Axolotl Translations

Before Ruan Zhao could even get up to say hello, Ruan Yu’s eyes locked right onto him, like he had a tracking device. He walked over quickly.

Ruan Yu looked him up and down, taking in everything from his clearly healthier skin to the thin wrist showing from under his jacket. He didn’t miss a thing.

He seemed relieved that the boy looked even better than he thought. The tight look on the man’s face softened, his eyebrows relaxing just a little.

But then, something seemed to pop into his head, and his face darkened again, even more than before.

Ruan Zhao noticed his cousin’s change in mood, and a knot of unease tightened in his chest. Still, remembering that you don’t hit someone who’s smiling, he was about to give a friendly grin when another person appeared behind Ruan Yu.

It was a beautiful young woman in a stylish, pale white dress. Her long, wavy red hair flowed down her back like seaweed, perfectly framing her delicate, doll-like face.

She looked incredibly young, her skin so soft and fresh it seemed like you could squeeze water from it. Yet, her clear, black-and-white eyes held a strange contrast—a depth and stillness that seemed way beyond her young looks, as if they held ages and ages of history.

She was chewing bubblegum lazily, and when she saw Ruan Zhao looking, she blew him a big, playful bubble.

Ruan Zhao froze. The memories he had from his system instantly kicked in, quickly matching faces and names. When it clicked, he jumped up from his seat.

This was definitely not what he had expected. Because the girl standing with Ruan Yu was, by blood, technically his great-great-great-grandmother.

Vampires lived long, ancient lives. Some pureblood vampires counted their age in thousands, even tens of thousands of years. There were even the very first vampires whose lives were longer than the history of whole countries.

And this young-looking girl in front of him was one of them. Of course, over time, their bodies would slowly become stiff, and they would need to sleep for long stretches to stay alive.

Most vampires from that time had been asleep for ages. If nothing bothered them, they could sleep for hundreds of years.

Ruan Zhao had only seen this particular great-great-great-grandmother once, when he was very little. But that one time had stuck with him. So, the moment he saw her face, his mind automatically brought up the memories.

Faced with this relative who felt both new and undeniably senior, Ruan Zhao felt a bit flustered and didn’t know what to do.

“G-great-great…” He stumbled over the words. Such a formal title felt weird to say out loud in public, especially when the person looked like a young, energetic woman. His cheeks turned red as he decided to skip the title altogether.

He switched to a polite “You,” and asked, “What brings you here?” He quickly pulled out a chair, then carefully wiped off the seat with his sleeve. “Please, have a seat.”

“There’s no need to be so formal.” Eve’s eyes sparkled with amusement, her clear, sweet voice like a young girl’s. “I just woke up and had nothing to do, so I came out for a walk with Xiao Yu. You two go ahead and talk—don’t mind me.”

Even though she looked incredibly young and her gentle, easygoing manner made others feel comfortable, Ruan Zhao just couldn’t relax. The moment he remembered she was his great-great-great-grandmother, his nerves tightened up.

Still, he gave her his sweetest, most obedient smile, politely replying with a soft “Okay.” But as soon as she looked away, he reached under the table and gave Ruan Yu’s arm a hard pinch, while also giving him a fierce glare.

Surprised by the sudden pain, Ruan Yu looked at him confused, only to get a dramatic eye roll from his moody little cousin.

Ruan Yu: “…” So you only dare take your anger out on me, huh.

Ruan Zhao: “…” Well, you brought our great-great-great-grandmother here without warning!

Ruan Yu: “…” Hey, I just happened to run into her, okay? How is this my fault?

“Zhaozhao.”

Hearing Eve call his name, Ruan Zhao instantly snapped to attention, feeling the same nervousness as a student being called on in class. He immediately stopped glaring at Ruan Yu, straightened up, and answered loudly, “Here!”

The two older vampires couldn’t help but laugh. Eve at least tried to hide it, just lifting the corners of her lips. But Ruan Yu didn’t even bother, letting out a soft chuckle right there.

Ruan Zhao’s face flushed with embarrassment, but he didn’t dare show any anger towards his elder. So, instead, he aimed all his frustration at his cousin, shooting Ruan Yu several fierce glares–a little storm of temper.

Once he calmed down, he quickly lowered his eyes again, obediently and softly asking the elder, “Did you need something from me?”

Eve blinked her lovely eyes. “I just saw the coffee you’re having, and it looks pretty good. Could you order one for me too?”

“Oh, sure, sure.”

Apparently, the coffee suited Eve’s taste. She finished the entire cup quickly. Noticing this, Ruan Zhao thoughtfully ordered two more, along with a matching slice of cake, which he carefully placed in front of her.

The red-haired girl’s eyes curved into a smile. “Still just as sweet and thoughtful as ever.”

“I remember the first time I met you, you only came up to my waist.” Eve gestured roughly to the height, her voice a little wistful. “Your whole body was so soft and small, clinging to me like a little kitten. I didn’t even dare hug you too tightly, afraid I might hurt you.”

She let out a soft sigh. “Can’t believe I just went to sleep, and now you’ve grown up this much.”

For the ancient first-generation vampires, whose lives were measured in thousands or even tens of thousands of years, a sleep of ten or twenty years was just a short nap. In the blink of an eye, time had passed–barely worth mentioning. From Eve’s point of view, it was like the child she had just been cuddling had, in the next breath, grown into a young man.

Ruan Zhao wasn’t quite sure how to respond. He could only give a shy little smile. “I guess I just grew fast.”

With that, the conversation naturally slowed down, and for a moment, the atmosphere grew quiet. Eve focused on enjoying the treats in front of her. Though human food couldn’t keep their vampire bodies going, that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy the flavors. And Eve, it seemed, was particularly good at it.

She quickly finished another cup of coffee. The second cup was still a bit hot, so she stirred it carefully with a spoon. While waiting for it to cool, she asked casually, almost like it was nothing, “I heard from Xiao Yu that you’ve made some human friends?”

Ruan Zhao couldn’t figure out what she was thinking, so he cautiously answered, “Yeah.” Then he added quickly, “They’re really good friends, he’s a really nice person, he treats me well, and we get along great.” He repeated “good” so many times that his words started to stumble.

Since the elder’s tone was gentle, and not at all like his cousin’s—who had immediately been against the idea as soon as he heard—Ruan Zhao let out a tiny breath of relief. Almost like a small complaint, he mumbled softly, “Cousin’s worried about me, he’s scared I’ll get tricked, he wants me to go home with him, he doesn’t want me staying here.”

Eve listened patiently, then asked, “So, do you want to go home?” Ruan Zhao hesitated for a moment, but ultimately answered honestly, “Not really.”

Eve smoothly speared the strawberry on top of her cream cake with a fork and declared firmly, “Then you’re not going.” Her tone was completely unconcerned. “When I was your age, forget human friends, I’d already dated several human boyfriends. It’s no big deal.”

“Your cousin and the others just love making a big deal out of nothing. Such a small thing, and they act like the world’s about to end. So dramatic.”

Eve ruffled Ruan Zhao’s hair, and because it felt so soft and nice, she couldn’t help but ruffle it a few more times. Her voice turned gentle, like coaxing a child. “Our little one isn’t some fragile paper doll, like one little breeze would blow you apart.”

Ruan Yu, who had brought their ancestor here hoping she would pressure Ruan Zhao into obeying, was completely dumbfounded: “…?”

“W-wait a second.” Ruan Yu hurried to interrupt. “Zhaozhao isn’t like us. His body’s weak. You can’t judge him by our standards.”

At those words, Eve paused, her playful air shifting into rare seriousness. The red-haired girl fixed her glowing eyes on Ruan Zhao. Her pupils tightened, for a moment narrowing into sharp, predatory slits.

Ruan Zhao’s breath caught. He felt as though some enormous, terrifying creature was staring straight into his soul, peeling away all his defenses.

Thankfully, that bone-deep, spine-chilling feeling only lasted for a moment. Eve quickly looked away.

“Huh. You really are like a piece of paper,” she muttered, frowning slightly, her tone a little disapproving. “What were your parents even doing? How’d they raise you to be this ridiculously fragile?”

Ruan Zhao softly defended them. “It’s not their fault. It’s… my own issue.”

New vampires often had mixed-up memories. Eve took a moment to sort through hers and suddenly remembered—this child had been sickly since birth.

“Still haven’t fixed that eating problem of yours? You still don’t eat at all, just like when you were little?” Ruan Zhao gave a tiny nod… then shook his head.

Eve didn’t notice the contradiction and kept talking. “The only reason you’re still standing is because your bloodline’s holding you up. Keep this up, and in five years, you’ll be back in a coffin, fast asleep again.”

Ruan Zhao lowered his head, looking quietly obedient. But his mind wandered, inconveniently thinking: If I really had five years left… that’s actually a pretty long time. Should be enough to finish the mission.

“…You’re still just a kid,” Eve said, her voice softening. “You need adults to look after you.”

To ancient vampires like Eve, a nearly twenty-year-old fledgling was no different from a baby who’d just stopped nursing—fragile, vulnerable, needing careful attention. Especially one like Ruan Zhao, with a whole list of “sickly” problems. Even Eve—who usually believed in letting kids do whatever they wanted—couldn’t help but take this seriously.

“With a body like this, don’t even think about fighting those powers in the Bureau. You probably couldn’t even take on a regular, fit human.”

Ruan Zhao didn’t dare argue. Because… she wasn’t wrong.

Eve asked, “So what? You really wanna spend the rest of your endless days cooped up in a pitch-black coffin?”

Ruan Zhao: No. Of course not. “So, I found myself a human.”

The red-haired girl tilted her head, like a question mark was floating right above her.

“Didn’t my cousin tell you? About that human friend of mine?”

She blinked, confused. “Tell me what?”

“He’s not just a friend,” Ruan Zhao said, a little urgently. He slightly smiled, showing pale, slightly pointed teeth. “He’s also… my food.”

“He’s the only one whose blood I don’t hate. As long as I’m with him, I’ll never have to lie in that cold, dark coffin again.” The boy’s eyes sparkled, as if a whole galaxy of stars had gathered behind them—dazzling, unwavering.

He truly believed that as long as he was with that one human, he could overcome anything. Even something as impossible as his blood-related aversion to food no longer seemed like a worry.

Hearing that answer—so pure, so innocent—Eve’s beautiful face showed no emotion. Her once-bright gaze dimmed into a cold, distant emptiness. The lively, spirited girl was gone. In her place stood someone too perfect, too still—like a beautifully made doll, eerily without feeling.

A slight tilt of her head. She said, “But he’ll die one day. To a human, even living to a hundred is a rare miracle. And your life is endless—so long, it goes beyond seeing. What will you do when he dies?”

Ruan Zhao paused. The question had genuinely surprised him. He lowered his head, thought quietly for a moment, then answered.

“I guess I’ll die with him.” His eyelashes drooped, hiding a pair of crystal-clear eyes now tinged with a faraway look. “Living that long doesn’t really seem worth it anyway.”

Ruan Yu, who’d lived for centuries and still felt full of energy: “…”

Eve, who’d lived nearly ten thousand years and still wasn’t done: “…”

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