Chapter 62
Chapter 62: Cub’s Dad, You Can Matchmake the Baby’s Mom with Your Eldest Nephew
Chong Ming stared at the cup for a beat. He clearly hadn’t expected this. “Classmate Jiang Tea Tea. May I ask what you want my blood for?”
Jiang Tea Tea met his gaze, stubborn and bitter. She couldn’t beat him, couldn’t kill him, and the frustration sat in her chest like a rock. She spat out one word. “To drink.”
Chong Ming said, mildly curious, “Oh.” Then he tilted his head as if actually considering it. “Dragon blood… doesn’t sound very good.”
Jiang Tea Tea rolled her eyes so hard it almost hurt. “I’m drinking it, not you. What do you care if it tastes good? One sentence—are you giving it or not? Bleeding or not? If you won’t, then everything you said was just hot air.”
Chong Ming began rolling up his sleeve. “Your cup is only five hundred milliliters. Is that enough? Do you need a bigger one?”
Jiang Tea Tea didn’t understand the concept of being polite. She pulled out a larger cup and shoved it toward him. “Here. Fill it. Thanks.”
Chong Ming’s gaze flicked to the cup. “You’re really not shy. Five hundred to fifteen hundred milliliters.”
Jiang Tea Tea grinned, eyes curving. “This is the biggest cup in my storage button. If you think it’s small, help me fill the five-hundred-milliliter one too. Thanks.”
Chong Ming finished rolling up his left sleeve. His right index finger transformed into a sharp dragon claw, and he sliced his left wrist.
Golden blood streamed into Jiang Tea Tea’s cup, dazzling like molten metal.
Sui Xuan Chu stood there feeling like he’d lost his mind.
One asked for blood, and the other gave it.
One said she’d drink it, and the other actually believed her.
He didn’t even worry about what she might do with his blood.
Jiang Tea Tea stared at Chong Ming’s bleeding wrist. If she could beat him, she would knock him out, keep him penned up while he was still young and strong, and drink fresh blood off him every day.
When he got old and his blood wasn’t as fresh, and there wasn’t as much of it, she’d kill him, shave off his mane, dig a deep pit, coil him inside it, and sink her roots into his flesh so he could feed her like fertilizer.
Once the fifteen-hundred-milliliter cup was filled, Adjutant AI stepped forward with a medical spray already prepared and misted Chong Ming’s wrist.
In an instant, the wound disappeared.
If not for the cup of blood in Jiang Tea Tea’s hands, she would’ve thought he’d never bled at all.
Chong Ming watched her stare. “Classmate Jiang Tea Tea. Why are you looking at me? You got the blood. Drink.”
Jiang Tea Tea lifted the cup and snapped back to herself. “I’m worried I’ll scare you if I drink it in front of you.”
The corner of Chong Ming’s mouth lifted. “It’s fine. I can handle it.”
Jiang Tea Tea shrugged. “If you’re not scared, then I’ll drink it for you to see.”
She raised the cup to her lips and drank.
The golden blood was beautiful. The scent was intoxicating. The moment it went down, a hot current surged through her body, warming her from inside out. Her stomach finally felt full—really full.
By the time she finished the entire cup, it was the first time in nearly ten days she felt stuffed. Even the lingering ache from Chong Ming’s kick to her stomach faded, and her magic power rose in a faint but undeniable swell.
Sui Xuan Chu stared like he’d witnessed a miracle. “Roommate… you really drank it?”
Then, anxious, “Do you feel anything? Like you’re burning up?”
Jiang Tea Tea belched delicately, put the cup back into her storage button, and said, “It’s fine. Tastes pretty good. Just not enough. I don’t feel much.”
Sui Xuan Chu turned his eyes toward Chong Ming like he was asking: She drank it. She’s fine. For real?
Chong Ming’s gaze slid over him, then returned to Jiang Tea Tea. “You asked for my blood. I gave it. You drank it. What happens next—I don’t need to remind you, do I?”
Full and warm, Jiang Tea Tea’s mood smoothed out. She was suddenly much easier to live with. “We’re just going to catch the Insect Race Eldest Prince. How big of a deal is that? Sui Xuan Chu—let’s go.”
Chong Ming glanced toward Da Ma Zi.
Da Ma Zi stepped forward. “Two classmates, come with me. We’ll take a small shuttle.”
Jiang Tea Tea grabbed Sui Xuan Chu and marched out like she was going to flip the entire Insect Clan upside down.
The moment they left, Chong Ming issued orders to the agencies defending against the Insect Clan, the remote fleets, and the persons in charge of the major armories.
Then he placed a video call.
The Insect Race Eldest Prince, Agris, picked up almost instantly, like he’d been waiting right in front of his lightbrain. “Old friend. I knew you’d call. I’ve been waiting.”
Chong Ming looked at him calmly. “Is that so? Then it won’t be a waste that I prepared a gift for you.”
Agris widened his eyes in exaggerated delight. “Old friend, you prepared a gift for me? How considerate.”
“Appropriate,” Chong Ming replied. “It’s been a long time. Your subordinates came into my home, and you came to my doorstep. If I don’t prepare a gift and fulfill my duty as host, other star-system nations will hear and think poorly of me.”
Agris laughed. “If you put it that way, I’m very much looking forward to it.”
Chong Ming smiled. “So am I. I’ve already sent someone over. Have someone receive them.”
“And don’t disappoint my careful selection. Otherwise I’ll get angry, and an indiscriminate bombardment would be… unfortunate.”
Agris leaned into the familiarity as if they were truly friends. “Old friend, if you chose it, I’ll receive it personally. I won’t disappoint you.”
Chong Ming nodded. “Good. See you soon.”
“See you soon,” Agris said.
The call ended.
Agris’s smile vanished instantly. “Someone. Go see what that bastard Chong Ming sent me. Bring it to me.”
A bodyguard responded, “Yes, Your Highness, Eldest Prince!”
Chong Ming’s screen shifted to a live feed: Jiang Tea Tea and Sui Xuan Chu approaching, with Agris’s main battleship displayed beside them.
Adjutant AI asked carefully, “Commander-in-Chief… the young highness is underage. He’s going to the Insect Race Eldest Prince’s side. If anything happens—”
Chong Ming’s golden eyes turned razor-cold. “He isn’t an unhatched cub. He’s the empire’s crown prince. He was born to see wind, rain, blood, and corpses.”
“If he does nothing, sees nothing, grows in a greenhouse like a soft little loach… what will he use to hold up the Zhen Lin Empire?”
Adjutant AI lowered his head. “Apologies, Commander-in-Chief. This subordinate overthought it.”
Chong Ming’s gaze didn’t soften. “I know he’s underage. He still drinks milk a few times a month. If he’d been born into another Dragon Clan or another race, with a double-S-rank lightning element, he’d be cherished in the palm of a hand.”
“But he was born into the imperial family. He won’t be cherished. The only things waiting for him are government affairs, training, and the ability to judge people.”
He leaned back slightly, eyes still fixed on the feed. “Classmate Jiang Tea Tea is outstanding among her peers—top-tier. She’s one year older than him. I’m letting them run missions together so they build camaraderie and friendship. If she can one day sit in the commander-in-chief’s seat, she can support him better and guard the empire.”
Adjutant AI’s eyes lit up like a bulb switched on. He blurted, “Commander-in-Chief, the young highness and Classmate Jiang Tea Tea are close in age and get along well. You could matchmake them into becoming mates!”