Lin Yuchen was about to start the new semester.
I clung to his leg, eyes brimming with tears. “What am I supposed to do when you’re gone? I’ve gotten used to living in luxury every day I can’t go back to roughing it!”
Lin Yuchen had grown used to my dramatic outbursts. He pulled me up, ruffled my hair, and coaxed, “The campus is just a ten-minute walk from home. I’ll come back every day”
Fine, I could accept that, barely.
That afternoon, he texted to say he was almost home. I hadn’t seen my “food source” all day; I missed him so much I could barely stand it.
I dashed to the door, waiting eagerly for my first meal of the day.
But before I could spot Lin Yuchen’s figure, I saw the “big brother” from the building across the street.
Crap, why did my legs suddenly feel weak?
He was carrying a cage and waved at me as he approached. Only when he got closer did I see there was a kitten inside.
Instantly, my mind conjured up a thousand images of the poor kitten being experimented on in some lab.
I froze, then managed a stiff nod in response to his greeting.
Just then, Lin Yuchen arrived downstairs. He glanced between the neighbor and my rigid self, stifling a laugh with a cough.
That sound snapped me back to reality, and I quickly sidestepped to Lin Yuchen’s side.
The neighbor, Mr. Chen, didn’t seem in a hurry to leave. “Picked up a little tabby. I’ll take it to my clinic for a check-up tomorrow.”
Lin Yuchen smiled. “Brother Chen always finds stray animals.”
After a few pleasantries, I dragged Lin Yuchen inside.
He couldn’t hold back his laughter at my nervousness.
Later, Auntie Wang told me that Mr. Chen just ran a pet clinic he wasn’t from any research institute at all.
I pounced on Lin Yuchen, pinching and stretching his face until his fair, handsome cheeks turned red.
He let me climb all over him, even wrapping an arm around my waist to keep me from falling.
I gritted my teeth. “I’ve been scared for so long, and it was all a lie”
Lin Yuchen’s eyes curved into crescents as he laughed. “Would you have come back with me if I’d told you the truth?”
Hmph... Tonight, I’m going to drink a whole 400cc from you.
Lin Yuchen sent me the address and told me to meet him at the school gate.
He was taking me to try a grilled fish place.
I never used to eat this kind of food, but after spending so much time with Lin Yuchen, I’d slowly accepted the world of junk food.
Lin Yuchen walked over with another tall, refined-looking man.
I stared at the bespectacled man in shock. “You....You..You.”
He recognized me too, raising an eyebrow in surprise. “Long time no see.”
I blurted out, “Weren’t you dead?”
Huo Zhu’an: “…”
Lin Yuchen: “…”
Lin Yuchen tugged my scarf tighter, giving me a look. “Old friend?”
Before we could say anything, Huo Zhu’an stepped forward. “Want to catch up?”
Even after we sat down in a private booth, I couldn’t take my eyes off Huo Zhu’an.
Lin Yuchen broke the silence, introducing Huo Zhu’an as the youngest professor at their university.
When Huo Zhu’an went to the restroom, I couldn’t hold back anymore. “He was my neighbor when I was little. I haven’t seen him in centuries, and now he’s a professor. The youngest, no less. Ha”
Lin Yuchen just looked numb.
Whenever Lin Yuchen and I went out, I’d point out the hidden vampires to him, the barbecue owner, the café barista. He always thought vampires were rare, but now realized they were everywhere. Even his teachers.
I explained, “Vampires can’t just bite anyone. There are regulations.”
Lin Yuchen asked, “Do vampires have any special powers?”
“Only the first generation. Later generations are pretty much like regular people.”
He grinned. “So what generation are you?”
I shrugged. “Second, third, maybe fourth or fifth. A mixed bag.”
Lin Yuchen: “…”
When Huo Zhu’an returned, he asked directly, “Did you just say I was dead?”
I waved my hand. “That’s just what I heard"
The food arrived and distracted me. I gulped down a big glass of iced cola so refreshing!
Huo Zhu’an’s gaze flickered between me and Lin Yuchen. Watching me eat, he frowned. “Do you always eat like this?”
He tapped the table, voice stern. “Your body isn’t the same. You know you can’t handle this stuff, right?”
I obediently put down my chopsticks and nodded.
When I was little, Huo Zhu’an moved in next door. Back then, there were no high-rises, just rows of little villas. He was half a pure-blood vampire, and I’d always trail after him and his siblings.
He’d been bossing me around since I was a kid.
It felt oddly nostalgic.
He returned to the earlier topic. “Who told you I was dead?”
Since he asked so sincerely, I decided to be generous. “Sister Rumeng told me.”
Rumeng was his partner back then.
“After your family fell fifty years ago, I tried to find you. I ran into Sister Rumeng instead she said you’d just died in a car accident.”
Huo Zhu’an pinched his brow, exasperated. “We’d just had a fight and split up. You really believed her?”
He looked at me. “So how have you been these decades?”
I answered honestly, “My parents left me a lot of money in the bank, but I could never get fresh blood just tomato juice.”
Lin Yuchen finally processed all this gossip. “Then why were you living in that dump?”
I looked embarrassed. “I forgot the bank password”
Lin Yuchen: “…”
Huo Zhu’an laughed. “You haven’t changed a bit.”
He added, “Go easy on this stuff. If you eat too much, your body won’t handle it. You’ll have to go to a vampire hospital.”
He glanced at Lin Yuchen with a smile. “Looks like Wuwu’s taught you a lot. You sure took it well when you found out about me.”
Lin Yuchen choked on a chili and just smiled.
I flashed Lin Yuchen a hand signal Huo Zhu’an could probably hear us even from outside. Pure-blood vampires really were something else.
At dawn, Lin Yuchen dragged me out of bed, claiming he wanted to take me to watch the sunrise.
I rolled over, refusing to look at him, my voice thick with sleep. “What vampire wants to see a sunrise?”
He wasn’t annoyed, just cajoled, “Go back to sleep, I’ll carry you to the car.”
When I woke again, we were parked halfway up a mountain.
Lin Yuchen was checking his phone. When he saw me awake, he handed me a cup of hot milk. “Eat something first.”
I stretched, and he passed me water and a wipe to freshen up, like a diligent nanny.
We packed up and started the climb.
After just a short walk, I started whining, so Lin Yuchen picked me up, backpack in one hand.
He bounced me a little, teasing, “Lazy pig.”
Hehe, sometimes it’s nice to be pampered.
When we reached the summit, the horizon was just beginning to glow gold.
I squeezed his bicep and gave him a thumbs up.
Lin Yuchen found a huge rock for us to sit on.
The air was getting chilly, so he took my hand and tucked it into his pocket with his, trying to warm up my perpetually cold vampire fingers.
The golden sun slowly rose, lighting up the sky.
Words failed me.
Only one came to mind.
Breathtaking.
Lin Yuchen’s deep, magnetic voice murmured in my ear, “Wuwu?”
There was a subtle nervousness in his tone.
Still lost in the beauty, I turned to look at him. The sunlight reflected in his clear eyes, like a pair of shining glass marbles.
He leaned closer, lips curving in a gentle smile. “I want to be with you every sunrise from now on. Will you give me that chance?”
I gave him a playful grin. “Depends on your performance.”
Who wouldn’t like such a handsome, delicious sweetheart?
I just couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud yet.
Chapter 04
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