Chapter 38: The Temptation and the Vampire
Xuan’er wasn’t flustered by my sudden appearance. She straightened her half-undone swimsuit and pulled herself in, making space for me.
After I tucked my legs in, I picked Xuan’er up and placed her in front of me so she wouldn’t feel crowded.
I wondered what the situation was like outside. I really wanted to pull back the curtain and take a look, but I was afraid someone might notice, which would make things even more terrible. Moreover, this was a good opportunity… I had wanted to talk to Xuan’er properly for a while now. This situation, where the two of us were alone due to an accident, was perfect. Perhaps fate had created it for me?
I pondered for a moment on how to start the conversation, but my mind was blank. As expected, I’m not good at initiating conversations. I’ll just get straight to the point.
“Xuan’er… are you avoiding Xueqing?”
Xuan’er’s eyes widened, then she sadly lowered her head, biting her lower lip as she admitted, “—That’s right. I have no face to see her right now—”
“Did something happen? Come on, tell me about it.”
I stroked her head, like I was guiding a child who had made a mistake. I took on the role of a father and asked in a gentle tone.
Xuan’er shook her head, avoiding my hand, and said, “Although I really did something that wronged Xue’er… I wronged you even more. I… I don’t have the right to touch you anymore…”
As expected, Xuan’er was still bothered by that incident. Ever since that unintentional act in the principal’s office that day, she had been holding onto it and still couldn’t let go.
Compared to me, who was almost eaten, Xuan’er must have felt much stronger guilt. When she realized she had wanted to eat her own friend, there could be nothing more desperate than that.
“I think it’s better… for me not to appear before Juncheng anymore.”
“If you’re referring to the fact that I couldn’t help but want to eat you… I don’t think you need to avoid me because of that.”
“…Juncheng…”
Xuan’er looked up again. The expression on her small face became incredibly complex: surprise, unease, despair, but… mostly fear.
Like me at that time, her heart was shrouded in fear.
I think I understand what she’s afraid of. She’s afraid of being disliked by me.
After that incident, I had also been regretting it. I regretted why I showed her that kind of expression back then. If she were my friend, I should have just brushed it off with a smile and a joke, and helped her recover. But in the end, not only could I not enlighten or help her, I could only watch her run away, unable to even chase after her… So insignificant…
But it wasn’t too late.
Now, I would tell Xuan’er how I felt, and express it through my actions. Therefore, I needed a catalyst, a catalyst to tempt her.
I bit my index finger, drawing blood, and held it out in front of her.
“Huh?! Wait, what are you doing?”
“Ahh! Quick, put it away! I, I can’t control myself…”
“If you want to drink, then drink.”
I took the initiative to place my injured finger into her cherry-like mouth, pressing the wound against her teeth and squeezing out the blood.
Xuan’er initially tried to pull back and spit out my finger, but after tasting my blood, she froze.
A faint, coppery scent of blood permeated the changing room. Xuan’er was already tempted by the smell of the blood. Her instincts took over, and she gently parted her lips, biting my finger with her slightly longer, sharper teeth, widening the wound and savoring the blood.
Originally, only the tip of my finger was in her mouth, but now my entire index finger was inside.
She sucked my blood like a baby, her pupils gradually tinged with red. Her long, slender eyelashes trembled, and she unconsciously showed an expression of enjoyment. Even her stiff body softened.
I felt as if my index finger had entered a different space, enveloped by a soft, wet sensation. The flowing blood merged with her saliva, like being coated with glue.
Ghoul saliva had healing properties, so to prevent the wound from regenerating, Xuan’er kept her teeth inserted. She would even rub them occasionally to create a new wound.
It didn’t hurt much, but it was a bit…
I wiggled my finger slightly, and the tip brushed against Xuan’er’s tongue. That agile little tongue then wrapped around it.
It felt quite interesting, so I continued to have a Latin dance with my finger and her tongue. But then I felt like I was doing something foolish, like putting my head into a tiger’s mouth, and I felt a sense of dread.
After sucking for a while, Xuan’er suddenly revealed a dazed smile. Then her teeth lightly bit the base of my finger… I swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Although I was mentally prepared, I was still a bit… about what was about to happen.
But in the end, it wasn’t a bloody scene. When the biting force reached its limit, Xuan’er snapped back to her senses.
Just like last time, she suddenly became clear-headed.
As expected, Xuan’er actually had very strong self-control, so strong that she could forcefully regain her reason at a crucial moment with admirable willpower.
Having snapped back to reality, Xuan’er quickly spat out my finger and curled up, hugging herself. Her body shook violently. A faint moan escaped her half-open mouth, and then, as if to alleviate withdrawal symptoms, she gasped for air and sobbed intensely.
I felt a pang of guilt. I touched her cheek and asked, “Xuan’er… was it good?”
Xuan’er’s face suddenly lost all color, turning deathly pale. Realizing what she had done, the despair on her face deepened. She covered her face with her trembling hands, feeling like she was about to cry.
I grabbed her wrist and pulled her into my arms. With my other hand, I lifted her chin to face me. Gazing at her delicate face so close to mine, I said, “Listen, Xuan’er, I actually don’t mind you seeing me as food. Although, at first sight, I saw a side of you I didn’t recognize, and instinctively felt fear… I didn’t hate you because of it, Xuan’er.”
“This isn’t about whether Juncheng hates me or not! If I continue to stay by your side, I will—”
A tear rolled down from the corner of her eye. Oh my, how many girls have I made cry recently? I’m so damned…
“—I will hurt you again…”
After wiping away her tear, I showed her my finger again.
“Look at my finger.”
The wound on it had already shrunk significantly and had stopped bleeding.
“Originally, zombies don’t have regenerative abilities, but because I took some medicine, I’ve gained some regenerative capabilities.”
“…”
“Mm, although this ability is still weak and can’t regenerate severed limbs, so I can’t let you eat me yet. But if this regenerative ability becomes stronger, perhaps…”
If that doesn’t work, I could always find Lin Bai, that maid with the miraculous replacement ability.
“No, no, it won’t work!”
She suddenly grabbed my collar and shook her head desperately, repeating the word “no” endlessly. Finally, she looked up abruptly, her eyes looking at me with extreme seriousness, and exclaimed, “It definitely won’t work!”
She said it so resolutely. It seemed she wasn’t just thinking of me; Xuan’er had her own bottom line.
“This isn’t about whether it can regenerate! I don’t want to, I don’t want to be like a leech, sucking your blood and becoming your parasite! Eating my friend… I never want to do it again!”
Xuan’er stood up, and finally burst into tears.
She knelt before me and hugged me.
Her small chest pressed against my cheek, and I could hear her heart beating faster.
“…I’ll go back…”
“Go back? Go back where?”
“Back to a place where no one is. I’ll live alone… just like before. This time I’ll eat corpses regularly, so I won’t lose my mind. And I won’t cause trouble for Nana or you.”
“That won’t do. No matter where you hide, I will find you, and Xueqing will too.”
“Juncheng… I developed an ‘eating impulse’ towards you… It’s like vampires have a ‘bloodlust impulse.’ We ghouls… or rather, all ‘demons’ have similar instinctive reactions. We ghouls are slightly different. It’s less of an ‘eating impulse’ and more of…”
“I know, ghoul… you want to eat corpses?”
“…”
“And since I’ve become a zombie now, that’s what piqued your appetite.”
“…”
“Heh, I feel honored to be a delicacy in Xuan’er’s eyes.”
“Didn’t you also joke about wanting to eat me before? And you asked if you could have my corpse after I died. I was terrified back then. I really thought you were going to eat me.”
“That was, that was different! It was just a joke. I never thought… of eating a friend… never…”
“See, you said it yourself, ‘friend.’ Since we’re friends, do you think we’d let you leave alone? No matter where you hide, I will find you, and Xueqing will too.”
I told Xuan’er with my eyes, ‘You can’t escape anymore.’
“…I won’t let you find me!”
Xuan’er panicked, not knowing how to convince me. In the end, like a child throwing a tantrum, she said this.
I grinned and said, “Then we’ll just keep looking… until you soften and show yourself. Heh heh.”
Xuan’er fell silent. Seeing my utterly unyielding expression, she slumped down in exhaustion, turned away like a sulking child, hugged her knees, and puffed out her cheeks.
I crossed my legs and pulled her into a hug from behind, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. “Don’t bear it alone anymore. Let’s figure this out together, okay?”
“You have a responsibility for having eating impulses, but I have a corresponding responsibility for being targeted by you. I will try my best not to be eaten by you, so I will desperately find a solution. So, please believe me. You should be able to tell that I’m not lying to you.”
“…I understand. You really are…”
“Really what?”
“Really… lovable… so lovable that I want to eat you…”
“Oh, that truly sends shivers down my spine.”
After the incident in the principal’s office, the conflict between Xuan’er and me was finally resolved.
But things weren’t over yet. Next would be…
“The reason you quarreled with Xueqing, was it because of my finger?”
The atmosphere, which had significantly eased, almost froze again.
