After Reincarnating as the Dragon King, I Made a Fortune with Seafood – CH64

Chapter 64

The three finally untangled both nets, grilled the fish outside, and by then the sky was nearly dark.

Lu Ao’s geese came foraging upstream from the lower reaches, honking as they circled around him.

Lu Ao tossed them a few small tilapia, and they immediately flapped their wings, fighting desperately over them.

Lin Gongshang looked at the flock with envy shining in his eyes. “Your geese are so obedient!”

“They’re alright.”

“How is that just alright? They treat you like Mother Goose. Wherever you go, they follow.” Lin Gongshang squatted down and reached out to stroke one goose’s long neck. “Ah, so cute. Now I want to raise some too.”

Lin Qiyan was packing up nearby. Hearing this, he asked, “Raise them so you can serve roast goose at your wedding?”

“Get lost!”

Lu Ao walked ahead, listening to them bicker behind him, a smile flashing through his eyes.

Lin Qiyan had nothing to do that evening, so he followed Lu Ao home on purpose and helped him herd the geese back into the pen. He was just about to help replace their food and water when Song Zhou heard the movement and came out from the courtyard. “You’re back?”

Lu Ao turned to look at him. “Mm. A bit late today. Are you hungry?”

“I’m alright.”

As soon as Lin Qiyan heard their exchange, he tactfully said goodbye and prepared to leave.

Song Zhou asked, “Qiyan, have you had dinner? Eat here with us?”

Lin Qiyan quickly waved his hand. “No, no, no. I’ll eat at home. My grandma should have dinner ready. You two eat.”

“Alright. Be careful on your way back.”

“Sure. I’ll head back first. See you.”

Carrying his equipment bag, Lin Qiyan hurried away.

Song Zhou came over and helped Lu Ao pack the fish they had untangled that day into a large plastic bag, then put it in the freezer outside.

The geese had already eaten their fill today. These fish would have to be crushed and fed to them tomorrow morning.

After packing the fish, Lu Ao yawned and carried the fishing net outside the courtyard. “This net has to be buried.”

“Mm?”

“We set the net in the wild pond today, and there were too many water weeds and moss in the pond.” Lu Ao lifted the green-covered net to show Song Zhou. “The other net is fine. It didn’t get much moss on it and can still be used. This one won’t do. It’s covered in moss and can’t catch fish anymore. It has to be buried underground. Once the moss on the net decomposes, it can be used again.”

Song Zhou smiled. “That works?”

“It does. Fishermen’s wisdom.”

Lu Ao swung the hoe and dug a pit in just a few strokes, buried the net, then filled the soil back in. “About a week should be enough. The rope quality is good, so it won’t rot in just a week.”

“Alright. I’ll help you dig it out then.” Song Zhou asked, “You ate grilled meat outside?”

“Sort of?” Lu Ao told the truth. “It was mainly for the atmosphere. Honestly, it was a little awful.”

Lin Gongshang and Lin Qiyan were both average cooks. Lu Ao had been busy setting the nets and had not watched them closely.

In the end, the grilled fish and vegetables were only slightly better than barely cooked. Forget gourmet food—they did not even reach home-cooking level.

Song Zhou’s eyes curved when he heard this. “Then do you want to go out to eat?”

“Go where?”

“Anywhere.”

Lu Ao was tempted. “How about we go to Yuannan Province for barbecue? Their barbecue is pretty good.”

“Alright.” Song Zhou smiled. “Go change your clothes, then we’ll leave.”

“I’ll shower first.”

Lu Ao ran into the bathroom and washed himself thoroughly. When he came out again, he was once more a fresh, clean, strikingly handsome man.

He wore a T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers, his whole person so handsome he seemed to glow.

Song Zhou came over, rested a hand on his shoulder, and brought him to a small alley beside a food street in the capital of Yuannan Province.

Once they left the alley, Lu Ao turned his head and looked around.

It was past seven in the evening. The city lights had just come on, and the area nearby was very lively, crowded with pedestrians.

“Should we pick a restaurant?”

“Which one?”

“Mm, wait. Let me look. We’ll pick the barbecue restaurant with the most people.” Lu Ao quickly locked onto one barbecue place and pulled Song Zhou over.

The hostess’s eyes lit up when she saw them, and she warmly greeted them before asking them to take a number and queue.

Lu Ao really had not had the experience of queuing in a long time, and he froze for a moment.

The hostess said enthusiastically, “It’ll be quick. You two can follow our official account first. When it’s almost your turn, the account will remind you automatically. You can go out and stroll around first. If your turn is coming up and you haven’t returned yet, you can also move your number back through the account. It’s very convenient.”

That function was indeed quite user-friendly. Lu Ao looked up at Song Zhou.

Song Zhou understood his look. “You decide. I’m not hungry.”

“Then let’s try it?”

Lu Ao swiftly followed the account and took a number. Looking at it, the wait would be about two hours. That was enough time for them to watch a movie nearby.

Song Zhou had no objection.

The two bought drinks and popcorn and went to watch a movie.

After returning to the countryside, Lu Ao had not watched a movie in quite some time. Thinking about it, he felt rather nostalgic.

The movie they watched was a comedy. It was pretty good and very effective.

When they came out, it was just about their turn. The two were too lazy to wander outside, so they went straight back to the barbecue restaurant.

They still had to wait a little after returning. Lu Ao was exhausted today and sat on a chair, eyes half-closed, nodding off.

Seeing that he had nowhere to lean, Song Zhou simply let him lean on his shoulder.

Lu Ao did not mind. Back when he was tired, he had often leaned on his roommates or Ge Ranzhou to sleep.

It was just borrowing someone as a support.

He closed his eyes and calmly handed the weight of his body over to Song Zhou.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, a surprised male voice sounded. “My lord, it really is you!”

“Mm.”

The voice hesitated, then asked, “Are you… dining out with your boyfriend?”

Lu Ao became a little more awake, but still had not shaken off his drowsiness.

Half-asleep, he heard Song Zhou say, “No, I’m having a meal with a little friend.”

Little friend?!

Lu Ao instantly woke up. He opened his eyes and stared straight across.

A tall young man was standing opposite them. He was very handsome, but carried a hint of wickedness. He was speaking respectfully to Song Zhou.

Beside him stood a girl whose head only reached about his chest.

The girl was exquisitely pretty, like a doll, and was looking curiously at Lu Ao.

When her eyes met Lu Ao’s, the girl trembled and whooshed back behind the young man.

Seeing that Lu Ao had woken up, the young man hurriedly said, “Hello.”

“Hello.” Lu Ao’s expression was blank.

The young man noticed something was off and did not continue chatting. He quickly said, “We won’t disturb your meal.”

As if afraid of something, he hurriedly pulled the girl behind him and left.

Lu Ao stared at their backs. “Who are they?”

“Non-humans. They saw me here and came over to greet me.” Song Zhou turned to look at him, his eyes smiling. “Not sleepy anymore?”

“I’m alright.” Lu Ao wanted to say, I just heard you call me a little friend. But on second thought, there was nothing much to say. It was probably just a form of address.

With a hard-to-describe gloom in his heart, Lu Ao forcibly changed the topic. “They’re about to call our number.”

The next second, the announcement really did call their number.

Lu Ao went over to show the queue code, and the two were warmly invited inside by the server.

The barbecue at this place was actually very good—tender and juicy, paired with their special spicy dipping sauce, enough to whet anyone’s appetite.

But Lu Ao did not eat much. Something felt lodged in his chest.

Song Zhou handed him a cup of sour plum juice and asked quietly, “Are you feeling unwell?”

“No. I just didn’t wake up properly.” Lu Ao covered it up. “A little sleepy.”

“Then eat more. After we finish, I’ll take you home to sleep.”

Lu Ao looked up at him. Hesitating, he half-joked, “Why don’t you just move into my place? I have plenty of rooms anyway.”

Song Zhou thought for a moment. “I’ve had a lot to handle lately. Your situation should be more or less stable now, so I probably don’t need to keep watching over you all the time.”

Lu Ao’s chopsticks paused. “I needed watching over before?”

“More or less. After all, you’re the last little dragon in this plane. If news accidentally got out, quite a few people would set their sights on you.” Song Zhou seized the chance to give him a safety lesson. “Many non-humans are superstitious and believe eating dragon meat can greatly increase their power. In their eyes, your status is probably about the same as Tang Sanzang’s flesh. You have to be careful.”

“…Oh.” Lu Ao had not expected that to be the reason.

After a few seconds, he said softly, “I thought it was because we got along well, so you often came to hang out with me.”

“Of course that’s also because we get along well.” Song Zhou’s eyes curved. “Otherwise, I could just have had my subordinates keep an eye on you. Why would I come in person?”

Warmth returned again. Lu Ao’s feelings were extremely complicated.

He suddenly remembered something from school. A gay schoolmate had once told him that only gay men were this cautious. People who could start hugging and touching you affectionately after becoming only slightly familiar were mostly hopelessly straight men. In their minds, they simply did not have the nerve that allowed them to think two men could be together.

Lu Ao now understood.

If both people were gay, the other person would probably choose to keep a proper distance while they were still not that familiar, rather than being so naturally warm.

Once he figured this out, he lost even more of his appetite.

Seeing how little he had eaten, worry showed in Song Zhou’s eyes. “Unwell?”

“No. Just sleepy.” Lu Ao pretended nothing was wrong. “I’ll eat a bit more.”

In truth, when one was in a bad mood, even food became hard to digest.

For the first time since becoming a dragon, Lu Ao felt the food sitting heavily in his stomach, pressing uncomfortably inside him.

After returning home, Lu Ao found a pack of nearly expired digestion tablets, chewed two, then lay on his bed and messaged a certain gay friend.

His gay friend was also in graduate school and was currently struggling with his thesis. Hearing Lu Ao’s call, he loyally abandoned his paper and came over to listen to the gossip.

Lu Ao slightly altered the story, then sent over the general situation. “What do you think he means?”

The gay friend hesitated for a moment. “Maybe he doesn’t mean anything? He’s just nice, and he acts gay without realizing it?”