Embrace That Vampire - Chapter 12

“This is just too good! Does he have to be this considerate?”

Back in the dormitory, Du Jian was clutching his phone and howling, “Monitor, you’re playing the carry jungler! It’s one thing that you didn’t touch the mid-lane minions, but you actually kept giving the Blue Buff to Pei Bao!”

After the jungler took down the Dragon, the Blue Team gathered to attack the high ground and shattered the enemy’s crystal in one fell swoop. Du Jian jumped up in celebration: “Awesome! F***ing awesome!!!”

Excitedly, he went over to Zeng Yichen and nudged his shoulder with a cheeky grin. “Monitor, you take such good care of Pei Bao—be honest, are you actually his little uncle too?”

“How could I be?” Zeng Yichen replied with a smile.

An Lan diligently gave everyone a ‘like’ and returned to the room lobby, asking, “Another round?”

Du Jian checked the time; it was 4:40 PM. “Yes! Two more rounds and then we can go eat.”

He also returned to the team page, but the ‘Start Game’ button was unclickable because one person hadn’t returned to the room yet.

“Pei Bao? Pei Bao!”

“Hmm?” Pei Yun snapped back to reality. “What are you calling your daddy for?”

“Tsk, why are you so obnoxious?” Du Jian was fed up with him. “Hurry up and get back in the room; we’re just waiting on you.”

With a ding-dong, a WeChat message popped up at the top of the screen:

Little Uncle: [The department has a teaching research seminar this afternoon, so I’ll be back a bit late. The auntie has already finished making dinner and left. Eat by yourself when you get back; no need to wait for me.]

Pei Yun moved his fingers to reply with a [Good], then put his phone away. “You guys go on without me, I’m out.”

Du Jian: “Why? Are you heading back?”

Pei Yun: “Yup, going back for dinner.”

Du Jian watched him leave, shaking his head and sighing. “Kids with family looking after them are just different.”

It started raining while Pei Yun was halfway home.

He ran all the way and ducked into the main entrance. He noticed that the sofas in the ground-floor lobby were full of people. At first, he thought they were just taking shelter from the rain, but after catching a few snippets of conversation, he realized that wasn’t the case.

“Our Nannan is excellent. She has a Master’s degree and currently works for a Fortune 500 company. Her leaders think very highly of her; she’ll be promoted next year.”

“Aiya, my A-Qiang isn’t bad either! He just got his PhD last year. He didn’t want to work for others, so he started his own company. It’ll probably go public soon.”

“Our Nannan is gentle and virtuous.”

“My A-Qiang is kind and considerate.”

Oh, blind dates.

But why pick this place? Wouldn’t it be better to find a restaurant and chat over a meal?

Pei Yun thought so as he took a few curious glances. Feeling it was impolite to linger and disturb them, he quickly walked past and entered the elevator.

However, when he reached the front door and patted his pockets, they were completely empty.

Pei Yun’s brain jolted. He couldn’t be that unlucky, could he?

But no matter how he searched through every pocket on his person, there was no sign of his keys.

He scratched his chin and thought back carefully. He had been in such a rush to leave today that he’d dashed out to catch the elevator as soon as he put on his shoes. The keys seemed to have been left on the hallway cabinet…

How unlucky.

He poked his head out to look; the rain was getting heavier. He didn’t have an umbrella, and it wasn’t realistic to turn back to school to find Lu Que now.

Normally, he could go sit in the lobby and wait, but since people were having blind dates there today, he felt awkward going back down. He could only lean against the wall and play on his phone out of boredom.

Logging into the game, Du Jian and the others had just finished a round and were forming a team. As soon as they saw him online, they immediately pulled him in.

An Lan: “Eating while playing?”

Pei Yun lied through his teeth: “Of course not, I’ve already finished.”

Du Jian: “Holy crap, that fast??? Did you use a funnel to stuff it in?!”

Pei Yun: “Mind your business. Where’s the Monitor? Why are there only two of you left?”

“As soon as you left, the Monitor went to eat too.”

Du Jian started the game. “He even said he’d bring food back for me and An Lan, which saves us from having to change clothes. Hehe.”

Pei Yun: “So you’re making me carry two people? No way, I can’t carry you guys.”

Du Jian: “Don’t! Daddy, be strong! Put in some effort!! You can carry us!!!”

The way he called him ‘Daddy’ was becoming increasingly crisp. Pei Yun was so amused he couldn’t stop grinning.

After playing two rounds, his posture shifted from standing to squatting. With his knees supporting his chin, his eyelids felt heavy and were starting to fight each other.

Why wasn’t Little Uncle back yet? He was getting sleepy from waiting.

“Hey, Pei Bao,” Du Jian called out. “What happened with that thing I mentioned last time?”

Pei Yun replied drowsily, “Which one?”

“About going to your place for hot pot.”

Du Jian said with a chuckle, “Didn’t you say Professor Lu is different from our impression of him? Doesn’t that mean this can be negotiated?”

After he finished speaking, there was no response for a long time. He said “Hello?” a few times. “Pei Bao? Pei Bao? Daddy? Son?! Eh, why is there no sound? Is my speaker broken…”

Pei Yun was staring blankly at the empty space in front of him.

For no reason, he remembered what Lu Que had said to him in the car that day.

When Lu Que returned, the rain outside had gradually stopped.

Residual water dripped from the tip of his umbrella. He stepped out of the elevator, but his pace faltered when he saw the person squatting by the door around the corner.

Pei Yun had his arms wrapped around himself, his face buried in them so that only the back of his head was visible. He appeared to be asleep. Though he was a tall young man, curled up in a ball like that, he looked thin and frail.

The spot where Pei Yun was squatting was intentionally shielded from the wind, but since it was outside, he still shivered and hunched his shoulders from the cold while asleep.

When he was woken up, his mind was still foggy, unsure of where he was. He just saw the person and instinctively called out, “Little Uncle.”

Lu Que’s gaze swept across his face, his eyes flickering for a moment before quickly regaining their calm.

He gave a soft “Mm” and took Pei Yun by the arm to pull him up from the floor. “Forgot your keys?”

Pei Yun yawned, his lower legs numb. “I left them on the cabinet when I went out this morning.”

Lu Que let go. “Why didn’t you call me?”

Just then, the elevator doors opened, and the sound of footsteps and voices approached.

Pei Yun moved his lips, about to speak, when he was suddenly grabbed by the arm and pulled forward. A palm pressed against the back of his head, pushing him down so his face was hidden against Lu Que’s shoulder.

“Oh, Professor, you’re back?”

It was the neighbors from across the hall, a middle-aged couple. They turned the corner, saw them, and greeted them with a smile.

Lu Que: “Yes.”

“Oh, what’s wrong?” the woman asked, tilting her head to observe. “Is the child crying? Is everything okay?”

Lu Que: “It’s nothing. He forgot his keys when he went out and got a bit chilled.”

“Oh, I see. The weather is cold now; young people wear too little and get cold easily. Hurry and go inside; it’s warm in the house.”

Once the neighbors had entered their home, Lu Que took out his keys, opened the door, and led Pei Yun inside.

“Little Uncle, you said you were in a meeting, I was afraid of disturbing you,” Pei Yun said, looking down as he changed his shoes, finally adding the answer he hadn’t had time to say earlier.

Lu Que: “And if I had been delayed until very late and hadn’t come back?”

Pei Yun took it as a matter of fact: “I would have just waited a bit longer.”

He finished changing his shoes and stood up. He saw his keys on the cabinet and grinned, picking them up and jingling them. He wanted to say something, but when he turned around, he bumped right into a pair of eyes—deep and silent.

Lu Que asked him, “Xiao Yun, are you unwilling to live with me?”

Pei Yun denied it immediately: “How could that be? Absolutely not!”

Lu Que said nothing.

Pei Yun was most afraid of being looked at like this. His eyes darted around, and in less than two seconds, he deflated. He said dejectedly, “Fine, I’ll come clean.”

“I just… feel like it’s a bit unreal.”

Suddenly having an unspeakable identity, suddenly being forced to move out of the dormitory, and suddenly living with a ‘Little Uncle’ whom he respected more than he was close to, yet being cared for so thoroughly and appropriately…

He even wondered if he would wake up one day and find that, in reality, he had been sent to the Heterogeneity Research Institute long ago.

He didn’t realize his eyes were still red. He hung his head in discouragement. His usually vibrant features had grown docile; even the fangs peeking out from the corner of his mouth didn’t look fierce, but rather quite gentle.

“I see.”

Lu Que looked at him silently for a long while, then retracted his gaze and turned toward the living room. “Go take a shower. You’ve been outside for so long; don’t catch a cold.”

Pei Yun had been anxious for ages only to hear this. He blinked and gave a blank “Oh.” After taking a few steps toward his room, he couldn’t help but turn back hesitantly. “Little Uncle—”

Lu Que: “Watch your eyes and teeth when you’re outside.”

“Huh?”

Pei Yun instinctively raised his hand to feel them, his eyes widening suddenly.

Damn! When did these things pop out?!

“Also.”

Lu Que casually draped his removed coat over the back of the sofa. “Next time something like this happens, call me immediately.”

“Don’t worry about disturbing me.”

“I’m seriously done. Do you know what I discovered yesterday?!”

Early in the morning, Zhang Liangshen called and woke Lu Que from his sleep. Lu Que checked the time—6:50 AM. It was about time to get up anyway.

“I’ll call you back in a bit.”

Ignoring the other man’s repeated protests, Lu Que hung up and went to the bathroom. After freshening up and changing his clothes, he left his room.

Pei Yun didn’t have classes in the morning; his door was tightly shut, and he wasn’t up yet.

Lu Que passed Pei Yun’s door and went to the kitchen. He pressed the redial button and placed the phone on the counter. He rolled up the cuffs of his black shirt slightly and began making breakfast.

“What did you discover?” Once the call connected, he resumed the topic before the other person could start an interrogation.

Zhang Liangshen rolled his eyes grandly on the other end. “Forget it, I’m generous enough not to hold it against you. Let’s talk business first.”

“Right before I went to sleep last night, Sheng Hui accidentally sent a document regarding the Accelerated Transformation Method to the group chat. Although he retracted it very quickly, I happened to be looking at my phone, so I opened it for a glance. Good lord, that one glance almost gave me a brain hemorrhage from anger.”

A whole night had passed, but Zhang Liangshen’s anger had not subsided. Even now, he spoke with gritted teeth. “Do you know? That ‘acceleration method’ of his is a total half-finished product! It was just developed and hasn’t even been tested, yet he wants to put it into use. Don’t you think he’s sick? Does he really not treat vampires as human beings?”

Lu Que’s eyes darkened slightly. “Has it been put into use?”

“No, not yet.” Zhang Liangshen took two breaths. “There’s a limited number of applications per month. His request for activation won’t go in until next month. You know how slow the Bureau of Heterogeneity Management is; even if it passes, it’ll probably be several months from now.”

At this point, he gave a sarcastic laugh. “I never thought the day would come when I’d be glad for the government’s inefficiency.”

Lu Que took out the toasted bread and didn’t speak.

Zhang Liangshen: “By the way, I told you the principle behind his ‘acceleration method,’ right?”

Lu Que: “You did.”

Zhang Liangshen: “Tsk, I really can’t figure it out. Do you think Sheng Hui’s brain has been eaten hollow by maggots? He spent so many years single-mindedly researching this, and now he can’t wait to use it. Did a vampire steal his wife or kill his whole family? He seems desperate to drive them all to extinction.”

Lu Que: “As far as I know, he has never married, and both his parents are still alive.”

“That’s why I don’t get it even more!”

Zhang Liangshen let out a long sigh. “The most annoying part is that people like him still have students rushing to have him as their mentor. What’s wrong with these students? Could they be so poisoned by social public opinion that they really buy into that ‘hating evil like an enemy’ routine?”

Lu Que: “I’m not sure.”

“Sigh, forget it, let’s stop talking about him. The more I talk, the angrier I get.”

Zhang Liangshen changed the subject. “Oh right, you’ve been living with your little nephew for quite a few days now. How does it feel? Are you used to it?”

Lu Que poured a glass of milk. “There’s nothing to get used to.”

“I wasn’t asking about you; I was asking if the kid is used to it.”

Zhang Liangshen’s voice sounded suspiciously like he was gloating. “Living alone with you must be miserable. Let me guess—is he under so much pressure that he leaves early and comes back late just to avoid you? Does he try to take a detour if he runs into you at home?”

Lu Que placed the breakfast on the dining table and pulled out a chair to sit. “That is none of your business.”

“Che, who wants to mind your business? I’m just a spectator.”

Before hanging up, Zhang Liangshen remembered something. “You don’t have classes this morning, right? Then come down to the Institute. I’ll tell you about some recent research results. Don’t worry, none of it is related to transformation.”

“Okay, I’ll head over in a bit.”

“Fine, then hurry up. I’m hanging up to go find something to eat at the cafeteria.”

Lu Que finished his meal and cleared the plates. While washing and drying his hands, he looked at the other portion of breakfast sitting nearby. His gaze paused, and his brow twitched slightly.

After a moment, he tossed the paper towel into the trash and sent a message to Zhang Liangshen:

. : [No need to go to the cafeteria. I’ll bring you a portion.]

Zhang Liangshen: [So nice? OK, I’ll be waiting /ThanksBoss.jpg]

Lu Que packed up the breakfast. He took the toast and jam out of the refrigerator and placed them in the far-right cabinet above the counter. He then habitually took something out from inside and put it in his pocket before finally heading out.

Pei Yun slept until ten o’clock before waking up.

He tossed and turned in bed for over ten minutes and only got up when he was too hungry to bear it.

After washing his face and brushing his teeth, he ducked into the kitchen. At a glance, he saw a sticky note on the fridge with a line of beautiful Xingkai (running script) calligraphy:

[I had a sudden emergency and had to leave early. Make your own breakfast; there is toast and jam in the house.]

Oh, okay.

Pei Yun nodded at the fridge, peeled off the note, crumpled it into a little ball, and threw it in the trash.

He made a cup of milk and set it aside, then rummaged through the fridge for ages but couldn’t find the toast or jam for the life of him. He turned and searched all over the counter, but still nothing.

Did his Little Uncle remember incorrectly?

He scratched his head. Maybe he should just go out and buy something to eat.

He carried his milk, preparing to leave, but his pace was sluggish. He stopped at the door, hesitating over his phone before turning back to look around.

In the end, he dialed the number.

“Hello, Little Uncle.”

He asked cautiously, “Are you busy?”

“No,” the voice on the other end sounded very quiet. “What is it?”

Pei Yun cleared his throat awkwardly. “It’s nothing much, I just… I can’t find where the toast and jam are.”

Lu Que: “They aren’t in the fridge?”

Pei Yun: “No, I’ve looked several times.”

The other side seemed to think for a moment. “Check the top-right cabinet.”

Pei Yun followed his directions and opened the cabinet door. “Ah, found them! So they were here.”

Lu Que gave an “Mm.” “I must have taken them out when I was tidying the fridge last night. Put them back when you’re done.”

Pei Yun: “Will do!”

After hanging up, Pei Yun happily took the items down and set them next to his milk. Humming a tune, he started fiddling with the toaster.

Three minutes later—

Pei Yun: “Hello, Little Uncle, quick question: does this toaster have a manual?”

Lu Que: “No.”

Pei Yun: “…”

Lu Que: “I’ll talk, you follow along.”