Leaving the house wearing Shen Shen's ring, Ren Siyi felt much more at ease.
Taking the subway back, she kept observing her surroundings.
But this wasn't the paranoid, anxious observation of the past few days. Now she had confidence, and she wanted to see how the vampires around her would react to the ring on her hand.
She wasn't disappointed. There weren't many people on the subway, and it was easy to spot someone sneaking glances at her, even inhaling sharply.
She simply walked over boldly, ready to stand right in front of him.
However, before she could even get close, the man seemed to sense something and immediately stood up, hurrying off to another car with quick steps.
He even kept looking back as he walked, clearly scared.
This discovery thrilled Ren Siyi.
After being stifled for so long, cowering and worrying about being targeted everywhere she went, she finally had a breath of relief. Now it was the vampires who had to avoid her.
Hey, times had changed, hadn't they…
Ren Siyi raised her hand, admiring the pure black ring on her thumb. Through the reflection of the obsidian, she could even see herself wearing a slightly goofy, smug grin.
Uh, better tone it down, lest passersby look at her like she was crazy.
Ren Siyi even started wondering—what if she could just keep wearing this ring forever and never have to go back to Shen Shen's side?
Right? If this ring could ward off vampires on its own, why would she need to be his personal accessory, losing her freedom in the process?
Ren Siyi had genuinely begun scheming in her head about escaping this big demon. However, the feasibility of that idea was quickly put to the test.
When she arrived at her aunt's house, her aunt showed her a warmth completely different from before in front of her grandparents, even dragging the whole family out for a nice meal.
She sat affectionately between her grandparents, enjoying their concerned attention.
Then, she suddenly felt the ring faintly heating up.
Ren Siyi frowned, took the ring off, and pressed it against her cooler ear.
Sure enough, the ring was indeed getting hot.
And it felt like it was gradually increasing in temperature.
Ren Siyi was extremely puzzled and couldn't help but lower her head to send Shen Shen a message.
They had added each other on WeChat last night. Shen Shen's profile picture was a black crow on a white background, and his username, like his younger brother's, was an English abbreviation—S.
Cute and Neurotic: "Mr. Shen, why is the ring getting hot? It's weird."
About five minutes later, Shen Shen replied—
S: "Oh, if you stay away from me too long, it'll explode."
Cute and Neurotic: ??!!
What the hell!
Cute and Neurotic: "You're setting me up! qwq"
S: "Within twenty-four hours, you'll be safe once you're back by my side."
Cute and Neurotic: …
S: "What, are you disappointed?"
S: "You don't want to come back? [Smiley face]"
Cute and Neurotic: "No no, how could I? I'll come back after dinner. [Silly grin]"
S: "Mm."
Then, Ren Siyi received a transfer of five thousand yuan from him.
Cute and Neurotic: ?
S: "Grandpa and Grandma rarely visit. Spend some time shopping with them, buy some clothes to show filial piety."
Cute and Neurotic: !!
Cute and Neurotic: "Thank you! I revere you, Mr. Shen!"
Looking at that transfer and that heartwarming message, Ren Siyi suddenly felt a bit moved—genuinely so…
Mr. Shen really was so, so good to her. Protecting her, giving her money—how was she supposed to repay him?
Ren Siyi couldn't think of what a vampire big shot could possibly lack. Uh, her blood?
No, no, no, that was absolutely out of the question.
Hey, didn't he always call himself her father?
Ren Siyi felt like he might really want a descendant.
Cute and Neurotic: "Mr. Shen, since you're so good to me, as repayment, I can give you a daughter. [Cute cat]"
Of course, she sent that message innocently, completely unaware of the seismic shock in the man's pupils on the other end of the screen.
Shen Shen stood by the rosewood table, pondering for a long time. Finally, he replied seriously: "Vampires cannot have naturally born offspring. But thank you anyway."
Then, he received a light, airy reply from Ren Siyi—
"I mean myself, I'll be your daughter 0 0"
Shen Shen: …
Cute and Neurotic: "What else would I mean? 0 0"
Shen Shen simply stopped replying.
…
At the dinner table, her aunt was very attentive, constantly piling food onto Ren Siyi's plate, asking if her part-time job was tiring.
She knew it was all for the grandparents' benefit—her aunt didn't want them to know how she'd been mistreated before.
She also didn't bother exposing it, not wanting to upset her grandparents for no reason, so she accepted everything.
Her grandmother kept holding her left hand, heartbroken: "Part-time work is tough, isn't it? If it's too hard, just quit. You've gotten so thin. And you saved money to install air conditioning for the family—ah, even if you bought the AC, your grandfather won't bear to turn it on."
"Don't be reluctant to use it," Ren Siyi said, most worried about exactly that. "If you don't use it, then I bought it for nothing."
"Cousin bought air conditioning for the family too." Cousin Xu Lulu sneered with a mocking laugh. "Grandma, what kind of job does cousin have that she can earn so much money? Could it be… she's being kept by someone?"
The dinner table fell silent instantly.
Grandma's face darkened on the spot, and she set her chopsticks down on the table. "Kids, don't talk nonsense."
"I didn't say anything wrong."
From the very first day Ren Siyi came from the countryside to stay at her house, Xu Lulu had taken a disliking to her.
This countrified, tacky cousin—why did she deserve to be so pretty? Why did she deserve better grades than her? She'd struggled just to get into Nanshi University and could only manage an ordinary second-tier college, so why did Ren Siyi sail through into the best medical school?
It was so unfair!
Xu Lulu caught sight of the ring on Ren Siyi's thumb and latched onto it like she'd found evidence. "Look at that ring on her hand—it's obviously worth a lot of money. Some sugar daddy must have given it to her."
As she spoke, she nudged her mother with her elbow. "Mom, don't you think so?"
Auntie gave an awkward smile. "It does look… not cheap."
Grandpa pushed up his reading glasses and looked at Ren Siyi. "Siyi, where did that ring come from?"
Ren Siyi raised her hand without changing her expression, turning her finger toward the light. "Oh, this? Bought it for a dozen or so yuan at a street stall. A piece of junk stone, and cousin thinks it's worth a fortune?"
Ren Siyi had always liked buying cheap little trinkets from street vendors—Grandma and Grandpa both knew that. She had a whole drawer full of that stuff back home in the countryside.
Colored glass beads, plastic hair clips, little ceramic pendants—all sorts of random junk.
When she was little, she'd even picked up a green rock from a stream and treasured it like a gem, getting laughed at by the village kids for days. Auntie and Xu Lulu didn't know any of that, but Grandma and Grandpa certainly did.
"Enough, enough," Grandma turned and opened fire on Xu Lulu. "You're the one who dresses up all flashy and gaudy every day—how dare you talk about your cousin? Siyi was raised by my own hands. She's a good girl, and I know exactly what kind of person she is."
Xu Lulu's face turned ashen.
What did she mean "flashy and gaudy"? This was called fashion, wasn't it!
"You old fossil, what do you know!" she muttered.
"Fine, fine—Ren Hui, this is the fine daughter you raised!" Grandpa slapped the table, his beard bristling with anger.
Auntie had apparently been raised under the "spare the rod, spoil the child" philosophy herself, and her greatest fear was making her father angry.
She turned and pinched Xu Lulu's cheek hard. "How dare you be so disrespectful!"
"Ow… that hurts! It hurts so much!"
"Apologize to Grandpa and Grandma!"
"We don't need an apology." Grandma snorted. "Apologize to your cousin."
Xu Lulu was furious and humiliated, rubbing her reddened cheek as she mumbled an apology to Ren Siyi.
Ren Siyi leisurely picked up a piece of sweet-and-sour spare ribs and put it in her mouth, then looked up, her gaze meeting Xu Lulu's directly.
She lifted her chin slightly and curled the corner of her mouth.
A small, triumphant hint of smugness.
Xu Lulu was absolutely livid.
…
The meal didn't spoil Ren Siyi's appetite in the slightest—she ate until her belly was stuffed.
Although she wanted to stay longer with Grandma and Grandpa, she kept thinking about what Shen Shen had said—that the ring would explode after twenty-four hours—and didn't dare delay too long.
Besides, Grandma and Grandpa lived in the countryside and saved electricity by going to bed as soon as it got dark.
It was past nine now, which was already very late for them. They needed to head back to Auntie's house to rest.
Ren Siyi reluctantly said goodbye to Grandma and watched Auntie's sedan speed off into the distance.
She stood on the street corner under the cover of night, the city lights just beginning to glow, when fine raindrops suddenly began to drift down from the deep blue sky.
Ren Siyi was about to hail a cab when a black sedan glided silently to a stop in front of her.
The window was fully rolled down, and Shen Shen rested one hand casually on the sill, a sliver of silver watch chain showing at his wrist.
He leaned back in his seat, looking somewhat languid, eyes fixed straight ahead without glancing at her. "Get in."
Ren Siyi hurried over, opened the door, and climbed in, asking curiously, "How did you know I was here?"
"You're wearing my ring."
"Oh, it has a tracking function too?"
"Something like that. I can sense it."
"Wow, so you can find me wherever I am."
"Yeah."
According to the message Yi Mochi had sent, the Heart Nourishment Ritual experiment would take at least three months, maybe up to six. Shen Shen couldn't watch over her every step of the way, and she had university to attend.
With this ring, he wouldn't lose her.
Ren Siyi felt the ring on her thumb—the temperature had indeed dropped now that she was close to him. It seemed the explosion timer had been reset.
Truly amazing.
She didn't dwell on it and asked Shen Shen, "Mr. Shen, where are we going now? The hospital?"
"No, I have the day off today." Shen Shen said. "There's a party—I'll take you along for some fun."
"Awesome!"
She cheered happily at first, but then her little brain seemed to realize something. Her shifty little eyes glanced over, wanting to ask something but hesitating, afraid to voice the question.
Shen Shen spared her the trouble of asking and answered directly: "Yes, a Blood Clan gathering."
"…"
Ren Siyi's expression crumpled, revealing a pitiful, tearful face: "Can I not go?"
"Weren't you the one who wanted to borrow my authority?" Shen Shen admired her little expression and smiled. "There will be many Blood Clan members at the party. If you don't want them sniffing around you on the street in the future, you'd better attend with me."
"Uh…" Ren Siyi lowered her head, twirling her ring with her thumb, and muttered quietly, "I think… the ring is already enough."
"Up to you." Shen Shen didn't push. "I'll take you home first."
But it was that casual "up to you" that left her feeling oddly hollow, a bitter taste in her heart.
She stole a sidelong glance at him. He was looking down at the tablet reading the news, his sharp features angular and defined, cold pale skin paired with those deep black eyes—a strikingly beautiful face with an aggressive edge.
Actually, deep down, she still wanted to stay with him, didn't she?
Ren Siyi wasn't the kind of girl who wanted something but said she didn't.
Wanting meant wanting. She had come from the countryside to this city, burning the midnight oil to study hard, chasing diligently, and making her way all the way to the top medical school of a nationally renowned institution—all of that was what she wanted.
If you want it, go for it!
So she spoke up: "So… if I go to the gathering with you, what identity would I have? I mean, how would you introduce me to others? You wouldn't actually say I'm your daughter, would you!"
"They know I don't have a daughter." Shen Shen put down the tablet and turned his head to look at her. "A friend."
"Oh, a friend."
Friend was fine.
But hearing him say those two words, she felt a slight sting in her heart.
Ren Siyi shook herself violently in her mind—Of course it's friend, what else could it be, Ren Siyi, what are you thinking! Snap out of it! He's a thousand-year-old vampire! You're probably just his mobile blood bag! Remember that! The alert hasn't been lifted yet!
Ren Siyi fell silent, not saying anything more, looking down at short videos on her phone, thumb swiping across the screen without actually taking in anything.
Shen Shen glanced at her. "If you don't mind, then we'll say you're my romantic partner."
Ren Siyi's heart leaped violently. She forced herself to stay calm and looked at him.
Shen Shen said calmly and rationally: "Our Blood Clan would never violate a romantic partner who has been marked by another. That identity is safer than 'friend.'"
"Oh, I see."
Ren Siyi suppressed her wildly pounding heart and weakly raised her hand. "Um, if I may ask—to you all, is there a difference between a romantic partner and food?"
Shen Shen thought for a moment, then said: "Not much of a difference. After we drink blood, we experience intense sexual arousal, and the two generally happen simultaneously."
Ren Siyi: …