LBRDI Chapter 59

Shortlist

Bonus ko-fi chapter

Adult Geng Chen dragons are huge, but their young are small and require a longer developmental period to grow. They are one of the few dragons that require kin to hatch. If a Geng Chen dragon used their original form to raise a child, not only the dragon eggs, but even dragon cubs that have already broken their shells would be hard to find. Moreover, the dragon cubs are protected by the eggshell before they break out but after it is broken, they lose the protection of it. Compared to the powerful adult dragons, the young Geng Chen dragon cubs are vulnerable to injury.

Because of their large size and weight exceeding those of other races, if they press on their dragon cub, the whole family will regret the situation. If they don’t sleep at night (Geng Chens aren’t cetacean dragons) and have long periods of poor sleep, they could suffer clinical depression while raising their cub.

During his time recuperating in the centre, He Xing had taken the cubs into the sky in his normal dragon form. Both Gian and Lu Yuan remember it well, but the difference in size between the miniature and normal versions was so great that neither of the two cubs associated “brother” and “uncle” with each other.

He Xing felt it was particularly difficult to say the next words.

“Actually, Uncle was injured a bit before and sometimes I can’t control my human and dragon form, so… the little dragon you see is actually me.”

Lu Yuan was shocked.

“Then Uncle, you lied to us and said that it was another dragon cub.”

The little black and white fatty had completely forgotten that the dean was also an “accomplice”.

As thick-skinned as He Xing was, he was speechless at the little dragon cub’s question.

“That… Adult dragons, they all love keeping face.”

Lu Yuan shook his head mournfully.

“Uncle, I’m so disappointed in you. I need to calm down.”

The little spotted dragon covered his chest with both hands, turned his head away and very sadly ran out.

Gian chased after him.

“Lu Yuan, don’t make excuses to not read!”

Yan Tan and Xing Fei, “…”

The two little dragon cubs sighed in sync, completely giving up on the idea of tutoring Lu Yuan.

Rhein was a little disappointed.

“So does that mean there isn’t another small dragon cub?”

The disappointment on Rhein’s face was so obvious that He Xing couldn’t ignore it, even with his thick skin.

Little Rhein thought for a while and earnestly said, “The books teach us to be honest as dragon cubs, so Uncle also isn’t allowed to lie.”

He Xing coughed lightly.

“Okay, Uncle is wrong.”

Shen Mian came over.

“Dean and Uncle both know that, so we will pay attention to it in the future.”

Rhein pulled at his clothes and after a while, looked expectant.

“So… Uncle, how small are you when you become small? Is it really even smaller than me?”

Shen Mian lifted his leg and lightly kicked He Xing.

“Change into one.”

He Xing, “…”

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He Xing said in a faint voice, “I rushed back all night just to see you guys. I didn’t even waste time to rest…and you treat me like this. Why did I come back? I’d rather stay out there.”

Rhein blinked.

Xing Fei and Yan Tan hurriedly walked over to take Little Rhein away and ran out the door with little steps.

Shen Mian leaned on the table and beckoned his finger at He Xing.

“Come here.”

He Xing was unsure.

“Hm?”

Shen Mian, “Comforting the crown prince who was running around several galaxies.”

He Xing’s mind was blank and although he knew that it was impossible, his mind slid somewhere uncontrollably: Was there really any reward? For example, was he allowed a long-awaited hug? Could there be a human civilization kissing face ceremony?

Shen Mian waited for He Xing to come closer before he whispered, “I cleaned up a new room for you.”

He Xing, “…”

Shen Mian sat in front of the quantum computer.

“After all, you’re an alpha aren’t you?”

He Xing froze, thinking that he had heard the subtext – his dean finally realised he was an alpha! Thinking about it this way, getting kicked out of the room wasn’t even an unacceptable thing anymore.

……

On November 9, a week before most of the dragon cubs prepared for their final exams, Nova Magazine’s official website announced the finalists for the shortlist. In addition to the fifteen short essays and fifteen poems selected, for the first time, a list of “interesting submissions” had been added. They will not be selected for the physical book, but will be made available electronically through the website.

Every year, the Rising Star draft is as much of a high-profile event as the underage dragon university entrance examination and as soon as the finalists were announced, traffic to the website grew exponentially, nearly overrunning the site.

In addition to the old fathers and mothers who were eager to check the list, there were also deans and teachers from childcare centres. If a cub from their centre was selected, they would immediately pull a banner and hang it on the door so that parents picking up and dropping off cubs plus passing dragons can see it. It’s definitely a powerful form of advertisement for their centre.

There were a lot of dragon cubs in the entire empire. The two genres were divided into sixteen groups for layer by layer screening. The judging panel was also recognized as a collection of big names and, in the end, only fifteen articles could be selected respectively, which showed how good the gold content was.

Like a lot of parents, Shen Mian watched the time and waited in front of the quantum computer to refresh the website.

The list was announced at 9 am and the dragon cubs were having a study session- Qiming Childcare Centre’s exam was on November 15, so Shen Mian reduced the original three compulsory lessons to two and gave the last lesson to the cubs to review and revise their past papers on their own.

He Xing sat next to the little dragon cubs with his jaw in his hand and was in charge of reading the questions to them.

Although Yan Tan was suspended from school, if he went back for his exams and passed, he could still continue his education. So in order not to fall too far behind Livia, Yan Tan still wanted to work hard for a while, study the rest of the course on his own and then rush back for the exam.

If you aren’t reading this on shallotnoodle.wordpress.com, you have three days.

Recently, the little black dragon cub didn’t even paint and was focused on the course.

[Gold Mint Roast: What’s the dean doing? That holographic interface has been loading for ages, so why is the dean so focused on it? Also, His Highness is sitting there like an old father helping his son with his homework hahahahahaha]

[Snacks for sale in the front row: Ever since His Highness showed up, his image in my mind has crumbled to the point of no return.]

[The Dean’s dragon grass: Refreshing Nova Magazine’s shortlist, right? We’ve got Gian, Xing Fei and Lu Yuan involved. Yan Tan seems to be on holiday. Did Rhein participate?]

[Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs: On second thought, I think our little Rhein didn’t join hahahahaha]

The live room was still open and Shen Mian took He Xing’s quantum computer to refresh Nova Magazine’s official website.

At 9:05 am, the shortlist that had been loading finally, slowly, came out, ranked in order of scores.
Shen Mian immediately saw Gian in the short essay group and Xing Fei in the poetry group. The two little dragon cubs were both highly rated, among the front rows. If they were to split the entries into grades, he felt that they would definitely be in first place.

Shen Mian clicked on the two submissions because he wanted to see what other dragons had to say about his cubs (rainbow farts).

The judges’ brief comments on the submissions were underneath the submissions and in the case of it being in the published collection, the article would be accompanied by a detailed evaluation by a professional judge.

Gian’s short essay was coached by him throughout the process, and the judges gave a brief comment: A rational and clearly logical text with powerful flowing lines, half lyrical and half argumentative. It was unique among the many emotionally lyrical submissions and stood out to the judges.

Shen Mian was not surprised to see such an evaluation. In fact, he was also a bit speechless after reading Gian’s article, whether it was the topic or the way of writing. It was different from the articles that other little dragon cubs would write. It’s also rare to see logic that clear among dragon cubs of the same age.

Xing Fei’s little poem, however, was different from what he had read before.
Shen Mian read it and immediately realised that Xing Fei had written about the flames and galaxies on the rooftop that night.

In other words, the little girl rewrote a brand new short poem in a matter of days.
Shen Mian, “…”

The judge’s comment was: I felt as if I was standing in front of the author’s soul through the words, listening to her gushing about her love for one of her elders, having the romance of a falling galaxy. There is not a single word in the entire poem that mentions the exact dragon, yet there is not a single word that is irrelevant.

If you aren’t reading this on shallotnoodle.wordpress.com, you have three days.

[Deer Head: Ahhh I see the Dean has entered the article screen! Was it our dragon cubs that made the cut?]

[Seventh Legion Super God: I think I saw it!! Is it Xing Fei and Gian? The Dean scrolled too fast for me to see, did my babies make the cut?]

[Crown Prince’s Medal: I just went out and checked. Nova’s official website is not stuck. It’s really our babies Gian and Xing Fei, highly rated and briefly reviewed! Banner, banner, banner! I want to sponsor the banner!]

[Does your throat hurt today?: I suggest you guys check out the official interesting submissions that were added this year hahahahaha I see two amazing little dragon cubs.]

[Song of Rain: I laughed until the echo in my helmet deafened my ears… really funny… What are baby Lu Yuan and baby Rhein doing? I now regret that Yan Tan didn’t join, otherwise, I think I would have been able to see Yan Tan’s one.]

[South East: Ahhhhhh confession Xing Fei and Gian. The poem is so beautiful and Gian’s essay is the ultimate romance of reason. A science student dedicating it to the dean, all logic and arguments admit “you deserve love”.]

A group of viewers had their curiosity rubbed off on them from what was said, secretly minimising the live room window to Nova Magazine’s official website. They clicked on the shortlist and effortlessly found Gian and Xing Fei in the front row of the essay and poetry categories.

The short essay and short poem looked effortless and the audience quickly finished reading them. As one barrage in the live room said, Gian’s short essay was logical, interlocking arguments that only serve to prove that the dean deserves the best respect, while Xing Fei’s poem was a soulful romance that took you into the mood through the words.

The adult and adolescent dragons in front of their quantum computers left behind the tears of schoolgirls: What were they doing when they were six or seven years old? Oh, I demolished the balcony next door and at home, was double-teamed by the parents one night.

Fortunately, Lu Yuan and Rhein’s submissions quickly saved the group of soon-to-close themselves up dragons- the two dragon cub’s submissions didn’t fail to make the cut in a sense but were both chosen for the interesting submissions.

Lu Yuan’s dream had evolved from wanting to buy a starship to wanting to buy the best starship and with good reason, there was nothing wrong with it at all.

The viewers from the live studio regained their confidence: You see, that’s the level of normal dragons.

Wait, they didn’t seem to have written poems at this age, what did they write? Oh, using metaphors to praise a parent or teacher.

200 catties and cute on the outside, an interesting child’s mind is precious.

The audience looked around the interface and clicked into Rhein’s little poem.

Title: “Father”
Content: I love my father the most.
No more.

Audience: ???
You can do that?

Dean, did you know that your family’s cubs are very interesting?

sauced

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