Dragon Clan: Starting with the Azure Dragon Fruit

It looks like a top-tier private school with a rich history and rigorous academic atmosphere.

Lin Yuan pressed down on the mouse with his index finger, created a new blank tab at the top of the browser, and searched for "dragon".

Suddenly, most of the page was filled with ads for "Classic of Mountains and Seas". After spending a lot of time turning off the ads, all that was left were a bunch of fantasy novels and promotions for the launch of a certain game.

Last night, the monster with bluish-gray scales appeared on the internet as clean as a wisp of illusory ink.

Lin Yuan stared at the screen, his eyelids twitching involuntarily.

In the world of One Piece, the World Government, as a massive regime that rules the entire globe, has to carry out literary inquisitions and even launch Buster Calls all over the world in order to cover up the "Void Century" of history.

Even regimes that rule the world go to such great lengths to erase something.

And this mixed-race society hidden beneath the real world has managed to remain so perfectly concealed in this age of information overload and the internet.

It seems that Kassel College's capabilities are even more impressive than he imagined, and he is increasingly looking forward to enrolling.

I clicked the mouse back to the Kassel College website, and gently scrolled down the mouse wheel, listing the school's history, faculty, the origins of several teaching buildings, and the annual sailing competition.

Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair, his eyelids drooping, like a poor student pretending to read a book during self-study class, absentmindedly flipping through the pages. He was a little unsure how to pass the time.

"Brother Yuan?"

A somewhat incredulous voice came from beside me.

A tall, thin boy stood next to his computer, clearly also intending to go online.

The boy looked listless and was a bit hunched over. He wore a faded T-shirt loosely on his body, and the collar seemed to be constantly being pulled, with a layer of grayish-white frayed edges. He wore a pair of canvas shoes whose original color was no longer recognizable.

His hair hadn't been styled in a while; it was a mess that covered his eyebrows, and the ends were a bit oily. His face, which hadn't fully developed, still had a youthful innocence, and two pimples had appeared on his chin.

He's an unremarkable kid who's easy to lose track of on the street.

Lin Yuan suddenly remembered—Lu Mingfei, the StarCraft expert he often played games with at internet cafes.

"Brother Yuan, what have you been up to lately? You haven't even been online."

Lu Mingfei didn't give Lin Yuan a chance to speak and started talking on his own.

"Did you know that the internet cafe was having a promotion recently? With your exam admission ticket, you could get 100 yuan free for every 100 yuan you topped up!" He excitedly patted the back of Lin Yuan's chair.

"If you're not coming, at least lend me your exam admission ticket so I can recharge..."

Lu Mingfei stopped mid-sentence.

He subconsciously touched his pocket, and the empty feeling made his excitement fade. He chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.

"Hi..." Lu Mingfei mumbled, trying to brush the matter off.

"Whether you send it or not doesn't really matter, as long as you come to use the internet."

As he was saying this, he was about to pull out a chair and sit down in Unit 9 next to Lin Yuan when he suddenly exclaimed loudly, as if he had discovered a new continent.

"Holy crap, Burberry?" He pointed vaguely at the logo on Lin Yuan's T-shirt, about half an inch away.

"No wonder you look down on this 100 yuan internet fee, Brother Yuan. This one item is worth my living expenses for a whole semester."

He leaned back, as if he were getting to know Lin Yuan all over again.

Lin Yuan looked at Lu Mingfei, who had been making a lot of noise since he appeared and hadn't given him a chance to speak, and was momentarily speechless.

Is this guy really that talkative?

But since they were friends, Lin Yuan couldn't just sit idly by. So he replied calmly:

"I've been quite busy lately, and the clothes were a gift from a friend."

Seeing Lin Yuan's somewhat distant attitude, Lu Mingfei wasn't annoyed. He casually sat down at computer number nine and turned it on. As the computer booted up, his eyes habitually glanced at Lin Yuan's monitor, wanting to see what games Lin Yuan had been playing lately.

“Kassel College…” he read out each word slowly, his eyes widening suddenly.

"Brother Yuan, are you going abroad to study?"

"Hmm." Lin Yuan replied without turning his head, and casually scrolled the page down again.

"Holy crap!" Lu Mingfei couldn't help but shout out. The person at the next table glanced at him, and he knew his voice was a bit loud, so he quickly lowered it. But he couldn't contain his excitement, and his whole body became alert.

"Really? Studying in the US?!"

"Ah."

"Wow, Yuan-ge, you're awesome!" Lu Mingfei exclaimed sincerely, slapping his thigh. "I knew you were hiding your true abilities, Yuan-ge! You're always so unserious, but it turns out you were preparing a big surprise!"

Chapter 21 Let's go out for a meal

Lu Mingfei seemed to have opened a floodgate of words, rambling on and on: "America is great! I heard that over there... you can play games without any lag, the internet speed is lightning fast. And that thing... oh well, anyway, it's a great place. Going to the heart of capitalism to experience the hellish life? Great! Absolutely fantastic!"

He kept talking, even though he knew it was all nonsense, but he just couldn't stop, one sentence after another.

"When you become a successful person who has studied abroad, remember to bring me a couple of Playboy magazines so I can broaden my horizons."

Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair, not interrupting him, letting him ramble on.

After talking for a while, Lu Mingfei suddenly stopped.

He looked at Lin Yuan's profile. Lin Yuan just sat there, leaning lazily against the back of his chair, responding to him with "Mmm".

The guy I remember, who would argue with me for ages over a game and even fight over the mouse, seems... seems different now.

Lu Mingfei felt as if there was a lump of dry, hard breadcrumbs stuck in his throat, unable to swallow or spit it out. He chuckled dryly, even squeezing his usually droopy eyes upwards in an attempt to cover up the sudden wave of loneliness.

“...Yeah, you’re right.” He grinned, lowering his voice. “It’s graduation, that’s how it is. Everyone has their own path to walk.”

He seemed to be convincing himself.

"Then we definitely need to celebrate!" Lu Mingfei pushed the mouse onto the mat and jumped up. "Wait for me, Yuan-ge, it's on me!"

After saying that, without waiting for Lin Yuan's reply, he ran off towards the freezer at the bar.

Lin Yuan turned his head and looked at Lu Mingfei, who was jogging along.

In front of the freezer with its bright incandescent light, Lu Mingfei pulled both of his pants pockets out and turned them inside out, pulling out a few coins and two one-yuan bills that were soft from sweat.

He pointed back and forth three times with his index finger, and finally, as if he had made up his mind, he pointed to the high-end product on the refrigerator that he would never dare to drink himself: "Boss, give me a bottle of Nutritional Express."

"Exactly five yuan." The internet cafe manager swept the coins on the table and shoved them into the metal box with a clatter.

Lu Mingfei ran back with a white bottle covered in tiny water droplets, and slammed it down next to Lin Yuan's mousepad with a "thump".

"It's on you, Brother Yuan." Lu Mingfei reached out and tugged at his slightly slipped collar, striking a hearty pose.

"Congratulations on your studies abroad! Consider this a farewell dinner. I'm not too thirsty, so I won't drink any more." Lu Mingfei didn't forget to make amends for himself.

Lin Yuan lowered his gaze, looking at the water droplets condensing on the bottle.

He saw it clearly just now; this bottle of nutritional drink was practically all of this guy's wealth.

This sincerity is genuine and straightforward, without the slightest hint of beating around the bush.

Lin Yuan reached out and gulped down more than half the bottle in one go. After putting the bottle down, he turned his head to look at Lu Mingfei.

"Thanks," he said earnestly.

Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment, probably not expecting Lin Yuan to thank him so solemnly. He was a little at a loss for words, and his timid eyes twitched up again, this time out of embarrassment.

"Hey, stop being so formal, it's just a drink."

After saying that, he turned around and clicked on the StarCraft icon on his desktop, excitedly preparing to create a game.

Seeing how overjoyed he was, Lin Yuan decided to use the remaining 10 yuan to buy two bottles of nutritional drinks to share with Lu Mingfei.

But just as he touched his pants pocket, he suddenly remembered his promise to Chu Zihang that morning. Turning his head to look at Lu Mingfei, who had already chosen his race, he asked:

Are you free this afternoon?

Lu Mingfei's eyes lit up, thinking that Lin Yuan wanted to play with him: "What serious things could there be on a weekend! How about we play a couple of 2v2 games, Yuan-ge? I'll pick Zerg to tank in front, and you can safely sneak in from behind!"

"I won't play today." Lin Yuan lightly clicked the mouse and closed the browser.

"If you're free this afternoon, I'll take you out for a meal."

"Eat?" Lu Mingfei's right hand, which had just settled on the mouse, froze in mid-air. He subconsciously squeezed his empty pocket, feeling somewhat nervous.

"...Who's paying?"

"You don't need to pay."

When Lu Mingfei heard that he didn't have to pay, the hesitation on his face lasted only half a second.

"I'm free! Of course I'm free!" He pushed the mouse away, almost jumping off his computer chair on the spot.

"There's no reason to turn down a free meal."

Lin Yuan turned his head and looked at him for two seconds.

...This kid is just like me.

Knowing that he wouldn't have to pay, Lu Mingfei immediately became lively, constantly asking where to eat and what to eat.

"You'll see when we get there. I'm sure I won't treat you badly." Lin Yuan casually brushed it off. He didn't know what Chu Zihang would treat him to, but given Chu's wealth, it certainly wouldn't be a roadside stall.

"Alright! Then I'll sell all 180-200 jin of these to Brother Yuan today. I'll follow you wherever you go." Lu Mingfei patted his chest, acting like a sycophant.

"Let's go then." Lin Yuan looked at his practiced antics, shook his head with amusement, and then decisively pressed the button on the computer and turned off the monitor.

He was truly fed up with the smoky, foul air in the internet cafe.

Lu Mingfei stared at the newly created interstellar room on the screen, his mouse hovering over the exit button for two seconds. He felt a pang of regret for the internet fee he had just paid. But in the end, he quickly exited the game and followed Lin Yuan out of the smoky "Star Network".

The afternoon sun was still scorching, and the heatwave made the asphalt road look somewhat distorted.

With some time to spare before the appointed time, Lin Yuan simply took Lu Mingfei for a stroll back to the iron gate of Taoyuan Community and found a lush old locust tree to seek shade.

Lu Mingfei leaned against the tree trunk, looking around, secretly wondering what Lin Yuan would treat him to later. There were only a few restaurants nearby: Shaxian snacks, Lanzhou noodles, and the same braised chicken place they had just passed.

Although Lin Yuan doesn't seem to be short of money right now, Lu Mingfei still subconsciously wants to save Lin Yuan some money.

He was thinking that it would be good if he could just suggest going for a bowl of beef noodles with extra meat.

Just then, a gleaming black BMW turned the corner from the street corner, its tires crunching over the fallen leaves on the ground, and came to a smooth stop in front of the two of them.

The car window slowly rolled down. Lu Mingfei originally wanted to join in the fun and see who was driving a BMW in this kind of place, but when he saw the profile of the person holding the steering wheel in the driver's seat, he froze on the spot.

Chu Zihang, this scoundrel from Shilan Middle School deserves to be executed!

Lu Mingfei swallowed hard, watching Lin Yuan open the passenger door and get in before he snapped out of his daze and moved to the back seat.

He handled the car door very gently, as if afraid of accidentally scratching the paint with his fingernails. After getting into the car, he kept his knees together, placed his hands neatly on his thighs, and straightened his back slightly to minimize his contact with the leather seats. He exuded a sense of unease.

Lin Yuan pulled on his seatbelt and fastened it, then lazily said to Chu Zihang, "I'll listen to you. I brought a friend along. Is everything alright?"

Chu Zihang shifted gears, his fingers resting on the steering wheel, his tone devoid of emotion: "It's nothing."

As he spoke, he glanced at Lu Mingfei, who was sitting upright, in the rearview mirror and lingered for a moment before taking the initiative to speak: "Lu Mingfei, right? I'm Chu Zihang."

Chapter 22 The Girl in the White Dress

Lin Yuan sat in the passenger seat, and his lips twitched as he listened to the familiar introduction.

Here we go again. This expressionless young master greets everyone with the same rigid, prim and proper manner, always introducing himself as if his name were a business card that needs no explanation.

Lu Mingfei, sitting in the back seat, was completely stunned by those words.

The legendary figure at Shilan Middle School, consistently ranking first in every final exam, a handsome and wealthy young man. It's astonishing that someone could call out the name of someone like him, who sits in the last row of the classroom, a nobody who either reads novels or daydreams during class.

Lu Mingfei felt a sudden rush of heat to his head, feeling flattered and overwhelmed. He instinctively leaned halfway out from the center of the front seat, awkwardly intending to shake hands with Chu Zihang. But as soon as he reached halfway out, he realized that Chu Zihang was driving.

He quickly withdrew his hand, rubbing it back and forth on his trouser leg several times to dry the sweat from his palms. He nodded his head like a chick pecking at rice: "I know, I know, who at Shilan Middle School doesn't know Senior Brother Chu?"

Chu Zihang nodded slightly, which was considered a greeting.

Lin Yuan sat to the side, watching Lu Mingfei's worthless behavior, too lazy to say a word.

The carriage quieted down, with only the cool breeze from the air conditioning vents mixed with the subtle scents of car perfume and premium leather.

Chu Zihang stared straight ahead at the road, but his gaze involuntarily swept over the rearview mirror once more, passing over that messy head.

He not only remembered Lu Mingfei's name, but was also deeply impressed by it.

A memory he didn't want to touch surged from the depths of his mind: a night of torrential rain, when Typhoon Dandelion had passed through, and the entire city was as if it were submerged in water.

Lu Mingfei stood alone downstairs in the teaching building.

At that time, Chu Zihang was sitting in his father Chu Tianjiao's Maybach. Through the blurry car window washed by the rain, he looked at the figure huddled in the wind and rain and originally wanted his father to give him a ride.