Chapter 13
One second, she was scrolling through a post about him.
The next, the man himself appeared right in front of her.
Fu Xia was a little embarrassed. But his face was just too handsome, and he was smiling so dazzlingly from such a close distance. For a moment, she forgot to react, just staring at the face right in front of her.
Seeing her dazed expression, the first-year pulled an unopened bottle of electrolyte water from his bag and handed it to her.
“Senior, are you okay?” he asked with concern.
Fu Xia numbly took the bottle and scrambled to her feet. “Thank you, I’m fine.”
She had found a shady spot to escape the heat. To ensure she wouldn’t be dragged back to work, she had chosen a place that wasn’t on the main path to the classrooms or dorms.
“…Are you lost?” Fu Xia asked.
The first-year straightened up. The photos hadn’t done him justice; standing in front of her, the imposing presence of his 1.9-meter frame was overwhelming.
Suddenly, right in front of her, he began to unbutton the top button of his uniform. Just as Fu Xia was about to stop him in alarm, he tilted his head slightly. She saw a large red patch on the side of his neck.
The first-year’s voice was pitiful. “Senior, I think I got a sunburn. I was looking for the infirmary.”
“If it’s convenient, could you take me there?”
At this point, Fu Xia couldn’t really refuse. Holding the water he’d given her, she reached for his suitcase, but he moved it away.
“I can carry it myself, senior,” he said, looking down at her as he spoke, which made him seem quite docile. “It’s a little heavy.”
His attitude was so friendly he hardly seemed like a student at Lorenz Academy.
Fu Xia didn’t insist. She twisted the cap off the bottle, took a sip, and turned, gesturing for him to follow.
His smile grew even brighter.
“My name is Zhu Ye.”
Zhu Ye followed closely behind her, the wheels of his suitcase making a soft rumbling sound.
“What’s your name, senior?”
Fu Xia told him her name.
“Senior, your name is so beautiful,” Zhu Ye said. His tone was so sincere it didn’t sound like he was joking, but Fu Xia couldn’t help but walk a little faster.
It wasn’t hard to distinguish between regular and scholarship students at Lorenz Academy. The collars of the scholarship students’ uniforms had an extra embroidered line of script, marking their different status. Zhu Ye was clearly not a scholarship student. In fact, judging by his demeanor, he was probably one of those pampered young masters.
This is so weird…!
Whenever she got embarrassed, Fu Xia couldn’t help but drink water. She unscrewed the cap and took another gulp.
Fortunately, the infirmary was only a five-minute walk from where she had been resting. Considering he was a new student, Fu Xia, who could have just dropped him off and left, decided to take him inside.
“Just wait for the doctor to check you out,” she said. “Don’t worry, the doctors here are top-notch. They’ll take good care of you.”
Fu Xia was about to turn and leave, but she had barely taken a step when she felt a tug on the corner of her uniform. Zhu Ye, sitting on the examination bed, looked up at her with wide, pleading eyes. Though he didn’t speak, he somehow brought to mind an abandoned puppy.
Fu Xia: …
But he’s so huge…
Zhu Ye’s eyes drooped sadly, and he gave her sleeve a little shake.
Fu Xia surrendered.
“…I’ll sit over here, then,” she said.
The doctor, watching their interaction, cleared his throat. “Don’t worry, let’s just take a look at your symptoms first.”
The uniform had buttons, so it wasn’t hard to take off. Zhu Ye lowered his head and began to unbutton it. As if no one else were in the room, he slipped off his uniform jacket and draped it over the back of a nearby chair.
The people on the forum had good taste. Zhu Ye’s physique was excellent—broad shoulders, a narrow waist, a true model’s build. Even sitting down, his abs were clearly visible. But starting from the side of his neck, a large patch of red spread across his pale skin. Because he was so handsome, however, it didn’t look frightening; instead, it looked almost like a piece of performance art.
As her gaze traveled further down, Fu Xia suddenly realized what she was seeing. She silently turned her head to look out the window.
See no evil, see no evil.
The doctor began his examination. Although Zhu Ye had wanted her to stay, he didn’t actually bother her. He obediently cooperated with the doctor, only occasionally turning his head as if to confirm she was still there, before contentedly turning back.
After about fifteen minutes, the examination was over. Zhu Ye looked a little dejected when he sat back down next to her.
“Sorry to trouble you, senior,” he said, embarrassed. “I’m a little scared of doctors, so I just grabbed you without thinking.”
“Are you okay?” Fu Xia asked.
He turned his head. “It’s alright, just a little itchy.”
“The doctor told me to apply some ointment, but I can’t see the spot very well. If it’s convenient… could you help me?” He added, “I can pay you for your trouble today.”
Compared to the other students she’d met at Lorenz, Zhu Ye was so normal it almost moved her to tears. She took the ointment and cotton swabs he handed her.
But the process of applying the medicine was a little different from what she’d imagined. Perhaps because of the itchiness, every time he trembled, his blond hair would sway gently, and the black earrings on the ear closest to her would flash in her peripheral vision.
“Nn… hah…”
Fu Xia’s hand was shaking. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, senior,” he said, his hand gripping the edge of the chair. “It’s just a little itchy.”
Fu Xia’s face grew hot. She suddenly felt like she was back in the club. She quickly finished applying the ointment. “I’ll go ask the doctor how you are now.”
The doctor soon returned with the test results. “Here are his results… Let him stay here for observation for a little while.”
Fu Xia took the report and glanced at it. “…? A mild allergy to sunlight?”
The doctor nodded. “This symptom can be quite serious. If he’s not careful, his whole body can break out in a rash. You’ll need to pay attention.”
Fu Xia turned to look at Zhu Ye. He seemed unaware of what was happening and just blinked at her.
Looks like God does close a window when he opens a door, Fu Xia thought.
Now that his condition was confirmed, it was time for her to leave. She explained to the doctor that he was a new student and might need someone to show him the way back to his dorm afterward.
Just as she reached the door and was about to press the handle, a voice came from behind her.
“Senior… Fu Xia! Wait!”
Confused, Fu Xia turned to look at him. His face was a little red. He raised a hand and awkwardly ran it through his fluffy blond hair. The next second, he covered his face with both hands, not daring to meet her eyes.
He asked in a muffled voice, “…Can I have your contact information?”
…
After a busy afternoon, the new student enrollment was finally over. The club wasn’t meeting tonight, and the classroom should be empty by now, so Fu Xia headed straight back to the dorm.
Looking at the new contact on her app, she still felt it was a bit surreal. It was hard to imagine a regular student at Lorenz asking a scholarship student for their contact information. Could he have made a bet with someone before enrolling? Otherwise, with his looks, even if his family background was ordinary, he should have been able to hang out with the upper-echelon students.
…But she had to admit one thing.
While people on the forum were praising his looks and desperately trying to find out more about him, she had already gotten his contact information.
It felt pretty good.
Fu Xia looked down at the bottle of water in her hand. Normally, you shouldn’t drink water from a stranger. But she had seen that the cap was sealed, and it was a common brand, so it should be fine.
She walked back to the dorm with a spring in her step.
She had just entered and turned on the light when she saw someone sitting in Xie Rin’s chair.
…But it wasn’t Xie Rin.
The young man seemed just as surprised to see her. He jumped up from the chair in alarm.
The first thing Fu Xia noticed was the mask on his face. A black cat mask covered the upper half of his face. Strangely, there were no eyeholes, meaning he couldn’t see out, which made it look rather terrifying. It was similar to the person who had been squatting outside her window when Xie Rin had his breakdown yesterday. Although the mask was different, the feature was very distinct.
But Fu Xia had bigger things to worry about now.
This was clearly a man. And this was a women’s scholarship student dorm.
Fu Xia took a deep breath.
The young man held up his hands. “Don’t, don’t scream! I’m just waiting for Xie Rin!”
Fu Xia instinctively threw the water bottle at him.
He wanted to dodge but remained rooted to the spot and took the hit squarely. “I really mean no harm… Right, right! You saw me last night, too.”
“…You’re Xie Rin’s bodyguard?” Fu Xia asked. So the sense of familiarity she’d felt last night hadn’t been a mistake.
The masked man hissed. “…Something like that. I’m his… uh, just think of me as his subordinate.”
Fu Xia’s voice rose. “Then why aren’t you waiting outside? This is a women’s dorm…!”
She turned to open the door and leave. But the young man was suddenly behind her, his hand over hers, pushing the door shut again. He seemed to be at his wit’s end. “Xie Rin told me to come clean up! I was the one who cleaned up all the trash from last night, too…!”
Fu Xia stomped on his foot. “That’s no excuse for squatting in a tree and peeping into a girl’s dorm!”
The position felt too strange, reminding her of Pei Wang, and a sense of unease washed over her. She began to struggle violently. In her struggle, she almost knocked his mask off.
The young man felt like he was holding onto a wildcat. He quickly tilted his head back to prevent his mask from being dislodged.
He was getting annoyed. “Can you just—”
But because of that evasive movement, Fu Xia’s hand collided with his open mouth. His sharp fangs scratched her finger, and blood immediately welled up.
The room fell eerily silent.
The scent of blood quickly filled the vampire’s mouth.
Fu Xia realized the young man pinning her from behind had suddenly gone still, his grip on her tightening.
“…What did you eat?”
Behind the mask, he was struggling to hold back, his breathing ragged and out of control, a muffled groan mixed in with his words.
“How should I know? Just let me go…!” Fu Xia said.
She suddenly felt his hand move from her hand to her waist. And just as he lowered his head, his mask a hair’s breadth from her neck…
Tap, tap.
Footsteps sounded from outside the door.