Mysterious Call

Hao Ren's plan had been pretty good at first, but in the end, he still couldn't bring himself to throw Vivian out like that.

As he'd said before, he was a good person—he didn't meddle in things he couldn't help with, but whenever he could lend someone a hand, there was no way he could simply look the other way. If he drove Vivian away just like that, then what? This vampire girl, who seemed to be doing terribly, would probably end up sleeping on the streets. Just as she said, she'd have to find some ruins or a graveyard in the wilderness to spend the night. No food, no water, no home, no job—she could set off the auxiliary police at any train station. Either she'd be forcibly taken in or forcibly sent away... How pitiful.

Watching such a pretty little girl fall to that state, most people wouldn't have the heart.

Though Hao Ren felt that a vampire's true abilities probably wouldn't leave her in such dire straits... but who could say? Apparently, the one he'd met wasn't a Normal Vampire. After all, none of the novels or movies had ever said vampires could be this stubborn. Not only was she poor and finicky, she was also a good girl who loved humans.

Still, he didn't directly offer to let Vivian live here for free. A good person's kindness had its limits; he wasn't some saint. He also had to consider Lily's feelings, seeing as she actually paid rent. So he could only compromise and let Vivian owe the rent for now, then pay it back after she found her wallet—an unlikely prospect—or found a job and earned money—which had slightly better odds.

"Is that really okay?" Vivian seemed unable to believe such a good thing could fall from the sky. She looked at Hao Ren in disbelief. "It might take me a long time to pay you back. I have terrible luck with money..."

Hao Ren's brow twitched. Looking at the expression on this vampire girl's face and hearing the resigned tone in her voice, just how miserable was her life usually?

"Don't think about any of that. Just stay here for now," Hao Ren said, waving a hand. He glanced at Lily, whose face was full of displeasure. "It's decided! This is my home. At least when it comes to renting rooms, I call the shots."

Then he looked at Vivian. "There's an empty room upstairs. I'll take you there, but where's your luggage?"

He should have asked that sooner. Lily had dragged along a huge suitcase weighing over a hundred pounds when she came from another city. Surely this vampire girl wasn't so poor that all she had left was the clothes on her back?

"Oh, oh, it's outside!" Only then did Vivian remember her luggage. She hurried out and carried in an old travel bag she had left by the door. Fortunately, her streak of bad financial luck hadn't spread to her belongings. That huge bag had been forgotten outside for so long, yet it hadn't been stolen.

The sight of Vivian's luggage made Hao Ren sigh again. He vaguely remembered that when his dad was still alive, he often carried a similarly styled bag on Business Trips. That bag had been passed down from Hao Ren's grandfather...

He would never watch another vampire movie for the rest of his life.

Just as he was about to go upstairs and help Vivian tidy up her room, a loud rumbling suddenly came from beside him. Lily stood up awkwardly, rubbing her stomach. "Landlord, shall we eat?"

Hao Ren looked up at the clock in the living room. It was already ten in the morning. After all the chaos of getting up early today, he had nearly forgotten that breakfast was even a thing. The only one in the entire house who had filled his stomach was Roll!

"Damn, this life is worse than a cat's." He muttered a self-deprecating complaint, then heard Vivian's delighted voice. "Huh? Meals are included here too? Do I need to pay extra for food?"

The Vampire Girl's face was brimming with joy. Hao Ren desperately wanted to tell her the truth—that meals weren't included here, and this was only a special circumstance—but seeing the almost blissful look on her face, he couldn't say a word. Damn... A vampire ending up like this just felt too pitiful!

Breakfast had been delayed until now, so it was more like lunch. Hao Ren decided to make the thing he was best at—noodles. Lily looked like an omnivorous werewolf who wasn't picky about food, and Vivian was so poor that she probably wouldn't be particular about what she ate. Throwing together something edible would be enough. But before going into the kitchen, he turned and asked the vampire girl, "Vivian, do you... eat normal human food? I heard vampires can only drink blood, and regular food won't digest after they eat it."

As soon as he said that, his neck felt chilly!

"I'm a bloodkin, not some lowly vampire," Vivian corrected him seriously before awkwardly scratching her cheek. "Other bloodkin really can only digest blood, but I can eat ordinary food. It can't be helped—these days, whether humans or animals, there are far too many strange diseases. If you accidentally drink contaminated blood, you'll have stomach problems for days. Before drinking blood, you have to check whether the target has a health certificate. Sometimes, even those with health certificates got them from someone who makes fake ones... I really couldn't stand it, so I haven't touched blood in years."

Hao Ren: "..."

But just as he was about to enter the kitchen, a loud phone ringtone suddenly rang out from the armrest of the sofa. Lily lunged over to take a look, then held up Hao Ren's nearly five-year-old Nokia color screen phone and shouted, "Landlord! Phone! A really strange number is calling!"

Hao Ren rushed over in a few strides and took the phone, wondering what kind of number could qualify as "really strange." Then he looked, and immediately froze. The caller ID displayed a string of numbers: 00000012345!

Was there really such a number in the world?

The monotonous ringtone continued to blare like it was demanding his life. That bizarre caller ID was clearly displayed before his eyes. Hao Ren couldn't help pinching his face to make sure he wasn't seeing things. And perhaps it was just his imagination, but the ringtone seemed to be getting louder and louder, gradually seeming to come from all directions. The phone in his hand was growing hot, and the ringing came faster and faster... His always-eerie sixth sense stirred as well. Instinctively, he felt that this call was anything but ordinary.

As though possessed, he pressed the answer button without realizing it and put the phone to his ear. "Hello? Who is this?"

A pleasant but rather boisterous female voice came from the phone. "Hello, hello? Hello? Is this Hao Ren?"

"Uh, I am," Hao Ren replied, trying to remember when he had ever leaked his phone number, while also trying to recall when he had met a woman with a similar voice. But he couldn't remember anything. "Who are you?"

"Don't worry about that for now," the unfamiliar woman said loudly. Judging by the background noise, she seemed to be calling from somewhere quite noisy. He could faintly hear strange howling sounds, perhaps from some construction site. "I'm from the... ah, Import and Export Trading Company. You submitted a résumé looking for work a couple days ago, right? I'm notifying you to come for an interview this afternoon."

Import and Export Trading Company? Hao Ren paused, then remembered that there really had been such a thing. When he had decided to go out and find work, he had sent out quite a few résumés, though he had mostly just been trying his luck. After all, he had no work experience and wasn't some graduate from a prestigious school or industry professional. He had spent an entire day hitting walls while job hunting in person, so he hadn't held much hope for sending out résumés either. Yet someone was actually asking him to come interview today, and it even sounded like an impressive organization—some Import and Export Trading Company?

Was he about to get insanely lucky?

But he glanced at the two new tenants in the living room. He had submitted résumés because the rental apartment business wasn't working out and he had no income, leaving him with no other choice. But now, it seemed he had tenants...

All right, those tenants weren't exactly reliable either. One was a dim-witted werewolf, and the other was a stubborn vampire who was so poor she was practically starving to death. Forget anything else—Hao Ren would find it unbelievable if their species could honestly pay him rent. He felt he couldn't keep placing his hopes for survival on the rental business.

At that moment, the impatient woman's voice came through the phone again. "Hello! Are you still listening? I'm telling you to come for an interview this afternoon!"

Hao Ren thought for a moment, then nodded hard. "All right, I'll go this afternoon."

The unfamiliar woman gave him an address that didn't sound too far away, then hung up.

Hao Ren stared blankly at the phone, which displayed "Call Duration: 0 minutes 0 seconds," then switched to the call log.

It was blank. That number, 00000012345, seemed as though it had never appeared.