Chapter Seventeen: Speak Properly

(This chapter had some parts removed by the system due to explicit content, so it might feel a bit disjointed.)

“However, just a few days ago, the person I had been waiting for... finally appeared, as if by a miracle. That person is you.”

Faced with Jiang Qian’s meaningful gaze, Cheng Feng’s eyes flickered slightly. “And then?”

Jiang Qian fell silent for a moment before speaking softly. “My father found out about my presence in Donglin City, and even discovered that you were my first embrace. He immediately sent people to capture you. I was worried about your safety, which is why I came to your home and fought that vampire.”

At this point, Cheng Feng finally understood the sequence of events.

If Jiang Qian hadn’t come to the apartment tonight, that vampire, not finding Cheng Feng, might have gone after his family instead. It was Jiang Qian who stalled the vampire.

After defeating Jiang Qian, the vampire must have caught the scent of Cheng Feng and Liu Shiyu as they drew closer together, which made him abandon the idea of breaking into the apartment and set out to intercept them instead.

Thinking of this, Cheng Feng couldn’t help but feel a slight fondness for her—his family had, in a way, been saved by this female vampire.

Still, there were things that needed to be addressed separately.

“I sympathize with your situation, but... you’re being very selfish.”

Cheng Feng’s tone was slightly cold. “I was an innocent bystander, and yet you dragged me into the power struggles of the vampires for no reason. Tonight, my family was nearly put in danger because of it. Am I wrong?”

Jiang Qian fell silent, lost in thought.

Cheng Feng showed her no pity, speaking candidly from his own perspective. “Do you realize that your arbitrary decisions and actions have turned me into a monster, ruining the peaceful life I once had?”

Jiang Qian finally broke her silence. “Is that truly how you feel inside?”

“What do you mean?”

“I made you evolve from an utterly unremarkable high school student at Qingye First High into a noble vampire, giving you supernatural powers that so many people can only dream of. Deep down, shouldn’t you be happy about it?”

Cheng Feng froze, momentarily forgetting how to retort, and even found her words oddly persuasive.

If he had never met Jiang Qian, the vampire, what would his future have been like?

Graduate high school, graduate college, enter the workforce, marry a partner, have children...

A plain and ordinary life, filled with mundane worries over money and daily struggles, just like everyone else...

But after becoming a vampire, he had broken free from that path, had unexpectedly gained a system, could even join the Disaster Association, and perhaps...

Just as Cheng Feng’s thoughts reached this point, he suddenly felt a soft, delicate hand on his chest. He quickly grabbed the offending hand, staring at Jiang Qian in shock. “What are you doing? Can you just talk without trying to take off my pants?”

Wait a minute—when did she untie the rope?

Jiang Qian, lying beside him, showed not the slightest remorse. A mischievous smile curled her lips.

Suddenly she rolled over, straddling him. With a flirtatious laugh, she said, “You accused me of selfishly ruining your life. To earn your forgiveness, after much thought, I realized this is the only way to appease you.”

“Calm down! Wait—aren’t you supposed to be injured?”

“I’ve already recovered for the most part,” Jiang Qian replied, leaning down and tracing her fingers gently over Cheng Feng’s pale cheek, her eyes full of emotion. “Humans say that a day as husband and wife means a hundred days of affection. After tonight, once your anger is gone, you’ll surely forgive me.”

“I suggest you don’t get any ideas...” Cheng Feng frowned. “If you’re that desperate, go to the bathroom.”

“How rude. After all, we’ll be on the same side from now on. I sincerely want your forgiveness.”

Seeing her so serious, Cheng Feng felt both annoyed and helpless. He tried to push her off.

Just then, a shadow slipped through the open window.

“Cheng Feng, I’ve come to help—”

Landing lightly, Liu Shiyu looked up, her eyes widening in disbelief as she witnessed the scene before her, as if she couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing.

I went through all that trouble fighting monsters, and asked you to check on your family, only to find you... doing this?

Cheng Feng: “...”

Why do you always have such impeccable timing?

Jiang Qian glared in frustration at the demon-hunting girl. “You again... Every time you show up, you ruin my plans.”

Fortunately, Liu Shiyu was not the sort to be shocked by any scene. She assumed Cheng Feng was being coerced, and quickly regained her composure. “I suggest you let him go and come quietly.”

Jiang Qian got off Cheng Feng, climbed out of bed, and faced the cold-eyed girl. She huffed, “Why would I hurt him? Cheng Feng and I are in the same boat now.”

The same bed? Liu Shiyu’s gaze slid past Jiang Qian, landing on Cheng Feng.

Cheng Feng shrugged, indicating Jiang Qian wasn’t lying. She was being hunted by vampires and had nowhere else to go. Although she couldn’t be considered an ally just yet, she was at least not an enemy.

Liu Shiyu didn’t care whether this female vampire was good or evil. Her icy presence did not waver, and her tone remained indifferent. “Come with me to the Association. We’ve prepared a rather comfortable cell for you.”

Jiang Qian hesitated, caught in a moment’s indecision.

She had been created as her father’s puppet, escaped from Romania, and lived only to seek revenge against him. But since Cheng Feng became her first embrace, the obsession she’d clung to for years had finally been fulfilled.

Now, she had nowhere left to go, and her strength would never return to its former glory.

From now on, she would face relentless pursuit by fellow vampires and humans alike. Even if she managed to escape Liu Shiyu today, what would be the point?

What about tomorrow?

What about the days after?

With endless pursuit ahead, her future would be nothing but a life spent in hiding...

In the end, Jiang Qian gave up on the idea of fleeing. She looked at Liu Shiyu and asked, “If I surrender, how long will I be imprisoned?”

Liu Shiyu’s tone was cold. “Seven days. After seven days, you’ll be dealt with.”

“Seven days...” Jiang Qian sighed, then turned to Cheng Feng, instructing him, “What I told you about a symbiotic relationship was a lie.

“Besides, when I made you my first embrace, I already passed on the bloodline power I’d built up over twenty years. The reason you haven’t awakened that power is because your heart is still human. If you don’t let go of your humanity, you’ll never be able to wield it.

“If, one day, you choose to become a monster, you will gain power greater than mine—perhaps even greater than my father’s.”

Her sudden words made Cheng Feng frown. “And what about you? Are you really going with her?”

He hadn’t even realized it, but he was starting to care about this female vampire’s fate.

Jiang Qian did not answer. Her gaze dimmed as she looked at Liu Shiyu.

...

Liu Shiyu took her away, and Cheng Feng did not try to stop them.

He didn’t try to defend Jiang Qian. Over the years, she had indeed fed on many people, tearing families apart and sowing chaos in human society.

The fate of a monster was always to be killed by humans, or taken away by the Disaster Association. It was a foregone conclusion.

To be continued...