The Dragon King Insists That I Raise Him Chapter 7

Chapter 7 Was He Also a Masochist?

Tao Qingguan closed the last page, still feeling a bit unsatisfied. This book didn’t have many words, but it had many illustrations, which perfectly suited his reading preferences.

Could it be that he…

Was material suited for the Civil Service Exam?

Tao Qingguan’s phone vibrated. He glanced at it; his good colleague had sent him more Civil Service Exam Past Papers again.

This question was from the previous book he had just finished reading, right at the beginning. Tao Qingguan remembered the answer, picked up his phone, and confidently replied, earning an exclamation of praise from Lu Manman, as expected.

Lu Manman: Not bad, take a look at this too [The Civil Servant’s Own Five-Three]

Lu Manman: [100 Essay Questions]

Lu Manman: [5000 Aptitude Test Questions]

Tao Qingguan: Be gone.

Tao Qingguan exited the chat interface in a second, turned off his phone, and placed it face down on the table.

That was terrifying; he was almost contaminated by knowledge. The phone was unclean.

Tao Qingguan moved the electric fan in front of him and stood up to stretch his stiff body. He wasn’t sure if it was because the temperature had dropped or if keeping a calm mind truly worked, but he felt the room was considerably cooler.

He tilted his head and saw Little White looking at him. Tao Qingguan stroked his chin and walked straight toward the fish tank.

Yan Jiu suddenly felt a chill down its spine. It silently swam under the reef, avoiding Tao Qingguan’s gaze. It had already learned that this clean-looking child was actually full of mischief.

Tao Qingguan stopped in front of the fish tank and clapped twice on the glass. “Why are you hiding? Dad just wants to have a friendly interaction with you.”

Fortunately, Yan Jiu was in fish form, or its face would have turned green.

He had met people who wanted to build a relationship with him, but someone wanting to be its father was a first. The child wasn’t even a tenth of its age, yet he dared to think that way.

Yan Jiu swam into the corner under the reef, blocking Tao Qingguan’s sight. Since it didn’t have eyelids, this was the only way to keep it out of sight.

“I’m telling you, acting like this is not conducive to the development of our relationship.” Tao Qingguan was displeased with Little White hiding everywhere. He had fed it diligently for so many days; how could it forget him just because he changed his attitude?

He skillfully opened the fish tank lid, stood on his toes, and leaned his upper body over, grunting as he moved the large piece of reef rock at the bottom.

The child had no other merits, but he had great strength.

Yan Jiu felt the water around it shake violently. Tao Qingguan’s face appeared in its field of vision. Its non-existent mouth twitched slightly, and its eyes held a complex expression.

There was no need to be so persistent.

It felt helpless internally and swam up to bump Tao Qingguan’s arm.

Stop messing around. The assessment was still more than half a month away; don’t break the fish tank.

It could already imagine how Tao Qingguan would house it if the tank broke—that shabby little iron bucket, the faded plastic basin, or the unused green trash can would surely become its new home.

“Oh, young master, you’re finally willing to come out.” Tao Qingguan let go of his hands and poked the approaching Little White. “So you like it rough? I couldn’t tell. You’re a masochist too.”

Yan Jiu: …

It would rather not be included in something like that.

Tao Qingguan traced Little White’s tail fin. The silky smooth texture brushed against his fingertips. Although it couldn’t compare to petting something furry, it had its own unique flavor.

It was just a bit small.

Tao Qingguan rubbed Little White’s back and said, “Eat more.”

Yan Jiu looked at Tao Qingguan suspiciously.

Little Black didn’t get to eat, and now it was coming after him?

Yan Jiu flicked its body away, dodging Tao Qingguan’s reaching hand. A couple of touches were fine, but any more would be impolite.

Seeing Little White flee, Tao Qingguan reached out to grab it again, but a knock on the door suddenly interrupted his action.

He withdrew his hand, shook off the water, and walked toward the door. Ever since he accepted the vegetables sent by the neighbors last time, those people had been coming over every few days to deliver things, and he couldn’t refuse them no matter how hard he tried.

He had told his grandfather about this situation, but the reply was always the same: ‘Keep them.’

Tao Qingguan suspected his grandfather might have some leverage over them, but having leverage over the entire village seemed absurd. Tao Qingguan frowned; the old man couldn’t have been involved in anything illegal behind his back, could he?

He walked forward in thought. Behind him, Yan Jiu’s expression tightened.

This child was going to open the door naked?

Disapproval flashed in Yan Jiu’s eyes. It stopped where it was, its movements unusually hesitant. Upon seeing Tao Qingguan turn back to pick up the sweat-shirt from the armrest of the sofa, it paused and swam back to the bottom of the fish tank.

Tao Qingguan didn’t notice Yan Jiu’s small movement. He put on his clothes and went to open the door. The visitor was a stout uncle; including this time, it was the fourth time Tao Qingguan had seen this person.

The stout uncle, Chen Fengming, had a perpetual smile on his face and was carrying a large bag of food. His plump figure didn’t hinder his agile movements; he squeezed through the gap in the door like a swimming fish.

“Little Guan, how is it? Are you getting used to living here?” Chen Fengming tried to act familiar with Tao Qingguan. “If you need anything, just tell Uncle.”

Since the man was already inside with a friendly demeanor, Tao Qingguan couldn’t very well throw him out.

He simply took a step back to create more space at the doorway. “It’s very good, I don’t lack anything. I haven’t even finished the things you sent last time; you don’t need to send more.”

Chen Fengming seemed not to understand Tao Qingguan’s meaning. He walked toward the house carrying the items, gesturing with his empty hand to a certain height, muttering, “When I last saw you, you were only this tall, always trailing behind your grandpa.”

Tao Qingguan smiled, devoid of genuine emotion, all technique. “Haha, is that so? I don’t remember clearly.”

Here it comes, the familiar tone, the familiar script. Whenever a long-unseen, completely unfamiliar relative or friend showed up, the things they said were astonishingly similar.

From the courtyard gate to the house door, Tao Qingguan couldn’t find an opportunity to take the things from Chen Fengming’s hand. The other party was determined to enter the house. Tao Qingguan frowned subtly, unsure what Chen Fengming intended by coming in.

Tao Qingguan hadn’t closed the house door when he came out. Chen Fengming crossed the threshold very naturally. “You were so pretty back then, more radiant than the little girls. But now you’re a handsome young man.”

Tao Qingguan was so embarrassed his toes curled up, and he replied mechanically, “It’s all thanks to my mother.”

“Indeed.” Chen Fengming nodded affirmatively. “Taoyulin was incredibly lucky to marry your mother.”

As he spoke, Chen Fengming walked past the entrance hall. His heart pounded wildly; he almost couldn’t suppress the excitement in his eyes. After two more steps, he would see the Dragon King. This candidate would be the first time he saw the Dragon King!

The transparent fish tank appeared before Chen Fengming’s eyes. That single white fish swiftly swam past, its nearly transparent tail veil flashing momentarily. Chen Fengming couldn’t help but hold his breath, forgetting everything around him. His eyes were fixed only on that patch of white.

Tao Qingguan watched Chen Fengming walk forward with a strange, trance-like gait, no longer speaking, and then—

Crash!

Chen Fengming tripped over the floor mat Tao Qingguan had laid out and fell flat on his face, his fat jiggling like ripples in water.

Tao Qingguan only managed to reach out his hand, but he was one, two, three, four steps too late. Hearing Chen Fengming’s pig-slaughtering howl, Tao Qingguan also gasped.

That really hurt.

Tao Qingguan clicked his tongue internally and quickly walked over, reaching out to help the man up, but he underestimated Chen Fengming’s weight. He couldn’t pull him up on the first try.

His eyebrows furrowed, and he gritted his back teeth, using all his strength. He finally managed to pull the man up, but as he let go, Tao Qingguan was a step too slow and accidentally pulled the man forward a bit.

This wouldn’t have been an issue normally, but Chen Fengming had a large mass, resulting in large inertia. Furthermore, his head was throbbing, making him less clear-headed, and he forgot to reach out and steady himself on anything nearby.

Another—Crash!

Chen Fengming hit his head against the fish tank.

Looking at Chen Fengming, whose face was contorted in pain, Tao Qingguan felt slightly guilty. “Uh… are you okay?”

Chen Fengming held onto the fish tank and rested for a while before forcing out a pale smile, weakly saying, “I’m fine.”

“That’s good if you’re fine. Uncle, it’s messy in here, be careful,” Tao Qingguan said, worried that the man might have been seriously injured. This happened in his house, so he would have to pay compensation.

Tao Qingguan lightly supported Chen Fengming’s arm and said, “Sit on the sofa and rest for a bit.”

“Thanks.” Chen Fengming ached everywhere. He didn’t stand on ceremony, letting half his weight press onto Tao Qingguan, causing Tao Qingguan to stagger to the side.

Leaning awkwardly, he prepared to move forward. In his peripheral vision, he glimpsed Yan Jiu inside the fish tank poking half its body out, its dark eyes staring intently at him.

Chen Fengming instantly stood up straight. His back didn’t ache, and his legs didn’t hurt anymore; his body felt great.

“It’s nothing, it doesn’t hurt, no need to support me.”

He had received news last night that the Dragon King also considered physical fitness when choosing candidates. He had set over a dozen alarms this morning to force himself to run, so he couldn’t leave the Dragon King with the impression that his physical condition was poor now.

So what if he fell twice? It didn’t hurt him.

Tao Qingguan watched Chen Fengming limp toward the sofa. He hesitated but ultimately decided not to say anything.

A small matter, a small death?

Chen Fengming pretended to be fine as he walked to the sofa. The moment he sat down, he let out a sigh of relief and regained the energy to talk to Tao Qingguan. “Little Guan, why did you lay your bedding out here?”

Tao Qingguan: “Only the main hall in this house has an Air Conditioner; there’s no other way.”

“Oh dear, your grandpa is really something. I’ll speak to him for you later.” Chen Fengming continued trying to get close to Tao Qingguan. His eyes darted around, and he couldn’t help but steal glances at Yan Jiu in the fish tank.

Tao Qingguan saw Chen Fengming’s small movements clearly. He turned his head back and saw Little White floating there, seemingly looking over at them as well.

Tao Qingguan felt a bit bewildered. Did Chen Fengming go to all this trouble to come in just to look at Little White?

“Well… thank you for your trouble, Uncle Chen,” Tao Qingguan felt awkward standing there, so he walked over and sat on the single sofa. Seeing Chen Fengming pay so much attention to Little White, he decided to speak directly. “You also think Little White is very good-looking, right?”

“Little White!?”

Chen Fengming’s voice cracked in fright. His eyes widened, and he hurriedly tried to steady his trembling heart, forcing his tone to be calm. “Y-you mean the one in the fish tank?”

Tao Qingguan was startled by Chen Fengming’s reaction. He paused and asked uncertainly, “Weren’t you just looking at him?”

“No… yes, I was,” Chen Fengming stammered.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and let out a dry laugh. “Indeed, he looks dashing, majestic, handsome, unparalleled, heavenly, rare, very rare!”

Tao Qingguan curled his lips into a ‘wicked’ smile.

Is this stand-up comedy? A bit interesting.