Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Ning Qiuyan thought about Guan Heng’s words and lay awake all night.

He understood that, at his age, he simply couldn’t look at things from the same height as Guan Heng. He trusted Guan Heng, so of course he would accept Guan Heng’s advice without hesitation. Even so, a deep regret still welled up inside him.

He wondered if Guan Heng had ever been through something similar.

Over the course of such a long life, Guan Heng must have met countless people like Rong Qi. Guan Heng had many old acquaintances and friends, but in the end, the only one who had remained by his side was Lu Qianque.

Guan Heng was calm and good at cutting his losses in time.

But did Guan Heng ever feel regret?

This matter involved the Vampires’ underground trade network and Huanle. After entrusting Rong Qi to Lu Qianque, Ning Qiuyan restrained himself and did not interfere any further.

School started, and Ning Qiuyan became busy.

He signed up at a driving school, joined the university photography club, and after successfully helping the senior’s studio earn a bit of money last time, the senior also invited him over for a part-time job.

In the mild spring of March, the weather in Sujing turned warm.

According to local classmates, Sujing was rainy all year round. Although there was still plenty of rain in the first half of the year, it was also the sunniest time of the year in Sujing. Ning Qiuyan found a decent secondhand bicycle in the campus forum’s trading section. The seller was a senior about to graduate, and they completed the transaction in person.

Every day, Ning Qiuyan rode it back and forth between school, the studio, and the Black House, rarely spending the night in the dorm.

He called Rong Qi a few times on and off.

The other boy never picked up, nor did he come to class.

Even when Ning Qiuyan returned to the dorm, it no longer had the laughter and chatter it once did. It was empty at all hours, with only him there.

He wrote Rong Qi a note and left it by his pillow. After repeatedly trying and failing to offer help, he simply wrote, “If you need me, I can come back anytime.”

Just like that, the two of them gradually drifted farther and farther apart.

On the last weekend of March, Rong Qi’s name suddenly appeared on Ning Qiuyan’s phone.

When he answered, however, an unfamiliar male voice came through. “Is Rong Qi your friend?”

Ning Qiuyan had just left the senior’s studio and was planning to ride his bike back to the Black House. He answered the phone while pushing his bicycle, and at those words, he stopped. “Yes. And you are…?”

“Rong Qi is at Lost Club on Qintai Road,” the man said. “He isn’t feeling well. Would it be convenient for you to come pick him up now?”

Ning Qiuyan hesitated for only a second before saying, “All right.”

He turned around and pedaled as fast as he could.

Night had already fallen. His figure swept past the square, past Sujing Tower. Following the directions from his navigation app, he wove through Sujing’s streets and alleys like someone who had truly grown up here.

Qintai Road was lined with lush trees, and the road itself was very narrow.

The moment he turned in from elsewhere, the light seemed to dim abruptly. It wasn’t entirely because of the dense canopy overhead or the dim streetlamps; there was an unsettling kind of quiet to the place.

Sujing had many small streets like this, but none of them had ever given Ning Qiuyan this feeling.

The club was called Lost, a small building done in an aged industrial style standing in the middle of the street. Outside the building was a tiny garden, its vegetation growing wildly and obscuring the entrance to the club.

Ning Qiuyan leaned his bicycle against the black iron fence and locked it. Just as he was about to step inside, someone suddenly blocked his way. “Mr. Xiao Ning.”

It was a slightly strange form of address.

Ning Qiuyan looked up and saw an unfamiliar face, a tall figure, black clothing-it was one of Guan Heng’s people.

Ever since Guan Heng had come to Sujing last time and stopped Ning Qiuyan from leaving milk for the men in black, these people seemed to have deliberately lowered their presence by a great deal. Ning Qiuyan had almost never noticed them again.

Of course, he knew they had been behind him all along.

“This is not a place you should enter,” the man in black said politely. “Please go back.”

Ning Qiuyan said, “I’m not here to have fun. I’m only picking up a friend.”

The man’s arm remained in front of him, his tone respectful. “I’m sorry. Please understand.”

No one would defy Guan Heng’s orders.

Especially not after Ning Qiuyan had once been kidnapped.

Ning Qiuyan understood that everyone had their own set of rules to follow, so he did not make things difficult for the man in black. He stepped aside and called Guan Heng.

Guan Heng might have just woken up; his voice was not entirely clear. “Lost Club?”

Ning Qiuyan gave a soft “Mm.”

Guan Heng asked, “What kind of place do you think it is?”

Ning Qiuyan glanced back at the building behind him, which looked rather dull and gloomy, and answered, “I can… more or less guess.”

It was not a place humans should enter.

Guan Heng did not speak right away.

Ning Qiuyan’s heart was beating a little fast.

“I’ll leave as soon as I pick up Rong Qi. I won’t do anything else, and I won’t say anything else to him.” He tightened his grip on the phone. “Once I have him, I’ll go immediately.”

“Is that okay?”

He called softly, “Sir.”

Several seconds passed before Guan Heng asked, “You’re sure you want to go?”

Ning Qiuyan said, “Mm. I’m sure.”

They had already talked about this. Guan Heng had given Ning Qiuyan the right advice, and Ning Qiuyan should have known what to do. Yet in the end, he still followed his heart.

But at this moment, Guan Heng agreed anyway. “Then go. Ning Qiuyan, you have fifteen minutes.”

Ning Qiuyan’s lashes trembled. Before the call ended, he heard Guan Heng say lightly, “Walk straight in. Don’t be afraid.”

The man in black finally let him pass, disappearing into the shadow of the vegetation.

Ning Qiuyan walked up the steps and entered the porch, only to discover that there was no one guarding the place at all. Nor did he need to show some membership card like in the movies.
The club’s interior was a little more refined than the outside, though it still kept to that shabby, deliberately aged style. Copper wall lamps hung from Gothic walls. Beneath them, a man and a woman who had been talking heard footsteps and looked toward Ning Qiuyan.

The woman had a pale face, bright red lips, and pupils darker than the night, their edges reflecting a vivid crimson. Even with such heavy makeup, she still gave off a lifeless air. Other than that, she looked almost no different from a human. At the very least, her male companion had no idea what she really was and was still flirting with her.

Ning Qiuyan’s steps faltered. His scalp prickled, and cold sweat had already broken out in his palms.

The woman, who had been smiling as she spoke, saw him and abruptly changed expression. She hurriedly pulled her companion away.

Ning Qiuyan continued inward and finally entered the club proper.

People laughed and talked, drinking, smoking, and twisting their bodies to the music. At first glance, it looked no different from a bar, but here Ning Qiuyan spotted two more Vampires. There were even more humans.

Amid the drifting smoke, pale-skinned nocturnal creatures hid themselves among the crowd.

Disguised as bartenders. As waiters.

This was Vampires’ territory, and also a breeding ground provided for fallen humans.

If he had not seen it with his own eyes, Ning Qiuyan would have found it hard to imagine that Vampires existed so close to human life. He did not dare imagine how many places like this existed in the vast city of Sujing.

This time was different from Camellia Night. Guan Heng was not by his side.

The young man wore a duffle coat, a thick scarf, and a pair of currently fashionable German trainers. His soft black hair was neatly cut, making him look like someone who had wandered in here by mistake.

Only the two rubies set into his fair earlobes resembled bite marks left behind after being bitten, drawing the eye.

He walked through the crowd. Wherever he went, the way opened before him without obstruction. There were even Vampires who, upon seeing him, clearly stepped back, as if they were even more unwilling than he was to make contact.

Guan Heng had said, “Don’t be afraid.”

Because all these Vampires recognized Ning Qiuyan.

Or rather, they recognized Ning Qiuyan’s earrings. They knew that was the Mark belonging to Guan Heng.

Ning Qiuyan found someone and asked where Rong Qi was. That person was not holding a glass and did not smell of alcohol, yet he seemed drunk. Stammering, he pointed out a path leading to a private room upstairs.

Up close, Ning Qiuyan saw that the man’s pupils were dilated. He was clearly in a state of excitement. In that instant, Ning Qiuyan understood what kind of place this truly was, and the urge to retreat rose in his heart.

But he had to take Rong Qi away.

And he could not waste the opportunity Guan Heng had given him and be a coward for nothing.

Although he knew Guan Heng would not laugh at him.

When he reached the private room on the second floor, Ning Qiuyan finally saw Rong Qi, who was unconscious.

The lighting in the private room was a little brighter than downstairs. Apart from Rong Qi, there was another person on the sofa, but Ning Qiuyan could not spare any attention for him. He went straight to Rong Qi’s side and called his name loudly.

After not seeing him for an entire winter break, Rong Qi had changed a great deal.

He could only be described as having wasted away. His cheeks were nearly sunken in, deep dark circles lay beneath his eyes, and his lips were cracked. Even unconscious, his entire body was trembling violently, and he looked to be in terrible pain.

“Rong Qi!” Ning Qiuyan patted his face. “Rong Qi!”

“Don’t worry. He’ll wake up later,” the other person on the sofa said. “Right now, he just couldn’t hold out anymore and fell asleep.”

Ning Qiuyan raised his head. The first thing that entered his view was long black hair, then an equally black cloak. Looking farther up, he saw a young, gentle face wearing a smile. “Hello. We meet again.”

Ning Qiuyan grew wary. This was a Vampire.

He seemed to have seen this person somewhere before.

“You don’t remember?” the other party said. “Last time, by the elevator. I was with Mr. Jones.”

Ning Qiuyan thought back to that scene. It did seem that there had been someone like him there.

It was just that, at the time, all of his attention had been on Wagner Jones, and he had not paid much attention to the people around them.

Not knowing how to react, Ning Qiuyan nodded at him, then continued calling Rong Qi.

It was a little perfunctory, fitting the image of a Little Puppy who already had an owner.

“He probably won’t wake up until tomorrow,” that person said with complete composure, actually continuing to speak to Ning Qiuyan. “It’s precisely because he couldn’t be woken up that I used his phone to call a friend. I didn’t expect that when I called back the first missed call, it would be you.”

Ning Qiuyan finally turned his head and asked, “What happened to him?”

“A reaction caused by his body being deprived of Huanle,” the man said. “He came here today looking for someone to ask for it, but no one dared give him any. Lu Qianque has already spoken. Forget today-he could come another ten thousand times, and no one would dare give him any again.”

Ning Qiuyan’s expression turned grave. “He’ll quit.”

The man said, “It’s impossible to quit.”

Ning Qiuyan pulled Rong Qi up, trying to get him onto his back.

“Huanle is terrifying.” The way that person spoke was refined, even carrying an old-fashioned elegance, somewhat similar to Guan Heng. “Many people approach it out of curiosity. They don’t believe they’ll become addicted. The result is that one attempt is enough to condemn them forever. The human world still has laws controlling and banning drugs, but Vampires have no explicit regulations governing this.”

“What’s even more terrifying is that this substance can affect the body even through skin contact alone, without being ingested through the mouth or nose.”

“As a Blood Contract Partner, you should have warned your friend earlier.”

Using the experience he had gained working as a caregiver, Ning Qiuyan applied the right leverage and successfully got Rong Qi onto his back.

Hearing those words, he looked at the man sitting on the sofa. “What do you mean?”

The man said, “Once a person has been bitten once, they will crave a second time. The toxin makes people develop love and desire against their own will. It turns them into playthings who lose their own thoughts, unconsciously submitting to the one who carries the toxin.”