Chapter 8
[Any: Your Majesty, please eat everything and don't suffer! That person called Xu Bai something, really doesn't have any upbringing. He's so annoying ah ah ah ah ah]
[Gululu: Awesome!]
[Fireworks Romance: Who took a screenshot when His Majesty’s filter aura was fully open just now? I was so stunned that I forgot to take a screenshot. Can someone kindly send me one for screen licking? Thanks a lot!]
[Blazing Fire: Just let him go like this, it’s too cheap for him. We should have the guards bag him, give him a good beating, and then transport the bag to the wasteland star mine through interstellar flight.]
Wen Xingze has already handled this matter very swiftly, barely giving Xu Baijing any attention. However, the existence of Xu Baijing still made many parents feel uncomfortable.
What kind of person is that! They are all in their twenties. Why is their child so cute, excellent, and kind, while that Xu Baijing is so annoying?
So far, the first mainline task has been thoroughly completed. The familiar system sound rings out:
[Congratulations to the parents, the current mainline task has been successfully completed! You have earned 1 skill point and 1 lottery ticket. Since both indicators of this task have been over-fulfilled, an additional lottery ticket is awarded as a bonus.]
The original task required a popularity value of 1000 and the favor of two industry seniors.
Now, Wen Xingze’s popularity value has reached over 1300 and is still rising. He has also gained the favor of three industry seniors — Jiang Ye, Zheng Xiao, and Inoshita Ryunosuke.
There are actually rewards for completing additional tasks. It seems that this system still has some merits, the parents thought.
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Manli Hotel.
The presidential suite, which costs 150,000 a night, occupies the entire top floor of the hotel. It has a duplex living room and a private garden. It also comes with an entertainment room, a gym, and a bar. Since it’s summer, the fireplace is not lit.
The entire decoration style is a simple and elegant Japanese style. It doesn’t have the exaggerated luxury crystal lamps that Wen Xingze imagined, but every detail reveals extravagance and refinement.
There is even a kitchen. Do people who stay in the presidential suite cook for themselves to experience life?
After Wen Xingze raised his doubts, the manager replied: “Although our chef is also a Michelin three-star level, many guests still choose to bring their own private chefs.”
These top-notch wealthy people have golden stomachs. They are not used to eating food cooked by anyone other than their own chefs, so this kind of presidential suite will come with a kitchen.
Is this the happiness of the rich?
Wen Xingze said: “Uh, I can also eat Michelin three-star.”
The manager: “Mr. Wen, you are joking. Your chef has arrived in the kitchen one hour in advance to prepare, and the air-shipped ingredients are also ready. You can choose to dine at any time.”
That’s a skilled craftsman. When the chefs at Manly see him, they have to respectfully call him a senior.
Wen Xingze: “???” When did his family hire a chef?
Twenty minutes later.
The open-air hot spring pool overlooks the entire capital, and the financial building on the opposite side towers into the clouds.
The circular projection theater is playing Wen Xingze’s favorite SpongeBob SquarePants movie. The 3D surround sound gives SpongeBob a bit of a blockbuster feel.
Wen Xingze is soaking in the open-air hot spring, drowsy, and the bath salt is his favorite lemon sea salt flavor.
He refuses to think about how all this came about and how much money it needs. They said that soaking in the hot spring here also comes with a masseuse, which Wen Xingze politely declined.
After a while, the manager’s internal line came in: “Mr. Wen, sorry to disturb you, your tailor has arrived. After you finish bathing, I will arrange for him to come in.”
Wen Xingze felt that he shouldn't be surprised anymore: “Tailor?”
“Yes.” Then the manager explained that just like having a private chef, these wealthy families generally don’t wear luxury brands that are chased by the market. They all have dedicated designers from Munich or Milan, and the tailor comes every quarter to measure their size.
“The staff of the twenty-three brand stores stationed in Manli are already waiting outside your door. They're bringing all the new styles of the season, you can make do first.”
Wen Xingze gave up thinking: “…Oh, okay, good.”
After soaking in the hot spring, Wen Xingze took a simple shower and walked out in his bathrobe. As expected, he saw twenty-three counter ladies in various uniforms lined up in the living room, each with a row of hangers on their side to prevent the clothes from wrinkling.
Behind the price tag are a bunch of zeros.
Wen Xingze picked a set with the least amount of zeros, thinking they would take the rest back. Unexpectedly, the counter ladies skillfully packed up the rest, leaving the bags and gift boxes behind as they left.
Wen Xingze: “…” Don’t do this!
“Excuse me.” Next, the tailor came up to measure his shoulder width and leg length, asked some questions about his preferences, and then left.
“Do you want to dine now?” the manager asked.
“Hold on,” Wen Xingze saw a large gift box in the living room labeled ‘to the Cub’, “Is that for me?”
“Yes, the parents have prepared many gifts for you, hidden in various corners of the room waiting for you to discover.”
The gift box was well packaged and easy to open. Inside were many model parts. A concept map on the side showed that these parts could be assembled into a scaled-down version of the Cloud Palace.
The more he looked at the concept map, the more familiar it seemed, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen it before. Was it in a movie? An animation?
Wen Xingze tried to assemble it, but gave up after half a minute: “I would need a whole year to assemble this.”
The manager said: “We have it prepared it for you.”
The next second, the door to the presidential suite opened. The CEO of Manli led a dozen executives in suits into the room, nodding to Wen Xingze.
After the CEO projected the model on the wall and held a brief meeting, the executives rolled up their sleeves and started working, only occasionally whispering to each other.
Half an hour later, the door opened again, and the executives filed out.
They left behind the assembled palace model.
Wen Xingze: “…”
This... Wen Xingze wanted to say it was not necessary, but he really didn’t know where to start.
The model was really big, about one and a half meters high, and the details were also finely made. Wen Xingze had to take a step back to see the full view of this ‘palace’:
The overall style was very similar to an ancient Greek temple, with a very high dome. The base was silver-white, as if it was located on top of a snow mountain. The door of the model could be pushed open, and inside was filled with gold, agate, pearls… countless treasures.
Next to the palace, a giant dragon was sleeping with its wings folded.
It seemed to be guarding the palace, but its posture was like a pilgrimage. The giant dragon was prostrating under the throne, bathing in the heavenly light.
Wen Xingze reached out to touch the tip of the dragon’s nose.
At this moment, he was the only one left in the empty room. He closed his eyes and heard the sound of the waiter pushing the dining cart past, the sound of cicadas and the hustle and bustle of the city, the unique sound of summer in the city all faded away.
In his ears, it seemed to echo the howling and urgent wind in the desolate snowfield.
That was probably not long after he started playing “Desolation”.
That winter, Wen Xingze and the dragon clan were almost desperate. The giant dragons squeezed into the cave, protecting their only Emperor under their wings.
Winter made it impossible to find food. They could only rely on the little food left to survive the longest and harshest winter in history.
Until the first day of spring. Wen Xingze got up in the morning and saw the seeds they had buried before winter break through the frozen soil of thousands of years, taking root and sprouting.
It was like a miracle.
That was the only sign of life on this dying planet. Then from seeds to farmland, tribes, gradually there were alien merchants coming and going for trade, Wen Xingze accompanied this planet from death to rebirth.
Before leaving, he asked the dragon clan what building they most want on this land.
And the giant dragons answered without hesitation: “Palace.”
-“In Dragon Star, His Majesty’s palace should be very high, high above the sky, no cloud can cover it, high enough to be seen at a glance from the capital star.”
So they built a palace.
The dragon clan loves money as much as life, but at this time they did not hesitate to spend their treasures. With gold walls, jade bricks, and glazed tiles, they built a very high palace on the top of the Kanka mountain range, the sacred mountain of the dragon clan.
The day the palace was completed was also the day Wen Xingze was about to leave.
This palace was built for him, but he only stayed for one night. He didn’t want to go into the bedroom, so he slept next to the floor-to-ceiling window, with the window open.
Thousands of giant dragons were crowded and huddled outside the palace. They were so big that they filled the entire Kanka mountain peak. Even when the giant dragons were asleep, they still had the habit of slightly lifting one wing. That was the posture they used to protect Wen Xingze in the cave.
The next day when Wen Xingze left on a starship, no dragon came to see him off. They were not good at farewells. That night, Wen Xingze received a delivery, a strangely shaped bracelet.
The bracelet was made up of small round pieces of different colors, shiny like shells, but uneven and patterned.
Just like the scales at the heart of a dragon.
The palace that was built was really high, but once it passed through the atmosphere, it couldn’t be seen, let alone from the capital star. But after countless days and nights, when Wen Xingze looked up at Dragon Star from the capital star, it seemed like he could really see it.
The giant dragon was soaring next to the throne, bathing in the heavenly light, waiting for the return of its master.
Through the clouds, through the sky.
Through the immeasurable distance and the ancient long wind.
________________________
Memories returned.
Wen Xingze let out a gentle breath.
So, they were all real.
The indoor circular projection was unknowingly turned on, and the background was the familiar snow mountain, with the wind blowing loudly.
Several big faces rushed to the camera one after another, like elders who had just learned to use a phone to talk to a child, their voices excited and agitated:
“Your Majesty! Do you remember me, I am Astor, I flew with you before—” The golden dragon wanted to turn around to show the scales on his back, but was pushed away by the silver dragon, Will.
Will, the silver dragon, is a slow type. It was clear that he had prepared a lot, but he was still a bit stuttering:
“I-I-I am Will, how are you over there, I miss you… No, I hope you are happy, I designed the plane, I-I-I…”
“Will, you’re wasting too much time!” A dragon shouted from behind, “Didn’t we agree on ten seconds per dragon? Everyone is still in line!”
After Will, the silver dragon, came Jade.
Jade is a rare female dragon. She stared at the camera for three seconds, then suddenly turned her face away. Wen Xingze saw her lift her wing to wipe the corner of her eye.
“Jade, why are you acting like a woman, especially at a happy time,” another dragon in line sniffed, having forgotten that Jade was originally a female dragon, and said loudly on purpose, “Your Majesty, don’t mind, we are all fine.”
Wen Xingze: “…” He was lying, he was clearly about to cry himself.
“I want to say something.”
After Wen Xingze finished this sentence, the camera on the other side suddenly quieted down.
The dragon clan all have big eyes. Wen Xingze looked at the round and nervous big eyes, and suddenly felt like laughing, but fortunately, he held back.
He looked at the giant dragons.
Vivid and real.
Not at all like virtual modeling, let alone any AI system.
So, it’s not just him who put his whole heart into it, the days and nights he experienced were more than just his own wishful thinking.
There's nothing more exciting than this.
“I’m sorry, I haven’t been to Dragon Star often. Also, thank you… for being real,” Wen Xingze said, “I’ve finished speaking, you can start crying now.”
After three seconds of silence.
A cry loud enough to be recorded in history echoed throughout the Kanka mountain range.
The giant dragons: “…Wuuuuuuu!!!”
________________________
At the same time, in a high-end residential area not far from Manli, at the top floor.
Chi Yan rolled up his sleeves, his fingers holding the tablet were long, and the shadows of the bookshelf lingered on his eyebrows.
He had a high nose bridge and wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. The blue light of the screen reflected on the lenses, adding a touch of indifferent chill.
The cry of the giant dragons echoed from the Bluetooth speaker.
They cried and hiccupped from time to time, occasionally spewing out a snotty fire.
Chi Yan: “…”
He put down the tablet and picked up the phone that was next to him.
The dialogue box was still blank, staying at the system message sent when the friend request was just accepted:
“Friend request confirmed. Now you can start chatting.”
The man’s eyebrows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
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