Though Liu Lei felt at the time that he had skillfully played the situation to his advantage, he often reflected on it later with a sense of regret. Despite what everyone else thought—that he must have been gleeful at the time—if he hadn't deceived the old fox, he would never have attended that gathering and never met the woman he now considered the one person he truly should never have encountered. In fact, if the mad woman didn't get drunk with a single drink and could change her habit of hitting him on the head, she might have been somewhat tolerable, Liu Lei often thought to himself.
For the commemorative gathering, the old master had prepared gilded invitations and invited all their acquaintances. On the day of the event, he took over all the rooms in the villa, except for the ones occupied by him, Liu Lei, and the servants, transforming them into the event space, along with the entire lawn outside. Liu Lei muttered under his breath, "Old lunatic!" But when the old master decided to bring all the aged wines from the cellar, a vampire screamed loudly, heedless of the impact, and transformed in broad daylight. With all the grace of a rooster ready for battle, it flapped its wings and charged at the old master.
The gathering began at seven in the evening. As hosts, Liu Lei and the old master were already dressed and waiting at the door to greet the guests. The old master kept grinning at Liu Lei, who checked himself, wondering if something was wrong with his appearance. After casting a scornful glance at the old man, he straightened up and prepared to welcome the guests.
The gathering was a success, with everyone enjoying themselves. Though it was Liu Lei's first time hosting, his noble bloodline as a vampire made him handle everything with ease. The guests, though slightly curious about his presence, were charmed by his poised manner and elegant conversation. As the evening was drawing to a close, Liu Lei let out a long sigh of relief. Hosting this event had truly been a challenge for him. He took a glass of wine and sought a quieter place to unwind. He made his way to the garden at the back of the villa and stood quietly by a cluster of low pine trees.
"Hey, waiter, bring me a drink," came the slurred voice of a woman nearby. Waiter? Liu Lei looked around, puzzled. "Hey, what are you looking at? Yes, you! Hurry up!" A woman, her hair hanging in front of her face, staggered out of the shadows ahead of him.
"Me?" Liu Lei was taken aback. "I'm not a waiter!"
"If you're not a waiter, why are you dressed like one?" The drunken woman swayed closer, her eyes struggling to focus as she patted his clothes. Liu Lei suddenly realized why the old master had been grinning at him earlier and why the guests had looked at him oddly—his attire was too similar to the uniform of the service staff! The waiters had been hired from a five-star hotel, and Liu Lei, having never seen them before, hadn't noticed until now. Embarrassed, Liu Lei thought to himself: To think a proud vampire like him would make such a blunder in his attire! How could he face his fellow vampires after this? But no matter what happened next, there was a real problem: the woman, after a few more pats on his clothes, suddenly vomited all over him, and then collapsed like a ragdoll onto the ground, drunk.
Liu Lei's stomach churned as he furrowed his brow. What to do now? His mind raced: All the rooms were occupied. He couldn't let anyone see her like this, but what about the old master's room? No, seeing him with a drunken woman would surely lead to unpleasant thoughts. The mere thought of the old master's lewd grin made him shudder, so he discarded that idea. Should he take her to the servant's quarters? Tomorrow, the entire staff would probably gossip about the "noble guest" who had brought a drunken woman back to his room. With a shake of his head, Liu Lei decided to pick her up, glancing around to make sure no one was watching. He jumped into the window of his own room.
After tossing the woman onto the bed, Liu Lei changed into a clean set of clothes, locked the door, double-checked everything, and finally left the room. At ten that night, he and Christopher bid farewell to the guests. Liu Lei, too distracted to settle the matter with the old master, hurried upstairs to his room. Behind him, the old master murmured in confusion, "It's strange. After such a fiasco, why isn't he trying to make trouble for me?"
When he entered his room and saw the woman lying quietly on the bed, Liu Lei let out a sigh of relief. At least nothing had gone wrong. He quickly locked the door again. The thought of what would happen if anyone found out he had hidden a drunken woman in his room made him shudder. Glancing at the woman on the bed, a sudden wave of irritation washed over him: "She takes my bed while I sleep on the floor?!" Initially planning to throw her onto the floor, he thought better of it. After all, she was a woman, and such an action wouldn't be very gentlemanly. Feeling somewhat proud of his restraint, Liu Lei turned on his computer.
Opening his email, he found a message from Jiang Feng. Was there an issue with the company? He opened it to find no work-related matters, just Jiang Feng informing him of his upcoming wedding and inviting him to the ceremony. Liu Lei smiled nostalgically. "This guy, finally getting married. He must be over forty now, not young by human standards." He had known Jiang Feng for more than ten years, and the man had been one of his few friends. Dedicated to his career, Jiang Feng had always remained single. Seeing him now, Liu Lei felt a strange comfort. If a human could spend their fleeting years in a single, unhurried life, why should he rush? But now his steadfast, single "comrade" was no longer alone. A sudden pang of loneliness surged within him, mixing with the alcohol in his veins.
The woman in the bed stirred, rolling over and revealing a face once hidden by her hair. Liu Lei, struggling against the heaviness of his alcohol-laden eyelids, gazed at her: As she lay there peacefully, she was, unexpectedly, quite beautiful—nothing like the drunken, unpleasant image from earlier. Perhaps the alcohol had dulled his judgment, but Liu Lei suddenly felt that something, inevitable, would occur between him and this girl, who lacked both drinking capacity and decorum.
Unaware of these thoughts, the girl continued to sleep peacefully. Liu Lei, his eyes now too heavy to keep open, yanked the power cord from his computer and collapsed onto the carpet, drifting into sleep.
The next morning was perhaps the most unforgettable of his life, second only to the morning after his transformation into a vampire. Liu Lei, still groggy, lifted his head in response to a shrill scream from a woman—a sound so sharp it seemed to awaken the entire villa. Realizing his secret, which he had worked so hard to conceal, was about to be exposed, he despaired and dropped his head, banging it on the floor in frustration.
Christopher rushed in after the woman, constantly explaining, "Niya, darling, listen to me, it's not what you think..."
Niya—the girl—paid him no mind and continued walking quickly toward the door. Suddenly, she turned, pointed at Liu Lei, and said, "Darling Uncle Christopher, could you explain to me how this guy ended up in my room?"
Before Christopher could respond, Liu Lei jumped in: "What do you mean, your room? That's my room!"
"Oh, really? Then can you explain why I ended up in your room?" she shot back.
"That's a question I should be asking you!" Liu Lei retorted, playing the fool.
"You!" Niya was seething with anger.
"Enough, enough, stop the bickering!" Christopher interjected, his voice cutting through the tension. "Liu, what's going on?"
"She got drunk yesterday, threw up on me, and since there were no guest rooms left, I had to bring her to my room. I did it out of kindness, but clearly, I didn't get any good deeds in return!"
"Are you not going to sleep with Uncle Christopher? How could you share a room with a young, unfamiliar girl? What are your intentions? Tell me, what exactly did you do to me last night?"
Liu Lei was furious: "I did what I had to do. What's wrong with that?"
"What?!" The old master sighed, cutting in again, "Niya, don't worry. He's incapable…"
"Inc... incapable? What does that mean?" Niya asked in surprise.
"Exactly what it sounds like," Christopher replied nonchalantly.
Niya immediately understood, her face twisting in disdain as she looked at Liu Lei.
Liu Lei, furious, shot back: "What did you say? You impotent old fool!"
Christopher continued to subtly gesture with his eyes, signaling Liu Lei to hold off for now.
It was then that the old master seemed to remember, "Oh, Niya, don't you like China? Liu is from China."
"Really?" Niya eyed Liu Lei skeptically. "But the disgusting behavior last night seems more like something a Japanese man, like Hashimoto, would do."
Liu Lei roared in response, "First of all, I'm Chinese, and I've always been proud of it! Secondly, I didn't do anything last night," his gaze sweeping over her body. "With a body like yours—lacking both figure and beauty, and certainly no morals—I have absolutely no interest in you." He pretended not to notice her reddened face and continued, "Lastly, you think only Japanese men commit vile acts? I fully agree, and the only pleasant thing I've heard from you since entering this room is that single, almost tolerable scream. And as for your so-called vile Japanese representative—Hashimoto—is no longer part of this world. I was the one who took care of him."
Liu Lei suddenly froze. How did Niya know about Hashimoto?
Seeing the questioning look in his eyes, Christopher casually replied, "Niya is the niece of the current Prince of the Tremere Clan, one of the thirteen Blood Clan families, and she's also the next heir to the title."
"What?" Liu Lei shouted in disbelief, "This rude, vicious, utterly unattractive girl is also a vampire?"
"'Also'? Is this vulgar, perverted girl really one of us? My god, Uncle Christopher, kill him quickly! Our Blood Clan's pure bloodline cannot be tainted!" Niya screamed, lunging at Liu Lei with claws outstretched.