The Vampire Tycoon Secretly Loves Me - Chapter 11

Ye Linghan was held fast by the man in black, unable to move. Fearing he might wake the security guard, he didn’t dare make any loud noise; he could only struggle silently, trying to break free.

The surveillance room was terrifyingly quiet, save for the rustling sound of friction between fabric.

For a moment, Ye Linghan even suspected that this person might be Yin Chen. In terms of both stature and posture, they were very similar. However, the absence of that familiar scent left him with a faint sense of unease.

Then, a gunshot rang out. It seemed to pierce through his soul, forcing him to lose all concern for the person behind him.

Ye Linghan stared intently at the screen, watching helplessly as the bullet flew from the gun in Duan Jiu’s hand, heading straight for Wang De.

“Ah—” The security guard had woken up at some unknown point. Seeing the scene before him and the image on the screen, he let out a sharp scream.

Ye Linghan’s heart skipped a beat. The man in black behind him remained calm; with a light wave of his hand, the guard seemed to be drugged, his body turning limp as he collapsed once more.

Looking back at the screen, Ye Linghan silently prayed for Wang De. For a split second, the bullet seemed to move in slow motion before his eyes; he could almost see its trajectory as it drew closer to Wang De, inch by inch.

Wang De stood with his mouth agape, his soul long since scared out of him. He didn’t even dare look, closing his eyes and silently waiting for death to descend.

However, the expected scenario did not occur. The bullet grazed past his ear and embedded itself into the target.

Ye Linghan breathed a sudden sigh of relief.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door. Ye Linghan’s nerves tightened again, followed by the voice of Xu Zilian: “Teacher, where are you?”

The surveillance room was not far from the restroom—both were on the same corridor. Since the soundproofing of the surveillance room wasn’t particularly strong, Ye Linghan could hear him clearly.

As soon as the voice faded, Ye Linghan keenly felt the strength of the person behind him loosen for an instant. He powered his arm and struck backward with his elbow, aiming directly for the man’s abdomen.

The man in black also sensed Ye Linghan’s fierce momentum and leaned back to dodge. However, Ye Linghan was faster; he accurately struck the man’s abdomen, causing a muffled groan to escape from the stranger’s lips.

Hearing the sound, Ye Linghan prepared to escape, but he suddenly felt a sharp ache in his neck. He fell into someone’s embrace and lost consciousness.

That night, Ye Linghan dreamed again.

The setting was still that pitch-black corridor. Every dream felt like a reset button had been pressed, forcing him to experience it all over again, though new details were added each time.

In the dream, Ye Linghan walked alone into the darkness ahead. He had walked this path countless times. This time, the gentle female voice still lingered in his ears, while a misty, nearly transparent white figure materialized and floated before him.

Her face was blurred; only the outline of her figure was visible.

“Who exactly are you?” Ye Linghan stood still, reaching out to touch her. He knew this was a dream and felt that this person would not harm him. Yet, just as his fingers were about to make contact, the phantom vanished instantly. Ye Linghan hurried to withdraw his hand, and the dissipated mist began to reconvene.

He tentatively took a few more steps forward when suddenly the ground beneath him vanished. That familiar feeling of weightlessness flooded his body, and he startled awake from the dream.

“Whew—” Ye Linghan took a breath and sat up, wiping the fine beads of sweat from his forehead. The room was dark, save for thin slivers of moonlight filtering through the gaps in the curtains.

How did I get back…

Ye Linghan looked around the room by the dappled moonlight; it was the apartment where he usually lived.

He recalled the events that had occurred while he was awake. He remembered going to the shooting range, then seeing the confrontation between Wang De and the man calling himself Duan Jiu in the surveillance room, and then… he had tried to save him but was stopped by someone.

And the posture… had been particularly intimate.

He didn’t like physical contact with strangers, yet he hadn’t felt any revulsion toward that person.

Who was it? Was it Yin Chen? The thought flashed through Ye Linghan’s mind again, but he couldn’t be entirely sure. He had never told anyone about going to the underground casino. Even if it were a coincidence, what was Yin Chen doing there? Moreover, the person could precisely locate the surveillance room, suggesting they were quite familiar with the place.

Aside from Yin Chen, he couldn’t think of any other candidates. After all, he was lying safely at home; it was highly unlikely that he had been knocked out, left on the floor, and then found by a Good Samaritan who called the police to send him home. That would be too ridiculous.

After thinking it over, Ye Linghan decided to stop dwelling on it. Rather than making baseless guesses, it was better to find someone and ask.

By the moonlight, he fumbled for his phone. When the screen lit up, a flurry of messages erupted. The person who sent them was exactly who Ye Linghan wanted to find, though the timestamps spanned quite a while.

It was currently 3:00 AM. The latest message had been sent at midnight.

Ye Linghan swiped open the phone and entered the chat with Xu Zilian.

Xu Zilian: [Teacher, where did you go?] [Teacher, did something happen?]

Analyzing the messages, they must have been sent when Xu Zilian couldn’t find him after he stayed in the surveillance room for a long time.

[Teacher, when I went looking for you, I found you fainted in the restroom, so I brought you home.] [Teacher, when you see this, could you reply? I want to make sure you’re okay.]

What a nightmare. Ye Linghan’s eyelids twitched with irritation as he read the messages. Which wicked person just dumped me on the restroom floor?

He replied to Xu Zilian, as he had been unconscious for so long and needed to report that he was safe: [I’m awake. Don’t worry, everything is fine.]

Fortunately, no accidents had occurred. It seemed he really needed to find time to practice his boxing again. Ye Linghan subconsciously rubbed his aching neck.

Of course, he didn’t entirely believe what Xu Zilian said. He didn’t believe he had simply fainted in the restroom and been sent home; it didn’t make logical sense. Normally, if someone saw a person fainted, they would take them to a hospital to wake them up, rather than letting them remain unconscious.

It was possible those messages had been fabricated by someone else.

But because of this, his determination to find the truth grew stronger. Some muddy waters cannot be bypassed; one can only wade through them.

Ye Linghan scrolled through a recruitment app on his phone. There were many unread red notifications. The major Ye Linghan had studied was very niche—not because it wasn’t valued, but because the danger coefficient was too high, resulting in very few applicants.

Job apps required mass applications. For both seekers and companies, it was a place to hit KPIs.

It wasn’t that Ye Linghan hadn’t looked for work before, but Yin Chen had stopped him, claiming that if something happened to him, Yin Chen wouldn’t have a blood source that suited his taste. Thus, the app had been neglected until now.

Last time, he had specifically noted a name.

Ye Linghan opened the app and tried searching for “Secret News Investigation Bureau.” To his surprise, it actually appeared in the results.

Without hesitation, he clicked in. However, the introduction inside was far too simple. The listed staff only included Su Mo and Yao Qingluan. He wasn’t sure if the list was incomplete or if there was some other reason. He jumped to the recruitment interface only to find the screen filled with a single job posting.

When Ye Linghan saw the specific requirements, his finger hesitated. He was conflicted about whether or not to press the button labeled “Apply.”

The next day, Ye Linghan got up early. Because he had woken up at dawn and tossed and turned for a long time, he had only napped lightly afterward. He quickly tidied himself up and headed out.

Relying on his memory, Ye Linghan arrived at the residential building he had visited once before.

He looked up at the second-floor window, mentally calculating. He didn’t know if anyone would be inside; if no one was there, his trip would be in vain.

The previous night, Ye Linghan had ultimately given up on communicating through the app and decided to come in person. It wasn’t far anyway, and given that the response rate on the app was zero, it was likely just for show.

Ye Linghan made a show of straightening his clothes, carrying his resume materials—which he had rolled into a tube—up the stairs.

He rang the doorbell. As luck would have it, someone was inside. Before the bell had rung many times, the door was pushed open from within.

The door opened only a crack. Yao Qingluan poked her head out to look. Seeing Ye Linghan standing there—a rare occurrence for visitors—she was momentarily startled. Since it had been a few days since their last meeting, she didn’t immediately recognize him, though he looked familiar.

“Excuse me… who are you looking for?” Yao Qingluan looked at Ye Linghan, assuming he had the wrong door.

A smile appeared on Ye Linghan’s face. His features were very soft and lacked any sense of aggression, making it easy for others to lower their guard.

“Hello, we meet again.”

The voice and appearance triggered a memory in Yao Qingluan. “Aren’t you…” Because she had wrongly accused him last time, an apologetic look appeared on her face.

Ye Linghan nodded. “That’s right, it’s me.”

Perhaps because the door had been open for a while, a male voice drifted from inside the room, accompanied by the sound of approaching footsteps. “A-Luan, who is at the door?”

Ye Linghan recognized the voice; it was the other person who had interrogated him last time, Su Mo.

Yao Qingluan turned around. “It’s Mr. Ye.”

“Mr. Ye?” Su Mo asked, puzzled, as he walked closer. “It’s you. Is there something else you need from us?”

Su Mo mentally replayed the misunderstanding from the last time, certain that no issues had remained that would cause Ye Linghan to return.

Ye Linghan raised his hand and shook the resume in his grip, smiling. “I’m here for an interview.”

“An interview?” Su Mo’s voice rose several octaves. He glanced sideways at Yao Qingluan.

Standing beside him, Yao Qingluan met Su Mo’s gaze, her face filled with confusion.

Ye Linghan remained very calm. He pulled out his phone, his fingers moving quickly across the screen, then placed the page he found in front of Su Mo and Yao Qingluan. “Here, this one.”

Su Mo took the phone, and Yao Qingluan leaned in to look. The two shared a look, then simultaneously turned to stare at Ye Linghan.

“Are you sure you want to interview for… the janitor position?” Su Mo asked in disbelief.

Ye Linghan simply nodded calmly. “Yes. Is there a problem? Don’t tell me you have other positions available for me to do?”