Chapter 14: Keeping Track
“…”
After a suffocating silence, Su Muluo took the initiative, getting up and staring at the little black dragon, “Were you trying to take advantage of me again?”
The little black dragon: “…”
It silently shrank back to its small form, looking very innocent.
Su Muluo said, “Pretending to be innocent won’t work! I saw you grow bigger!”
The little black dragon hugged his finger, rubbing against it clingily.
Su Muluo, unmoved by its act, said coldly, “You just wanted to take advantage of me! You even waited for me to fall asleep!”
Just like yesterday, utterly incorrigible and very naughty.
Thinking of this, Su Muluo gave the little black dragon’s head a good rub, messing it up into a little ball.
The little black dragon, knowing it was at fault, could only sulkily let itself be rubbed around. However, Su Muluo didn’t use much force and stopped after a few rubs, letting the little dragon flop weakly onto the sheets, looking pitiful and powerless.
Su Muluo knew his dragon was best at acting pitiful after taking advantage, so he wouldn’t be fooled. “If you do this again, I’ll hang you on the doorknob and let the wind blow you all night.”
The little black dragon: “???”
With a “chirp,” the little black dragon clung tightly to Su Muluo’s hand, wrapping itself around it energetically, showing none of the weakness from a moment ago.
Su Muluo’s lips curled slightly. Of course, he couldn’t bear to let his little black dragon be hung up and blown by the wind, but if he didn’t scare it a bit, this unruly dragon would become even more outrageous.
However, tonight he definitely couldn’t secretly tie the little black dragon into a knot or take any photos. Su Muluo lay back down and put his phone back on the bedside table.
The little black dragon stared at the phone, feeling something was off, and suddenly thought of something, chirping at Su Muluo.
“Why did you just pick up your phone?”
Su Muluo: “…”
Of course, he couldn’t say he was planning to take sneaky revenge photos, so he calmly said, “To check the time.”
The little black dragon didn’t seem to believe him and chirped again.
“But you pretended to sleep earlier.”
“That was because of you!” Su Muluo lifted the blanket and covered the little black dragon’s head. “I’m not talking to you anymore, I’m going to sleep!”
The little black dragon: “…”
With suspicious eyes, the little black dragon watched Su Muluo, feeling that its Phoenix must be hiding something. But having just been caught in its mischief, it didn’t dare to push too far—if its Phoenix really got angry and hung it on the doorknob, it would be too embarrassing.
It had to become human faster so that its Phoenix couldn’t abandon it. Plus, if it could turn into human form, it could hug its Phoenix and stroke his feathers while sleeping.
Thinking of this, the little black dragon felt a bit happy, crawling to the pillow and curling up next to Su Muluo.
Su Muluo glanced at it, patted its little horns, and closed his eyes.
This time he wasn’t pretending to sleep. Since he had just threatened to hang the little black dragon on the doorknob, it certainly wouldn’t dare to take advantage of him again. Feeling assured, he fell asleep peacefully.
The little black dragon also quickly fell asleep, comforted by the scent of its beloved Phoenix. But its sleep was uneasy. In the middle of the night, its body suddenly twitched, and it woke up, crawling to the head of the bed and curling up in pain.
In the dark room, the little black dragon’s body emitted a faint golden light, which was so weak it wasn’t noticeable in the night. The golden light continued to flicker, sometimes merging into the little black dragon’s body, sometimes seeping out, as if it was constantly releasing and absorbing it. This process went on for a long time until the night was almost over and dawn was breaking. The last bit of golden light was finally absorbed by the little black dragon.
The little black dragon let out a breath, looking exhausted, but its dark golden eyes were brighter than usual. It rested for a few seconds before quietly crawling back to its Phoenix’s side.
Su Muluo seemed to sense its presence, and in his sleep, he turned his head slightly and raised a hand to gently cover his dragon.
The little black dragon nestled in Su Muluo’s palm, staring at its Phoenix for a few seconds before closing its eyes contentedly.
……
Su Muluo didn’t sleep well.
He had several fragmented dreams in which his dragon was either injured or leaving him, all very unsettling.
So when he woke up and found the little black dragon still sleeping soundly in his palm, he felt a sense of relief.
Waking up earlier than usual, Su Muluo didn’t get up immediately. He quietly watched the little black dragon until it moved and slowly opened its eyes.
——As their eyes met, Su Muluo frowned. He didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but the little black dragon seemed a bit listless today.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t sleep well?”
The little black dragon chirped softly to indicate it was fine and lazily rolled over in Su Muluo’s palm, nuzzling against him.
Su Muluo scratched the little black dragon’s chin. Normally, it would hum contentedly, but today it didn’t. Instead, it lowered its eyelids sleepily.
Su Muluo grew more concerned, wondering if his harsh tone yesterday had upset the little black dragon or if it had caught a cold. “Are you mad at me? Or did you catch a cold last night?”
The little black dragon shook its head. Seeing Su Muluo’s worried expression, it thought for a moment, then grew slightly larger, wrapping itself around its Phoenix’s waist and burying its head in his shoulder.
Su Muluo: “…”
Alright, since his dragon wasn’t feeling well today, he would let it have its way.
He patted the little black dragon’s head, letting it cling to him.
After half an hour, the little black dragon seemed to feel better. It shrank back to its small size, wriggling affectionately in Su Muluo’s hand.
“So what happened just now?” Su Muluo asked.
The little black dragon chirped.
“Didn’t wake up properly.”
Su Muluo didn’t believe it, staring at the little dragon for a few seconds. The little dragon looked back at him with its round eyes, giving an innocent look as if saying, “I’m not lying, I’m very good.”
Su Muluo: …Tsk.
If the little black dragon didn’t want to say, he couldn’t force it. He could only let it rest more and prepared a bowl of honey water for it—he knew this little dragon loved sweet things, especially honey water. Once, when his finger had a bit of honey on it, the little dragon had licked it off.
The honey water was fragrant and sweet, and the little black dragon happily buried its head in the bowl, drinking up the entire bowl of honey water, even letting out a satisfied burp.
Su Muluo rubbed the little dragon’s belly and asked, “Are you full?”
The small black dragon whined softly. Seeing that it had indeed recovered, Su Muluo felt somewhat relieved. After observing it for a while longer at home to ensure it was truly fine, he cradled it in his palm and took it out with him.
Today was Saturday, and although the café opened later than usual, it wasn’t long before customers started coming in. The first was Song Nan, a regular visitor.
“Boss, why didn’t you open yesterday?” Song Nan asked. “I wanted to have your coffee, but you weren’t here.”
Su Muluo had a good impression of Song Nan since she had brought many customers to his café. He apologized gently, “Sorry, something came up yesterday. It must have been a wasted trip for you.”
Song Nan waved it off. “It’s fine, as long as you’re open today.”
As they chatted, another customer walked in. Su Muluo glanced sideways and saw a woman with long black hair and a gloomy expression.
“…”, he quickly looked away as if nothing had happened and continued chatting with Song Nan, “A friend of mine had an accident yesterday, so I went to visit him.”
He didn’t lower his voice, and the words reached the ears of the woman who had just entered, causing her to pause briefly.
“Oh, I see!” Song Nan said. “How is your friend doing now?”
“Not too good, but not too bad either,” Su Muluo replied, changing the subject. “Would you like the special coffee today?”
“Of course! Two cups!”
Song Nan had brought a friend along, and after ordering, the two of them found a seat, holding hands.
Meanwhile, the woman with long black hair approached the counter. Unlike usual, she didn’t just order and leave. After a moment of silence, she quietly asked Su Muluo, “Did your friend get into trouble?”
Su Muluo met her gaze. “Yes, he seemed to have run into some bad people. Why?”
“…”, the woman didn’t answer immediately. After another pause, she said, “One special coffee, please.”
Su Muluo nodded slightly and prepared three cups of coffee.
The woman turned and walked to a corner of the café. Su Muluo watched her back, more convinced of his suspicions.
It turned out the attacker yesterday wasn’t this woman.
Though she was a fox demon like the one who attacked him, she wasn’t injured and didn’t have the aura of a killer. The red umbrella of the fox demon yesterday had clearly been stained with a lot of blood.
Despite this, Su Muluo remained cautious. He still had doubts that needed to be confirmed.
After a while, the woman with long black hair finished her coffee and hurriedly left the café. Su Muluo then walked around the counter and entered the staff rest area behind a hidden door.
In the rest room, a ginger cat jumped down from the bed, ready to go out. Su Muluo immediately picked it up and put it back on the bed.
Qiansui: “???”
Little Black Dragon: “???”
The little black dragon, feeling very displeased, clung to Su Muluo’s hand where the cat had been, rubbing vigorously to remove the cat’s scent—it only allowed the phoenix to have its scent, no other creatures were allowed!
Su Muluo didn’t stop the little black dragon’s possessive behavior, a hint of amusement in his eyes. He then looked at Qiansui and said, “I need a favor from you.”
Qiansui: “…Thanks for the offer, but I’m still recovering and don’t want to fight.”
“I’m not asking you to fight,” Su Muluo said. “You can shapeshift, right? Transform into me and watch the shop for a while. If customers come, just tell them we’re out of coffee beans and to come back tomorrow.”
Qiansui looked at him, clearly reluctant. “I’m just a cat, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Please, just a small favor.”
“No, meow meow meow.”
“…”
Su Muluo pulled out the little black dragon.
The little black dragon bared its teeth, looking fierce.
Qiansui: “…”
Moments later, a very unenthusiastic “Su Muluo” walked out of the staff rest area and stood mechanically behind the counter.
Meanwhile, the real Su Muluo, with his little black dragon, quietly followed the woman with long black hair out of the café.
T/N: Hello hello! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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Also, check out the other series we have on HoH!
If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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