Chapter 8: A Certain Diva's Grievance Against "Dragon Raja"

The little girl opened her arms for a hug the moment she called out for her daddy.

Lu Anzhi held up the bags filling both his hands and said with a smile, "Daddy is holding gifts for you, so I can't spare a hand to hug Xianxian."

Xianxian let out an "Oh," her attention immediately captured by the bags in his hands.

Zhang Suxin stood behind Lu Anzhi. As he stepped inside, she placed a pair of brand-new slippers before him and said, "Put these on. I prepared them just for you."

Lu Anzhi set all the bags on the floor and put on the slippers. Little Xianxian circled the bags, looking at them with longing, yet she did not open them without permission. It seemed Zhang Suxin had raised the little girl well; she wouldn't rummage through things unless she was sure they were hers.

Once Lu Anzhi had changed his shoes, he took the toys out of the bags one by one and placed them on the table. "Look, what are these?"

Xianxian’s eyes lit up. She recited them like a list of dishes: "Yay! Car! Bunny! Box! Clothes! Clothes! Clothes! Dress!"

The little girl’s vocabulary wasn't yet broad enough to distinguish between t-shirts, shirts, and other garments, so she grouped them all as "clothes."

Zhang Suxin said, "You didn't have to buy so many things just for coming over."

Lu Anzhi smiled. "I’m buying them for my daughter. Isn't that what I should do?"

Zhang Suxin couldn't help but smile back. "You’re right." She turned to Xianxian and asked, "Do you like them?"

"Like! Them!" Xianxian said happily, enunciating each word with surprising force.

She busied herself picking up the toys and the clothes, looking them over from every angle. It was clear she truly loved them.

With her occupied, Lu Anzhi didn't need to tend to her for the moment. He took his backpack off his shoulders and said to Zhang Suxin, "I thought a big star like you would live in some luxury high-end complex. I didn't expect you to be living here."

Zhang Suxin replied, "What big star? I’ve been retired for three years now. I used to live in a place at Yipiju, but that was provided by the company. Once I retired, I naturally had to return it."

"Later, when I bought my own place, I couldn't be so reckless. I looked for a long time before finally buying this second-hand apartment here."

"First of all, the price was right and within my budget. After all, I’m retired and don't know what I'll do in the future. I have to save money to raise my daughter."

"Secondly, it’s not a new build, so it didn't need renovations. The existing layout was quite good and suited my tastes. It saved me a lot of trouble and also allowed me to keep the child’s health in mind. After I got pregnant with Xianxian, I often looked up things about children online, and the thought of a young child living in a newly renovated house really scared me..."

As she spoke, she took the backpack from Lu Anzhi, intending to set it aside, but her hands sank under the weight.

"It’s so heavy. What are you carrying?" she asked.

Lu Anzhi said, "It's my computer. My editor is pushing for the manuscript, so I’m in a hurry to finish it. I brought my laptop along so I could work on it when I have time."

Zhang Suxin’s eyes brightened. "Is it the third volume of *Dragon Raja*?"

Lu Anzhi nodded. "Yes, it's called 'Black Moon Tide'."

Zhang Suxin asked, "Does this volume feature another Dragon King like Konstantin or Xia Mi?"

That was the one thing she couldn't stand. Why write such sympathetic or lovable characters if they were just going to be the main villains? And then to deliver such emotional gut-punches at the end—it left a person feeling completely unsatisfied. She suspected Lu Anzhi did it on purpose. She had heard that the first two books written by "Dora-B-Dream" were also tragedies; perhaps he just enjoyed using those tropes to wring tears from his readers.

If that were the case, she was determined not to read the third volume of *Dragon Raja*. She only read for leisure, after all; why make herself miserable?

Lu Anzhi said, "No. The villain in the third volume is a complete and utter scoundrel. Even if he hides his identity early on, I won't be using any literary techniques to evoke sympathy."

"Using the same old tricks gets boring. You know what they say—things happen once or twice, but not a third time, right?"

Zhang Suxin was skeptical. "Really?"

Lu Anzhi said, "Really. I can tell you right now: the villain of the third volume is named Herzog, and his early alias is Tachibana Masamune. You can take a look when it comes out, and if you find anything off, you can just drop the book."

Zhang Suxin’s interest was instantly piqued. She wanted to ask Lu Anzhi for the manuscript of the third volume to get a sneak peek. But then she realized that, after all, she and Lu Anzhi were only connected as the mother and father of their child; there was nothing else between them. Asking him for his manuscript would be like him asking her for her unreleased songs—it would be too abrupt and inappropriate.

She had to hold back, only asking, "How much have you written?"

Lu Anzhi said, "If all goes well, I should finish it today or tomorrow."

Zhang Suxin said, "Then it will be published soon, right?"

Lu Anzhi nodded. "Yes. I’ll submit the manuscript tomorrow, and Maple Leaf Press should finish reviewing it quickly. They always review my work fast. Besides, since it’s already the third volume, I don't need to worry about licensing. Promotion, printing, and release shouldn't take long."

Zhang Suxin nodded. "Good, then I’ll look forward to reading it."

"Mommy, I want to wear the new clothes!"

Xianxian’s voice interrupted their conversation.

They both looked down at Xianxian, who was holding the little pink dress up high.

Zhang Suxin said, "It's 'clothes'."

Xianxian said, "Cl-othes."

Zhang Suxin said, "Yes, that's right, new clothes."

Xianxian said, "New-es clothes."

Lu Anzhi burst into laughter. He hadn't expected that adding a single extra sound would cause such a change in the speech of a two-year-old girl.

Hearing Lu Anzhi laugh, Xianxian giggled at him, not caring what he was laughing about. She was just incredibly happy.

Zhang Suxin smiled helplessly and said, "Teaching her to talk is quite difficult. She also likes to say 'five, six, eight, seven' instead of 'five, six, seven, eight'. No matter how I teach her, she won't change."

Lu Anzhi laughed. "She’s only just over two years old. How high are your expectations for her?"

Zhang Suxin said, "The problem is, sometimes she can say it correctly. I suspect she's doing it on purpose to defy me because she thinks it's fun."

As if reminded by Zhang Suxin, Xianxian started to count, showing off. She nodded her head with each number, looking very serious: "One, two, three, four, five, six, eight, seven."

Lu Anzhi asked, "What about nine?"

Xianxian said, "Eight, seven, nine, ten."

Lu Anzhi said, "Seven, eight, nine, ten."

"Uh-huh."

Xianxian nodded very seriously, then continued to nod her little head with each count: "Five, six, eight, seven, nine, ten."

Zhang Suxin laughed. "See?"

Lu Anzhi: "..."