After having his soup rejected, Long Shiyu spent the entire next day feeling down and hid in his room.
Shen Zhaomu understood that in the Dragon Clan’s culture, it was considered very impolite to decline food offered by the other party.
…But he really couldn’t eat anymore.
He had a slight headache and was unsure how to handle it.
A message appeared on his terminal.
Peerless Man: [I’m back.]
Half an hour later, Shen Zhaomu met Yang Zhiming at his desk.
The other individual was a slender man, approximately 24 or 25 years old, with goggles perched on his forehead. He wore an old combat uniform, and the mechanical prosthesis on his left leg made a creaking sound with each step.
Upon entering, he exclaimed, “Brother Shen, guess what I encountered during this mission?”
Shen Zhaomu grinned, “Could it be anything other than a beauty? You always mention that after returning from a mission.”
Yang Zhiming consistently managed to find a few beautiful ladies on his missions — though his taste wasn’t particularly reliable. The attractiveness of those “beautiful ladies” was a subject of debate, and in the most extreme case, the “beauty” had even turned out to be of the wrong gender.
“But this time is different,” Yang Zhiming pulled up a chair and sat across from Shen Zhaomu, radiating enthusiasm.
“This time, I saw a gorgeous woman. She works as a dispatcher at that outpost. I’ve already obtained her contact information. Brother Shen, you have to assist me this time.”
“How can I help?”
“You see…” Yang Zhiming winked, “I wanted to ask you: how did you woo sister-in-law? His name is Shiyu, right? Give me some tips.”
Shen Zhaomu: “…”
Shen Zhaomu replied, “I picked him up from the roadside.”
“Wow, you just struck up a conversation on the street,” Yang Zhiming’s eyes widened. “I can’t believe you finally found someone you fancy. I didn’t expect you to be as forward as me. So, what happened next? How did you two develop your relationship?”
Shen Zhaomu lit a cigarette and stared deeply at a point in the sky. Yang Zhiming immediately sat upright, ready to hear the story.
Shen Zhaomu took a couple of drags from his cigarette but remained silent.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
He… he truly couldn’t think of a cover story, so he said, “There isn’t more to it.”
Yo mbegrf, Tjcu Itlwlcu qfgrlrafv jcv mbcalcefv ab qgs, yea rfflcu Vtfc Itjbwe’r gfiemajcmf, tf fnfcaejiis vgbqqfv atf reypfma, rjslcu, “Cigluta, mbwf ab atlcx bo la, ktfgf vlv Oe Vtjctejl ub?”
“Lf abbx Oe Vtjcdlcu bea ab qijs,” Vtfc Itjbwe gfrqbcvfv. “Llr njmjalbc kjrc’a bnfg sfa, yea lcnfralujalbcr lcab atf Dibbv Qbgrtlqqlcu Jtegmt rajgafv jujlc, jcv tf kjr gfmjiifv. Lf olcjiis wjcjufv ab ufa j vjs boo abvjs.”
“Makes sense,” Yang Zhiming furrowed his brow. “Why has this church suddenly resurfaced? Lilith seems to be haunting us.”
Shen Zhaomu flicked off some ash. “As you know, there have been a lot of exotic creature uproars lately, and the anomaly index on various planets has spiked. If it weren’t for this church, I would’ve had to go back out on hunts.”
This time, Yang Zhiming remained silent for a while.
Then he stood up, smiling, “I won’t keep you any longer. I haven’t showered yet. I’ll come over after I’ve rested, and meet with sister-in-law. Those of us in the group are all horribly curious as to who could capture your heart.”
Yang Zhiming left. Shen Zhaomu regretted his decision slightly. He had passed Long Shiyu off as his lover for convenience, but he had significantly underestimated the gossip and curiosity of these… meddling friends around him. Everyone was excited to meet Long Shiyu and discover the intricate details of how they had met.
For the first time, he began to wonder if he had made a terrible mistake.
When he returned home that day, Long Shiyu was engrossed in something on the sofa.
“What are you up to?” Shen Zhaomu asked, hanging up his coat.
“I found a bunch of movies,” Long Shiyu replied. “I can’t believe you bought physical copies for your collection.”
There were DVDs scattered on the sofa. Shen Zhaomu had previously mentioned that Long Shiyu should find something to do on his own if he got bored. He didn’t expect Long Shiyu to unearth these movies from so long ago.
Long Shiyu was currently going through the old movies one by one to see if there were any he liked. However, his tail still drooped limply on the floor, a sign of lingering sadness over Shen Zhaomu’s rejection of his potato and pork bone soup yesterday.
Shen Zhaomu settled onto the sofa beside Long Shiyu.
“…What movie would you like to watch?”
Long Shiyu looked up at him and asked, “You’ll watch it with me?”
“I’m free tonight,” Shen Zhaomu replied.
Long Shiyu’s eyes instantly brightened.
After contemplating for a while, he eventually selected a movie and asked, “What is this… ‘The Evil Within 3’?”
“This is a horror movie,” Shen Zhaomu explained. “Do you like them?”
“I haven’t watched many horror movies,” Long Shiyu considered for a moment, “but I don’t think they’ll scare me.”
“Are you sure? This horror movie won a Star Award in its time.”
“Yeah,” Long Shiyu nodded and turned off all the lights in the living room.
Having wandered through the sea of stars for so many years, Long Shiyu had encountered all sorts of storms and challenges. Whether it was confronting skeletal mermaids amidst tempestuous seas or facing the universe’s domineering star-devouring birds, he had never been afraid. Each perilous situation only ignited a fiercer determination within him.
As long as the adversary breathed, it could be defeated.
Dragons were fearless.
Twenty minutes later, Long Shiyu was trembling beside Shen Zhaomu.
QAQ It’s so terrifying.
How could ghosts exist in this world?
They can’t be detected or defeated. It’s truly frightening.
Shen Zhaomu comforted him, saying, “Don’t watch it if it scares you.” He was about to turn off the holographic projection.
“Don’t turn it off, don’t turn it off,” Long Shiyu stopped him. “It’ll be even scarier if we stop midway.” He then huddled back into Shen Zhaomu. His tail, lying on the sofa, was curled up into a semi-circle.
Shen Zhaomu noticed the little head trembling next to his shoulder and couldn’t resist reaching out to gently shake one of Long Shiyu’s dragon horns.
With his movements, Long Shiyu’s head shook as well. Terrified as he was, he felt no dissatisfaction and sought to move even closer to Shen Zhaomu.
Shen Zhaomu caught a whiff of Long Shiyu’s pleasant scent and couldn’t help but smile.
After watching for a while, Shen Zhaomu’s terminal indicated an incoming call.
It was Lu Shanhuai calling.
Shen Zhaomu whispered to Long Shiyu, “I need to take this call.”
He moved to the terrace Lu Shanhuai had called to discuss the Blood Worshipping Church.
“The investigation report has just come in,” Lu Shanhuai informed him. “The batch of syringes found at the bar was purchased from pharmacies in the slums. The syringes have capacities ranging from 5ml to 10ml, and it’s confirmed that they were delivered to the bar. There were about forty-two syringes, ten No. 5 needles, and several scalpels. The buyer used a fake ID, and we still don’t know the source, much like the blood samples from the exotic beasts. We’ve shut down the pharmacy, but surprisingly, the owner of the pharmacy hasn’t been affected by the blood.”
“They reused the needles?”
“It seems so. The mutants you eliminated in the dark alley yesterday exhibited not only mermaid characteristics but also traits from other species. These people are truly unhinged… My brother and the investigative team will release a new report tomorrow. We can discuss it then.”
“Alright. Yang Zhiming is back.”
“I know, I was actually just about to visit him. How about we have dinner together? I’ll bring my girlfriend along and you can bring sister-in-law. It’s a rare occasion for all of us to be in the capital together.”
Shen Zhaomu hesitated for a few seconds.
Then he said, “I won’t bring Long Shiyu.”
Lu Shanhuai was surprised. “Why not? Is he shy?”
“Yeah.”
“When I met him that day, he didn’t seem shy at all… but it’s okay, I won’t insist.”
Shen Zhaomu ended the communication.
The night breeze had a slight chill. Shen Zhaomu thought that this was how it should be. It was important to keep Long Shiyu contained within a safe area. He had already been introduced to too many people in Shen Zhaomu’s social circle.
Upon his return from the terrace, the holographic projection was still displaying “The Evil Within 3.”
Long Shiyu had already retreated to the corner of the sofa. Shen Zhaomu walked around to take a look and found the young man wrapped tightly in a blanket, his gaze fixated on the movie screen. He was hugging his silver tail and… had the tip of it in his mouth.
Shen Zhaomu: “…”
So the rumor that dragons would put their tails in their mouths when they were scared was true.
They were rather similar to snow leopards. Perhaps it was a way to soothe their uneasiness.
He settled back down beside Long Shiyu. Long Shiyu immediately released his tail and leaned back against Shen Zhaomu, asking, “Why were you gone for so long? You’re not going to be sent on another urgent mission, are you?”
Unable to contain himself any longer, Shen Zhaomu ruffled Long Shiyu’s black hair and reassured him, “Keep watching; I won’t leave.”
Author’s Note:
One cutesy sob a day: 0/1
Where’s my SOB??? 😭
The day’s not over yet. Or it could be an unmentioned sob when Shen went out to take the call.
Sobs under blanket
Biting tail, so cute! Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️
That’s tail nibbling is cute 🥰…and Shen Zhaomu is not honest with himself 🧐
Next chapter better have two cutesy sobs!! 😤 shiyu is soooo cute, biting his tail like that 🤭
I need my cutesy SOB
Cutesy sob: 0/1
Actually terrified sob: 😭/0
Lol. Horror movies are scary hahaha, so cute
Sigh. Why didn’t I wait for this to be completed? -sob-
This is story is so nice to read, I wish it had a thousand chapters…
Thank you for choosing to translate and share this story with us, Yog-sama!
Wait, so we’re literally calling him Dragon Shiyu, Can someone confirm its his identity or people actually use long as surname.
The tail should be considered interchangeable with the cute sob, maybe even an upgrade because how ridiculously adorable!