Chapter 19: The Vampire’s Prey (19-1)
“Yu Jiao, what are you doing here?” Xie Zhenye asked instinctively.
Hearing his voice, the half-undressed young woman turned around, glaring at him with a mixture of shock and anger. “This is the girls’ changing room. I should be the one asking you that.”
Xie Zhenye was taken aback. Only then did he notice she was wearing a thin, translucent undergarment, her back bare, a few damp strands of hair clinging to her cheek as she wiped herself with a towel.
It seemed she had just taken a shower.
The changing room was small and offered no place to hide.
Where could that culprit have gone?
Xie Zhenye frowned.
Suddenly, he heard a faint noise from outside, like someone bumping into something while trying to escape.
“Yu Jiao, wait for me here.”
After a quick word, he shot out in pursuit, his eyes sharp. He didn’t see the young woman calmly retract her hand as an invisible glimmer of light dissipated.
The changing room door closed. Yu Jiao slowly and deliberately buttoned up her clothes.
That was a close call. Luckily, I was quick enough to buy a gadget and place it outside. The diversion worked, and I’ve cleared my name.
After tidying her clothes, Yu Jiao looked in the mirror, her expression calm and thoughtful.
It’s not enough.
Xie Zhenye is the intuitive type, sharp-witted. A little trick like this will only fool him for a moment. He’ll eventually find something amiss.
I can’t let him keep focusing on this. I need to add more fuel to the fire and divert it elsewhere…
…
Outside, Xie Zhenye leaned against the window, his face grim. He had clearly come up empty-handed.
Seeing Yu Jiao approach, he straightened up and asked, “Did you see anyone strange just now?”
Yu Jiao’s face was blank. “Just you.”
“…”
Xie Zhenye was chagrined and temporarily set aside his investigation.
“You,” Yu Jiao said, lifting her chin and crossing her arms. “Why did you burst into the girls’ changing room?”
“I’m not that kind of pervert,” Xie Zhenye immediately protested. “I was chasing a suspicious-looking culprit.”
“That’s not right,” Yu Jiao pressed on. “You weren’t at home during the lunch break. You came all the way to school?”
She narrowed her eyes. “That’s not like you.”
Xie Zhenye coughed lightly.
“I…”
His gaze shifted away. “I was planning a surprise for you,” he mumbled.
Yu Jiao: “?”
Xie Zhenye pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to her.
“I was going to find something to wrap it in…”
It was a pendant.
A small, oval crystal, as clear and blue as its owner’s eyes, was strung on a delicate chain.
In the center of the crystal was a hazy speck of crimson, adding a touch of uncanny beauty.
He nervously rubbed the back of his neck, his beautiful, sharp eyes fixed on her.
“The academy and the Xie Manor haven’t been very safe lately,” he paused. “This has a drop of my heart’s blood in it. You have to keep it with you at all times. It can protect you.”
The warm sun streamed through the window, and the high-pitched drone of cicadas seemed to sound in the distance.
The young man’s voice was low, his gaze focused. The soft light softened his sharp edges and awkwardness.
“If you’re ever in trouble, crush it. I’ll come to you right away.”
It was a confession, hidden behind a solemn promise.
“Don’t be angry with me anymore,” he said, looking at her pleadingly. “Okay?”
“Oh…”
The young woman wrinkled her nose. Her face was still cold, her grey eyes darting away as if she were uncomfortable. Her tone was forced and hard, as if she were bestowing a great favor upon him.
“Then you can put it on for me.”
Xie Zhenye’s eyes instantly lit up.
Having received her grace, he eagerly approached, the corners of his lips turning up. His movements were gentle, as if he had an invisible tail wagging behind him.
He looked less like someone helping put on a necklace and more like he was the one being collared.
After putting it on, he nuzzled her fiercely with his nose. Seeing no resistance, he pushed his luck and gave her tense cheek a light bite.
Then, with a long arm, he pulled the fuming girl into his embrace.
They stayed like that for a while.
Due to their height difference, Xie Zhenye’s arms were around her waist, and he naturally rested his chin on the top of her still-damp head. “Why are you taking a shower in the middle of the day?”
It was just a casual question, but he clearly felt the girl in his arms stiffen for a moment.
“What’s wrong?”
Like a sharp-witted house dog, Xie Zhenye pulled back. He saw the young woman press her pale lips together, her eyes downcast, silent.
Her trembling eyelashes betrayed her unease.
Xie Zhenye frowned. He cupped her cold cheek with his large hand, the warmth of his palm solid and reassuring. “Yu Jiao, you can tell me,” he said in a deep voice.
Yu Jiao turned her face away, a flicker of emotion in her eyes. She hesitated, then tightened her arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest.
After a long moment, her muffled voice came out. “This afternoon… I ran into Xue Zhu.”
Xie Zhenye felt the hem of his shirt at his back being twisted into a knot. The girl in his arms was trembling.
His gaze turned cold.
“What did he do to you?”
“…”
The girl nodded, paused, then shook her head.
She remained silent.
—Saying everything, or saying nothing, is not as clever as revealing only half the story.
Just as she’d expected, Xie Zhenye’s brow twitched.
In stark contrast to his fierce expression, his actions were surprisingly gentle. He patted her back with his large hand, over and over.
The afternoon sun cast down soft, fragmented light.
“I understand,” he said in a heavy voice.
…
As class time approached, students began to trickle into the classroom.
Yu Jiao sat in the corner.
Although she had just sent the clingy Xie Zhenye away, a picture of them embracing had been taken by someone, and the news that the twins had picked her up from school at noon had already spread.
Now, many appraising gazes were fixed on her, a few of them particularly obvious.
Xie Ning’s lackeys, friends, and admirers were all sneaking glances at her while making sarcastic remarks, their sharp words filling the classroom.
“She’s really something else.”
“So fickle!”
“Shameless.”
Yu Jiao paid this level of slut-shaming no mind.
She propped her chin on her hand and hooked the chain with her slender index finger, the pendant refracting the sunlight dazzlingly.
She lowered her eyelids, looking at the speck of crimson with a cold expression.
Heart’s blood.
It sounds like a good thing, but I wonder if it has any side effects, like a tracking function. To avoid exposing my identity, I should probably take it off when I’m in my male disguise.
As she was thinking, a surprised gasp erupted from the classroom door.
“Ning’er, you’re finally here!”
She looked up. Xie Ning had just entered the classroom and was immediately surrounded. Her friends fussed over her, their words of concern mixed with pointed insults aimed elsewhere.
“If you hadn’t come, some people might have forgotten their place and tried to take over the nest.”
Xie Ning’s lips pulled into a faint, unreadable smile. “Is that so?”
Her face was pale, her eyes dark and heavy. She had lost the vibrancy of the previous day and now seemed lifeless.
Yu Jiao slowly frowned.
Something’s not right.
This Xie Ning is very wrong.
Xie Ning’s eyes shifted and caught Yu Jiao’s gaze. Her lips stiffly curved upwards into a sinister smile.
It was like a close-up shot from a cheap horror movie.
Yu Jiao frowned in discomfort. Just then, someone revealed the key detail: “Ning’er, you’ve awakened!?”
Amidst a chorus of joyful congratulations, Yu Jiao looked away.
It seemed their father had finally found an opportunity to complete the evil sacrificial ritual for Xie Ning.
The current Xie Ning was now following in Xue Zhu’s footsteps.
Thinking of the fate of those specially-admitted students, Yu Jiao lowered her eyes and told herself: It’s just a game.
I can’t even save myself.
…
Throughout the afternoon, Yu Jiao could feel a viscous, malicious gaze lingering on her.
When she looked back, all she saw was Xie Ning’s pale face with a proper smile, her eyes unblinking, her stare like a leech in a gutter.
When class ended.
As Yu Jiao was packing her bag, a dark shadow suddenly fell over her desk.
She looked up.
Xie Ning stood beside her desk, looking down at her coldly. Backlit, her expressionless face was hidden in shadow, making her look incredibly eerie.
“Little sister, let’s go home together,” she said softly.
Yu Jiao refused coolly, “No, thank you.”
To go with Xie Ning at a time like this would be suicide.
She wasn’t an idiot.
Xie Ning’s face twisted with rage for a moment.
Yu Jiao picked up her bag, intending to ignore her. But as she brushed past, Xie Ning suddenly attacked! In her peripheral vision, she saw her five fingers form a claw, a gust of wind rushing towards her.
I didn’t think Xie Ning would be this crazy, to attack in public.
Just as she was about to dodge, a “Ding—” sounded in her ear. Yu Jiao’s heart sank.
That damned Law of Causality again.
She instantly lost control of her body, standing frozen in place like a fish on a chopping block, allowing Xie Ning to get her.
Her neck was seized. A silk scarf was pressed over her mouth and nose. A strange fragrance filled her lungs. Yu Jiao’s head swam, and she immediately lost consciousness.
…