Maybe it was Xia Zhi's novel that sparked something, but these days Zhu Zi and Chi Yu had locked themselves in their rooms, working on their own stories.
Xiangling was thrilled.
She loved Zhu Zi's novels—the whole "culinary master training his female apprentice" setup? Immersion level: maximum.
As the household's head chef, she even cooked Zhu Zi's favorite dishes to bribe her into updating faster.
Curious, Xia Le joined the reading craze.
One peek—and she was hooked.
When she ran out of chapters, she immediately went to Xia Ci.
Her big sister generously sent over a whole compressed file.
"What the heck is this? It's so weird! …Okay, one more book!"
Xia Lin and Xia Le shared a bed, but that night, Xia Le didn't sleep at all—she just lay there giggling to herself while reading on her phone.
Xia Lin groaned. "Can you not? I'm telling Dad if you don't shut up."
Xia Le turned toward her, eyes gleaming mischievously.
Xia Lin instantly covered her neck. "You're bullying me again!"
Ignoring that, Xia Le's tone turned mysterious. "Hey, do you know what a Dragon Knight is?"
Xia Lin blinked. "Huh?"
"I'll show you something good."
"I'm going to sleep."
"Sleep? Seriously? There are only two dragons in this family—you can at least try to live up to it!"
"…Oh."
Her tone softened. "Don't you want to stay with Dad forever?"
"Of course I do!"
"Then I'll teach you a way."
Xia Lin's eyes went wide. "What way?"
Xia Le leaned close and whispered something in her ear.
As she listened, Xia Lin felt like a brand-new door was creaking open inside her mind.
The next morning, she still looked dazed.
Yaoyao waved a hand in front of her. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Xia Lin muttered, eyes down.
"Did you not sleep well?"
"No."
"Liar. You look just like Master did a few days ago."
Klee, unbothered as ever, piped up, "Did Xia Lin run into a tricky problem?"
"…A problem?"
"You can tell Klee! Klee's super smart—Klee can help!"
After some hesitation, Xia Lin whispered, "Do you guys know what a Dragon Knight is?"
"Dragon Knight?"
Klee tilted her head. "It's probably a title, like Spark Knight!"
Yaoyao shook her head. "No, it should mean someone who rides a dragon."
Xia Lin looked disappointed.
Neither of those matched what Xia Le had told her.
So it really was a dragon's secret.
"It's not?" Klee asked, confused.
"I don't know," Xia Lin mumbled. "I just heard the term from Xia Le and thought it sounded weird."
Her friends exchanged glances, curiosity fully ignited.
When kids hear something mysterious, they have to figure it out.
Yaoyao immediately thought of the smartest person she knew—their big brother. "Let's ask him!"
"No!" Xia Lin grabbed her. "We can't ask Papa."
Yaoyao blinked. "Why not?"
But seeing how serious Xia Lin looked, she nodded. "Okay, I won't."
Then she thought of someone else—Xia Ci, the second smartest in the house.
She sneaked over to her. "Sis, what's a Dragon Knight?"
Xia Ci burst out laughing. "Yaoyao, you're not even a dragon! Why ask that?"
"Xia Lin wanted to know. I'm just helping."
"Hmm…" Xia Ci smiled. "A Dragon Knight is someone who rides a dragon."
"I thought so!"
"Smart girl."
"Thanks, Sister Xia Ci!"
"No problem."
As Yaoyao trotted off, Xia Ci recalled the novels she'd sent to Xia Le and couldn't help smirking.
Yaoyao went back and proudly shared her findings.
Xia Lin nodded absently.
Klee frowned. "That doesn't sound right…"
So, she ran back to her room, picked up the lamp on her desk, and contacted her mother, Alice.
To Klee, her mom was the smartest, most reliable person in the world.
"Mom!"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Do you know what a Dragon Knight is?"
"Dragon Knight? Of course I do—it's someone who… ahem—someone who becomes a dragon's partner."
"That's all?"
"That's right, sweetie. Why are you asking?"
"I was just curious! Thanks, Mom! Bye-bye!"
She put the lamp down and went to tell her friends the answer.
But Xia Lin still looked distracted.
Yaoyao began to suspect that Xia Lin actually knew the real answer but didn't want to say it.
There had to be some secret behind it.
That night, Xia Le was once again awake, giggling at her phone in the dark.
Xia Lin couldn't sleep either. She took out her own phone and started scrolling aimlessly—until a file popped up in her messages.
It was from Xia Le.
She looked over. "What's this?"
"Something good. Just watch."
"I don't want to."
"Why not?"
"Because I'll end up like you."
"…"
"You're weird lately. You never used to be like this."
"…"
Xia Le sighed.
Weird? Hardly. She'd just become more knowledgeable.
As Xia Ci always said: purity isn't about ignorance—it's about holding firm no matter what you know.
Even if that silly dragon thought she'd changed, she was still pure at heart.
"Fine, don't look if you don't want to."
Xia Le turned her back, went right back to reading, and started giggling again.
Xia Lin lay there listening to her laugh and couldn't fall asleep.
After a long hesitation, she finally opened the file.
[The Daily Life of a Dragon Knight]
A story about Dragon Knights?
Curiosity won. She tapped it open.
By the end of the night, her face was bright red.
She didn't finish the story—but the sun was already rising.
She set down her phone reluctantly, only to find Xia Le watching her with a teasing smile.
"Said you wouldn't look, but your body sure didn't listen."
"I…"
"Good, right?"
"…"
"I've got more where that came from. Want me to send them?"
"…Yeah."
Xia Le patted her shoulder approvingly. "That's my girl. You're already five hundred years old—it's about time you grew up a little."
"…"
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