The Vampire Tycoon Secretly Loves Me - Chapter 13

“This is just an ordinary little drink you buy at a convenience store. Many people drink it after getting off work or when friends come over to their house.” Even though he knew Yin Chen’s remark was just a casual complaint, Ye Linghan answered him with total earnestness.

In the past, they rarely had the chance to sit together and chat about the mundane trifles of daily life.

Ye Linghan pushed the steak toward Yin Chen. “Try it. Even though it’s cooled down, the taste should still be quite good.”

He wouldn’t claim his culinary skills were perfect, but they certainly weren’t bad.

Yin Chen set down the liquor bottle. Because Ye Linghan had bought it, he showed some respect by taking a few extra sips even if it didn’t taste great.

He picked up the knife and fork, cutting a small piece of beef and placing it in his mouth. His eating manner was very refined. Because the steak had been taken out of the pan almost immediately after being put in, it was still very raw; as he bit down, a trace of red liquid seeped from the corner of Yin Chen’s mouth.

“Not bad,” Yin Chen remarked, raising an eyebrow and offering praise without stinginess, though it was hard to tell if he truly meant it.

Hearing this, Ye Linghan struck while the iron was hot, placing the various opened bottles of alcohol in front of Yin Chen. “If you pair it with these, it will definitely be delicious.”

The biggest taboo with alcohol is mixing different kinds because it makes it very easy to get drunk, not to mention that these included several bottles of high-concentration foreign spirits.

Ye Linghan watched with anticipation, hoping to see Yin Chen drink them all.

Perhaps because Yin Chen was in a good mood this time, he was almost completely compliant with Ye Linghan’s requests.

After a few sips, Yin Chen lifted his hand, palm facing upward. Purple mist swirled within the area, and an object shaped like a small pocket watch suddenly appeared in his hand.

His wrist suddenly flipped, the thin chain hanging from his slender fingers as the circular pendant dangled before Ye Linghan’s eyes.

“What is this?” Ye Linghan’s eyes were full of curiosity.

He knew that the Blood Clan and the Blood Hunters had many magical treasures, but he hadn’t expected to be lucky enough to see one.

“The Soul-Vision Mirror. It’s for you.”

“Soul-Vision Mirror?” Ye Linghan naturally reached out to take it, examining it closely. The exterior material looked like antique bronze. Upon opening it, there was a mirror embedded inside, though its texture looked somewhat murky. He looked at it from every angle, but it felt no different from an ordinary bronze mirror.

It couldn’t be that he just cut a piece of mirror and stuck it in there, could it?

“Since you insist on joining the Investigation Bureau, I cannot stop you. But in dealing with the Blood Clan, you have absolutely no chance of winning on your own; you can only rely on external objects. Perhaps then there is a sliver of a possibility.”

“As you surely know, mid-to-high-tier vampires possess an innate invisibility trait. The Soul-Vision Mirror happens to counter it; it can help you.”

As expected of the family that governs the Blood Clan, they really have quite a few treasures. Ye Linghan couldn’t help but marvel.

“However…” Ye Linghan looked at Yin Chen. “Why are you suddenly so concerned about me?”

Even though Yin Chen had never been unkind to him, he always wore a face as cold as frost. For him to be soft-spoken like this was truly rare.

“If you don’t want it, give it back. Why so much talk?” Yin Chen spoke coldly.

Great, just as I praised him, he reverts to his original form. Ye Linghan grumbled inwardly, wondering what the point was in keeping a stiff face every day. But after all, “the hand that receives is shortened”—he had to restrain himself.

“Thank you for the boss’s deep affection!”

“However, this Soul-Vision Mirror has a time limit. Each use lasts only half a ‘ke’ (approx. 7.5 minutes), and the cooling period…” Yin Chen paused. “I don’t know. After all, I have never used it.”

This was understandable. Someone of Yin Chen’s level did not need such “cheats”; it was everyone else who had to guard against him. Therefore, it was normal that he didn’t know the details.

But since it was a gesture of goodwill, Ye Linghan didn’t mind. He was satisfied just to have a life-saving magical artifact on him.

He carefully put away the Soul-Vision Mirror and poured a few more glasses of wine for Yin Chen. He had originally intended to get Yin Chen drunk to fish for information, but to his surprise, he was the one who began to feel increasingly dizzy.

He struggled to keep his hazy eyes on Yin Chen, but he didn’t see the slightest bit of discomfort from him.

Strange. Usually, he felt his alcohol tolerance was relatively high; based on experience, even if he mixed drinks, a few glasses shouldn’t affect him like this. Furthermore, Yin Chen wasn’t even drunk yet, while he himself was already failing to hold on. Truly strange.

“You… don’t you feel dizzy?” Ye Linghan asked Yin Chen with squinted eyes. However, this feeling wasn’t like the discomfort of being drunk; he was just very sleepy.

Yin Chen sipped the wine in his glass with a half-smile, his expression meaningful. “Why would I be dizzy? Could it be that you drugged it?”

“Of course not!”

Ye Linghan hurriedly denied it. “I… I didn’t.” He felt his entire body grow heavy, unable to support himself. His eyelids became heavier and heavier until finally, unable to resist, his head tilted, and he collapsed.

Seeing this, Yin Chen got up and placed his hand against the side of Ye Linghan’s head, steadily resting him on the table. He then whispered, “Ye Linghan, your intention to trick me into talking is so obvious—did you really think I couldn’t see through it?”

Then, with a flash, he turned into a plume of black smoke, instantly moving to Ye Linghan’s side and manifesting back into human form. He picked him up by the waist, holding him steadily in his arms.

Yin Chen held the sleeping Ye Linghan a bit tighter and muttered to himself, “But having lived several centuries longer, it does seem a bit unfair to you.”

Ye Linghan was awakened by the piercing ringtone of his phone. He grabbed it and pressed the answer button.

“Hello, something happened. I’ll send you the location in a bit. Please get here as soon as possible.” Before Ye Linghan could speak, Su Mo’s voice came frantically from the other end of the line.

The sound was like a thunderclap in the silent night, exploding in Ye Linghan’s ear. He frowned, reflexively moving the phone further away.

Judging by his tone, the situation seemed very troublesome.

“Okay, I’ll be right there.” Ye Linghan hung up, forced his sleepy eyes open, and checked the time—1:00 AM.

He didn’t have time to overthink how he had ended up in bed. He hurriedly got up and spotted the Soul-Vision Mirror that Yin Chen had placed on the nightstand. He reached out and took it. Fearing he might lose it if he put it in his pocket, he hung it around his neck; fortunately, it was small and not heavy.

He hadn’t had time to research how to use it, and considering it had a cooldown time, he didn’t dare use it randomly.

In the meantime, Su Mo sent the location. Ye Linghan found that it wasn’t far from his home and rushed out the door.

The incident occurred in a labyrinthine alleyway. Although the distance wasn’t great, Ye Linghan spent quite a bit of time weaving through the turns.

Before he even arrived, Ye Linghan saw the police lights reflecting off the walls in the dim environment. He followed the sound of voices inward. In a wider section deep within the alley, a taxi was parked, surrounded by a circle of police tape. Around a dozen police officers and forensic experts were standing about; of course, among them, he only recognized Su Mo and Yao Qingluan.

Su Mo was talking with two police officers by the car.

“Since it has been determined to be related to the Blood Clan, it’s a special case for special investigation. This matter will be handed over to your Investigation Bureau,” a police officer said to Su Mo.

“Don’t worry, we will definitely solve this case and return peace to the citizens,” Su Mo nodded in response.

Ye Linghan looked around. He didn’t see the victim at the scene; he didn’t know if they were dead or injured.

Yao Qingluan, who was busy taking notes nearby, happened to look up and saw Ye Linghan standing outside the cordon. She raised her hand to wave. “Linghan, over here.”

“Yeah.” Ye Linghan signaled back and walked over quickly. “What’s the situation now?”

As he spoke, his eyes involuntarily drifted toward the intercepted taxi. He glanced at the license plate—North A67498.

“Ending in 7498? Why does that look familiar?” Ye Linghan muttered to himself. His voice wasn’t loud, but it was caught by the sharp ears of Yao Qingluan.

“You know this car?” Yao Qingluan’s pen moved quickly as she wrote it down, her eyes filled with suspicion as if she were ready to arrest Ye Linghan as a suspect at any moment.

“Please don’t look at me with that kind of gaze. You have to believe that your partner is a law-abiding, good citizen of socialism who would never collude with criminals!” Ye Linghan said righteously.

He took out his phone, scrolled through his past ride-hailing records, and checked the plate number. Sure enough, it was the car of that driver who had cheated him out of several hundred yuan last time.

Since he didn’t yet know the details of the incident, he didn’t dare make any reckless statements, but there was no denying that he had felt that the driver was abnormal from the very beginning.

He glanced at Yao Qingluan’s notebook, which was densely packed with notes, and handed his phone over. “Here, does this need to be recorded? I booked this car on a ride-hailing platform not long ago.”

“Record it.” Yao Qingluan took Ye Linghan’s phone to organize the information. “You’d better report everything regarding this car and the driver truthfully now. Otherwise, if it’s discovered that the case is related to you, you’ll find yourself in deep trouble.”

During the organization process, Yao Qingluan even placed a heavy mark at the front.

Ye Linghan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He hadn’t expected that Yao Qingluan, who usually seemed quiet next to Su Mo, would be so tough when handling matters on her own.

“Don’t worry, I promise there’s no problem. So, what’s the situation?”

Yao Qingluan looked at him skeptically.

Ye Linghan shrugged helplessly.

“The driver died mysteriously inside the car, but the doors were locked from the inside, and the keys were also inside. After breaking the door open, bite marks were found on the victim’s neck. So, currently, it is suspected to be the work of the Blood Clan.” Su Mo walked over after finishing his handover and gave Ye Linghan a brief overview of the situation.

Ye Linghan flipped through the notebook Su Mo handed him. It was basically as he described, supplemented by some ambiguous information provided by informants.

Moreover, because people’s memories can become distorted when they are excessively frightened, the information cannot be fully trusted.

The witnesses, gripped by fear, were being escorted back for statements after being briefly comforted by the police. Several people passed by Ye Linghan. At first, from a distance, it didn’t feel like much, but as they brushed past him, Ye Linghan felt a sudden sharp prick in his cranial nerves, like a needle. However, the sensation wasn’t very strong.

“Wait a moment!” Ye Linghan called out to the group.

“Who are you?” A police officer, seeing that Ye Linghan wasn’t wearing an ID, took a wary step forward to block the others.

“I…”

He looked around at everyone else’s chests; it seemed they all had hanging badges. He looked down hesitantly at his own chest—it was empty.

“He is a new intern we just recruited. His ID is right here.”

Fortunately, Su Mo intervened just in time, handing a tag on a string to Ye Linghan.

Ye Linghan took it and, without even looking, confidently held it up in front of the officer. “Look, I have a permit!”

“What the hell is this?” The man looked at it with disdain.

“Huh?” What the hell is what? Ye Linghan suspiciously flipped the work ID over. The moment he saw it, he froze in place.

He felt his brow twitching as he turned around sheepishly, showing the ID to Su Mo. “Why don’t you tell me… what on earth is this?”

“Pfft.” Yao Qingluan, seeing it from the side, couldn’t help but let out a muffled laugh.

On the paper, a stick-figure head had been very crudely drawn. Below it, Ye Linghan’s name and work number were simply written in black pen.

Ye Linghan felt it was too painful to look at. He was already annoyed at being woken up, and seeing this scrap of paper made his head ache even more.

“Uh…” Su Mo looked away, stifling a laugh and trying his best not to look at the ID in his hand. He leaned toward Ye Linghan and whispered, “It was a sudden emergency. I hand-wrote one. Just make do with it for now.”