Chapter 27 : Old Man

Good morning.

Heavy rain covered everything.

Students at St. Antiona College were running to find shelter in the open ground, and the strong wind howled.

The door to the principal’s office in the academic building was pushed open.

A person in a black raincoat, carrying a transparent umbrella, was an old man.

The old man glanced at Principal Farrow, who was tasting red wine, silently put down his umbrella, and then sat on the sofa.

Farrow looked up and squinted, “Finally decided to show up?”

“I just heard that the school executed a Count-level blood relative. I thought… I should come.” The old man poured himself a glass of wine, “And visit the child.”

“Understood, a grandfather coming to see his grandson. In that case, you should go straight along the path ahead, then turn left to the dormitory hotel. He has no classes today, so he’s probably having a headache in his dorm.”

Farrow put down her glass and leaned on the table, leisurely observing this strange old man in a raincoat and carrying an umbrella.

The old man held the wine glass carelessly.

His face showed no age, his hair was white, and under his raincoat was a very old-fashioned gray shirt.

But there were almost no people in the entire St. Antiona College who could freely enter and exit the principal’s office.

The old man was an outsider, but it seemed he had been there many times.

“I thought you weren’t going to send anyone to see him. It’s been over a month.”

“Everyone has something they can’t get away from.”

“The ‘something’ you’re talking about is playing mahjong every day, isn’t it?” Farrow frowned.

The old man scratched his head, a little embarrassed.

The old man was not as serious as he initially appeared.

“So what? Can’t a person have some entertainment? We were planning to come as a family four days ago, but there was an obnoxious parvenu who kept showing off. That day he happened to be drunk, and we set up a game and made a fortune!”

“Alright, alright, don’t tell me you came just to show off to me. I’m not one of your mahjong buddies.” Farrow covered her face, “After all these years, Uncle, can’t you be a bit more reliable?”

“Pour me something to drink.” The old man shook his empty wine glass.

“I can’t believe you.” Farrow sighed, picking up a large barrel of suspicious black liquid from under the table.

There was no packaging, it didn’t look like red wine, because no red wine would be in a plastic barrel, and there was no such thing as bulk red wine.

But the old man trusted his friendship with Farrow of many years.

In Huaguo, many people knew the principle of not flaunting wealth, so they would put expensive wines into mineral water bottles and then take them out to drink with good friends and brothers during gatherings.

He thought this was Farrow’s treasured aged wine.

Bubbles popped in the liquid inside the glass.

The old man took two sips, pondering deeply, then frowned tightly.

“A very unique taste.”

“Oh, that’s not wine, it’s sugar-free cola.” Farrow shrugged.

Only then did the old man see that it was a 2.5-liter big barrel of cola, costing eight yuan a bottle at the supermarket.

“Hey, are you a scoundrel?” The old man glared, “Cola is bad enough, but sugar-free!”

“Drinking too much sugary water is bad for your health. I’m looking out for you.”

Farrow grabbed a Bordeaux from her desk and poured herself half a small glass to taste.

She smiled.

“Your grandchild told me that he doesn’t allow you to drink at home. It wouldn’t be good if he smelled alcohol when you go to visit him later. No grandfather wants to be disliked by their grandchild.”

The old man said nothing, sitting on the sofa, drinking cola sip by sip.

He finished it and poured more.

Neither of them spoke for a long time.

They were truly a strange pair of friends, with a vast age difference.

The old man’s hair was white, while Farrow looked young, around thirty.

But they had known each other for many years.

An Xiaoyi knew his parents had known each other since childhood, growing up together, but he didn’t know Farrow was also part of that.

Farrow had her own room in that manor.

He had also watched Farrow grow up.

“What happened with the Count-level blood relative?”

“I thought you would know.” Farrow looked at the rain outside the window.

“Last night, many vampires must have received a summons from the Elder Council. In any era, the death of a Count-level vampire is no small matter.”

The old man took a document Farrow tossed him – all the information about that vampire, including the autopsy and the action reports from Professor Eve and others, which included An Xiaoyi’s signature.

“Thoumai Bourville, he only recently inherited the Count’s authority. He’s from Europe, the young heir of the Bourville family. The operation last night was to round up a vampire who had committed multiple crimes. I didn’t expect it to be this guy.”

“Did he do it?”

“That’s why I called you here. Right now, only I know.”

Farrow’s expression was solemn.

She gently tapped the table, drawing the old man’s attention.

“He executed a Count-level vampire. Originally, this could have been a joint achievement for all personnel involved in last night’s operation. St. Antiona should, of course, do such things, but the problem is—”

Farrow stared intently into the old man’s eyes, lowering her voice, emphasizing each word.

“Thoumai Bourville’s body was completely shriveled. He was bled dry, no, I should say his blood was drained.”

“Hope it doesn’t upset his stomach.” The old man pouted.

“Please, can you be serious?!” Farrow abruptly stood up, slamming her hands on the table.

“Vampires have been looking for you. You’re the last of the old vampire families, holding power… Besides you, who else would suck the blood of their own kind? Vampires must have sensed something by now.”

Farrow finished, then slumped back into her chair, hand on her forehead, clearly exhausted.

She knew that given the old man’s personality, he wouldn’t care at all.

“Oh, I’ll tell him later.”

“Just an ‘oh’?” Farrow’s eyes widened, her teeth clenched.

“What can I do? It’s already happened. Am I supposed to run to the Vampire Elder Council and say, ‘My old friends, please don’t misunderstand, what happened last night has nothing to do with our family, please don’t suspect us, just assume we’ve been hiding well’? They wouldn’t believe it either.”

Farrow’s expression was almost distorted with anger, her fingernails clawing at the table, making a screeching sound.

“Hahahahaha.” The old man laughed loudly, “Farrow, you’re just like you used to be, you haven’t changed at all.”

“You entrusted An Xiaoyi to me, and now you act as if it’s all the same. Do you have any sense of responsibility?”

“I gave him to you precisely because I lack responsibility.” The old man said quite frankly, “So as long as it concerns him, whatever you do, you don’t need to ask for my opinion.”

“You’re a real bastard.”

“Since he did it, just let him be.” The old man suddenly said softly.

Farrow was stunned.

Her eyes fell into thought as she turned to look out the window.

The old man looked down at his wrist, “I need to go see him now.”

“Old man.”

Farrow had her back to the old man, speaking softly.

“Bringing An Xiaoyi to this school isn’t just about finding clues about his parents, is it?”

There was no response from behind her.

Farrow turned around in confusion; the room was already empty.

The old man had left without a word, eager to visit his grandson, leaving the principal fuming in her office.