Chapter 29

The liquid slid into his mouth, leaving a streak of vivid, glaring red on his pale lips.

Those fingers were so pale they seemed almost translucent, lazily holding the stem of the glass. His movements were slow, as if deliberately stretching out the act of eating.

Ning Qiuyan hardly dared to look in that direction, but he was certain Guan Heng was doing it on purpose.

Creatures hidden in the night no longer concealed their true selves, brazenly revealing themselves to weak humans who should not be curious, peeling back another layer of the secrets in the darkness.

It wasn’t until Ning Qiuyan finished his meal that Guan Heng, at almost the same moment Ning Qiuyan put down his utensils, set aside the wine glass, which still bore a trace of blood-red.

“What did you do today?” Guan Heng asked. “Why didn’t you go upstairs to work on the puzzle?”

Ning Qiuyan said, “…I forgot.”

Guan Heng didn’t sound reproachful, only stated plainly, “You’ve fallen behind a lot. Are you sure you can finish it?”

Ning Qiuyan no longer wanted to finish it.

He was the one who left a note last time, telling others not to touch his puzzle, and now he was the one who had lost interest and was slacking off. Humans are prone to losing enthusiasm quickly-after all, their time isn’t infinite. Ning Qiuyan felt that even if he was being lazy, it was understandable.

Besides, for Guan Heng, this should be a common occurrence.

But Guan Heng didn’t seem to like Ning Qiuyan giving up halfway.

He said calmly, “Come upstairs and continue.”

So Ning Qiuyan followed behind Guan Heng, and together they went to the puzzle room on the third floor.

The puzzle pieces on the floor were still as Ning Qiuyan had left them last time, even the pile he’d rummaged through remained in the same chaotic state, showing that no one had come by in the meantime.

Guan Heng took off his shoes and walked barefoot to the carpet, sitting down. Seeing Ning Qiuyan still standing, he said, “Sit.”

Ning Qiuyan still remembered what had happened the last time they were here together-he’d done something foolish and taken off his clothes in front of Guan Heng.

But he had no way to refuse Guan Heng’s request, so he obediently went over and sat down beside him.

Then, bracing himself, he began to search for puzzle pieces.

The sound of pieces clicking and shuffling filled the puzzle room; at first, neither of them spoke.

This silence lasted about ten minutes before Guan Heng finally spoke: “Last time, my approach was a bit too extreme.”

Ning Qiuyan turned in surprise, only to meet his gaze.

Those eyes, as deep and still as a black lake, long and upturned, always appeared indifferent. Previously, Ning Qiuyan thought it was simply his personality, but now he understood it was actually the detachment that comes with the passage of countless years-a clear, lofty view that only the elder have of the world.

“Sorry,” Guan Heng lowered his eyes to look at him, “but if I could do it all over again, I would still choose the same.”

Ning Qiuyan’s ears turned red. He shifted his gaze to the puzzle. “You… you don’t need to apologize. I know you did it for my safety.”

Yes, for the sake of the blood bag.

As a blood bag of special significance to Guan Heng, Ning Qiuyan understood.

Besides… there were only two more transactions left anyway, aside from this one. Ning Qiuyan really didn’t think there was any need for them to talk about these things any further.

Guan Heng found another correct puzzle piece.

It always seemed easy for him.

“You bought a lot of books, and watched a lot of movies,” Guan Heng continued, “What did you learn?”

Ning Qiuyan paused. Why did it seem that Guan Heng knew everything that had happened to him after he left?

Could it be that besides sending people to ensure his safety, Guan Heng had actually been monitoring his life as well?

Then, his month-long aversion to food, his endless hours playing horror games, lying at home spacing out, watching movies and novels, going to Wutong Forest Park to play guitar… all of it, Guan Heng knew.

Including all those times he wrote Guan Heng’s name over and over again…

He had no privacy.

Guan Heng made no attempt to conceal this, and continued looking for the next puzzle piece: “Tell me.”

Ning Qiuyan already wanted to crawl into a crack in the floor and disappear, but could only answer, “I didn’t really learn anything… It all seems so different from you. I can’t tell what’s fictional and what’s based on fact.”

“It’s simple.” Guan Heng nonchalantly named a few movies and books, all of which Ning Qiuyan had seen. “Those are human artistic creations about imagined Vampires.”

Vampire.

This was the first time they had said it aloud.

Ning Qiuyan’s heart skipped two beats, but Guan Heng spoke calmly and naturally.

“The other two,” Guan Heng named two more movies, “their screenwriters are our kind.”

Ning Qiuyan was startled.

“The existence of all things in this world is never without basis. There’s always some kind of foundation for them,” Guan Heng said. “Except for that ‘Zombie Land’ game you played.”
Ning Qiuyan had no time to care about that game. He digested the information in shock and asked, “So, does that mean besides you and Lu Qianque, there are actually many… others like you in the world?”

“As far as I know, yes,” Guan Heng replied. “But I don’t know all of them. Lu Qianque knows more people than I do.”

Curiosity overcame his other emotions, and Ning Qiuyan became interested, unable to help but ask, “So the plots in those two movies are all real?”

Guan Heng lowered his gaze to look at him. “No.”

Ning Qiuyan’s eyes were round and large-truly a pair of puppy eyes, making his innocence easy to see. “Huh? Even the scripts written by Vampires themselves are fake?”

“At least the most important parts are,” Guan Heng said. “We can’t possibly die from sunlight.”

This time, Ning Qiuyan was completely stunned.

Vampires couldn’t possibly die from sunlight-this completely overturned everything he had imagined.

Wait…

If Vampires really don’t burn up and vanish in sunlight, then why does the mansion on Du Island go into lockdown during the day?

Guan Heng stopped speaking at this point and simply said, “Last time I asked if you had anything you wanted to know. You can ask me directly.”

Instead of looking it up yourself.

Even if he did, without Guan Heng’s permission, he wouldn’t get any answers.

Ning Qiuyan understood what Guan Heng meant, and a chill ran lightly down his back.

Clearly, he had once again failed to keep his promise to “be obedient” in this regard.

This was a premeditated conversation.

His curiosity was being deliberately piqued, and the person who could answer him was right in front of him.

Ning Qiuyan had countless questions he wanted to ask Guan Heng, and Guan Heng had already given him the chance to ask last time. He was the one who refused and chose to struggle for a whole month instead.

Disobedience would be punished.

Now, no matter how much Ning Qiuyan wanted to know, Guan Heng would not bring it up on his own.

The atmosphere grew oppressive again.

Ning Qiuyan pieced together a few more puzzle pieces, but suddenly found himself stuck, unable to find the next one no matter how hard he tried.

Guan Heng didn’t help, and stopped assembling the puzzle as well.

His figure was tall and imposing, his presence extremely strong, yet Ning Qiuyan gradually noticed something important-he seemed unable to sense Guan Heng’s breathing.

The man was like a mysterious statue, or a cold-blooded creature of the night.

So powerful, perched at the top of the food chain, able to silently and instantly tear open any prey’s throat if he wished.

Knowing he was being watched, Ning Qiuyan, fearful as he was, sadly realized…

He was addicted to it.

He wanted to come to Du Island, wanted to be with Guan Heng. No matter how much his rational mind resisted, his heart could not refuse anything related to Guan Heng. Even if Guan Heng pounced on him right now and sank his teeth into his artery, he felt it wouldn’t matter.

Perhaps this was his fate.

“Come here.”

Suddenly, Guan Heng spoke again.

There was a certain distance between them, but not too far.

Ning Qiuyan put down the messy puzzle pieces.

He was still wearing the milky white sweatshirt he’d worn that morning, his skin glowing with a warm texture under the light, completely different from Guan Heng’s.

Once he moved closer, Guan Heng finally brought up the main reason for tonight’s conversation: “Are you still afraid of me?”

Ning Qiuyan sat cross-legged.

Even sitting, Guan Heng was slightly taller than him. Under Guan Heng’s direct gaze, Ning Qiuyan didn’t know if his expression betrayed his feelings, and he couldn’t bring himself to say anything insincere.

“…Yes,” he said.

“Why are you afraid?”

“…I don’t understand you.”

But Guan Heng praised him, saying, “Good boy.”

Ning Qiuyan’s face flushed instantly.

For the first time, Guan Heng offered him a way out.

Just like when Ning Qiuyan got lost and called him for the first time, their relationship had always been an exchange of trust and giving.

During the term of their agreement, Ning Qiuyan had promised to give everything to Guan Heng, including his body, actions, and thoughts. As long as he kept his promise, Guan Heng would give unconditionally.

Reminded of this, Ning Qiuyan finally understood.

Guan Heng’s long hair was tucked behind his ear, and he fulfilled Ning Qiuyan’s request: “Mm, you can ask me one question every day.”

Ning Qiuyan was a little surprised. “Every day?”

Guan Heng said, “If you think that’s too much, we can reduce it.”

Ning Qiuyan immediately said, “No! I don’t.”

Guan Heng seemed amused by his reaction, his right elbow resting on his bent knee, his robe shifting with the movement to reveal his equally pale foot.

The gesture was lazy, indulgent.

“What do you want to know today? Ask.”