“I’m going to ask you a few questions. You have to answer honestly.”

“...Go ahead. I’ll tell you everything I know.” Xi Feng nodded frantically, as if she’d resigned herself to her fate.

Seeing Xi Feng give up all thought of resisting and act like a docile little kitten, Bei Yaoyue put the cross necklace back around her neck.

When dealing with vampires, maybe it could serve as a kind of protective charm.

With the cross no longer suppressing her, Xi Feng felt an indescribable relief all over. She almost let out a moan.

“The sofa’s over here. Have a seat... Uh...”

Xi Feng was just about to invite Bei Yaoyue to sit down when she awkwardly realized Bei Yaoyue had already made herself at home on the sofa, as if the place belonged to her.

“Would you like some water or something to drink?” Xi Feng scratched her head.

“No, thanks.” Bei Yaoyue shook her head and pointed to the sofa across from her. “Sit. Let’s keep this brief.”

“Hey, hey, hey, I’m the one who lives here...” Xi Feng muttered under her breath, a little annoyed. It felt like Bei Yaoyue hadn’t treated her like a stranger from the very start. But for now, Xi Feng only dared to talk big to herself—there was no way she’d let Bei Yaoyue hear it.

Looking at the white-haired little girl sitting across from her, fidgeting nervously, Bei Yaoyue crossed one leg over the other and took on the air of an interrogator. “How old are you?”

Perhaps because Bei Yaoyue was a girl too, she sat rather carelessly. As she crossed her right leg, a large patch of pure white fabric beneath her skirt came into view for Xi Feng.

Xi Feng’s cheeks reddened slightly. She quickly looked away from beneath Bei Yaoyue’s skirt and answered, a little guiltily, “...Fourteen.”

“Fourteen?” Bei Yaoyue’s brow lowered, and she gave Xi Feng a strange look. “Are you sure you didn’t leave off a couple of digits?”

As far as she knew, weren’t vampires all ancient beings who’d lived for thousands of years?

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean!” Bei Yaoyue’s obvious disbelief irritated Xi Feng. Mentally, she was a man, and she didn’t mind people thinking she was older—but there was no way she could handle being thousands of years old!

“I really am only fourteen! I was born in April 2006. It’s all there in black and white on my ID!”

Whatever her true age was, Xi Feng was sticking to the age on her ID. After all, for everyday life, her registered birth date and ID were what counted.

“So vampires aren’t as long-lived as the legends say. They live about as long as humans?” Bei Yaoyue mused.

“Y-yeah.”

Xi Feng didn’t sound very convincing. She wasn’t actually sure about this herself, so she deliberately puffed out her nonexistent chest to look more confident.

She was only twenty-one mentally. She didn’t want to be mistaken for some old witch who’d been alive since a dozen centuries ago.

“I see.” Bei Yaoyue replied coolly and couldn’t be bothered to dwell on it. Whether Xi Feng was fourteen or fourteen hundred made little difference to her.

She glanced around the room, which was a little bare but surprisingly tidy. “Do you live alone?”

“Yeah.”

“What about your parents?”

Xi Feng’s gaze faltered. She was silent for a moment before answering slowly, “My parents have been gone for a long time.”

Seven years ago, her parents had died in an accidental car crash, leaving behind Xi Feng, who was only fourteen at the time and had just graduated from middle school.

After receiving a substantial compensation payout, she turned down every relative who offered to take care of her, whether out of kindness or malice. She left on her own and moved to New Moon City, on the other side of Chongguo, to start a life by herself.

“You’re an orphan?” Bei Yaoyue realized as soon as she said it that the words had come out wrong. Her expression stiffened, and she turned her face aside, looking awkward. “Sorry... I mean, do you have a guardian now?”

“No.” Xi Feng shook her head. People had hurled the word “orphan” at her maliciously plenty of times over the years, so she was more or less used to it. She didn’t take Bei Yaoyue’s accidental slip the wrong way.

“Were your parents vampires?” Bei Yaoyue asked a rather pointed question.

“Of course not!”

Since this concerned her parents’ good name, Xi Feng denied it at once.

“Oh?” Bei Yaoyue narrowed her eyes, looking intrigued. “Then how did you come into this world? Did you pop out of a crack in a rock? Or are you going to tell me two humans somehow produced a vampire out of thin air?”

“...It’s a secret.”

Unable to answer, Xi Feng chose to dodge the question.

“Fine, keep your secrets.” Bei Yaoyue thought for a moment before asking, “Are you in school now, or just sitting around at home?”

“I go to Tianshui No. 1 High School... I’m a first-year this year, in Class 102,” Xi Feng answered honestly.

Tianshui No. 1 High School? So they went to the same school?

Bei Yaoyue paused in surprise. She went to Tianshui No. 1 High School too, and she was a first-year as well. She was in Class 101, but had never heard of a white-haired little girl like this in the class next door.

Tucking her confusion away for now, Bei Yaoyue continued, “What time do you go to bed and get up each day?”

“Uh... If I don’t have class the next day, I go to bed around one and get up at nine.”

“That’s too late.” Bei Yaoyue frowned slightly. “Staying up late is bad for you. You’re still young, and you shouldn’t get into the habit of staying up all night. You need to change that.”

“Yes...” Xi Feng agreed aloud, then secretly pouted where Bei Yaoyue couldn’t see.

What a busybody! What I do with my bedtime is none of your business.

“Do you smoke?”

“No.”

“Do you drink?”

“...A little, if I go out to eat with friends.”

“Liquor or beer?”

“Either. Depends on what my friends want.”

“You’re a kid, so don’t drink too much. And you’re a girl, too. A little beer now and then is one thing, but try to stay away from liquor.”

“Yes, yes...” Xi Feng was at a loss for words.

“Do you do drugs?”

“Of course not!”

“Any other bad habits?”

“No.”

“Any infectious diseases?”

“...No.” Three dark lines appeared on Xi Feng’s forehead. Was Bei Yaoyue taking down her household registration details or something?

Even if she was, there was no way anyone would ask this many questions!

“Have you ever done anything that hurt your body for money?”

“Of course not!!!” Xi Feng understood what Bei Yaoyue meant. Her cheeks turned slightly red, and she shouted in mortified anger, “What do you take me for? I’m a respectable person!”

Bei Yaoyue ignored Xi Feng’s embarrassment without changing expression. “What kind of food can you eat?”

“Any kind of human blood is fine. As for animal blood... I’ve never tried it, so I’m not sure...”

Xi Feng answered with a puzzled look. She didn’t understand why Bei Yaoyue was asking.

“Can you cook?”

“I can.” Xi Feng nodded quickly. She was pretty confident in her cooking.

Since she’d lived alone for years, she’d learned to make all kinds of good food to satisfy her appetite. She wasn’t a master chef, but she could definitely feed herself.

“That’s about all the questions I have.” Bei Yaoyue nodded. “Congratulations. You’re hired.”

“Huh?” Xi Feng stared at her, completely baffled. “Hired for what?”

Instead of answering, Bei Yaoyue started talking as if to herself. “About you tackling me earlier: I wasn’t hurt, so I’ll let that go. But you drank my blood while I was unconscious. I can’t just pretend that never happened.”

“I was surprised to find out you’re a vampire, but you don’t seem like a bad kid. I don’t want to make trouble for you over this, so I’ll keep your secret.”

Hearing that Bei Yaoyue would keep her identity as a vampire secret, Xi Feng immediately put on a flattering smile. “I really appreciate that.”

“But...” Bei Yaoyue changed tack. “I live alone too, and my studies have been getting busier lately. It’s getting hard to keep up with everything at home by myself, so I need a girl to help with the housework. You understand what I mean, right?

“Ah, sorry. ‘Housekeeper’ might make it sound like you’re old. Maybe I should use a different word—maid.”

She looked at Xi Feng, only to find her smile frozen on her face.

“M-Maid?” Xi Feng’s mouth twitched. “You mean you want me to be your maid?”

“That’s right. The job is to handle all the housework and prepare three meals a day. Room and board are included, but you’ll have to take care of your own food. The pay is one thousand yuan a month, with a bonus if you do well. And to make sure you don’t run away, you’ll move into my place tonight.”

She even added, “You don’t have the right to refuse.”

“But I refuse.”

“One of my favorite things to do is say ‘No!’ to people who think they’re so tough!”

After saying that, Xi Feng gritted her teeth, a hint of ferocity entering her expression. “Be your maid? Not a chance, even if I die! This is about my dignity as a vampire!”

Unfortunately, with her ridiculously timid voice and soft, adorable looks, trying to act tough didn’t intimidate anyone. She just looked like one of those “I’m super scary.jpg” reaction images.

“You’re absolutely sure you don’t want to?”

“I’d rather starve to death, die out there, or jump from here than become your maid!” Xi Feng shouted, ready to face death. She sounded like a hero making a desperate last stand.

“All right. I won’t force you.” Bei Yaoyue gave a small shake of her head, then got up and headed straight for the entrance.

This time, Xi Feng was the one left staring in shock. Why had Bei Yaoyue suddenly become so easygoing?

“Now, what’s the police number again? Oh, right. One, one, zero...” Bei Yaoyue took out her phone and murmured as she tapped something on the screen.

She hadn’t even taken two steps when a small hand grabbed the hem of her skirt.

“What is it?”

Feeling someone tugging at her, Bei Yaoyue turned around in confusion. Xi Feng was looking at her with an awkward, sheepish smile.

“Actually... I think being a maid sounds pretty nice...”

(Xi Feng, oh, Xi Feng. Where’s your dignity?)