Thank you, quayA, for the ko-fi~
After Chi Rong finished speaking, there was no immediate response from the other end.
Having maintained politeness for only a few seconds, Chi Rong frowned when he realized the person on the phone was ignoring him. His already foul mood worsened.
“Are you deliberately refusing to talk to me?”
“Xiao Hong, I’m busy.”
At that moment, Yu Ye was sitting at the same dining table as the mayor of Long City, answering the phone with one hand while casually gesturing a refusal with the other.
Someone was pouring him a drink.
If Chi Rong hadn’t been holding the baby in his arms, he would have stamped his feet in frustration at being called Xiao Hong.
“I told you, my name isn’t Xiao Hong! Are you coming to pick me up or not? If not, forget it. I’ll call Yu Yi or Li Sheng instead.”
If Yu Yi or Li Sheng weren’t both out of Long City, Chi Rong would never have called Yu Ye in the first place.
Just as Chi Rong was about to hang up, Yu Ye’s voice came through again.
The person on the other end spoke nonchalantly, “Add me on WeChat and send me the address.”
Chi Rong: “…”
Chi Rong: “Got it.”
Chi Rong hung up the phone and reluctantly opened WeChat.
“Chi Rong, how did it go? Is he coming to pick us up?”
“He is.”
Chi Rong replied sullenly, “He’ll be here soon.”
As he spoke, Chi Rong grudgingly added Yu Ye on WeChat.
The friend request was quickly accepted.
Chi Rong stared at Yu Ye’s WeChat name. It’s just his real name. He tapped the screen to change his contact note.
The note he chose wasn’t an insult but an emoji: a bomb.
The bomb perfectly captured his mood.
Every time he encountered Yu Ye, he felt like exploding.
After adding each other on WeChat, Chi Rong sent his location.
Shortly after sending the address, a light rain began to fall.
The group of dragons hurried to the entrance of the jade shop they had visited earlier to take shelter from the rain.
The shop assistant saw them and snorted coldly.
“Hey, are you going to buy jade or not?”
“The rain here can start anytime. If you buy some jade, we might even give you an umbrella.”
“No.”
The silver dragon rejected the assistant outright.
None of the dragons showed any intention of making a purchase.
Seeing how stubborn they were even after being caught in the rain, the assistant laughed in disbelief.
“Let me tell you, this place is remote. You won’t be able to hail a taxi here.”
“If you plan to walk back, fine. Go ahead and walk in the rain! I see you’re holding a child. Even if you don’t mind getting wet, what about the kid?”
The assistant crossed her arms, lifted her chin, and looked at them with an arrogant and hostile attitude.
The dragons certainly didn’t want their baby to get wet.
But they couldn’t afford the jade here.
The quality of the jade was terrible. Buying it would be no different from getting scammed.
The dragons stood under the eaves, still refusing to say they would buy anything.
Seeing that they remained unyielding even under these circumstances, the assistant rolled her eyes.
“If you want to shelter from the rain, go somewhere else. Don’t do it here.”
The assistant shooed them away, forbidding them from staying under her eaves.
There were a few shops in the area.
The dragons ran back to the place where they had eaten earlier.
But the restaurant had also been warned. As soon as they were spotted, they were immediately driven away.
With nowhere else to go, the dragons ended up standing in the rain.
They took off their jackets and held them over Feng Yuan’s head to shield him.
With layers of outerwear providing cover, the rain that seeped through was minimal.
The dragons were solely focused on the baby, leaving themselves completely drenched.
Dragons aren’t afraid of getting wet in the rain.
In fact, rainwater feels quite pleasant to them.
Just as the dragons were shielding the baby in their arms, Yu Ye, who had just left a dinner gathering, arrived with the mayor.
The dinner had only just begun, and not all the dishes had been served yet.
Yu Ye had excused himself, citing an urgent matter.
But the mayor was still somewhat concerned.
Yu Ye had come to the city for an inspection, intending to launch a project in Long City.
The estimated value of the project he brought with him was in the billions.
The mayor didn’t want anything to go wrong with the collaboration. So when Yu Ye mentioned needing to pick someone up, he immediately offered his car, which was parked outside and ready to go.
The mayor was overly enthusiastic, so Yu Ye didn’t refuse.
Along the way, the mayor chatted extensively with Yu Ye about Long City’s development.
He particularly highlighted the city’s tourism industry, treating it as a flagship attraction.
He lavishly praised Long City’s tourism industry.
Yu Ye listened but offered no opinion.
The car sped along.
Sitting inside, Yu Ye opened his phone and checked the newly added WeChat contact.
His WeChat contact list wasn’t particularly long.
At the top of the messages column was a profile picture of a red cartoon dragon.
The cartoon dragon was drawn rather poorly.
In the lower right corner of the profile picture, Yu Ye spotted two clumsily written characters: Yuan Yuan.
The artist behind this cartoon dragon was Yu Yi’s godson, his little nephew—
Feng Yuan.
Perhaps out of boredom or a slight curiosity, Yu Ye clicked into the little red cartoon dragon’s Moments feed.
Fortunately, the feed wasn’t restricted to the last three days.
Yu Ye’s slender, elegant fingers lightly scrolled. As he did, he raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly.
Chi Rong loved posting on Moments.
His feed was filled with quite a few selfies.
In most of his selfies, Feng Yuan was present.
Either he was puckering his lips to kiss Feng Yuan, or Feng Yuan was kissing his cheek.
In the photos, the pair—one big, one small—both had smiles that were quite pleasing to the eye.
Seeing that Yu Ye wasn’t interested in his enthusiastic promotion of the tourism industry, Mayor Ji thought for a moment and decided to change the subject.
“Mr. Yu, you’re so young and accomplished. I wonder, do you have a partner?”
Yu Ye replied indifferently, “No.”
Truth be told, Yu Ye found it rather strange. With billions of people in the world, how was it that not one intelligent and beautiful person could match him?
His continued single status was by no means due to overly picky standards but rather the world’s harshness, unwilling to grant him a suitable partner.
“Haha. Would you like me to introduce someone? I happen to know a few young ladies from good families who are both beautiful and accomplished.”
From a personal standpoint, Mayor Ji was eager to build a good relationship with Yu Ye.
After considering the mayor’s offer for a few seconds, Yu Ye shook his head.
“No need. I’m not interested in that for now.”
“Alright then.”
Mayor Ji was somewhat disappointed.
Soon, the car arrived at the destination marked on the navigation.
Before Yu Ye could step out, someone came forward with an umbrella to open the car door for him.
Yu Ye declined the offer to have the umbrella held for him.
He opened one himself.
In the increasingly heavy rain, Yu Ye spotted the person who had called him almost instantly.
Chi Rong held the baby, his body slightly leaning forward in a posture meant to shield the child from the rain.
In the heavy downpour, his eyes were nearly forced shut by the relentless water.
Yu Ye had excellent eyesight.
He could clearly capture every expression on Chi Rong’s face.
This fool doesn’t even know how to find shelter from the rain.
Yu Ye strode forward, holding an umbrella.
When he reached Chi Rong, he shifted the umbrella forward, just enough to cover him.
Chi Rong: “…”
Chi Rong looked up at the person who had finally arrived, his face drenched. The fiery temper was doused by the rain.
“Why did you take so long!”
As he spoke, he handed over the now-awake baby in his arms.
“You’re dry. You hold him.”
Feng Yuan, who had been protected by his uncles, was transferred into Yu Ye’s embrace.
The little one was also a bit wet.
He wrapped his chubby little arms around Yu Ye’s neck and whimpered in a small, pitiful voice, “Uncle.”
Yu Ye held the umbrella with one hand and cradled the baby with the other.
He glanced at Chi Rong, who was standing outside the umbrella, and said calmly, “Come in.”
Chi Rong: “No.”
Chi Rong wasn’t afraid of getting wet himself.
He was worried that if he stepped under the umbrella, he’d take up space.
Seeing Chi Rong stubbornly refusing to come in, Yu Ye took a step forward.
The large umbrella once again covered Chi Rong.
Casually, Yu Ye explained his timing.
“This was the fastest I could get here.”
Chi Rong: “?”
Chi Rong found his explanation utterly baffling.
His earlier complaint had been nothing more than a passing remark, forgotten as soon as it left his lips.
The two stared at each other for a long moment before Chi Rong finally let out an “Oh.”
Yu Ye didn’t elaborate further.
He turned and addressed the group of dragons, “Let’s get in the car.”
The vehicle Yu Ye had arrived in was spacious, with two more cars following behind it.
There was plenty of room for the entire group of dragons.
Chi Rong hadn’t intended to ride in the same car as Yu Ye. Like the others, he made his way toward the vehicles at the back.
But as he passed the first car, Yu Ye stopped him.
“Sit in this one.”
Hearing this, Chi Rong instinctively wanted to retort.
But before he could, he noticed Feng Yuan was still in Yu Ye’s arms.
“Fine.”
This time, Chi Rong didn’t refuse. He plopped into the car and took Feng Yuan back into his arms.
The car’s air conditioning was on, blowing warm air.
As soon as he got in, Chi Rong grabbed some tissues and began wiping Feng Yuan dry.
While he was busy, a yellow towel was tossed directly onto his head.
It was thrown by Yu Ye.
Yu Ye, Chi Rong, and Feng Yuan sat in the same row. Mayor Ji sat behind them. Next to Mayor Ji, the silver dragon also took a seat.
The silver dragon was there to keep an eye on things.
He didn’t feel comfortable leaving Chi Rong alone with Yu Ye.
“Uncle, wipe yourself,” Feng Yuan said, standing on the seat.
His chubby little hands clutched the yellow towel. Instead of using it on himself, he reached up to dry Chi Rong’s hair.
Chi Rong’s hair was dripping wet.
Feng Yuan, acting like a little adult, took care of Chi Rong. This moved Chi Rong deeply.
“Our baby is so good,” Chi Rong said, his hair still damp. He couldn’t resist nuzzling Feng Yuan’s little face.
Feng Yuan giggled at the gesture.
As the two—one big, one small—interacted affectionately, the car they were in drove off.
One after another, the vehicles departed.
The sales assistant from the jade shop watched the cars speed away, an inexplicable sense of unease stirring in her heart.
She secretly took a photo of the license plate from behind.
After capturing the license plate, she immediately called the tour guide who collaborated with their shop.
She recounted what had just happened.
The tour guide was equally puzzled after hearing it: “You’re saying cars came to pick them up? And several of them?”
“Yes, they were driving Hongqi cars. The cars themselves aren’t particularly luxurious, but the license plate numbers are a bit alarming.”
“I noticed one of the license plates had several 5s in a row.”
“Hongqi cars, license plates with multiple 5s… Send me the photo.”
“Alright.”
The sales assistant quickly switched to WeChat and sent the photo while still on the call with him.
After sending the photo to the tour guide, she also forwarded it to her boss.
The tour guide stared at the photo for a long time but couldn’t make sense of it.
Her boss, likely busy at the moment, hadn’t replied to her message yet.
“Don’t worry too much. I don’t think those cars are particularly expensive. They probably just managed to arrange transportation themselves.”
“If they can still get cars in this situation, I suspect they have some money to spare.”
As he spoke, the tour guide was already making plans.
“Their luggage is still with me. Later, when it comes to accommodation, I’ll have a good talk with them.”
The accommodations arranged by the tour guide were so poor they were practically uninhabitable.
Upgrading to better rooms, however, wasn’t free. It would cost extra.
The tour guide saw nothing wrong with his pricing tactics.
Most local tour groups operated this way.
As long as they could generate revenue, those in charge usually turned a blind eye.
Neither the tour guide nor the sales assistant could decipher the significance of the cars, so they both relaxed.
Meanwhile, in the car, Little Yuan Yuan was busy complaining.
He had spent the entire day touring and remembered every scam he and Uncle Chi Rong had encountered.
“Yuan Yuan and Uncle paid money, but we only rode the little boat for a short while.”
“They made Yuan Yuan pay. If we didn’t pay, we couldn’t ride.”
Feng Yuan’s complaints were a bit jumbled.
Listening beside him, Chi Rong couldn’t help but clarify.
“The attractions we visited were total rip-offs. They promised a 120-yuan small boat ride to tour the entire lake, but we only rode for a few minutes before they made us get off.”
“And that boat ride was completely unsafe. It almost bumped the baby’s head.”
“Yuan Yuan didn’t get hurt! But Uncle’s hand got scraped!”
The two of them—one big, one small—lodge complaints together.
They recounted every scam they encountered at the scenic spots.
Besides the tourist traps, they also complained about the travel agency the group of dragons had booked with and the shop from earlier.
“They wouldn’t even let us take shelter from the rain under the eaves. The baby is so young. They showed no flexibility at all.”
The jade shop not only refused to let them shelter from the rain but also mocked and threatened them, trying to pressure them into making purchases.
Each and every one of these incidents infuriated Chi Rong.
If Feng Qi hadn’t previously set rules for them, forbidding the use of violence and harming humans, he would have already taken action.
As ancient divine dragons, they were once the ones who commanded respect wherever they went.
But times had changed. Now, even dragons were being bullied.
Listening to the complaints from the big and small duo, Mayor Ji, who was sitting further back, broke out in a cold sweat.
He was aware of the issues in their city’s tourism industry and had received complaints about it.
However, due to certain reasons, he hadn’t yet implemented any major reforms.
Watching the big and small figures continue to voice their complaints, Mayor Ji cleared his throat, interrupting them. He immediately made his stance clear.
“Yuan Yuan, that’s your name, right? I’ve taken note of all the issues you’ve raised, child.”
“I will promptly investigate these matters and ensure they face consequences.”
“Yuan Yuan, the next time you come here to travel, I guarantee these situations won’t happen again.”
On the surface, Mayor Ji seemed to be making promises to Feng Yuan.
In reality, his assurances were all directed at Yu Ye.
He was also feeling uneasy.
Just how close was Yu Ye to this pair?
Did their complaints carry any weight with Yu Ye?
Mayor Ji had been observing carefully.
“Hmm, Uncle, can you really control them?”
Feng Yuan, hearing Mayor Ji’s words, leaned his little head forward and asked him.
Mayor Ji nodded. “I can manage them.”
“Yuan Yuan, don’t worry. With Uncle Ji here, no one will dare to mistreat you while you’re playing around.”
Feng Yuan wasn’t sure whether to believe Mayor Ji’s words.
He blinked, stared at Mayor Ji for a few seconds, then tilted his little body back toward Yu Ye.
He whispered, seeking confirmation from Yu Ye: “Is this uncle lying to Yuan Yuan?”
Yu Ye’s large hand supported him from behind.
The little one’s warm breath brushed against him. Yu Ye’s nose almost touched the child’s cheek.
“He’s not lying to you.”
As he spoke, Yu Ye checked the child’s clothes.
His clothes had already dried.
In contrast, Chi Rong’s clothes beside him were still wet.
Yu Ye glanced sideways, wanting to suggest that he take off his wet clothes.
But he held back.
The person beside him already suspected him of having ulterior motives.
If he made such a suggestion, he’d probably get slapped again in the next second.
That person had slapped him without any hesitation, swift and merciless.
Following the coordinates Chi Rong had provided, the car’s navigation system took a full hour to finally locate the place.
The location made Mayor Ji’s eyelids twitch.
“Hold Yuan Yuan here and wait for a bit.”
Chi Rong didn’t rush to take Feng Yuan back. He got out of the car first. “I’ll go find the tour guide and check where he arranged our accommodation.”
The rain had lightened a bit by then, but the temperature was quite low.
Chi Rong didn’t want Feng Yuan to get out just yet.
After instructing Yu Ye, he and the silver dragon went together to find the tour guide.
The two walked side by side.
As they walked, the silver dragon pondered aloud: “Chi Rong, I think there’s something off about this Yu Ye. He keeps staring at your face.”
“I told you, didn’t I? He’s just attracted to my good looks.”
Chi Rong snorted, vowing to resist Yu Ye’s dirty intentions of wanting to sleep with a dragon to the very end.
They quickly got in touch with the tour guide.
The guide led them to their accommodation. It was a dilapidated residential building. They were staying on the third floor, and there was no elevator.
The hallway was dimly lit, and the walls showed clear signs of age.
The last few rooms on the third floor were where they would be staying.
The room was barely 10 square meters, with only a 1.5-meter bed, a broken table, and a small bathroom without a flush toilet or hot water.
The room’s window was broken at some point. Instead of repairing it, the landlord had nailed a few planks over it.
It was a given that these small rooms had no air conditioning or fans.
Just standing there for a short while, Chi Rong already felt it was hard to breathe.
The air was terrible. It was stuffy and foul.
“Is this the room you arranged? How can anyone sleep here?!”
After inspecting several rooms, the silver dragon rolled up his sleeves and started arguing with the tour guide.
The tour guide retorted defiantly, “Why can’t you stay here? Look for yourself. Both the second and third floors are fully occupied!”
Indeed, many people lived in this building.
However, those who stayed here were mostly struggling individuals, often migrant workers who couldn’t afford better accommodations.
The rooms here were cheap.
The silver dragon hadn’t noticed it on his way up, but there was a sign at the very bottom indicating the prices.
The cheapest rooms cost 10 yuan a day, while the most expensive ones cost only 30 yuan.
The tour guide had booked them into 15-yuan rooms.
The 10-yuan rooms didn’t have private bathrooms.
During the tour guide’s promotion, he had emphasized that the accommodations included bathrooms.
That’s why he had booked the 15-yuan rooms.
“If you’re not satisfied, you can pay extra to upgrade,” the tour guide repeated his usual spiel. “This is the room we provide for free. If you don’t want to stay, we won’t force you.”
“Anyway, if you want better accommodations, you’ll have to pay more.”
The tour guide then proceeded to promote the luxury rooms.
The luxury rooms he was pushing cost 800 yuan per night.
“With your group size, you’d need at least three or four rooms.”
The tour guide’s attitude infuriated Chi Rong so much that he turned and left without another word.
Chi Rong had originally been holding an umbrella when he went out.
But on his way back, he didn’t even bother with the umbrella and walked straight to the car door in the rain.
Yu Ye opened the car door and looked at the person standing in the rain, his expression stubborn yet aggrieved. After a few seconds, he finally spoke, “What’s wrong? Did someone bully you again?”
Chi Rong gritted his teeth.
He didn’t want to complain to Yu Ye. But at this point, he had no other choice.
Their group of dragons, and the baby…
They might not even have a place to sleep tonight.
The dragons themselves didn’t mind roughing it. They could sleep anywhere. But they had the baby with them!
The excitement they had felt when setting out on this trip had now turned into frustration and humiliation.
They had pooled all their money to join this tour group.
They had wanted to give the baby a wonderful experience.
But now, everything was a mess!
“Alright, get in the car.”
Yu Ye didn’t press him for details and simply let him into the car.
Inside the car, Feng Yuan, seeing his Uncle Chi Rong with red-rimmed eyes, felt heartbroken.
“Uncle!”
Feng Yuan stretched out his chubby little arms and hugged Chi Rong. “Don’t cry. Yuan Yuan will help you teach the bad people a lesson!”
Feng Yuan held his uncle tightly, comforting him with several kisses.
After showering him with affection, Feng Yuan hurriedly called out to Yu Ye, who was about to step out of the car.
“Uncle, carry Yuan Yuan!”
Feng Yuan clung to Uncle Yu Ye like a little sticky bun.
Seeing how insistent the child was, Yu Ye picked him up without hesitation.
As soon as Yu Ye stepped out of the car, Mayor Ji naturally followed.
A moment later.
The tour guide, who had been arguing with the entire group of dragons, looked up and caught sight of a familiar face.
It wasn’t Yu Ye he recognized. It was Mayor Ji.
As a local, he was well-acquainted with the mayor’s face.
“You… you are…”
The tour guide rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was either seeing things or had mistaken the person.
The mayor, whom he had only ever seen on television, couldn’t possibly be here, standing before a nobody like him.
While the tour guide was still racking his brains, the others accompanying the mayor had already approached him.
“You’re the tour guide for the Hao Jia Jia Travel Group? You’re suspected of fraud. Come with us.”
The tour guide was taken away on the spot.
The quarreling dragons followed Yu Ye back to the vehicle.
They had retrieved their luggage but still had no place to stay.
The car set off again.
While the dragons were still bewildered, Yu Ye had already arranged a new hotel for them.
They stayed in the same hotel as Yu Ye, even on the same floor.
The dragons had initially planned to squeeze into one room.
But Yu Ye shot them a glance and then booked a separate room for each of them.
Yu Ye: With billions of people in the world, how was it that not one intelligent and beautiful person could match me? I’m not picky. It’s just that the world is harsh to me and won’t give me a partner.
Moonlit: (¬_¬ ᵕ) Not picky? Are you sure about that, sir? (≖_≖ ) (ᵕ—ᴗ—) 👀
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152