The Dragon King Insists That I Raise Him Chapter 9

Chapter 9 Really, How Do You Raise a Child

“Don’t change the subject on me.” Lu Manman poked through Tao Qingguan’s little scheme. He knew clearly that if Tao Qingguan really didn’t want to say, he probably wouldn’t get anything out of him, which made him feel stifled.

Lu Manman took a deep breath, telling himself that Tao Qingguan was an injured person right now and might have some psychological or mental issues. He needed to be patient, patient!

“Forget it, the exam time has passed, and there’s no makeup test. If you want to take it, you’ll have to wait until next year. Since you’re free now, are you really not planning to try the Civil Service Exam with me?”

“No way.” Tao Qingguan rejected it without thinking. He tossed two pieces of fish food into his mouth, chewing as he spoke, “I just got out of the tiger’s den, why would I run into the wolf’s lair? It’s thankless work.”

Lu Manman heard the crunching sound from Tao Qingguan’s end and his eyebrows furrowed. “What are you eating?”

Tao Qingguan looked down at the fish food, trying to save a little face. “Fried rice.”

“It sounds really good, mail some back to me.” Realizing he couldn’t persuade him, Lu Manman gave up. “What other specialties do you have over there? Send me one of everything.”

As expected of you, Ha Ji Man, trying to steal the fish food too?

Tao Qingguan stroked his chin, looking at the little white fish that had been staring at him for a long time. His non-existent conscience twinged a bit. “Not giving any. You don’t manage a household, you don’t know the cost of firewood, rice, oil, and salt. This little bit of fried rice was hard-earned, so you’re not getting any.”

“Damn it, Tao Qingguan, you’re that stingy? You’re not allowed to eat it anymore, give me all the remaining fried rice in your hand.”

Hearing this, Tao Qingguan tilted his head back and swallowed all the fish food in the spoon in one go. He chewed and mumbled indistinctly, “All gone.”

Lu Manman was just joking, but now he was determined to spar with Tao Qingguan. “Are you going back to be reborn as a starving ghost? Spit it out!”

Tao Qingguan grunted, “No.”

The two bickered like primary schoolers. Yan Jiu, watching from the side, had an expression that was hard to describe. Its food was rich in Spiritual Grain. It was fine for the child to eat slowly, but swallowing it all in one go…

Suddenly, Tao Qingguan felt a stinging sensation in his nose. He sniffled, and a crystal-clear drop fell from his eyes, leaving a wet mark on his brightly patterned shorts. Tao Qingguan froze, and then more and more watery spots appeared, soaking a large area of the fabric.

He instinctively reached up to touch his face, wiping away a handful of tears. Tao Qingguan was stunned.

What… what happened?

Lu Manman on the other end of the phone was still nagging, “If you don’t bring me some, you’re dead when I get back.”

“You little weakling, I’m not afraid of you.” Tao Qingguan wanted to sound domineering, but his voice was very nasal, and the tail end trembled, sounding pitiful.

Lu Manman was silent for a second, then shouted, “No way, you’re actually crying? I was just kidding! Oh my, okay, okay, I won’t ask for any, I’ll treat you to good food when I get back, my ancestor.”

Tao Qingguan sniffled again. “I’m not crying.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. You have fun. Whoever wants to go to this lousy job can go.”

Tao Qingguan couldn’t defend himself, but his tears kept streaming down. He felt like his snot was about to follow. He grabbed a tissue and blew his nose, ordering in a hoarse voice, “I want the stuff from Shan Ning Zhai.”

Shan Ning Zhai was the most expensive restaurant in their area. A meal for two would easily cost several hundred.

“Okay, got it. I won’t bother you anymore.”

Lu Manman was probably scared, so he quickly hung up the phone.

Tao Qingguan calmly threw away the used tissue and pulled out a new one to wipe his tears. But the tears were like a bursting dam, completely unstoppable. He was exhausted, covered his face with the tissue, and played dead.

He’d lost all face anyway. Damn it, whatever.

Tao Qingguan cried for almost half an hour. It was the first time he realized he could cry so much. Tsk, men could be made of water too.

He threw away the soaked tissue from his face and blinked his sore eyes. His eyes hurt just touching the skin around them after crying for so long. The character he was cosplaying tomorrow was decided—Sad Frog.

Tao Qingguan washed his face with cold water, and the burning sensation lessened considerably. He walked over to the fish food and frowned in thought.

Was there tear gas mixed into this fish food? The effect was terrifyingly potent. Little White was a warrior for eating this for so long. The difference in taste between fish and humans was really that big.

That was good; he wouldn’t have to worry about Little White being dehydrated in the future. Just feed him the fish food, and Little White could cry the Pacific Ocean into existence himself.

Tao Qingguan felt lingering fear and quickly backed away from the fish food. It looked harmless, but the effect was too vicious.

After crying for half an hour, Tao Qingguan felt uncomfortable all over. He checked the time and felt it was about right. He grabbed a change of clothes and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

The weather was as hot as ever. If it weren’t for his current weak constitution, Tao Qingguan would have wanted to use cold water.

He changed into clean clothes, didn’t even dry his hair, and walked straight toward the Air Conditioner. Standing under the air outlet, Tao Qingguan closed his eyes, waiting for the long-awaited coolness.

One second, two seconds…

Several seconds passed, and Tao Qingguan realized something was wrong. He opened his eyes and looked up and down at the Air Conditioner in front of him. It looked normal on the outside, but the display screen was completely dark, and the humming operational sound had stopped.

Tao Qingguan pressed the power button; the Air Conditioner didn’t respond. He didn’t believe it and checked the Air Conditioner inside and out, then looked at the other appliances. Finally, he accepted a reality—

The Air Conditioner was broken!

Tao Qingguan’s mouth immediately drooped. He patted the outer casing of the Air Conditioner and said with heartache, “Did I agree to let you take time off? How dare you skip work.”

Air Conditioner: …

Running non-stop for nine days and nine nights, the Air Conditioner couldn’t bear the burden and died.

Tao Qingguan tried to fix the Air Conditioner. He even found the tools, but he hesitated and didn’t dare to take it apart. He was afraid that if he disassembled it, he wouldn’t be able to put it back together, turning the Air Conditioner into Air Conditioner Fragments.

He held the wrench and used the most primitive human repair skill, banging on the Air Conditioner’s head a few times, then pressing the power button again.

Unsurprisingly, there was still no response.

Tao Qingguan squatted there fiddling with it for a long time. As time passed, the cool air in the hall gradually dissipated. Tao Qingguan felt a large patch of sweat on his back.

The shower was for nothing.

Tao Qingguan resignedly put down the wrench and sat down on the cool tile floor, sighing in despair.

The technician to fix the Air Conditioner wouldn’t come until tomorrow. Tonight, he could only endure the scorching heat alone.

Tao Qingguan wore a pitiful expression, looking mournfully at Little White in the Fish Tank. The temperature control function of the Fish Tank wasn’t broken. Thinking about how unbearable it was for him while Little White was still enjoying himself, Tao Qingguan felt extremely unbalanced.

He rushed to the Fish Tank, pressed his body against the cool glass, and stared at Little White. “Little White, let’s make a deal tonight. We’ll switch places. You sleep on my bed, and I’ll sleep in your nest.”

Yan Jiu: “…”

Look how hot the child is, he’s talking nonsense.

Tao Qingguan didn’t expect Little White to answer. He pressed his head against the glass twice and wailed, “It’s so hot! Can this lousy weather just rain for once?”

The orange high-temperature warning had been issued for almost half a month, and cooling down seemed far off. Sigh, his neck felt itchy, maybe he needed a rope to swing on.

Yan Jiu glanced over the young man. The youth’s eyes were reddish, and his face had two red patches. He was probably extremely hot, pressing his bare upper body against the Fish Tank, trying to absorb the coolness.

Its gaze swept over Tao Qingguan once, then retracted. The whole fish sank down, hiding in a corner where Tao Qingguan couldn’t see.

Based on its experience interacting with Tao Qingguan these past few days, the little devil probably wouldn’t get a good night’s sleep tonight either.

That night.

Tao Qingguan lay down early while the last bit of coolness hadn’t completely dissipated.

He rolled around on the floor mat, warming up one spot, then moving to another. But he warmed up too quickly; by the time the last cool spot was warmed up, the first spot hadn’t cooled down yet. Tao Qingguan stared at the ceiling, completely devoid of sleepiness.

So annoying.

Just then, the sound of chanting slogans, “One-two-one,” started up outside again, the neat footsteps and loud shouts adding a touch of fervor to the hot night.

Tao Qingguan: “…” Even more annoyed.

Unable to sleep, he got up and walked to the window to watch the people jogging at night.

The person at the very back of the group looked very familiar to Tao Qingguan. With that plump figure, it was clearly Chen Fengming, who had come to see him today. Chen Fengming’s steps were heavy, and he was panting with every stride. Tao Qingguan noticed that he had sandbags tied to his arms and calves.

Who knew? The chubby uncle was quite demanding of himself.

Tao Qingguan’s thoughts wandered. He raised his hand and pressed his burning palm against the glass, but the little bit of coolness under his hand was like drinking poison to quench thirst. The sticky feeling on his body made Tao Qingguan lose his last shred of desire to sleep.

He paced to the Fish Tank and leaned casually against the glass. Tao Qingguan lifted the lid, put his hand inside. The water in the Fish Tank was temperature-controlled, and soaking in the water instantly felt much cooler.

Tao Qingguan had the urge to scoop out Little White and sleep in the Fish Tank for the Nth time. If the Fish Tank didn’t make it difficult for a person to lie down in it, he would have acted already.

“Little White, stop sleeping, come play with me.”

Tao Qingguan nudged a piece of coral, and Little White, who was hiding underneath, was forced to swim up.

Yan Jiu was helpless. It knew this little brat would come to bother it if he couldn’t sleep. The chanting outside gradually faded away. The youth who was once one of their group stood there listlessly.

It had overheard Tao Qingguan’s conversation with his friend. Poor health? That was understandable, but with such a terrible performance, it wouldn’t choose Tao Qingguan as a Contractor even if it closed one eye, let alone both.

It really didn’t know what Tao Lihe was going to such great lengths for.

Tao Qingguan listlessly poked at the floating aquatic plants. Seeing Little White swim over, his eyes curved slightly, filled with a pool of spring water, and a smile appeared on his lips. “Good evening.”

Perhaps the high temperature had taken away Tao Qingguan’s interest in talking. He lowered his eyes and quietly looked at Little White. Shedding his usual carefree demeanor, the tall young man looked serene, like a picture of peaceful years.

Yan Jiu’s eyes were momentarily dazzled by Tao Qingguan’s smile. Tao Qingguan’s previous behavior had been too unreliable; it had overlooked the fact that the other person actually had a handsome and dashing face.

His well-defined fingers brushed past his side. Yan Jiu did not dodge the youth’s touch. The darkness did not affect its vision. The fatigue under the youth’s eyes was clear, and his thin figure was fully visible.

Too skinny. He didn’t eat on time either. How did Tao Lihe raise this child? With such poor health, why let him come here?

The other contestants were almost twice Tao Qingguan’s age. Seen this way, the child was quite pitiful, unable to defy his elders, having to participate whether he wanted to or not.

Since the final Contractor wouldn’t be Tao Qingguan anyway, for Tao Lihe’s sake, it would look out for him a little.

The “One-two-one” chanting stopped at some point. The chirping of cicadas and the croaking of frogs mingled, breaking the silence. The star-studded night sky was occupied by dark clouds, and moisture brewed in the air. The next second, a pattering sound echoed on the cement road, and the smell of damp earth spread.

It was raining.

Tao Qingguan heard the rain and ran to the window in disbelief. He opened the window, and a cool breeze mixed with rainwater blew in. He took a deep breath, and the dryness in his lungs vanished instantly.

He reached out to catch the rain outside, and the smile on his face grew brighter.

Yan Jiu watched Tao Qingguan’s happy back, and a hint of a smile bloomed in its eyes.

The assessment was just to change the weather. Making the rain summoned by the Rain Master stop—wasn’t that also a form of assessment?

Tao Qingguan didn’t mind the rain getting into the house. He leaned by the window, looking at the rain that hadn’t appeared on the weather forecast at all, and exclaimed, “This Rainy Day Doll is actually useful.”

Rainy Day Doll?

Yan Jiu froze for a moment. It looked up and saw a tattered cloth doll hanging upside down by the window. The doll exuded carelessness all over, its crudely drawn features facing it, as if silently mocking it.

Yan Jiu: “…”

Tao Qingguan affectionately stroked the inverted Sunny Day Doll. It was worth the five minutes he spent tying it together with a rag and tissues. It had performed a great service. He’d treat himself to an extra chicken leg tomorrow night.

He yawned, and tears welled up at the corners of his eyes. He felt sleepiness washing over him. Tao Qingguan slightly closed the window, turned around, and lay down on the floor mat with a thud.

Under Yan Jiu’s death glare, Tao Qingguan fell into a peaceful sleep.

Not long after, Tao Qingguan’s breathing became steady.

A phone in the room on the second floor dinged. With Yan Jiu’s hearing, it caught the sound clearly.

Yan Jiu expressionlessly got out of the Fish Tank and strode towards the second floor, opening the room door with a key. It picked up the phone and, as expected, saw a message from Tao Lihe.

Since it had suddenly changed the weather, Tao Lihe, as the chief examiner, would definitely ask about it.

Yan Jiu sent the excuse it had prepared long ago. Tao Lihe replied instantly:

May I ask why you suddenly wanted to change the assessment method? Is stopping the rain to better test the contestants’ overall quality?

Yan Jiu: No, it was to be a substitute for the Rainy Day Doll.

Tao Lihe: “?”

Yan Jiu: )