Chapter 25: The Vampire’s Prey (25p1)
“What is your real motive!?”
Xie Ning gritted her teeth and lunged at Yu Jiao, full of hatred, as if she wanted to tear her face to shreds.
She was restrained by both twins at once.
“Calm the fuck down!” Xie Zhenye barked.
“The truth hasn’t been investigated yet. It’s too early to jump to conclusions,” Xie Yanchuan said, flinging Xie Ning’s hand away and forcing her back two steps.
“The truth? What is the truth?” Xie Ning shot back, her voice rising in a sarcastic shriek.
“The truth is that the academy was perfectly calm, and then she—”
She pointed a sharp finger directly at Yu Jiao.
“—The moment she was brought back, a hunter who preys on the blood race appeared in the academy! Look at this symbol! Do you really think this is a coincidence?!” Xie Ning demanded, her voice hoarse.
The once-joyful banquet hall was now like an overturned cream cake, a mess of stains and chaos.
It attracted filthy flies.
The buzzing of discussion grew louder.
“Indeed, this symbol is ironclad proof. What deep scheming, what a masterful disguise.”
“But, isn’t the vampire hunter a tall, muscular adult man?”
“This Second Miss Xie is so slender. There’s no way she could have killed so many strong blood-race students, right?”
Following this question, many hesitant gazes fell upon the Second Miss Xie.
Her figure was delicate. She stood amidst the various stares with her eyes lowered, silent.
As serene as a beautiful water lily.
As if she didn’t care at all that her engagement banquet had turned into a farce.
And her inseparable fiancé was currently leaning leisurely against the second-floor railing, propping his chin on his hand and looking down with an amused smile.
He was actually watching with cold eyes as his fiancée became the target of public criticism!
Someone clicked their tongue in amazement. “He really is a madman…”
In contrast, the ‘abandoned old flames’ still looked as if their feelings had not changed.
Looking at the young woman with her downcast, unreadable expression, Xie Zhenye frowned, took a step forward, and said in a hoarse voice, “There must be a hidden story behind this, right?”
His question was like a disturbing gust of wind. Her long, butterfly-wing-like eyelashes fluttered.
“A hidden story?”
She repeated softly, a strange, mocking lilt to her voice.
“Yes…”
Like a doll brought to life, her eyelashes trembled. She lifted her glistening eyes, tears streaming down. “I was forced.”
Her voice was helpless and pleading.
Her face grew paler and paler, like a dewdrop, about to fall.
“Someone forced me to take a drug. That’s why I have this symbol. I didn’t kill any of our kin. I didn’t do anything to betray the blood race.”
Her pitiful, tearful plea came to an abrupt halt.
“…Is that what you wanted to hear?”
Yu Jiao tilted her head and gave a wicked smile, teardrops still clinging to her snowy cheeks.
A deathly silence spread.
“…”
Meeting those familiar grey eyes, Xie Zhenye’s heart sank heavily. Then, he heard that familiar, sweet voice:
“Don’t be foolish. It was all an act.”
You could have heard a pin drop in the banquet hall. Many faces were stiff.
—If she hadn’t admitted it herself, they would have been completely fooled by her acting just now.
“Why?” Xie Yanchuan’s thin lips were pressed into a tight line. His quiet, snow-like eyes stared at her heavily. He repeated, “Why?”
“Why.”
Yu Jiao nonchalantly adjusted her formal gloves. Her long, beautiful fingers, tightly encased, were like those of a puppeteer, pulling the strings.
“I got close because I needed to use you. I showed weakness to seduce you. All my actions were for personal gain.”
She tilted her head and smiled. “Are you satisfied with what you’ve heard?”
Her grey pupils were cool and indifferent.
The twins’ faces were as dark as cold, hard tombstones.
—That’s right, that’s right.
She was one person in front of them and another behind their backs. She didn’t even bother to hide it.
And they, pitiably, even though they had seen her be cold to others, still helped her deceive themselves, foolishly and wishfully believing that she only showed her claws to outsiders…
Yu Jiao’s confession not only made the twins’ faces sink, but even Xie Ning was stunned for a moment, her expression complicated.
—She had thought that once Yu Jiao’s identity was exposed, she would break down in tears and beg for mercy. She had never expected her to ‘throw caution to the wind’ and appear so… carefree.
As the atmosphere froze.
The Xie family head finally broke free from the terrifying truth that his own daughter was a vampire hunter. In just a few seconds, his thoughts shifted from the future of the Xie family to the future of the blood race. He immediately cleared his throat with great authority. “Everyone—”
He had just begun his long-winded speech when he was interrupted by a round of lazy applause.
Clap, clap, clap.
Xue Zhu, with a leisurely smile, gracefully descended from the second floor.
“President.” “Family Head Xue.”
Calls came from all sides, as if they had found their backbone, or as if they were passing the buck.
Someone asked with difficulty, “What… what should be done about this?”
Xue Zhu ignored the nobles who had gathered around him. He looked straight ahead and walked slowly to the isolated Yu Jiao.
He gave a sweet, wicked smile, lowered his long, narrow phoenix eyes, and looked down at her.
“This is a huge scandal for the blood race… What should be done, my fiancée?”
Yu Jiao looked up at him, her long, slender, snow-white neck like that of a sacrificial swan.
“Didn’t you already have a plan?” she said calmly.
Xue Zhu suddenly leaned down, close to her ear, and chuckled, “That’s right. You must be looking forward to our new game, too.”
Without waiting for her reply, he straightened up and turned to the crowd.
“But I trust that none of you are fools,” he said, turning sideways and presenting her like a prized treasure. “Look at my weak fiancée. Look at these small arms and legs. Look at this pale, soft skin… She has nothing in common with that cruel, brutish vampire hunter.”
The weak fiancée’s face was blank.
“Tsk, tsk,” Xue Zhu shook his head. “My lovely fiancée was probably just used by that despicable hunter.”
Hearing this, many people, thinking that he was about to cover for his fiancée, immediately agreed, “Yes, yes, Miss Yu is so innocent and weak. She must be innocent—”
“But.”
The flattery was suddenly cut off. Xue Zhu’s tone changed:
“But—she did fail to uphold the pride of the blood race, allowing a lowly hunter to mark her body.”
The crowd: “?”
“This really shouldn’t have happened,” Xue Zhu shook his head and sighed theatrically, then drew out his words. “To appease the public anger, I will ask my fiancée—”
“—To atone for her sins by becoming the prey.”
【Main Quest: Successfully get selected as prey by the Secret Society, and survive for one week (60%)】
The light words landed like an unexpected bomb.
The banquet hall erupted in a roar of commotion.
“What?!”
There has never been a case of a descendant of a vampire family becoming the prey!
An uproar went through the crowd as they whispered amongst themselves.
“Hss, come to think of it, this is actually a good solution.”
“Almost every family was invited to tonight’s engagement banquet, and this matter has far-reaching implications. It can’t just be ignored.”
“But this woman’s status is special. She’s not only a daughter of the Xie family, but also the fiancée of the Xue family. We can’t touch her. But if she’s the prey of the Secret Society…”
Xue Zhu raised his voice, “I believe my fiancée has her reasons. Therefore, according to the rules of the Secret Society, as long as you can survive the school-wide hunt for one week, you will be considered reborn with honor.”
“From then on, no one from the vampire families will pursue your betrayal.”
Under the magnificent lights, everyone’s expressions were different. A tableau of ulterior motives.
In the center of the banquet hall, Xue Zhu stood, bathed in a glorious light, his tall, dashing figure like that of an invincible, uncrowned king. He said:
“But if you should unfortunately die in this hunt… darling, rest assured—”
He winked, his glistening phoenix eyes sending a flirtatious glance, his voice low and husky with emotion.
“—On the anniversary of your death every year, I will be sure to burn paper offerings for you. For the rest of my life, I will live on, strong, with my love and memory of you.”
Yu Jiao: “…”
—“On the anniversary of your death every year, I will be sure to burn paper offerings for you. For the rest of my life, I will inherit your vast fortune and supreme power, and I will live on, strong.”
He was throwing her own words back at her.
Yu Jiao narrowed her eyes, her pupils reflecting a cold, grey light, a faint, unreadable smile on her lips.
Meeting her cold gaze, Xue Zhu smiled gently, took her hand, performed an extremely elegant bow, and pressed a light kiss to it.
“May the Progenitor bless you.”
Yu Jiao’s lips curved slowly. “Alright.”
…
After Xue Zhu had settled the matter, the engagement banquet continued as usual, but the guests had lost their mood. They all looked at the engaged couple, who were dancing gracefully in the ballroom, with complicated expressions.
In the soaring music, the two of them were sometimes pressed tightly together, sometimes far apart.
Like comrades-in-arms on a battlefield, or mortal enemies locked in an endless struggle.
After a high note, Xue Zhu pulled her closer and whispered with a laugh, “You see, the person you hold so dear is watching us. However…”
Yu Jiao glanced over nonchalantly.
The twins were indeed not far away, watching them with unreadable expressions.
A low, husky question sounded by her ear, pulling her attention back.
“You’ve burned all your bridges and completely offended them. Aren’t you afraid that after the truth is revealed, they won’t believe you anymore?”
“First of all, I don’t hold them dear,” Yu Jiao said coolly, her fingers tapping on his shoulder. “Secondly, an emotion that wavers between belief and suspicion is the most torturous. It’s like a dull knife. It may not cut the deepest, nor is it the most painful, but the taste is unforgettable.”
Her voice grew softer, her gaze gentle, like the edge of a soft blade.
“Finally, they will believe me. Not only will they believe that I endured humiliation for a greater cause, but they will also feel guilty for ever having doubted me.”
Xue Zhu said deliberately, “Aren’t you afraid you won’t live that long?”
Yu Jiao’s lips curved. “No. After all, how could you be willing to let someone else kill me?”
“Compared to that theory…”
Xue Zhu chuckled and leaned in close to her ear, his hot, moist breath on her sensitive skin.
“I’d rather believe that you won’t be so easily killed by others.”
“I like that theory.”
She suddenly turned her head, her warm lips brushing against his cool earlobe.
Xue Zhu froze.
After a moment, he lifted his dark eyes and stared at her.
“I’ve suddenly discovered… you may have a bit of cold sincerity for others, or false affection, or feigned interest. But with me, it’s all calculation and use. You don’t even deign to put on an act?”
Looking into those dark eyes, which seemed to be able to swallow the light, Yu Jiao’s eyes curved. “But now, I am the prey in your hands, am I not?”
Hearing this, Xue Zhu suddenly smiled. All the real and false emotions vanished like a reflection in a mirror, a flower in the water, and were once again veiled in a faint, hazy mist.
“Yes.”
…