Embrace That Vampire - Chapter 5

Not knowing if their previous nonsense had been overheard, the group looked at one another, their collective chorus of “Professor Lu” sounding exceptionally guilty.

Pei Yun shrank his neck, his greeting barely a whisper, no louder than the hum of a mosquito. His scalp felt numb under that gaze, and he feigned interest in his own feet, not daring to look up.

Weren’t you guys just saying you weren’t afraid a second ago?

Quick, let a “Small Aunt” step up and distract him!

Fortunately, Lu Que said nothing. Whether he truly hadn’t heard or simply couldn’t be bothered to settle accounts with them, he merely gave a faint hum of acknowledgment, withdrew his gaze, and walked straight past them to find Professor Zheng.

The group followed obediently, not daring to say another word.

“Right, I’ve got it. Don’t worry.” Professor Zheng took the documents Lu Que handed him and chuckled. “Then I’ll leave next Tuesday afternoon’s class to you.”

“Okay,” Lu Que replied.

Professor Zheng asked again, “Are you heading over now? Why not stay a while longer? The equipment is being moved in right now; why not take a look before you go?”

“No need. There are other professors waiting in the meeting room.”

“True, I almost forgot. You’d better hurry then…”

Pei Yun stood at the back of the crowd, unable to hear clearly what they were saying. He craned his neck, trying to see the equipment, but seeing Lu Que coming out, he immediately stood at attention.

As Lu Que passed by, he seemed to remember something and stopped in front of him. “The teaching group has a meeting. Professor Zheng will be covering this class for you.”

Pei Yun thought to himself that this notice was a bit late, but he gave a submissive “oh” aloud. “Then after class, I’ll just—”

“Come out from the West Gate after class,” Lu Que said. “I’ll wait for you at the entrance. We’ll go home together.”

As soon as Lu Que left, the atmosphere—previously compressed to its limit—exploded like a burst bale of cotton.

Pei Yun rubbed his chilled fingertips. After a moment’s thought, he asked Du Jian, “What I said at the door just now… Professor Lu shouldn’t have heard it, right?”

Du Jian gave a long-drawn “mhm” but before he could speak, he heard Pei Yun reassuring himself: “I don’t think he did either. That’s good then.”

Du Jian: “…”

He actually wanted to say that Professor Lu wasn’t deaf; it would be a miracle if he hadn’t heard it from that close.

But forget it. Since it counted as family business after rounding it off, he decided not to be a busybody.

“So this is what it means for a person to be heartless, but their words to be full of affection.” The class monitor held her face in her hands, smiling. “‘Wait for you at the entrance’ and ‘go home together’—that sounds far too good.”

The new blood analyzer wasn’t delivered until nearly halfway through the session.

A small group of students who had been complaining irritably while waiting immediately shut their mouths when they saw the actual equipment. The main reason was that the volume of this new device was far larger than they had imagined; even two boys struggled to lift it.

Pei Yun had little interest in things that were “for display only, no testing allowed.” After watching Professor Zheng demonstrate it once, he slipped away to a corner, picked out a microscope, and started playing with it on his own.

Keeping in mind that someone was waiting for him, he was ready five minutes before class ended. The moment the bell rang, he rushed out of the lab.

From the lab building to the West Gate was usually a ten-minute stroll, but today he managed to cut it down to five. Panting as he reached the gate, he immediately spotted the low-profile black Volkswagen Phaeton parked at the entrance.

Pei Yun took two seconds to catch his breath before walking over.

Finding the car empty, he climbed into the passenger seat and sat down. He rolled down the window to glance outside and saw Lu Que emerging from a roadside pharmacy with a box of medicine.

Pei Yun was about to call out to him when he saw a woman chase after Lu Que from the pharmacy. As she approached him, she slowed her pace, her posture suggesting a shy, hesitant air.

Pei Yun understood at a glance. Discreetly lowering his hand, he leaned against the window frame and watched happily for a while, even taking a quick photo with his phone.

Upon zooming in, he realized he actually knew this woman; she was also a teacher at their school.

He couldn’t see clearly in person, but in the photo, the tall, handsome man and the slender, charming woman looked quite well-matched.

Pei Yun remembered hearing his mother nag about Lu Que several times at home, worrying that he didn’t have a girlfriend at his age. So, out of the goodness of his heart, he immediately forwarded the photo to the “Empress Mother.”

Less than two minutes later, Pei Siyue began a message bombardment.

The screen scrolled so fast that Pei Yun couldn’t even see what his mom was sending, but the wall of exclamation marks was exceptionally prominent. He could feel her excitement and thrill through the screen.

He wanted to add a colorful description of his own, but Lu Que returned too quickly. Pei Yun was a bit too embarrassed to gossip to the man’s face, so he could only use the phrase “Wait until we’re back and ask him yourself” to barely stop Pei Siyue’s mouth.

The driver’s side door opened and closed.

Pei Yun called out “Small Uncle” and took note of the medicine box he’d placed aside—it was stomach medication. He guessed it was for his grandfather.

“Mhm.” Before Lu Que started the car, he asked Pei Yun, “Do you want some water? There’s some in the trunk.”

The school was in Ningqing North, while the Pei residence was in Ningqing South. To get back, they had to cross most of Ningqing City. Combined with the evening rush hour, it would take at least an hour and a half.

Pei Yun wasn’t thirsty now, but he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t be halfway there.

He obediently got out to fetch a bottle of soda water from the trunk, grabbing one for Lu Que as well. Before getting back in, he glanced toward the pharmacy; the female teacher was nowhere to be seen.

There were many red lights on this stretch of road, so it was a slow, stop-and-go drive.

Lu Que didn’t have the habit of listening to the radio. Pei Yun, knowing his own phone was full of noisy, raucous rock music, didn’t dare to be presumptuous. The car interior—containing only the two of them—was exceptionally quiet, save for the occasional “tick-tock” of the turn signal.

It was a bit boring.

Pei Yun blew a strand of hair upward and opened his phone to scroll through Weibo. He happened to see a message his dorm head had just sent in the WeChat group, which he hadn’t heard because the phone was on silent.

Dorm Head: 【Xiao Pei, I just received the local weather forecast. Temperatures will drop this weekend. If you go out, remember to wear more layers. Bring two thick pieces of clothing back when you return to school.】

The dorm head truly lived up to his title, always as thoughtful as a devoted father.

Pei Yun felt a wave of emotion and replied with an “OK” gesture. Thinking it wasn’t enthusiastic enough, he added a shy “big-faced cat” thank-you emoji.

Dorm Head: 【Home already?】

Beating Up Little Monsters: 【Not that fast, we aren’t even halfway there yet /yawn /yawn】

Dorm Head: 【If you’re sleepy, just take a nap in the car. Don’t look at your phone so much; it’s easy to get carsick.】

An Lan: 【Bubbling up.】

Du Jian: 【@Beating Up Little Monsters Congrats! You’ve been saying school food is gross and you have no appetite lately; today you can finally go home and have a big feast!】

Beating Up Little Monsters: 【Hell yeah! /power!!!】

He hadn’t felt it until it was mentioned, but now Pei Yun was suddenly a bit hungry.

He twitched his nose and sniffed around. He seemed to smell that fragrance again—the one that opened his appetite. He turned to glance at the back seat, but there was nothing there.

“What is it?” Lu Que noticed the movement out of the corner of his eye.

Pei Yun was too embarrassed to say he was hungry, so he beat around the bush. “Small Uncle, did you leave something in the car? It smells quite good; just a whiff makes me feel hungry.”

“No.” Lu Que turned the steering wheel, and the car merged onto the elevated highway.

“Oh. Then I probably smelled it wrong, haha.”

Pei Yun put down his phone, letting out a yawn to hide his disappointment. He lowered the seat back and leaned against it. After staring out the window at the rapidly receding buildings for a while, he closed his eyes, his breathing gradually growing steady.

The car was soon brought to a halt by another long red light.

Lu Que tilted his head to look at Pei Yun, who was already sound asleep with his head lolling to one side. Withdrawing his gaze, he reached out and turned the air conditioning up by one degree.

It was nearly eight o’clock by the time they reached home. The sky was dark, and it looked like it was about to rain.

Pei Yun had slept the whole way and was still yawning even as he sat down at the dinner table.

“Your Small Uncle had to drive again?” Pei Siyue asked.

Pei Yun gave a distracted “huh,” not understanding what his mom meant. “It’s so far,” he said blankly. “Two people wouldn’t be able to push it back even if they tried.”

Pei Siyue’s eyes widened, and she raised her chopsticks as if to smack him.

Wen Xingchuan emerged from the kitchen carrying a dish, saying with a chuckle, “Xiao Yun, your mom means that since you have a driver’s license too, don’t always make it hard on your Small Uncle. He has to drive for so long right after finishing class.”

Pei Yun covered his head. “Oh, oh, I get it! I’ll drive next time.”

Lu Que emerged after washing his hands and pulled out a chair. Noticing someone was missing from the table, he asked, “Has Uncle not come down yet?”

Dazed by his mother’s scolding, Pei Yun realized he’d forgotten something and jumped up eagerly. “I’ll go upstairs to get Grandpa.”

“No need.” Pei Siyue handed the chopsticks to Lu Que and said to Pei Yun, “Your grandpa joined a tour group with some old friends and went out to play. He won’t be back for a few days.”

“The old man has such high spirits.” Pei Yun could only sit back down.

The dinner was very lavish. Combined with the “feast for the eyes” sitting beside him, Pei Yun felt his long-lost appetite returning, and he ate with deep focus.

Eventually, he remembered he should praise his Empress Mother. Looking up, he saw she was wearing an expression of excitement she couldn’t hide. She looked like she wanted to say something but was hesitating, her eyes darting toward Lu Que.

Pei Yun looked at his mom, then at Lu Que, then at his dad. He pointedly blocked his mouth and mouthed: What’s wrong with Mom?

Wen Xingchuan replied in kind, but his mouthing was too long. Pei Yun, his head full of question marks, couldn’t understand a word his dad said.

Lu Que took the initiative to set down his chopsticks and ask, “Big Sister, is there something you want to say to me?”

Pei Siyue sat up a bit straighter, wearing her “Big Sister” persona as she looked at Lu Que with a smile. “Xiao Que, it’s like this. When you guys were coming back, Xiao Yun told me something, but he didn’t explain it well. I just wanted to ask you for some clarification.”

Pei Yun instantly realized what his mom was about to do. His heart leapt into his throat, and he hurriedly put down his bowl to stop her, but his movements were no match for his mother’s mouth.

Pei Siyue: “I saw a photo of you talking to a very pretty girl. Is she your girlfriend? Is Xiao Yun about to have a Small Aunt?”

The “little spy” gritted his teeth.

Unbelievable.

Ms. Pei Siyue, is there any other mother who sells out her son like this?

I told you to ask him yourself, I didn’t tell you to just hand me over like this!

Enduring Wen Xingchuan’s sympathetic gaze, Pei Yun quickly buried his head and began focusing intensely on scooping up soup with his small spoon.

Lu Que glanced at Pei Yun, seeing a reddened ear and half a back-of-the-head that radiated guilt.

“I’m not sure,” he said.

Pei Siyue was puzzled. “Not sure? The girl in the photo isn’t your girlfriend?”

“She’s just a teacher at the same school. We aren’t close; we just exchanged a few pleasantries when we met.”

Lu Que paused for two seconds before adding, “However, today, I did indeed hear someone say they wanted to be Xiao Yun’s Small Aunt.”

—Snap.

A crisp sound.

Pei Yun had bitten through his small spoon.