Chapter 45: Modified

At the inn front desk, Rina stood beside Qiansui, watching her swipe quickly on her phone before taking two room key cards from the innkeeper.

Rina extended her hand, palm up, and lightly curled her fingers.

“Give me one.”

Qiansui, however, clutched both cards in her palm and shook her head gently.

“What are you doing? I want my own room.”

Rina’s tone carried an air of absolute certainty, as if the matter required no discussion at all.

Yeah right, share a room with this woman who had an obsessive fixation on her?

Just thinking about it made her whole body feel uneasy.

She would rather sleep in the corridor than stay in the same room as Qiansui.

But Qiansui didn’t wear the delighted expression she usually had when given orders by Rina.

She tucked the key cards into her pocket, her emerald-green eyes gazing seriously at Rina, her tone more solemn than ever before.

“Rin-chan, I booked two rooms.”

Rina blinked.

“Perfect then—one for me, one for you…”

“The other one is for Nana. She’ll be arriving shortly.”

Qiansui paused, then continued with a hint of helplessness in her explanation.

“Vampires track their prey through scent—that is her unique tracking method. Simply changing clothes won’t shake off the trail.”

“Scent tracking… You carry your own unique scent, Rina.”

“Moreover…”

“As long as…”

“As long as you breathe, the scent lingers in the air.”

“Only by staying close to you can we protect you properly.”

Rina fell silent.

She recalled that when she had escaped from the kidnapper, even after discarding her phone and constantly changing locations, the kidnapper still found her with pinpoint precision.

She had initially thought…

“Then what if I just wash myself clean?”

“That the tracker was hidden in her belongings. Now she realized it was scent tracking… This was far more terrifying than any tracking device.”

Qiansui was silent for a moment before speaking slowly, her tone strained, as if the words were hard to say.

Rina’s voice suddenly rang out across the inn lobby.

The innkeeper at the front desk curiously peeked out from behind his phone, then quickly ducked back.

“No. Absolutely not. No matter what, I don’t want to.”

Rina spoke each word with unyielding determination.

Even if she were recaptured by the kidnapper, she refused to accept such a bizarre arrangement.

“Then Rin-chan has no choice but to share a room with me.”

A hint of barely suppressed relief hid in Qiansui’s voice.

Rina took a deep breath, temporarily setting aside the idea of staying alone, and tried another approach.

“Then can you stay with that Nana person? She’s a Demon Hunter too, right?”

“That’s right, Nana is stronger than me, and she’s the most capable companion I can contact right now.”

“Perfect then! You two hunters take one room, I get my own, and Nana can protect both of us up close—isn’t that even safer?”

“No.” Qiansui shook her head directly. “Nana isn’t good with young children.”

Rina was stunned.

“Besides…” Qiansui raised a hand to scratch her cheek, her tone turning subtle. “She doesn’t really like people who are too restless, sensitive, and odd…”

“Ha!”

Rina let out a loud, mocking laugh.

“So you know exactly what you’re like yourself!”

Qiansui hung her head without arguing back.

Rina pressed on: “Then can’t you contact your superiors and explain the situation? Can’t you arrange for someone else to protect me?”

Hearing this, Qiansui suddenly went quiet.

That silence was the guilt of having her thoughts exposed.

Rina looked at Qiansui’s slightly evasive expression and understood everything in an instant.

The claims about scent tracking and needing close protection were partially true, but Qiansui’s insistence on sharing a room with her had another selfish motive.

This weirdo simply wanted to stay by her side every moment.

Everything about Nana not getting along with others or no one else being available—those were all excuses.

In her eyes, Hisaki was merely a Viscount-level vampire, and she believed she could handle the crisis herself, with Nana as a backup.

She didn’t actually need to keep Rina by her side to ward off danger.

She just didn’t want to hand Rina over to anyone else.

“Rin-chan… Wuwuwu… Rin-chan is just too cute, I really can’t bear to leave your side…”

Rina watched Qiansui squat directly on the ground, both hands covering her face while a pair of sparkling green eyes peeked through her fingers. The helplessness in her heart completely overwhelmed her anger, leaving only resignation.

Arguing with this person was pointless—she would never back down.

“I’m going to change into my pajamas.”

Rina’s voice suddenly returned to calm.

“I command you… Do not open your eyes until I’m under the covers.”

Qiansui sprang up from the floor, standing ramrod straight, both hands tightly covering her eyes with fingers pressed flush together—but the corners of her mouth were already stretched nearly to her ears.

Rin-chan had tacitly agreed to share a room with her… This thought made her body tremble with joy.

Rina watched her hiding half her face while failing to suppress her curling smile, and let out a silent sigh deep within.

She picked up the paper bag and walked into the small but tidy bathroom.

Shedding her striped spaghetti-strap tank top and denim shorts, Rina took out the pink-white strap nightgown from the bag.

The fabric still carried the faint, fresh scent of the kidnapper’s laundry detergent, along with the warm smell of the bedding.

She slipped the nightgown over her head, the soft, smooth material cascading down her skin.

In the mirror stood a girl with silver-white hair, light blue eyes, and a pale pink nightgown—exactly the same as when she had left the kidnapper’s place that morning.

The only difference was the person beside her. No longer the possessive kidnapper, but the strangely fixated, extremely clingy Qiansui.

Rina pushed open the bathroom door and stepped barefoot onto the cool wooden floor of the inn room.

Qiansui remained frozen in place, hands still covering her eyes, standing silently by the bed.

“Don’t open your eyes.” Rina warned as she walked past her.

“I’m not opening them! I absolutely did not peek!”

Rina climbed onto the wide double bed, threw open the blanket, and wrapped herself entirely inside, rolling tighter and tighter until she became a neat little cocoon, with only her silver-white head poking out and her light blue eyes watching Qiansui warily.

“Alright, you can open your eyes now.”

Qiansui slowly lowered her hands, and seeing the sight on the bed, she spoke softly.

“Rin-chan… Wrapped up that tightly, aren’t you stuffy?”

“Not hot. Turn off the light. Sleep.”

Qiansui reached out and pressed the switch by the headboard, plunging the room into darkness.

Rina closed her eyes.

Hisaki’s image involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

Hisaki’s embrace carried a faint coolness, and she had long grown accustomed to that touch.

She was used to a pair of arms wrapping around her waist from behind, used to resting the back of her head against that collarbone, used to being immersed in that person’s crisp, unique scent, finding peace within it.

She wondered what the kidnapper was doing right now.

Had she seen the shattered floor-to-ceiling window?

Seen the destroyed phone on the sofa?

Was she burning with rage right now, or had she already set out to track her down?

Would she appear silently like last time, take down Qiansui, and bring her back…

In the darkness, Rina instinctively tightened her blanket.

She couldn’t tell if she feared being recaptured, or secretly worried she might never see that person again.

On the other side of the bed, Qiansui’s emerald-green eyes were wide open, watching the silver-haired girl curled into a ball beside her without blinking.

Darkness couldn’t hinder a Demon Hunter’s vision. Every subtle change in Rina’s expression, including the faint flutter of her eyelashes before closing her eyes, was clearly visible.

The girl she longed for was right here, lying on the same bed, less than an arm’s length away.

She could hear the steady, gentle breathing, and the girl’s unique, sweet, soft scent drifted to her nose.

The faint fragrance filled the entire room, permeating everywhere.

Qiansui’s thoughts churned, her chest rising and falling softly.

Her heart was full of both tenderness and anxiety.

If she just turned her head, she could be a little closer to Rin-chan.

If she just shifted slightly, she could touch the warm blanket beside her.

Qiansui suddenly squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lower lip to steady herself.

No, she couldn’t cross that line.

Rin-chan was only staying with her because she had no other choice—she had never truly trusted her.

If she did anything that made her uncomfortable, it would only push Rin-chan away and make her despise her.

She forcibly suppressed the surging emotions within her, reined in her restless thoughts, and placed both hands neatly over her chest.

All she could do was endure, stay obedient, and protect.

As long as she watched over her and guarded her well, one day Rin-chan would truly accept her.

Qiansui pulled the blanket up to her chin and forced her eyes closed.

Rina’s steady breathing echoed in her ears, and the sweet scent lingered around her nose, slowly calming her restless heart.

The inn room fell into complete silence.

Wrapped in her blanket cocoon, Rina sank into deep sleep, her breathing even and her lashes resting peacefully against her eyes.

And above that tranquil stillness, two dark figures silently landed on the inn’s rooftop.

One of them folded the massive bat-like wings behind their back, while another small-statured figure stepped out from the shadows, dark red pupils glinting faintly under the cold moonlight.

“Is this the place?”

“…Yes, this is the place.”