Xi Yin was awakened by the scalding sunlight. Only after a long while did he adjust to the glare and could see his surroundings clearly.
‘What is this place? Last night…I remember meeting that woman who said she took a liking to me again.’
Xi Yin sat up. The soft fabric against his skin caused him to look down and check. Though the style was simple…it couldn’t hide the fact this was a woman’s nightgown. And the type with spaghetti straps at that…
Xi Yin, “…”
‘Who changed my clothes? That woman from yesterday?’
He felt around his waist. His briefs were still there. With a dark face, he surveyed his surroundings. This was quite obviously a girl’s bedroom. Well, apart from the coffin and two coffin lid halves sitting in the corner…
He was almost certain that this place belonged to the female vampire from last night; even the scent was the same.
‘She actually took my clothes off without my permission! And made me wear…these! Where are my clothes?!’
His gaze suddenly fixed onto the painting in the room.
The swathe of roses appeared to have been dyed in blood. The child in the painting appeared to be trapped by the roses: unable to break free, unable to escape.
He stared at it for a moment before shutting his eyes and turning away.
The burning sensation on his back was uncomfortable, but the clothes he was wearing right now made him feel even worse. Xi Yin got off the bed and tugged the sheets off to cover himself up. He opened the door and exited the room. In the corridor outside the room, all the other doors were tightly shut.
Thump! Thump! The sounds of footsteps coming from the direction of the stairs could be heard. Xi Yin lifted his head to have a look. A young girl was panting as she ran up.
‘It’s not her.’
Liang Ge and Xi Yin’s gazes met, whereupon a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. ‘What a pretty young man. But…why is he only covered in bedsheets?’
Thinking of what her Senior had entrusted her with, Liang Ge’s face turned even redder. She looked at Xi Yin as though she was at a loss on what to do. “Er… Senior Mi Nai told me to come deliver some clothes.”
Xi Yin’s gaze lowered and saw the bag she was holding.
‘That Mi Nai she’s referring to…is that woman?’
Liang Ge carefully moved forward to hand Xi Yin the bag. “Uh, I still have class so… Please help me inform Senior. I’ll be leaving first. En, I’ll help Senior ask for the day off.”
Once Liang Ge had finished, she ran downstairs with a bright red face. Xi Yin examined the clothes in the bag. They were all from the same brand.
He turned around and returned to the room just in time to see a certain someone hop in through the window. She cast him a glance before speaking calmly, “You’re awake. Have you received the clothes yet?”
“You changed my clothes for me?” Xi Yin’s grip on the bag tightened.
“Who else? Did you think you were in any state to change ’em yourself?” Shi Sheng rolled her eyes.
“What did you do to me?”
‘She changed my clothes…which means…she saw my body…’
Shi Sheng’s gaze fell to his waist. “I was planning on doing something to you. But you needed to have a reaction first ah!”
Xi Yin didn’t react for some time—but once he did, he immediately used the bag to cover up his front.
“Your actions are enough for you to die several times over.” He stared at Shi Sheng as he enunciated.
Shi Sheng scoffed, “I say, at least think about your current situation before using threats. Right now I could beat you with one hand.”
‘People have to lower their heads when in other people’s territory, ya know?’
Xi Yin, “…”
Shi Sheng placed several items onto the table, her tone casual as she spoke, “Come take a look. See if any of these are useful.”
Xi Yin cast his gaze on the table, his eyes narrowing as he felt his heart move slightly. ‘These…aren’t easy to get a hold of. How did she get them?’
Only after a moment of silence did he speak, “It’s useless. My wound isn’t a normal one.”
“Oh.” Shi Sheng tossed the items into the bin beside Xi Yin, causing his eyelid to twitch. ‘How casual… Just like how she said she took a liking to me last night.’
“Why did you bring me back?”
Shi Sheng tugged her collar and replied nonchalantly, “Since you’d already delivered yourself to my doorstep, of course I had to bring[1] you back to keep.”
‘Delivered myself to her doorstep? Bring me back? To keep?! This woman…
Very good!’
“Do you know who I am?” ‘She actually wants to keep me! How audacious!’
Shi Sheng lifted her head, blinked and spoke very ‘seriously’, “I don’t care who you are. Since I’ve already seen your body, I’ll take responsibility. Don’t worry, I’m not a scoundrel who denies taking responsibility after putting on their clothes[2].”
Xi Yin, “…”
‘Since when did we sleep together?! Don’t lie!’
His lips suddenly lifted, a hint of wickedness flashing in his eyes. “Xi Yin. My name.”
“Mi Nai.” Shi Sheng returned his smile with a shallow one of her own. “Barring unforeseen circumstances, this name will accompany you for the rest of your life.”
She felt that at least 90% of the time, the hidden quest targets would be Feng Ci.
Xi Yin made a light scoff before opening the door to the bathroom and shutting it, blocking Shi Sheng’s gaze. He got changed into the clothes Shi Sheng provided. They fit him perfectly.
His expression darkened. ‘Did she…feel me up last night? This girl actually said those words and…’
By the time he’d finished getting changed, Shi Sheng had already left the room. He went downstairs, finding Shi Sheng in front of the fridge.
Her gaze was directed at the rubbish bin beside the fridge. Only once Xi Yin walked over did he see what she was looking at. Several flasks of blood.
“So hungry.” Shi Sheng turned to look at him, her expression looking a bit pitiful. “Bro, you got any way to stop the hunger?”
‘He’s villain-sama, he’s gotta have some special methods up his sleeve!’
Xi Yin grabbed the flasks from the bin and made to pass them to her, a slight smile on his face. “Drink these and you won’t be hungry.”
Shi Sheng retreated in disgust, supporting herself against the marble kitchen counter behind her. “I don’t like blood.”
“Fresh blood has been our companion since our birth. How could you hate it?” Xi Yin cornered Shi Sheng as he uncapped one of the flask with one hand, causing the scent of blood to float out.
“What are you doing?” Shi Sheng furrowed her brows.
A trace of gold flashed in Xi Yin’s eyes. “Weren’t you asking me how to stop the hunger? Drink this and you won’t be hungry.”
“Take it away.” Shi Sheng’s voice turned colder as she stared at him calmly. Her eyes were as black as ink, though the border of her irises reflected a light blue colour. They were a pair of cold eyes that held no warmth. Those were eyes that shouldn’t have appeared on a young woman.
Xi Yin’s hand shook before he put the lid back on and tossed the flask back into the bin. He shifted his gaze, the corner of his lips lifting ever so slightly. “If you want to give up on blood for good, there’s only one method: endure.”
Shi Sheng swivelled around and turned on the tap, using cold water to splash her face. “For how long?”
“One month, several months, perhaps even a year. Depends on the degree you’ve been dependent on blood.” One could hear the smile in Xi Yin’s tone.
“And there isn’t any other way besides this?”
“There is.”
Shi Sheng turned to look at him. “What?”
Shi Sheng could only make out the widening smile on the half of the face that she could see as she heard him slowly speak, “Death.”
Shi Sheng, “…”
‘Don’t fucking stop me(lz)! I(lz) wanna hack this guy to death! Sonovabitch, I’ve been wanting to hit him since just now!’
[1] The actual word used here was “捡” which has the meaning of picking up something that was abandoned or left behind. Like in arc 3, when Shang Shu’s Master ‘picked her up’. However, since it involved bringing him back, picking him back sounded just wrong so we’re just going to have to settle for this.
[2] The phrase was “提上裤子就不认人的流氓” where “提上裤子就不认人” means not recognising someone (in other words, not acknowledging them) once the person this is referring to has put on their pants. It’s mostly used to refer to scumbag guys who cheat women’s feelings. “流氓” means gangster/hooligan, generally seen as dishonourable or the like.