What It's Like Being a Vampire

He has eaten less than half of his usual food – and normally, he would gobble down every bit of it.

When Liu Shiling left for kindergarten, he didn’t greet her at the door – something he usually loves to do.

Shiling’s mom didn’t think it was strange, and didn’t pay much mind to it. After all, isn’t it normal for a cat to have a lazy day, eat a little less food, or not send off its owner?

Forget the cat, even she herself, on the day kindergarten started, had almost overslept and forgot to send her daughter to school.

However, Liu Shiling was very worried about it. She frowned, looking as though she wanted to stay home with Custard Pie instead of going to kindergarten.

The only solution was for Shiling’s Mom to promise her daughter that after dropping her off at kindergarten, she would take Custard Pie to the vet.

When Shiling’s Mom came back from the kindergarten, Custard Pie was still languishing on the sofa cushion, drowsy. When she picked him up, he didn’t resist.

This caused some concern for Shiling’s Mom. Is Custard Pie really not well? Because normally, petting her daughter’s cat isn’t easy. Even if occasionally she managed to do it using delicious snacks, it still would seem like Custard Pie tolerated it for her sake alone.

But now, the cat showed no resistance at all. He just felt hot, soft, and completely inert when held.

However, after Shiling’s Mom took the cat to the pet hospital and spent a lot of money on tests, the doctor’s judgment was that aside from being a bit chubby, the cat was healthy. It was probably just being excessively lazy or in a bad mood, and it might get better on its own. Perhaps even by tonight, he would be jumping around and acting hungry again.

But in the evening, when Liu Shiling came home to see Custard Pie was still lethargic and not eating at all, it was clear that she started to panic.

Even though Shiling’s Mom had repeated the pet doctor’s words several times, saying that Custard Pie is very healthy and might just be feeling lazy or having a hard time, Liu Shiling still was tearfully worried, “What if Custard Pie is dying? What if he dies? What should we do if he dies? Custard Pie can’t die…”

Even though she didn’t cry or throw a tantrum loudly, her pitiful self-talk sitting beside Custard Pie caused Shiling’s Mom a bit of a headache. Yet, she couldn’t get mad. To be honest, her daughter recently became very obedient and sensible. Her anxiety about Custard Pie is probably due to her lonely existence.

Despite becoming friends with Xiao Mei in the same community and often mingling with her classmates, and talking to Xiang Kun and his friends through QQ and video call after returning home, fundamentally, Liu Shiling must still feel lonely.

As a result, Shiling’s Mom once again took her daughter and Custard Pie to the pet hospital in the middle of the night. She had the doctor check Custard Pie again in front of them, and personally assure Liu Shiling that the cat was perfectly fine.

Back home, Liu Shiling still couldn’t sleep well and continually woke up to check on Custard Pie. It was almost dawn, and she got up again to feed Custard Pie.

“Shiling, you heard what the doctor said, Custard Pie is fine. If you keep disturbing him, he won’t get good rest, and that would actually worsen things.” Shiling’s Mom advised helplessly. She had said these words countless times since last night and was getting a bit agitated.

It wasn’t like she had a choice but to be annoyed. The pet doctor said that there’s nothing wrong with Custard Pie. He didn’t have a fever or diarrhea, or any other obvious symptoms. He just ate a little less and was less active. Liu Shiling was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Suddenly, Liu Shiling seemed to have an idea. She ran to the living room, picked up the iPad from the coffee table, and brought it back to the bedroom.

Seeing her daughter open QQ, Shiling’s Mom was taken aback, asking, “What are you doing? At this late hour… you’re not planning to bother your Ungl… I mean Uncle Xiang, are you? He needs to sleep and work. You should learn when to stop making a fuss…”

Shiling’s Mom originally planned to take the iPad away, but seeing the tears welling in her daughter’s eyes, she softened. After all, leaving a message on QQ wasn’t the same as making a phone call. The notification won’t wake Xiang Kun up, so she gently said, “Just leave one message, when Uncle Xiang wakes up he’ll reply.”

Liu Shiling wiped her eyes, nodded, and sent a voice message through QQ, “Uncle Bald, I need help!”

Shiling’s mom, standing behind her daughter, is upset. She can’t help but imagine the shocked look on Xiang Kun’s face when he wakes up to this news in a few hours.

She had just instructed Liu Shiling to leave only one message, and now another clarification to Xiang Kun could potentially wake him up.

Just as Shiling’s mom was thinking about how to apologize and explain to Xiang Kun the next day, Liu Shiling’s QQ suddenly received a video request from him.

The video call was immediately answered. Shiling’s mom quickly said to Xiang Kun on the other end: “Oh, Mr. Xiang, I’m so sorry that it’s so late…”

Then, she noticed another person in the video. Not only was Xiang Kun present, but a very beautiful girl with her head tilted in his direction was watching with wide eyes.

It was four in the morning and the girl was clearly in her pyjamas, her hair casually tied up with a stubborn hair sticking out. The gossip fire in Shiling’s Mom began to rage uncontrollably.

“Mom, this is Roasted Chicken Wing Sister!” Liu Shiling, clueless, introduced her mom.

“Ah, hello Roasted Chicken Wing… Wait… Silly girl, how could you call her that? It’s impolite!”

Xiang Kun laughed from the other end of the video: “It’s okay, it’s okay. Old Xia offered to treat Xiao Lingdang to roast chicken wings, she’s been thinking about it all the time. We were discussing things and haven’t slept, so don’t worry about waking us up.”

“Hello, Ms. Xia.” Shiling’s mom quickly greeted Old Xia in the video and then remembered. This Old Xia, “Roast Chicken Wing sister”, was one of the three girls who used to come looking for Xiang Kun when they lived next to Xiang Kun’s house.

Liu Shiling didn’t care what gossip her mother was spreading, and quickly ran to where the Custard Pie cat was with her iPad, targeting the sleeping cat with the camera: “Uncle Bald! My Custard Pie seems like it’s dying! It’s not eating today, and not playing with me! It’s not right!”

Shiling’s Mom quickly explained, “Mr. Xiang, I took the cat to the pet hospital for a comprehensive check-up yesterday. The doctor said there were no problems, it should get better on its own soon. It’s just that this girl is too worried about the cat, she didn’t sleep well…”

On the other side of the video, Xiang Kun said, “I understand, Shiling’s Mom. You go rest for a bit. I’ll chat with Xiao Lingdang here, everything is okay.”

Xiang Kun had been startled when he heard Little Fatty Girl’s whiny voice calling for “Uncle Bald to save her”, but he quickly determined from the tone of her voice and background noise that she wasn’t directly in danger. He reinforced this judgement by sensing through the “Emotion Infused Object” chopsticks he gave Little Fatty Girl.

Once connected to the video and knowing the reason Little Fatty Girl was calling for “help”, Xiang Kun didn’t think like Shiling’s Mom that Little Fatty Girl was just overly concerned and anxious about the state of “Custard Pie”.

Because he knew very well that Liu Shiling was not an ordinary child. In his “Super Sensory Item System”, Little Fatty Girl had a very deep associating ability. A lot of her “intuitions”, a lot of her “instinctual” reactions, were not merely capricious judgement.

Moreover, based on Xiang Kun’s model of Little Fatty Girl’s cognition, he could also conclude that Little Fatty Girl’s intense concern about the state of “Custard Pie” must be justified, even if this justification might be hard for her to express.

When Little Fatty Girl focused her lens on Custard Pie, Xiang Kun suddenly had a strange feeling. He had seen this cat before, multiple times during previous video chats with Little Fatty Girl. But he hadn’t paid much attention to the cat before, yet now he felt something different.

“Xiao Lingdang, put my coin and the pair of chopsticks I gave you next to Custard Pie, and arrange an ‘Array’. I will cast a spell, and make it better. Don’t worry. After setting up the ‘Array’, you go sleep first. When you wake up, I will tell you what problem ‘Custard Pie’ had.”, said Xiang Kun, without evasion, directly to Little Fatty Girl.

Shiling’s Mom had no doubts hearing his words, in fact, she was somewhat moved. – It’s always Mr. Xiang who’s willing to follow along with Liu Shiling’s thoughts, always patient to play these childish games with her.

Perhaps that’s why her daughter trusts Mr. Xiang and is willing to listen to him.

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