Chapter 7: The Vampire’s Prey (07)
After a heart-pounding night, Yu Jiao finally returned to her dormitory building, shaken but safe.
She looked up at the ornate door plate, confirmed the room number, and then knocked on the door with a calm, steady rhythm.
—After the original owner was tricked into going to the boys’ dormitory, all her clothes and belongings had been taken, so naturally, she didn’t have a key.
Her roommate’s impatient voice came from inside. “Who is it? It’s so late.”
Yu Jiao didn’t answer, simply knocking three more times with the same rhythm.
The door finally opened.
The roommate hid behind it, eyeing her warily. “What’s a guy doing in the girls’ dorm?”
Yu Jiao took off her hat, and her waterfall of long hair instantly cascaded down. “You don’t recognize me?”
The roommate stared, momentarily dazed, before crying out in shock, “Yu Jiao?! Y-you, how are you back??”
Yu Jiao shoved past her without a shred of courtesy and stepped into the room. She looked back with a half-smile. “What? Surprised to see me back in one piece?”
The roommate staggered from the push. She shot Yu Jiao a fierce glare and, with her hands hidden behind her back, stealthily tried to dial Xie Ning’s number on her phone. But Yu Jiao snatched it away before she could.
Holding the phone high, Yu Jiao closed in on her roommate with a grin. “You wanted me dead? You hate me that much?”
She was dressed in a men’s uniform, her long hair loose, a boyish beret sitting askew on her head. She looked just like a cynical, devil-may-care young master.
Her bright eyes were brimming with a smile, yet it sent a chill down her roommate’s spine.
Her appearance hadn’t changed, but she was like a completely different person. Gone was the timid, gloomy girl of the past. Now, she was relaxed and bold, radiating an intense, oppressive aura that forced her roommate to take a step back.
The roommate’s eyes darted around stiffly. She managed to tear her gaze away from those whirlpool-like eyes, and as her line of sight shifted to the space behind Yu Jiao, she cried out as if she’d found her savior, “Quick! Get her out of here!”
Yu Jiao glanced back. Standing silently in the open doorway was an adult male in a uniform. A blank white mask covered his entire face, and a small string of black numbers was neatly arranged below his left eye.
[011].
A blood servant raised by the Xie family.
The roommate was a young lady from a branch of the Xie clan and believed she could order any blood servant around. But as the illegitimate daughter of the family head, Yu Jiao knew that the top twenty ranking blood servants reported directly to the head himself—though of course, the Xie heirs could also command them.
Therefore, this blood servant, number 011, was most likely sent by the twins.
Just as she’d expected, the roommate’s shrill cries failed to move 011. The tall, silent blood servant simply gave Yu Jiao a slight, respectful bow.
In his large hands, he held two exquisitely wrapped paper bags. It seemed he was here to deliver something.
Yu Jiao tossed the phone back to her roommate, who had collapsed onto the floor, and walked out of the room with a blank expression.
She couldn’t care less how long he had been standing there or whether he had witnessed her “tyrannical” display. He wasn’t a capture target, so she couldn’t be bothered to play the part of a sweet and gentle little bunny.
Yu Jiao lifted her chin slightly. The soft, alluring mask had been stripped from her beautiful face. Now, her eyelashes were half-lowered, her pupils a translucent grey, revealing a cold indifference that bordered on heartlessness. She looked like a proud, haughty kitten.
Yu Jiao tilted her head up and said with displeasure, “You’re too tall.”
Yu Jiao had never been known for her good temper. After a whole night of acting to save her own life, fawning and groveling before those capture targets, she had long since reached her limit. A belly full of suppressed anger had nowhere to go, so naturally, she had no patience for insignificant characters like her roommate and this blood servant.
And since vampires were a species with a strict social hierarchy, no one would find her poor attitude towards 011 strange.
The blood servant, number 011, paused for a moment before obediently bending at the waist.
His height wasn’t the lanky build of the Xie twins or Xue Zhu, who were transitioning from youth to manhood. It was the broad, solid frame of a mature man who had been weathered by time.
As he bowed, the light above Yu Jiao’s head was blocked, and a thick shadow enveloped her, making her feel suppressed. She grew even more irritated. “Stand further away.”
011 respectfully took another half-step back.
Now, Yu Jiao was satisfied. “Speak. What is it?”
“Second Miss.” 011’s voice was rich and deep. “These are the gowns and accessories the two young masters have prepared for you. Tomorrow evening at six, I will come to escort you to the Xie Manor for the banquet.”
Yu Jiao took the bags. Gripping the doorknob, she said listlessly, “Is there anything else? If not, I’m going to rest.”
011 gave another bow. “Good night, Miss,” he said slowly.
Yu Jiao closed the door. Ignoring her roommate’s furtive glances, she carried the bags back to the original owner’s room.
It was an elite academy, after all. While the original owner didn’t get a luxurious private suite like elite students such as Xie Yanchuan, she still had a two-person room with her own separate bedroom.
After a careful inspection to ensure there were no surveillance devices, Yu Jiao finally let down her guard and prepared to take a hot bath.
Halfway through undressing, her eyes suddenly narrowed. There, in the center of her flawless chest, was a bizarre symbol. It looked like the wings of a bat, pierced by a nail.
The burning pain in my chest… the pill… It was that mysterious person!
The symbol seemed to emanate from beneath her skin, a foreboding dark red that even concealer couldn’t completely hide. It was probably the mark of a vampire hunter. If it were discovered at the academy, she would be unable to defend herself. Even if she wasn’t killed, she would be severely punished.
Yu Jiao’s expression hardened. She pulled out the gowns the Xie twins had sent. One was a deep V-neck, the other was sheer gauze. Neither could cover the symbol on her chest.
It seemed she couldn’t wear either of these gowns.
Given the twins’ intensely controlling personalities, if they found out she hadn’t worn the gowns they had chosen, they would surely make a fuss.
Yu Jiao pressed her temples, a headache forming. Suddenly, a plan came to her: If I’m not going to wear them, then I won’t. I just need to find someone to take the blame.
A cunning glint appeared in Yu Jiao’s eyes. She stood by her door and said in a deliberately loud, theatrical voice, “The gowns the young masters sent are so beautiful! This fabric, these jewels, tsk tsk, so precious and elegant. Never mind the young ladies from the branch families, I bet even the eldest Miss Xie doesn’t get this kind of treatment! People always used to talk about my background, but when I wear a gown like this tomorrow night, they’ll be left speechless.”
The moment she finished speaking, a muffled crash came from the room across the hall.
Yu Jiao smirked. She unlocked her door, placed the gowns in a conspicuous spot, and after setting the stage, she went to bed for a much-needed sleep. In a state of half-dreaming, she heard a faint rustling sound, and the smile on her lips deepened.
She slept until three in the afternoon. When Yu Jiao got up and looked, just as she’d expected, an inkwell had been deliberately knocked over. Both gowns were stained with ink, and the jewelry and accessories were broken and scattered on the floor.
She had to admit, it was a clumsy crime scene.
…
Seven o’clock, at the Xie Manor.
The banquet had already begun. In the resplendent, magnificent hall, elegantly dressed guests mingled, their glasses clinking.
It was the coming-of-age banquet for the Xie twins. All the prominent figures from the various clans were there to show their support. At the same time, they had tacitly sent invitations to many specially-admitted students to serve as “additions” to the party.
At this moment, the banquet hall was divided into two distinct groups.
One group consisted of the slightly awkward specially-admitted students. They huddled together in a tight cluster, like a flock of uneasy lambs awaiting slaughter.
The other group was composed of the various vampire families, socializing and networking. They stood in small groups of two or three, fake smiles on their faces, chatting leisurely with wine glasses in hand.
But no matter which group they belonged to, their gazes would periodically drift towards the two main stars of tonight’s banquet.
Xie Zhenye leaned against a corner, bored out of his mind. He wore a sharp black suit and, for once, had dutifully tied his tie. His blond hair was casually styled, yet it looked as if it had been meticulously managed, with every stray strand falling into place perfectly. He radiated an air that was both noble and wild.
He was frowning, his handsome face etched with impatience.
After rejecting another wave of tedious small talk, he looked towards the main entrance again. The figure he was waiting for still hadn’t appeared. He raised his glass and drained it in one go.
He refilled his glass, but just as he picked it up, it was taken from his hand with an unyielding force.
“Don’t drink too much,” Xie Yanchuan said coolly.
He was dressed in a well-tailored white suit, his blond hair slicked back immaculately, revealing sharp, indifferent features. He was as elegant and refined as a jade tree, his handsomeness striking.
Looking at Xie Zhenye’s restless state, he couldn’t help but mock him, “Are you a little puppy abandoned by its master?”
“Are you my hired nanny?” Xie Zhenye shot back, snatching his glass back. Then, he raised his eyebrows and said with veiled sarcasm, “Oh, so I’m the only one looking forward to a little fun at this boring banquet? I see you checking your watch every few seconds. I thought you were waiting too.”
Xie Yanchuan’s face was impassive.
Xie Zhenye’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“…”
Xie Yanchuan lifted his eyelids and said coolly, “Nice hairstyle. It must have taken a lot of effort to create such a ‘natural’ look.”
Xie Zhenye leaned in closer, sniffed the air, and clicked his tongue. “Your cologne isn’t bad either. I’ve never known you to wear such a flashy scent before.”
Before Xie Yanchuan could retort, Xie Zhenye continued, “But it’s not surprising. It’s exactly your taste. Just like the gown you picked out. Bright red, exposes the chest and the back, and has a high slit. You might as well not call it a gown. Call it a red rag.”
“And you?” Xie Yanchuan shot back. “Pink, with bows, lace, and a princess skirt. Xie Zhenye, is your sense of style still stuck in kindergarten, when you wore diapers and played house?”
“…”
The two of them stared at each other in silence.
Then, by mutual, unspoken agreement, they averted their gazes. A truce.
Xie Yanchuan took a sip of his wine. Xie Zhenye propped his chin on his hand.
“Who do you think she’ll choose?” one of them asked.
Xie Yanchuan sneered, “It definitely won’t be you—”
Just then, a low gasp came from nearby, followed by a wave of hushed whispers.
Both of them turned their heads at the same time.
There, an attendant respectfully pulled open the doors, and a slender, graceful figure stood poised in the center of everyone’s appraising gaze.
—Yu Jiao had arrived, fashionably late.
She wasn’t wearing a red rag, nor was she in a princess dress.