Li Er's home was a small two-bedroom apartment—one living room and one bedroom.
Li Er gave up his only bedroom to Ren Siyi, sleeping on the sofa himself. Unfortunately, he didn't have any spare sheets or bedding to change into.
She had no choice but to sleep in his bed.
It made her feel uncomfortable and guilty—here she was, occupying his bed while still being picky about it.
She offered to sleep on the sofa instead and let him go back to his own bed.
Li Er refused no matter what, saying things like "How could I let a guest sleep on the sofa?"—all the usual polite pleasantries—and warmly pushed her back into the room.
Ren Siyi sighed, washed up quickly, and sat on his small single bed with her knees hugged to her chest.
The sheets and bedding weren't dirty and had no smell, but she couldn't bring herself to lie down.
One entire wall of his bedroom was covered with bookshelves. The books spanned a wide range of subjects—mostly Chinese classics like the I Ching and the Analects, along with some astronomy and geography, and even some divination and astrology texts.
She even spotted a copy of Five Years of High School, Three Years of Simulation Exams and a pile of senior-year review workbooks.
He might even still be a high school student! Or a college student—she wasn't sure.
Either way, it gave her a strong impression that he was utterly unreliable.
So young—even if he was a so-called "Demon Hunter," his strength should probably be… not great?
Just as he'd said, he couldn't protect her at all.
She sat there alone, her mind in turmoil, not knowing what to do. Gazing at the cold, clear moonlight outside the window, she lowered her head and wiped away a few tears.
She felt so lonely and helpless.
Before, even when she was isolated and mistreated at her aunt's house, at least she didn't have to worry about her personal safety.
Now she couldn't even protect herself, and she didn't dare call the police because no one would believe her.
She had completely fallen into an unknown, dangerous, terrifying world.
How she wished this were all a dream—that when she woke up, the world would return to normal, and vampires would exist only in books or movies.
Drowsily, she eventually couldn't hold on and drifted off to sleep, though she didn't sleep deeply. She kept having nightmares—all filled with vampires, plus the blood-sucking bats she'd feared as a child… all chasing her, attacking her.
At dawn, Ren Siyi woke up.
The city hadn't stirred yet. From the 32nd-floor high-rise, she could see the city skyline gradually bathed in the faint golden glow of morning light.
The sun was about to rise.
She remembered Li Er saying that vampires feared the sun—as long as she stayed in sunlight, she was safe.
Ren Siyi got up, tidied his bed, and folded the blanket neatly.
She was grateful that Li Er had taken her in for the night. Maybe he was right—he couldn't protect her, and staying by his side might even bring danger to him.
Ren Siyi decided to leave. She quietly pushed the door open and stepped out.
Li Er was sleeping on the living room sofa.
He was tall, one long leg stretched out over the sofa armrest, the other dangling over the edge of the cushion. He was fast asleep.
Ren Siyi didn't disturb his rest. She silently unlocked the door and left.
She went to McDonald's for breakfast first, sitting in the store while scrolling through her phone, checking train tickets back to her hometown.
Seeing that there was a suitable train around noon, Ren Siyi decisively bought a ticket. She didn't know where else to go—all she could think of was going home.
She had grown up in a rural village and had never encountered a vampire in all these years.
Now the countryside's population was dwindling—the able-bodied young people all went to the cities for work, so vampires couldn't find food in the villages either.
Ren Siyi took the subway and arrived at the South City Railway Station around eleven o'clock.
However, the moment she stepped out of the subway station, Ren Siyi suddenly felt a chilling, sinister breeze blowing from behind her.
A man brushed past her. After stepping onto the escalator, he opened a black umbrella.
In that brief moment of passing, Ren Siyi felt the cold emanating from him.
She froze in her tracks, and the man, after walking a few steps, also sniffed the air and turned his head to glance at Ren Siyi.
Just that one glance—an unspoken understanding spread between them.
It was the gaze between beast and prey.
Ren Siyi's skin broke out in goosebumps instantly. She quickened her pace, stumbling as she ran into the sunlight.
She sprinted toward the station's entrance plaza.
Turning back, the man with the black umbrella was still standing there, watching her retreating figure.
He was just an ordinary middle-aged man you'd see in real life—people like him were everywhere, so many of them. In the sunlight, everyone holding an umbrella, man or woman, became a suspect in her eyes.
And indoors, in the dark of night, she couldn't tell who was a vampire and who was a normal human.
As she swiped her ID card to enter the station, Ren Siyi saw the man with the black umbrella again.
He was by the security scanner on the other side, waiting for his luggage to pass through.
Ren Siyi wasn't sure if he was following her, but the seed of suspicion had already been planted in her mind.
Almost instantly, she made her decision—she turned around and left.
No, she couldn't go back!
Her grandparents, two elderly people, were at home. If she truly brought something as terrifying as a vampire back to the house, her grandparents would definitely fight to the death to protect her.
She couldn't put them in danger.
Right, she couldn't go back.
Ren Siyi hurriedly exited through the security checkpoint and returned to the square.
Now, she truly had no idea what to do, or where else to go.
She wandered aimlessly under the scorching sun all day. At dusk, she stopped at a convenience store and grabbed a sandwich to fill her stomach. Night fell.
Ren Siyi was terrified of the night. For her, nighttime meant danger.
She could only go where there were crowds. First, she sat at the entrance of a shopping mall. Vampires would need to stay hidden, so they certainly wouldn't harm her out in the open on the street.
But the mall closed at ten at night, so Ren Siyi went to a relatively respectable quiet bar. She ordered a cheap cocktail through a group-buying deal but didn't drink it, just sat stiffly at a booth in the small garden outside.
A folk singer was lazily crooning, and Ren Siyi looked around warily.
Every time someone passed by her seat, her heart leaped a little higher. She saw everyone as a potential vampire.
She had no doubt that if she stayed this tense, they'd drain her dry before she even went mad herself.
Ren Siyi could only lower her head and scroll through her phone to distract herself.
Behind her, a rowdy group of men and women were drinking and even playing finger-guessing games. The boisterous atmosphere gave her a slight sense of safety, but before long, they staggered off, drunk and leaning on each other.
Not long after, three men sat down in that spot.
Ren Siyi happened to be sitting directly across from them, so they could see each other. When she looked up, she saw the three young men in tracksuits seemed to be looking at her too. As they looked, they whispered to each other, then laughed.
They even sized her up with meaningful glances.
Could they… have smelled her blood?
Were they discussing how to tear her limb from limb?
Ren Siyi was on the verge of tears. She could only lower her head and pretend to scroll through her phone, avoiding eye contact with them.
After a while, one of them—a tall, skinny man—walked over to her, holding a glass.
Ren Siyi's heart pounded like a drum.
"Hey, pretty girl, here alone?"
"No." Ren Siyi answered without a second thought. "Not alone."
"We've been watching you for a while. Haven't seen your friend show up."
"My dad, my dad's coming to pick me up." Her voice trembled slightly. "He'll be here any minute!"
"Seriously? You need your dad to pick you up from a bar? How old are you?"
"None of your business." Ren Siyi grabbed her canvas bag and stood up to leave.
The man seemed unwilling to let it go. He grabbed her arm. "Hey, we don't mean anything bad. Don't be scared. We just want to have a drink with you and make a friend."
His hand was cold too! Ice cold!
Ren Siyi's heart shuddered. Almost on pure instinct, she grabbed the bottle from the table and smashed it toward his head, letting out a piercing scream—
"Don't touch me!"
She didn't have much strength, so the bottle didn't shatter, but his forehead got a nasty bruise, and the skin was broken.
"What the hell!" The man winced, clutching his head. "You're so pretty, but you hit so hard!"
Ren Siyi gripped the bottle tightly, like a startled rabbit, watching him defensively.
If he dared to come any closer, she would fight back again.
Seeing their companion get hit, the other two men surrounded her as well—
"Where's this little fairy from? Can't even have a chat?"
"So innocent, so aloof—why come to a bar? Isn't it to pick up men?"
Ren Siyi gritted her teeth. In the past, she would have fought back, cursing them out viciously. But now… she didn't dare.
She didn't know if these people were vampires or not…
…
A chilly breeze blew through. A black crow landed on the garden fence of the bar and let out a "caw."
The three men suddenly seemed to sense something. Their faces gradually grew uneasy. They exchanged glances, filled with fear.
At the roadside, a black Maybach sat quietly parked.
The driver opened the rear door, and a man in a suit stepped out. From the moment he emerged, he drew countless eyes along the way.
His cold, stern demeanor created an invisible barrier between him and everyone around.
He walked through the garden path, came to the booth, and stood beside Ren Siyi.
The moment Ren Siyi saw Shen Shen, she felt a heavy stone finally drop from her heart.
She knew, roughly, that he wouldn't hurt her.
She didn't trust Shen Shen, but she trusted Li Er's words. Shen Shen was the leader of the Blood Clan; he wouldn't casually take a human life.
Shen Shen pulled Ren Siyi behind him and looked at the three men.
All three showed looks of awe, not daring to meet his eyes, and averted their gazes.
But they weren't afraid either, because they didn't think they'd done anything wrong. They'd just come to a small bar for a drink at night and struck up a conversation with a pretty girl they met.
Sure, she smelled good, but they hadn't planned to force or "bully" her. If she didn't want to hang out, fine.
As long as they hadn't broken the rules, that one… wouldn't do anything to them.
The tall, thin man who had initiated the conversation with Ren Siyi was the first to speak, offering her an apology: "I'm sorry for startling you."
At the same time, the other two also chimed in with their apologies: "We shouldn't have said those things. Sorry about that."
"Anyway, you got a hit in, so I guess we're even."
"Can we call it even, miss?" The tall, thin man clutched his forehead, almost pleading now. "It's my fault, alright? I'm sorry."
They had no right to speak directly to that person… They could only hope that Ren Siyi would forgive them.
Shen Shen tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping toward Ren Siyi, as if asking for her opinion.
Ren Siyi was now one hundred percent certain that these three men were… vampires. She didn't want to offend any of them!
"It's… it's fine."
All three of them let out a simultaneous sigh of relief, bowed respectfully as they passed by Shen Shen, and then bolted out of the bar together, sprinting as fast as if they were running a hundred-meter dash—fleeing in utter panic.
The minor incident passed, and the bar's curious onlookers dispersed once more. Shen Shen pulled the dazed Ren Siyi back to their booth, pressing her shoulders down to seat her.
He, meanwhile, sat down across from her.
From start to finish, he remained in absolute control.
A server came over and asked what he'd like to drink. Shen Shen first asked Ren Siyi: "Would you like anything else to drink, Siyi?"
"Siyi"—such an intimate form of address coming from his lips made her feel both uneasy and… strangely, a little pleased in a way she couldn't quite describe.
Ugh, seriously… She wanted to smack herself on the head.
Can't keep your legs steady the moment you see a handsome guy, huh?
Sure, he was really handsome and had incredible presence, but he was a vampire—the vampire boss, for crying out loud!
"N-no, I'm fine," she said quietly.
"Bring her a hot milk." Shen Shen ignored her refusal and made the decision for her.
"And for you, sir?"
"Bloody Mary."
"Please wait a moment." The server withdrew respectfully.
Shen Shen's calm gaze drifted toward Ren Siyi across the table.
The young woman kept her head down, deliberately avoiding his gaze, but the fear and terror from last night were no longer on her face.
"What's the matter? Yesterday you were calling me 'Daddy,' and today you don't even recognize me?"
The young woman's cheeks flushed red: "When did I ever call you 'Daddy'?"
"When you were unconscious yesterday." Shen Shen smiled gently. "To be honest, I'm old enough to be your father."
"You'd be more like my great-grandfather!" She seemed… less afraid of him now, her tone much more relaxed.
The server brought over the milk and the cocktail. Ren Siyi watched as he lifted the glass of blood-red liquid and took a light sip, and she immediately froze solid again.
Seeing her tremble once more, Shen Shen swirled his glass and explained: "This is alcohol."
With that, he brought it to her nose, letting her smell it.
It was indeed alcohol, with a light, sweet hint of citrus and grape. Ren Siyi looked at his faintly mocking expression and suspected he was deliberately trying to scare her.
What a twisted sense of humor.
She said: "Have you been following me all along?"
"No," Shen Shen said. "I sleep during the day. I only have time at night to come out and look for my daughter."
"I already have a father," Ren Siyi muttered.
"I'll help you find your father." Shen Shen said it readily.
"What?!"
"Didn't you beg me before? Now I'm agreeing. I'll help you."
Ren Siyi's heart began to pound wildly with excitement.
She had indeed entertained that thought before—wanting to beg him for help. If he could help, he would definitely be able to find her father! He had that much power and influence!
"You… you want to suck my blood in exchange, don't you?" she asked warily and cautiously.
She remembered that CEO who had begged him for help last time—he must have given his blood in return.
"No need." Shen Shen dabbed his mouth with a black handkerchief, maintaining his composure. "As long as you behave and stay by my side, and stop running off on your own."
Ren Siyi thought about what Li Er had said—that he wouldn't harm her, and that for the sake of racial order and the rules he had established, he would even protect her.
She wrestled with herself internally… Should she take the gamble? Should she trust him?
She looked up at this big shot. Though he calmly awaited her answer, his actions seemed to leave her no room to refuse or choose.
He'd come to pick her up in person—did she really think he'd let her go?
"Do I have the right to say no?" she tested.
"No." Shen Shen was decisive.
"…"
Then there was no point in agonizing over it.
"You have to guarantee my safety." Ren Siyi looked at him. "Especially from your younger brother!"
"Shen Du may be ill-behaved and do as he pleases, but I can still manage him." Shen Shen said. "If you're truly afraid, then stay close to me and avoid being alone with him."
That was acceptable. Since he was willing to protect her—and Ren Siyi was a coward who valued her life dearly—she figured she'd probably just become his shadow from now on.
She didn't want to go through another day like today, suspecting everyone of being a vampire out to take her life, jumping at shadows.
Ren Siyi thought for a moment, then asked: "So I can't go to university anymore, is that it?"
The college entrance exam was so hard—hellish senior year, and she'd barely managed to get in.
Shen Shen thought for a moment, then said, "Nanshi University, right?"
"Yeah."
"Not too far." Shen Shen recalled, "Last month, the Nanshi University Medical School invited me to be a visiting professor. I was busy with other things at the time, so I didn't accept."
"What do you mean…"
Damn, he wasn't going to become her teacher, was he?!
"If you want to go study there, I can agree to serve as a visiting professor at Nanshi University Medical School." Shen Shen said casually, "With me around, you don't have to worry about any danger on campus."
!!!
Ren Siyi thought to herself, if he weren't a bloodthirsty vampire, it would really be hard not to fall in love with him.
What kind of sweet romance novel plot was this?
The big shot was going to reluctantly agree to become a university professor just to protect her.
Sigh, what a shame—he was a Vampire Progenitor.
"Why are you so good to me?" Ren Siyi held back for a moment, but still couldn't stop herself from asking, "You're way too much like some noble, righteous, perfect good person—nothing like a Vampire Progenitor at all."
"I've always treated people this way." Shen Shen gave her a gentle smile, "Many people think I'm a good vampire."
"…"
Looking at his smile, Ren Siyi shuddered, feeling a bit creeped out.
Once they'd talked enough, she agreed to go home with him. Shen Shen got up and walked to the bar to settle the bill.
The girl obediently followed behind him.
She was certain he wasn't the only vampire in the bar. Being beside him, she could now distinguish between humans and vampires. If they were human—especially women—their eyes would inevitably stick to him as he passed by. Men too. His looks were so exceptional that it was hard for anyone not to take a second glance.
But the vampires didn't seem to dare look directly at him. He had a powerful aura that intimidated them, making these creatures avert their gaze—just like in a wolf pack, where weaker wolves instinctively lower their heads when they see the alpha.
Ren Siyi noticed a couple by the entrance acting strangely, so as she walked out, she deliberately quickened her pace to catch up, deliberately linked her arm through Shen Shen's, and deliberately acted very close to him.
After being stifled all day, she finally got a few seconds of smug satisfaction.
After stepping out of the bar, she quickly let go of him. Facing his slightly furrowed brow, she gave an embarrassed little laugh: "It's nothing, don't overthink it—just borrowing your authority to scare off the foxes."
"No need." Shen Shen said, "Just stay by my side."
"Then I'd lose all my face, like your little sidekick or assistant."
"What would give you face?"
"Girlfriend." Ren Siyi said with complete confidence, "I want every vampire who thinks about sucking my blood to know that I'm protected by their Progenitor—that I'm the old ancestor's precious darling. That way they won't dare do anything to me."
Shen Shen gave her a sidelong glance.
Ten minutes ago she was scared to death of him, and now she wanted to be his precious darling.
"The age gap between us is too big—there might be a generation gap." Shen Shen said with a straight face, "Pick a different identity. I could be your father."
"You're serious? I was just joking." Ren Siyi furrowed her brow, "Why are you rejecting me so seriously? I said it was just to borrow your authority, jeez."
Shen Shen: …
A man born after 1019 and a post-2000s kid—there really was a generation gap between them.
He couldn't be bothered with her, and walked straight over to sit in the Maybach parked by the roadside.
Ren Siyi followed him in. This was the second time she'd ridden in his car.
She really regretted it. If she hadn't gotten into his car the first time, none of this would have happened.
Well, on second thought—if she hadn't gotten into his car, she might already be dead. The bloody calamity Li Er mentioned hadn't lied to her.
Half an hour later, she was back at the villa. She'd thought she might see Shen Du again.
But the villa was empty—no one else around except the butler Lu Sen waiting by the door.
"Where's your brother?" Ren Siyi couldn't help asking the man beside her.
"Grounding." Shen Shen said, "For what he did to you these past few days."
Ah… how thoughtful!
Not having to see that bastard was certainly better.
Ren Siyi yawned, feeling a bit sleepy, so she said goodnight to Shen Shen and prepared to head back to her room.
Behind her, the man's deep voice came through—
"Your room isn't on the second floor."
"Huh?" Ren Siyi turned back, confused.
"I've said it before—you'd best stay by my side at all times." Shen Shen said matter-of-factly, "Sleeping, too."