Dragon Clan: Thought So Far.

"Corleone is the hometown of the Sicilian Mafia. It is said that almost all the Italian Mafia bosses were born and raised in this small town. So in "The Godfather", the director called the protagonist Godfather's family "Corleone", but this is actually a very funny thing, because at the end of the last century, Chenghuang Temple was also the place where those evil forces in my hometown originated."

Lu Mingfei spoke incoherently, pressing his whole face against the car window glass and looking out. Over there was the west gate of Shilan Middle School, over there was the storefront of the roast duck neck, and over there was the arcade. He used to take Su Xiaoqiang to play Three Kingdoms and Swallow the Heaven and Earth, but now it has closed down and opened a stationery store...

Ling Ze casually steered the car through the traffic of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Panamera and Cadillac. There were not many clouds above his head. If the world became a slow-motion movie, when the line of sight was raised to overlook the gray-white buildings standing between the low buildings, the world would be silent. The car was also silent.

“Imagine if Feng Xiaogang named the gangster boss in a movie Chenghuang Temple Small Commodity Wholesale Market, that would be really unlucky,” said Lu Mingfei.

The Rolls-Royce stopped outside the small street. Looking inside, one could see small stalls on both sides of the street. The surviving plane trees were growing in a mess with no one trimming them. The leaves had fallen off long before the snow, and now only bare branches were left, like the hands of a dead person stretched out from a grave. However, each tree was hung with ribbons and colorful lights, and under the shadows of the trees interlaced in the air was a bustling crowd of people. It didn't seem strange at all.

Just as they parked the car, a mounted policeman who was strolling on the side of the road came up with fried dough sticks and tofu pudding and knocked on Lu Mingfei's car window.

The eldest brother had a very convincing square face. As soon as Lu Mingfei rolled down the car window, four big words popped up in his mind: fair and honest.

"Comrade, you are not allowed to park here." The elder brother seemed to be still asleep and yawned repeatedly. Lu Mingfei smiled and said, "Hey, police comrade, I just returned to China. I am also an alumnus of the Shilan Middle School next door. I remember that you can park in this area."

As he spoke, he handed over a cigarette. The mounted policeman quickly reached out to stop him, "It's the National Civilized City Selection right now. The Municipal Transportation Bureau has been very strict about illegal parking recently. You'd better park in the parking lot next to you."

"Okay, we'll move right away." Lu Mingfei said, "Thanks for the reminder."

"Serve the people." The mounted police brother put on his hat and saluted. He was not wearing a police badge or a law enforcement recorder. It seemed that he had not yet gone to work. He just gave a reminder when he saw someone on the road.

"Dude, your girlfriend is so beautiful." Lu Mingfei rolled up the car window and gave his brother a thumbs up.

“Hahahahahaha, that’s right, that’s right.” Lu Mingfei was shameless, but Ling’s ears turned red. He quickly tidied his hair and used it to cover up the abnormality.

"So what do we do now?" Zero asked.

Lu Mingfei blinked and said, "Why don't we park the car at the school? It's just the beginning of the class and there won't be any parents to pick up their children."

"Can you get in?"

"Why couldn't I get in? At that time, our grade director said that Chu Zihang and I were the golden boy and girl of Shilan Middle School. Whether it could win the title of model high school in those two years depended entirely on us." Lu Mingfei said indignantly.

Besides, even if the security guard at the door didn't remember Lu Mingfei, could he not remember this nice car worth 9 million yuan? Damn, Chu Tianjiao could run rampant in a Maybach back then, so there was no reason why they should be inferior to others just because they drove a Rolls-Royce Phantom.

"Who among you is the Jade Girl?" Ling's focus was different, but he had already put the car in reverse gear and was ready to park it in the school as Lu Mingfei had said.

"Chu Zihang." Lu Mingfei said firmly.

"No wonder there are rumors about you two in the college. Some people even wrote fan fiction specifically for the fujoshi seniors in their third and fourth years." Ling nodded with a calm expression.

People always make fun of Chu Zihang and himself, and Lu Mingfei is a little angry. He reaches out to pinch Ling's cheek and says viciously, "Then you're not jealous?"

"If you're not jealous, you won't be able to have children." Ling did not resist. The muscles on Lu Mingfei's cheeks twitched.

"Damn it, I thought we were having supper together out of pure revolutionary friendship, but you actually want to have a baby with me?" He was indeed stunned when he heard it, but then he reacted.

"No." Zero said.

When the Rolls-Royce was about to drive into Shilan Middle School, the security guard at the gate did not try to stop it. The old man even stood up from his security booth with a beer belly and saluted in a proper manner.

"Speaking of which, I remembered one thing. The little angel's father and uncle are both directors of this school. They should recognize this car." Lu Mingfei said as he unbuckled his seat belt.

After crossing the stainless steel sliding door, he couldn't help but want to hold his head high. The ancients said that not returning home in glory is like walking in fine clothes at night. Although Lu Mingfei is no longer at the age where he likes to show off, he still has some inexplicable feelings when looking at everything familiar around him.

"I remember that Su Xiaoqiang's father is a mine owner, right? In your China, mine owners are almost a synonym for nouveau riche. Your uncle runs a chain of foot bath stores, and he actually cares so much about education." Ling also unbuckled his seat belt.

They strolled out of the car. Lu Mingfei looked around and breathed a sigh of relief.

Nuonuo once told him that in another time and space, Fingel knocked her out in the wine cellar of Golden Iris Academy with red wine that cost tens of thousands of dollars a bottle, then ran all the way from the Maltese Islands to China day and night, and visited Shilan Middle School in a careless manner just to find Chu Zihang who disappeared in fate.

The senior sister said that the day they came was the school anniversary of Shilan Middle School. There were so many people and red flags flying. There were two mythical beasts standing at the school gate. I can't remember other things clearly, but I remember that there were two white marble sculptures, a boy on the left and a girl on the right. The boy on the left was holding a space shuttle model and running wildly in a funny and silly manner, while the girl on the right was holding a satellite model with her skirt fluttering. Nuonuo also said that the reason she remembered it so clearly was because the boy's face model was obviously made according to Lu Mingfei, and the prototype of the girl was Su Xiaoqiang.

Lu Mingfei breathed a sigh of relief when he walked into the school and didn't see anything so disillusioning, so twisted, and yet inexplicably joyful.

But even if Shilan Middle School really wants to erect two white marble sculptures at the gate, Lu Mingfei may not be able to rank first. Didn't you see that in the last session, there was a pervert named Chu Zihang who defeated all the others and topped the list of "The Beast Should be Killed". Looking further ahead, there are more powerful people like the sun that suddenly appeared in the sky, such as that person who is now the president of a certain university, and that person who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in the second half of last year. With these seniors around, no matter how amazing Lu Mingfei's performance is, the principal does not have the courage to use this kid's face as his own facade.

Oh, today is the new year, and the Tokyo incident happened last year.

After getting off the bus, the two walked side by side. Lu Mingfei replaced the cigarette in his mouth with a light blue maltose. In the distance, on the rubber track and green playground, there were already physical training students wearing only one sleeve in the middle of winter starting their morning exercises. From the teaching building behind them came the still childish sounds of morning reading.

Many teachers and students passing by cast curious glances at them, wondering why such cool boys and girls would appear in a school, which sounds like a place that sounds dead. At least in China, middle school is synonymous with deadness.

Ling was wearing high-heeled boots. Although she was a little short, she looked very slender and could easily keep up with Lu Mingfei's pace.

She was meticulous in everything she did, from practice to theory, from dancing to making desserts, even her walking was so standard. Lu Mingfei still remembered her classic ballet moves, raising her arms and legs, and stopping, with an upright figure and a tight belly. In fact, she was also a graceful girl, stunning in every way.

"They don't seem to know you." Ling paused, "But I saw you wanted to say hello to those teachers several times." "Because our worlds are too far apart, so far that I am just a vague shadow in their memories. No one can recognize someone as a passerby they passed by on the street just because of a shadow." Lu Mingfei didn't think it mattered.

It's better if no one knows him. Although this city is still safe under the protection of EVA, it will not be so forever.

The more people recognize Lu Mingfei, the greater the risk of them being exposed, but until now there are still many mysteries about Chu Tianjiao that have not been solved.

They haven't found the box yet.

When Lu Mingfei arrived at the school gate, he saw those young hooligans wearing leather jackets and silver chains on their pants. Perhaps Lu Mingfei and Ling did not look like high school students, so the boys avoided them intentionally or unintentionally.

"Look, that's our Corleone." Lu Mingfei pointed to the corner where the boys were hiding and smiled at Ling.

"The Gattuso family also started out as the Mafia in Sicily. In a sense, maybe a few hundred years from now there will be someone in your Corleone who will carry forward his surname and become a powerful figure like Gattuso," said Zero.

The plane trees on both sides of the road in front of the school gate had long lost their leaves. At this time, a few black crows were perched on the treetops, tilting their heads to look down curiously, making cawing sounds with their mouths.

"Let's go and have breakfast. After breakfast, we will look for any traces of Chu Tianjiao left in this city." Lu Mingfei rubbed his hands.

Ling nodded without saying anything, just hid his head in the scarf.

"EVA helped to hack into the population system to investigate his activities. How is the matter going?"

"She's still sorting it out. It should be done today. After finishing her work here, she will return to the United States." Lu Mingfei replied.

"Why are you so obsessed with investigating Chu Tianjiao? It is obvious that we only need to find the box that was taken away by Odin. If there is no blood of the Black King in the box, we can think of other ways and there is no need to waste time in this city." Ling showed a hint of curiosity. She cupped her two slender white hands together, put them in front of her lips and breathed. After a moment, her snow-white skin became a little rosy.

Lu Mingfei noticed that the princess was not dressed that warmly. In this kind of weather, her clothes could even be considered a little thin.

He reached out and ruffled Ling's hair, then put his right hand around the girl's slender and graceful waist and held her in his arms.

Ling's body stiffened slightly. "This is better. If you are still cold, you can put your hands in my pockets. It's warm inside." Lu Mingfei said with a smile.

He is a typical optimist. Today he is still feeling sad and worried about his final grades, but tomorrow he will happily call Zhao Menghua and others to go to the Internet cafe to play StarCraft.

But Lu Mingfei thinks it’s a good thing this way. Only heartless people can live happily in this world.

Just like not long ago he was still worrying about what he was, now he has completely put that feeling of loss behind him.

What does it matter what you are? If you are a human, this country will not give you a wife. If you are a dragon, no one except those crazy people in the secret party will come around the world with a knife to look for you and force you to be a dragon-slaying hero.

But how could that be, how could you not care what you are? You just keep it all inside.

“One day when I die, I have to know whose name should be engraved on my tombstone. Should I just write ‘Here lies Lu Mingfei, a nice boy’, something that no one would even stop to look at?” Lu Mingfei held Ling in his arms as they waited for the traffic light. “Chu Tianjiao came to this city long before I was born, and many years ago he even knew my father and mother… Honestly, haven’t you ever wondered what kind of people they were?”

"Who? Uncle and aunt?"

"Ah."

"I was curious, but if you don't tell me, I won't ask." Ling said seriously.

"They have never appeared in front of me since they sent me to live with my uncle and aunt. Before I was 16, I would receive a long letter from them every year from some corner of the world. But after entering Kassel College, I haven't received any information from them until now. It's even difficult to find too many clues in Norma's database." Lu Mingfei looked straight ahead, "Maybe they don't exist at all? Maybe the first half of my life was a completely fictional illusion. Something or some force implanted those memories into my mind, and I was born in the form of a young man or something."

"It's an interesting theory. I've thought about it before." Ling nodded.

Lu Mingfei was a little embarrassed.

He took the girl into the Chenghuang Temple Small Commodity Wholesale Market and found a breakfast shop next to a boxing gym called The Speedy Walker.

It’s a very typical Chinese breakfast stall, selling xiaolongbao, fried dough sticks, soy milk, milk, and even rice rolls and tea eggs.

The steamer and the chef's workbench are next to the storefront, and four or five small tables are placed outside. Next to each table are three or four low red plastic chairs, the kind that people can collapse into.

"Most of the people who come here for breakfast are students. Su Xiaoqiang used to buy dumplings for me here." Lu Mingfei smiled. "At noon, the boss sells rice noodles and noodles. Sometimes I don't want to go back to my uncle's house for dinner, so I eat noodles here."

"Can you eat enough?" Ling asked.

"Almost, but I felt a little embarrassed at the time. I didn't have much money and my parents weren't around." Lu Mingfei shrugged, and he looked at Ling with a smile on his face. "But then again, someone once asked us how to look classy when eating at a food stall, and my brothers in the literature club gave a variety of answers. Some said driving a Porsche, and some said wearing a Patek Philippe watch."

"What did you say?"

"I think the most classy way to eat is to drive a convertible Ferrari with a girl in mink on the passenger seat. After you get off the car, just eat the skewers while the girl quietly sits by your side and helps you peel garlic." Lu Mingfei said, "Even though you can't help me peel garlic now, I still feel very proud."

"Boss, two trays of steamed dumplings, two servings of salted bone porridge, and a plate of pickled white radish!" (End of this chapter)