“So… you met a ghost?”
An Xiaoyi lay on his bed, listening to his aunt’s incessant chewing of beef jerky through the tablet.
He turned his head to look at the night view outside the French window, his head heavy and drowsy.
“Mm…”
He told his aunt about what happened to him.
“Hey, relax, it might just be a high-level blood vampire,” his aunt mumbled indistinctly.
“Just a high-level blood vampire?”
“Blood vampires, they never trouble their own kind, unless provoked. This is the blood vampire treaty established by the Blood Party, the deepest hidden and most ancient blood vampire organization!” His aunt shrugged.
“The full name of the Blood Vampire Treaty is ‘The Ten Commandments of the Blood Party,’ and the second rule strictly forbids infighting among their own kind. Except for blood slaves and ghasts, almost all pure-blood blood vampires abide by the treaty, and even the Elder Council of the Blood Party is no exception!”
“I know all this, don’t lecture me on facts.” An Xiaoyi turned his head back to look at the ceiling.
He was helpless with his aunt’s unreliability.
“Please, you’re missing the point entirely. She said she knew An Xiaoxue and that they were good friends… She force-kissed me as soon as we met, what kind of good friend just kisses people randomly? When she found me, I thought she was coming to propose!”
His aunt, for once, put down her chips, which meant she was serious.
“How did you feel about the kiss?”
An Xiaoyi nearly choked on her train of thought, “Is this the time to talk about how I felt being force-kissed?”
“Just tell me how it was first?”
An Xiaoyi didn’t answer, instead grabbing the phone.
“Is this the restaurant? This is An Xiaoyi, Dorm 4, room 30. One preserved egg and lean pork congee, two banana pancakes… No preserved egg and lean pork congee? Then just a beef noodle soup.”
He hung up the phone.
“Hey! Don’t pretend to order late-night snacks to change the subject. You weren’t resisting, were you? After all, my dear nephew has been single for over twenty years, and it was his first time being force-kissed by an older sister. I never would have thought, you’re into older women!”
“What you’re saying is disgusting, and you’re not considering my feelings.” An Xiaoyi grumbled, “Stop joking. I was panicking at the time, not in a good mood at all, after all, it was my first kiss!”
“Not necessarily, right?” his aunt said meaningfully.
“Don’t give me that ‘I knew it all along’ look. I’ve never been in a relationship!”
At this point, An Xiaoyi also hesitated, “Actually, I also feel she’s very familiar.”
“So you want to ask if I know her.” His aunt narrowed her eyes.
An Xiaoyi sat up, his expression complex as he lowered his gaze.
He was actually quite indecisive.
If for the past twenty years of his life he had never doubted anything, then at the first meeting with that woman, a deep, deep crack finally appeared in his firmly held beliefs.
An Xiaoyi used to complain when reading novels about protagonists feeling a strange sense of familiarity upon seeing someone.
In reality, feelings and familiarity are quite abstract concepts; no one can describe them concretely, nor do they truly know what they are.
That night, when the woman stood in front of the French window, An Xiaoxue suddenly felt an inexplicable warmth in his heart, and an unprecedented sense of security.
It was as if the two of them had truly known each other for a long time.
“Yes,” An Xiaoyi nodded, “just asking. Oh, and she also claimed to be my older sister.”
His aunt clapped her hands.
“What?” He looked up.
“It seems there was such a person. I heard your grandparents mention that your parents actually have an adopted daughter, who could tentatively be considered your sister,” his aunt said.
“I only heard about it.”
“They have an adopted daughter?” An Xiaoyi was shocked.
“Blood Vampires love taking in children. Not every blood vampire has a complete childhood; most spend it in the shadows. I’d love to raise a child too, but unfortunately, our family’s relationship with the Blood Party isn’t very good.”
“But she really seems to know me as An Xiaoxue.”
His aunt thought for a moment.
“She probably met you secretly. Many adopted children, when they learn their adoptive parents have biological children, choose to go and see them.”
“That makes sense,” An Xiaoyi mused, “But she really likes An Xiaoxue.”
“She’s just a weirdo, then. She liked you the moment she saw you. Maybe you even have an engagement, and you just don’t know about it…”
“Will you die if you don’t exaggerate?”
“I don’t want to think so exaggeratedly either, but aren’t your parents eccentric? Do you think their thought process would lead them to do something like that? Like marrying off their biological daughter to an adopted daughter?”
Given his parents’ personalities, An Xiaoyi thought it was indeed possible.
“That makes sense!”
Then he paused.
“What do you mean biological daughter? I’m clearly…”
“Then why is your blood vampire true form a girl? It’s just that you’re used to your male form,” his aunt raised an eyebrow.
“Have you ever seen a boy as delicately handsome as you?”
“Hey!” An Xiaoyi was taken aback.
“How did this conversation get so strange?”
“Seriously. Do Mom and Dad really have… an adopted daughter?”
“I’m not sure. Give me a few days to help you investigate,” his aunt glanced behind her.
A group of beautiful female friends entered; they were young aunts who had been present in An Xiaoyi’s memories since he was a child.
“Caught you! Not out playing cards, but on the computer… Oh! Isn’t this Xiaoyi? Let Auntie see.”
An aunt in a mink coat’s eyes lit up, and she leaned her face towards the computer screen.
“Good evening, Auntie Li,” An Xiaoyi greeted, steeling himself.
“I heard you went to be a professor at the school. Our Xiaoyi is going to become a very serious adult now.”
“I was always serious, alright?” he mumbled.
“You all go wait for me outside, I’ll talk to him for a few more minutes,” his aunt pushed her friends away.
She wiped her sweat.
“Anyway, now that that woman has found you, there are two pieces of good news. First, she doesn’t know your secret. Second, she might be connected to your parents.”
“They’ve been missing for almost a year.” An Xiaoyi still cared a lot about his parents.
“Why not seize this opportunity? Who cares who she is or what her intentions are,” his aunt showed a mischievous smile. “Doesn’t she like An Xiaoxue? Even if it goes wrong, you can still use seduction…”
“Goodnight!” An Xiaoyi’s eyelid twitched.
“Eh, he’s grown up now, doesn’t like clinging to elders anymore. He was so well-behaved as a child, whether a boy or a girl, eh.” His aunt sighed repeatedly.
In reality, she was counting stacks of money; this was what she had won last night.
“Hurry up!” her friends urged from behind the door.
“Coming, coming!” his aunt replied, then lowered her voice and said, “Listen to me, meet her tomorrow night. Don’t be afraid. No matter what happens in the end, I’ll support you!”
“That last sentence always sounds strange,” An Xiaoyi nodded. “Still, thank you, Auntie.”
“Oh, by the way, have you told the principal?”
“No.”
“Good, bye-bye.” She didn’t explain why.
The video call ended.
The lights went out, and An Xiaoyi lay in bed, looking at the ceiling.
He still couldn’t explain that sense of familiarity; it was as if they had really met before.
That woman seemed to know more about “An Xiaoxue” than he did himself.
It was truly unsettling.
As for his aunt’s guesses…
They were clearly nonsense.
An Xiaoyi was just that kind of person, always superficially quick to accept lies, even if they were full of holes.
He thought to himself that his aunt must know some inside information.
Since she had lied, there was no need to press further.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.