At noon, they had lunch in the water park restaurant, then spent the afternoon riding the artificial waves and drifting the rapids before finally leaving.
In the afternoon, they watched a well-reviewed film. As soon as they stepped out of the cinema, Lin Wan received a call from Huang Xiumin.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Zheng asked.
Lin Wan frowned and sighed. “Blind date failed.”
Lu Zheng blinked. “Then she definitely needs to vent over food and drink, right?”
“Exactly…” Lin Wan smacked her lips and looked back at Lu Zheng.
“So my mission is complete and I can go home now, yes?” Lu Zheng laughed.
“Well…” Lin Wan felt a little embarrassed.
“What’s there to be embarrassed about?” Lu Zheng smiled. “Huang Xiumin and you aren’t plastic friends. Of course you should go comfort her. Go, go. Do you two drink? I’ll pick you up later.”
“Thank you!” Lin Wan gave him a quick kiss. “Xiumin drinks. I’ll keep her company a little. Come get us afterwards and take her home too.”
“No problem!” Lu Zheng nodded.
Lin Wan smiled sweetly, leaned close, and whispered in his ear, “I’ll make it up to you tonight.”
They left the cinema. Lu Zheng drove Lin Wan to the meeting spot and saw Huang Xiumin waiting nearby.
He just waved from afar. Huang Xiumin cheerfully bounded over to Lin Wan, and the two turned and entered the mall together.
Lu Zheng rubbed his chin. Huang Xiumin didn’t look heartbroken at all…
…
Inside the mall, Huang Xiumin’s face screamed “I need to vent” as she dragged Lin Wan along, talking non-stop.
Lin Wan looked baffled. “Why did you sound so devastated on the phone?”
“Pfft! You ditch your friends the moment you get a man. If I didn’t act at least a little upset, either you wouldn’t come, or you’d bring your boyfriend. How could I rant in front of him?”
Lin Wan said righteously declared, “Am I that kind of person?”
“You tell me. Ever since you got a man, how many times have we gone shopping together?” Huang Xiumin retorted.
Lin Wan was speechless. “When a woman gets a boyfriend, the best friend automatically drops to second place. Isn’t that normal?”
Huang Xiumin rolled her eyes. “Have you ever considered the feelings of your single best friend?”
Lin Wan laughed. “Then hurry up and find one yourself!”
“It’s not that easy. The moment they hear my work hours, my current state, and that I’m not planning kids anytime soon, they basically ghost me.” Huang Xiumin shrugged, clearly not too bothered. She wasn’t exactly desperate for a boyfriend.
…
After dropping Lin Wan off, Lu Zheng couldn’t be bothered to cook for himself. He parked the car and slipped back to the ancient world.
Stepping out of the bedroom, the first thing he saw was Yue Honghai sitting under the persimmon tree, telling stories to two little girls on tiny stools. Coachman Old Huang, Uncle Li, and Aunt Liu were all listening attentively.
“…and then I flipped the sea with one palm and slapped that huge fish right back into the ocean!”
“Wooow!”
“Hiss—so awesome!”
Then they spotted Lu Zheng.
“Brother-in-law!”
“Young Master!”
Lu Zheng nodded and patted the two little heads that rushed over. “Listening to stories?”
Liu Qingquan and Ao Qian nodded. “Mr Yue’s stories are really interesting!”
Yue Honghai chuckled heartily beside them, looking pleased. He was usually called monster, ancestor, senior, Little Yue, Big-Mouth Yue, or Little Crocodile. When had anyone ever called him Mister?
It felt pretty good.
“Will Young Master be dining at home tonight?” Aunt Liu asked.
Lu Zheng nodded. “Yes, at home…”
“Brother-in-law!”
“Brother-in-law!”
Liu Qingquan and Ao Qian chorused.
“What is it?” Lu Zheng blinked, looking puzzled.
Liu Qingquan licked her lips. “Brother-in-law, I want your crispy fried chicken.”
Ao Qian giggled. “Brother-in-law, make us sweet-and-sour mandarin fish!”
The two little girls stared at him with big, sparkling eyes, making refusal impossible.
Lu Zheng, “…”
But I came back precisely because I was too lazy to cook!
…
He made crispy chicken and sweet-and-sour mandarin fish anyway. When Liu Qingyan and Du Yueyao returned from Benevolent Heart Hall, they joined for dinner, then took the two little ones home.
Lu Zheng told everyone he was going into secluded cultivation, then slipped back to the modern world.
…
He picked up Lin Wan and Huang Xiumin, dropped Huang Xiumin home first, then drove back with Lin Wan.
In the elevator, Lu Zheng asked, “Huang Xiumin looked pretty cheerful. Not exactly the picture of heartbreak after a failed blind date.”
Lin Wan laughed. “She just wanted someone to vent to. Girl talk—men aren’t allowed.”
“Oh? Not allowed?” Lu Zheng raised his brows deliberately. “Now I definitely have to hear it!”
“You want to hear?” Lin Wan’s eyes curved mischievously.
“I do!” Lu Zheng said cooperatively while opening the door.
*Smack!* Lin Wan shut the door behind them.
*Smack!* She pushed Lu Zheng against it, wrapped her arms around his neck, smiled seductively, and whispered in his ear, “Then let’s see if you can make me talk~”
…
Lu Zheng gave it his all. Thirty seconds later, Lin Wan was indeed talking—just nothing to do with girl talk, and by then Lu Zheng had completely lost interest in the original topic.
…
Early next morning, Lu Zheng tickled Lin Wan’s nose with a strand of her own hair.
“Mmm—”
Lin Wan scrunched her nose, opened sleepy eyes, wrapped her arms around him, and stretched a long leg out from under the blanket.
“Let’s sleep a bit more…”
“No can do. If we sleep longer, the typhoon will make landfall without us,” Lu Zheng said.
“Hm?” Lin Wan’s eyes snapped clear. “It’s almost there?”
“Of course.”
“Then hurry! Let’s go!”
…
Japan, Kyushu Island. A typhoon hundreds of kilometres wide was approaching.
At the typhoon centre, Lu Zheng and Lin Wan were already in position, fine-tuning the path.
Lin Wan held a detailed satellite map marked with all the Lighthouse Country military bases around Kyushu.
“Nagasaki Naval Base,” Lin Wan pointed. “One of the seven major Lighthouse Country bases in Japan.”
“Pretty important then. I heard they have over a hundred bases in Japan?”
“Oh, not that many,” Lin Wan said lightly. “Eighty-eight. Very auspicious number. Wonder if the Japanese specifically requested that figure from their masters.”
Lu Zheng shook his head, speechless. Eighty-eight military bases and they still claim not to be a colony?
Still, having so many bases had its perks—today’s entertainment was guaranteed.
Lu Zheng adjusted the typhoon’s path so the zone of maximum wind force near the eye would pass directly over the military base. Whatever got destroyed, got destroyed.
He had no interest in regularly whipping up typhoons to wreak havoc, so he might as well make this one count.
The next moment, Typhoon Dragonfly made landfall at Nagasaki. Lu Zheng steered it straight toward the harbour packed with warships.
Boom!
Gales roared, waves towered. Lu Zheng simultaneously cast both the Western Ultimate Wind-Calling Curse and the Mysterious Turtle Controlling Water True Spirit Secret Art, ensuring maximum destructive power and preventing the waves from calming even inside the harbour.
…
After the typhoon passed, the incident dominated front pages worldwide.
[Typhoon ravages Nagasaki Naval Base—catastrophic losses]
[Typhoon Dragonfly’s terrifying destructive power! Lighthouse Country cruiser severely damaged! One destroyer and one frigate capsized and sunk!]
[Japan Self-Defence Forces 5th Escort Division at Nagasaki: two frigates sunk, four vessels heavily damaged and requiring factory repair]
[Typhoon fury! Hangar roofs torn off by winds; fifteen Lighthouse Country fighters and two reconnaissance aircraft destroyed]
[Reported direct losses at naval base approach 20 billion USD]
[Reports say hundreds of thousands of Nagasaki citizens have evacuated their homes]
