Dragon King's Son-In-Law

by Dragon King

  “Thank you for pulling an all-nighter with me; let me treat you to breakfast!” Xie Yujia said as she started gathering her belongings.

  Xie Yujia thought that the reason why she was able to sleep well was that she felt safe sleeping under Hao Ren’s watch. What she didn’t know was that Hao Ren had been sending her Nature Essence for four hours! That was an amount that required Hao Ren eight to ten hours of cultivation to acquire.

  “Sure! Thank you, Class President!” Hao Ren accepted the offer readily.

  After they finished packing up, they headed toward the cafeteria. Hao Ren decided to leave the car parked at Academic Building D until he completed all of his exams on Tuesday. He thought it might attract too much attention driving it back and forth in the next two days.

  Spending a quiet night together seemed to have fully removed the barriers between them. Now, Hao Ren was busy ordering different types of breakfast items while Xie Yujia was paying for them joyfully with her card.

  As they entered their exams, the atmosphere had once again become intense. Afterward, Xie Yujia decided to stay up for another night to study, and Hao Ren continued to stay with her.

  Zhao Jiayi and the others were amazed to see Hao Ren and Xie Yujia spending the two days ‘closely’ together.

  In their mind, Hao Ren had found ‘great help’ as everyone knew that Xie Yujia had always gotten first place on every exam. Studying together with her would not only help with the development of their relationship, but Hao Ren would also not need to worry about failing any of the courses.

  Meeting their envious and dismissive gazes, Hao Ren did not bother explaining himself to them. He knew that certain things could not be explained.

  Xie Yujia finished all of her exams before Hao Ren did since he had one more course.

  After she was finally liberated from exams, Xie Yujia went to the western gate of the school to take the bus home.

  She did not hurry home after getting off of the bus. Like always, she went to the market to buy a delicious takeout dinner and went to visit the old Grandma who lived in the slum hut instead.

  It had been a few years now. This Grandma had always lived alone, and her health condition was neither good nor bad this whole time. According to others, she had a son, but he rarely came to visit.

  On every weekend or holiday, Xie Yujia would come to see her, and she had been doing this for quite a few years now as well.

  After all of her exams were over, Xie Yujia felt a complete emotional release. As she watched the Grandma eat the takeout food she bought, Xie Yujia couldn’t help but begin telling the old lady what was on her mind.

  She did not know whether this mute Grandma could understand what she was saying, but she found it cathartic to be able to reveal her secrets to someone.

  “Grandma, I have been in such a bad mood lately, I hope you don’t mind me ranting. Haha, next time, I will tell you something more uplifting.” After unburdening her mind for half an hour, Xie Yujia said apologetically as she stood up and gently squeezed the old lady’s dry hand.

  The mute Grandma looked up at Xie Yujia with her turbid eyes. She then reached out her hand and affectionately patted Xie Yujia’s forehead.

  “Alright, Grandma, I have to go now. We have a two-day break after the exams. I will come to see you again tomorrow and the day after.” Xie Yujia walked to the door, turned around, and waved her hand before leaving.

  In the worn-down house, the senile and mute Grandma sat silently on an old and shabby chair in the dusk.

  After a prolonged silence, she sighed deeply. “Since the dawn of time, excessive affection often ends in regrets, just as good dreams are the easiest for one to wake up from.”

  Suddenly, a blinding five-colored godly light emerged and began moving in spirals beneath her feet. Soon, she had disappeared entirely.

  If any of the Elders of the Dragon Tribe were to witness this scene, they would undoubtedly gasp in disbelief, “Soul Formation Cultivator!”

  161 Collectedness

  Hao Ren finally finished his last exam at school. After letting out a long sigh of relief, he picked up his backpack from the corner of the room and walked out of the lecture hall that was used as an exam room.

  Zhao Jiayi and Zhou Liren were also in the same exam room as he was. At this moment, they were still scratching their heads and rubbing chins as there were a few questions they were struggling with. Hence, they did not want to submit their exams before they ran out of time. Whereas, Hao Ren, who used to be the last person to hand in his exam, had submitted his before they did. The others firmly believed that it was all due the time he spent with Xie Yujia.

  Unlike the others, Hao Ren did not think much of it. The only reason he submitted his exam early was so that he could go see his grandma at Zhao Yanzi’s home.

  When he got to the ground floor, Hao Ren unlocked the car, threw his backpack into it, and got in.

  At this time, many students had finished their exams and were walking out of the building. Hao Ren’s white Ford seemed especially eye-catching in the green backdrop of the campus. The fact that Hao Ren got into the car surely attracted attention from numerous students.

  Yet, Hao Ren did not want to pay any attention to their comments. He directly inserted the car key and started the car.

  Knock-knock… Suddenly, someone knocked on the car window to his left.

  Hao Ren turned and saw a very young girl standing outside of his car timidly.

  He couldn’t recall seeing this girl before, so he rolled down the window and asked, “Yes?”

  “Hi Senior, my name is Zhao Xiaoling, a freshman in the Art Program. I would like to learn traditional Chinese painting from you.” The girl was very pretty and polite.

  This was the first time that Hao Ren was referred to as a ‘Senior.’ The girls who were in the Art Program were mostly from well-to-do families, and this girl’s attire further confirmed this presumption.

  It looked like the girl had acquired information about his exam arrangements and had been waiting for him by the door. She seemed earnest and sincere, but Hao Ren had a hard enough time dealing with the Class President and dared not get involved with other girls. He promptly shook his head and said, “I know nothing about traditional Chinese painting; it was all random doodling the other night.”

  The girl was obviously unconvinced. She continued to look at him with eyes full of innocence and sincerity.

  “Excuse me, I have to go.” Hao Ren rolled up the car window and prepared to leave. In comparison to the girl who offered Hao Ren her QQ number the other day, this girl was more earnest. Nevertheless, Hao Ren stayed uninterested.

  “Haha, isn’t this the great Gongzi of the second year!?”

  Just as Hao Ren was about to drive away, Huang Xujie shouted as he walked out of the Academic Building D.

  Apparently, he witnessed how this pretty girl had approached Hao Ren’s car and got rejected tactfully.

  The fact that pretty girls were now approaching Hao Ren made Huang Xujie realize that Hao Ren had become more and more popular. Back then, things like this would only happen to Huang Xujie himself.

  Moreover, Hao Ren had even started driving to school. Huang Xujie thought Hao Ren was stealing too much of his thunder.

  Huang Xujie walked over and stood right in front of Hao Ren’s car, blocking the way.

  Hao Ren was in no mood to pay him any attention. He quickly shifted the gear and began backing his car.

  However, the few students who were with Huang Xujie had walked around to the back of the white Ford and occupied the space that Hao Ren needed to back his car.

  Hao Ren’s expression turned cold as anger began fueling him. It was a known fact in the school that there was enmity between him and Huang Xujie. Yet, he would only strike back when Huang Xujie provoked him first. Hao Ren was not the type of person who liked to initiate fights.

  “A little Ford got you so big-headed?” Huang Xujie said as he noticed Hao Ren’s gloomy facial expression.<
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  Although Huang Xujie knew that Hao Ren had monstrous physical strength, as the son of the Deputy Mayor, he also knew very well that physical strength did not mean much in this day and age.

  In Huang Xujie’s eyes, Hao Ren as merely a lucky bastard. It was only through luck that Hao Ren got to know Su Han, was able to rescue the beautiful twins on the street, could gain the attention of the entire school with his brute force.

  If Hao Ren came from a powerful background, Huang Xujie would know that it was better to leave him alone. Actually, Huang Xujie might even try to be friends with him if that was the case. However, Hao Ren was obviously only an ordinary student from a slightly well-off family.

  Huang Xujie felt like Hao Ren has received too much undeserved attention, and he had no problem displaying his jealousy and disdain publicly. As ‘Two tigers couldn’t reside on the same mountain,’ Huang Xujie believed that East Ocean University was his territory, and he could not stand the fact that Hao Ren was becoming far more popular than him.

  Those who had supposedly been at the ‘top of the ladder’ for too long would usually think differently compared to ordinary folks. Therefore, Hao Ren couldn’t understand Huang Xujie’s thoughts and behaviors.

  Bang!

  Hao Ren got out of the car and shut the car door forcefully.

  Seeing that Hao Ren who was noticeably shorter had boldly approached him, Huang Xujie who was robust and strong took a step back subconsciously.

  “Do you want a disciplinary warning?” Huang Xujie’s eyes widened as he stated. Everyone in the school knew that he was the son of the Deputy Mayor. Hence, he didn’t think that Hao Ren dared to lay a finger on him.

  “I will give you 30 seconds to get out of my way,” Hao Ren declared before going back into the car. He did not feel like getting physical yet.

  Hao Ren just imagined that news headlines such as ‘Son of Famous Scientist Hao Zhonghua - Perpetrator of School Violence’ would be very eye-catching to readers.

  Since Huang Xujie was forced to take a step back, when Hao Ren sat back into the car, he was able to steer the gear, set the parking brake, lightly step on the gas.

  The engine of the car started roaring immediately, but the car didn’t move.

  The situation had become stalemated. Many students were exiting from the exam rooms and stopping to watch the commotion.

  This left Huang Xujie no way out. He didn’t expect that Hao Ren would react so calmly and put him on the hot seat. While he didn’t believe that Hao Ren would be bold enough to try to run him over with the car, he feared that Hao Ren would suddenly lose his temper.

  “Ten, nine, eight, seven…” Hao Ren rolled down the window and started counting down in a calm and collected manner.

  “You really think you have the guts to run me over!?” Huang Xujie was furious and stomped onto the hood of the white Ford with his foot.

  Instantly, a footprint had been added to the previously spotless body of the car.

  “Six, five, four…”

  Hao Ren continued counting down without the slightest change of emotion on his face.

  Huang Xujie couldn’t comprehend Hao Ren’s strangely emotionless eyes.

  However, he could clearly tell that the footprint on the gleaming body of the car had infuriated Hao Ren.

  Clunk! Hao Ren shifted the gear, and the car abruptly rushed forward slightly.

  Due to the setting of the parking brake, the car did not dash forward, and only a cloud of dust was whipped up.

  The car was now growling like a ferocious beast.

  With the sun brightly shining down, a large sweat droplet slid down from the corner of Huang Xujie’s forehead.

  “I’ll let you win this time!” Huang Xujie promptly got out of the way.

  “Two, one!” Hao Ren calmly finished counting down, released the parking brake, and stepped on the gas pedal.

  He drove out of the parking lot and headed out of the school with a smooth turn.

  He stayed level-headed throughout the whole incident. Yet, it was the kind of collectedness that did not allow any types of offenses.

  “Haha, Gongzi is becoming more and more formidable! That Huang Xujie is no match for Gongzi! Oh, sister, what should we do about the girl who was harassing Gongzi?” From afar, Lu Lili was talking with Lu Linlin.

  “What more is there to do? We can go warn her and tell her to stay away from Gongzi; that should do it!” Lu Linlin patted Lu Lili’s head.

  Lu Linlin pouted resentfully in response. This week, they had stopped multiple girls from approaching Hao Ren. They didn’t want to see other girls getting close to Hao Ren, and they had a legitimate reason - Gongzi needed to focus on his cultivation and shouldn’t be distracted by women. Of course, the sisters thought of themselves as the exceptions.

  Hao Ren drove directly to Zhao Yanzi’s home and got there right at four o’clock in the afternoon. At this time, Zhao Yanzi was still in school, and Zhao Guang was at work. Zhao Hongyu was working from home in order to be by Grandma’s side.

  Hao Ren entered the house and told Zhao Hongyu that Grandma is leaving to stay in Zhejiang for a month.

  “You’re leaving today?” Zhao Hongyu was surprised.

  “Yeah, it takes three hours to drive over there, we should be able to make it before it gets dark,” Hao Ren answered.

  In the past two days, he had done thorough research on the routes and duration of this road trip.

  “Sorry to have inconvenienced you over the past two days. Look at you, you are not even going to work and have been spending most of your days at home with me,” Grandma said as she stood up.

  Even though Zhao Hongyu wanted to persuade Grandma to stay longer, she gave in when she saw that Grandma was clear and adamant about leaving.

  “I know Zi’s birthday is coming up. This is a little red pocket for her.” Grandma took out a red pocket and shoved it into Zhao Hongyu’s hands.

  From the thickness and bulkiness of the red pocket, Zhao Hongyu could tell that there was at least a few thousand Yuan in there.

  Zhao Hongyu did not want to accept a red pocket of such high value, but Grandma put on a solemn expression and said, “This is an expression of my gratitude, I will get upset if you don’t accept it!”

  Zhao Hongyu chuckled, “Well then, I’ll accept it on Zi’s behalf. The birthday party this year will be a family affair, gathering mostly Zhao Guang’s relatives. I apologize for not being able to invite you.”

  “That is alright. Old ladies like me are not used to lively and boisterous gatherings anymore. Let’s meet up again when I return from Zhejiang,” Grandma replied.

  Then, she headed to her room on the second floor to pack up her belongings.

  In the living room, Zhao Hongyu looked at Hao Ren and asked with concerns, “What is wrong? Are you in a bad mood?”

  “Not really,” Hao Ren shook his head.

  “Friday night is Zi’s birthday party. I was planning to let her take the next two days off to get some rest at home. How about I let her go to Zhejiang with you for the next two days instead?” Zhao Hongyu asked, seeking Hao Ren’s opinion.

  “Maybe not this time. I am just taking Grandma there and don’t know much about how things are like over there. If I brought Zi, there is a chance that she might not find it fun,” Hao Ren explained.

  Zhao Hongyu thought for a second and added, “Don’t give yourself too much pressure. You have already achieved Half Kan-level in such a short period, and it is not an easy thing to do. Even if you don’t reach Kan-level, East Ocean can still manage it on our side.”

  Just then, Grandma carried her luggage out of her room, and Hao Ren hurried up the stairs to help. Although Zhao Hongyu had more questions, she had to keep them to herself in front of Grandma.

  Zhao Hongyu walked Hao Ren and Grandma to the door and watched them drive away. After letting out an airy sigh, she went back into the house.

  Hao Ren who drove onto the highway smoothly had not uttered a word.

&
nbsp; “Ren, you don’t seem to be in a very good mood,” seated next to him, Grandma finally couldn’t help but ask.

  “It is alright.” Hao Ren smiled slightly and continued driving.

  With hints of worry on her face, Grandma studied Hao Ren intently. After a while, she shook her head.

  “The children can take care of themselves when they grow up. Ren has his own problems to deal with, but he will surely prevail,” she thought.

  “Linlin, Lili, I am fine. You don’t need to follow me anymore; just go back,” Hao Ren suddenly lifted his head slightly and spoke to the small bell on his wrist through his mind.

  High up in the air, a green ray of light and a cyan ray of light abruptly turned back.A Chinese idiom expressing that two powerful people can’t stay too close with one another.

  162 The Last Momen

  After three hours of driving, the car finally arrived at a small town in Zhejiang Province. With the help from the local people and the GPS, he finally got to a small village that was at least half-an-hour drive away from the town.

  Compared with East Ocean City, the little village with red bricks and white walls looked quite impoverished.

  Driving along the winding paths, Hao Ren felt like he was racing with tractors that were releasing black smoke. Hao Ren prided himself on his driving skills which prevented the car from falling into the fields beside the paths.

  They asked people along the way and drove forward before finally coming to a small courtyard. Hearing their car, the whole family came out to welcome them.

  The old lady standing in the foremost was Grandma’s childhood playmate. Seeing Grandma, she walked forward in excitement.

  “Little Five!” Excited, Grandma got out of the car and pulled her into her arms.

  “Little Leaf!” The old lady with wrinkles all over her face threw her arms around Grandma.

  They hugged each other happily.