Chapter 2: The Vampire’s Prey (02)
Xie Zhenye lowered his gaze.
The young woman before him was draped in a velvet blanket. The thin fabric fell around her, outlining a beautiful figure. The hem barely covered her hips, leaving two long, slender, and perfectly straight legs exposed.
She pressed her legs together uneasily and looked up, revealing a face of exquisite beauty. The rims of her eyes and the tip of her nose were flushed red, and physiological tears still clung to the corners of her eyes.
She looked like she was begging to be bullied.
Xie Zhenye’s gaze faltered for a second.
Did Yu Jiao always look like this?
He couldn’t recall.
She had always been timid, gloomy, and quiet, meekly swallowing every insult the family threw at her. The sight of it had always irritated Xie Zhenye, and he once couldn’t resist throwing a few sarcastic remarks her way. After that, Yu Jiao avoided him even more, and the two never interacted again.
“Zhenye, why aren’t you coming in?” his companion, blocked by his frame, asked curiously.
Xie Zhenye was pulled from his memories.
He was tall with broad shoulders, and by standing in the doorway, he completely shielded Yu Jiao from view. The person behind him happened to be holding a huge gift box, making it impossible for him to lower his head. He could only crane his neck to peer inside, catching a glimpse of a small patch of white velvet.
“Ah, there’s someone at the door? Who is it?” the person asked, trying to see past Xie Zhenye for a clearer look.
Yu Jiao was so nervous she clutched the blanket tighter, her pale pink fingertips turning white from the force. She bit her lip, her eyes filled with a pleading look.
—This seemed to be the first time she had ever asked him for help.
As if possessed, Xie Zhenye grabbed her wrist, pulled her into his arms, and turned sideways to shield her as he stepped inside. With his free hand, he shut the door, leaving his companion outside.
Companion: “???”
From behind the closed door, Xie Zhenye’s lazy, perfunctory voice drifted out.
“Xie Yanchuan isn’t wearing any pants. You should probably make yourself scarce.”
Companion: “…Huh?”
Inside the suite.
Someone in the study called out, “I think I heard Zhenye’s voice. Zhenye, is that you?”
“Hey, who locked the study door?”
The sound of the doorknob rattling followed.
With calculated intent, Yu Jiao threw her arms around Xie Zhenye’s waist, pretending to be flustered as she clung to his shirt.
Xie Zhenye froze. A faint fragrance filled his senses, and the warmth of the soft body in his arms was undeniable. He instinctively pulled Yu Jiao into the adjacent washroom to hide.
The light was dim. In the small space, their bodies were pressed close together, and a clandestine, sensual atmosphere began to rise.
The silhouette of someone pacing outside was visible on the frosted glass of the washroom door. “Zhenye? Where’d you go?”
“Stop howling. I’m over here,” Xie Zhenye called back.
He managed to get rid of the person outside with a few glib words. When he finally came to his senses, his expression darkened.
Why the hell am I helping this woman cover her tracks again and again?
Humiliation turned to anger. Xie Zhenye tightened his grip on Yu Jiao’s wrist, trapping her between his body and the wall. He lowered his voice, his eyes flashing with menace as he demanded, “What kind of game are you playing?”
From his angle, Yu Jiao’s head was bowed, revealing the elegant line of her fair neck and collarbones, which gleamed softly in the dim light.
Only then did he realize that in the midst of being pulled around, the velvet blanket had fallen to the floor. She was wearing nothing but a flimsy slip.
Xie Zhenye’s cold gaze slid over the large expanse of her exposed skin. “Why are you in Xie Yanchuan’s room dressed like this? Trying to seduce him?”
His tone was scathing. “You’ve really learned a thing or two, haven’t you, Yu Jiao? Now you even know how to climb into people’s beds.”
As he spoke, his grip on her wrist tightened.
Yu Jiao inhaled sharply. “It hurts.”
Her voice was soft and delicate, making it unclear whether she was being coquettish or genuinely aggrieved.
Xie Zhenye unconsciously clenched his fingers. In this situation, however, the movement felt more like an intimate caress. The unfamiliar texture of her skin beneath his palm suddenly became exceptionally distinct.
Her wrist looked slender, but it wasn’t bony to the touch. Instead, it was soft and smooth, like a piece of fine, warm jade.
Seeing Yu Jiao’s delicate brows furrow again, Xie Zhenye scoffed, “So fragile.”
Despite his words, he lessened the pressure, though he still didn’t let go.
“Out with it. What’s going on?” Xie Zhenye asked maliciously. “Second Miss?”
He knew perfectly well that Yu Jiao was the Xie family head’s illegitimate daughter. Although she ranked second by age, no one in the family ever treated her as the “Second Miss.” At this moment, he uttered the title with pure spite, strangely hoping to see a detestable expression appear on her beautiful face.
But Yu Jiao only lowered her eyes. “I-I don’t know either. I was just following the letter’s instructions…”
“What letter?”
Yu Jiao’s eyelashes trembled. “It was a letter and clothes that Young Master Yanchuan had my roommate deliver. He said in the letter that the boys had a group activity tonight at eight, so the dorm building would be empty. He told me to put on this dress and sneak in. He said… tomorrow is his birthday, and he wanted to spend the stroke of midnight with me.”
After finishing her performance, Yu Jiao wanted to roll her eyes at herself. The original owner was far too easy to deceive. This was so obviously a malicious trap set by her roommate.
Xie Zhenye, however, didn’t scoff. His gaze turned inscrutable. “So, you like Xie Yanchuan?”
Yu Jiao feigned a gasp, her face flushing crimson as she lifted her head. She paused, looking at Xie Zhenye with a dazed, faraway expression, as if she were seeing someone else through him.
Xie Zhenye’s face hardened. “What do you like about him?” he asked coldly.
What do I like about him?
He might as well have just asked, ‘What is it about you that I dislike?’
Yu Jiao nonchalantly sifted through her memories.
In truth, the Xie twins had once had a very difficult life in a branch family. It was only after their powers awakened that they were brought into the main lineage, becoming the authoritative young masters of the Xie clan. When they saw the original owner being bullied, they were reminded of their past selves and thus felt a sliver of pity.
The only difference was that Xie Yanchuan’s approach was to offer a helping hand now and then, while Xie Zhenye was simply infuriated by her inability to stand up for herself.
It was only natural, then, that Xie Yanchuan had found an easier path into the original owner’s heart.
Faced with Xie Zhenye’s question, Yu Jiao answered earnestly, “Because he’s very good to me.”
Xie Zhenye paused and released his grip on her. He sneered, “So according to you, your feelings are mutual? Then how did you manage to make such a pathetic mess of yourself during a secret rendezvous with your lover? Are you that stupid, Yu Jiao?”
“I’m not stupid! It’s just that after I got here, someone took my coat and shoes, and then Young Master Yanchuan just happened to have friends over, and then someone suddenly suggested searching his room…”
Yu Jiao’s lips formed a dejected pout.
Xie Zhenye raised an eyebrow. “Who suggested the search?”
“From the sound of her voice,” Yu Jiao said innocently, “it seemed to be Miss Xie Ning.”
Yes. The mastermind who had manipulated the original owner’s roommate was her own half-sister, the eldest daughter of the Xie family, Xie Ning.
She couldn’t stand the adoring looks “Yu Jiao” gave Xie Yanchuan and wanted nothing more than to brutally crush her foolish fantasies.
Xie Zhenye instantly understood the scheme. He didn’t expose Xie Ning’s plot, merely offering a few ambiguous, sarcastic remarks to Yu Jiao.
“And you still say you’re not stupid.”
Yu Jiao knew that the pity the two brothers felt for her went no further than this.
Ultimately, there was no deep emotional bond between Yu Jiao and the Xie twins. Compared to the powerless, stupid, and gloomy “Yu Jiao,” Xie Ning and the family behind her were far more important to them. Xie Zhenye’s earlier displeasure was nothing more than the petty rivalry between twins.
This nonsensical competitiveness was just another one of men’s base instincts. And what Yu Jiao excelled at was exploiting those very instincts.
No deep emotional bond?
Then she would create one—
Yu Jiao lifted her head. Her glistening eyes blinked softly as she spoke in a gentle voice.
“About what happened today… can you please not tell anyone else? Let’s just keep it as… our little secret. Okay?”
Hearing this, a flicker of amusement crossed Xie Zhenye’s eyes. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “Are you talking about the fact that you like Xie Yanchuan? Or the fact that you failed to climb into his bed and had to flee in disgrace? Or perhaps—the fact that you threw yourself into my arms?”
Yu Jiao’s eyes widened, her face instantly turning red. Her expressive eyes seemed to demand, ‘How could you twist the truth like that!’
Xie Zhenye let out a low chuckle. He was about to tease her further when a woman’s scream suddenly pierced the air outside, shattering the intimate atmosphere.
He clicked his tongue in annoyance. “I’m going to check it out,” he instructed. “You stay hidden and be good.”
The moment he turned, the shy expression vanished from Yu Jiao’s face.
She didn’t need him to tell her. She would, of course, hide herself properly in a cabinet.
Perhaps due to Xie Zhenye’s twisted sense of humor, the washroom door wasn’t fully closed. Yu Jiao could clearly hear the commotion outside.
She quietly pushed the cabinet door open a crack, pricked up her ears, and widened her eyes, trying to make out the scene through the frosted glass of the washroom.
In the living room.
A young woman was kneeling on the floor, her hands and feet bound, her eyes blindfolded. Her face was a mask of terror as she pleaded for mercy.
Two groups of people faced each other in silent opposition, separated by the girl. They were either sitting or standing, all with cold expressions. No one paid any mind to the girl on the floor.
Xie Yanchuan sat at the center of one group. His eyes were indifferent, his aura chilling. He leaned back leisurely against the ornate chair, his long fingers tapping a rhythmic beat on the wooden armrest, like a king surrounded by his court.
Xie Zhenye walked out of the washroom and raised an eyebrow. “What a rare sight. All the members of the Secret Society are here.”
He glanced at the girl on the floor. “Isn’t this this week’s prey?”
Hearing his voice, the disoriented girl was like a drowning person clutching at a straw. She fumbled her way towards him. “Second Young Master Xie, I beg you, save me…”
Xie Zhenye sidestepped her with an impatient look.
He had only helped the girl a few times before to deliberately oppose Xue Zhu. He never thought she’d get so presumptuous.
The girl collapsed to the ground, her face etched with despair.
Xie Zhenye slowly walked to Xie Yanchuan’s side, resting his arm on the back of the chair as he looked across at the opposing group.
A man with a greasy, powdered face stepped out from the other side. A smile was plastered on his face. “Of course we’re here. We heard it was your birthdays tomorrow, so President Xue has specially come tonight on behalf of the Secret Society to present you with a grand gift.”
Just as he finished speaking, a slender young man stepped forward.
The greasy-faced man turned, saw who it was, and immediately bowed obsequiously. “Young Master Xue Zhu.”
Xue Zhu’s complexion was pale, his features delicate yet sinisterly bewitching. His phoenix eyes were as dark as ink. A smile curved his lips. “What’s wrong? Don’t the two Young Masters Xie like the gift I sent?”
Hearing his voice, the girl on the floor began to tremble uncontrollably. “Demon… Don’t come near me! Help me! Save me!”
Xue Zhu acted as if he’d just had a revelation. “Is it because she’s too noisy?”
A sweet, cruel smile appeared on his face. Without waiting for an answer, he continued to himself, “Since the two Young Masters Xie are unwilling to get your hands dirty, allow me to unwrap the gift for you~”
As his words fell, a blade flashed. The screaming stopped abruptly.
The blood lagged for a second before gushing out violently. The girl collapsed in agony, twitching and struggling. “Hh… ghh—” The sound, like air escaping a broken bellows, gradually faded.
The room fell deathly silent, broken only by Xue Zhu’s low laughter.
“What beautiful fireworks,” Xue Zhu said, his eyes crazed with obsession, a faint hint of red blooming in his pupils. He extended his crimson tongue and licked the blood from the blade. His gaze shifted lightly. “Don’t you agree, First Young Master Xie?”
Xie Yanchuan finally spoke, his voice as deep and cold as his demeanor. “You’ve soiled my carpet.”
Xue Zhu shrugged. “One must always pay a price to witness something beautiful, isn’t that right?”
Ignoring Xie Yanchuan’s frigid glare, Xue Zhu toyed with the dagger and walked towards the washroom, saying nonchalantly, “Mind if I use your sink?”
The moment he opened the door, the thick stench of blood flooded the small space.
Yu Jiao held her breath, terrified of disturbing this absolute psychopath.
The faucet was turned on, water splashing loudly. Xue Zhu hummed an off-key tune as he meticulously washed his hands.
Suddenly, he muttered to himself, “Ah, my clothes got splattered with blood.”
His tone was innocent, like a playful child who had caused some mischief.
Xue Zhu thought for a moment, looking troubled.
“First Young Master Xie, I’ll be borrowing some of your clothes, alright?” he called out, wandering around as if he owned the place. “Let’s see—are they kept in this cabinet here?”
With each word, he took a step closer to the wardrobe where Yu Jiao was hiding.
Yu Jiao’s heart nearly stopped. The crack of light from the wardrobe door was suddenly engulfed by a thick shadow, and an even more intense, bloodthirsty aura seeped in from all sides.
He’s going to find me.