Upon Her Lips - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Mu Fei finally lifted her head and glanced at the poor little thing hiding behind Auntie Dai.

“I have no use for a mute.” Her expression darkened several shades as she turned her gaze toward Daolei, who stood nearby.

Daolei’s eyes flickered; he attempted to salvage the situation. “Sometimes, silence makes one better suited to serve by your side.”

Mu Fei did not accept his suggestion. She insisted that Daolei examine the girl’s vocal cords. If there was a physical defect, she would be discarded or sent to an orphanage—it made no difference to her.

Daolei signaled the girl to step toward Mu Fei. The living room was bathed in dim, amber light, but for a pureblood vampire with superior vision, even the finest capillaries were visible with crystal clarity.

“Pardon me,” Daolei said as he pulled on a pair of latex gloves. He gripped the girl’s neck with one hand, carefully modulating his strength. Had he used his true power, her neck would have snapped as easily as a fragile bird’s.

The girl only watched in terror as the man forced her mouth open for the examination, not daring to move a muscle.

Mu Fei watched the scene with narrowed eyes, her expression unreadable. She cared only for the result.

Daolei pressed down on the girl’s tongue with his finger so his eyes could observe any structural issues in her throat. After a few seconds, he carefully released her and stripped off the gloves.

“What is the verdict?”

“There are no physical abnormalities,” Daolei reported respectfully. He speculated, “Perhaps it is due to a lack of education, or it could be psychological. Transient elective mutism is a possibility, perhaps triggered by severe trauma.”

To witness being heartlessly abandoned by a mother, nearly being abducted by predatory men, and then being thrust into a strange mansion—for the psychological endurance of a human child, it was a truly cruel sequence of events.

Mu Fei looked at the girl, whose face was pale with fright. She noted that the child had not broken down in tears, a trait she found somewhat admirable.

“Can you write?” Mu Fei sat up straight, her golden-brown eyes fixed on the little creature.

The girl nodded silently.

“Write your name.”

At Mu Fei’s command, a servant brought over a pen and paper. The girl stared at the items on the coffee table. Only after receiving a nod of permission did she tentatively pick up the beautiful pen. She looked up at Mu Fei once, then wrote two characters with careful, deliberate strokes:

You Ran.

Mu Fei looked at the legible handwriting and smiled faintly. She had already sent people to investigate the girl’s background.

Her name was indeed You Ran, but her biological parents were not that electrician’s family; she had merely been adopted by that couple. Furthermore, that greedy woman was not her real mother—a fact the girl likely didn’t know. Her “mother” had squandered the bag of gold in a North District casino within an hour of receiving it and was reportedly being tormented by debt collectors there. For this girl, not following that woman was a stroke of luck.

However, You Ran’s records prior to her adoption were a blank slate. There were no files, no history—as if she had suddenly manifested in this world. This piqued Mu Fei’s curiosity; a common human should not be so utterly untraceable.

Of course, she didn’t care much for the details. The girl’s past would eventually turn to ash.

“From this day forward, this is your home. Your past will be entirely erased. As for your status, Auntie Dai will serve as your temporary guardian. If you perform well, I may eventually bestow my surname upon you.”

The moment Mu Fei finished speaking, it wasn’t just the girl who was shocked—everyone in the room was stunned.

Daolei gazed at the young Head of the House in disbelief. He couldn’t fathom why Mu Fei would consider giving this girl the name “Mu.” He knew the profound implications of bestowing a surname: it suggested she might one day become Mu Fei’s “First Embrace” or even her successor.

“Forgive my presumption, but do you mean for her to be… a ‘Successor’?”

Mu Fei smiled but did not offer an answer.

“I urge you to reconsider. If you require it, I can find a more suitable candidate of noble pureblood to maintain the purity of the lineage. She is merely a human. Even in the human world, she is a nobody with no status. You know this…”

“Daolei,” Mu Fei interrupted the over-cautious butler at the right moment. She smiled as she smoothed a wrinkle in his collar and spoke slowly, “Are you trying to guess my thoughts?”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Daolei lowered his eyes, avoiding Mu Fei’s gaze. To lock eyes with her was to allow her to read his mind, an experience that caused him literal, physical pain.

“Good. I am tired and require rest.” Mu Fei took a deep breath, looked at the girl staying obediently in place, and reached out to touch her forehead.

You Ran finally looked up, staring at her beautiful mistress. Mu Fei looked into those pure black eyes and saw a stunningly beautiful “thought-wave” displayed before her. In seven hundred years, she had never seen a mental ripple so pure and clear.

Her golden-brown eyes shimmered.

“Good afternoon, little one.”

You Ran stood dazed. The cold hand left her forehead, and she watched as a servant draped a black silk robe over the goddess-like woman.

Daolei watched Mu Fei depart and finally exhaled. He had to admit that Mu Fei had shown a flicker of hostility toward him just now. Had she truly wanted to strike, his head would likely be separated from his body by now. He twitched his stiff lips and turned to the girl standing frozen in the hall.

“Perhaps your life will now be lived for Mu Fei, and ended for Mu Fei. You have no other choice.” Daolei stared at her with an expression the girl couldn’t decipher, unsure how to explain the unknown fate that even he couldn’t predict to such an innocent child.

You Ran didn’t truly understand Mr. Daolei’s words, but she nodded instinctively. She looked up silently, watching the silhouette of the person upstairs. That person was surrounded by darkness, as if she were one with the lonely, deep shadows of the attic.

Mu Fei seemed to sense the girl’s gaze. She paused, her hand resting elegantly on the banister, and looked down. She found herself staring back at a human girl who didn’t even try to avert her eyes.

“How rude! You must not stare directly at Lady Mu Fei!” Auntie Dai scolded softly, quickly grabbing You Ran and pushing her small head down, forcing her to bow.

You Ran’s face instantly flushed with embarrassment. She remained in that awkward, bowed position, not daring to look at the beautiful lady again.

Mu Fei wasn’t angry. On the contrary, she found the girl’s innocent and amusing behavior quite pleasing, and she let out an involuntary laugh. It had been a long time since anything in this manor had brought her joy. Without such an interesting little creature to liven things up, life would be quite dull.

Downstairs, hearing that beautiful laughter, You Ran couldn’t help but look up again, momentarily forgetting Auntie Dai’s warning. Those extraordinary golden-brown eyes were looking right at her. You Ran looked for only a second before dropping her head again, terrified to look further.

But that one look was a matter of a lifetime.

She would remember Lady Mu Fei’s laugh for the rest of her life.