How to Keep a Vampire - Chapter 6

Shi Yu was not accustomed to being so close to others, especially when this person was currently leafing through his own dark history.

“Then…” Shi Yu probed, “If you saw him again, what would you want to do?”

The young man could not help but look into the other’s eyes, as if trying to read something from them.

“What would I do?”

Wen Si smiled, his tone leisurely: “Naturally, I would do something that makes me happy.”

Shi Yu: “Happy things?”

If Shi Yu were a cat, his fur would certainly be standing on end right now, sensitive to the unease of danger. Whatever made Wen Si happy would surely not be a good thing for him.

Wen Si’s pupils held an indelible, deep, and alluring ink-like darkness; his current steady gaze felt more like a predatory stalking.

“For instance, hiding someone away, then locking them up with shackles.” Making him only able to see me, and no one else, day after day.

Shi Yu seemed to see a profound obsession hidden within those pupils. He tried his best to avoid that scorching gaze, unconsciously letting his focus drift. He had always felt that Wen Si wasn’t normal, but he hadn’t expected him to be this insane. Thousands of years of time had likely only served to make Wen Si’s madness even darker.

Little did he know that the madman in his eyes continued his babbling.

“He surely wouldn’t be willing. If he had thoughts of running away, one could try clipping his wings. Little bat wings are so cute.”

A little bat’s wings were so tiny—one pull, then another, a perfect pair. Shi Yu felt a chill run from head to toe. Although he was currently in a human vessel and hadn’t yet tested if he could transform back, he still experienced what it felt like to have a pain in his back.

“And His Highness’s original form is snowy white all over, but with pink between the wings little pink wings, very cute.” Wen Si asked him, “Right?”

Even without looking up, one could feel the eerie gaze above. Wen Si was malicious and childish, as if he simply had to receive an answer.

“Right…” Shi Yu’s chin felt hot.

Sure enough, Wen Si’s fingers pinched his chin, and slowly, one hand cupped his entire face.

Wen Si, why don’t you just shut up. Shi Yu didn’t quite understand what was going on with all these strange thoughts Wen Si had.

“Why aren’t you speaking?” Wen Si continued to ask.

Actually, you could choose to shut up along with me.

“Speak,” Shi Yu squeezed out a single word.

Wen Si: “……”

Shi Yu thought the topic concerning him would end there, but who knew Wen Si hadn’t finished yet.

“But if I could see him right now, I actually have other ideas.”

Shi Yu took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to get off the other man’s lap, and asked helplessly: “What?”

Finally, the arm Wen Si had wrapped around his waist tightened suddenly, imprisoning him in a position of absolute closeness. A scorching breath sprayed against his ear; Shi Yu’s earlobes felt a bit soft—a very strange sensation. Wen Si’s jaw rested on his shoulder, his well-defined face pressed so close to him. He said with a half-smile: “I actually feel like kissing his eyes right now.”

This sentence sounded in his ear, and in an instant, it swept through his entire mind. Wen Si was just a teenager when they first met, but his height now was much taller than his; when he held him, he could embed him entirely into his embrace.

The distant, vast sky seemed to explode suddenly with a brilliant firework. It tore through the night and ripped open a patch of daylight, becoming increasingly dazzling, finally colliding blindly against the tip of his heart, hitting exactly where it was intended.

Actually feel like kissing his eyes…

The subject he was speaking of was Shi Yu—Shi Yu, the vampire prince. He surely couldn’t possibly think that he was that person, right?

The young man’s pupils were beautiful, like amber glass—smooth, lustrous, and moist—currently revealing a hint of annoyance.

“Hm?” Shi Yu’s eyes widened.

“Why are you pinching my ear?” The touch of Wen Si’s light pinch just now had been distinct a clash between cold fingertips and a burning ear, a world of ice and fire. Unexpectedly, the perpetrator remained unrepentant and touched him lightly once more. Wen Si chuckled softly: “Your ear is red.”

Seeing the flush spreading downward from the tip of his ear, with his nape also turning crimson, Wen Si’s gaze dimmed slightly. Shi Yu felt uncomfortable; he really wanted to ask Wen Si, don’t you know how to write the words “stop while you’re ahead”?

Wen Si seemed to treat him as some kind of small animal, able to carelessly scratch its chin to elicit a soft, pleading response from the little creature. Just who was the prey here?

The closer they got, the thicker the fragrance his nose picked up the scent of Wen Si’s neck was too great a temptation for him. He looked away unnaturally, happening to notice an oil painting above the bookshelf on the left.

Shi Yu coughed and stiffly changed the subject: “What is that?”

A cold, sinister light flashed across Wen Si’s eyes; he released the arm he had tightly clamped around the young man’s waist. Taking this opportunity, Shi Yu stood up, wanting to take a closer look at the painting above the bookshelf.

“This oil painting…”

Seeing that Wen Si didn’t try to pull him back to sit on his lap, Shi Yu let out a long sigh of relief. With his vision, he could clearly see the oil painting without even moving closer. It was just a casual glance just now, but standing up and approaching it now, he instead felt a heavy sense of depression.

For no other reason than this painting.

The oil painting had been meticulously framed. The content depicted three people: a woman on the left wearing a classic gown popular a thousand years ago, and a man on the right with an upright posture and an air of natural authority, holding a small child between them together with the woman.

It was a portrait of a family of three.

But… except for the child’s sweet smile in the middle, the faces of the parents on either side were full of marks, as if they had been maliciously destroyed by splattered paint, and then violently scratched with sharp objects.

Looking closer, Shi Yu’s heart gradually sank.

Shi Yu gazed at the child in the middle and asked: “Is this you?”

Footsteps approached; Wen Si walked toward him, finally standing behind him, his eyes gazing at the oil painting.

“It is.” Wen Si’s words were devoid of emotion.

Shi Yu pursed his lips; he felt he couldn’t ask anymore. Why did Xiao Ming’s grandfather live to be 100 years old? Because he didn’t meddle in other people’s business.

“Do you want to ask me what’s going on?”

Intuition told Shi Yu it wouldn’t be anything good.

Shi Yu pondered, “It doesn’t necessarily have to be asked.”

He turned to look at Wen Si, whose mouth was instead curling into an arc, “The people in this oil painting are my father and mother, only, they are no longer here.”

Wen Si seemed to like touching him; as he spoke, he rubbed his fluffy short hair.

“This oil painting is the last photo I had with them.” Wen Si seemed to be sighing, his tone mixed with disappointment, much like a child who hadn’t gotten candy. “Speaking of which, my father was a vampire viscount, responsible for teaching Prince Shi Yu’s studies back then. My mother was a member of the vampire hunter clan, but her father was a werewolf.”

Shi Yu hated hearing tragedies, and even more, he didn’t expect that one of the protagonists in this tragedy was someone he had known. The more he knew, the more dangerous it became; Shi Yu was afraid Wen Si would tell him more.

“It’s a pity I dirtied this painting with my own hands.” Wen Si smiled at him: “Can you imagine it? Being forced by someone to use dirty filth and strange colors to cover the faces of people you think about day and night…”

“Covering them little by little… until complete destruction.” Wen Si’s brows furrowed; he put away the last trace of a smile on his face.

“Alright.” Shi Yu blinked; he didn’t want to continue listening.

“Let’s not talk about it anymore.”

The entanglement between vampires and humans—Wen Si was innocent. He became a half-vampire and, therefore, a base, humble sacrificial offering.

Like a switch, Wen Si suddenly laughed.

He lifted his eyes, his pupils reflecting a hint of confusion.

Wen Si: “Shi Yu, are you sympathizing with me?”

The palm Wen Si had resting on his head did not retract; he was still twirling a lock of his hair—Shi Yu reasonably suspected Wen Si wanted him to go bald.

A hint of interest surfaced in Wen Si’s eyes; he said: “I’m so happy.”

Shi Yu: “?”

Fortunately, Lan Yin’s energy was limited and not there every moment, otherwise, he would definitely be saying that Wen Si was sick right now.

Wen Si was happily malicious; Shi Yu sympathized with him. I like that you pity me. I also want your gaze to be entirely on me. If liking had levels, then for a madman, it would only be liking until they went crazy. His savior had never truly belonged to him, so he was willing to exert all his strength to seize hold of him. Even if it were only a soft-hearted act of charity.

Shi Yu admitted that he had discovered a secret today. Wen Si was truly not normal. Entrusting him with the task of a vampire hunter spy really was born of a fear that he might live one second too long.

A knock on the door sounded. Ge Er generally wouldn’t interrupt Wen Si suddenly unless there was a special situation.

“What is it?” Wen Si asked distractedly.

“The High Priest of the Mermaid Tribe has suddenly arrived at the castle; he has matters he wishes to discuss with you. The guest is already in the main hall.” Ge Er glanced at Shi Yu, still looking confused.

Wen Si nodded: “Understood.”

Ge Er thought he was going to the main hall and was already standing in front of the study door, only to see his own Duke’s gaze fixed entirely on Shi Yu.

“?” Shi Yu had already given up struggling; he wouldn’t go trying to understand Wen Si’s thinking anymore a salted fish’s life began with lying flat.

“Why aren’t we moving? Do you want me to carry you?” Wen Si’s words were serious, not casual; Shi Yu was afraid that if he were two seconds slower to respond, Wen Si would take action directly.

“There’s no need.”

Ge Er watched Wen Si and Shi Yu with his own eyes; his bewildered gaze gradually dispersed, replaced by a sudden realization. His eyes widened, looking at Shi Yu, as if he deeply understood something even his attitude changed.

There were rumors in the outside world that the Duke had a secret crush on the vampire prince who had disappeared, and some said the last thing the other did before falling asleep was to kill Wen Si, so Wen Si turned love into hate. This human looked similar to the legendary Prince Shi Yu.

A hint of sympathy appeared in Ge Er’s eyes. He’s being treated as a substitute.

Shi Yu felt a numbness all over his body, not knowing what Ge Er had filled in with his own imagination.