Zhang Tianxing’s curt answer piqued Jiang Lan’s curiosity and he sent a message to Wang Qing asking how did they go last night. But Wang Qing didn’t reply. Jiang Lan guessed he must be catching up with sleep. So he put down his phone and started to work.

But he had trouble concentrating on his work.

After staring blankly at the computer screen for a while, his thoughts involuntarily returned to the weird dream he had last night.

His fourth brother had accused him of being too single-minded before. He just brushed it off. Now it became much clearer to him now that until he could finally figure out the meaning of this dream, he simply couldn’t bring himself to do anything else.

He opened Baidu^[1]Translator’s note: the Chinese equivalent of Google Search and entered the search term “Why do you want to eat your best friend?” and “What to do if you find your friend appetizing?”

None of the search results was relevant to him until he dug deeper into the second page. There was an article titled” Appetite is a deep and complicated form of sexual desire” caught his attention.

Jiang Lan: ????

As a gluttonous Tao Tie, he found this title ridiculous. If he found any food appetizing, does it also mean he was sexually attracted to these food?

He skipped this article and continued to browse.  

Then he stumbled upon a post on a forum focused on love life. The post was titled” My boyfriend always claimed that I looked appetizing and wanted to eat me and even bite my fingers. What does he mean?”

This title was more or less relevant to his situation, so he clicked it and was shocked by the explicit language in the replies posted underneath.

[Reply 1. It’s a sexual innuendo right? He wants to have ____ with you]

[Reply 2. I think he loves you so much that he want to have ___with you]

[Reply 3. I think OP was bragging about her love life]

Jiang Lan:????

He almost collapsed before the computer screen.

Closing the webpage, Jiang Lan still refused to accept that he had any sexual desire towards Ying Qiao. Brother four had once said Dragon Clan was renowned for their sexual appetite but he didn’t think this applied to him. Actually he thought he was never in any sexual cycle before.

Jiang Lan’s face was full of anxieties. He wasn’t sure which answer was more acceptable to him: He wants to eat Ying Qiao or He wants to mate with Ying Qiao.

Xue Meng turned to see the shocked and worried expression on his face.” What happened?”

Jiang Lan turned to face him with a blank expression.

Something must have happened.

Xue Meng moved his office swivel chair to his desk and assumed the posture of a counselor.” What’s bothering you? You can tell me, I am all ears.”

There were only two of them in the office.

Hesitating for a moment, Jiang Lan asked.” Do you have a lover?”

Xue Meng.???

“If you want to mock me, be direct. I can take it.”

Jiang Lan was a little disappointed at this answer.” No? Forget it. You wouldn’t be able to understand my problems.”

Xue Meng wasn’t about to give up.” I have no love life. But I have had a crush on someone before. Besides, I have watched many popular romantic dramas with my mother and these taught me a lot about love. I think I am now well versed in this matter.”

Jiang Lan looked doubtful.

Xue Meng winked.” Have trouble with your love life?”

Reluctantly, Jiang Lan told him about his dream last night, but he chose to leave out Ying Qiao’s part in it. He had never talked about this topic before and after finishing talking, his cheek was flushing.

“The snake monster in your dream…..is he Ying Qiao?” Xue Meng was shocked. So far as he knew, Ying Qiao was a human.

Unexpectedly, it was Jiang Lan’s turn to be shocked.” How do you know?”

Xue Meng:……

Jiang Lan’s response confirmed his suspicion. It looked like monsters were far more numerous than I thought.

He complained.” Your twos are too gay! Xiao Xiaoyu was already attracted by the interactions between you two.”

Jiang Lan tried to refute him.” Ying Qiao was my best friend. I treated him just like I treated you.”

“Bullshit. I am straight.” Xue Meng went right to the heart of the matter.” Normal friends rarely patted each other’s head. Do you recall how many times Ying Qiao patted your head?”

Then he patted Jiang Lan’s head.” Do you feel natural when I pat your head?”

Jiang Lan felt a little embarrassed but Xue Meng made perfect sense.

When Ying Qiao touched his head, he felt warm, natural, and even comfortable.

But When Xue Meng patted his head, he wanted to chop off his hand.

Xue Meng said sarcastically.” I know you wouldn’t admit it, but I could smell that sour smell of love.”

Jiang Lan:…..

He couldn’t bring himself to contradict him.

******

After Xue Meng’s “counseling”, Jiang Lan felt Ying Qiao had a special place in his heart.

But he still couldn’t understand what’s so special about Ying Qiao. His total lack of experience in this regard couldn’t teach him anything of value, so he decided to try to feel how special Ying Qiao was.

It’s like when he met an unknown monster and didn’t know how good it tastes. A bite was all he needed.

Jiang Lan decided to bite.

When he sent a message asking Ying Qiao to meet him, he received a message from Wang Qing, asking him to meet him in the elementary school. In the message, he said the situation was too complicated to describe in a phone call. He would understand it when he witnessed it in person.

At the same time, Ying Qiao quickly replied to his message asking where they could meet.

Pausing for a second, Jiang Lan decided they could just meet in the school. Then he shared the location with Ying Qiao.

So tonight at half past seven, Jiang lan, Ying Qiao and Wang Qing would meet in the Si Yuan elementary school.

Jiang Lan didn’t bring Suan Ni and Jiao Tu along. Instead, he gave them permission to play video games while he was away.

After they met in elementary school, Ying Qiao gave Wang Qing a glance.” Haven’t caught the ghost yet?”

Scratching his head, Wang Qing said.” Master Zhang said there was no ghost here.”

Jiang Lan decided to postpone his plan with Ying Qiao, and shift his focus to the matter at hand.” Tell me what happened last night.”

After greeting the security guard at the entrance, Wang Qing led them inside while telling them what happened last night.

Around the same time yesterday, he and Zhang Tianxing went to the haunted classroom. Zhang Tianxing carried an ancient-looking compass. They waited until two o’clock in the morning, and then the strange phenomenon happened again.

The Incandescent light bulb on the ceiling was shut off and turned on repeatedly while the ceiling fan spinning at the maximum speed. The figures in the corridor pictures watched them with provoking smiles.

The “prank” was more dramatic this time with the light turned on also in the classroom above them. A ball was bouncing on the corridor floor with a loud sound.

Zhang Tianxing held the compass in his hand, but the pointer in the compass didn’t even move slightly.

They decided to climb to the floor above them, and heard the voice of a small girl counting the steps they were climbing.

One step they climbed was immediately followed by a girl counting it.

One, two, three…..thirteen, fourteen!

The crisp voice of the small girl shifted into a higher pitch after fourteen, repeating” One more step, one more step”

Recalling the scene last night, Wang Qing could still feel the terror. Luckily Zhang Tianxing was not easily perturbed, maintaining his calm expression throughout. So Wang Qing took heart and kept composure. After going around the second floor, Zhang Tianxing concluded there wasn’t any ghost here and it must be a monster in play. Considering he wasn’t a monster specialist, he suggests seeking Jiang Lan’s help.

Wang Qing was doubtful about this. After Zhang Tianxing was gone, he stayed there until dawn. After daybreak, he counted the steps leading to the second floor again, making sure there were only thirteen steps in total.

Before leaving, he talked with the security guard, asking him if he heard a small girl’s scream, but the guard was certain he didn’t hear anything, nor had he seen the light being turned on in the classroom on the second floor.

“It was like that last night.” Wang Qing looked tired.” I don’t know if we will see some new tricks tonight.”

While talking, they reached the classroom on the ground floor.

The door wasn’t locked. Jiang Lan and Ying Qiao went in to look around and went to the second floor to check the classroom. They found nothing unusual.

Then they returned to the ground floor. Jiang Lan said.” Tonight we stay here and you can stay in the security guards’ room. We should maintain contact to see if things will look different from outside.”

They closed the door after Wang Qing left and sat in the corner of the classroom, waiting for the return of that bizarre phenomenon. The room was unlit. Under the dim light, a normal person could only see the silhouette of the person nearby.

But Jiang Lan could see everything clearly.

He looked at Ying Qiao surreptitiously. The more he looked, the more he found Ying Qiao beautiful. His eyelash was so long, casting a shadow under his eyes. He wanted to touch it.

His skin was milky white and smooth. Like the milk pudding he tasted before.

Swallowing hard, Jiang Lan couldn’t help thinking about the smooth and strong snake tail in his dream.

Hesitating for a moment, He mustered the courage to ask Ying Qiao.” Can I see your tail?”

His heart was beating fast.

Ying Qiao turned to look at him. His eyes seemed so deep under the dim light.

Jiang Lan was a little disappointed at his silence.”No?”

“Of course, I will show you.” Ying Qiao’s voice was a little coarse. He had no idea why the Little Monster suddenly showed interest in his tail. But Ying Qiao definitely wouldn’t refuse him. Besides, it’s such a rare opportunity to exhibit his beauty.

Under Jiang Lan’s shining eyes, a black snake tail magically took form.

It’s a pity he couldn’t show the Little Monster his golden dragon tail. But this snake tail was formed on the basis of his dragon tail. Even under the dim light, his well-polished scales showed a brilliant luster, as if pieces of thin black jade were chained together to form the outer layer of a beautiful, strong snake tail that seemed to be filled with strength.

In the monster race, a beautiful and powerful tail was considered an essential part of one’s sexual allure.

Ying Qiao was pleased by the marvel in the Little Monster’s eyes. He shook his tail and the tip of the tail gently touched Jiang Lan’s leg.