Chapter 40: The Vampire’s Prey (40)
“…Punishment?”
011 looked at her, stunned.
The young woman crossed her arms. Her crimson eyes glowed coldly in the incandescent light. She commanded, “First, take off your shirt.”
011 was as rigid as a statue, about to crumble.
Under her unwavering gaze, he slowly raised his hands. His large, well-defined hands undid the buttons of his uniform one by one, the movements strangely difficult.
The well-tailored black blood servant’s uniform was removed, revealing his broad, muscular shoulders and narrow waist, his honey-colored skin glistening seductively.
Under her appraising gaze, his muscles tensed, inch by inch, as if he had been caressed by an invisible hand.
The sound of footsteps.
She was approaching.
011 held his breath, feeling her faint, ghostly fragrance rush towards him with an aggressive quality.
He was nearly twenty centimeters taller than her. At this moment, he could only see her downcast eyes, her long, thick eyelashes like the wings of a butterfly.
Her unreadable gaze fell on his chest.
“However… you did a good job last time. I haven’t rewarded you yet.”
As she spoke, she reached out a slender finger and tapped his bare chest, her fingertip feeling the soft, elastic texture.
She traced a line nonchalantly, as if teasing, or perhaps inspecting.
The tall man didn’t dare to move, enduring it all, like an instrument being played, a silent melody spreading from under her pale white fingertips.
She suddenly pulled her hand away.
“Get on the bed.”
011 was stunned. “…What?”
She said with a half-smile, “What? The bed is so neatly made. Weren’t you hoping it would be used?”
Hearing this, he lowered his head in embarrassment, as if that could hide his racing heart, his shameful anticipation.
He paused, then walked slowly to the bed and sat down, his back straight.
The young woman stood before him, looking down at him.
“I… am always fair in my rewards and punishments.”
011 didn’t dare to look at her, his gaze fixed on her toes, the muscles in his back tense.
Suddenly, a pair of small, soft hands rested on his shoulders.
He froze and looked up.
The young woman’s beautiful face was close, her beautiful red eyes staring at him without blinking, her snow-white hair falling around them.
She bent down, their breaths almost mingling.
011’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
…But she didn’t move any closer. Instead, she rested her hands on his shoulders, kicked one leg back, and, with her fingers, hooked the heel of her shoe and slipped it off, along with her sock.
She stepped barefoot on the cold floor. Her shoe and sock lay in a messy heap on the ground, like the prelude to a passionate piece of music.
“A reward for last time, a punishment for this time. They will not be confused.”
Her voice was cool and detached.
She removed her hands from his shoulders and stood up straight, looking down at him.
“So, your reward is…”
Her voice trailed off ambiguously. She lifted her foot and gently pressed it against his tense abs, then ground it down.
A suppressed, low, husky grunt.
“…”
After a moment, she raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Hmm? It seems the reward is already showing its effect.”
011 lowered his head, silent, his large, well-defined hands clutching the bedsheet.
After enjoying his tormented expression for a while, she leaned in, close to his flushed ear, and chuckled.
“And your punishment is… you’re not allowed to… come.”
…
…
The next day.
The twins were urgently called to the academy early in the morning. Yu Jiao had breakfast alone and was preparing to get in the car.
011, impeccably dressed in his uniform, was standing by the car, respectfully holding the door open.
As she passed him, she paused, her gaze flicking down, and said in a leisurely voice, “Did you hold it in alright?”
The tall man froze.
Before he could answer, she got in the car. “Let’s go.”
She crossed her legs, tapping her foot. The thin leather shoe was snug against her ankle, above which was a long, smooth leg.
Behind his mask, 011’s lips were pressed into a firm line. His gaze swept over her, and his voice was a little husky. “Yes, Miss.”
On the way, she could feel his unrestrained gaze on her through the rearview mirror.
She propped her chin on her hand, her gaze shifting slightly. “Focus on driving.”
“…My apologies, Miss.”
They arrived at the academy.
Just as she got out of the car, she froze. Her keen sense of smell told her that a thick, metallic scent was drifting from a distance.
A sense of foreboding.
Her gaze was cold. Without looking back, she said, “Do something for me.”
011’s hand, which was holding the car door, tightened.
He had the untimely thought that he would have another chance to be rewarded…
***
After giving him his instructions, she walked into the cold, hard gates of the academy with a grave expression.
Today, the sky was overcast, and the north wind was biting. A few students were hurrying past, their faces filled with fear.
A few whispered words were carried away by the wind.
“…dead… so tragic… was hung on…”
She looked away and walked towards the teaching building, which was surrounded by a thick crowd.
The smell of blood grew stronger. Thick, dark red blood was dripping down.
Through the crowd of heads, she looked up at the ivy-covered wall. The dark green leaves were stained with blood, swaying in the wind.
There was no body. It seemed the academy had already taken care of it.
The buzzing of discussion around her filled in the blank details.
“Someone found the body early this morning. He died with his eyes open, a very gruesome sight. And his body, tsk, not a single piece of good skin.”
“Who did it? The Secret Society?”
“Can’t be. The one who died was a member of the Secret Society. Besides, it doesn’t look like their work. You didn’t see it, but his body was covered in cuts. Maybe it was the beasts from the back mountain?”
“Can a beast tie someone up with chains and hang them on a wall?”
“That’s true. It must be an enemy—”
At this point, the person saw her and suddenly fell silent.
Meeting his strange gaze, she asked, “Who died?”
“…You don’t know?”
She looked at him with a blank face. Just as he was about to answer under the pressure, a cold voice sounded:
“Miss Yu Jiao, please come with us. The school board has a few questions for you.”
The newcomer was a middle-aged man in a suit and gold-rimmed glasses. Behind him were several strong blood-race guards. They looked at her with a vigilant, ready-to-act posture, as if they were dealing with a dangerous item that could explode at any moment.
Her gaze paused. “What is it?”
“You are now the prime suspect in the death of Lin Wei. Please cooperate with our investigation.”
She nodded calmly. “Let’s go.”
***
She was actually a little surprised by Lin Wei’s death—surprised that he hadn’t died from Xue Zhu’s merciless kick.
But her excessive calm and slight surprise had clearly been misunderstood.
The group of blood-race guards surrounded her tightly, as if they were escorting a prisoner.
They walked through a dim, long corridor. At the end was a heavy, carved wooden door, from which the sound of a heated argument could be faintly heard.
The middle-aged man in the lead knocked on the door, but the polite knock was not heard by the agitated crowd inside.
He directly pushed the door open.
In an instant, the sound of tables being slammed, roars, arguments, and sarcastic remarks poured out.
“How many times do I have to say it? She was at the Xie Manor all last night!”
“Second Young Master Xie, are you giving false testimony? A night is so long. Can you guarantee that you were with Miss Yu the entire time?”
“Tch, Director Lin, are you so eager to find someone to be buried with your son? You still have a dozen other illegitimate sons. You shouldn’t be short of this one, who was cast out by the Secret Society, right?”
“First Young Master Xie, you’re joking. My son, Lin Wei, was—”
“Ahem, ahem.”
The middle-aged man cut off the endless verbal attacks. “Miss Yu is here.”
The room fell silent.
The blood-race guards in front of her parted, and her view immediately opened up.
The spacious conference room was lit by a pale, white incandescent light. Several long conference tables were arranged in a hollow square. The tables were filled with dozens of people, all of whom were now looking at her with various expressions.
The twins were sitting among them, looking at her with worry.
She stood in the opening of the square, like a criminal on trial.
“Miss Yu, please sit.”
Someone gestured with their hand.
The heavy door behind her closed. She walked forward and sat on the solitary stool in the center of the square.
She was directly facing the dark, unreadable Xue Zhu. He was propping his head on his hand, his deep, dark gaze on her.
“Miss Yu.”
Someone spoke. “I’m sure you’ve already heard the news of Lin Wei’s death. We’ve asked you here today mainly to understand your whereabouts last night.”
Facing the suspicion, she didn’t want to cause any more trouble by mentioning that she had indeed gone out last night, to Wei Changlin’s secret base. So she answered, “I was at the Xie Manor all last night.”
But the moment her words fell, a mechanism in the cold, hard stool suddenly sprang, tightly restraining her. Then, an invisible electric current shot through her, lashing her body.
In an instant, her face went pale. She bit her lip to keep from crying out in pain.
“Yu Jiao!”
The twins immediately stood up. They realized what was happening and looked coldly at Xue Zhu. “The stool is rigged?”
Xue Zhu was silent, his gaze growing colder and colder. The shared pain made him clearly feel her suffering.
“So what if it’s rigged?” a half-bald middle-aged man slammed the table. “This stool is specially used for interrogation. It has a lie-detecting array drawn on it. She was clearly lying just now!”
“I’ll ask you again! Where were you last night!?”
She didn’t answer. Her snow-white hair was soaked with a cold sweat, a few strands clinging to her colorless face. Even so, her face was blank. She lifted her red eyes and enunciated each word, “I did not kill Lin Wei.”
…The array was not triggered!
The room fell silent. Everyone looked at each other.
“Is it clear now?”
Xie Zhenye leaned on the table, his dark, heavy gaze sweeping over the few people. “Does she need to say it again? Hmm? Director Lin?”
His murderous gaze fell on the half-bald middle-aged man.
Director Lin glared, unconvinced. “Then why won’t she say where she was last night? She’s clearly hiding something! Even if she didn’t do it herself, she must have ordered someone to do it!”
After catching her breath, she said calmly, “I did not order anyone to kill Lin Wei.”
“…”
The array was silent.
Xie Yanchuan said coldly, “Does Director Lin still have any doubts?”
Director Lin’s face was ugly. He swept his gaze over the room, and a few of his allies immediately stood up and said, “Alright, even if she didn’t kill Lin Wei, why won’t she say where she was last night? Isn’t she hiding something!”
Xie Zhenye slammed the table and sneered, “Why should she report everything to you? You think too highly of yourselves.”
“Oh, Second Young Master Xie was just patting his chest and guaranteeing that Miss Yu was at the Xie Manor all last night. Now he’s not mentioning it?”
Xie Yanchuan said coolly, “You all were just swearing that it must have been her who killed Lin Wei. Now you’re not mentioning it?”
“…”
The few of them began to argue again. Just as things were about to escalate, a person stood up leisurely and clapped his hands. “Alright, alright, everyone, listen to me.”
This person was tall and slender, with a very convincing face. He walked out from behind the conference table and came to her side. The back of his hand brushed against the interrogation chair, as if by accident.
“Let’s not dredge up old scores. Let’s take things one at a time. Miss Yu is indeed not related to Lin Wei’s death. It was most likely the work of that vampire hunter.”
As he spoke, he looked at her, his peach-blossom eyes blinking. “After all, the interrogation chair with the array on it couldn’t possibly have a problem…”
Meeting those familiar peach-blossom eyes, a glint flashed in her own. She suddenly said, “I was indeed at the academy last night, but I just came to get my notebook. I didn’t see Lin Wei at all.”
With that, she held her breath.
…As expected, the interrogation chair did not move!
It had been interfered with. It didn’t detect that she was lying.
Her heart settled: Now I’m completely cleared of suspicion.
The room fell silent again.
“…Why didn’t you say so just now?” someone questioned.
“Because,” the slender young woman, bound to the chair, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, “I was afraid that if I admitted I was at the academy last night, it would be even harder to clear my name.”
The young woman’s pale face was no less beautiful, but it now had a pitiable vulnerability.
For a moment, no one said anything to make things difficult for her.
Only Director Lin retorted, “Even if you’re not related to Lin Wei’s death, you still have a connection with that vampire hunter. It’s possible that the hunter killed Lin Wei to avenge you.”
“That makes sense…”
Xie Zhenye cut him off coldly, “If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a charge. Just say it, what do you want?”
The few who had just been agreeing with the suspicion fell silent and looked to the head of the table. “What do you think, President Xue?”
In the silence.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Long fingers twirled a fountain pen, the sound of it tapping on the table rhythmic.
Xue Zhu’s gaze was deep and dark. After a long moment, he curved his lips into a smile. “Perhaps the former Miss Yu did have some connection with the hunter. But she has now awakened… Look at these red eyes and white hair, which haven’t been seen for hundreds of years. I trust that none of you would want the blood race to lose such a powerful descendant, right?”
He smiled and looked around.
Meeting his dark gaze, a few people laughed dryly and agreed.
“But,” someone said weakly, “if we can’t confirm her loyalty to the blood race, then she’s a threat, isn’t she? And I heard that the vampire hunter and Miss Yu are in love, their feelings are mutual, and their relationship is not simple…”
Before he could finish, he felt two cold, blade-like gazes on him.
—The Xie twins were glaring at him, their faces dark.
At the same time, crack.
—President Xue had crushed the fountain pen in his hand.
“Yes,” President Xue said with a smile. “I understand your concerns—”
His long, narrow phoenix eyes shifted and fixed on her. A gentle voice sounded, “Then, please, Miss Yu, in the witness of the interrogation chair, admit that you will make a clean break with that despicable vampire hunter. How about it?”
Hearing this, everyone looked at the young woman, who was bound to the chair.
Xie Zhenye frowned. “As long as she is sincere at the moment of the oath, it’s fine, right?”
“Yes.”
Xie Yanchuan’s light, clear gaze looked over, encouragingly. “Jiao Jiao, it’s alright if you curse him a little.”
Among the various stares, the pair of peach-blossom eyes was particularly obvious, looking at her darkly.
Yu Jiao: “…”
What is this, a lose-lose situation?