The Dragon King Insists That I Raise Him Chapter 12

Chapter 12 The Child, You Are Really Hard to Raise…

Tao Qingguan took a hot shower, turned up the Air Conditioner, and huddled in bed all night, but still couldn’t avoid it.

In the middle of summer, over thirty degrees Celsius, he caught a cold.

Tao Qingguan sneezed, silently took out a tissue to blow his nose, but after blowing, both nostrils were blocked. He vigorously crumpled the tissue into a ball and tossed it into the trash can with a thud.

The rain outside kept falling, making Tao Qingguan agitated. At this moment, his offensive power was boundless.

“Rain, rain, rain. The water in Daming Lake hasn’t been this much in days.”

Tao Qingguan grumbled, sneezed again, and wiped his nose with a blank face. Half a pack of tissues was used up, and the skin under his nose was burning with pain.

Sitting was uncomfortable, and lying down was also uncomfortable. Tao Qingguan got up and wandered around.

He took down the Rainy Day Doll from the bedside, flipped it upside down, and hung it back up. Tao Qingguan patted the inverted Rainy Day Doll, which was now a Sunny Day Doll, on the head. “Give me some strength.”

Yan Jiu, hearing Tao Qingguan’s words from inside the Fish Tank, scoffed inwardly twice.

Your substitute refuses to log in 🙂

Changing the assessment criteria once is fine, but going back and forth is just teasing. It could sense several sides of Spiritual Energy entangled; this rain was going to last for a while longer.

Tao Qingguan listlessly paced a couple of times, and his left foot started protesting again. He plopped down onto the sofa, radiating an aura of utter despair.

Sigh, this wasn’t about recuperating; it was clearly about finding suffering for himself.

Tao Qingguan breathed with his mouth open, resembling a fish stranded on shore. He glanced at the time; it was almost lunchtime, but he had no appetite whatsoever.

A person wouldn’t die from skipping one or two meals; whatever.

If he starved to death, he might as well drag that vegetable thief down with him.

Tao Qingguan rolled off the sofa onto the floor, grabbed his blanket, and tossed back and forth to find an angle where his nose could breathe freely. Eventually, he drifted into unconsciousness.

Time ticked by. After an unknown period, movement came from inside the Fish Tank.

Yan Jiu paced over to Tao Qingguan’s side, squatted down, and reached out towards Tao Qingguan’s forehead.

No fever.

He looked at Tao Qingguan with half-resignation. Having the Contractor, who was supposed to be taken care of, be the one looking after the participant was quite absurd.

Yan Jiu went upstairs, found a phone, and sent a few messages to Tao Lihe.

The person was sent by them. Knowing their own child had poor health, they still didn’t watch over him, wasting time on trivial matters.

On the other side.

Tao Lihe’s heart skipped a beat upon receiving the news that his grandson was sick.

How was the person getting worse while supposedly recuperating? But he couldn’t get away for the moment. Moreover, several of the participants were his old friends, and his absence was to avoid suspicion. Returning now might cause some trouble.

Although he had his own selfish motives, choosing Tao Qingguan, an outsider, as the person to guard the Dragon King was a decision reached by their committee.

Tao Lihe paced back and forth on the spot, but ultimately, unable to rest assured, he called Tao Qingguan.

When woken by the phone ringing, Tao Qingguan was still groggy. He thought his alarm clock had gone off. He blindly pressed a button, and the next second, his grandfather’s loud voice came through the phone.

“What are you doing? Why didn’t you answer the phone right away?”

Tao Qingguan replied weakly, “Sleeping.”

As soon as he spoke, he knew he was done for. His nasal congestion was so heavy that anyone could tell something was wrong.

“Sick? Have you taken medicine?” Tao Lihe asked and answered himself, “Probably not. There’s no medicine at home, and you lazy kid surely wouldn’t go out to buy any.”

“You know that already, why ask me?” Tao Qingguan self-deprecatedly covered his head with a pillow.

It was truly strange. Whether being sent to the Ancestral Home to rest or now, his grandfather always managed to call him at a moment when he couldn’t hide anything.

“You brat,” Tao Lihe cursed with a laugh. “I’ll call your Uncle Chen Fengming later, the chubby one. You should have met him. Remember to thank him when you get the medicine.”

Chen Fengming was among the batch of participants with the worst talent, just there to make up the numbers. Asking him to deliver medicine to Tao Qingguan—even if the former had ulterior motives, spending a little more time near the Dragon King wouldn’t affect the final outcome.

“Mhm,” Tao Qingguan sighed faintly. “By the way, Grandpa.”

Tao Lihe’s eyelids twitched sharply at the sound of that address. Past experience told him that what followed was never good news. He asked in a rough voice, “What is it?”

“Why don’t you take some time to check the Ancestral Graves? See if any headstones have chipped corners or are flooded? I feel like the Ancestral Home isn’t peaceful; something must be wrong with the graves.”

Veins throbbed on Tao Lihe’s forehead. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

“I’m serious. You can’t ignore a sickness.” Tao Qingguan danced around his grandfather’s bottom line. “When I was little, didn’t you often go out to perform shamanic dances? If all else fails, go dance a couple of routines at the Ancestral Graves.”

“That wasn’t!” Tao Lihe was furious. “You little rascal, scram, scram!”

Tao Qingguan wanted to say more, but the call had already been hung up. He pouted and shook his head helplessly.

He was telling the truth; why didn’t they believe him?

Tao Qingguan rubbed his face and sat up from the floor mat to clear his head. Sleeping hadn’t improved his condition; instead, his head felt even fuzzier. Tao Qingguan shook his head, trying to even out the mush in his brain.

Suddenly, there was a sound from the main door. Tao Qingguan was surprised at how fast Chen Fengming had arrived, but upon listening closely, he realized it wasn’t knocking, but the sound of claws scratching the door, vaguely accompanied by faint meowing.

Tao Qingguan pictured a skinny, pitiful little kitten, unable to find shelter or food due to several days of rain, so emaciated that it could only seek help from humans.

He couldn’t help but feel a sense of shared plight.

Don’t be afraid, little cat, your savior is here!

Tao Qingguan found a dry towel and reached out to open the door.

“Little kitty, come here…”

The latter half of the sentence was cut off. Tao Qingguan looked down at what was there—well, a semi-trailer truck. The word ‘little’ that had slipped out felt particularly scorching on his tongue.

The orange cat, shaped like a gas canister, rubbed affectionately against Tao Qingguan’s calf. It wanted to be cuddly, but it didn’t execute it well, letting out a sound.

“Gah~”

Tao Qingguan: Pfft.

The orange cat’s eyes widened, unable to believe the sound that had just come out of its own mouth. An embarrassed expression appeared on its fluffy face. It rubbed its face and licked its paw, pretending to be very busy.

Tao Qingguan bent down and stroked the orange cat’s broad back, asking, “Want to come in?”

The orange cat squeaked in a high-pitched voice, “Meow meow~”

Tao Qingguan nodded, praising, “Not bad, you held that pitch this time.”

What schemes could a cat have? A cat just wants to eat.

It buried its head and wolfed down the food, as if it hadn’t eaten for ages. But given its solid physique, no matter how much Tao Qingguan tried to lie to himself, he couldn’t say the orange cat was starving.

After the orange cat finished the food in its bowl and was leisurely licking its fur, a knocking sound came from the door. Chen Fengming had finally arrived. He not only brought medicine but was also carrying a large bag of food.

As soon as Chen Fengming entered, he saw an orange cat. He let out a strange sound and asked, “Why is Director Huang here? He just scarfed down two bowls of cat food at my place.”

Tao Qingguan, who had just fed the orange cat another bowl of rice: …

He glanced sideways at the licking Director Huang and thought, Tell me, how many other old flames do you have outside?

He hadn’t expected that Director Huang’s physique was built entirely on his own efforts.

Director Huang, who couldn’t understand human speech, meowed innocently twice, lay on the floor exposing his fluffy belly, tempting the two humans before him.

Tao Qingguan, taking advantage of his proximity, shamelessly reached out and stroked it a couple of times.

The texture was good, like a big meatball.

Chen Fengming chuckled at Director Huang’s clingy behavior. “Cute, right? He wandered out from the town’s cat cafe. No one looked for him later, so he’s free-roaming in the village.”

Hearing this, Tao Qingguan’s eyebrows shot up.

So he was from the palace; no wonder he was so good at winning people over.

Chen Fengming only mentioned a few things casually, not paying much attention to a small cat. He placed the items in his hand on the coffee table, then pushed the steaming hot meal in front of Tao Qingguan, saying, “Here, eat first, then take your medicine. Don’t be polite with Uncle.”

He secretly glanced at the Dragon King, his calculations clicking away in his mind. The longer he lingered, the more opportunities he had to show off. He couldn’t help but secretly rejoice; it wasn’t for nothing that he was friends with Old Tao; he still thought of him when good things happened.

Chen Fengming’s gaze toward Tao Qingguan grew increasingly benevolent. “Little Guan, can you manage alone? Do you want Uncle to move in and stay with you for a couple of days?”

Hearing Chen Fengming’s voice, which was even more affected than Director Huang’s high-pitched squeak, Tao Qingguan got goosebumps all over. He let out a dry laugh and replied, “No need, I’m fine by myself.”

Chen Fengming wasn’t discouraged and smiled warmly at Tao Qingguan. “Eat quickly.”

Tao Qingguan knew his grandfather had already arranged things with Chen Fengming, so he didn’t stand on ceremony. He opened the food Chen Fengming brought and slowly started eating with his chopsticks. However, being stared at constantly made him feel a bit uncomfortable, even with his easygoing nature.

He quietly shifted his bottom to the side and proactively started a topic. “Uncle, are you still planning to buy Little White?”

Chen Fengming flinched. The painful experience from a few days ago was vivid in his mind. He repeatedly waved his hands. “No, no, some fates can’t be forced. Uncle was rude last time.”

Oh well, what a pity.

Tao Qingguan took a sip of the soup. Being sick, he didn’t have much appetite and ate slowly. Once there was something in his stomach, he put down his bowl and chopsticks, planning to rest a bit before taking his medicine.

Chen Fengming couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Even if no one responded, he could talk for half a day. “Alas, with all this rain, you shouldn’t go out when you have a cold.”

Tao Qingguan: “Mhm.”

Chen Fengming looked melancholic, tilting his head 45 degrees to gaze at the sky. “I wonder when this rain will stop. If only I could make the rain stop.”

Tao Qingguan was puzzled. “Is there some special meaning to that?”

Chen Fengming remembered that Tao Qingguan didn’t know the inside story of the competition, so the words on his tongue took a detour. “You probably don’t know, but this is a local custom. If you can make the rain stop, everything else will go smoothly, everything will be favorable, and all your wishes will come true.”

After saying that, he sighed again, “I really wish I could make the rain stop.”

Such a thing exists?

Tao Qingguan felt like he had been having terrible luck lately, as if he were under a curse. If praying for the rain to stop could bring good luck, he also wished for this rain to cease.

But how could something so mystical…

Tao Qingguan inadvertently glanced toward the window. His pupils contracted sharply. A halo of light lit up, and a ray of sunshine pierced into the room. The sound of the rain outside gradually faded away. He raised his hand, catching the dancing golden light on his fingertips.

The rain had stopped.