Dragons begin with courage

Professor Guderian solemnly took out a color photograph from the inside pocket of his suit and gently pushed it onto the tablecloth in front of Lu Mingfei.

The photo is taken on a summer evening in an unfamiliar European-style school campus. The walls, covered in creeping vines, are a deep, intense green, almost dripping with sap. A couple walks side by side along a shady path, their posture relaxed. The man wears a loose white linen shirt and wide-legged trousers, with simple wooden clogs on his feet; the woman wears a simple white cotton dress, her long hair casually draped over her shoulders. The light of the setting sun spills from behind them, enveloping their faces in a gentle, backlit halo, making them indistinct, leaving only two serene silhouettes leaning against each other.

Lu Mingfei's gaze was fixed on the photograph as if drawn by a magnet.

In an instant, his heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly by a cold, powerful hand, abruptly stopping before pounding wildly again, pumping scalding blood to every part of his body. A surge of something dormant for far too long, something he himself thought had long since decayed—a bittersweet current mixed with longing, resentment, anger, and disbelief—like molten lava suppressed for millions of years, violently smashed through layers of icy defenses, scorching his chest.

That blurry profile, that faded and yellowed outline from memory, yet lingering like a ghost... at this moment, it overlapped perfectly with the backlit image in the photograph.

It was them.

It doesn't need a clear face, just a feeling, a deep-seated, painful familiarity.

The ghost called "family affection" never truly rested. It was merely buried deep beneath a frozen wasteland called "forgetting." And now, someone has pried open the frozen soil, letting in a faint yet scorching light.

His fingertips began to tremble slightly, uncontrollably.

Lu Mingfei reached out and, with utmost care and reverence, touched the two smiling faces in the photograph with his fingertips. Those were his parents, the two who gave birth to him and then abandoned him on the other side of time. They looked so well-matched, so happy, their eyes meeting with a warm, intimate connection that seemed to have long forgotten the fact that they had "co-parented a child" in some distant, insignificant corner.

It's so far away. Far away, in a corner of another world that he can never reach.

A sharp, aching pain suddenly welled up deep in my nasal cavity.

Besides the photograph, there was also a letter. A neatly printed and politely worded letter of recommendation addressed to Angers, the principal of Kassel College, earnestly requesting the school to consider admitting their son, Lu Mingfei.

The air around the dining table suddenly became thick and strange.

Lu Mingfei sat there, his gaze shifting between the photograph and the letter, as if trying to extract more truth about his "parents" from these thin pieces of paper. His aunt's eyes flickered with complex emotions, finally settling into a hint of resentment and hidden anger—so that's it, backdoor connections! His uncle, on the other hand, showed a hint of relieved satisfaction, as if this explanation finally gave all the absurdity a plausible explanation. Lu Mingze was even more enlightened, a smug "I knew it!" look flashing across his chubby face; everything illogical instantly became "logical": no wonder this loser could rise to the top so quickly.

Standing behind Professor Guderian, Ye Sheng and Jiu Deya exchanged a barely perceptible glance. The photos and the letter? They had only just learned of it themselves. Lu Mingfei's parents were honorary alumni of Kassel College? This had never appeared in the mission briefings they had received.

really?

Doubt crept into his mind like tiny vines. Kassel College…would go to such lengths, even pre-selecting an S-rank student, simply because he was “a child of an alumnus”? The college’s attention to Lu Mingfei clearly stemmed from his astonishing bloodline rating; what did it have to do with his parents?

More importantly, how could Lu Mingfei be completely unaware of such an "important" letter of recommendation? His parents had been out of touch for six years, not even bothering to make a phone call, yet they would write a letter to the principal of Angers specifically for his studies?

What is this? A belated expression of parental "care"? Or a carefully planned "surprise"?

Even Ye Sheng and Jiu Deya, the two bystanders, could sense the discordant, almost ironic, undertone.

In fact, even Professor Guderian himself could not be certain of the authenticity of the photograph and letter. They were personally handed to him by Principal Angers, with clear instructions: be sure to deliver them to Lu Mingfei, and be sure to convey the message—"His parents love him very much."

But that letter was a cold, printed document, devoid of familiar handwriting, the warmth of ink, and even a single handwritten signature. (The original text was a printed letter.)

Lu Mingfei lowered his eyes, silently reading the well-written recommendation letter, its emotions seemingly detached from reality, over and over again, remaining silent for a long time. Sunlight shone on his lowered neck, tracing a lonely and taut arc.

Professor Guderian cleared his throat, then suddenly leaned forward, looking directly into Lu Mingfei's lowered eyes. In his long-practiced, yet still strangely accented, Chinese, he spoke with utmost solemnity, almost like a theatrical recitation, word by word:

"Mingfei, your mom and dad... they love you."

These words were like a pebble thrown into a deep pool, stirring up a silent yet violent tremor in Lu Mingfei's stagnant heart.

"...I'm going to the restroom."

After a few seconds of silence, Lu Mingfei suddenly stood up, dropped this vague sentence, lowered his head, and almost ran away, quickly crossing the quiet restaurant and rushing towards the restroom at the end of the corridor.

He kept his head down and walked hurriedly, but Ye Sheng, who was following behind him, could still clearly see a drop of warm liquid slip from his eye socket the moment the boy turned around, run down his cheek, and fall silently onto the gleaming marble floor, leaving a small dark spot.

Ye Sheng suddenly recalled Professor Guderian's words from last night: In the worldview of the dragon race, emotions are useless impurities, weaknesses, and constraints. Pure dragons and their servants only worship strength and authority, slaughter and conquest.

So, at this moment, this eighteen-year-old boy, who is overwhelmed by a stranger's word of "love" and is hiding in the bathroom silently shedding tears, which one is the real him: the so-called S-class, dangerous and ancient bloodline in his body, or his fragile humanity at this moment?

Or perhaps, all of them?

The heavy bathroom door closed behind him, isolating him from the outside world. Lu Mingfei leaned against the cold door and slid down.

In the silence, tears finally broke free. It wasn't a loud wail, but a more suppressed, silent torrent. Hot liquid slid down her cheeks, gathered at her chin, and then, drop by drop, fell onto her knees, quickly spreading dark stains.

So many years have passed. He's grown to eighteen, almost forgetting what it feels like to be tightly embraced. No one cares what score he got on his math test, no one cares if the girl he has a crush on glanced at him, no one cares whether he wins or loses playing games late at night. He's like air, existing in this family, yet so light he's weightless. The only time he was given a ride by that dazzling senior, it ended in a car accident, shattering even that tiny bit of warmth.

He walked home from school, watching his classmates being picked up by their families one by one, their taillights merging into the city's traffic. Dust swirled in the air, blinding him. He had thought more than once that in this vast world, perhaps there really wasn't anyone who truly loved Lu Mingfei?

He felt that he would probably only receive his first flowers at his tombstone on the day he died.

"Feed".

"This is the women's restroom."