Axolotl Translations

Ruan Zhao really knew how to say exactly the wrong thing and push all the wrong buttons at once. He quickly realized how inappropriate his words were and rushed to take them back.

“Of course, that’s just how I feel. It’s only my personal opinion. It has nothing to do with anyone else.”

This time, Ruan Yu glared at him. Clearly, he thought the kid was way too young to be going around saying things like “dying,” “what’s the point of living,” and all that gloomy nonsense. Just bad luck.

“If you can meet one human like that,” Ruan Yu said flatly, “you can meet another.”

“And even if you can’t, we can always bring him in, analyze his blood, figure out what’s so special about it, and maybe develop a substitute.”

“Even if he dies young and doesn’t live long enough to keep being your food source, we’re not going to just sit back and let you starve.”

Ruan Zhao: “…” So you’re planning to use Lu Xingyao as a lab rat now? Is it possible that his blood only works on me because he’s the main character? That it’s some kind of meta “main character aura,” and not because of some rare biological makeup? Otherwise, why would I go out of my way to emphasize he’s the only one?

Eve, meanwhile, clearly found Ruan Yu’s suggestion very interesting. Her crimson eyes sparkled with excitement—she looked absolutely thrilled. If Lu Xingyao had been there at that moment, she probably would’ve pounced right on him like an overexcited scientist, determined to dissect what exactly made this human so… magical. Why else would her little one be so obsessed? Already talking about living and dying together, at such a young age.

She clapped her hands decisively. “No time like the present. Let’s not wait around—let’s catch—I mean, invite him over today. Do a proper study.”

“Great idea.” Ruan Yu pulled out his phone, his slender fingers tapping rapidly across the screen. “I’ll contact the lab right now.”

Ruan Zhao: ????

He quickly reached out and pushed Ruan Yu’s hand down, stopping him from making the call. How could they make such a reckless decision so casually?! Setting aside the interspecies Peace and Cooperation Treaty—which strictly forbade vampires from harming humans and punished violators with severe legal consequences—the human they wanted to experiment on? Yeah, he was a major operative in the Vampire Hunter Division of the Supervisory Bureau.

Seriously? They were about to kidnap a government official? That was bold—no, outrageously reckless! But more importantly—most importantly—Lu Xingyao wasn’t just anyone.

He was the main character of this world. The protagonist. Ridiculously powerful, absurdly lucky. The kind of guy fate itself bent around. Anyone who tried to cross him? They were cannon fodder at best, villains at worst. And it never ended well for them.

Even someone like his great-great-great-grandmother—a literal first vampire and unbelievably strong—wouldn’t stand a chance going head-to-head with a protagonist.

So Ruan Zhao stepped in. Alone, yet determined, he held the two of them back from taking their terrifying little “experiment” plan any further. And in the most serious tone he could manage, he declared: “No.”

Eve narrowed her eyes slightly. “Hmm?”

Ruan Yu didn’t look surprised—he probably saw this coming—but still gave an audible tsk of disappointment.

“You’re both not allowed to mess with him,” Ruan Zhao said firmly. Maybe it was the way Eve’s gaze could pierce right through his soul, but he found himself looking away under pressure. His voice stumbled a bit. “H-he’s my friend. I don’t want him to get hurt.”

Eve raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? That’s your whole reason?”

“And… a-and besides, things are pretty tense out there right now,” Ruan Zhao stammered on, grasping at logic to back himself up. “The Supervisory Bureau’s got people everywhere, and there’s that Vampire Hunter Association too. We’re supposed to obey the law. Kidnapping someone? That’s a crime. We’d go to jail.”

“Supervisory Bureau?” Eve tilted her head. Some old memory clicked into place. “Oh, them. Aren’t they just a bunch of useless, bloated bureaucrats? Even if they all came at me at once, they couldn’t take me down with one hand tied behind my back. What’s so scary about that?”

“You are amazing,” Ruan Zhao said dutifully, while gently slipping in a quick history lesson. “But things have changed in the past few years. The Bureau’s developed pretty well, actually. Some powerful espers formed the Vampire Hunter Association, and a few of them can even take on a first-generation vampire alone.”

“It’s because they exist that rogue vampires have been keeping their heads down and behaving themselves lately.”

“I only slept for a dozen years,” Eve muttered, stunned. “And this much has changed? There’s even a Vampire Hunter Association now?” She gave a wistful sigh. “Looks like I really can’t sleep too long anymore. Take a nap these days and the whole damn era passes you by.”

Out of nowhere, Ruan Yu chimed in, “Didn’t you know? Zhaozhao’s human friend is actually part of the Vampire Hunter Association.”

“He made a name for himself at just fifteen, when he killed his first first-generation vampire. It’s been, what, seven or eight years since then? And in that time, he’s killed at least eighty or ninety of our kind—maybe more.”

“Sure, most of them had it coming. They were criminals, evil to the core. But still—his hands are soaked with vampire blood. Someone like him, who’s seen the darkest sides of our race… it’s hard to imagine he’d see vampires in a good light.”

“Zhaozhao’s a good kid. He’s never hurt anyone. Pure as snow, not a blemish on him—he’s not the type that guy would go after.”

“But are you really okay… with Zhaozhao being around someone like that all the time?”

……

Okay with it? How could she be? If Ruan Zhao had inherited his family’s power perfectly, maybe. At least then he’d have something to defend himself with. Even if he couldn’t win, he’d stand a chance.

But no—he was underdeveloped, weak, and far too delicate. A fragile little vampire with no real means of protecting himself. Spending every day with someone known as a “vampire-slaying demon”? It was hard not to imagine the worst. One wrong move—one flicker of rage—and what if he snapped?

“If that’s the case, Zhaozhao…” Eve’s voice turned soft and coaxing, like she was talking to a child. “Why don’t we just invite your human friend over? Just for a little visit. While he’s here, maybe he could give us a tiny bit of blood—just a little sample for testing. We wouldn’t take much. It wouldn’t even take long.”

Ruan Zhao: “…” How did they end up back on this topic again?

Before he could refuse them again, a faint tapping sound came from the nearby window. He turned toward it—and was stunned by the person he saw standing there. Right at the heart of their conversation—Lu Xingyao.

Ruan Zhao’s breath hitched. He froze. Staring in disbelief, he watched as Lu Xingyao slowly withdrew his hand from the glass.

Their eyes met—separated only by a pane of glass. The man’s dark eyes were steady and intense, focused solely on him.

Despite the busy café full of people, Ruan Zhao could see—could feel—that in Lu Xingyao’s world, there was no one else. No sound. No distraction. Just him.

Maybe it was the dazed look on Ruan Zhao’s face—blank and a little silly—that made him look unexpectedly cute. Lu Xingyao’s lips curved up slightly, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. His thin lips moved, and though the café had excellent soundproofing and Ruan Zhao couldn’t hear a thing, he easily recognized the shape of the words. “What a coincidence.”

……

He’d miscalculated. Ruan Zhao hadn’t expected Lu Xingyao to return so quickly—much less run into him here, in a random café on the corner of the street. He regretted not picking a more private meeting spot. What rotten luck, getting caught like this.

But there was no going back now. The table wasn’t particularly big, but four people squeezed around it. Lu Xingyao sat down right beside him, then pulled something out with a bit of flair.

“I went out early this morning and hit several shops just to get this,” he said, showing off a limited-edition figure. “Check it out—it’s the one you wanted, right? I didn’t get the wrong one, did I?”

Ruan Zhao, a little slow to react, quickly shook his head. “N-No, you got it right.”

“Good thing I went early,” Lu Xingyao said casually. “The line wasn’t too long, and I managed to grab one of the last few. Otherwise, I’d have had to head all the way to the west side of the city to try again.”

Ruan Zhao gave him a stiff smile. “…That’s pretty lucky.”

In his original plan, he’d been very thorough. He’d spent days researching which stores would sell out when, mapped it all out to the minute. He’d even told Lu Xingyao to leave half an hour later than necessary—just to be safe—thinking it’d take him six or seven hours round trip. If he made it home by afternoon, that’d already be fast.

But clearly, things hadn’t gone the way he’d expected.

Lu Xingyao smiled, “There were a ton of other models too—lots of people, really lively. If you’re into that kind of thing, we could go together next time.”

Ruan Zhao: “…Oh.”

Across the table, two pairs of eyes stared at them—blazing like searchlights, pinning them in place without mercy. Under their direct, unrelenting gaze, Ruan Zhao started to feel a little restless in his seat. He tugged subtly at Lu Xingyao’s sleeve under the table, a quiet reminder that they weren’t at home, that he shouldn’t act like the whole world revolved around them. It was rude.

Only then did Lu Xingyao seem to notice that there were others present. He tucked away the figure, lifted his eyes, and looked calmly across the table at Ruan Yu and Eve. The polite smile on his face was distant, almost indifferent. “You two must be Zhaozhao’s family,” he said, his tone courteous but cool, keeping people at arm’s length.

And yet—the way he said Zhaozhao sounded so natural, so familiar. If you didn’t know better, you might have assumed he was the one who shared blood with Ruan Zhao.

“I’m Zhaozhao’s…” Lu Xingyao paused, as if unsure how to define what exactly they were to each other. “Friend” felt too distant. Too impersonal. They were closer than that. After all, friends didn’t spend every day together. Didn’t live under the same roof. Didn’t sleep in the same bed.

“Close friends! We’re just close friends!” Ruan Zhao jumped in quickly.

Lu Xingyao turned to look at him, eyes unreadable—as if silently questioning that answer. Ruan Zhao blinked, puzzled, meeting his gaze with innocent confusion.

Ruan Yu cleared his throat right on cue, cutting off the silent exchange between the two. “We were just talking about you, actually,” he said with a half-smile. “And now here you are. What a coincidence.”

“You’re Zhaozhao’s cousin, right?” Lu Xingyao pretended to recall. “I recognize your voice—you talked to Zhaozhao on the phone before.”

Ruan Yu’s smile was starting to fade. He had assumed that when Ruan Zhao took his call earlier, the phone had been on speaker—that that was how Lu Xingyao had recognized his voice. But to think Ruan Zhao trusted a human this much? Hadn’t even tried to put up a single guard? He’d be betrayed one day and wouldn’t even see it coming!

Ruan Zhao, who had just gotten a completely unprovoked glare from his cousin, looked baffled—absolutely no idea what Ruan Yu was mad about this time.

Lu Xingyao’s gaze turned colder. “That call only happened once,” he said. “Zhaozhao’s been with me all this time, and none of you have ever come looking for him.”

Ruan Yu: “Excuse me? What exactly are you trying to say?”

“You want me to spell it out?” Lu Xingyao’s arms crossed, his dark eyes flashing with open challenge. “If you people actually cared, how could you just stand by and watch your little brother suffer? Not a single word, not a single visit.”

“You know what he looked like the first time I met him?” His voice dipped, edged with anger. “He was cold, hungry, didn’t even have a place to stay. Curled up in some dark corner of a banquet hall, utterly alone. He only came to me because he had no other choice.”

“Cold? Hungry? No place to live?” Ruan Yu stared at him, stunned.

It was like Lu Xingyao was speaking a foreign language—the words made sense individually, but none of them matched the cousin he knew. Cold? Sure. That one might’ve been true. But no home? That was ridiculous. What about the castle stuffed with gold and gemstones? Was that just for decoration?!

Lu Xingyao wasn’t finished. His tone clearly implied they’d never cared. That all this brotherly concern was just for show. That their family’s “love” for Ruan Zhao was a complete lie.

Ruan Yu couldn’t take it anymore. “You think I didn’t want to look for him? You think I just left him out there on purpose? You don’t know anything. I—”

“Cousin!” Ruan Zhao cut in quickly, shooting him a warning glance. “Don’t. Say. Anything.” If Ruan Yu kept going, he’d spill the whole story—how Ruan Zhao had pretended to be pitiful and abandoned just to latch on to Lu Xingyao. If that truth came out, he’d never be able to keep staying there without guilt.

Ruan Yu was practically shaking with frustration. Being scolded by some outsider—a human, no less—someone who had nothing to do with their family, standing on some self-righteous high ground, acting like he knew what was best for Ruan Zhao?

And yet—

Lu Xingyao: “Oh? Hit a nerve, did I? Can’t even argue back?”

Ruan Zhao turned on him now. The battlefield shifted. “Can you please not make it worse?” he snapped.

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