Swish—
The next instant, the girl appeared right in front of Li Muhany.
She stood close to Li Muhang, cradling his cheeks in her hands.
Her eyes gleamed with a crimson light, a hint of a wild and bewitching smile played on her lips, and her two fangs flashed with an eerie, bone-chilling light.
"You really are interesting... Not only do you bring a total stranger home and ask for nothing in return, but even after finding out I'm a vampire, you actively invited me to drink your blood. You truly are the most fascinating human I've ever met."
With that, her pair of fangs sank into Li Muhang's neck.
Li Muhang braced himself for a searing pain, but none came. There was no pain at all.
Instead of pain, a profound warmth spread through his entire body. He began to feel drowsy, his eyelids growing heavy as his body slumped forward helplessly.
The girl gathered Li Muhang into her arms, greedily drinking his fresh blood.
"Your blood is so unique... Why does it make me feel this kind of excitement..."
Li Muhang felt himself being pushed back onto the bed by the girl. Lacking the strength to resist, he could only let her wrap around his body.
"I'm sorry... I lost control... a little."
Hearing those final words, Li Muhang completely lost consciousness.
Chapter 3: The Light of the Past
Ring, ring, ring—
The alarm clock woke Li Muhang.
He slowly opened his eyes.
He had slept exceptionally well—easily the most peaceful sleep he had experienced since losing his parents.
He sat up and checked the time.
It was 6:00 PM.
He had slept straight through from 7:00 in the morning until now?
Normally, sleeping for that long would leave a person groggy, but Li Muhang felt completely clear-headed and refreshed all over.
Picking up his phone, he happened to notice that his ex-girlfriend, Gu Ruoxi, had posted two new updates on her Moments.
"I forgot to turn off the priority alerts."
Li Muhang sighed. He originally didn't plan to look at what Gu Ruoxi had posted, but driven by curiosity, he opened her Moments anyway.
[Tonight was my first time attending a cocktail party, and my first time wearing such an expensive evening gown. This will undoubtedly be the most unforgettable day of my life.]
The attached photo showed Gu Ruoxi standing in a magnificent, luxurious banquet hall, wearing an aquamarine evening gown that radiated high-class elegance.
With her graceful figure and meticulously styled hair, she held a champagne flute as she stood beside a tall, handsome man, looking slightly shy yet breathtakingly beautiful.
Li Muhang knew this was the "other world" Gu Ruoxi had told him about.
Just that dress—no, even just the ornaments embedded in that dress—was something he could never afford.
[The winter night sky doesn't boast a brilliant galaxy, but if I can get just a little closer to the heavens, I suppose I can catch the moon after all.]
The second photo showed Gu Ruoxi cuddling up to that tall, handsome man on an open-air rooftop of a luxury restaurant, gazing at the moon together.
It seemed that man was the key that could take her into that other world.
Li Muhang felt a pang of lingering reluctance. He thought he had let go, but after seeing all this...
"Mhm."
A slight rustle came from beside him, startling Li Muhang.
He turned his head and saw the raven-haired girl lying right next to him.
She opened her sleep-heavy eyes and lazily glanced at his phone.
"Is this your girlfriend?"
"Ah!"
Li Muhang jumped in fright, practically leaping out of bed.
"Y-you, why are you still here?! And why aren't you wearing any clothes?!"
Li Muhang demanded, staring at Xia Yue, who was half-propped up against the duvet and rubbing her eyes.
"Your room only has one bed, so I had to sleep with you."
The girl let out a yawn, clearly still half-asleep.
Li Muhang struggled to recall the events of the previous night. He remembered picking up a vampire girl, bringing her home, and even asking her to drink his blood.
What happened after that?
He had no recollection whatsoever. He only remembered Xia Yue biting his neck.
"I've already granted your wish. Even if you want to regret it now, it's too late."
Before Li Muhang could reply, he suddenly noticed that as Xia Yue sat up, the collar of her loose T-shirt had slipped off one shoulder, coming dangerously close to revealing her chest.
Li Muhang quickly looked away, not daring to gaze any longer.
"Put your clothes on first."
Li Muhang waited outside the bedroom door until the girl had dressed and come out before he dared to bring up the topic again.
"You mean... being bitten doesn't necessarily mean death?"
Li Muhang asked, looking at Xia Yue across the table.
"High-ranking members of the Blood Clan do not rely on human blood to survive. Drinking blood is simply to maintain our power."
"You know, getting bitten by a vampire actually feels pretty nice."
Recalling the sensation from the previous night, Li Muhang remembered that aside from the warmth during the bite, he had felt another sensation while fast asleep.
It was a comfort he had never experienced before.
Pfft—
Hearing Li Muhang say this, Xia Yue spat out a mouthful of the water she had just been drinking.
"Holy shit!"
Startled, Li Muhang scrambled to grab a towel for her.
"Why such a huge reaction?"
Xia Yue snatched the towel from his hand, and in the process, grabbed hold of Li Muhang's hand as well.
"Let's never speak of last night again."
Her tone wasn't stern; instead, it carried a hint of pleading.
"Please..."
Li Muhang was momentarily stunned, but he nodded nonetheless.
"Can I take a bath?"
Xia Yue asked suddenly, her face blushing as the water she had just spat out had dampened her clothes.
"Go ahead. I'll get some a change of clothes ready for you."
"Thank you..."
Just as Xia Yue went to take a shower and Li Muhang was debating whether to order takeout or cook a meal, the doorbell suddenly rang.
"Coming."
Li Muhang walked over to the door and opened it.
The moment the door swung open and he saw who was standing outside, Li Muhang froze in place.
Because the person standing there was none other than his ex-girlfriend, Gu Ruoxi.
In fact, the very second the door opened, Li Muhang hadn't even recognized that the person before him was Gu Ruoxi.
Because right now, she looked like a completely different person.
Her ponytail had been replaced by an elaborately styled hairdo.
Her once playful, cute clothes and jeans had been swapped for a gorgeous, elegant gown that Li Muhang immediately knew cost a fortune.
And those gentle, expressive eyes that had so often given Li Muhang hope for the future—
Right now, they seemed covered in a thin layer of frost, looking at Li Muhang as if he were a complete stranger.
That kind of aloof arrogance and chilling detachment was a side of Gu Ruoxi Li Muhang had never seen before.
"I'm here to pick up some things."
Her tone was flat, devoid of any emotional color.
Li Muhang stood in a daze for a moment before nodding.
"I've already packed all your things into a suitcase for you, you..."
"No need."
Gu Ruoxi coldly interrupted Li Muhang. Looking at the suitcase filled with clothes and sundries that Li Muhang pointed toward, a look of disdain crossed her face.
"You can just throw those away. I don't need them anymore."
*Just throw them away?*
Li Muhang felt a blankness wash over him. Those were all their shared memories; the vast majority of the clothes and accessories inside were gifts he had bought for Gu Ruoxi.
And now, in her eyes, they were just garbage to be discarded at will?
Ignoring Li Muhang, Gu Ruoxi walked straight into the apartment. When her eyes swept across the dining table, she let out a sneer of utter contempt.
"Is something wrong?"
Li Muhang closed the front door and turned around just in time to meet Gu Ruoxi's scornful gaze.
"Li Muhang, we're both adults now, not kids. I know you loved me, but it's never going to happen between us."
Gu Ruoxi's sudden declaration left Li Muhang baffled.
So this woman went out of her way to come here late at night just to tell him this?
"I told you before, stop pinning your hopes on me. You're a smart guy, Li Muhang. Don't waste your energy on things that are impossible."
"What are you even talking about?"
Li Muhang frowned slightly.
Gu Ruoxi walked over to the dining table, picked up a cup, and turned to look at Li Muhang with a smile.
"This is my cup, right? You actually kept it, and you're even still using it. Don't you think that's pathetic?"
"I think you've misunderstood."
Li Muhang wanted to explain, but Gu Ruoxi simply tossed the cup straight into the trash can.
"Don't use my things anymore, and don't keep anything of mine. It just makes me look down on you, Li Muhang."
Li Muhang fell silent.
Looking at the beautiful yet unfamiliar woman before him, he felt a sense of sorrow.
"I know what you're thinking. You think I'm vain. That's right, Li Muhang—you're an orphan, and my parents are just ordinary wage-earners. They were poor their whole lives, so poor that it terrified me. Once upon a time, I actually thought about working hard together with you, but that was only because we were ignorant of the wider world."
Gu Ruoxi's parents could be said to have given Li Muhang a second lease on life. Back when the orphanage scandal broke, Li Muhang was taken in by Gu Ruoxi's parents.
So, in a way, Li Muhang and Gu Ruoxi also shared a sibling-like bond.
Yet right now, Gu Ruoxi looked at Li Muhang as if he were some sort of trash.
She slightly lifted the handbag she was carrying.
"Do you have any idea how much this bag costs? It's more than you make working a whole year. And this bracelet, this pendant—do you understand what these represent?"
Seeing that Li Muhang remained silent, Gu Ruoxi pressed on, emboldened.
"These are the keys to the upper-crust world, Li Muhang. You must have seen my Moments. The garden restaurant he took me to last night—it's a level of luxury you could never even imagine. Lobster, abalone, every single ingredient flown in fresh and cooked on the spot. Do you understand what that means?"
"Does it mean you're a rich lady now?"
Li Muhang offered a dry, self-deprecating chuckle.
"It means a gap, Li Muhang. It means happiness—a happiness you could never give me."
Chapter 4: An Irresistible Temptation
Gu Ruoxi looked around the apartment, her eyes scanning the place Li Muhang had rented so they could build a life together, undisguised disgust written all over her face.
"I actually used to think about living in a pigsty like this with you. This is no place for a human to live. Do you have any idea where I live now?"
"What are you here to get anyway? Can you hurry up?"
"I live in Grand Century Gardens now—the most exclusive luxury neighborhood in Tianhai City."
"And?"
Li Muhang was losing his patience.
For some reason, his feelings toward Gu Ruoxi had completely changed.
True, he had once tried to salvage this relationship, even going so far as to spend a small fortune on a ring.
But now, he just wanted this woman to leave immediately.
Granted, she was pretty, but some things were hard to change—like class, or rather, grace.
With her head-to-toe display of wealth right now, she looked precisely like a clown desperately trying to blend into a world she didn't belong to.
As for the cup she made a fuss about—
It was simply because there were no other clean cups left in the house, so Li Muhang had washed it and let Xia Yue use it. Now, he didn't even have a chance to explain.
"My boyfriend is waiting for me downstairs. You've probably seen his car before; I won't tell you how much it costs, just so you don't lose your peace of mind. But I suppose having these bitter thoughts is inevitable for someone like you. Li Muhang, take my advice and let go. Stop thinking about me. I only came here today to take away our couple's photo."
Without another word, Li Muhang walked into his bedroom and emerged a moment later holding a photo frame containing a picture of him and Gu Ruoxi.
Once upon a time, the two people in the photo had fresh, youthful faces, leaning closely against each other with happy smiles blooming on their lips.
Yet now, everything had changed.
Gu Ruoxi didn't seem to want to look at the photo. Perhaps, given her elevated status now, she disdained to look back at the past.
Or perhaps, deep down in the recesses of her heart, a tiny shred of guilt toward Li Muhang still remained.
Finally, she opened her bag, pulled out an envelope, and placed it on the dining table.
"This is my way of compensating you, Li Muhang. Just take it."
"Did your boyfriend give you this?"
Li Muhang asked with a cold laugh.
"Yes. The money in here is enough for you to breeze through college without a care. You won't have to break your back working part-time every day."
"Take your money and your things and get out of here."
Seeing Li Muhang's attitude, Gu Ruoxi assumed he still couldn't let her go, so she bluntly stated, "If you keep pestering me, I'll—"
Right as Gu Ruoxi was speaking, the bathroom door suddenly swung open.
Xia Yue stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a bath towel.
Her skin had a rosy flush from the hot bath, and droplets of water still clung to her lightly towel-dried body—a sight enough to make any man's heart skip a beat.
Combined with facial features that effortlessly crushed Gu Ruoxi's looks, the entire scene left Gu Ruoxi frozen in her tracks.
"Who is she?"
Gu Ruoxi pointed at Xia Yue, demanding an answer with the haughty air of someone who still considered herself the mistress of the house.
"What does it matter to you? Have you finished gathering your things?"
Li Muhang had no intention of introducing Xia Yue to her.
Instead of backing down, Gu Ruoxi pressed forward angrily, glaring at Li Muhang with irritation.
"Li Muhang, I haven't even finished moving my things out, and you've already let another woman move in? Unbelievable."
Faced with Gu Ruoxi's sneering sarcasm, Li Muhang remained noncommittal. Just as he was about to kick her out once more, Gu Ruoxi suddenly noticed something.
She looked closely at Xia Yue's face, then let out a cold laugh.
"I was wondering who it could be. Turns out it's that campus celebrity."
Click-clacking across the floor in her expensive, exquisitely crafted high heels, Gu Ruoxi stopped right in front of Xia Yue and offered a mocking smile.
"You're Xia Yue, right? A fellow freshman. But I've heard all about your reputation—they say you're a woman anyone can have as long as they pay the right price. How much did Li Muhang pay you, huh?"
Perhaps seeing a girl whose looks completely eclipsed her own standing inside Li Muhang's home stirred up a nameless wave of resentment.
Her present "self-esteem" refused to allow Li Muhang to find a girlfriend superior to herself.
Even if that superiority was purely physical.
Consequently, that resentment mutated into extreme malice directed at Xia Yue.
Xia Yue, however, showed little reaction. She simply leaned against the bathroom door frame, twirling a strand of damp hair around her finger, as if she were already entirely accustomed to such verdicts.
"Let me give you a piece of advice, Li Muhang. A woman like this is utterly useless aside from her looks. She's nothing more than a parasite who preys on wealthy men. Don't fall for this kind of trash you can buy with money."
"I didn't..."
Xia Yue raised her head slightly to look at Li Muhang, as if wanting to explain.
She was instantly cut off by Gu Ruoxi's aggressive voice.
"You already know what kind of person you are, don't you? Do you really think nobody knows what you've been up to? Compensated dating, tangling with street punks, and the mystery surrounding how your foster parents died—it probably has something to do with you—"
Before she could finish, Li Muhang had already stepped in front of Xia Yue, fixing Gu Ruoxi with a freezing gaze.
"I accept your advice, Gu Ruoxi. A woman who only knows how to prey on the wealthy and can be bought with money—I certainly won't indulge in that kind of person ever again."
"Li Muhang, you!"
Gu Ruoxi clearly caught the biting sarcasm in Li Muhang's words, the worst part being that she couldn't even refute it.
Preying on the wealthy? Indeed, she was currently relying on a wealthy second-generation heir to vault herself into high society.
Can be bought with money? Indeed, for the sake of money, she had cast aside her boyfriend of many years.
Every single word was the truth, and the most ironic part was that she had just used those exact words to lecture Li Muhang.
Consumed by shame and anger, Gu Ruoxi pointed at Xia Yue and spat, "How could a filthy creature like her ever compare to me?! With enough money, I bet any random tramp off the street—"
*Slap—*
Li Muhang threw a punch into the wall right beside Gu Ruoxi's head, trapping her against the drywall.
His eyes were freezing, radiating an intimidating, bone-chilling light.
"Li Muhang, for a woman like this... are you actually going to hit me?! You—"
"I won't hit you, Gu Ruoxi. But I'm sorry—the kind of woman you look down on is actually a hundred times cleaner than you, and a hundred times more decent than you, too. I'll make it crystal clear right now: she is my woman, so you'd better watch your mouth."
This was the first time Gu Ruoxi had ever seen Li Muhang like this.
During their relationship, Li Muhang had never even raised his voice at her. She had always assumed Li Muhang lacked a temper toward anyone, acting like an obedient, accommodating little puppy.
Yet right now.
That little puppy was baring its fangs at her.
And the one responsible for all this was that common whore.
Xia Yue was equally stunned.
She was nothing more than a monster; yet here was a human who, knowing her true identity, was still willing to stand up and protect her this fiercely.
"You're completely beyond saving, Li Muhang! This isn't over!"
"Take your money with you."
Li Muhang shoved the envelope back into Gu Ruoxi's hand.
Gu Ruoxi strode quickly to the door, throwing one last backward glance at Li Muhang and then at Xia Yue, who had remained silent the entire time.
"What a desperate scavenger, picking up men other people throw away. Whore."
With that low parting shot, Gu Ruoxi slammed the door behind her and left.
Li Muhang let out a long breath. Staring at the hand he had used to punch the wall near Gu Ruoxi's face, he fell deep into thought.
Why had he suddenly lost control like that?
Suddenly, his hand was gently enveloped by another.
Before he realized it, Xia Yue had stepped up in front of him. Holding his hand softly in both of hers, she looked up at him with concern in her eyes.
"I'm sorry."