Chapter 43

By the time An Xiang rushed to Splendid Garden, night had fallen. One stone lamp after another lit up the park. There were far fewer people than during the day, and it was much quieter.

The garden was huge. She circled around several times without finding any sign of An Zimo. As the night grew darker, the unease in her heart swelled with it. Countless terrifying thoughts surfaced, making it hard for her to stay rational.

Just then, Pei Yizhou called. His gentle voice slightly soothed An Xiang's agitation.

"Come back first. I've already sent people to look for him, and I've contacted the police. They'll be able to help us find some leads soon."

"It's fine, don't worry about me. I-I'll keep looking." She looked around, not missing a single corner. "You wait at home. If Momo comes back, just give me a call."

The moment she finished speaking, the screen flickered twice before going black.

Her phone had died.

She let out a deep sigh of frustration, clutching her phone as she continued searching the area.

An Xiang had walked for a long time. Her legs were sore, and her heels had been rubbed raw. Her body was exhausted, but her heart hurt even more. She was angry, but even more than that, she was worried—worried that something had happened to An Zimo, worried that he would never come back.

"Ma'am, have you seen a little boy? Around three or four years old, about this tall, very pretty, with a little black backpack on his back." An Xiang bent down to ask the elderly woman on the bench, carefully describing her son's features.

The old woman thought for a moment and pointed ahead. "There was a child like that about half an hour ago. I think he went down that street."

"Thank you."

After thanking her, An Xiang turned and headed in the direction the old woman had pointed.

As the night deepened, there were fewer and fewer people on the streets. She wandered through several streets without seeing a single person. Just as she hesitated over whether to go home, a dark figure flashed past the corner of her eye.

The surroundings were dim, and she could not see clearly. She only caught a glimpse of a little bear charm.

It was the toy she had personally hung on An Zimo's backpack.

"Momo?" Without time to think, An Xiang hurried after it.

"Momo, is that you?"

The footsteps grew farther away. She picked up her pace and turned into another alley.

By the cold sliver of moonlight, An Xiang saw a gaunt body hunched beside a trash can. He was lowering his head and gnawing on something, strange whimpers coming from his throat.

Looking down, she saw a filthy little bear charm sticking halfway out of his pocket.

It really was... the one she had given An Zimo.

An Xiang's pupils contracted. Trembling, she took a step forward. Her toe kicked a pebble, producing a faint clack. The sound immediately made the unfamiliar man in the distance stop moving. His limbs seemed rusted; when he turned his head, an ear-piercing creak sounded.

A moment later, that face was fully revealed before An Xiang.

He was far too thin, without an ounce of fat, as though nothing but a skeleton remained beneath his skin. His shriveled flesh clung to his bones, his eye sockets deeply sunken, and his bloodshot eyes shone with a beastlike scarlet glow in the darkness.

The man's sharp fangs were exposed. His face was covered in blood and animal fur, while the stray cat clutched in his hands had been drained dry, leaving only a brittle skeleton.

An Xiang's face went pale. She wanted to run, but her feet felt nailed to the ground, unable to move even an inch.

"Hungry..."

"Hungry... so hungry..."

He shakily rose from the ground and limped straight toward An Xiang.

The little bear charm swayed with his steps. An Xiang felt dizzy as countless horrifying fantasies tore madly through her mind.

Her head felt like it was splitting apart. She could not think. She could not even make a sound to cry.

"Mo... Momo, what did you do to Momo?"

"Hungry... so hungry..."

"Food... food..."

He ran incredibly fast. One second he was still a meter away; the next, he had lunged right into An Xiang, pressing his full weight onto her.

Her back struck the ground with a dull thud. Her spine hurt as if it had snapped.

An Xiang instantly broke out in a cold sweat from the pain.

Then those fangs came down toward her neck.

Ignoring the pain in her body, An Xiang raised her bag in front of her face. The sharp, bloodstained fangs easily pierced through it. Taking the chance, she struggled to crawl up from the ground, but before she could take two steps, he grabbed her ankle and knocked her down again.

Gritting her teeth, she kicked that madness-filled face. Her desire to survive sent adrenaline surging through her veins. The moment he loosened his grip, she climbed up again and ran desperately toward the street.

That lunatic chased closely behind her. A few passersby looked over, but the moment they saw his face, they immediately backed away.

"Help! Call the police!!"

An Xiang screamed at the passersby.

A young man riding a small electric scooter hesitated. He had just taken out his phone when the guy behind him stopped him. "Don't get involved. What if it's just a couple fighting? Let's go. Don't get dragged into trouble."

They twisted the handlebars and sped away.

An Xiang had not expected them to leave so decisively. The flicker of hope in her heart went out. She stared blankly at the little bear charm in his pocket, unable to make a sound.

"Hungry..."

An Xiang could no longer run. She had injured her ankle when she fell earlier, and it had swollen badly. Forget running—just moving it sent sharp pain shooting through her.

She wiped away tears that had appeared at some point and backed away while staring at the lunatic. She opened her mouth and forced out a few words. "You... did you eat my son?"

The lunatic did not answer. An Xiang screamed even louder, "Did you eat my son?!"

The lunatic did not understand. Baring his fangs, he charged at her again.

An Xiang clenched her fists, about to throw a punch, when a tall figure suddenly appeared and blocked the attack for her. Then, in an instant, he threw the lunatic into a tree pit.

She stared in disbelief. Once she saw his face clearly, An Xiang could no longer contain her fear. Rubbing her eyes, she burst into tears.

"Hello, Supervisory Bureau? I've found the mixed-blood who injured people recently. Send someone over immediately."

"Yes, the location is No. 3 Old Street."

After ending the call, he gave the lunatic another heavy blow. Only after making sure he could no longer attack did he come over to An Xiang.

"Are you okay?"

An Xiang tremblingly pointed at the vampire. Her choked voice was full of helplessness and pain. "Brother Ze, I... he ate my son..." Her tears would not stop. Overwhelmed by grief, An Xiang crouched down and began sobbing aloud.

That "Brother Ze" made An Yanze's expression flicker. He immediately turned and crouched beside the unconscious lunatic. Using his fingers to pull open the man's lips, he leaned close and sniffed.

"It only smells like animal blood. Your son probably wasn't eaten."

"R-Really?" She raised her head. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, though doubt still remained in them.

"Really. I'll help you into my car to sit for a while. The Supervisory Bureau people will be here soon."

As An Yanze spoke, he helped An Xiang up. Seeing how disheveled she was, he added, "Old Street is a mess. Ever since the new streets around Splendid Garden were built, some thugs have treated this place as a gathering spot. Even if there weren't lunatics wandering around, there'd still be all sorts of unsavory people here. It's far too dangerous for you to be here alone."

An Yanze had only happened to be driving past. If An Xiang had not looked familiar to him, he probably would not have stopped.

He opened the rear door and let An Xiang sit inside, with her legs resting on the curb.

"Let me look at your foot." An Yanze crouched down and carefully rolled up An Xiang's left pant leg.

Her ankle was badly swollen. He gently felt around the injury, then sighed in relief. "Luckily, the bone isn't hurt. I'll call a car to take you to the hospital."

An Xiang shook her head. She had no time to go to the hospital. Compared with these minor injuries, An Zimo's whereabouts were far more important.

It would soon be midnight. The longer this dragged on, the more dangerous An Zimo's situation would become.

"Brother Ze... Mr. An." An Xiang forcibly swallowed back the words Brother Ze. "Can I borrow your phone?"

"Sure." An Yanze generously handed his phone to her.

She held the phone and wanted to call Pei Yizhou, only to realize she had not memorized his number.

An Xiang stared blankly at the lit-up screen for a few seconds before suddenly remembering that An Yanze seemed to know Pei Yizhou. Perhaps he had his contact information.

"Mr. An, do you know Pei Yizhou's phone number?"

An Yanze paused, then nodded. "But he might not answer."

"Why?"

An Yanze gave a bitter smile. "After what happened at the last party, An Ruoming went over to make a scene at Pei Yizhou's place. After that, the Pei Family terminated all cooperation with us. Even I got dragged into it."

An Ruoming had always acted without considering the consequences. His impulsiveness had caused the company enormous losses. As his biological older brother, An Yanze naturally could not escape being implicated. The claim that Pei Yizhou had taken his anger out on him had also earned him a harsh scolding from the An Family elders.

"But I can send him a text. Maybe he'll see it."

An Yanze found Pei Yizhou's contact among his many contacts and handed the phone back to her. "You write it. Remember to include your name."

An Xiang nodded and carefully composed the message.

Just then, people from the Supervisory Bureau arrived to take the man away. As parties involved in the incident, An Yanze and An Xiang went over together to explain what had happened. Seeing that An Xiang had been badly frightened and injured, the officers immediately offered to take her to the hospital. An Xiang politely declined, and then her phone rang—

"An Xiang?"

It was Pei Yizhou.

She held the phone tightly behind her back and suppressed her grievance as she asked, "How is it? Did Zimo go back?"

"He's back." Pei Yizhou paused briefly. "Were you crying?"

"Don't... don't worry about me." An Xiang struggled to sit on the curb and stretched out her left leg to ease the pain. "How did Momo get back? Was he hurt?"

"He wasn't hurt. When my people found him, he was eating at a restaurant."

Eating at a restaurant...

That answer made her anger flare.

"Do you need me to send someone to pick you up?"

"No, I'll be back soon."

An Xiang calmly hung up and limped over to An Yanze. "Thank you for helping me. This is the address of my little shop. Next time you come by, I'll treat you to a free meal." An Xiang took a milk tea shop business card from her bitten-up bag and stuffed it, along with the phone, into An Yanze's palm.

"I'm heading back now. Goodbye."

Just then, an empty taxi happened to pass by. She flagged it down, bent over, and got in.

Only after the car disappeared into the distance did An Yanze lower his eyes to look at the business card.

—An Xiang.

He frowned, his expression dark and unreadable.

First update!

Still giving out two hundred red envelopes.

Have you all started school already? Boohoo, I feel like there are fewer people spoiling me every day. Am I not your baby anymore? QAQ