WLWM World 7: White Moonlight as White as Lotus the Seventh, Ch. 2

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Bai Lianhua sits under the shade bored, and his face has ‘doesn’t know the meaning of living anymore’ printed across it.

His poor pawing limb is still aching from being exposed to sunlight which deters him from trying even when he knows it’s impossible. Bai Lianhua feels like he can only wait until dusk and slip out of the national park before they close up for the day.

——Time really does pass slowly, though.

While dozing off, the system reminds him, “emm… It seems like you don’t have to wait that long? Look, host, someone is here to save you.”

Bai Lianhua seems a bit dazed, following the system’s directions without question, and is energised to see someone actually walking here, and it kind of looks like Yu Chenqing, the antagonist of this world too.

Maybe it’s because he hasn’t seen him in forever, he feels like this Yu Chenqing is slightly different in feeling and appearance from when he remembered. Trivialities, though, given he has already left this world for more than days, it’s normal that the antagonist would have changed a bit. Though, how did the antagonist figure out he was here?

Yu Chenqing isn’t Yang Chongyin, you know, being able to divine his whereabouts. If he never came across that vampire on that fateful day, Yu Chenqing would have forever been a human that was as mundane as they came… Say, if Yu Chenqing can actually find him with such pinpoint accuracy, perhaps he can even consider being a fake diviner in this world?

Modern world fengshui masters also make a lot of money, you know.

The system asks him, heavily trying to imply something, “host, why not guess why that is?”

Bai Lianhua… doesn’t feel like doing that, because the system would always have been up to something when saying something in that tone.

Bai Lianhua stands up, waiting for Yu Chenqing to approach a bit expectantly and nervously, thinking about how to greet the antagonist who he hasn’t seen in a long time.

And Yu Chenqing’s first words almost scared the smile off of him.

He stops in front of him, looking at him with this deeply engrossing expression briefly before quietly muttering, “it’s good that you’re here again.” And then he gives him a hug with his lightly trembling body. The embrace is irresistible.

Bai Lianhua is helplessly locked in his embrace all of a sudden when the antagonist whispers into his ears, “I thought I would never be able to see you again.”

Uh, this familiar feeling… Can it be that in this world, or, at least, according to the antagonist’s best knowledge, he is again labeled ‘dead’ somehow?

Well, true, things like suddenly disappearing would often just end at the person being labeled ‘dead.’ It’s the system’s and his fault.

Bai Lianhua smiles dryly, “I’m always here.”

Yu Chenqing finally releases him, “but I couldn’t find you.”

Bai Lianhua blinks, staying quiet on this matter… uhhhh, awkward.

Every time the antagonist would ask about that he can never come up with a good excuse… If he makes it too simple even he wouldn’t believe it himself. If he tries to set up a good excuse, then great, it’s the scum boyfriend’s whitewashing scene come live.

Yu Chenqing sighs after a while, “nevermind.”

As long as he confirms that Bai Lianhua is alive is already a miraculously good thing. It’s fine if he doesn’t want to say the reason for now.

Seeing Yu Chenqing giving up on questioning him, Bai Lianhua finally relaxes from his anxious mood, and then… he discovers to his embarrassment that he’s hungry.

Even though he practically felt nothing when he was just crouching here. Perhaps it’s the embrace that had him in close contact with the antagonist? Speaking of which, the antagonist’s blood seems to smell more fragrant than it did in his memories… Is it a false feeling from his hunger or something?

Bai Lianhua can’t help but keep stealing glances at Yu Chenqing. So he can only try his best to make it not so painfully obvious he wants him (TL’s notes: Alternative translations rejected : wants to eat him up whole, wants to gobble him down to the flesh and bone, wants to consume him bit by bit while he cries out in pleasure… Wait. Brb. Nosebleed).

Though, clearly, Yu Chenqing can see through that.

He chuckles, “hungry? Do you have the courage to bite me now?”

Bai Lianhua looks hopefully at Yu Chenqing’s neck, and then… shakes his head very honestly.

Nope nope, so sorry but he still doesn’t dare to.

Yu Chenqing can’t help but giggle. The guy is still like that, nothing has changed.

He can still remember, that night, he is suddenly held hostage by a person… He thought that person only wanted to rob him, so he said he’s willing to give up all his cash. He was sorely mistaken, though, and that was not a human. Nor is it money that is at stake here.

The monster bared its teeth.

When he started struggling, Bai Lianhua appeared, a shopping bag in one of his hands, looking just like any young man out doing some shopping. He was good-looking, but he looked thin like he wouldn’t even be able to harm a chicken.

Yet, it was precisely this guy that looked like he had zero fighting power that picked up a branch by the roadside and knocked that vampire unconscious with a violent whack that’s terribly unfitting for his image… And, as one might expect, that tough-looking, thick branch also fell apart and scattered everywhere.

——Yu Chenqing even suspected that that monster with the monstrous teeth might have had a traumatic brain injury and would end up a literal retard later on.

Then the young man dragged him back home without letting him go, and then told him with this expectant look that, since he saved his life, he wanted him to be his food bank for five years.

Right, the guy was a vampire too.

Yu Chenqing suddenly felt like he’d just got out from a tiger’s den only to fall into a wolf’s. His mood was terrible.

And being stared at by him, the little vampire who seemingly didn’t particularly feel justified himself started to look less and less confident. Then he said, “eh, maybe it’s too much to ask for five years. Sorry… Then three years is fine.”

When he still didn’t respond, the little vampire again started speaking, even more weakly this time, “then, one year? You can’t do one year either, huh. Six months? …Ok. Three months then? Please? I really can’t do less than that.”

Yu Chenqing couldn’t understand. As this person seemed to be reasonable and was communicable, he tried to maintain his calm as he started negotiating, “why do I have to be your food bank? I can thank you for saving my life some other way.”

Then the guy showed these little dimples with a cute, slightly embarrassed expression, “because your blood has this really, really fragrant smell. I feel like it’ll be much more tasty than blood bags… I don’t really need anything else.”

Since he had that monstrous strength, Yu Chenqing decided that it was in his best interests not to fight to the death nor run away from him.

He really thought he would do terrible things to him, maybe half of his blood would be sucked dry every day, and he would stay weak, frail and in pain forever… Yet, after actually spending some time with him, he realised the little vampire actually didn’t have the guts to make good on his harsh words.

The guy was completely different from what he imagined a vampire would be like.

The little vampire had his own identity in human society. He was a comic artist drawing his own supernatural comic series while living as a shut-in. He would normally just post his work online and he also had a good relationship with his neighbours. In his neighbour’s eyes, he was probably just a young man who wouldn’t leave his house much but was still soft and cuddly and comfortable to be around.

A shut-in comic artist was a good cover for why he never left the house at day.

The guy didn’t even try to lock him up either, and would introduce him generously to others. He told them he was a distant relative here to live for a while. He didn’t even keep an eye on him much, and allowed him to make use of whatever electronics and whatnot he wanted in the apartment… Yu Chenqing would sometimes just slip into thinking he’s temporarily staying at the place rather than being some god-damned food bank.

As if guided by the invisible hand of fate, he had once asked him what he would do if he ran away. The little vampire immediately looked really sad, saying, “oh… do you not want to return the favour of me saving you anymore?”

Yu Chenqing would be unable to respond.

Also, while the guy would look wolfish when looking at him, swallowing inconspicuously while taking peeks at his neck and collarbone, and he might have been yelling about how he wanted him to be his food bank the moment he saw him back then, he would never actually muster up the courage to bite him. Even when he teased him, he would puff up his cheeks in exasperation and say stuff like ‘I’ll bite you!’ while looking like a pufferfish, but he wouldn’t actually do it. Even when they’ve gotten in close contact with each other for many times now, the guy couldn’t bring himself to bite him.

——Yu Chenqing felt like he’d been mentally prepared so many times for nothing.

It’s weird. Even when the little vampire sitting opposite him would try to scare him by bearing his own stubby canines on purpose, but for him, it felt entirely different from when he was face-to-face with the sharp fangs of that monster that night.

Yu Chenqing didn’t feel any fear at all. In fact, he would even have these inexplicable urge to want to touch those cute stubby canines he had to see if they really were as sharp as he would claim them to be.

He thought he’d gone mad. Sometimes when the little vampire was puffing up, he would even be unable to resist inflaming and provoking him, saying, “then come bite me.”

And then the feisty façade the little vampire put up would quickly drain away.

It was really interesting. This little guy named Bai Lianhua may be the weakest among all the vampires, but compared to normal humans, he was clearly powerful… It’s someone who could easily determine his fate, but he’s even more nervous and more of a scaredy cat than he was.

For a whole ten days, the guy didn’t dare to bite him. He was only drinking from the blood bags that was his true food bank every day… Though he never forgot to order takeout for him every day while looking like he’s worried he’d die if he missed even one meal.

Yu Chenqing also came to realise that Bai Lianhua was a perfect example of the word ‘shut-in.’ He really rarely made excursions outside, not even for shopping. He did like to order delivery services though. God knows how he just happened to run across and save him that day.

The little vampire would blink and answer, “maybe it’s fate?”

What fate? The fate for him to become this guy’s ‘food bank’?

Yu Chenqing didn’t know if he should feel amused or be angered by that.

Most importantly, this food bank he supposedly was never once saw any actual use.

After he teased him several times with how he was too cowardly to bite him, the little vampire was furious, and he retorted, “that’s because I’m too hungry! I’m just worried I’ll overdo it and hurt you.”

He tried to scare him, continuing, “if you’re all sucked up you’d end up a dried corpse, you know, like what I’m drawing. It’s super scary. Really.”

Yet, if you actually took a look at what the little vampire was drawing following where he’s pointing, you would see that, on the computer screen was a drawing that was at best scary only to him, and was in fact quite refreshing in its use of colours if you looked at it for a while… Seriously. These stories the little vampire told would mostly be taken by viewers as rather soothing stories with a slightly bewildering colouring palette. It’s just him alone that insisted what he’s drawing were horror comics.

Not only was what he was pointing at completely failing at being scary, the little vampire’s ‘horrifying’ words of warning were themselves unconvincing at best.

One day, Yu Chenqing looked quietly at the little vampire for a while until the little vampire started to have goosebumps, before he went and took a mug and, for the first time ever, drained his own blood for him to drink.

He thought… Like the guy said, it could be his way of thanking him for saving his life.

The guy took the cup and carefully held it with both hands, sipping from it little by little. Yu Chenqing felt quite pleased looking at him drinking with his eyes curling upwards in a smile.

After they became familiar with each other, Yu Chenqing would also ask the little vampire if he had bitten anyone before.

Bai Lianhua would then go slump and sullen, not trying to pretend anymore to be the tough little wolfie that he wasn’t, and quietly tell him no while pouting.

When he asked “why?” He would reply, “you’ve said it yourself; because I’m a coward.”

He said it so adamantly like there was nothing wrong with the answer at all.

Gradually, he started to enjoy making small talk with the vampire, even teasing him, “in those fantasy stories of the West, don’t all these vampires live in ancient castles with all these servants in a super luxurious lifestyle? Where did your castle go?”

Bai Lianhua would sulk when answering, “no. There isn’t… You are talking about those great vampires of the Middle Ages… I’m only this old, so, yeah, I don’t have that much money. It’s already good enough for me to have this apartment to live in. With the housing market like it is now, even if you sold me off you couldn’t make enough money to buy a bigger one, you know.”

He was so mundane and normal you couldn’t imagine he was a vampire at all.

And then, for some reason, Yu Chenqing would feel his mood improved.

Though he’s ‘trapped’ in Bai Lianhua’s apartment unit, he has had a more vivid life than he ever had, and it was more interesting too – it was more comfortable here than in his cold, indifferent household.

The little vampire was always an obedient puppy. He would never ask him to if he didn’t let blood. He would just look at him with this pitiful look while opening his blood packs reluctantly.

The problem? He was a gourmet. Every time he opens a blood bag, he would have this bitter expression after one sip. Then he would keep trying for a while before giving up and then opening up the next bag and so on and so forth… No wonder he couldn’t save up money.

When Yu Chenqing asked him about it, Bai Lianhua would complain to him quietly, “who knows how long these blood have been frozen for. Drinking it is like normal people eating vegetable or fruit that was not fresh anymore. It’s unappetising.”

“Your blood is never like that.”

Then he would joke with him, “oh, so it was an excuse to say my blood is fragrant. You like it because it’s fresh?”

The little vampire would then shake his head incessantly, and confidently say, “no no no, it is very delicious itself!”

He’s such a simpleton. It sure is a mystery how he managed to cover his identity up for so long and live normally up until now.

Yu Chenqing really didn’t like seeing the little vampire show that pained look when he was starving. He was feeding him once every three days; it almost became a habit of his later in his ‘confinement.’

The little vampire would always ‘touch’ him on the wound he sliced himself on with this look like he was really embarrassed he made him drain blood, then his wound would immediately heal up and it wouldn’t hurt at all.

And the little vampire wouldn’t let him drain his blood more frequently either, and he would tell him with this exasperated look that while his blood was delicious, it was bad for his health.

Yu Chenqing felt that, rather than Bai Lianhua keeping him as a food bank, it’s more like he’s keeping a little vampire as a pet.

Or, perhaps… like he has acquired a beautiful, elegant cat. It was a needy cat with these round little eyes and liked to puff up all its fur every now and again. Yet, it also enjoyed indirectly asking for rubs and cuddles, and it might even decide to soothe you of its own volition sometimes too.

You could never actually get angry at it.

Of course, he couldn’t say that out loud, or Bai Lianhua would definitely puff up his cheeks again.

The trauma of him being attacked by a vampire started to fade completely from his mind.

Yu Chenqing was quite willing to be his food bank by then. Not just three months, even three years or five years like Bai Lianhua initially asked for was quite fine.

Or, if he really did leave him behind, the little vampire would definitely grow teary-eyed every day with hunger while being picky with his food.

Though, he didn’t expect, the one to leave them behind first, ended up being Bai Lianhua.

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Buy me a coffee?

TL’s notes: I’ve been overloaded with fluffiness now. I’m gonna need an injection for this sugar overdose…