Chapter 44
The girl’s face was a perfect picture of “Are you sick or something?”
It was, admittedly, not easy for an ordinary human to accept such a thing.
Zhu Ye was suddenly curious about what it had been like when the vampires first approached Fu Xia. Those two Vampire Princes were both extremely self-centered; they probably hadn’t bothered with a gradual approach. But since Fu Xia was a scholarship student with no backing, she had likely just swallowed her anger and endured it.
At that thought, Zhu Ye felt a pang of regret. It was a shame the half-breeds hadn’t had a chance to get to the table earlier; otherwise, he could have seen for himself what the Progenitor’s chosen girl was like when she was first dragged into the conflict.
As they stood there, with Zhu Ye trying to make Fu Xia fall for his handsome face, her phone rang.
It was Song Yingxi.
Fu Xia cleared her throat, a strange feeling of being caught cheating washing over her. She took a step back and answered the call.
Zhu Ye blinked, looking like he was about to cause some trouble. Just as Zhu Ye was about to open his mouth, Fu Xia drew a finger across her neck, her gaze sinister. Zhu Ye blinked even faster but decided to behave for the time being.
“What’s wrong?” Fu Xia asked.
“I might not be coming home for a while,” the voice on the other end was as gentle as ever. “Because of the kidnapping, there are some things within the corporation that I need to handle.”
“Ah… so you’ll be back in a few days?” Fu Xia asked. What she really wanted to know was when Zhu Ye was leaving.
The voice on the other end paused for a few seconds. “A week,” Song Yingxi said softly. “I’ll be back in a week.”
That was the exact amount of time Zhu Ye had mentioned. Fu Xia even suspected the two of them were in cahoots. She offered a few words of comfort, told Song Yingxi she was safe at home and not to worry, and then hung up.
Compared to the oblivious Fu Xia, Zhu Ye knew much more. For example, Zhu Ye knew that Song Yingxi didn’t actually want him to be alone with Fu Xia. A vampire’s possessiveness was always strong, especially for someone like Song Yingxi. He might appear gentle and bright, but in reality, he would love nothing more than to sink his teeth into his prey’s neck and drag her back to his den to enjoy alone.
And for another example, Xie Rin was being held captive at home by his brother, Pei Wang was in no better shape after recovering, having destroyed several of Song Yingxi’s safe houses, and Yan Zhu and Xie Yan were now working closely together, for which Song Yingxi had paid a hefty price… Even for a vampire like Song Yingxi, dealing with several Prince-level factions, both overtly and covertly, was no easy task.
But under Fu Xia’s gaze, Zhu Ye just shrugged, as if this were all news to him.
Fu Xia: “…”
“See? Even the heavens are creating an opportunity for us to be alone,” Zhu Ye said.
Fu Xia pinched the bridge of her nose. She felt the same pain as being forced to babysit a five-year-old relative.
Fu Xia was about to say, do whatever you want, when she saw the blood smeared on Zhu Ye’s lips like lipstick, and a scene flashed before her eyes.
A dim room, a faint glow from a screen. She saw herself choking someone, gnawing on their neck like a monster, a flash of blond hair in her peripheral vision.
A dazed look crossed Fu Xia’s face.
…Why do I have a memory like that?
Ever since coming to Song Yingxi’s house, Fu Xia’s memories had become strange. She suddenly realized the key might be the young man in front of her. “…Does what you said earlier still count?”
The Second Day.
Fu Xia tried to find the strange gaps in her memory by spending time with Zhu Ye. But they were together all day, and she didn’t feel anything special. Zhu Ye acted completely normal, except for occasionally staring at her lips.
The next time Fu Xia caught Zhu Ye looking, he could see her slight agitation and asked, “Maybe we need to kiss for it to work?”
“…I feel like you’re taking advantage of me.”
“My face isn’t bad, is it!” Zhu Ye said dramatically. “Can’t we both just enjoy it?”
That did seem to make some sense.
Fu Xia beckoned to Zhu Ye. He trotted over like a little puppy. The servants in the villa seemed to have gotten used to their interactions in just one day and acted as if they saw nothing. Fu Xia pulled Zhu Ye into a room with no cameras.
As usual, Zhu Ye bit his own lip and, while stealing a kiss, fed Fu Xia his blood.
The moment the door closed, Zhu Ye produced shackles and ropes from somewhere and held them up, staring at Fu Xia with pleading eyes.
“Please, sister-in-law, can we use these?”
Fu Xia was speechless for a moment but took the ropes. Strangely, it was as if she instinctively knew how to tie them to restrict his movement, and the style was even ritualistic.
“…If you have some kind of weird kink, I suggest you go find a dom…”
Before the last word could leave her mouth, a scene flashed before Fu Xia’s eyes.
Red ropes bound a person tightly. The light was reddish and dim. The person was kneeling on the floor. She felt herself say something, and the person looked up. Soft black hair swayed, short bangs revealing the person’s eyes completely.
They were green eyes.
Like a predator in the jungle, instantly locking onto its prey. She felt a sudden chill of fear.
Fu Xia instinctively tightened the ropes and heard Zhu Ye let out an uncontrolled grunt. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his golden eyes looked at her as if complaining that she didn’t know how to be gentle.
Fu Xia patted his thigh. “We’ll try again tomorrow.”
Zhu Ye took a deep breath. “You’re just going to leave me here today? Isn’t that a little too cruel?”
“Yes,” Fu Xia said. “I’m just that kind of evil woman, sister-in-law.”
The Fifth Day.
Fu Xia had noticed something was wrong. The cut on Zhu Ye’s lip always healed quickly. A normal person would at least get a canker sore, but there was nothing on him.
Every day, Fu Xia would drink a mouthful or two of Zhu Ye’s blood. The guy’s kinks were a little strange, as if by doing this, they could merge with each other. But he hadn’t crossed the final line, only staring at Fu Xia for longer and longer periods, sometimes showing expressions she had never seen before.
Fu Xia also discovered that whenever she went out into the garden to sunbathe, Zhu Ye would watch her with a very resentful expression. He would sit in the shadows, sometimes not looking at her, just propping his chin on his hand, lost in thought. Perhaps it was her imagination, but she always saw a hint of loneliness in his eyes.
…What’s there to be lonely about?
Everyone at school knew that Song Yingxi’s health was poor and that he couldn’t stay in the sun for long. But Fu Xia hadn’t expected that Zhu Ye couldn’t either. Did their family have some kind of genetic disease?
Fu Xia picked up a bottle of water from the table, walked over to Zhu Ye, and handed it to him. “Don’t get heatstroke.”
Zhu Ye looked up. His face was flushed from the heat. He first instinctively curved his lips into a smile, as if instantly putting on a flippant mask. Then he froze when he saw the bottle of water. The scene was familiar, in the shade, away from the sun, only this time their positions were reversed.
For a moment, Zhu Ye felt as if he had returned to his days as an ordinary human.
—He did not miss those days. He had once gone hungry, his handsome face becoming another kind of liability. In a moment of danger, about to be drained dry by a vampire, he had pierced the other’s heart and torn at its body like a wild beast. And just like that, he had become a half-breed.
Zhu Ye was in a daze, but he didn’t want Fu Xia to see it.
“Worried about me?” Zhu Ye paused as he took the water. “Don’t tell me you’re falling in love with me.”
“Give me back the water,” Fu Xia said.
Zhu Ye’s response was to quickly unscrew the cap and take a large gulp.
Fu Xia sat down beside him. Zhu Ye drank several mouthfuls, placed the bottle beside him, and turned to ask, “Sen… sister-in-law, have you ever thought about living forever?”
Fu Xia vaguely sensed that he was trying to tell her something. “…What’s the price?”
Zhu Ye held out his hand, and the sunlight fell on his palm. For a split second, his expression became incredibly cold, his true nature exposed to her.
“Can’t be in the sun?”
Zhu Ye pulled his hand back. He seemed to want to say more, but in the end, he said nothing.
The Sixth Day.
Fu Xia had a vague guess about Song Yingxi’s secret. The past was slowly coming back to her through her contact with Zhu Ye. Her memories had been altered; Song Yingxi was not as gentle and harmless as he appeared. But she was still missing something, like a fog obscuring the path ahead. She couldn’t fully remember everything that had happened this semester.
At night, Zhu Ye knocked on her door. He pressed a silver dagger into Fu Xia’s hand.
“Good luck,” he said.
The Seventh Day.
Zhu Ye did not appear.
Having gotten a few sips of Zhu Ye’s blood every day, his absence was surprisingly noticeable.
Song Yingxi wasn’t coming back until tomorrow morning. The servants never spoke to Fu Xia. She wandered the house all day and went to bed early, around nine. The silver dagger was hidden at the bottom of a cabinet, in a hard-to-find place.
Fu Xia sank into a dream and saw someone she didn’t recognize, yet who felt familiar.
In the dream, a young man was swinging his legs. His black hair swayed with the motion, revealing glimpses of red hidden within. He noticed Fu Xia’s arrival and leaped lightly from the swing, approaching her with an elegant, dance-like gait.
He was like a ghost in the dream, gliding to her side, bringing with him a rich, sweet fragrance that made Fu Xia a little dizzy.
He’s much taller than me, Fu Xia thought.
The young man wrapped his arms intimately around her waist and lowered his head.
Unlike his actions, his tone was not gentle; it was even laced with a hint of venom.
He whispered in Fu Xia’s ear, “Sweetie, how long are you going to keep playing house?”