Chapter 36

An Xiang had prepared a lavish dinner, the small round table crowded with plates of every size.

She had no appetite. The chopsticks before her had remained untouched from start to finish.

An Zimo hugged a beef bone and gnawed on it until his mouth was slick with grease. In the middle of eating happily, he sensed the silence in the room and looked up. He found An Xiang's gaze unfocused, as though she were lost in thought. Even her inner voice was hollow.

"You're not eating?"

An Xiang shook her head, lowered it again, then lifted it, her expression complicated.

"Do your teeth still itch?"

"Better." The beef bone was hard, and after gnawing on it a few times, the discomfort had eased somewhat.

"Do you want more rice?"

An Zimo looked at his round little belly and honestly refused, then hugged the beef bone and continued gnawing.

An Xiang got up and cleared the dishes, then tidied the house inside and out. When she passed the bar, she stared blankly at the fruit juice on the table for a few seconds. She lowered her eyes, pressed her lips together, and pretended nothing was wrong as she continued with her chores.

An Zimo usually went to bed at ten. Perhaps because his teeth were bothering him, he did not fall asleep until eleven. He lay on his side on the sofa, hugging a bone stripped completely clean of meat and gnawing away at it. The bone looked even bigger than his little face.

An Zimo fiercely ground his itchy teeth. With every scrape, those two sharp fangs wobbled even harder.

Time passed. The sound of grinding teeth gradually quieted, replaced by even, shallow breathing.

An Xiang rose from the floor and leaned over the side of the sofa, studying that young little face.

She slowly took the bone away from his mouth, pulled out a tissue to wipe off the drool, then placed it back into his soft little hands. An Zimo, who had only just fallen asleep, jolted awake and instinctively hugged the bone to keep sucking on it. After sucking lazily for a while, he began to purr in his throat.

An Xiang could not help laughing, but once the laughter faded, a deep loneliness took its place.

For thousands of years, Mixed-Bloods had suffered exclusion.

Humans regarded Mixed-Bloods as freaks and refused to acknowledge their identities; Purebloods loathed the human genes in their bodies and could not see them as kin.

Children born of Vampires and humans could never find where they belonged. Humble and alone, they walked through the corners of the world, cautiously hiding their identities so that no one would discover them.

Pei Yizhou was right.

An Zimo would grow up one day. One day, he would learn who he was. He was sensitive and easily hurt. In a world where no one of his kind would care for him, he was destined to face destruction.

An Xiang bent down and pressed her forehead to his. Then she quietly got up to change clothes, took her phone, keys, and the milk tea from the table, and left the house.

At one in the morning, only the occasional car passed along the street.

The building across the road stood tall in the night. A faint light shone at its peak, like a spark flickering within this sleepless city—small, yet dazzling.

The night wind was slightly cool, clearing An Xiang's mind.

She pulled her clothes tighter around herself, took a deep breath, and headed across the street.

The main entrance had long since been locked, leaving only a small side door open.

An Xiang hesitated outside for a long time. Only when the wind made her sneeze did she slowly step inside.

The building was dark and empty at night. At the end of the hall, the elevator's dim red light glowed.

An Xiang's footsteps echoed around her. Feeling the bottomless silence all around, she was not afraid. She swiped her card through security and entered the elevator.

[Please swipe your card.]

The elevator gave a prompt. After swiping her card, An Xiang carefully put it away and stared fixedly at the rising numbers.

[Ding.]

She stepped out and immediately saw white light coming from not far away.

An Xiang tightened her grip on the bag and stepped forward to knock on the door.

"Come in."

A man's clear, cool voice came from behind the half-open door.

She pushed it open and entered.

The office was large and simply decorated, making it seem spacious. A desk stood in the center, backed by enormous floor-to-ceiling windows that reflected the entire city.

Pei Yizhou sat at the desk processing documents. When she entered, he lifted his eyes to meet An Xiang's gaze.

An Xiang bit her lip and walked over to him.

"...Your fruit juice." She set the bag on the desk and murmured softly, "It might... not be very fresh."

"Thank you." Pei Yizhou picked up the juice, inserted the straw, and took a tentative sip. The fragrance of flowers burst across his tongue. He did not know what kind of flower it was, but the scent was pleasant and soothing.

"Let's talk over there."

Pei Yizhou got up and walked to the sofa. An Xiang followed and sat down several seats away from him.

"Why are you sitting so far away from me?"

She turned her head aside, leaving him only her lovely profile and pale, tender ear. "As long as I can hear you."

A lone man and woman in the same room had to keep some distance.

Pei Yizhou did not press her and naturally changed the subject. "Is Zimo asleep?"

"Mm." An Xiang carefully glanced at him. "Y-you should say what you want to say quickly. You don't need to deliberately try to get close to me."

"Alright, I won't try to get close to you." Pei Yizhou was incomparably compliant, his tone carrying a trace of indulgence.

"Momo still doesn't know I'm his father, right?"

The word father inexplicably shortened the distance between them.

An Xiang froze for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"Then do you want to tell him?"

That question stumped An Xiang.

She was no saint. Deep down, she had always harbored a selfish thought. An Xiang did not want her son to know Pei Yizhou existed, much less return to the Pei Family and leave her side. But neither could she selfishly hide the truth forever.

"I understand."

An Xiang's silence was the best answer.

Pei Yizhou did not feel disappointed. After all, it was only human nature.

"Then let me tell you what I'm thinking." He said, "You and Zimo can live somewhere I arrange. I'll also take care of the kindergarten. I'll give him a safe enough environment to live in."

"Is that all?" An Xiang looked at him, somewhat surprised that he was being so reasonable.

Pei Yizhou's expression was gentle. "I said I wouldn't take your child away from you, and I won't let the family take him away either. So I hope you can live somewhere I can see you." Since An Zimo was his son, someone would sooner or later set their sights on him. He wanted to get closer to An Xiang, and even more, he wanted to be the first to stand up and protect them.

"Of course, I have one more request."

An Xiang's spine tensed, and then she heard him say, "I hope you won't deprive me of the right to visit my child."

She relaxed and nodded. "Of course. Zimo... Zimo is your child too, after all. If you want to see him, you can go anytime." As she spoke, her fingers began twisting together again. "It would be best if Zimo could like you. He was hurt before, and he isn't very close to people now. I think we should wait until the time is right before telling him who you are. That way, it'll be easier for him to accept."

An Zimo had yet to accept her as his mother, much less rashly accept a Vampire father.

He was too sensitive and too easily hurt. She had to protect him carefully, even more carefully.

Actually, giving Momo another father was not necessarily a bad thing.

An Xiang secretly glanced at Pei Yizhou's handsome face beneath the light. She was someone who would die sooner or later. If she let her son slowly grow accustomed to Pei Yizhou's presence now, then when she left, he would not be too devastated.

But her son disliked her so much that he probably would not be sad even if she left.

An Xiang sighed sadly.

"Then how do you plan to tell Zimo about his identity?"

"I'll tell him when he loses a tooth." An Xiang had decided that once the child lost a tooth, she would tell him that he was not human.

Pei Yizhou pondered for a few seconds, then nodded. "That works." Losing a tooth was the best time to tell him. It would be too late if they waited until his fangs grew in.

"Take a look at this."

Pei Yizhou pushed a folder toward An Xiang. She picked it up, opened it, and carefully read through its contents.

"Rainbow Kindergarten: Welcoming all races."

"Sunflower Class: Rainbow's most special class."

As An Xiang flipped through the material, she was shocked to discover that the picture was of the room she had seen when she visited the kindergarten not long ago.

That meant every child in that class was a Vampire baby!

Faced with her surprised expression, Pei Yizhou remained exceptionally calm. "This kindergarten was opened by a friend of mine. It's the only kindergarten that welcomes both humans and the Vampire Clan."

An Xiang was very surprised. "Would the parents agree to that?"

Humans held the Vampire Clan in awe and never appeared at Vampire gatherings. They also did not allow Vampires to enter human territory, so most Vampires received their education at home. She was astonished that humans would be willing to let their children live alongside Vampire children.

"The principal built this kindergarten because he wanted to bring the two races closer together. He wanted to tell people that the Vampire Clan isn't frightening, and humans aren't as difficult to get along with as people think. Most parents signed their names when they enrolled, so there's no problem." Pei Yizhou folded his hands over his knees. "You visited the kindergarten before. You don't need to worry about safety."

"So Momo will be in Sunflower Class?"

"Mm." Pei Yizhou nodded. "Sunflower Class only has eight students. The teacher we hired has one hundred and fifty years of teaching experience. She'll help Zimo adapt to Vampire life, while also making sure he doesn't become detached from human society."

Afraid that An Xiang would worry, Pei Yizhou added, "Other than Pei Yan and Pei Nuo, the other children are all Mixed-Bloods." In a class with that kind of atmosphere, discrimination naturally would not occur.

"If you agree, I'll have someone handle the enrollment procedures tomorrow."

Naturally, An Xiang agreed.

This was the school she had liked from the start. She had simply never expected that the class she ended up choosing would be exclusively for Vampire children.

It was not a bad thing.

If Zimo spent more time with children his age and more time with his own kind, he would slowly come to understand himself and move beyond the past.

An Xiang nodded firmly, and the man across from her revealed a faint, satisfied smile.

"I'll arrange the house as well."

At the mention of housing, An Xiang remembered the extra twenty million that had been transferred to her.

She furrowed her delicate brows, looked at him twice, and finally could not stop herself from asking, "Th-that money?"

An Xiang's cautious appearance amused Pei Yizhou.

"I'm not asking for it back."

She was a little embarrassed, but she truly did not want to return it.

After all—

Who didn't love money?

"This is for you too." Pei Yizhou placed a bank card on the table, his gaze burning. "Child support."

Looking at the card on the table, An Xiang fell into a slight daze.

She did not know if it was an illusion, but she felt that... this was child support Pei Yizhou was giving her personally.

An Xiang had already been greedy enough to take one sum. How could she take a second?

She pushed the card back. "No need. Twenty million is enough."

She was rather easy to satisfy.

Pei Yizhou took back the card, the smile in his eyes deepening slightly.

"I'll return this to you. I should head back now." An Xiang respectfully offered the access card to him with both hands.

Pei Yizhou glanced at it but did not take it.

"Keep it."

She froze.

"Deliver a cup of fruit juice to me every noon."

An Xiang stared blankly. "Huh?"

Pei Yizhou rose to his feet, his tall figure immediately enveloping her. He bent down, his low voice tinged with teasing. "Or do you want to turn down your customer?"

An Xiang's breathing stalled. She slowly backed away and tucked the thin little card back into her pocket.

He tilted his head and smiled. His starry eyes reflected the lights like a galaxy, scorching her heart with heat.

President Pei's countless schemes.

An Xiang: Loves money.JPG.

**

To be honest, I was playing games, so this came late. There are still two more updates coming.

Ahhh, finally, everyone, promise me you won't be parrots. I've been writing since chapter one that the female lead will die, yet every day the comments ask: Will the female lead die? Every chapter says Momo is Mixed-Blood, yet the comments ask: Is Momo a Vampire?

You keep asking over and over, I keep explaining over and over, and over and over, it's like a parrot parrot parrot parrot parrot.

Let me explain one last time—

An Xiang transmigrated into a human body and slept with the wrong person, resulting in her giving birth to a genius son from the wrong time and space. So An Zimo is Mixed-Blood, and he doesn't know it!! In his previous life, he was an ordinary human guy.

That paragraph above is only fifty-seven Chinese characters. That's all there is to it—there's nothing messy or complicated about it. So stop imagining complicated plots and then saying you don't understand. Sob sob sob, if you ask again, I'll shut down!

I'm tired.

Random red envelopes.