The Vampire Tycoon Secretly Loves Me - Chapter 12

Since they were in a residential building, residents passed by occasionally. Blocking the stairwell like this was rather discourteous.

“Come in first.” Su Mo stepped aside, letting Ye Linghan into the room.

Unlike his last visit, Ye Linghan wasn’t sitting in an interrogation room being questioned this time, and Yao Qingluan very thoughtfully poured him a cup of water.

Compared to the slight stiffness of the two interviewers, Ye Linghan was quite at ease. He had been through many interview experiences—even if they all ended in failure because a certain someone disagreed—but the process had forged a powerful psychological resilience.

“Are you short on money?” Su Mo asked with some confusion as he flipped through Ye Linghan’s resume.

He had underestimated him before, thinking he was just an ordinary person. He hadn’t expected him to be a top student from Q University. However, the period from graduation to the present was a complete blank on his resume, which piqued Su Mo’s interest in the man before him.

Ye Linghan shook his head. “I’m not short on money.”

Su Mo handed the resume to Yao Qingluan, who was sitting beside him, and looked up at Ye Linghan. “Since you aren’t short on money, and with these credentials, why on earth would you apply to be a cleaner? And…” Su Mo paused, gesturing to their surroundings. “Look at us here. There are only two of us.”

The implication was clear: they didn’t need a cleaner at all because it was entirely unnecessary.

Ye Linghan had anticipated this the night before, guessing they weren’t truly looking for a worker. But he wasn’t really looking for the job either; he just wanted to sneak in to investigate secretly.

He knew he was already part of the game and couldn’t stay out of it no matter what. If he could truly get inside the Blood Hunters, he would have access to resources and manpower far beyond what he could achieve investigating on his own.

“In that case—I’m broke! I’m very short on money!” Ye Linghan performed a complete 360-degree pivot, his face full of sincere earnestness.

“Uh…” Su Mo arched an eyebrow. After a long silence, he slowly squeezed out a sentence: “Did that person at your house… go bankrupt?”

Yin Chen’s reputation took a hit; while the man sat in his office, rumors were falling from the sky.

“Huh?” Ye Linghan’s face was a giant question mark.

“Pffft.” Yao Qingluan couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing, but realizing the occasion wasn’t quite right, she hastily covered her mouth with her hand.

This was indeed her straight-laced brother’s logical leap.

Realizing his words were a bit offensive, Su Mo gave a light cough.

“How about this,” Su Mo began. “You don’t need to do any cleaning. Last time I saw that you have some understanding of the Kindred and a fair bit of courage. Why don’t you join us and help us investigate?”

Ye Linghan was overjoyed. He hadn’t expected to get what he wanted so effortlessly. Su Mo’s suggestion was exactly what he intended, but on the surface, he maintained a calm and composed expression, not letting them see through his thoughts.

“Brother, isn’t this against the rules? Bringing in someone we don’t know at all—what if information gets leaked?” Yao Qingluan looked troubled as she watched Su Mo.

Yao Qingluan’s concern was reasonable, and Ye Linghan understood. After all, they weren’t related, and he hadn’t come through an official recommendation. Furthermore, since this involved the vampire factions surrounding him, the whole thing was very delicate. It was fine for them to be cautious.

After hearing Yao Qingluan’s words, Su Mo pondered for a moment. He first reached out and patted her shoulder to reassure her. “Don’t worry.” Then he looked up at Ye Linghan. “Let’s do this. We don’t have many active cases right now, so I’ll give you a three-month trial period. If you perform well, you can officially join. If not, then I’m sorry.”

Ye Linghan naturally had no objections. As long as he could get what he wanted, anything was fine. He patted his chest. “No problem. I will certainly fulfill the mission.”

Su Mo smiled slightly, dropping his usual cold demeanor. Ye Linghan had never seen Su Mo smile before, and he had to admit, there was a certain charm to it.

However, the words that followed immediately dispelled that fleeting thought: “But you can’t start today.”

“Ah? Why?”

“Because you don’t have a badge yet. We have to make one. So please come back tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM to handle the induction procedures.”

Ye Linghan was shocked. “There are procedures and badges?”

If Ye Linghan hadn’t dealt with the two of them before, anyone meeting them for the first time would think this was a very unprofessional and unofficial studio.

Su Mo glared at Ye Linghan and replied coldly, “Of course! We may have few people, but we are very professional in how we handle things.”

“Oh.” Ye Linghan could only half-believe him, but thinking that he would soon be starting, he couldn’t help but feel a little excited.

On the way home, passing by a convenience store, a strange idea popped into his head as he looked through the glass at the colorful drinks in the freezer.

Ye Linghan struggled to carry a large bag of various types of alcohol back home. Slumping onto the sofa, he opened his phone to see a pitch-black avatar occupying the only pinned spot at the top of his list.

[Are you coming back tonight?]

Ye Linghan hesitated for a long time before pressing send.

The black avatar labeled YC replied quickly: [Okay.]

Okay? Okay my foot! Give me a straight answer whether you’re coming or not—what does just ‘Okay’ mean?

Ye Linghan put his phone down indignantly. Although he was long used to Yin Chen’s coldness, having not seen him for two days, he felt a strange, inexplicable hollowness in his heart.

Ye Linghan stood up, wanting to find something to fill the void.

Yin Chen’s working hours were often irregular. Most of the time, Ye Linghan didn’t know when he would return; sometimes it was early, sometimes late.

But since he had replied today, he figured he would be coming back.

To welcome Yin Chen, he took two steaks out of the fridge to defrost. Usually, a private chef did the cooking, so he had never personally made a meal for Yin Chen and didn’t know his tastes.

Once the steaks were thawed, Ye Linghan specifically kept one at a very raw consistency—that is, with red liquid still on it. He had some knowledge that the red liquid on an undercooked steak was called myoglobin, but because it looked like blood, Ye Linghan tacitly treated it as such.

As he walked out of the kitchen carrying the beautifully plated steaks, he heard the sound of the door opening, and then Yin Chen walked in, dressed all in black.

His silver-white wolf-cut hair fell over his shoulders, creating a sharp contrast with his black trench coat. Yet, paired with that impeccably cold and elegant face, it didn’t look out of place at all.

As the saying goes, everyone loves beauty, and Ye Linghan was no exception. Seeing a handsome face suddenly burst into his vision, he couldn’t help but freeze for a few seconds until Yin Chen spoke and broke the silence.

In those few seconds of dazing, Yin Chen had already taken off his coat and hung it on the rack, his shirt sleeves rolled up simply to reveal his lean, powerful forearms.

He looked at the plate of beef in Ye Linghan’s hand—which he estimated was barely even “blue-rare”—and fell into thought. “You don’t actually think we Kindred enjoy eating bloody raw meat, do you?”

“No, I don’t.” Ye Linghan hadn’t yet pulled himself away from the other man’s beauty; he was just answering randomly.

“Next time remember to make it medium. Also, I’m only interested in your blood.” Yin Chen familiarly took the plate from his hand and set it on the dining table.

“Oh, okay.” Ye Linghan nodded blankly.

“What made you think of drinking?” Yin Chen had already noticed the pile of colorful bottles on the table. He picked one up and turned it over in his hand.

“Oh, right!” Ye Linghan snapped out of it and walked to Yin Chen’s side. “Because I found a job!” His voice carried an irrepressible excitement.

Ye Linghan pressed close to Yin Chen. Since the table was in front of him, he couldn’t talk to Yin Chen face-to-face, so he had to lean his hands on the table and twist his upper body to speak to him. The posture was somewhat intimate, like the kind of movement a couple makes when acting spoiled.

“Oh?” Yin Chen arched an eyebrow, looking down at Ye Linghan who was standing so close to him. His lips curled slightly. “Let’s hear it.”

A smile Ye Linghan couldn’t hide broke across his face. “I passed the interview at the Secret Investigation Bureau!”

Hearing this, Yin Chen frowned. “Are you short on money?”

Eh? Did they collude? The wording was exactly the same, strangely consistent.

“Why do you ask that, too?”

“Are you bored?” Yin Chen countered.

Ye Linghan blinked. “Aren’t you happy for me? This time the job isn’t related to pharmacology.”

“Am I bored?”

Seriously, he’s so old-fashioned and stiff, he has zero emotional intelligence!

Ye Linghan didn’t speak, silently complaining in his heart.

He simply stopped talking, pulled out a chair for Yin Chen to sit, and then sat opposite him. He opened a can of beer and handed it over. He had bought many kinds of alcohol, including some fruit-flavored white spirits at 40%—he wondered if mixing them would get someone drunk.

Realizing his words hadn’t been pleasant, Yin Chen took the initiative to find a topic. “Asking me to drink—is there nothing else?”

After two gulps of alcohol, his stomach felt warm. Ye Linghan put down his bottle, thought about it, and raised it again. “There is. I just saw that you hadn’t been back in a long time and wanted to have a meal with you.”

He wasn’t some impenetrable, cold-faced man.

Yin Chen didn’t refuse. He picked a purple bottle—a grape-flavored cocktail—clinked glasses with Ye Linghan, and took a shallow sip.

It’s working! President Yin rarely drank. If he was willing to grace the table with a drink this time, there was a chance to get him wasted.

Ye Linghan believed he had a high tolerance. After all, he had never been drunk when he used to drink on Yin Chen’s behalf—except for that last time, but that was an accident. So, he was convinced Yin Chen’s tolerance was lower than his own. People often said that the truth comes out after drinking; if he could get him drunk and then ask what he wanted to know, it would be much easier.

He was obsessed with whether the person who brought him back the other day was Yin Chen. This was a perfect excuse to get him drunk.

“Why do you want to join them?”

Ye Linghan knew he couldn’t lie to him and knew the consequences if he did, so he didn’t hide it. “I want to know the truth behind some things.”

As he came into contact with more CLY-20, the dreams in his mind developed more rapidly. He had always believed this dream wasn’t just a dream, but likely a revelation. Therefore, he believed CLY-20 was a good breakthrough point.

Yin Chen hooked one hand over the top of the bottle, frowning slightly. His tone wasn’t particularly good. “Why do you always think about throwing yourself into the fire? Isn’t it good to just live a good life?”

Ye Linghan had expected Yin Chen to react this way. He could feel that from the beginning, Yin Chen seemed very averse to him being involved in Kindred affairs and rarely mentioned it in front of outsiders.

Initially, he thought it was because of Yin Chen’s status—that he considered Ye Linghan just a blood slave who provided a matching blood source, a status not worth mentioning. But when he went to university and chose his favorite major, Yin Chen tried to obstruct him in every way.

Even later, during his internship, Yin Chen had used the excuse that chemical substances would contaminate his blood to stop him.

From all these signs, Yin Chen wasn’t stopping him because of his status, which only intensified his desire to find the truth.

“But I can protect myself.” Ye Linghan was rarely firm. The more he thought about it, the more he felt Yin Chen was interfering too much. Even if Yin Chen had raised him, he was now fully capable of protecting himself and didn’t need to be restricted.

“Protect yourself with what? What can you do when facing someone much stronger than you? Besides, if you go head-to-head with the Kindred and they use their abilities on you, how will you respond?”

“Or will it be like last time—getting beaten up and then relying on me to save you? Have you ever thought about what your end would have been if Y (Yin Ste) hadn’t arrived in time, or if you hadn’t been with me?”

“I…” Hearing Yin Chen’s words, Ye Linghan looked down at the opened but untouched drink in his hand and the now-cold steak beside it.

Yes, how could he protect himself? Even if he was a good shot, ordinary handguns were useless against the Kindred, and he didn’t have many of the usable magical artifacts. Was it really, as Yin Chen said, that there was no other way?

“Sigh…” Seeing Ye Linghan’s troubled face, Yin Chen’s tone softened. “Forget it. I won’t stop you this time. If you want to try, then go ahead. I will always be behind you.”

He ultimately had a soft heart and was helpless against him. Perhaps it was time to let go.

Ye Linghan suddenly looked up at Yin Chen, his heart a whirlwind of emotions. His eyes were full of disbelief. The other man didn’t pay him any mind, simply taking a sip of his drink and complaining coldly: “What is this crap? It tastes terrible.”