Chapter 29
She wasn’t the smartest person around, but her mind worked quickly.
As things stood, her situation wasn’t actually that terrible. After all, even if she was on guard, with their combat abilities, this group of vampires had plenty of opportunities to drain her dry.
But they hadn’t.
Vampires clearly detested sunlight, yet Pei Wang had braved the sun to transfer to the Day Division and become her classmate.
Xie Rin had cross-dressed to get into the scholarship student dorms, using a completely unscrupulous reason to get close to her.
Why were these guys going to such lengths to stay by her side?
Perhaps it was because they needed something from her other than her blood.
But Fu Xia racked her brain and couldn’t think of anything.
…It’s not like I’ve picked up any treasures off the street. I barely have any money in my pocket. It can’t just be because they’re thirsty for my blood…
Fu Xia didn’t think she was that universally charming.
After making contact with Yan Zhu, the burning sensation from the toxin had eased considerably, but it was far from enough.
As she thought, she found herself staring at Yan Zhu’s sightless eye.
His waist was narrow, his build somewhere between a boy and a young man. The stealth suit clung to his frame, and she could clearly feel the taut lines of his muscles.
Compared to Pei Wang and Xie Rin, she really did feel safer around Yan Zhu…
Fu Xia’s movements paused.
Strange… something’s not right.
She wasn’t the type to open up to people easily. She hadn’t known Xie Rin for long, so how could she have become so intimate with his bodyguard, Yan Zhu? What’s more, this was at school. Yan Zhu wasn’t a student—that alone should have been enough to put her on high alert.
…If Pei Wang had special abilities, then perhaps Yan Zhu did too?
The moment the thought appeared, it began to grow. The hand resting on Yan Zhu’s cheek stiffened slightly.
The clouded, altered memories suddenly became much clearer.
…What did he do?
Unlike Fu Xia, who was in the middle of a mental firestorm, Yan Zhu was so shy he was practically curling into himself.
The human’s scorching skin was pressed against his. Her kiss landed on the teardrop-shaped mark beneath his eye, like a raindrop on a calm lake, sending ripples spreading outward.
His eyelashes trembled uncontrollably, and his already faint breath grew even shallower. A blush crept across his pale face, and his eyes darted away, not daring to meet hers.
He had never been this intimate with anyone before.
His insecurity and self-consciousness were impossible to hide… Taking off the mask was no different from completely exposing himself to another.
Yan Zhu didn’t like being close to others.
He had lived for a very long time, and some of his older memories had faded, but certain images remained etched in his mind.
Vampires prided themselves on being a near-perfect race—ageless and immortal. Aside from their intolerance for the wretched sun, most of them had no flaws.
—High-ranking vampires could even walk in the sunlight.
But Yan Zhu had been born with a defect.
A permanently blind, lifeless eye was, to the perfect vampire race, a mark of shame. In the long years before he had fully mastered his abilities, he had endured endless ridicule from his kin, and his own family had treated him with malice.
But later, no one dared to look down on the vampire who had slaughtered the rest of his family line and seized the power of a Prince for himself, even if his tone was always joking and he refused to participate in the Princes’ struggles, maintaining a carefree facade.
Yan Zhu subconsciously pressed his cheek deeper into Fu Xia’s palm. He didn’t care what others thought, but he was terrified of seeing that same look of disgust and contempt on her face.
But there was none.
She looked at him, her eyes even holding a hint of awestruck admiration.
In that moment, Yan Zhu couldn’t hide his fluttering heart. He waited eagerly for the human girl to make the next move.
“What… what should I do to make you happy?”
This display of complete submission, as if he were easy to bully, made Fu Xia pause.
Fine. I’ll put the memory alteration thing aside for now. The priority is to solve my body’s abnormal condition.
She made her move. Beneath the stealth suit, his body was so pale it seemed to glow.
Yan Zhu’s body was flawless, like a perfect, unblemished piece of jade. Fu Xia lowered her gaze and regulated her breathing. This way, her rationality wouldn’t be completely consumed by her rising body temperature.
She wanted to seize control as much as possible.
With a wolf before her and a tiger behind, Yan Zhu seemed more normal than Xie Rin, but since he could alter her memories, who was to say he wasn’t just another psycho?
So, Fu Xia pushed him down onto the bed. A clumsy, inexperienced kiss landed between his brows, then traveled down the bridge of his nose, finally settling on his lips.
…Thank goodness Chen Wang had pulled her into that club. Fu Xia had mastered some basic techniques.
She expertly pried his lips open.
Yan Zhu offered no resistance.
His breathing quickened, messy strands of hair stuck to the side of his face, and the veins on the back of the hand gripping the bedsheet bulged, as if he were enduring a silent storm.
Fu Xia stared into his eyes.
“They’re beautiful,” she whispered.
Yan Zhu froze for a second, a fiery blush spreading all the way down his neck. “…Thank you.”
It was obvious. Yan Zhu didn’t want others to see his flaw, yet he desperately wanted them to accept it.
Fu Xia had quickly found a way to deal with the toxin.
She was on her period, but that didn’t matter. For a woman, penetration wasn’t the only option for pleasure.
Her ability to learn had always been strong, and with the knowledge she’d crammed from Chen Wang’s club, Fu Xia quickly pushed Yan Zhu into a state of chaos. She commanded the immortal vampire, her fingertips, now tinged with a faint pink, tracing a line down from his neck. She watched him try to chase the fleeting touch, and then, just as he was about to struggle, she took his hand and guided it to the hottest part of her.
In the moment he lost focus, Fu Xia leaned down.
She stared into his eyes and asked softly, “Why are you all approaching me?”
In an instant, a flash of panic and helplessness crossed his already disoriented expression.
Seizing the opportunity, Fu Xia pushed herself up, pinned down his thrashing hips, and took control of the outlet for his release.
Yan Zhu tried to remove her hand, but the moment he touched her wrist, he heard her let out an audible “tsk.”
He immediately recoiled as if burned, his hand hovering awkwardly in mid-air, his long fingers slightly curled.
His mind had calmed, but his body had not. Fu Xia applied a bit of pressure, and his entire body curled in on itself.
She continued her interrogation coldly. “Or rather, what do you want from me?”
With what little rationality he had left, Yan Zhu answered her. “I… I can’t tell you…”
If I tell her, everything before this becomes a lie.
Will she forgive me?
He didn’t know, but he knew that the cracks created by lies would only grow wider.
Fu Xia pressed her lips together. “I don’t know if you’re Xie Rin’s bodyguard, but you are definitely not my lover.”
“Was it fun, tricking me like that, Yan Zhu?”
His ability had failed.
Yan Zhu realized in that moment that Fu Xia was the Lighthouse in his long, eternal life.
He wanted to explain, but Fu Xia patted him. “Forget it. Being around you vampires is no different from being dead anyway…”
Yan Zhu’s hands clenched the bedsheets. He rarely felt pain, let alone such intense stimulation. The tightly wound string in his mind was at its breaking point, yet his gaze uncontrollably followed her.
Fu Xia pushed herself up.
Her attitude was the complete opposite of her physical state. She got up without a second thought, ready to get off the bed.
As she fastened her buttons, she said, “I’m going to jump.”
A vampire would be perfectly fine jumping from this height, but Fu Xia would surely die. Not to mention there were other creatures lurking, waiting to pick up the scraps.
Seeing that she was actually walking toward the window, Yan Zhu, heedless of his own disheveled state, scrambled to his feet. He shuffled forward on his knees and threw his arms around her waist. In his panic, his mask fell to the floor with a clatter.
“Don’t go… don’t go!”
“I’ll tell you everything, just don’t leave me…!”
…
The toxin Xie Rin had injected was easy to deal with. It was a substance developed to make it easier for vampires to feed, preventing their prey from struggling, and its effects didn’t last long. But Xie Rin disliked touching humans directly, so he lacked experience.
Yan Zhu knelt on the floor, cleaning her leg. He had accidentally left a mark on her. His short hair was a mess, and he kept his head bowed, his thoughts unreadable.
Fu Xia couldn’t see his expression, but she was still panicking inside. She really had no leverage. In a situation like this, all she could do was seize upon any glimpse into his psyche and exploit it.
Fortunately, it had worked. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Being fed on is the same everywhere. Going home is impossible. At least these vampires are handsome.
Yan Zhu held her calf, looking up at her. His uniquely colored eye was radiant, like a mesmerizing vortex.
“…The Progenitor chose you before he died.”
And just like that, while massaging her leg, he explained the reason for their actions.
After hearing everything, Fu Xia asked, “What’s the connection between him and me?”
“…We’re curious about that too, but it seems you were chosen at random.”
Fine. Just my luck.
Fu Xia took a few deep breaths. These vampires were so arrogant. Their mission was to first win her love and then cut out her heart to offer to the Progenitor. Yet Pei Wang had started with threats and saddled her with a massive debt, and Xie Rin was no better. If they wanted to win her love, shouldn’t they be showering her with gifts to gain her favor?
Perhaps her exasperation was too obvious, because Yan Zhu quickly tried to distance himself. “…I wasn’t planning on joining the struggle for the Progenitor’s legacy.”
Fu Xia pulled her leg out of his hands.
“You’re not much different.” Going behind your brother’s back and everything.
Yan Zhu’s head drooped, looking like a large, dejected dog.
Fu Xia quickly processed the information. She thought to herself that with this kind of mental fortitude, she could succeed at anything.
“So what was the situation tonight?” she asked.
“Vampires are divided into pure-bloods and half-breeds…” Yan Zhu explained. “One faction wants to kill you, destroy the Progenitor’s legacy, and force a reshuffling of power within the race.”
But tonight had been strange. It seemed the half-breeds were also divided…
Fu Xia let out a dry laugh. “Your internal affairs are a real mess.”
Yan Zhu suddenly looked up. He shuffled forward a little, his gaze burning as he looked up at her.
“Do you want to… join this fight?” he asked.