Chapter 55: Little Loach
When Su Muluo brought Long Ling to the coffee shop, Qiansui happened to stroll out of the staff lounge, glanced at them, and asked, “Are you ready to open today?”
Su Muluo nodded and was about to say something when Long Ling squinted and asked, “Why is there a cat here?”
Then he looked at Su Muluo and said, “Are you still keeping stray cats outside?”
Qiansui: “……”
“Sorry, he’s having some issues.”
Su Muluo calmly told Qiansui this and then covered Long Ling’s mouth to stop him from speaking.
Qiansui looked at the two of them, feeling they were quite odd, and said, “Then be careful.”
Then he quickly ran off.
After Qiansui left, Su Muluo tried to retract his hand but was grabbed by Long Ling.
“What’s wrong with me?” Long Ling asked unhappily. “Why do you always say something about me?”
Su Muluo replied, “Because you have issues.”
He then gave Long Ling’s head a tap.
Long Ling: “?”
What’s wrong with this person?
He always bullies him!
He immediately grabbed Su Muluo’s hand stubbornly and followed him to the bar counter.
At this time, the shop had just opened, and there weren’t many customers inside. Su Muluo sat at the bar, glancing at their clasped hands… not very pleased.
If it were the old Long Ling, he might have hugged him at this moment instead of just holding his hand.
Su Muluo shifted his gaze from their hands to Long Ling’s face. Long Ling looked at him, puzzled, and asked, “What’s the matter?”
Then he tightened his grip on Su Muluo’s hand and slightly raised his chin, saying, “Don’t think I’ll let go. If I let go, you’ll run away.”
Su Muluo: “……”
Su Muluo turned his face away and ignored him.
The street outside the coffee shop was noisy, but it was quiet inside. Long Ling stared at Su Muluo’s profile, wondering why this person was always so moody with him.
Was it because he had amnesia that he made this person angry?
Long Ling actually heard part of the conversation between Su Muluo and the jade pendant spirit earlier. He knew that the spirit referred to Su Muluo as “Phoenix Daren,” which meant that the person before him was indeed a phoenix.
This morning, when he woke up, he found this phoenix cuddled in his arms, sleeping soundly… From this, it seemed their relationship should be quite close.
So, this phoenix was indeed his wife!
Thinking of this, Long Ling became happy again. He had been confused upon waking up because he realized he had forgotten many things—but when he saw the person in his arms, despite finding them unfamiliar, his heart instinctively filled with joy and happiness…
He knew he must really, really like this phoenix.
So, did this phoenix like him?
Long Ling silently watched Su Muluo for a while and suddenly reached out to hug him.
The action was very sudden, and Long Ling even felt that the phoenix in his arms seemed startled—then looked up at him.
The phoenix’s eyes were very beautiful, like dark jewels. When staring at him without blinking, it almost melted his heart.
Long Ling’s eyes gleamed with a smile. He even wanted to kiss the phoenix, but feeling it might be too forward right now, he restrained himself and arrogantly said, “What’s wrong? You’re my phoenix, and if I want to hug you, I will.”
He tightened his embrace a bit more.
He also wanted to test the phoenix’s reaction, but Su Muluo only looked at him for a moment and then lowered his head as if nothing had happened.
Long Ling: “?”
Why was there no reaction?
Was he happy or not?
Long Ling leaned in again, trying to see the phoenix’s expression, but Su Muluo also turned his face away, not letting him see.
Long Ling was even more puzzled, staring at Su Muluo for a few seconds, and a thought popped into his mind.
Could it be… that his phoenix was shy?
Just a hug could make him shy?
Realizing this, Long Ling couldn’t help but smile. He blissfully rested his chin against Su Muluo’s hair and rubbed it.
His phoenix smelled good and was soft, making him feel very comfortable. The more he hugged, the better he felt and the less he wanted to let go.
However, he hadn’t been hugging for an hour when Su Muluo made him stop.
Because a customer had arrived.
“Boss, long time no see, you’ve finally opened!” The customer, obviously a regular, greeted Su Muluo warmly as soon as he walked in. “One special coffee, three parts sugar!”
Su Muluo nodded slightly and said, “Okay, please find a seat you like.”
While Su Muluo was making the coffee, Long Ling could only watch from the side. He originally thought the phoenix would let him hug after making the coffee—but was rejected again.
“There are customers in the shop,” Su Muluo said. “No hugging.”
Long Ling: “…… Tsk.”
Long Ling waited unhappily at the side, hoping the customer would finish quickly and leave. But before that customer left, another one arrived.
“Boss, where have you been? It’s been so long since you opened!”
“Wow, boss, you’re back! I’ve missed your special coffee!”
“……”
After a busy day at the coffee shop with many regular customers warmly greeting Su Muluo, Long Ling felt extremely annoyed. His entire demeanor was sour; he wished he could just snatch his phoenix away.
At 7 PM, Su Muluo closed the shop, feeling a bit happy looking at today’s sales. However, he had originally planned to bring his dragon to familiar places, hoping to trigger some memories. Instead, Long Ling not only failed to recover any memories but also turned himself into a sour dragon.
“Why do they all seem so familiar with the phoenix?” Long Ling hugged Su Muluo, clearly unhappy. “Phoenix, ignore them.”
Su Muluo comforted him, saying, “They are just my customers. If I ignore them, how will I make money?”
Long Ling confidently declared, “The phoenix doesn’t need to make money. I can support the phoenix.”
Su Muluo sighed and gestured towards him, “Okay, but where’s the money?”
Long Ling was silent for a few seconds before admitting, “Right now, it seems like I don’t have any.”
Su Muluo chuckled, finding his forgetful dragon quite naive. “It’s not that you don’t have any now; you didn’t have any before either.”
Long Ling: “? Why?”
Even though he had amnesia, he still felt like he shouldn’t be broke!
“It’s true,” Su Muluo patted his head. “I used to support you.”
Long Ling remembered telling him before that he would soon have money… But so far, he hadn’t seen his dragon having any money.
After hearing this, Long Ling fell silent again, struggling to accept the fact that he used to be a penniless dragon entirely supported by his phoenix. His expression was deeply conflicted.
—Until they returned to their rented room, where he clearly still pondered this matter and asked, “So, did the phoenix buy this house too?”
Su Muluo said, “It’s not bought; it’s rented.” Then, with a smile, he added, “The shop is also rented. We don’t have anything right now.”—Apart from the several million in the bank account and those priceless Phoenix feathers, they indeed had nothing.
Long Ling was silent.
He was probably hit hard by this reality and didn’t say another word until bedtime.
After Su Muluo took a shower, he sat on the bed. Seeing Long Ling quiet and unresponsive, he nudged him.
Wearing soft pajamas, with his skin still warm and slightly damp, and carrying the pleasant fragrance from the bath, Su Muluo was immediately embraced by Long Ling as soon as he came close.
Su Muluo pushed him gently and said, “Move away, you haven’t regained your memory yet, so no hugging.”
His pushes were soft and feeble. Long Ling didn’t budge but buried his face in Su Muluo’s shoulder, breathing in his scent.
It was fragrant.
He liked the Phoenix.
Long Ling felt a bit more cheerful, stepping out from the shadow of having no money, and asked, “Why did I lose my memory?”
At the mention of this, Su Muluo’s face turned sullen, and he replied, “I don’t know.”
Long Ling looked at him and thought his Phoenix-like sulking expression was also quite cute. He chuckled lightly and said, “Did anything happen before this?”
Su Muluo fell silent for a few seconds before giving the same answer, “I don’t know.”
He didn’t plan to tell Long Ling about the Heavenly Dao, the Golden Dragon, or the matters between the Dragon and Phoenix clans.
It wasn’t because these matters were too complicated to explain at the moment, but because… he wanted his Dragon to avoid these issues, leaving him alone to handle whatever happened next.
Long Ling wondered, “Nothing happened? That doesn’t seem right.”
He always felt that he lost his memory due to something very important… but he couldn’t recall what it was at the moment.
Su Muluo said, “I really don’t know.”
Not waiting for Long Ling to say anything else, he added, “I’m so sleepy, I’m going to bed.”
Then he reached out, turned off the light with a “click,” and buried his face into Long Ling’s chest.
Long Ling: “…”
He looked down at his Phoenix and, after a few seconds, said, “Alright.”
Then he nuzzled Su Muluo’s hair a few times before closing his eyes.
The darkness enveloped the room, and Su Muluo, resting in Long Ling’s embrace, was still awake even though his eyes were closed.
He was thinking that Long Ling’s amnesia was a very good opportunity for him.
Tomorrow, he would take Long Ling back to Su Yuan and have him stay there while setting up another barrier—this way, his Dragon wouldn’t be affected by what would happen later.
If he could resolve everything smoothly, he would see Long Ling again; if not… at least, he could protect his Dragon.
Su Muluo made this decision quietly in his heart and sighed silently with relief.
He fell asleep with this thought in mind, but he had a distant dream that night.
In the dream, he was still the Phoenix clan leader from thousands of years ago, with Shuang Li squatting beside him, both of them guarding an egg.
This egg was the one Shuang Li had found and given to him back then. It was small when found but was now as big as half an adult’s palm and much smoother.
At this moment, the egg was lying on a soft pillow, and a small crack appeared with a “crack.”
“It’s hatching, it’s hatching!” Shuang Li exclaimed excitedly. “Could it be that the leader’s cooking really made it hatch?”
The Su Muluo from thousands of years ago replied calmly, “I told you I wasn’t lying, and it wasn’t me who wanted to cook it; it asked me to.”
Shuang Li said, “Wow! Even before it hatched, it seems to have intelligence!”
The two continued to watch the egg, and the cracking sound grew louder as the cracks widened… After a while, a small piece of the eggshell was pushed up.
Shuang Li said, “It’s coming out, it’s coming out!”
He was extremely nervous, and Su Muluo also focused his gaze, looking forward to seeing the egg he had cared for for years.
Before this, he had imagined what the hatched creature might look like. Perhaps it would be some mighty beast, small in size but impressive and awe-inspiring—
Then he saw a thin, small, black, and not at all impressive little snake emerge from the egg.
Su Muluo: “…”
“Oh, it’s a little snake,” Shuang Li said, “all black… No, leader, it doesn’t seem like a snake!”
While Shuang Li spoke, Su Muluo had already picked up the “little black snake” in his hands. The “little snake” was soft and curled up in his palm, with two small, soft horns on its head and four tiny paws.
Having just been born, the “little black snake” hadn’t opened its eyes yet, but it seemed to have detected Su Muluo’s scent. It clung to one of his fingers with its four tiny paws, rubbing its little horns against his fingertips, making soft, cooing sounds, and being both soft and clingy.
Su Muluo looked at the “little black snake” for a while, a trace of a smile crossing his face, and said, “So cute.”
“Where’s the cuteness? It’s ugly, not even as cute as our clan’s baby birds.” Shuang Li observed the little snake and said, “But it has horns on its head and four paws. Could it be a dragon?”
Su Muluo looked at him and asked, “Are there black dragons in the Dragon clan?”
Shuang Li thought for a while and replied, “It doesn’t seem like there are.”
Su Muluo looked back down at the “little black snake” clinging to him and said after a while, “No matter, it’s just so cute.”
He poked the little horns on the “little black snake,” which clung to him even more stubbornly.
Su Muluo’s smile deepened, and he said, “It’s like a little loach…”
He thought for a moment and confidently named the “little snake,” “From now on, you’ll be called a little loach!”
The “little black snake-loach”: “…”
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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