Dreaming With My Dragon Lover

So, in this large and elegant modern kitchen, the two worked hard to continue the millennia-old Chinese New Year tradition. Rong Qiuchen was in charge of the dumpling making, arranging them in a neat matrix. Yuan Ge was responsible for peeling the garlic and cooking the dumplings. Soon, two batches of dumplings were ready and being served on the table.

"It's so tasty! I thought we wouldn't be able to finish them all if I cooked too much, but I didn't expect it to be so delicious with the garlic sauce!"

As Rong Qiuchen watched Yuan Ge enjoying the fruits of his labour one bowl after another, his earlier sadness was gradually washed away and a faint smile surfaced on his handsome face.

While they were eating, Yuan Ge's TweeChat app rang. It was his mother, Professor Violette Fu, and his father, Professor Yuan Fen. His parents' happy smiling faces made Yuan Ge feel full of affection and missed them a lot, so he dragged Rong Qiuchen, carrying a couple of plates of dumplings to the living room and projected the video call directly onto the big screen, chatting while they ate.

"Wow! When did your life skills improve so much, son? Did you make these gold ingot shaped dumplings yourself? You must have cheated and bought them at the supermarket, didn't you?"

"Wrong! They were totally homemade! Not only did we make our own dumplings, but you didn't see our New Year's Eve dinner with over a dozen big, proper, festive dishes. I bet it's even better than what you two had today!"

"So, Amélie is here to spend New Year's with you this year?" Violette Fu and Yuan Fen seemed to remember Amélie well and quite impressed with her.

"No, it's all this guy's doing!" Yuan Ge said, pulling Rong Qiuchen in front of the camera.

"Wow! Who's this young lad? So good looking, is he a new actor signed by your company?" When Violette saw Rong Qiuchen, unsurprisingly, she was immediately amazed by his stunning beauty.

"Indeed. This young man is even more handsome than those two students you signed last time. He has a very classical Chinese style, as if just stepping out of a traditional Chinese painting." Yuan Fen commented out of the blue.

"Yo! It's rare that my parents agree with each other. They think quite highly of you!" Yuan Ge turned the camera on Rong Qiuchen, and said rather proudly.

"Rong Qiuchen pays his respects to Uncle and Aunt Yuan, wishing you both prosperity, happiness and a long life in the New Year!" Without saying any more, he knelt down at once to the TV screen and kowtowed three times to Violette Fu and Yuan Fen.

"Please get up, please!  It's too much! We are flattered! What a sweet talker you are! Yuan Ge, stop laughing, hurry up and help him up. How can you let this young lad perform such a grand salute …"

"Don't worry, it's just the way he is, thinking that he's Rong Qing from my film script, having transmigrated over from the Qing Dynasty. He's not quite right up here," Yuan Ge said, pointing to his temple, then moved his phone directly in front of Rong Qiuchen, "You have to kowtow towards the camera, not towards the TV screen. Here, look here and smile!"

Rong Qiuchen, however, was all nervous and said in a low voice, "Stop it, Gege, you have to pay your respects to the elders in the New Year. Hurry up and kneel down with me too."

"Look how polite and well behaved your friend is. Son, how did I bring you up? Haven't I taught you all these manners when you were little? But now you call your parents by their names willy-nilly. You are not well behaved at all." Professor Fu scolded Yuan Ge for a few moments, then turned to Rong Qiuchen with a smile, "My child, please get up, let's not be so formal. Your name is Rong Qiuchen, isn't it? Where did you graduate from? Your classical etiquette is very good! Your posture is very proper, respectful, and gentlemanly. Have you ever taken an etiquette class?"

Seeing that his own mother had fallen on Rong Qiuchen's side and was praising this guy while scolding himself, Yuan Ge was a little upset and muttered, "What child? He's over twenty years old already … You forgot I told you about him before. He is that little 'porcelain bumping prince' who has been hiding like a phantom on my set …"

"Don't give people nicknames all the time. Your mother and I aren't going back this year, so it's nice to have a little brother to keep you company. You two can spend a good New Year together."

Even Yuan Fen has spoken up warmly for Rong Qiuchen, and before Yuan Ge could protest, he changed the subject, "Yuan Ge, take your phone to my room and let me have a look if everything is in order there. My eyes have been twitching lately for some reason and I keep feeling that something is wrong …"

"Ah? Dad, why are you superstitious about eyes twitching too?"

"Your mother wanted to keep that coffin in the house last time. I'm worried that you might have pretended to listen to me when actually you listened to your mother. What if you put the coffin in my room? If that's the case, how am I going to sleep in my room when I get back!"

"Dad … that, uh, let me ask you an important question first. How do you adjust the settings on that housekeeping robot of yours? As soon as my name 'Yuan Ge' is called, it answers. I am fed up with him answering 'your humble son' and 'your majesty', so please remove my name from the settings!"

"Oh, the setting can't be changed remotely. Any changes will have to be verified by my fingerprints to take effect." Yuan Fen's smile looked mischievous, "What's wrong with 'your humble son'?"

"Nonsense! You just won't change it for me!" Yuan Ge grumbled under his breath as he saw Rong Qiuchen trying to hold back his laughter on the side.

"The water's boiling! Go and check out the dumplings, darling, and don't forget to add cold water three times before you take them out of the pot!"

Professor Fu tricked Yuan Fen away in time and asked Yuan Ge mysteriously, "My good son, now tell mum, how is that coffin?"