Chapter 64

Chapter 64

It was raining heavily when they left the park, so they got into the car that had been prepared and following them for some time.

On the way back, Ning Qiuyan repeatedly pondered the meaning of the last sentence Guan Heng had spoken. Unfortunately, he couldn’t figure it out, and Guan Heng offered no explanation.

The day ended quickly. It had been the longest time Ning Qiuyan and Guan Heng had ever spent together.

Just as the car turned onto the road leading back to the city center, the rain stopped abruptly, as if a line had been drawn. When Ning Qiuyan looked back, he could still see the dark clouds pouring rain in the distance. The sky on this side remained gloomy, but the evening sun was hidden behind thick layers of clouds, casting occasional glimmers of sunlight.

Such strange weather was rare in winter.

Guan Heng leaned back in the rear seat with his eyes closed, resting. In the residual sunlight that occasionally flashed through the dimness, his eyelashes and profile were traced with golden halos.

Ning Qiuyan realized in hindsight that Guan Heng seemed to have barely slept since arriving in Sujing.

A vampire’s metabolism was much slower than a human’s, and their energy was several times more robust, but that didn’t mean they never got tired. Ning Qiuyan didn’t speak much for the rest of the trip, but as soon as they reached the hotel and stepped out of the car, they encountered people waiting for Guan Heng.

The group consisted of three people, all dressed formally with red and white Marks pinned to their collars.

Upon seeing Guan Heng, the three bowed silently in greeting.

Guan Heng’s long hair now fell past his shoulders, having returned to its usual appearance. He gave them a faint glance and said to Ning Qiuyan, “Go to bed early. No need to wait for me tonight,” before striding toward the group.

Someone respectfully opened a car door for Guan Heng, then gave Ning Qiuyan a polite nod.

Unsure of what to do, Ning Qiuyan nodded back.

He returned to his hotel room alone. Just after he finished eating, he received a call from Lu Qianque.

“Xiao Ning, how was your day?” Lu Qianque sounded as if he had timed the call perfectly for when Guan Heng was away. “Was the date pleasant?”

Ning Qiuyan was confused. “?”

He froze for a moment. “What date?”

“Walking the streets, the museum, the park-isn’t that the standard date route for you humans?” Lu Qianque said. “There was supposed to be a movie too, but I heard from Sir that you two already watched one last night.”

Ning Qiuyan still hadn’t quite processed it.

Did Lu Qianque mean that he and Guan Heng had been on a date today?

But why?

Lu Qianque added, “Alright, I admit it doesn’t exactly count as a date. Sir just asked me what one usually does when spending time with a human.” He lowered his voice. “If you’re unsatisfied, just don’t tell Sir.”

Ning Qiuyan said innocently, “Mr. Guan isn’t here right now.”

Lu Qianque asked where he had gone. Ning Qiuyan didn’t know either, so he simply described what the people were wearing.

Lu Qianque dropped the teasing tone, his voice turning more serious. “It’s the people from the Blood Supervision Council again.”

The Blood Supervision Council?

Ning Qiuyan asked, “Didn’t Mr. Guan already visit them once?”

“I suspect it’s because you went to the banquet last night,” Lu Qianque said. “Wagner has always wanted Sir to return. This time, knowing full well that Sir hates those kinds of occasions, he still publicized the banquet extensively. He wanted Sir to appear as the guest of honor just so he could meet with him.”

Ning Qiuyan asked, “Why?”

“Wagner is a member of the Blood Supervision Council,” Lu Qianque explained. “Sir, on the other hand, is one of the founders of the Blood Supervision Council, though he stopped managing its affairs many years ago.”

Ning Qiuyan suddenly understood. Vampires had a strict hierarchy; no wonder Mr. Jones had been so respectful toward Guan Heng.

So there was that layer of history as well.

Ning Qiuyan was still puzzled. “If Mr. Jones is with the Blood Supervision Council and he already saw Mr. Guan last night, why did they send other people to find him today?”

“You don’t understand, Little Puppy,” Lu Qianque said. “The Blood Supervision Council is split into factions. While some of the surface-level operational mechanisms remain, there are actually major internal rifts. For example, Wagner Jones has actually been cultivating many new people in the south. The number of fledglings is increasing every day.”

“Does Sir know?”

“Of course. I discovered his involvement back when I was tracing the ‘Huanle’ line. Sir is very clear about what he’s doing.” Lu Qianque let out a cold laugh. “He’s so desperate to win Sir over because he wants to further expand his influence…”
At this point, Lu Qianque suddenly stopped. A few seconds later, he reverted to his familiar tone and laughed. “I shouldn’t be telling you all this. These aren’t things you should be worrying about.”

So that was what Mr. Jones’s so-called desire to catch up on old times was really about.

Ning Qiuyan wasn’t stupid.

He knew that if Guan Heng never left Du Island, he certainly wouldn’t have these troubles.

Lu Qianque thought the same, saying breezily, “Fortunately, Mr. Guan is going back tomorrow night. Out of sight, out of mind. Let them fight however they want.”

Ning Qiuyan agreed.

“Back to the main topic,” Lu Qianque said. “Regardless of your impression of today’s date, I still want to congratulate you.”

Ning Qiuyan asked, “Congratulate me for what?”

Lu Qianque replied, “Little Puppy, don’t tell me you’ve already worn Mr. Guan’s stud, attended ‘Camellia Night,’ and still don’t know what it means?”

Ning Qiuyan sat on the sofa. “Isn’t it just being a Blood Contract Partner?”

He knew that much.

“To others, it’s just a Blood Contract Partner, but to Mr. Guan, it’s not,” Lu Qianque said. “Mr. Guan isn’t a casual person. Aren’t you curious? Since you’ve agreed to give him your everything, what kind of reward will he give you in return?”

Ning Qiuyan blurted out, “I never thought about getting a reward.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Lu Qianque marveled. “Forget it, pretend I didn’t ask.”

However, a possibility occurred to Ning Qiuyan, and he gripped his phone tighter. “Could it be that Mr. Guan and I-”

“Brother Xiao Ning!”

The phone was suddenly snatched away by Gu Yu.

“How do you feel at university! Is it very hard? Is it exhausting?!”

It had been a while since Ning Qiuyan had heard Gu Yu’s boisterous voice. He wasn’t quite used to it for a moment and moved the phone slightly away from his ear. “Gu Yu.”

He was still not very good at chatting with children.

He answered matter-of-factly, “I’m doing well. University life isn’t hard, and it’s not exhausting.”

“Huh? Why do even you say that?” Gu Yu sounded incredulous. “Did Lu Qianque coordinate this with you?”

Ning Qiuyan: “…”

Gu Yu complained, “Lu Qianque said he wants to send me away to study in the future, to make me go to university outside!”

Ning Qiuyan asked, “Isn’t that good?”

“It’s not good! I don’t want to go to university at all, and I don’t want to go somewhere where nobody knows me.” Gu Yu sounded quite aggrieved. “I want to be like Brother Guan Ziming. I want to go to Mr. Guan’s place to manage the farm right after high school. It’s so free every day!”

Ning Qiuyan was completely speechless.

Gu Yu probably didn’t know how Guan Ziming ended up on Du Island, nor did he realize that Guan Ziming wasn’t free at all.

The call ended.

Ning Qiuyan guessed that Lu Qianque definitely had a bone to pick with Gu Yu, so he didn’t call back.

He left a single lamp on and went to bed early, his mind filled with Lu Qianque’s words.

One moment he was worried about whether the Blood Supervision Council and Mr. Jones would affect Guan Heng, and the next he was wondering what he was to Guan Heng if he wasn’t just a simple Blood Contract Partner.

Were they really on a date today?

As an ancient Vampire, it seemed almost inconceivable for Guan Heng to act this way. Ning Qiuyan recalled every detail, yet he couldn’t quite associate any of it with the word “date.”

Ning Qiuyan discovered that Guan Heng actually had things he wasn’t good at. His heart felt a strange itch; because of this, Guan Heng seemed to have become more approachable.

His thoughts drifted back to the reward Lu Qianque mentioned. What aspect was he referring to?

Was it this kind of more human-like interaction?

None of these were things he could figure out before Guan Heng returned.

However, Guan Heng did not return all night, only appearing in the hotel room when the first light of dawn broke.

By then, Ning Qiuyan was already awake, sitting on the sofa playing Xiaoxiaole.

Guan Heng’s long hair was loose, and he wore a long black cloak, holding a mask he had just taken off. It seemed the effects of Ning Qiuyan’s blood had worn off, and Guan Heng had resorted to this method to walk through the daylight.

The hotel’s heating was sufficient. Ning Qiuyan was wearing a long-sleeved white T-shirt, radiating the warmth of a human.

Their eyes met, and Ning Qiuyan spoke first. “You’re back.”

Guan Heng replied, “Mhm.”

Ning Qiuyan stood up and said nothing else. “Do you want to rest? I just had them change the sheets and pillowcases.”

The time they had left together was already less than twenty-four hours.
Guan Heng walked over and touched Ning Qiuyan’s face, a faint weariness lingering in his eyes. “Alright.”

Guan Heng slept until the afternoon.

Ning Qiuyan never left the room, wearing headphones the entire time to keep quiet while listening to music, playing games, or reading. Guan Heng had extremely high standards for sleep quality, so even when he needed to move around, Ning Qiuyan tried to stay strictly within the carpeted areas.

He listened to the samples he had recorded in the park the day before and asked his senior to send over an audio file stored at the studio, wanting to see if he could arrange them together.

In the meantime, he admired the video he had taken of Guan Heng. Struck by a sudden spark of inspiration, he quickly jotted it down with a pen and paper.

While he was fully concentrated, a hand suddenly pressed down on the top of his head, and Guan Heng’s voice came from behind him. “What are you doing?”

He turned around to find that the bedroom door had opened at some point without him noticing.

Guan Heng stood behind him, looking down at him with lowered eyes.

Ning Qiuyan looked up. “Did I wake you?”

“No.” Guan Heng sat down just like that, reaching out to wrap an arm around his waist.

With that, Ning Qiuyan leaned directly into Guan Heng’s embrace.

It was the first time they had been like this. He felt a bit flustered, not knowing where to put his hands, yet he was loath to pull away; Guan Heng’s tenderness was intoxicating.

“What did you write?”

Just like a human, Guan Heng’s voice carried a hint of raspiness from having just woken up.

Ning Qiuyan’s ears turned red instantly. He told Guan Heng, “It’s just a small fragment. Do you remember the piece ‘Zhaozhao’?”

Guan Heng fell silent for two seconds.

Ning Qiuyan couldn’t see his expression and thought he had forgotten, but then he heard him say, “Mm. What about the piece?”

“I’ve always felt that a small section of the second part wasn’t good enough.” Ning Qiuyan pointed it out for Guan Heng to see. “Inspiration suddenly hit me just now, and I thought it would be great to arrange it like this, so I tried writing a segment. What do you think?”

Guan Heng’s voice sounded right in his ear. “Play it for me.”

After finishing the piece last time, Ning Qiuyan had been so eager that he’d sent a photo of the score to Guan Heng. Guan Heng had played a portion of it on the piano himself and even recorded a video.

Ning Qiuyan felt a bit embarrassed-how had he ended up showing his work to Guan Heng so directly again?

There was no piano here, but there was a guitar.

“Could you let go of me for a moment?” Ning Qiuyan whispered.

The restraint around his waist loosened. Ning Qiuyan felt a sense of loss; in a few hours, Guan Heng would be leaving.

He returned with the guitar case to find Guan Heng sitting in a relaxed posture, barefoot, with his elbows resting on his knees as he usually did, waiting with composed interest.

Having woken up, Guan Heng seemed to be in a very good mood.

Ning Qiuyan let out a soft breath, feeling a bit nervous about performing this piece in front of Guan Heng for the first time.

Because Guan Heng didn’t know yet that this piece, “Zhaozhao,” was his subtle confession.

Just like the “date” Guan Heng had orchestrated, there were things between them that didn’t need to be stated too clearly.

The guitar he had rescued from the fire was finally being put to use. Ning Qiuyan unzipped the case and took it out, then opened the small pocket inside the case, intending to grab a pick.

A colorful little box with a strawberry pattern on it was revealed instead.

Months ago, he had ignorantly purchased this item. Because it was a bit expensive, he couldn’t bring himself to throw it away, so he had simply tucked it into the guitar case’s pocket.

Of course, every time Ning Qiuyan had opened that pocket over the past few months, he had seen it.

He had kept it like a memento; he’d had plenty of opportunities to throw it away, yet he never did.

Before opening the pocket just now, he had actually forgotten it was there.

Now, in the same room, under the gaze of the same person, it had appeared again.

It was too late to hide it.

Ning Qiuyan’s entire body went stiff. He could only feign composure as he took a pick from beside it and closed the pocket.

“It might be a bit loud,” he said. “I’ll move a little further away.”

As he turned, Guan Heng was still looking at him, his expression unreadable. “Come here. Bring that box with you.”

Ning Qiuyan: “…”

That box ended up in Guan Heng’s hands anyway.

With Guan Heng’s arm back around his waist, pinning him in his embrace, Ning Qiuyan was forced to watch with his own eyes as those slender fingers toyed with the small box. Guan Heng opened the already-unsealed lid right under his nose, and Ning Qiuyan heard him ask lazily, “How is this used?”