Chapter Thirty-Seven: Woman

"Why don't we add each other on WeChat... oh, I forgot I can't use my phone right now."

The black dragon paused for a moment, then couldn't help but sigh. "No wonder I've been feeling a bit off lately. It's because I don't have a phone or a computer. Without those two things, life really does lose much of its color."

"It's alright, Mr. Huang. I'll be staying with our research team for the long term. If you have any questions, you can come to me anytime," Yu Xiaomin said with a gentle smile. "And I truly believe you'll soon find a way to return to human form."

"Well... let's hope so," the black dragon replied with a sigh, his mood heavy. He realized that after these two battles, his desire to return to human form was no longer as strong as it once was...

"By the way, Academician Ding," the black dragon suddenly remembered something and turned to Ding Xuewen, "when I fought with the Phoenix, didn't I lose several dragon scales? And that Phoenix also shed quite a few feathers. Those must be rather valuable, right? Haven't we thought about going back to collect them?"

"Well... Mr. Huang, it's not that we haven't considered it," Ding Xuewen replied a bit helplessly. "But the place where you fought is already beyond our country's actual control. Sending people there to retrieve those items would be extremely difficult and risky."

"What's the problem? I can go with you," the black dragon said without concern. "Extraordinary creatures are usually very territorial. That area is close to the Phoenix's nest, and with that silly bird around, there shouldn't be any dangerous creatures nearby. I can definitely keep everyone safe."

"And besides, we can check if the Phoenix has run away. If it hasn't, I can visit more often, try to build a rapport and work on its mindset. Such a powerful fire-type magical beast—if it doesn't go work at a steel mill, isn't that a terrible waste of its talents?"

"Mr. Huang, you really haven’t given up yet," Ding Xuewen shook his head, half laughing. He almost couldn't stop himself from joking—Mr. Huang, your way of thinking is rather dangerous. The country hopes you'll be a proletarian dragon, yet you're treading down the capitalist path...

Still, dragon scales and Phoenix feathers truly were priceless magical materials. In the end, Ding Xuewen accepted the black dragon's suggestion and planned to organize an elite squad the next day to retrieve them with the black dragon's help.

...

"Brother Liu, are you serious? This is my psychological counselor?" The black dragon gazed at the woman Liu Weihan had brought, his large eyes filled with even larger doubts.

"Yes, Mr. Huang. Why, do I not look the part?" The woman smiled, stepping forward to shake the black dragon's claw.

It was worth mentioning: fighting had allowed the dragon to grow. After the intense battle with the Phoenix, the black dragon could now control his draconic aura well enough that people could approach him unprotected—at least within the country's borders.

"Honestly, you don't. You're too young and too pretty," the black dragon replied bluntly, lowering his eyes to study her. "You don't look like a professional psychologist at all, more like a blind date."

"You're not wrong, Mr. Huang. In addition to being your counselor, I am indeed one of your potential matches," the woman said openly, meeting his gaze without flinching.

"Emmm..." The black dragon suddenly felt uneasy and turned to Liu Weihan. "Brother Liu, can we swap counselors? I don't think there's any chemistry between me and this lady..."

"Mr. Huang, why would you judge that so soon after we've just met?" Before Liu Weihan could answer, the woman spoke up. "Is it because you think that the more beautiful a woman is, the more confident and assertive she becomes, and thus the harder she is to please or control? Is that why you want to keep your distance? Am I right?"

"How did you know?" the black dragon blurted out, then realized she wasn't simple at all.

"Heh... Mr. Huang, I’ve read your file," the woman replied with a smile. "It's clear you have a bit of a chauvinist streak, and becoming a dragon has probably made it even stronger."

The black dragon fell silent, then glanced at Liu Weihan as if to say—see? She really isn’t my type. She knows I’m a chauvinist and still presses on... No, she’s pressing a dragon!

She’s out of my league—I can’t win against her!

"Mr. Huang, please don’t misunderstand," the woman said, immediately reading his expression and guessing his thoughts. She grew serious. "Before being your potential partner, my primary job is to be your psychologist. Please trust my professionalism and give me a little time."

"Alright," the black dragon considered, then, for the sake of gentlemanly conduct—and because they were once compatriots—said coolly, "You have three minutes."

"Thank you." She smiled, taking out a notebook, jotting things down as she spoke. "Mr. Huang, if I’m not mistaken, right now—both psychologically and physiologically—you’ve lost interest in women from our Xia race, haven’t you?"

The black dragon’s heart skipped a beat. He blinked, about to speak, but the woman cut him off: "Please be completely honest. This question is critical—not just for me, but for our entire research team."

The black dragon thumped his tail and remained silent for a long while before replying honestly. "Fine, you’re right. My tastes, my standards for a mate... something’s off."

"In the past, I wasn’t exactly a womanizer, but my orientation was normal, and I enjoyed admiring beautiful women. But after becoming a dragon, things changed. I once encountered a supremely pure, flawless female angel—her beauty and aura far surpassed any humanoid I’d ever seen, by tenfold, a hundredfold. Yet I felt no attraction, no desire. In fact, I found her irritating."

"But later, when I encountered a female white dragon, I was... well, the whole dragon—no, the whole me was exhilarated. Even though she was rather unfriendly, hitting and scolding me, I still managed to maintain great restraint, both psychologically and physically..."

"Mr. Huang, your situation isn’t strange at all," the woman replied with a gentle smile. "Every species differs greatly in physiology—their hormones, the way they see and think about the world. If you could maintain the same standards of beauty and mate selection, that would be truly abnormal."