Chapter 160 - 160 – A Prince Of The Dragon Kingdom

Thanks to the definitive statements of the Dragon Queen as well as the Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of International Affairs of Cosmopolis, the rest of the press conference was rather relaxing for Ren and Fang. They didn't even have to field any questions any more, the two ministers and the contingent from the Dragon Nation tackled all of the questions on their behalf. Even Pax and the other people from Sirocco, who were waiting to help Ren and Fang, barely got a chance to speak.

Overall, the press conference was highly successful, and everything was settled from their side for at least the next two weeks. The press conference that was supposed to last for an hour went on for almost three hours – but the good thing was that Fang's grand plans for Ren's birthday would continue to be unhindered by these bothersome things now. And that made Fang very happy and much more receptive when the Dragon Queen asked him if he and Ren could join her for dinner that evening.

Ren had no objections, naturally – on the contrary, he was very grateful for the support extended by the Dragon Queen to them. Without her presence today, the two ministers of Cosmopolis may not have shown up, and without the presence of all three of them, Ren and Fang would just be private parties trying to fend for themselves. With the support of the government of two countries, and a spokesperson from Sand Country as well, who turned up halfway through the press conference (completely unannounced, but with the recommendation of their minister friend of Sand Country) with a formal letter of support from the government of Sand Country – the press conference was concluded fully and finally and with no loopholes for further trouble for Fang and Ren.

The evening news carried details of the press conference and the conclusive words of Prince Fang that he was not interested in becoming the monarch of any country, and that it was his opinion that the Valley Kingdom should be a democratic nation rules by its own people, and that he was willing to support this, and thanks to his support, the governments of Cosmopolis, Dragon Nation and Sand Country were also willing to extend their help to the people of the Valley Kingdom.

They also wrote about how Fang had been wronged by the royals of the Valley Kingdom and how he had been stolen at birth and lived pitifully until Chairman Ren had found him and realised his talents and encouraged him to grow. And then the royals of the Valley Kingdom had still targeted Fang and even tried to abduct him, and now they were trying to push Fang into a fire pit to save themselves! How despicable!

But Prince Fang was still so noble that he was willing to help the common people of the country that had wronged him! This was true nobility!

The media couldn't stop gushing about Prince Fang, and for once, Chairman Ren became a footnote and an after thought in the news.

This completely turned the tide of public opinion in the favour of Prince Fang. Ren and Fang had many supporters to begin with, and with the details released in the evening news, their supporters multiplied overnight, and Prince Fang graduated from being a national treasure to an international treasure.

The man in question, however, was completely oblivious to the change in his own status in the eyes of the public. After the press conference was over, the Dragon Queen enquired tentatively if Ren and Fang would mind joining her for dinner, and Fang agreed, feeling grateful for all the support they had received from her.

"Why don't we invite you to our home?" Ren suggested. "It is rather modest compared to a luxury hotel, of course, but I can promise you that the food will be at least as good as a top hotel's."

"If Ren himself cooks, the food would be even better than a top hotel's," Fang said, casting a fond glance at Ren.

"I can cook," Ren offered immediately. "We can ask Chef Jules to prepare while we are driving back home, so I'll just have to go in and do the final steps and we can eat quickly."

"No, no, we shouldn't impose on you so much after you have worked hard all day," the Dragon Queen said. "I wouldn't want Chairman Ren to be inconvenienced on my behalf."

"That's all right," Ren said with a chuckle. "Fang and I are staying at home tomorrow anyway, so we can sleep in. it won't be an issue at all. Besides, this is the first time my Fang's family would be visiting us – it would be an honour for me to cook for you."

The Dragon Queen looked rather touched by his words. "I am so glad that Fang found a wonderful partner like you, Ren," she said quietly.

"It is my good fortune to have found him," Ren replied. "Also, you will get to meet the babies at home."

The Dragon Queen nodded enthusiastically. Then she hesitated for a bit.

"Is there anything else?" Fang asked immediately.

"Would it be too much if I asked my son and my daughter to join us?" the Dragon Queen murmured, her voice full of hesitation.

"Of course not," Ren said before Fang could say anything. "Have they reached Cosmopolis already? Should we have them picked up from the airport and brought home?"

The Dragon Queen smiled happily. "My daughter and her fiancé have just landed – if you would be so kind as to give them directions to your place, I would be very grateful," she said, dialling a number and handing the phone to Fang.

Fang received the phone with a slightly trembling hand. After all, this was his own big sister – someone he had never met before, and someone he had learnt the existence of only a few days ago. They had interacted briefly on the phone and over the internet a few times recently, but it was very brief – and a meeting in person was completely different from interacting with someone virtually, wasn't it?

Ren, of course, understood how Fang was feeling – and he immediately took Fang's other hand and laced his fingers through Fang's, squeezing the younger man's hand in reassurance.

Fang flashed a watery smile and Ren and spoke into the phone, his voice surprisingly steady. He gave the instructions clearly, and then disconnected and returned the phone to the Dragon Queen.

"They should reach in about half an hour," he said to her. He turned to look at Ren. "We should also get going."

Ren nodded. "We will," he said. "What about your cousin brother, though?" he reminded Fang, and then turned to look at the Dragon Queen enquiringly.

The Dragon Queen sighed. "My son has actually been in Cosmopolis for a few days," she said.

"Do you need us to give directions to our house to him as well?" Fang asked his royal aunt.

The Dragon Queen shook her head. "He is waiting outside," she said. "He can go with us, if that is all right?"

Ren and Fang blinked and looked around – and, as if on cue, a fashionably dressed man walked into the nearly empty hall, striding towards them in long, leisurely steps.

"Oh, it's you," Wolf said with a frown. "You were the one stalking Fang recently, weren't you?"

The man raised his eyebrows at Wolf. "I am impressed that you managed to catch that," he murmured. "But then again, as expected of Wolf, the leader of the Blue Wolves."

"Stalking me?" Fang asked with a frown.

"You were visiting orphanages, so I thought I would do a bit of charity and earn some good karma for myself as well, just like my prodigious cousin," the man replied lightly, and then he held out his hand. "Pleased to finally meet you, Cousin Fang," he said. "I am Uno, son of the Dragon Queen and a prince of the Dragon Nation, just like you."

Fang shook hands firmly with his cousin. "Pleased to meet you, too, Cousin Uno," he said politely. He wanted to ask more about why the older man – who was older than Ren – had been stalking him, but then, he realised that he couldn't ask anything about that right now, otherwise the whole grand plan about Ren's birthday may be at the risk of being exposed, and that was the last thing Fang wanted right now! So he could only settle for greeting his older cousin brother just now and he decided to reserve all the questions he had for later.

Uno shook hands with Fang and then turned to Ren. "You must be Chairman Ren," he said, glancing at Ren with an appraising look in his eyes.. "I hear of you everywhere these days, Chairman Ren – but I must say, we owe you a lot for finding my little cousin brother Fang and giving him a good life, even when you didn't know that he was a prince in real life."