Su Yue made up her mind and walked out of the alley. The moment she stepped past the entrance, she saw a familiar figure coming over from the pedestrian street across from her.

“Done with the talismans? I bought fried chicken. Wanna eat together?” Chen Yan walked over with a smile, a paper bag from the chicken shop in hand.

“How did you know I was making talismans? Were you spying on me?” Su Yue put her hands on her hips and demanded.

“No. I got here half an hour ago. I saw you drawing talismans, so I didn’t disturb you. I was worried you’d be hungry, so I went to buy fried chicken,” Chen Yan quickly explained.

“Ew. You kinda seem like a total simp,” Su Yue mocked with obvious disdain.

“Simp? Is that some rare breed of dog?” Chen Yan had never heard the term before.

“Uh... never mind. Pretend I didn’t say that,” Su Yue brushed it off. So this world didn’t even have the word simp. She’d thought the slang was pretty close to Earth’s, but apparently a lot of internet lingo was different. Didn’t that mean if she used online slang to roast Chen Yan, he wouldn’t even understand?

“Paratrooper,” Su Yue said.

“What does that mean?” Chen Yan asked curiously. Why did Su Yue keep saying words he’d never heard before?

“It means you’re handsome,” Su Yue lied without even blinking.

“...Okay.” Chen Yan had a feeling that wasn’t what she meant, but he didn’t care enough to press further.

“So? Do you want the fried chicken or not?” Chen Yan lifted the paper bag in his hand.

“Yes. If it’s free, why wouldn’t I eat it?” Su Yue took the fried chicken, then suddenly thought of something and stuffed it back into his hands.

“You still dare give me food? You think I’d fall for that again?” Su Yue crossed her arms and said coldly.

“Huh? What’s wrong? Was there something wrong with the braised pork rice from earlier?” Chen Yan was completely confused. She’d looked pretty happy eating it at noon.

“Stop playing dumb. I’m not talking about the braised pork rice!” Su Yue flew into a rage when she saw him acting clueless.

“Then what are you talking about?” Chen Yan frowned and replayed every detail of his interactions with Su Yue that day. He really hadn’t fed her anything else.

“It’s... it’s that long thing, kind of thick...” Su Yue’s face turned bright red. She forced herself to keep talking while awkwardly gesturing out a rough shape with her hands.

“Dark red, smelled really good... Aah, aah, aah, you have to know what I mean! You’re just trying to make this hard for me, aren’t you?!” Su Yue cried out in frustration.

“Wait. What you’re talking about... wouldn’t happen to be the chew stick?” Hearing her description, Chen Yan suddenly remembered that when he was sorting things out at home, he’d noticed the chew stick was missing. He’d assumed he’d left it in the car after dripping blood on it. He hadn’t expected it to end up with Su Yue.

“Huh? Huh? Huh?” Su Yue stared at him in shock. “That was a chew stick?”

“Yeah. It’s for Bloodkin. It helps suppress the urge to drink blood. I thought you might need it, so I bought it for you.” Chen Yan skipped the part about improving their relationship and put on an innocent look, speaking half-truthfully.

“Th-then did you put your blood in it?” Su Yue pressed. There was no way Chen Yan was being that nice for no reason. The fact that he’d dripped blood into it was proof enough.

“If I didn’t put blood in it, wouldn’t it just be a normal chew stick?” Chen Yan said. “Think about it. You’re sensitive to my blood. So when you feel like biting someone, you just put the chew stick in your mouth, and you won’t want to bite people anymore.”

That was a lie. Since Su Yue didn’t react to random passersby’s blood now, she naturally wouldn’t go attacking strangers either.

But Miss Su Yue clearly didn’t notice the flaw. She hadn’t been a vampire for long, after all. In the movies and shows she knew, vampires losing control and attacking random people was a very common trope.

“Fine... I’ll just assume you meant well.” Miss Su Yue still refused to admit defeat.

“Oh? Since you’ve confirmed I meant well, then I’ve got a question for Miss Su Yue too.” Chen Yan raised a brow as he looked at her sulking expression.

“W-what do you want to ask?” Su Yue shivered when she caught the suspicious look in his eyes.

“I want to ask why Miss Su Yue’s face was so red, and why she was making such weird gestures with her hands.” Chen Yan suddenly went on the offensive. “I’m thinking... Miss Su Yue didn’t happen to use the chew stick wrong, did she? Like... maybe the direction was wrong.”

“Aaahhh!” Su Yue crouched down and clutched her head in agony. It was a critical hit.

“It’s over. I’m dead. My life is over. I’ll never be able to face anyone again...” Su Yue’s whole world turned black and white.

Chen Yan looked at the despairing Su Yue and smiled helplessly. He crouched down, then gently rubbed her head.

“What’s wrong, Su Yue? I just wanted to tell you this.” His voice softened. “According to the product picture, the side with the little white tag goes on the left. Don’t mix it up.”

Hearing that, Su Yue timidly lifted her little head. Her nose was red, and it twitched adorably once. “Really?”

“Unless Miss Su Yue made some other directional mistake?” Chen Yan asked with a light smile.

“Of course not.” Su Yue’s pretty face flushed slightly as she scrambled to her feet.

Chen Yan stood up too. He lingered on the feel of her hair in his hand and felt a little regretful. Then he offered her the other fried chicken bag again.

“So? Want it this time?”

“Yes! I never said I didn’t!” Afraid he might take it back, Su Yue snatched the bag from his hand.

“Alright. I’ve delivered your dinner, so I’ll get going first.” Seeing that Su Yue was still a little emotionally worked up, Chen Yan decided it was better to leave her alone for a while today.

“Huh? Ah... take care, then.” Su Yue froze for a moment too. She’d thought Chen Yan would be like he was at noon, shamelessly trying to stay and hang around with her a little longer. She hadn’t expected him to leave so cleanly. Not knowing what else to say, she could only wave politely.

“Mhm. Remember to sleep in the sleeping bag.” Chen Yan waved back, then turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

Holding the fried chicken, Su Yue stood blankly at the alley entrance and watched his retreating back. For some reason, a trace of bitterness flashed through her heart.

“Hmph. Leaving in such a hurry. He’s definitely not off to do anything good,” Su Yue grumbled inwardly. Then she carried the fried chicken and stormed back into the alley.

She walked all the way to the innermost corner, took off her shoes, and sat down on the sleeping bag. She casually set the fried chicken on the little folding table, propped herself up with one hand, and wore a deeply troubled look.

“Wasn’t he saying he wanted to be my master? Wasn’t he saying he wanted to tame me? Hmph. With that three-minutes-of-passion attitude of his, there’s no way he’ll ever pull it off,” Su Yue muttered.

“He’s definitely off looking for some gentle, easy-to-tame nonhuman girl instead. The kind you can win over with a little food. Then he’ll throw in some hero-saves-the-beauty act, and she’ll never forget him after that, right? Hmph. Sorry for being the kind that takes persistence and is hard to conquer.”

“Perverted trafficker. Trash foot fetishist. Bastard who takes advantage of people when they’re vulnerable...”

“I hope when you eat instant noodles, the seasoning packet’s missing. I hope there’s no toilet paper when you need the bathroom. I hope the wife you find turns out to be a man...”

Su Yue kept “blessing” Chen Yan under her breath. She didn’t even care when the fried chicken on the table went cold, and just kept piling up an immense amount of karma.