you been lately?" Huai Xu asked.

"It's alright," Old Tang scratched his head. "It's just... work is a bit annoying. And I'm not doing well playing games either; it's making me want to smash my keyboard."

"What about sleep?"

"It's still the same old story; I can't sleep soundly. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, and then I can't fall back asleep, tossing and turning until dawn."

"Are you dreaming?"

Old Tang thought about it.

"I did it... but I don't remember it very clearly. I just remember... there was a fire? A very big fire? I can't quite put my finger on it."

Huai Xu wrote a line of text in the notebook.

"What about diet?"

Old Tang smiled a little embarrassedly.

"I eat fast food a lot... mainly because I'm too lazy to cook."

How many meals a day?

"Two meals... sometimes just one."

"What about vegetables and fruits?"

"I guess I'll eat it occasionally...?"

"Bar?"

"Uh... I ate a banana the week before last."

Huai Xu wrote another line on the notebook.

There was a few seconds of silence.

He raised his head and looked intently into Old Tang's eyes.

Old Tang was so serious that he got a little uneasy.

"Mr. Donald"

"Um?"

Have you ever thought about...?

Huai Xu paused for a moment.

"Actually, you're a sweet and soft little girl."