Lu Mingfei, who had read Dragon Clan before slaying the dragon

Fujiwara Kansuke took the initiative to meet the three of them and gestured for them to stop.

"Although there are no tricks to interviewing, there are some things I have to tell you here." Fujiwara Kansuke stared into Caesar and Chu Zihang's eyes. "You may be gifted in attracting girls, but this has nothing to do with the store manager's interview. There have been cases in history where outstanding newcomers were expelled from Takama-ga-hara simply because they angered the store manager. I've said before, in Takama-ga-hara, the store manager knows everything. Never try to deceive the store manager!"

"Yes." Caesar and Chu Zihang lowered their heads at the same time, assuming an attitude of humbly seeking advice. "Then may I ask, Senior, do you have any advice for the store manager interview?"

"I wouldn't call it instruction, but I do have a piece of advice." Fujiwara Kansuke's face, thick with flesh, was filled with an extremely serious expression. "When answering the manager's questions, be honest and sincere. Don't pretend. Before answering, check your heart... Imagine yourself in the deep, lonely ocean. A whale appears before you. Unhesitatingly, you need to reveal your most sincere feelings to this whale."

Caesar and Chu Zihang stared at each other, neither of them knowing why they should reveal their most sincere feelings to a "whale". The store manager's abstract literature was really hard to understand.

After Fujiwara Kansuke finished speaking, he suddenly turned to the double doors behind him. He placed his two broad palms on each door panel, shouted in a deep voice, and slowly pushed the heavy door panels open like a brave strongman.

"I hope that when this door opens again, I will see your flower path in full bloom!"

The sound of the tide and the waves spread in their ears, and Caesar and Chu Zihang were both stunned... It felt like being back on the Trieste not long ago. Although only a few days had passed, the aftertaste of surviving the disaster seemed as long as a lifetime, as if it were a lifetime ago.

There were indeed waves, because the entire hall was wrapped in a circular water curtain, and the huge transparent glass barrier was beyond the scope of the bathtub... Caesar knew he was wrong, this was not a children's room at all, this room was simply a miniature aquarium!

The water changer pushed layers of waves into the water tank, seaweed and seaweed swayed with the waves, starfish and anemones hid in the soft corals, rocks and rockery climbed and spread on the walls, octopuses attached to the glass with suction cups and squirmed, hammerhead sharks and thresher sharks passed by, each revealing their sharp teeth.

In the center of the huge circular water tank are two neatly arranged bookshelves side by side, filled with "Nietzsche", "Hugo" and "O. Henry". In the center of the bookshelves is a huge round table, behind which is a wide sea-blue velvet sofa. The sea-blue light descends from the sky, illuminating the whale-like man sitting on the sofa.

The man was wearing a navy blue chaise longue suit, a sapphire ring on his ring finger, and a Heart of the Ocean pendant around his neck. A Sphynx hairless cat of noble pedigree lay on his lap, stretching its neck lazily, its sapphire eyes narrowed as it looked at the visitor.

As expected of a store manager, even the cat he raises is full of aura. The store manager himself exudes the domineering aura of the sea, making people feel at first glance that this man is truly the supreme ruler of the ocean... because the whale tattooed on his head is reflecting the colorful blue light, sparkling brightly.

Before Caesar and Chu Zihang could exchange glances, the man behind the round table suddenly slammed the table and stood up. His expression could not be seen due to the sunglasses he was wearing... Caesar and Chu Zihang could not help but become alert. God knows whether this mysterious man would hand them a cigar or pull out a grenade from his pocket the next moment.

The store manager strode towards Caesar and Chu Zihang with a majestic momentum, like a giant bear pouncing on the attack. Caesar and Chu Zihang almost had an expression of sacrificing themselves... In order to survive here, they would not resist even if the store manager wanted to strip them naked for a physical examination.

But unexpectedly, the store manager grabbed Lu Mingfei's wrist, who was standing between them, put his arm around his shoulders, and led him all the way to the sea-blue velvet sofa. He was as intimate with him as if they were half-brothers, leaving Caesar and Chu Zihang stunned.

"Sakura-kun, it really feels like a long time since we last met." The store manager actually spoke in Chinese. A smile suddenly broke out on his iron-hard face, a smile that resembled the spring water of falling cherry blossoms on Lake Biwa. "Welcome home, Sakura-kun. Is everything going well for you?"

The store manager actually spoke in a greeting tone!

No wonder Fujiwara Kansuke's earnest teachings were given to Caesar and Chu Zihang, because Lu Mingfei didn't need to worry at all, this guy was the most popular person around the store manager!

"Not bad." Lu Mingfei smiled. "I'm really sorry for the trouble, Manager. I came to you for help, but unexpectedly something happened that night. I even had to leave in a hurry before I could make my debut. My two brothers were really taken care of by the manager."

"Sakura-kun, I'm really going to get angry when you say that. How can we be so different when we're family? Don't you consider Takama-ga-hara your home, Sakura-kun?" The manager looked irritated for a second, then smiled again. "And I want to thank you, Sakura-kun, for bringing such outstanding young people to our Takama-ga-hara. Basara King and Ukyoto are both rare talents in the gigolo world. Their debut performance on the first night was absolutely amazing. It gave me so many orgasms that I almost saw two gigolo flowers about to bloom!"

"Manager, your idioms are truly brilliant!" Lu Mingfei sighed. "Actually, there's something difficult to say. My two senior brothers are new to gigoloing. Although they're very popular with women, they still haven't fully grasped what the manager calls 'the art of men's sexuality'..."

"Sakura-kun, I get it, I get what you mean." The store manager waved his hand, suddenly stopped smiling, straightened up, and looked directly into Lu Mingfei's eyes. "You want me to do something for your brothers, right? Fujiwara Kansuke should have told you about my likes and dislikes, right? Are you still going to risk angering me and plead for Basara King and Ukyo?"

"Yes, manager." Lu Mingfei said calmly.

Caesar and Chu Zihang finished their conversation. Looking at the store manager's serious expression, which looked as if he was about to draw his samurai sword and cut Lu Mingfei's abdomen fiercely, they realized that this interview might be over before it even began.

Japan is a country that pays the most attention to seniority. Someone who enters the workplace earlier than others can crush others. I didn’t expect Lu Mingfei to go to such lengths for the two of them. He was willing to confront the supreme whale man with his status as a new gigolo. It was really touching... If Lu Mingfei really committed seppuku by the store manager, the two of them would definitely rush to buy hemostatic agents and bandages!

"Sakura-kun, your actions are truly... moving!" The store manager suddenly high-fived. "That's what a man is, that's what a brother is! A man will risk his life for his brothers, a man will sacrifice himself for his brothers!"

"I can't help but think of our youth, when we were all so loyal and straightforward!" The store manager stroked his shiny bald head with heartfelt emotion. "You're worthy of being the young man I favor. Ikebana is incomplete if you only care about women and can't take care of your brothers. Sakura-kun, your request really brings me back to the glorious days of the past. For the sake of friendship between men, which is more precious than gold, why not make an exception this time?"

Caesar and Chu Zihang looked at each other, both dumbfounded.

Holy shit, did Lu Mingfei save the store manager's grandfather during World War II? Or did he cast some kind of spell on the store manager? Otherwise, how could this guy deserve such preferential treatment from the store manager? This is completely beyond appreciation!

A story suddenly popped up in their minds... A bear was foraging in the forest and accidentally smelled the honey-like fragrance of a binturong. From then on, he was obsessed with it. He thought the binturong's food must be delicious, its urine must smell like honey, and even believed that the leaves stepped on by the binturong gave off a faint fragrance.

"Let me think about it. How can I keep this interview fair while still allowing Basara King and Ukyo to showcase their emotions and style without any pressure..."

The store manager pondered over it and suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Got it! Why don't you set an example for them, Sakura-kun? Of all the young people I've met, you're the one closest to 'blossoming' in flower arrangement. With you as an example, I'm sure Basara King and Ukyo won't be so nervous."

After saying that, the store manager immediately stood up and placed the rice paper and brush on the table. He has always been a decisive person.

"Sakura-kun, I know you're great, so I'm asking you the difficult questions in my heart."

The store manager faced Lu Mingfei, and all emotions suddenly disappeared from his face, leaving only seriousness.

"Sakura, what is regretful love?"

Chapter 273 The Begonia Tree in Lu Mingfei’s Heart

The store manager picked up a brush from the table and started to write. This whale not only spoke Chinese fluently like a native speaker, but he could even practice calligraphy, a key element in Chinese culture, with ease!

After a while, a huge word "regret" copied with thick ink appeared in front of everyone, accompanied by the store manager's questions in a deep voice.

"What is regretful love?"

The moment they heard this question, Caesar and Chu Zihang's hearts skipped a beat at the same time, thinking, "Oh no!"

They couldn't help but sigh at the store manager's sharp eyes and fierce questions... They all knew Lu Mingfei very well. Indeed, from Shilan Middle School to Kassel College, many girls had flirted with Lu Mingfei, but Lu Mingfei had never shown any affection to anyone. This guy was a complete blank in terms of emotional experience!

This guy probably has never even held a girl's hand. It is even more impossible for such a pure boy to have ever experienced the pain of love. How can a boy who has never experienced love understand what regret is, what love is, and what regretful love is!

It's like describing the grandeur of the snow-capped mountains and the vastness of the glaciers to an indigenous person living deep in the Amazon rainforest, saying that the snow is even more terrifying when it's angry and that avalanches can crush people to death... But they've never even seen snow, and they wonder, how tall are these snow-capped mountains taller than the trees in the forest? How fierce are these avalanches, how fierce are they, how can they be more vicious than the venomous snakes in the bushes?

Sakura-kun, if you don’t understand, just be brave enough to admit it. It’s not shameful. We all understand you and won’t laugh at you, but please don’t say bad words... Caesar and Chu Zihang prayed secretly in their hearts.

However, to their surprise, Lu Mingfei did not speak in a vulgar way, nor did he quote lines from romance novels or romantic movies. Strangely, the moment he heard the store manager's question, he was completely stunned, as if he had been cast under a spell, or as if his head had been hit by something.

Regret... and love? When these two words were superimposed together, it was like a sharp spear, piercing Lu Mingfei's most fragile heart.

Although he has hardly experienced any love in his life so far, he has seen too much in the stories in his dreams... the shortcomings of youth, the prohibitions of race, the heartbreaking pain of life and death... when written out, it is simply a magnificent masterpiece in the world of romance. If the feeling of regretful love is divided into levels, then Lu Mingfei is simply a celestial being who has transcended the mortal world.

Is he in the story feeling sorry for Chen Wenwen? He dared not speak, dared not voice his feelings, and that simple, sincere beauty was ultimately shattered by reality. He watched his beloved girl being pursued by someone else while he played the role of that little "i" in the corner.

Then the second regretful love followed. The hot girl pushed open the door of the movie theater and took him away into the light in full view of everyone. He thought that this beam of light completely illuminated his life, but in the end it was just a puppy that the girl picked up from the roadside. Nono had picked up countless such puppies from childhood to adulthood. A perfect, tall, rich and handsome man like Caesar should be the true love of her life.

Aren't Chu Zihang and Xia Mi's stories full of regret? If that's not regret, then what is? In the end, neither of them uttered the word "love," and stabbed the girl they loved with a knife...that's truly heartbreaking! It brings tears to my eyes just talking about it.

But all these people and things flashed through Lu Mingfei's mind like a fleeting glimpse, and the real regret engraved in his heart should be the girl who shared the whole world with him.

They went to Disneyland, Meiji Jingu Shrine, and Tokyo Skytree. She permed her hair and changed into beautiful clothes, revealing her youth and beauty for the first time.

In the darkness of the love hotel, they silently felt each other's heartbeats, and then made a grand escape into the sunshine. She went to his family dinner and toasted her uncle cordially. In order to protect her, he shouted "Don't die" to himself and was severely injured and almost died; in order to protect him, she ignited her forbidden bloodline and chanted the judgment.

They watched the sunset in Umezu-ji-cho, Ehime Prefecture, a small town in Shikoku that had been shown in "Tokyo Love Story". They took a cable car through a sea of ​​flowers, climbed the deserted stairs to the uninhabited mountain top, looked at the crimson all over the mountain, listened to the vast forest swaying with the sound of waves like the tide, and waited until the sun set and night fell. Her gem-like eyes reflected the light of the sunset, setting off bright waves.

She told him that this jewel-like, beautiful, and distant world guarded by snakes was very gentle and she liked it very much, but the world did not like her.

He told her that whether the world likes a person depends only on whether that person's friends like her. If the world does not really like her, then the world is his enemy.

He showed her a gentle world, gave her illusions, made promises to her, looked at her through the car window, and made an appointment on Line to meet again under the imaginary crabapple tree in Seoul, South Korea. When they met again, they were both eating ice cream... But he lied, he broke his promise, and the crabapple tree never existed from the beginning, just like the love that only existed in the girl's fantasy.

So in the end he lost... the girl who loved him deeply, was willing to share the whole world with him, and would never come back.

Like a man about to drown in a tide of sadness, Lu Mingfei looked forward with empty eyes, as if trying to grab a life-saving straw... or a girl's hand.

Caesar and Chu Zihang didn't know why Lu Mingfei suddenly became like this after a long period of daze. Could it be that he was dumbfounded by the store manager's fatal question?

Just as they were about to speak up to wake Lu Mingfei, the store manager suddenly waved his hand to stop them and gestured to them to be quiet, indicating that Caesar and the others should not disturb Lu Mingfei.

He seemed to be shocked by Lu Mingfei's state. He was almost completely focused on Lu Mingfei, and looked at Lu Mingfei as if he was observing a rare treasure in the world.

Lu Mingfei emerged from his memories as if waking up from a nightmare, gasping for breath.

"Regretful love is... the crabapple tree that never existed in the first place."

Finally, Lu Mingfei whispered these words. No matter if it was the store manager, Caesar or Chu Zihang, everyone could hear the regret in his tone... The boy lowered his head when he said this, and whispered in a low crying voice. The sadness in his words was so strong that it almost drowned the world.

"The crabapple tree that didn't exist from the beginning... the crabapple tree that didn't exist from the beginning..." The store manager was stunned when he heard this, and kept repeating these words in his mouth as if he was possessed.

"Insightful! Insightful!" The store manager suddenly clapped his hands excitedly, which scared Caesar and Chu Zihang.

They couldn't help but wonder if Takama-ga-hara, while ostensibly a gigolo nightclub, was actually a detention center for people with abnormal health conditions? This gigolo interview didn't feel like an interview at all, but more like a meeting for mental patients!

"That's absolutely brilliant! Honestly, I can totally feel the regret emanating from your words, Sakura-kun. It's a poetic regret! It's like a bullet of sadness piercing my sensitive heart!"

The store manager admired from the bottom of his heart, then suddenly paused, changed the subject, and looked solemn.

"Although I can empathize with your sadness, Sakura-kun, describing a regretful love with just one sentence is a bit pale. 'The crabapple tree that never existed from the beginning'... I'd like you to explain such a poignant sentence to me."

The store manager was not at all pretentious and was not ashamed to ask questions.

"The crabapple tree represents love and commitment. 'The crabapple tree that never existed from the beginning' refers to the love that never existed from the start." Lu Mingfei whispered, "Love loss is regrettable, missed opportunities are regrettable, life and death are even more regrettable... But in my opinion, the greatest regret in a relationship is that the love never existed in the first place."

Love that doesn't exist in love... This sentence sounds like a paradox, but the store manager was extremely excited, his face full of curiosity and anticipation. He applauded and praised: "That's great! Go on, Sakura-kun, tell me more, I'm happy to listen!"

"If you have ever had love but later lost it, at least the experience was real, the love was real, and the memories left behind were real; if you have never had this love, then there is no question of regret, at best it is just one-sided fantasy," said Lu Mingfei.

"But what if this love was wrong, false, a lie from the start, yet you always firmly believed it was real, you took it seriously, you even began to believe that the world was beautiful and gentle because of someone's willingness, you gave your all to share with that person, you hugged them carefully, savored and shared their joys and sorrows, you were happy because of their happiness and sad because of their sadness, you felt loved, the most precious thing in the world... but in the end, it was just a huge lie in your life, a misunderstanding, an illusory dream..."

Caesar and Chu Zihang both looked at Lu Mingfei with complicated expressions. Could such a profound speech really be expressed on a blank slate? This wasn't some innocent boy who had never been in love; this was clearly a true lover who had experienced countless trials and tribulations in love!

Sakura, you've evolved. Has the manly flower path in you awakened? Could this be your true self? Caesar began to regret having disdained Sakura's flower name. Only a boy with such an innocent flower name could write such a pure and poignant poem!

They finally understood why the store manager valued Lu Mingfei so much. They had been left far behind by Xiao Yinghua on the road of becoming a gigolo!

No, how can you still call her Little Sakura? This is not Little Sakura at all... Please accept our worship, Senior Sakura!

"I understand! Sakura-kun, I completely understand what you mean!" The store manager nodded his head like a rattle, as if he had just been enlightened. "The regretful love in your heart is false love, right?"

"Indeed, if love is a deception from the start, then it's a false joy, a scale without weights, a non-existent crabapple tree, and the meaning of life becomes empty. It's truly a pity!" The store manager spoke with the eloquence of an ancient Roman philosopher. "It's like a moth flying towards a cold flame, thinking the flame will warm it, but in the end it just flutters its wings around the empty halo, gradually getting lost, and eventually freezing to death or dying of exhaustion."

"No." Lu Mingfei suddenly interrupted the store manager's sonorous sigh, "It's not that brave moth that should be regretted, but that false flame."

The store manager was stunned again.

"I haven't finished what I'm saying yet. I have a few final words left." Lu Mingfei said in a hoarse voice, "In this regretful love, the one who is sad is never the girl who believed in the crabapple flower. The sad one is the guy who made up the crabapple flower. He failed a girl's most innocent and pure love. This love will become an unsolvable knot that takes root in his heart. He will live with regret for the rest of his life, his whole life... He will use his whole life to atone for this regretful love!"

The store manager was so shocked that he couldn't utter a word. He stared at Lu Mingfei blankly, astonished by her beauty.

If the full score of this interview is 100, Lu Mingfei's answers up to this point, which were affectionate, well-reasoned and well-founded, could be given a high score of at least 90.

After all, regretful love is an eternal and difficult problem, and it is difficult to get full marks even if he answers it himself.

But after Lu Mingfei said this in the end, he felt that this interview was no longer just a one-sided question and answer. He had found a confidant who could keep pace with him on the road of flower arrangement.

Even on the question of "regretful love", this man was ahead of herself. It was no exaggeration to describe his answer as "perfect". The store manager was willing to give Lu Mingfei a perfect score on his answer sheet, no, a hundred and twenty points!

"Honestly, I can no longer judge your answer, Sakura-kun. It's not that I'm dissatisfied, but I'm not qualified to be your judge." The store manager shook his head in shame. "If there's anyone else in this world who can judge this answer, it's probably only Venus and Cupid."

"The depth of your flower arrangement is far beyond my imagination. It seems that my vision is correct. Please sit down, Sakura-kun. Thank you for your inspiration. My career is honored to meet young people like you." The store manager actually used the etiquette of greeting peers to invite Lu Mingfei to sit down.

The store manager then swept a sharp gaze over Caesar and Chu Zihang, then fixed his gaze on one of them and slowly spoke: "Youjing."

"Yes." Chu Zihang came and sat on the single sofa opposite the store manager.

"Ukyo, did you hear Sakura-kun's answer just now?" asked the manager.

"Yes." Chu Zihang nodded.

"What do you think of his answer?" The store manager stroked the Sphynx cat on his lap.

"There is no one before and there will be no one after." Chu Zihang said seriously.

Chapter 274 Ukyo's Forbidden Love, Caesar's Rebirth

"Yes, at least in the history of Takama-ga-hara, there has indeed been no young man who can surpass Sakura-kun in flower arrangement. I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to do so in the future."

The store manager actually did not think that Chu Zihang's evaluation of Lu Mingfei as "unprecedented and unrivaled" was too much, but instead expressed his deep agreement.

"Well, Youjing, you saw the demonstration between Sakura-kun and I just now. He gave me a very shocking answer." The manager looked straight into Chu Zihang's eyes, as if there was fire burning in them.

"I don't need your answer to be as perfect as Sakura-kun's, but as his senior, I'm sure you won't let me down, right?" The store manager's tone was filled with anticipation. "Speaking of which, Ukyo is also a young prodigy who broke the record for the most number of tickets in a debut in Takama-ga-hara history. I've fully witnessed your talent as a gigolo, Ukyo. I have high hopes for you!"

Facing the store manager's admiring gaze, Chu Zihang nodded after a brief silence: "Thank you, I'll try my best."

The store manager put aside the ink used to write the word "regret" for Lu Mingfei. He took out a new piece of rice paper and spread it flat on the table in front of Chu Zihang. He dipped the purple-haired brush in thick ink and wrote on the rice paper with flowing strokes.

A moment later, a straight and upright word "ban" appeared in front of everyone.

"Ukyo, I just gave Sakura-kun the word 'regret', expressing my regretful love to him. Now I'm giving you the word 'forbidden', expressing my forbidden love to you." The store manager looked at Chu Zihang seriously, as if he were a god who had descended to earth to capture a fairy who was having an affair with a mortal. "Ukyo, what do you mean by forbidden love?"

Forbidden love... When Chu Zihang heard this question, he was also stunned, and then fell into a long period of confusion.

Xia Mi's figure unconsciously appeared in his mind. In the Nibelungen on the BJ subway, in the life-and-death battle between him and the King of the Earth and the Mountain, Lu Mingfei's Guanshi Zhengzong pierced through the girl's chest. His nerves were corroded by the violent blood, and in the blur he saw two appearances of Xia Mi from the reflection of Guanshi Zhengzong... the evil dragon and the girl.

Lu Mingfei’s words at that time still seemed to echo in my ears.

"Brother, at the very end, what was the last thing that crossed your mind?"

"Whether it's Shami or Jörmungandr, they are your girls. Hug her and kiss her deeply!"

"Brother, are you really ready for this farewell?"

Chu Zihang's mind was already hazy. Was it Xia Mi... or Jörmungandr? Was it a girl... or a dragon? He couldn't think straight.

But his body's instinct told him that no matter who the girl in front of him was, he didn't want to give up, because there was a voice in his heart saying in his ear that that was his girl, the sugar given by God to his miserable life... For that little bit of sweetness, he could even betray God.