What It's Like Being a Vampire

After a long discussion with Tang Baona on the rooftop, Yang Zhen’er returned to her room, washed up, and fell asleep.

However, it was Tang Baona who, tossing and turning in bed, found herself unable to stop thinking about Yang Zhen’er’s speculations.

Yang Lao San had often come up with all kinds of wild speculations before, some even more elaborate and imaginative than tonight’s, but most of the time, Tang Baona took these speculations as jokes and laughed them off.

But tonight, when she thought carefully about some of the things Yang Lao San said, they actually made some sense, and the more she thought about it, the more sense they made, and the more likely they seemed.

Of course, she didn’t fully agree with Yang Lao San’s “extradimensional monster summoning” hypothesis, but she also realized that Old Xia was indeed a bit special and had some erratic behavior.

Unable to sleep, tossing and turning, and changing position from lying flat to lying on her side, Tang Baona finally sat up and turned to look at Yang Zhen’er, who was sleeping in the same bed.

Seeing that Yang Lao San, the one who had started all this, was sleeping so soundly, Tang Baona reached out and pinched her cheek harshly, but softened her grip when she actually did it.

Still asleep, Yang Zhen’er hugged Tang Baona’s hand, and then pasted herself against her.

Familiar with her sleeping habits, Tang Baona quickly freed her hand, pushed her off, and got out of bed.

Since she couldn’t sleep anyway, she left the room and went back up to the rooftop for some fresh air.

The place where they stayed was situated high in the village, so from the rooftop, they had a great view of most of the village.

Looking at the still brightly lit streets of Chongyun Village under the lights even in the late night, and a construction site near the village entrance where faint lights can still be seen, Tang Baona felt a bit absent-minded.

Not long ago, when they first visited Chongyun Village with Xiang Kun, the roads here were still full of potholes. Before entering the village, they were stopped by Liu Gaoshang and Liu Zhengyi, who pretended to have a traffic accident with them.

Everything that happened still felt fresh in memory, as if it had happened just yesterday, yet in an instant, Chongyun Village had undergone earth-shaking changes. Even the brothers who had staged the traffic accident were now helping Xiang Kun with the construction of the research base.

Moving her gaze away from the direction of the construction site, Tang Baona looked towards another direction in the village, where a faint light could be seen coming from a building. That was Xiang Kun’s “workshop” in Chongyun Village. According to his work habits, he should still be working now.

Upon closer thought, Tang Baona realized that she seemed to have never seen Xiang Kun for six or seven consecutive days. Every few days, Xiang Kun would disappear for a day or so for various reasons.

The only person who had direct contact with Xiang Kun for more than a week consecutively seemed to be Old Xia.

She now also started to suspect that the “research base” project that Old Xia and Xiang Kun were working on was not simply about animal breeding and combining big data AI and the internet, but might involve some more secretive projects. Maybe, as Yang Lao San suggested, there was a secret hidden in Chongyun Mountain?

She remembered the researcher from “Taiyu Biological Laboratory,” a former student of Professor Li, who had also wanted to go into the mountains for research on ants and insects. Could it be that this was merely an excuse and their real objective was the same as that of Old Xia and Xiang Kun?

She then remembered how Xiang Kun suddenly lost his temper in the KTV corridor on her birthday last year, the scene where they accidentally stumbled upon a child trafficker and Xiang Kun fought him, the incident where a threatened girl wanted to cause trouble at Chang Bin’s wedding but was caught by Xiang Kun beforehand, how Xiang Kun behaved after a conflict with Liu Feibao and Qi Haoguo over a rear-end collision on their way to Tongshi Town, and how Xiang Kun remained calm when they were stopped and scammed by Liu Gaoshang and Liu Zhengyi brothers upon their arrival in Chongyun Village.

Tang Baona couldn’t help but feel confused. Judging from Xiang Kun’s behavior, he really didn’t seem like someone who had been a programmer for seven years after graduating!

And Old Xia, who had given up the opportunity to work in a top-tier city hospital after graduation and chose to work in a Psychiatric Hospital in Citong, perhaps it’s not just because her aunt was working in that hospital.

Could it be because of Xiang Kun?

But no, Old Xia’s decision to work in the Citong Psychiatric Hospital was made before they met Xiang Kun. It couldn’t have been because of him.

However, as Tang Baona thought about it, she couldn’t help but approach the problem from Xiang Kun’s perspective. She realized that each time Xiang Kun was “out of reach” or couldn’t meet, he always had very legitimate reasons.

Like now, Xiang Kun was busily working for their company. And last time, Yang Zhen’er had even snuck in to confirm that Xiang Kun was indeed working in his office and not out doing some “secret mission” as her wild speculations suggested. ŕ𝘼ΝＯ𝔟ĘS

The reason why Xiang Kun set up the research base in Chongyun Village was because he had lived in Tongshi Town for a long time as a child. He had since opened a restaurant in the town with his childhood friend You Meng. To solve the sourcing of ingredients, he planned on setting up a farm in the nearby Chongyun Village. When that plan couldn’t materialize because of procedural issues, he then collaborated with the village deputy head, Liu Caifu, and transformed it to a research base related to animal farming.

Before he partnered with You Meng, Xiang Kun would always talk about going back to his hometown to open a restaurant specializing in rabbit meat when he was learning to cook. It was not without reason.

She had been a part of this entire process; she knew how Xiang Kun learned to cook, how he started the Youlong Restaurant, and how he negotiated with Liu Caifu. She even played a direct role in many of these tasks.

However, this research base was much larger, and the investment much higher than she had anticipated. Old Xia’s resignation also took her by surprise. The development speed of Chongyun Village and Tongshi Town also exceeded her expectations. She wondered if Xiang Kun had anticipated the development of Tongshi Town and Chongyun Village and that’s why he started his business here.

Tang Baona couldn’t help but laugh. That was close! Yang Lao San almost had her fooled!

She brushed her disheveled hair behind her ear, ready to turn and leave, when she suddenly froze, her left hand stopping its action of flipping the coin.

When she had ascended to the rooftop, she had brought along the “Lucky Coin” that Xiang Kun had given her. She envied how Little Fatty Girl, Xiao Pingguo, Old Xia, and Xiang Kun could smoothly flip the coin, and so she also practiced every chance she got. After all, there was no reason why her fingers, praised by her music teacher as perfectly suited for playing the piano, wouldn’t be able to master the coin-flipping trick that even Xiao Lingdang accomplished!

Now, she realized that while she was contemplating Kun’s actions, her left hand had subconsciously been practicing flipping the coin. Surprisingly, she was flipping it more smoothly and quickly than ever before.

Tang Baona quickly flipped the coin several more times. Under the moonlight, she saw the coin smoothly flip and roll between her fingers, repeating the cycle from pinky to thumb uninterrupted, the coin appearing to stick to the back of her hand.

Tang Baona was excited. She felt as if the coin and her hand were one. No matter how fast she flipped it, it wouldn’t drop. This was unlike before when she’d slow down and risk dropping the coin while transitioning the coin from the back to the palm of her hand, after a single round.

So instead of going to bed, Tang Baona stood on the rooftop playing with the coin, flipping it from her left hand to her right, like a child who had just discovered a new toy, all signs of sleepiness forgotten.

In the end, the coin did fall to the ground, because Tang Baona’s finger had cramped.

While wincing at the painful cramp in her left hand, Tang Baona was actually very happy. If it wasn’t so late at night with everyone asleep, she would have loved to show off in front of Yang Lao San to see his reaction.

After the cramp subsided, she bent down, picked up the coin and marveled at its ordinariness. She wondered why she had suddenly become so good at flipping it all of a sudden.

Could it be that flipping a coin isn’t a matter of skill, but psychology? The less attention you pay, the more natural it seems, and the better you flip?

Tang Baona flipped the coin again with her uninjured right hand, playing with it as she walked back. However, when she got to the doorway of the corridor, she tripped because she wasn’t paying attention to her slippers. Her body lost balance and she fell forward.

Seeing the stairs ahead, a chill ran down Tang Baona’s spine followed by the thought: It’s over.

Suddenly, her thigh tightened as if someone was hugging it from behind, followed by a soft “Hey!” cry.

The force gripping her thigh wasn’t strong and it didn’t last long, so she didn’t manage to regain her footing. Instead of falling forward, she dropped to her knees. Instinctively raising her hand, she grabbed the railing of the stairway, stabilizing her body. The coin that had been on the back of her hand flew out and rolled down the stairs.

Staring at the stairs below, Tang Baona wasn’t overtaken with relief for escaping death. On the contrary, she was even more anxious than before, holding her breath as she cautiously turned to look behind her.

Behind her was the rooftop, fully illuminated by the moonlight and devoid of any human shadow.

Ignoring the aching in her kneeling knees, Tang Baona steadily got up using the wall and railing as support. She walked out of the stairwell of the top floor, anxiously scanning left and right, swiftly checking her previous blind spot, but still couldn’t see anyone.

What just happened?

Who held onto me?

Somewhere along the way, she broke out into a cold sweat. The mere thought of someone holding her made her scalp tingle.

She suddenly realized that the hand that held her leg seemed small and short, like a child’s hand. Judging by the position and the angle, the person who held her was also very short. Together with the soft cry, she surmised it must have been a little girl.

In this building, the only small girl of that height was Xiao Lingdang, but she was sure that the voice just now did not belong to Xiao Lingdang.

Then who was it?

Tang Baona unfolded several rounds on the rooftop and conducted a thorough search, but found no trace of anyone hiding.

“Is anybody there?” Tang Baona, unable to contain herself, called out in a small voice from the rooftop.

No response. That’s when she noticed the abnormal quietness enveloping Chongyun Village – no barking of dogs, no chirping of birds, or buzzing of insects.

That’s true. Upon returning to Chongyun village this time, she noticed that there were hardly any bugs around, a stark contrast to the previous year when they were a common sight in this mountain village.

Not to mention mosquitoes, cockroaches, or other insects, she hadn’t even seen a single fly.

At first, Tang Baona thought it was due to the improved sanitation conditions from ongoing road construction in Chongyun village.

But now, standing on the rooftop, looking at the street lamp closest to the courtyard gate, noticing the absence of insects fluttering under the light, she realized… this was definitely not normal!

Is there something wrong with this building?

Or is it the whole Chongyun Village, or even Chongyun Mountain?

Tang Baona closed her eyes abruptly, drew a few deep breaths, and murmured to herself, “It’s alright, she saved me. Even if there is something, it means me no harm, um.”

After reassuring herself, Tang Baona left the rooftop and return to the staircase. Noticing a surveillance camera installed above, a series of which Xiang Kun had installed throughout the building and courtyard, mainly where most people gathered like the staircase, living room, and courtyard.

If she remembered correctly, the surveillance footage should be in Xiang Kun’s room on the first floor, right?

Tang Baona thought about it but decided not to wake up Yang Zhen’er or Old Xia; instead, she walked alone to the first floor. She tried to open Xiang Kun’s room, but found it locked.

After giving it some thought, she messaged Xiang Kun on WeChat.

“Are you still working?”

The reply came quickly, “Yes, why aren’t you asleep?” accompanied by a surprised emoji.

Tang Baona exhaled in relief and rapidly typed, “I can’t sleep. I want to check the surveillance footage of the stairs; are they all in your computer?”

“Why do you need to check the surveillance now, what happened?”

“Nothing much, there’s something I’d like to confirm.” Tang Baona hesitated a moment but eventually chose not to share her experience entirely. She wanted to confirm the surveillance before letting Xiang Kun know. She didn’t want to disturb his work prematurely.

Xiang Kun replied, “There’s a spare key under the TV cabinet in the living room. It’s in a metal box, it should be there. My computer password is: ******. You know how to operate it, right? If you have any issues, let me know.”

“Okay!” After responding to the message, Tang Baona found the spare key in the metal box under the TV cabinet, opened Xiang Kun’s room, and walked in.

Xiang Kun’s room layout on this side was similarly arranged to his bedroom in Shenhai; a computer desk, bed, one closet, and a computer chair – nothing extra. The style was almost identical to the previous one.

After typing the password and accessing the system, Tang Baona asked Xiang Kun how to view the recorded footage.

But when she opened the surveillance of the staircase following Xiang Kun’s instructions, she discovered that while all other footages were fine, the rooftop stair camera’s footage had recorded nothing today!

Looking at her computer screen, Tang Baona felt conflicted for a moment.

Just as she was about to text Xiang Kun regarding the surveillance situation and figure out if the stairway camera was always broken or was there some other reason, out of the corner of her eye she noticed a shadow at the door.

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