Embrace That Vampire - Chapter 14

On the way back, Pei Yun told Lu Que about the two girls.

“Little Uncle, do you think they mistook me for someone else?”

Though their words didn’t sound malicious, the whole thing felt strange. Thinking back, he suspected that the flash of light he saw earlier wasn’t an illusion; he really had been surreptitiously photographed.

“Most likely,” Lu Que replied.

Otherwise, he couldn’t explain what was happening either. The only thing he was certain of was that his first impression of that restaurant was very poor. “We’ll go somewhere else next time.”

Pei Yun couldn’t help but agree. “I think so too. Not going back there again.”

After getting home, the WeChat group was buzzing about today’s homework. Pei Yun was typing away as he walked toward his room when Lu Que called him into the study. “Your class has an electronic quiz assignment today. Have you done it?”

Pei Yun said, “Not yet.”

He had run off to eat in the middle of nowhere right after class; he hadn’t had the time.

Lu Que tapped the desk as a signal. “Sit down. Do it here.”

It was only then that Pei Yun realized there was a brand-new computer on the desk. It was set up directly opposite Lu Que’s, and the color and model were identical to the one in Lu Que’s home.

His eyes lit up. “Is this for me?”

Lu Que: “Mm. It’s for you.”

Pei Yun sat down and turned it on. After a bit of exploring, he was pleasantly surprised to find that all the hardware and software were top-of-the-line—even better than the one he had back home.

Lu Que: “Install whatever games you want to play.”

Pei Yun: “! Really?”

Lu Que: “It’s your computer. You can do whatever you want with it.”

Pei Yun’s grin almost reached his ears. Taking advantage of the favor, he didn’t forget to play the good boy. “But Little Uncle, if I play games here, will I be too noisy for you?”

“Wear headphones.”

Lu Que said, then paused, looking up at him. “Finish your homework before you play.”

“Of course! I’m a high-quality modern college student with incredible self-control, not a three-year-old.”

As Pei Yun spoke, he opened a web page to search for his usual game. After clicking download and minimizing it to the taskbar, he logged into the portal to find today’s quiz. His legs wouldn’t stop shaking with excitement. “Thanks, Little Uncle!”

Lu Que gave a soft “Mm.” His typing speed slowed down before coming to a complete stop. He looked up. “Xiao Yun, give me your phone for a second.”

Pei Yun immediately unlocked it and handed it over respectfully. Seeing his little uncle tapping away on his phone, he asked curiously, “What are you doing?”

Lu Que quickly returned the phone and went back to work. “Changing an address.”

“?” Pei Yun flipped through his apps. Sure enough, his Taobao and food delivery addresses had been changed from the school to Nanhu Jingyuan.

Lu Que: “Do your problems.”

“Oh!” Pei Yun obediently put down his phone and grabbed the mouse.

He turned the computer volume to the lowest setting. The WeChat icon in the bottom right corner kept flashing—it was Du Jian, who was also suffering from the quiz, howling in grief:

Du Jian: [This is too hard! I thought they were all basic questions? Professor Liu is too cruel. This is linked to our final grade; I want to die!]

Beat the Little Monster: [/shakehands/shakehands]

Beat the Little Monster: [/Brother, I’m right there with you.jpg]

Du Jian: [Bao~]

Beat the Little Monster: [/glare/glare Watch your language. Who’s your ‘Bao’?]

Du Jian: [Daddy! Save me! Aren’t you pretty good at Advanced Math? Waaaaah.]

Beat the Little Monster: [Stop daydreaming. Who could actually be good at Advanced Math?]

Beat the Little Monster: [Forget it, I have it worse than you.]

Beat the Little Monster: [Do you know where I am right now? In my Little Uncle’s study. Do you know where my Little Uncle is? In his study! I’m sitting face-to-face with Professor Lu right now. This feeling of being proctored is so bittersweet. /lightscigarette]

Pei Yun bit his nails, glancing at his little uncle and then at the new computer. It was truly a case of “pain and pleasure.”

Damn this quiz; it was really hard.

The person sitting opposite him had a furrowed brow and hadn’t changed his posture for a long time.

Lu Que looked up at him twice. On the third time, he finally couldn’t help but speak: “Pei Yun, don’t bite your nails.”

Pei Yun reflexively dropped his hand.

But within two minutes, the habit returned.

Lu Que pressed his knuckles to his brow. “Which ones can’t you do? Send them to me.”

“Huh?” Pei Yun poked his head out from the side, confusion still lingering in his eyes which reflected the screen light. “But isn’t this ‘proctored’ session a closed-book exam?”

Lu Que: “What proctoring?”

Pei Yun pointed to his own nose: “Examinee.” Then he secretly pointed at him: “Proctor.”

Lu Que: “…”

“Send them over.” He felt a bit helpless. “We are at home now, not at school. And I am not your Advanced Math teacher.”

Pei Yun’s face instantly broke into a smile, his whole being brightening up.

He unreservedly forwarded the entire quiz file to Lu Que. “Question six, question eight, and thirteen. They’ve got me lagging like a bad PPT.”

QAQ.

Twenty minutes later, Du Jian, who was still sitting cross-legged in front of his computer scratching his head, received a “warmth-sending” message from his “daddy”:

Beat the Little Monster: [/image/image/image]

Beat the Little Monster: [Multiple choice and the steps for the first two long-form questions. Don’t mention it. (^▽^)]

Du Jian: [Holy sh*t!!!]

Du Jian: [And you said you weren’t good at it! How’d you do it?]

Beat the Little Monster: [Mind your business. Just copy the answers.]

Du Jian: [Er… you didn’t just write random stuff, did you? Is it reliable?]

Beat the Little Monster: [I swear! I swear! Warning: do not doubt me. No one is more reliable than me today!]

Du Jian: [Is it really a case of ‘no pressure, no oil’? With a proctor watching you, did the cognitive pathways in your brain finally open up?]

Beat the Little Monster: [Hehe, no proctor.]

Du Jian: [? The guy sitting opposite you?? He’s not?]

Pei Yun stole a glance at Lu Que, who had just finished handling online affairs and was busy with book files again. He shrank his head back smugly:

Beat the Little Monster: [What proctor? This is ‘parental tutoring.’ /sunglasses/sunglasses]

Lu Que, who was idly flipping through a collection of essays, also received a message from a friend:

Zhang Liangshen: [Old Lu, what are you doing? Busy?]

. : [Accompanying the kid with his homework. Something up?]

Zhang Liangshen: [You went to that restaurant I mentioned today, right? How was the taste? Good?]

. : [Not great.]

Zhang Liangshen: [How is that possible? My little niece loves the ice cream bread there. Don’t tell me your Xiao Yun didn’t like it?]

. : [He didn’t. Won’t be going back.]

. : [How did you know I went today?]

Zhang Liangshen: [Tsk, as expected of the ‘Light of Ningqing.’ You hit the nail on the head immediately.]

Zhang Liangshen: [Accompanying a kid with homework must be boring. Let me show you something to wake you up.]

Zhang Liangshen: [Shared Weibo link]

Zhang Liangshen: [Congratulations, you and your kid have made it to the Weibo Hot Search.]

Lu Que clicked the link:

#SugarDaddyMinorStar

[Entertainment news today: In the number one restaurant at the Film City, an obscure minor star was photographed eating with his sugar daddy. Both possess outstanding looks. They entered and left together in harmony. The minor star is suspected of being spoiled rotten, as he took zero measures for disguise. His desire to use this for hype is as clear as day!]

Hot Comments Section:

[Is this the same restaurant from the rumors a few days ago? The one saying a sugar daddy would bring his starlet there today? I thought marketing accounts were just talking nonsense, but someone actually caught them?]

[I don’t get it. The rumors were so loud, and they knew people would go early to camp out. Why would they still go to that restaurant? Couldn’t they just pick another one?]

[I have no evidence, but I suspect they released the rumors themselves on purpose. Since they’re looking to be photographed for hype, of course they wouldn’t change the venue.]

[I’ve looked at the photos over and over. Who are these two? I don’t recognize them at all.]

[Add me to the ‘don’t recognize’ list. Probably just some 18th-tier nobody.]

[Are 18th-tier stars already competing at this level of looks now?]

[Obscure and unknown. No wonder they refused to name him in the marketing leaks and just used ‘Mr. X’—they were trying to trick people into thinking it was a big-name star. Devious little flop.]

[Despite everything… these two are really good-looking!!!]

[The older one is noble and elegant, the younger one is full of sunshine. If the aura wasn’t so obvious, I almost wouldn’t be able to tell who’s the daddy and who’s the starlet just by looks.]

[I always felt there was no barrier to entry for the entertainment industry nowadays, but seeing this guy, I feel the barrier is back! He’s so f***ing attractive!]

[Can all young idols be signed according to this standard please!!! Even if it’s intentional marketing, I’ll take it. He’s exactly my type AHHHH!]

[What is his name! Does he sing or act? What are his works? Sisters, dig him up fast! I’m starving for info.]

[To be fair, this sugar daddy’s quality is really high…]

[Is it actually a ‘sponsored’ relationship or just a couple? Can marketing accounts stop slapping labels on a pretty boy?]

[Sherlocks, haven’t you noticed the ‘daddy’ hasn’t smiled once? So he’s being forced to accompany the starlet for hype?]

[Yes, and he’s not considerate at all. He didn’t serve a single bite of food to the kid the whole time.]

[Just playing around, why be considerate? Haven’t enough of these ‘wild chicken’ starlets crashed and burned?]

[Hype-seekers deserve the worst! That guy smiles like a fox; one look and you can tell he’s a calculating b*tch desperately clinging to someone who doesn’t care. Disgusting. How can anyone like him? Are you blind?]

[Exactly. Not even famous yet and he’s acting like he’s a huge deal. Getting in through the back door and doesn’t know how to keep a low profile. He even put on a stinky face and acted like a diva when asked for a photo. Who does he think he is? I’m just waiting for the day he gets dumped!]

[So what if he’s good-looking? This kind of man is the most repulsive in the industry. You can tell he climbed up after being f***ed who knows how many times. He’d probably sleep with anyone even without money. Looking at him once feels like it’s polluting my eyes!]

[Are the two people above toxic? Such foul mouths. Even if they are hyping themselves, it’s none of your business.]

[I’m shocked. Why so much malice? How miserable is your real life?]