Épouser un dragon malade pour porter chance

Chapitre 1

Chapter One: A Twisted Fate

By the end of October, City C had already entered winter. The sky was overcast, foggy, damp, and cold.

The train slowly pulled into the station, and Chen Yunqi, wearing a windbreaker and carrying a backpack, got off. He followed the flow of people out of the station hall and onto the square, taking a deep breath amidst the bustling crowd.

People carrying large and small bags kept brushing past him, speaking in the southwestern dialect that Chen Yunqi couldn't understand a single word of.

"This is insane," he thought.

He had always been a rigid and disciplined person, and he never imagined that he would act so impulsively. All the way there, he was filled with a sense of unreality, and only now, with his feet firmly planted on the ground of this unfamiliar city, did he realize that he was thousands of miles away.

Four days ago, Chen Yunqi received a message from his mother:

"Tomorrow I'm going with my uncle to pay respects at my grandfather's grave. How's work going?"

Chen Yunqi typed "Pretty good" to reply, but then deleted it after thinking about it.

He finished his MBA a few months ago, and because of his excellent grades, several companies extended invitations to him through the school, but he declined them all. Many people assumed he was going to study abroad, but he hasn't made any preparations yet.

He put down his phone, sat down at his desk, lit a cigarette, and carefully smoked it while logging into QQ. He clicked on the flashing avatar, and a chat with "Little Fox Prince" popped up, where he saw several messages:

Send me your address and I'll send you some walnuts from the mountains.

"It's getting cold in the mountains, and the only female teacher is leaving. I'm so lonely 555555."

Chen Yunqi stared at the two comments for a while, then replied almost unconsciously:

"Don't send it, I want to go and see it."

The message was sent and the other party replied very quickly:

"Great! Come on, come on!"

Chen Yunqi: "You're online? Isn't there no electricity or signal in the mountains?"

The Little Fox Prince: "There's gasoline generating electricity tonight! I've charged up and am now looking for a signal on the roof!"

The Little Fox Prince: "Is it really coming? I'm so excited!"

Then another one:

"But I'd be even more excited if you were a woman, haha!"

Chen Yunqi couldn't help but smile at the computer. He liked this lively and cheerful person, and being around him made him feel relaxed.

Most of the time he has nothing to say, but he is always considerate of other people's feelings and tries to engage in conversation about topics that others are interested in. Unfortunately, the conversation always ends in an awkward silence, leaving him feeling embarrassed and helpless.

But when you're with an outgoing person, especially one who can keep talking even when others aren't responding and doesn't care whether the other person is listening attentively, they can remain silent without any qualms, without feeling guilty, and don't even need to pretend to listen.

For example, Yu Xiaosong.

Judging by the time, Yu Xiaosong should be leaving after the Spring Festival.

On the day he received the admission notice from the prestigious university in Country Y, Yu Xiaosong called Chen Yunqi and remained silent for a long time before asking him if he would like to come with him.

“I’ll find it hard to get used to.” Chen Yunqi’s tone was gentle, but there was no room for negotiation. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to be too far away from my grandmother.”

"Chen Yunqi!" Yu Xiaosong finally had enough of his polite yet aloof attitude. "I've heard this excuse too many times! From childhood to adulthood, wherever you go, I go. You clearly know that my major offers a better environment abroad, but you've never considered my feelings even once!"

It was as if he had been holding back for a long time, his voice growing louder and louder. His resentment came from the other end of the phone, turning into a dagger that stabbed Chen Yunqi in the heart: "You keep saying it's for your grandmother, but how many times have you come back to see her all these years? How many times have you called her? How long are you going to pretend to be a filial son and grandson?!"

Yu Xiaosong felt extremely exhausted. No matter how he tried to persuade or coerce Chen Yunqi on the other end of the phone, his response was always silence.

"Xiaoqi, birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural order of life. You shouldn't be stuck in sadness like this. I really don't know how to help you. I'm tired. I've waited for you for too long..."

"Xiao Song," Chen Yunqi finally spoke.

Yu Xiaosong stood on the balcony, his eyes stinging from the sea breeze. He saw the clouds swirling in the sky, imagining Chen Yunqi's indifferent expression, and listened to him with a sliver of hope.

"I've never had any improper thoughts about you. We're brothers, friends for life. Thank you for your companionship all these years. You should pursue the life you want and true love."

A swift and decisive refusal, delivered with a calm and composed demeanor.

"How beautiful," Yu Xiaosong thought, holding his phone and gazing at the drifting clouds, yet his heart ached with an indescribable pain. He felt like the wind, pushing Chen Yunqi forward with unwavering devotion. But how could the clouds belong to the wind? He had tried so hard, yet in the end, he had still managed to scatter the clouds.

My heart has sunk to the bottom of the sea; only I know the bitterness and sweetness of life.

"Okay, I understand. Take care."

Yu Xiaosong loved Chen Yunqi so much that from the time he found Chen Yunqi's school badge in the yard when he was 6 years old, he devoted the first half of his life to this person.

He didn't know if their fate was a curse. Back then, when he looked at Chen Yunqi's photo on the school badge, he hoped to get to know this classmate. He hid the school badge under his pillow and looked at it countless times, looking at the boy's fair and refined face in the photo, his thin eyelids, his vermilion lips, without a trace of a smile, yet he was stunningly handsome.

One day, he was surprised to find that this classmate actually lived right across from him.

Because of the opportunity to find the school badge, he started interacting with the neighbors. He learned from the adults' conversations that Chen Yunqi's parents were divorced. His mother retired from a state-owned enterprise to go into business. She was too busy to take care of him and left him at his maternal grandparents' house in the suburbs. She only brought him back to live with her when he reached school age.

Chen Yunqi was a man of few words. Every time Yu Xiaosong went to see him, he was always reading. He had never attended kindergarten or preschool, yet he already knew many pinyin characters and Chinese characters, and he also knew a lot of encyclopedic knowledge that Yu Xiaosong did not know. Yu Xiaosong would always ask him all sorts of questions, and Chen Yunqi was always willing to patiently explain them to him.

Every morning, Chen Yunqi would arrive at Yu Xiaosong's house early. While Yu Xiaosong dawdled over his breakfast and packed his schoolbag, Chen Yunqi would sit quietly on the sofa and wait. No one was ever home; he ate at Yu Xiaosong's house almost every day, did his homework there, and only went home when it was time for bed.

Yu Xiaosong's grandfather used to ride a bicycle to pick them up and drop them off at school every day. Later, they grew taller and bigger, and their grandfather could no longer carry them, so the two of them switched to taking the bus.

Later, Chen Yunqi grew a head taller than Yu Xiaosong. They went to the same junior high and high school, and were almost inseparable. Chen Yunqi had excellent grades, was well-rounded in all subjects, and was very polite in his interactions with others. The teachers all liked him, even though he was quiet and rarely participated in group activities. He didn't have any other close classmates; Yu Xiaosong was his only friend.

They hadn't been in the same class since elementary school, but they still went out and came home together every day. In the north, winter days are short and nights are long; when they went out in the early morning, it was still pitch black, and the streetlights made their footprints in the snow exceptionally clear. While waiting for the bus, Yu Xiaosong wrapped his face tightly with a scarf, only his eyes showing, his eyelashes covered in snowflakes. He asked Chen Yunqi if they wanted to study abroad together after graduation.

Chen Yunqi then said that his grandmother was getting old and he couldn't bear to go too far away.

It wasn't until he received his university acceptance letter that Chen Yunqi realized Yu Xiaosong had filled out the same application as him, just like before.

That day, Yu Xiaosong took the opportunity to confess her feelings to him. "Chen Yunqi, all these years, I've always liked you. I'm eighteen now, we're free, and I don't want to be your neighbor, classmate, or brother anymore. I want to date you."

Chen Yunqi was surprised. He didn't have a girl he liked, nor had he ever been interested in anyone. He knew very well that he just wasn't interested, but he had never noticed that Yu Xiaosong was the same way. She had never mentioned any female classmates to him from childhood to adulthood. Yu Xiaosong was nice to him and clingy, and he was used to it. This sudden and blatant confession left Chen Yunqi at a loss for words.

He tried to express his feelings to Xiaosong in a tactful way, saying that he was not gay and could not accept Xiaosong's feelings. He was convinced that Xiaosong simply had too few friends and even felt guilty about it—their inseparable relationship over the years had led to the current situation.

Yu Xiaosong refused to compromise, convinced that Chen Yunqi simply hadn't grasped his own feelings. He was certain Chen Yunqi liked him, was attached to him; otherwise, why hadn't he had a girlfriend all these years? So many girls had pursued him, yet he'd never been moved. Every holiday meant for couples was spent with Yu Xiaosong. He accepted all the gifts Yu Xiaosong gave him, some even carrying obvious romantic undertones; Yu Xiaosong couldn't believe he hadn't felt her affection.

So he began to pursue Chen Yunqi tirelessly, going to great lengths and using all sorts of tricks, making it known to everyone in the school—Yu Xiaosong from the School of Design sent roses to the school heartthrob of the Department of Finance again, Yu Xiaosong from the School of Design requested a song for Chen Yunqi from the Department of Finance again, and Yu Xiaosong from the School of Design drew a picture to express his love for Chen Yunqi from the Department of Finance again.

They'd been pursuing each other since freshman year of college, all the way to graduate school, plus their childhood friendship—Yu Xiaosong felt that even a thousand-year-old frozen frost should have melted by now. But Chen Yunqi remained unmoved, like an aloof ice prince. Out of consideration for Yu Xiaosong, he never refused to express his opinion in public, only gently telling Yu Xiaosong in private not to do it again.

Having known each other for over twenty years, he had done everything he could and couldn't do, everything he should and shouldn't have done. After hanging up the phone, Yu Xiaosong told himself it was time to let go.

After starting university, Chen Yunqi didn't have much time or opportunity to spend with Yu Xiaosong like before. Although they had studied painting and playing musical instruments together since childhood, their personalities were quite different, and they were interested in different majors.

Chen Yunqi wasn't used to living in a dormitory and had been living off-campus since his freshman year. His apartment was just across the street from the school, bought specifically for him by his mother. During his four years of university, Yu Xiaosong would often come over to stay overnight. After graduation, he moved in on his own initiative. During his graduate studies, he didn't even focus on his studies anymore, instead staying home like a housewife, researching cooking, cleaning, and taking care of Chen Yunqi's daily needs.

Three months ago, Yu Xiaosong was going to accompany his parents on a beach vacation. Before leaving, he gave Chen Yunqi an ultimatum: he would contact the school and buy plane tickets before the Spring Festival this year so that Chen Yunqi could go to Y country together. It didn't matter if Chen Yunqi was unprepared; with his grades and his mother's influence, it would be very easy for him to get into any school.

"I'm sorry." Chen Yunqi looked at Yu Xiaosong's clothes left at home, imagining Yu Xiaosong's utterly disappointed expression. Besides repeating "I'm sorry" over and over again, he didn't know what else to say. But Yu Xiaosong was probably already tired of hearing that "I'm sorry."

After Yu Xiaosong left, Chen Yunqi mostly stayed indoors, emptying the food in the refrigerator, silencing his phone, and watching DVDs on the sofa in the living room after waking up until his eyes were sore and tired. Occasionally, he would chat online with the Little Fox Prince.

They met on a blogging website. The Little Fox Prince had his own column, frequently publishing poems, which Chen Yunqi enjoyed reading. After getting to know him better, Chen Yunqi learned that the Little Fox Prince was a member of the volunteer association at his teachers' college. Not long after they met, he was assigned to teach at a poor primary school in the mountains, where he remains to this day. He told Chen Yunqi that conditions in the mountains were very poor; there was no electricity, and the signal was very weak.

Since the little fox prince went up the mountain, they have rarely chatted; they mostly leave messages, and it takes a long time for them to reply.

"Is it okay? Can I go? Is it appropriate?"

Chen Yunqi asked three questions in one breath, waiting for a reply with some nervousness and trepidation, fearing that the other party was just being polite.

"Of course! No problem! Let's set off tomorrow!"

The little fox prince answered him in one go.

He shut down his computer, walked to the window, raised two fingers to hold the curtains, and gently pulled them open to one side. The colorful lights outside shone through the glass onto his face.

Looking down from the 21st floor, the pedestrians on the street looked as tiny as ants. This bizarre city seemed so unreal after nightfall, so oppressive that he just wanted to escape.

Yu Xiaosong is right; I shouldn't have remained trapped in my sadness.

His grandfather passed away from lung cancer during his senior year of high school winter break. After that, he felt like he had fallen into a dark and hopeless abyss, without direction or hope.

His maternal grandfather was a veteran who participated in the Korean War. He always looked serious and rarely showed his emotions. His greatest pastime was sitting anywhere—on the sofa, in the yard, under a big tree, by the pond—he would sit wherever he could, and he would even find a place to sit where he couldn't.

Every day, he would sit like this, fingers interlaced, knees drawn up, legs crossed, squinting his eyes as he basked in the sun. The grandfather and grandson would spend their days taking walks, digging for wild vegetables, gathering firewood, catching grasshoppers, and playing dogfights and cockfights.

My grandparents' house was in a remote suburb, not much to do or do. After dinner, the summer breeze from the countryside blew through the front and back of the bungalow. Chen Yunqi lay on the sofa with his head on his grandfather's lap and began their daily routine: watching the news, the weather forecast, and Focus Interview. This was followed by a local legal program, at which point my grandmother, having finished her chores, would join in.

The program mainly discusses the investigation process of civil and criminal cases. When it comes to horrifying cases that involve deaths, Chen Yunqi sees them as horror movies, and he is so scared that he can't move while watching.

Before bed, Chen Yunqi would pester his grandfather to tell him stories. The stories were all made up by his grandfather, and their wildly imaginative content helped him forget the horror of the television programs.

Every night during his childhood, he would hold his grandfather's hand, rub the thick callus on the inside of his thumb, and listen to him tell stories in a slow, deep voice, which would help him drift off to sleep.

Chen Yunqi's world was once so simple, with blue skies and white clouds, babbling brooks, grasshoppers and bees, and the changing seasons. There was a meadow in front of the house, an orchard behind the yard, and a kind grandfather.

But all of that disappeared as he grew up and his grandparents aged. He was too young to face birth, aging, sickness, and death; he couldn't understand life. If one day even his grandmother left him, he didn't know if he would still be so cowardly, afraid to face it. He was terrified, yet powerless, just like all these years, he hadn't even had the courage to visit his grandfather's grave.

Countless nights, he thought of his grandmother who was still alive, of her deeply lined face, and of every night like this after his grandfather passed away, when she was left alone in the little house that was once filled with laughter, day after day, sitting alone in front of the television watching legal programs, unaware that the sun had set and night had fallen.

Yu Xiaosong had always thought that he had become more withdrawn simply because of the blow of losing a loved one. But he knew he was probably about to break down; work, studies, and life were becoming increasingly dull and hopeless.

Even if one possesses a striking appearance, excellent grades, and a life of comfort, what good is it? It can never bring back what is most precious to him; time will only take everything away.

He couldn't go on like this, but he knew that Yu Xiaosong wasn't his salvation.

Four days later, Chen Yunqi arrived in City C alone, both nervous and excited, preparing to go up the mountain to become a volunteer teacher.

A note from the author:

--- The first two chapters introduce the protagonist's background and provide some background information. Chapter three introduces the main character, the uke. I've heard some people are shipping the wrong couple, so let me clarify beforehand: the protagonist is indeed Chen Yunqi, but the uke is not the netizen "Fox Prince" mentioned in this chapter! --- Also, regarding the MBA graduation setting, it was originally supposed to be a master's degree, as MBA programs require at least a bachelor's degree and three years of work experience. However, I personally wanted a larger age gap, and considering the story's focus will be on the mountain scenes, the career storyline might be quickly glossed over, so please don't delve too deeply into this personal preference.

Chapter Two: Father

Chen Yunqi took off his backpack and stretched his shoulders. After a day and a night on the train, all he wanted was a nice, hot shower. The Little Fox Prince told Chen Yunqi to just go to City C first, explaining that he needed to go down the mountain to take care of some business and could pick Chen Yunqi up then to go back to the mountains together.

Because he left in a hurry, Chen Yunqi didn't bring much luggage—a change of clothes, two packs of cigarettes, books, and some stationery he planned to give to the children in the mountains.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was Zhou Jun calling. He didn't want to answer, so he hung up.

This man named Zhou Jun is Chen Yunqi's father.

There was not a trace of this man in Chen Yunqi's home—no photos, no one mentioned him, and he never asked anyone about him, unlike the children in many novels and TV shows who tirelessly asked, "Why don't other children have fathers?"

In Chen Yunqi's view, the absence of a "father" figure in this family seems perfectly normal and reasonable.

But then one day, this person suddenly reappeared in his life.

During summer vacation when he was 17, Chen Yunqi was reading alone at home when he heard a knock at the door. He opened the door and, through the security bars, saw a woman in her fifties standing there. As soon as she saw him, she launched into a tirade:

"Are you Chen Yunqi? I'm your great-aunt. Your father misses you very much and wants to talk to you..."