Chapter 111

Chapter 111

The sofa was a little over two meters long, not very long at all, with a seam down the middle. They sat at opposite ends.

So close, and yet so far.

A knock on the door broke the silence.

Qu Shu had drawn the blood and brought it over. When she saw that Ning Qiuyan was the one who opened the door, she was startled. “Xiao Ning?”

“I’ll take it.”

Ning Qiuyan pulled his sleeves down and used them to hold the warm glass. He was afraid his icy palms would lower the temperature of the animal blood.

After closing the door, Ning Qiuyan handed the glass to Guan Heng.

Guan Heng did not drink very quickly.

Ning Qiuyan always felt that every time Guan Heng drank, his gaunt, sunken cheeks seemed to fill out a little. Of course, reality proved that it was only his imagination. This small amount of animal blood had a negligible effect.

The atmosphere eased.

They stayed there, occasionally chatting.

In the early hours of the morning, Guan Heng went to shower, then came out of the bathroom in a bathrobe.

Feeding had made Guan Heng feel much better. This time, he did not distance himself from Ning Qiuyan again. Instead, he sat on the edge of the bed and said, “Come here.”

Ning Qiuyan walked over and naturally picked up the comb beside him.

But Guan Heng wrapped an arm around him, had him brace his hands on his shoulders, and then pulled him onto his lap, facing him.

Ning Qiuyan did not struggle.

Although Guan Heng had lost a great deal of weight, his frame was still tall and broad, still full of strength, giving Ning Qiuyan a powerful sense of security. In this position, he was higher than Guan Heng. Besides, Guan Heng’s hair was long and smooth, so combing it took no effort at all.

When they were on Du Island, Ning Qiuyan had often combed Guan Heng’s hair too.

Back then, the days had passed slowly. The cool touch of Guan Heng’s long hair was intoxicating. Ning Qiuyan liked holding those long strands, as if by catching them he could catch the man himself in the palm of his hand. Once, while Guan Heng was reading, Ning Qiuyan had played with his hair and quietly braided a small plait into one lock.

When Uncle Kang came to call them for dinner, Ning Qiuyan was just about to slip away, only for Guan Heng to call him back in that indifferent tone. He had obediently admitted defeat and gone back to undo it.

So Guan Heng had known everything all along. He had merely indulged him.

Once, then again, slowly, Guan Heng’s slightly damp hair was combed smooth.

Ning Qiuyan was still holding the comb as he lowered his head and kissed Guan Heng.

The kiss was slow as well, their soft lips and tongues entwining, making gentle, damp sounds.

Guan Heng cradled the back of his head. After a light kiss, he pulled away slightly, his long lashes lowering over his deep red eyes as his gaze fell on that fair stretch of neck.

The hideous, terrifying wound was already gone.

But the shock of seeing it was still there. Such a fragile neck could easily be bitten through by any of the Vampires.

Guan Heng’s grip tightened. Ning Qiuyan’s scalp ached from the force with which Guan Heng held him. He could not see Guan Heng’s expression. He only felt that, for a moment, Guan Heng was about to kill him.

But in the next second, Guan Heng bent down and bit his bare earlobe.

As if electricity had shot through him, Ning Qiuyan’s entire body trembled violently.

“Why did you take it off?” Guan Heng asked. “I told you not to take it off.”

“It wasn’t me.”

He defended himself in a small voice.

“I didn’t.”

“Mm,” Guan Heng replied flatly. “There won’t be a next time.”

The earring was in Guan Heng’s hand.

Two rubies sat at either end of the silver setting, like two pomegranate seeds, and also like two drops of blood.

Guan Heng’s dry fingers lifted it to his earlobe, bringing with them a faint chill.

When the short silver post touched the piercing, Ning Qiuyan instinctively flinched, as if trying to hide. Guan Heng was about to continue, but Ning Qiuyan simply turned his head away.

Ning Qiuyan did not dare look at Guan Heng. His breathing was very rapid, and moisture had gathered in his eyes.

It was a gesture of refusal.

Guan Heng’s gaze deepened. He directly turned Ning Qiuyan’s face back toward him, forcing Ning Qiuyan to meet his eyes. Ning Qiuyan moved his lips slightly. “…Zhaozhao.”

The room fell silent.

Neither of them had ever imagined that the safe word, never used before, would be spoken in a situation like this.

Guan Heng had granted Ning Qiuyan the right to say no. As long as Ning Qiuyan felt he could not bear it, he could call a stop at any time.

And yet Ning Qiuyan calling a stop now carried a completely different meaning.

Once the Mark of a Blood Contract Partner was put on, it could not be taken off again. Previously, since Ning Qiuyan had not done so willingly, they had still been testing the edge of danger. But now, his refusal was not enough to make Guan Heng change the rule.

Ning Qiuyan knew what this meant too. Panicked, he reached out and snatched the earring away, clutching it in his palm.

Not wearing it did not mean he did not want it.

Guan Heng made no further move. His long hair brushed against Ning Qiuyan’s cheek.

Ning Qiuyan only looked at him without speaking.

That slightly pale face had grown much thinner. His bright, small-animal eyes had lost their spark, and there was a faint bluish cast beneath them.

He refused to wear the earring, but he also refused to hand it over. His hand was clenched tightly, as if afraid Guan Heng would take it back.
—
Ning Qiuyan did not go to see them off at the airport.

When they arrived at the airport late at night, Lu Qianque called the new phone he had bought for Ning Qiuyan.

“Xiao Ning, there’s still half an hour before boarding.” They were used to arriving early. With nothing to do, Lu Qianque called to tease him, amusement in his voice. “You really didn’t come?”

Ning Qiuyan said he had homework to finish.

“What did Sir do to you?”

Lu Qianque teased him.

Then he said something to the person beside him before speaking to Ning Qiuyan again. “I asked Sir, but Sir won’t tell me either.”

In truth, he really had not done anything. For safety’s sake, they had not even stayed in the same space for the latter half of the night. Ning Qiuyan had been left in the bedroom, while Guan Heng remained in the sitting room the entire time.

In the morning, Ning Qiuyan walked out of the bedroom and knelt on the carpet beside the sofa, looking at Guan Heng’s sleeping face for a long time.

Guan Heng was even weaker by day than by night. His face was ashen as he slept heavily.

Before leaving, Ning Qiuyan quietly checked again to make sure the curtains were sealed without a single gap. In the hallway, he ran into Qu Shu, who had been waiting there. Surprise flashed across her face. Clearly, she had not expected that with things this dangerous, Guan Heng would actually dare let a human stay here for an entire night.

But after thinking about it, this was Guan Heng. Then it no longer seemed strange.

Right now, Guan Heng was beside Lu Qianque.

Lu Qianque said to him again, “Little Puppy really isn’t coming,” and Ning Qiuyan heard it clearly. He also heard Guan Heng answer in a low voice, “Mm.”

“You’re acting a little weird.”

Lu Qianque said to Ning Qiuyan on the other end of the phone, puzzled.

In the end, he told Ning Qiuyan, “Once I pick up Gu Yu, I’ll go back to Luochuan. I’ll come to Sujing again next month and visit you then.” But he did not say when Guan Heng would return.

Guan Heng did not speak to Ning Qiuyan either.

The call ended.

Ning Qiuyan had not gone to the airport, but he knew clearly when the plane would land in Wutong. He knew the people from Du Island would already be waiting there. He knew roughly when Guan Heng would board the helicopter, and how long it would take him to return to the mansion.
The cattle and sheep on the farm, the deer in the mountain woods-they would nourish Guan Heng’s body once more.

Uncle Kang, Granny Bai, and the Guan Family descendants who still remained on the island stayed constantly by Guan Heng’s side, keeping him company with warmth and affection, carrying on the bloodline, and unfailingly honoring the promise that had endured for a thousand years.

That solitary island was Guan Heng’s true home.

The first piece of news Ning Qiuyan received after Guan Heng returned to Du Island came from Dr. Ling.

“I suggest that Sir enter hibernation,” Dr. Ling said. “But Sir hasn’t agreed yet.”

Ning Qiuyan froze for a moment, then hurriedly asked, “Is it that serious? Lu Qianque said it was only that his intake wasn’t enough. He said he’d get better soon…”

Guan Heng had said the same thing.

Could it be that they were only saying that on purpose because they were afraid he would worry?

“No, no. It isn’t serious. Don’t panic,” Dr. Ling said with a smile. “It’s like this. Vampires have an extremely powerful ability to heal themselves. Think about it-even if their heads are cut off, they can put themselves back together completely intact. What are a few bite wounds compared to that? The problem is that their own blood is the one thing a Vampire has difficulty regenerating in a short period of time.”

Every Vampire cared greatly about their own blood.

It was the accumulation of long years of feeding, formed through a slow process of turning and synthesis, the energy source that supplied every function of that cold body.

Therefore, when they drank blood, it was not merely out of desire. More importantly, it was instinct.

Dr. Ling said, “The amount he takes in is one aspect. The type he takes in is the most important… Human blood goes without saying. If he had a few thousand milliliters every day, he’d be fully recovered in less than a week.”

Ning Qiuyan was startled.

An adult human body held only about four thousand milliliters of blood. It went without saying what kind of price would have to be paid in exchange for several thousand milliliters of fresh, warm blood every day.

Guan Heng would never do that.

At this point, Dr. Ling also seemed to find the image too cruel. He paused before continuing, “Animal blood naturally doesn’t have that kind of effect. Compared to human blood, its effect is simply too weak. Right now, the farm is providing a very large amount every day, far more than a few thousand milliliters, and cattle and sheep carcasses are sent away for burial daily. From Sir’s expression, I don’t think he feels very good about it…”

“For an older Vampire like Sir, hibernation actually has a similar effect to animal blood. His own blood is special to begin with and possesses an even stronger self-healing ability.”

A single drop of Guan Heng’s blood could make Ning Qiuyan’s wound disappear. A few milliliters could cause the wound in a worker’s abdomen, pierced through by antlers, to heal rapidly.

It could also slowly regenerate within the body.

“Although the effect is slow either way, it’s still better than suffering like this now, isn’t it? That’s why I suggest that Sir enter hibernation,” Dr. Ling said. “What do you think?”

Ning Qiuyan tightened his grip on his phone. “How long would it take?”

Dr. Ling smiled. “Only two or three months. It won’t get in the way of you two building your relationship.”

Ning Qiuyan quickly agreed.

Dr. Ling chatted about a few other things as well. He asked how Ning Qiuyan was doing and told him that if he felt any discomfort after witnessing such a bloody scene, he should tell the people around him in time; they would arrange a psychologist for him.

He also said that when Uncle Kang went to receive Guan Heng, he lost his composure for the first time. After following at Guan Heng’s side for more than fifty years, Uncle Kang’s beard had trembled when he saw Guan Heng in that state, and he had even tried to reach out and support him-of course, he had not been allowed to. Guan Heng was accustomed to keeping his distance from others, and he was not so weak that he needed anyone to help him walk.

Ning Qiuyan listened quietly.

Dr. Ling’s purpose in calling was very clear: he wanted Ning Qiuyan to discuss it with Guan Heng.

In the eyes of the people of Du Island, Ning Qiuyan was the most special existence in Guan Heng’s heart, different from all of them. Anything he said to Guan Heng ought to carry more weight than what anyone else said.

Because he was the only person who could hold Guan Heng’s hand and stand side by side with him.

“You don’t want to hibernate?”

That night, Ning Qiuyan still called Guan Heng.

At that moment, the moon was full.

A jade disk hung between Du Island and Sujing.

“After I enter hibernation, my consciousness will also hibernate. There’s no telling when I’ll wake,” Guan Heng said on the other end of the line. “Last time, Lu Qianque was the one who woke me.”

They said two or three months, but in truth, it was not certain.

If Vampires in a state of hunger did not wake on their own, it was best for humans not to get too close.

Lu Qianque would probably be very happy to help again.

But that was not the main point they were discussing now.

“It’s okay. I’ll still send you messages every day and tell you what happened that day and what I did. You’ll be able to see them when you wake up.”

Ning Qiuyan lowered his eyes and looked at the silent garden below the balcony.

The city clamor sounded in the distance. Inside the Black House, he was the only one there.

“If you don’t wake up on your own, then I’ll come wake you. We don’t need to wait for Lu Qianque.”

Guan Heng asked, “Are you sure?”

Back then, sitting under the shade of the trees in the park amid the drifting rain, it had also been Ning Qiuyan who asked Guan Heng not to fall into a deep sleep. At that time, just the thought of being unable to speak to Guan Heng for several months had been unbearable to him.

Guan Heng remembered. Ning Qiuyan remembered too.

“I’m sure.” He lifted his eyes and looked at the bright white moon in the night sky.

He knew that once hibernation went beyond its expected span, even if it was only three or five years, they would miss out on a great deal of time together.

After all, human lifespans were limited.

For a long time, no sound came from the other end of the line.

It was as if the two of them had returned to opposite ends of the sofa-so close, and yet so far apart.

People had mouths for a reason, and Guan Heng did not like playing guessing games. He asked very directly, “What are you thinking, Ning Qiuyan?”

Ning Qiuyan could imagine the way Guan Heng would look when he said those words, gazing down at him from above. Without meaning to, he said, “I’ve been thinking about a lot of things lately, but I can’t figure them all out at once.”

In these two or three months, Guan Heng needed to hibernate, and Ning Qiuyan needed to think.

Guan Heng did not ask what things he meant.

Then he heard Ning Qiuyan suddenly say, “I love you.”

Those three words came from the depths of his heart. Only after Ning Qiuyan said them did he realize it was not that hard.

So he said it again.

“I love you.”

This time, he said it with great seriousness.

It had accumulated day by day, and with every passing day, he had become more obsessed than the day before.

“I know you’re loving me in your own way too.” His words came out a little disjointed, but this was already the best way he could think to express it.

“But if we are destined to be unable to take the same goal as the end point of our lives, then what exactly are we pursuing?”