"Really? Really?" Grace clutched his clothes and asked. "I'm not scared! Can I really ride a dragon and fly up to the sky?"
Evan Xiao thought for a moment and said, "It's inconvenient for him to show up during the day. Come back tomorrow night."
"That's awesome!" Grace was thrilled. "But can you come with me then? I'm afraid I might... I'm still a little scared, after all, it's so high up..."
Evan Xiao paused for a moment and said, "Sure."
Grace stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek.
Evan Xiao shivered all over, waved his hand in the air, and closed the door.
......
The next day, General's Manor, Forbidden Garden.
"What?" Leon Zane's shout startled a crow, which flew away squawking. "You want me to turn back into my original form and give that woman a ride up to the sky?"
"And take me with you too."
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Leon Zane called out each word deliberately. "Did Grace Zhu put a spell on you or something? I'll have Bianca Whitefan take a good look at you later!"
Evan Xiao: "It's settled then."
"You know how it is! My rank dropped too much—if I change back to my original form, I won't be able to turn human for half a month!"
"I'll talk to Colin Gu for you."
"But my color isn't the same as yours!"
"Tomorrow night, it'll be cloudy with no moon—she won't be able to see clearly."
"I won't—"
"That's an order!"
"@&&&&&&《@》!"
He was cursing in dragon language.
......
That evening, Grace arrived early.
Evan Xiao led her toward the Forbidden Garden.
Grace clung tightly to his sleeve, nervously asking, "When I see him, how should I address him?"
"Just call him... Senior Dragon!"
Given their age, they're old enough to be her senior several times over.
"Oh... okay!"
At the door, Evan Xiao took out the key, unlocked it, and pushed the door open.
Grace went from tugging his sleeve to clutching his arm, following him inside.
This was her second time seeing the dragon.
She thought she'd get a better look this time, but the weather was awful that night—thick clouds blocked out the moon, and everything was pitch black. All she could see was a vague, shadowy outline of the dragon.
"Senior Dragon, nice to see you again!" Grace grinned sycophantically. "I heard you're the General's good friend, and I'm the General's future wife. Can we be friends too?"
The dragon ignored her.
"Oh! By the way, thanks for taking care of my Antler Serpent! Really, thank you so much!" Grace added.
The dragon still ignored her.
"By the way, where's my Antler Serpent?" Grace looked around. "Why isn't it coming out to see me?"
"At this hour, it's probably cultivating in its underwater cave. Best not to disturb him." Evan Xiao said.
"Oh! Okay, okay!" Grace agreed obediently.
"Senior Dragon," Evan Xiao said to the dragon. "Sorry to trouble you!"
The dragon glanced at them, but in the end, lowered its body.
Evan Xiao helped Grace climb onto the dragon and held her tightly in his arms.
So, on this pitch-black night, a dragon soared into the sky from the General's Manor.
Below the clouds, it was completely dark, but above the clouds, it was brilliantly bright.
Grace found everything so novel, looking all around in wonder.
"Look! The moon is so big and round!"
Evan Xiao: "Mm."
"So this is what clouds look like up close," Grace said. "It's amazing!"
"Yeah!"
"This feels just like the dreams I used to have. It's incredible!"
"Are you scared?" Evan Xiao asked her.