What It's Like Being a Vampire

Yang Zhen’er slapped Tang Baona’s shoulder, saying: “It’s Old Xia!”

“What’s wrong with Old Xia?” Tang Baona was a bit confused, “Apart from being smarter and having a higher IQ than most people, what else is special about Old Xia?”

“That’s why we say ‘the lamp overlooks its own base’, because we are too familiar with Old Xia, especially me. I practically watched her grow up and her ‘specialness’ has become a norm.” Yang Zhen’er said confidently.

Tang Baona laughed, “Didn’t you used to bring Old Xia around your classmates? They don’t know her that well. Did they notice anything ‘extraordinary’ about her?”

“It’s different. They’re too ‘unfamiliar’ with her. You know as well as I do, when Old Xia meets someone for the first time, she will silently observe them from the sidelines, never seeking attention and rarely speaking. My friends have only met her once or twice because whenever I invite her out to play, she won’t come. So in their eyes, my cousin is a beautiful, yet introverted, and even somewhat aloof beauty. Apart from you, I don’t have many friends who can accurately say they understand Old Xia.” Yang Zhen’er explained.

Recalling what had been said, Tang Baona nodded, “That seems to be the case … The reason I am an exception is probably because we were neighbors when we were little and now we live together. Whenever you wanted to hang out with Old Xia, I was there. Huh … wait, the real exception is Xiang Kun!”

“That’s right! Brother Xiang is the exception!” Yang Zhen’er said mysteriously with her arm wrapped around her friend’s shoulder, “Do you remember when we were talking about Xiang Kun’s university days with Old Liu and Brother Bin? They all said that he changed a lot this year … no, last year. We originally thought it was a change caused by his company going bankrupt and him becoming unemployed, but now it seems, I guess … the reason for Xiang Kun’s change could possibly have been meeting Old Xia!”

At first, Tang Baona was listening attentively, but by the end, she couldn’t help laughing: “You’re making wild guesses again. Didn’t Brother Bin and the others tell us what the main changes in Xiang Kun were? He got bulkier, and he went bald. But he was already a burly bald man when he met us!”

However, Yang Zhen’er replied seriously, “We were misled by his baldness the whole time! Didn’t you notice that Brother Xiang has undergone a huge change compared to when we first met him? When we first met him, he was just starting to learn how to cook. Now, he can even open a restaurant. You know how his dishes taste, right? And how long has it been? There’s plenty more changes, I can’t list them all right now but it’s drastically different compared to when we first met him!”

Tang Baona was still a bit amused, “So your theory has shifted from ‘a secret organization recruited Xiang Kun’ to ‘the mysterious Old Xia transformed Xiang Kun’?”

“On second thought, Old Xia has been far from ordinary since she was a kid. Let me tell you a story. When Old Xia was in elementary school, probably around second or third grade, my aunt and uncle had to travel abroad. The aunt that usually took care of Old Xia suddenly fell ill and was hospitalized, so Old Xia temporarily moved in with us. One day, I was watching TV at home and Old Xia came over and calmly asked me if I had any alcohol and cotton swabs. I was absorbed in watching TV at that time, so I told her to look for them in my dad’s study. After I finished watching TV, I turned around and saw Old Xia treating a large scrape on her arm and knee herself! I was utterly shocked, but Old Xia treated her own wounds, rinsing them with hydrogen peroxide without even frowning. I innocently asked her if it hurt, she said it did, and then she even described to me in detail how the pain feels, comparing it to other types of injuries…”

Yang Zhen’er spoke with a gloomy expression, Tang Baona winced as well, almost as if recalling her own childhood experiences of falling off a bike and scraping up her knees, “That does sound like Old Xia.”

“But the problem is, Old Xia was only in elementary school at the time! She was only seven or eight years old. How could she stand the pain of such injuries, and how could she calmly treat her own wounds? Back then, other than feeling sorry for Old Xia’s fall, I didn’t think much of it. Now that I think back, I realize that Old Xia has exhibited many extraordinary behaviors since she was young!”

Yang Zhen’er continued, “Do you remember when Old Xia started junior high, and I called you and a few other friends to go to Old Xia’s school?”

Tang Baona laughed, “Of course I remember. You heard from someone’s sister that a few girls at Old Xia’s school disliked her and wanted to teach her a lesson, right? So you called all of us to go stand up for her. But when we confronted the girl who seemed to be the ringleader at the school gate, as soon as we mentioned that we were Xia Libing’s sisters, she immediately greeted us warmly, saying ‘if you’re Bing’s sisters, then you’re my sisters’. Her quick response was honestly unmatched!”

“Right, that day we assumed that the girl was just scared of our numbers and so she reacted quickly. But I later found out from my friend’s sister that those girls started calling Old Xia ‘Sister Bing’ in school before we went there, although I don’t know exactly what happened, they must have submitted to Old Xia.”

“So were they beaten up by Old Xia?” Tang Baona asked in confusion, “But apart from the time she beat up the trafficker, I don’t seem to have seen Old Xia get physical.”

“I don’t know how she did it, but from a young age, Old Xia has always been a loner and apart from the times where I forcibly keep her by my side, she basically never plays or meets with other people. But from a young age, regardless of which school she is in, it feels like she has not a single friend, and yet it also feels like everyone is her friend. Very bizarre. Nana, tell me, besides Old Xia, have you seen anyone else like this?” said Yang Zhen’er.

“Uh, you’re right … Old Xia is rather unique in that regard.”

“Why retain a distance from everyone when she could be well-liked? Why be a loner when she could make many friends?” Yang Zhen’er mysteriously pointed out, “This means Old Xia has a secret! She doesn’t want to get too close to people for fear of her secret being discovered.” 𝖗ᴀŊÖ฿Ęꞩ

An exasperated Tang Baona asked, “Are you suggesting that Old Xia has had a secret since grade school?”

“That’s right! Nana, don’t doubt it!” Yang Zhen’er says, “Didn’t I tell you that Old Xia was taken away for medical treatment for a while when she was a kid by my aunt and uncle, but we have no idea what illness she had, and she was gone for quite some time? Now that I think about it, it might not have been a disease that Old Xia had. I vaguely remember my mom mentioning that she was working for a department with ‘National’ in its name, and her job involved secrets… I suspect that they might have been in some secret locations. Otherwise, why would they be so silent about the specifics of her condition, even withholding information from us- the closest relatives? Why did they not allow us to visit? Why didn’t they even come home for the Spring Festival while they were in the same city?”

Tang Baona was a bit stunned listening to this: “The more you say… the more outrageous it gets!”

“Actually, these doubts have always been there, I just got used to them over time, like overlooking things under your nose! The frequency of my aunt and uncle’s trips abroad isn’t quite normal either. I suspect they might be carrying out missions for our secret organizations! And their daughter, our Old Xia, definitely has secret missions to carry out domestically too! As for Brother Xiang, think about it, Nana. If Old Xia would resign and follow Brother Xiang all the way to this remote place for a research base, that means the secret she has always been keeping probably involves Brother Xiang! So, Brother Xiang may have been absorbed into her organization and carry out missions usually too! Sometimes, I feel like Old Xia appears to be covering for Brother Xiang. The activities that Brother Xiang carries out might be directly ordered by her! For example, when our Giant was kidnapped, and Brother Xiang ran off to the southwest, it might have been Old Xia who ordered him to rescue the hostage! What if… Brother Xiang’s words to me were not just to trick me, but to tell the truth! He deliberately used that tone to make me not dare to believe!” Yang Zhen’er started off in a low voice, but as she spoke, she got more and more excited, raising her voice significantly, obviously with a lot of “deductions” being drawn on the spot.

Tang Baona let out a sigh: “So your ‘secret organization hypothesis’ and ‘Old Xia secret mastermind hypothesis’ has combined now into an ‘Old Xia brings Xiang Kun into secret organization hypothesis’?”

“Nana, what I’m saying makes sense, right? And I suspect that Old Xia’s special ability is probably to control some unique creatures. Last night, when the ‘Giant’ returned to the village, the heavy fog, the scary noises, and the lightning might have been created by that unique creature under Old Xia’s control! And the Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Giant that saved the ‘Giant’ and caused a ruckus in Myitkyina, might have been brought by Brother Xiang at Old Xia’s behest, like a loan to Brother Xiang to accomplish his mission! Do you remember what Brother Xiang said when he first carved that Eight-armed, Eight-eyed wood carving? He said it was an image he came up with himself, perhaps at that time he just saw the Eight-armed, Eight-eyed monster that Old Xia was raising… Wait, that doesn’t seem right, if Old Xia let Brother Xiang see the Eight-armed, Eight-eyed monster she was raising, she probably wouldn’t let him carve it. It might be that Brother Xiang has awoken his own ability to summon monsters from another dimension, he just wasn’t aware of it. Hmm, perhaps this ability was bestowed upon him by Old Xia, she guided him to understand it. Seen from this view, the incidents of your grandfather and your second uncle having nightmares may really not be a coincidence. Could it be… the Eight-armed, Eight-eyed monster hatched from the wood carving?!”

Upon hearing this, Tang Baona wanted to refute, but she suddenly found herself somewhat drawn in by Yang Zhen’er, feeling as if she made quite some sense in certain places, and was a little disturbed.

Yang Zhen’er, on the other hand, seemed to have figured it all out and continued, “Right, Nana, there is also something wrong with Canary and Custard Pie! Have you ever seen a Goldfinch so fat and so big? Moreover, Canary is overly smart, it really seems to understand human speech, if Apple tells it to go west, it definitely won’t go east, it even listens better than a dog who has been trained for a few years! Custard Pie is the same, it is too human-like, far too well-behaved! Could it be… Alice and Apple are also members of Old Xia’s secret organization? Canary and Custard Pie are the super creatures that they are breeding? Therefore, the reason why Old Xia and Brother Xiang came to Chongyun Village to set up their research base might be to continually create and train more super creatures! But… that Eight-armed, Eight-eyed guy seemed a little different than Canary and Custard Pie, could it be that they are meant to go to another dimension to ‘get gilded’ before coming back? That’s it! The birthday gift Alice gave to Old Xia, that drawing of a cat with a lot of wings! It all makes sense now, everything in that drawing is real, it is Alice depicting the future!”

This time, Tang Baona was truly confused and she smiled wryly and said, “We’re screwed Zhen’er, I find myself actually believing your theory, even though everything you are saying is outrageous. No way, I need to ask Old Xia and Brother Xiang about this later, otherwise, I will really be pulled off track by you.”

Yang Zhen’er was quick to say: “No, no, it wasn’t a problem when we were just joking before, but if it’s true, then it’s serious! If the people in their organization find out that outsiders know about it, they might blame them for not keeping their secrets! We should quietly observe first and then try to infer subtly, we must not talk about it outside, and not even tell the ‘Giant’. Oh~ I feel, maybe at some point Old Xia will discover our talents, and she will also give us super creatures to raise, and let us join the organization.”

“Um, your words have brought me back to reality, phew~, I was almost hypnotized by you. I’m going to go sleep, you continue fantasizing about your secret organization upstairs!” Tang Baona laughingly said.

A few minutes ago, in Xia Libing’s room.

Xia Libing, who was sitting in front of the desk looking at her laptop, suddenly saw a dialog box pop up on the screen, displaying a line of text: “Old Xia, Old Xia, quickly put on your headphones!”

After she put on her headphones, she heard Yang Zhen’er’s ceaseless “hypothesis”. She immediately understood that Alice was “eavesdropping” on the sound through the microphone of Yang Zhen’er’s mobile phone, and even made some noise reduction processing to make the wind sound on the terrace a little less noisy.

After Yang Zhen’er finished her lengthy “hypothesis”, Alice’s excited voice immediately sounded in the earphone: “How about it, Old Xia, shouldn’t I make some ‘clues’ to misguide Sister Zhen’er? otherwise, she may find out your and Mr. Xiang’s secret!~”

“No need.” Xia Libing said simply.

“Really no need? I’ll be very discreet, I’ll pretend to be a monster from another dimension, and then let her tame me, how about that?” Alice was eager to try.

Xia Libing did not change her tone: “Are you so free? Have you done the tasks that Xiang Kun assigned to you?”

“I have! Alice is working at full capacity, Mr. Xiang’s tasks won’t be missed at all!” Alice’s voice resounded with high morale.

Xia Libing nodded her head and didn’t say anything else.

The tasks Brother Xiang assigned to Alice during his blood-sipping sleep period this time are quite numerous and very crucial. She is also very interested in the results of these tasks.

As for Yang Zhen’er’s hypothesis, that can be considered “wrongly correct”, Xia Libing was not worried at all, this cousin could be said to be one of the people she knew best.

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