Chapter 3: The Vampire’s Prey (03)
Screeeak—
The sound was like the scrape of the Grim Reaper’s scythe.
Yu Jiao watched helplessly as the cabinet door was pulled open a crack. The dim, yellow light of the washroom sliced into the wardrobe like a blade, the sliver of light landing just three centimeters from her feet.
She could practically see the bloodstains on Xue Zhu’s pant leg.
The second before she was about to be exposed—
Bang!
The slightly ajar cabinet door was suddenly slammed shut with force. The aftershock sent Yu Jiao tumbling, but thankfully, the thick pile of clothes cushioned her fall, and she didn’t make a sound.
It seemed someone had beaten Xue Zhu to it, holding the door shut.
A lazy yet unquestionable voice spoke up: “My brother has a thing about cleanliness. I’ll have to trouble President Xue to head downstairs to change.”
It was Xie Zhenye.
“Is that so,” came Xue Zhu’s chilling, smiling voice.
A period of silence followed, a noiseless confrontation. After a long moment, the sound of footsteps leisurely retreated. They stopped abruptly at the washroom door.
“Aren’t you coming out, Second Young Master Xie?” Xue Zhu asked softly.
“No. After all, something filthy has been in here. I need to clean up for my brother,” Xie Zhenye replied bluntly.
Xue Zhu let out a soft chuckle and left.
Click—The door was locked.
Once she was sure it was safe, Yu Jiao cautiously pushed open the cabinet door, peeking her head out like a little hamster.
Xie Zhenye was leaning against the door, an expression of pure annoyance on his face that screamed, ‘Why the hell did I help this woman again, and again, and again?’
Yu Jiao found it amusing, but on her face, she wore a brilliant smile. She rushed towards him like a baby swallow returning to its nest. Xie Zhenye’s brow twitched and he kept his scowl, but his arms opened involuntarily to receive her.
However, just as she was about to fall into his embrace, Yu Jiao came to an abrupt halt, stopping coquettishly right in front of him.
Xie Zhenye’s arms were left empty, and a flicker of disappointment rose within him. Before he could figure out where that feeling came from, he saw Yu Jiao lift her small face, her eyes sparkling.
“You saved me again!”
She looked at him with complete trust, admiration, and gratitude.
Xie Zhenye suddenly felt as if his heart had been scratched by a soft kitten’s paw. An itch spread from the bottom of his heart to his throat.
His Adam’s apple bobbed uncontrollably.
He coughed twice to cover it up and turned his head away, muttering, “Mhm.”
Yu Jiao’s eyes curved into crescents. As she thought—just a kid with a hero complex.
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound at the door brought Xie Zhenye back to his senses.
Someone spoke from the other side of the washroom door. “Zhenye, Xue Zhu and his group have left. Yanchuan told me to call you out.”
His face tense, Xie Zhenye stuffed Yu Jiao back into the wardrobe and said in a harsh tone, “You hide in here and be good. I’ll get you out later.”
After settling her in, he turned to leave, but his sleeve was caught by a soft, gentle tug.
He turned back to see Yu Jiao curled up pitifully inside the wardrobe, tugging at the corner of his jacket. “Can you leave your coat for me? I feel… really unsafe.”
Xie Zhenye paused.
The strange feeling from before had already subsided, but now, that odd sense of rivalry flared up again—
Yu Jiao was surrounded by Xie Yanchuan’s clothes, yet she was asking him for his coat… The thought made the corners of his lips lift slightly. This unreasonable reliance on him was undeniably pleasing.
He was wearing his school uniform. The navy-blue outer jacket was tailored and sharp, worn casually open, giving him an untamed, handsome look.
Xie Zhenye took off his uniform jacket and tossed it to Yu Jiao. He was left in just a thin shirt, which faintly outlined the explosive lines of his muscles.
He braced his sturdy forearm against the cabinet door, leaning slowly towards her.
“If Xie Yanchuan saw you wearing my clothes, hiding in his wardrobe,” he said, his eyes dancing with mischievous anticipation, “what kind of expression do you think he’d make?”
Yu Jiao blinked and offered a frank compliment. “He would definitely think you’re a great person!”
Xie Zhenye was speechless. He slammed the door shut on the foolish girl.
As the cabinet was plunged into darkness, Yu Jiao let out a soft laugh.
So what if he sees? It just means another piece of prey has fallen into my trap.
Yu Jiao licked her lips, a flicker of anticipation running through her at the thought of the game ahead with Xie Yanchuan.
It was time to use the information and resources she had to set the stage properly. However, this time Xie Zhenye had shut the washroom door tightly. Even holding her breath and straining to listen, Yu Jiao could only catch a few fragments.
“…Tomorrow… Xie Manor… birthday… banquet…”
“Invitation……… prey… close the net.”
Yu Jiao deduced that the twins’ birthday banquet would be held tomorrow night. It seemed that not only would vampires be attending, but many specially-admitted students would be invited as well. The Secret Society would use this opportunity to find its prey for the coming week.
…
Out in the living room.
After causing their trouble, Xue Zhu and his entourage had left. Those who remained were all allies of the Xie family.
Xie Zhenye listened with immense boredom as they cursed Xue Zhu.
One person scoffed, “Just as you’d expect from a high-blooded pure vampire. Look at his deathly pale face!”
Xie Zhenye thought: Ah, pale? Yu Jiao is also very pale. Pinkish-white all over. Quite nice to look at.
Another raged, “Deliberately bringing the prey to Yanchuan’s room to kill her, isn’t that just purely disgusting?!”
Xie Zhenye thought: Ah, pure? Yu Jiao is also pure. A pure personality and a pure look. Quite alluring.
A third said with disdain, “Think about the way he licked his knife after killing someone today. Don’t you guys think that’s pretty perverted?”
Xie Zhenye thought: Ah, licked… a kitten… Yu Jiao looks like a little kitten… Cute.
Noticing his absent-minded state, Xie Ning spoke softly, “Brother Zhenye, are you alright?”
In the past, Xie Zhenye might have had the patience to play along with her. But now, the moment he saw her, he was reminded of how she had sent Yu Jiao to Xie Yanchuan’s bed. For some reason, he found her increasingly irritating. But thinking of the Xie family’s interests, he gave a clipped reply, “I’m fine.”
Xie Ning didn’t grow suspicious.
Xie Zhenye was cold to everyone. The fact that he hadn’t ignored her was already special treatment.
It was Xie Yanchuan who seemed thoughtful. He swept his gaze across the room, and someone tactfully stood up. “That bastard Xue Zhu has completely ruined my mood. Let’s go, let’s go downstairs for some tea.”
Everyone quickly agreed, grumbling as they walked out.
Xie Zhenye stuffed his hands in his pockets, lazily trailing behind the group, scheming how he would slip away later and sneak back up to get Yu Jiao.
“You stay,” Xie Yanchuan said suddenly.
He hadn’t specified a name, but Xie Zhenye stopped in his tracks. He turned to meet his brother’s gaze. The two similar faces were both expressionless, but in the moment their eyes met, a silent message seemed to pass between them.
The others understood and quickly departed, leaving the space to the two brothers.
Once everyone was gone, Xie Zhenye flopped dramatically onto the sofa. “Spit it out. What is it?”
Xie Yanchuan: “Help me clean up the mess Xue Zhu left.”
Xie Zhenye: “?”
The body had already been dealt with, leaving only a carpet soaked in blood.
“You can’t be serious. Since when did a young master of the Xie family have to stoop to cleaning carpets?” Xie Zhenye said, utterly baffled. “Isn’t your excuse a little too clumsy?”
Xie Yanchuan didn’t comment. He actually went to the washroom to get cleaning supplies, filled a basin with water, and began adding various detergents in a very business-like manner.
Xie Zhenye crossed his arms, leaning lazily against the doorframe, watching him elegantly concoct a basin of bizarrely bubbly water.
Xie Yanchuan stared at the water in silence. He tugged at his gloves and suddenly said, “You’re acting very strange today.”
Xie Zhenye scoffed. “Aren’t you, the one claiming you need to wash a carpet, even stranger?”
After his retort, Xie Zhenye paused. “However,” he said, his expression pleased as his gaze swept subtly towards the upright wardrobe inside the washroom, “my strangeness might be the fault of a certain little kitten.”
A vein throbbed at Xie Yanchuan’s temple.
“Xie Zhenye.”
Using his full name made his voice sound exceptionally cold and serious.
“Do you take me for an idiot?” Xie Yanchuan said slowly and deliberately.
He tossed the gloves he had just taken off into the basin of bubbles, then lifted his head, his deep eyes looking straight at Xie Zhenye as he listed off his points one by one:
“First, you holed up in the washroom for so long I thought you had died in there. Then, you inexplicably confronted Xue Zhu head-on, using my ‘cleanliness’ as some bullshit excuse. You guarded that washroom like a watchdog. I really have no idea what kind of treasure is in my washroom that you covet so much.”
Even when he cursed, his expression and tone barely changed.
Xie Zhenye couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Pfft.”
Xie Yanchuan remained expressionless.
Xie Zhenye tapped his chin. “My apologies, please continue. It’s just been a while since I’ve heard you say so many words at once.”
Xie Yanchuan gave him an unreadable look and continued at an unhurried pace, “And, I was somehow unaware… since when did you start liking cats? As I recall, you were chased for three blocks by a pack of feral cats when you were little, which left you with a deep psychological scar.”
“Hey!” Xie Zhenye protested, annoyed.
Dredging up old dirt was a low blow!
He was about to retort when he saw Xie Yanchuan approaching, step by step. When he was just a few feet away, he turned in one fluid motion and decisively pulled open the wardrobe door.
A flicker of amusement danced in Xie Zhenye’s eyes. He made no move to stop him, even watching his brother’s expression with great interest.
Just as he’d expected, a look of genuine surprise appeared on Xie Yanchuan’s face, which was usually as still as a frozen pond.
—He had considered countless possibilities, but the one thing he had never expected to find in the cabinet his brother was guarding so preciously was Yu Jiao.
The young woman lifted her small face in a daze. Her eyes were round, but the corners tilted upwards, like those of a cat.
She looked like a kitten, too, curled up into a tiny ball with her knees to her chest, almost completely swallowed by the pile of clothes.
She was wearing an ill-fitting men’s school uniform jacket, but its wide hem couldn’t hide her smooth, slender legs. Noticing his invasive gaze, the girl shyly curled her cute, rounded toes.
Xie Yanchuan lowered his eyes, looking down at her calmly.
“So you really were hiding a little kitten,” he said, his voice dripping with condescension.