Embrace That Vampire - Chapter 11

“You can try this one; many young guys like it.”

The shop assistant handed over a pair of blue-rimmed glasses. As Pei Yun reached out to take them, his cuff slid down again, covering his hand. Lu Que’s clothes were quite a bit too large for him.

“Actually, little brother, you look good in any of these.” The assistant looked at him with a very friendly smile. “It just depends on your preference.”

His preference? He thought to himself that he didn’t have one.

The more he tried them on, the more he felt glasses were inconvenient. He liked to move around, and having something perched on his nose was too much in the way; it would probably end up smashed to pieces one day. After considering it, he decided to buy contact lenses.

For someone who had never touched contact lenses, the first time was quite a struggle. However, it was true that the physical sensation was much better than frame glasses. The assistant helped him put one in; he blinked, and suddenly the world felt much brighter.

“Any discomfort?” the assistant asked.

Pei Yun felt carefully. “No, I don’t feel anything.”

The assistant smiled. “That’s good. Let me help you with the other one.”

Pei Yun waved his hand. “I’ll do it myself.”

He had large eyes, so logically it should have been easy, but following the assistant’s method, he couldn’t get it in for the life of him. Every time he got close, he couldn’t help but blink frantically.

“This is so hard. Will I even be able to take them out myself when I get back?” he muttered.

“It’s fine; it’s always like this the first time.” The assistant gave him a suggestion: “You can let your brother help you first. Once you’re used to it, you can do it yourself.”

“He’s not my—”

“Give it to me.” Lu Que wiped his hands clean with a disinfectant wipe and rinsed the contact lens again. Following the assistant’s technique, he placed the lens on the tip of his right index finger. He tilted Pei Yun’s chin up with his left hand and used his fingertip to press down on Pei Yun’s lower eyelid.

The boy’s eyes were beautiful.

Long, thick eyelashes, well-defined double eyelids, and the corners of his eyes tilted slightly downward; he looked very well-behaved whether he was smiling or not. His amber pupils were crystal clear, like the first ray of light hitting a dewdrop on a windowsill in the morning.

Of course, there were times when they were even more beautiful—Lu Que had seen it. At those times, the amber would turn into rubies.

“Don’t blink,” he commanded softly.

“I didn’t want to blink; it’s blinking on its own.” And as soon as he said it, Pei Yun couldn’t control himself and blinked even faster.

“Then endure it for a second.”

Lu Que leaned closer. Pei Yun could feel the man’s breath on his jaw. The assistant took this moment to retreat behind the counter to tidy up the sample glasses.

“I’ve asked a friend at the Supernatural Research Institute. The process of full awakening can be quite long.”

Lu Que’s tone was casual, but his volume was kept very low, audible only to the two of them. “So, in the time to come, if you have any discomfort or anomalies, you can tell me.”

In that moment of daze, Pei Yun felt a coolness in his eye. Lu Que withdrew his hand and turned to ask the assistant about precautions for removing the lenses. Pei Yun rolled his eyes—sure enough, the other one was in too.

Throughout the rest of the process, Pei Yun seemed a bit distracted. He was thinking about what Lu Que had just said.

Packing, paying, leaving.

As they neared the car, Pei Yun suddenly stopped. He turned and asked Lu Que, “Little uncle, do you think I really have to keep hiding like this forever? Aren’t you afraid?”

Lu Que looked down at him. “Why do you ask that?”

“ I just feel like if it’s for a long time, having to always be so secretive and hidden will be very, very…”

He let out a gloomy breath, not knowing how to put it. He just couldn’t help but feel dejected. If humans had ears on top of their heads, his would probably be drooping level with the horizon right now.

In fact, from the moment he knew he was a vampire, although he never said it aloud, his thoughts had turned pessimistic. “The Research Institute modifies vampires precisely because we have the potential to lose control and attack blood providers at any time, right? If I stay with you like this, what if one day I also—”

His words came to an abrupt halt.

Pei Yun was suddenly pinched by the cheek by a hand, forced to look up.

“???” What does this mean?

He froze, instinctively trying to pull the hand away. He couldn’t budge it, nor could he break free. He could only stare at Lu Que in shock, his face tilted up, asking a muffled and unclear “What’s wrong?”

Lu Que: “Why don’t you try biting?”

Pei Yun: “…”

Being pinched like that, he couldn’t even touch the man’s thumb with his mouth when he opened it. How could he bite?

Lu Que saw what he was thinking and quickly let go. “See? You can’t hurt me.”

With that, he handed the umbrella to Pei Yun, walked around to the other side, and got into the car. Pei Yun stood there for quite a while before he realized what Lu Que meant.

It seemed to be the case. But… did he just get a backhanded insult?

His head full of melancholy instantly vanished with a pop. He closed the umbrella, shook off the water, and quickly dove into the passenger seat. He tried to save some dignity for himself with a line about “heavy schoolwork and occasional lack of exercise,” but the warmth of the car made his tongue a beat slow, and he forgot what he was going to say.

“There’s nothing wrong with keeping it hidden.”

The car merged into the traffic. The wipers cleared a layer of accumulated water from the windshield. Pei Yun’s vision became broad and clear. He saw the heavy dark clouds in the distance and heard Lu Que’s voice beside his ear:

“I can take care of you forever.”