My Vampire Boyfriend

Chapter Five — Power

The moment Lucien stepped into the room, Ethan shut the door and demanded, “What’s going on between you and my friend? Does he know you’re a vampire?”

Lucien countered, “Why did you trick me last night? Such an entertaining game, and you didn’t even tell me about it?”

Ethan was stunned silent. Before he could respond, Lucien muttered something about a “computer,” then darted to Ethan’s desk and seized the mouse.

“Don’t mess with my computer.” Ethan strode forward, intercepting Lucien just in time to save his unsaved thesis.

Lucien had no idea what a thesis was; all he knew was that Ethan was being unreasonable. Irritated, he fought for the mouse and snapped, “Damn it, why invite me up if you won’t let me play?”

Ethan’s face darkened. He’d only gone out to buy groceries—how had this clueless i***t learned to curse already?

And worse, he was obsessed with games now. Didn’t even want blood anymore?

When Lucien failed to grab the computer, his frustration erupted. Anger flared, and he lashed out with his supernatural power, wrenching the mouse from Ethan’s grip with a burst of magic.

A thunderous c***k shook the room—like an earthquake—sending the desk lamp crashing to the floor.

Ethan’s eyes widened in surprise. Seeing that, Lucien smirked and let the power fade. “Now you’ve seen the might of the Blood Clan. Killing me won’t be that easy. Order me around again, and I’ll knock you flat.”

Ethan steadied himself, exhaling. Between quaking floors and teleporting mice, it was hard to stay annoyed. The fool remembered his earlier threats, switching from cowardly to defiant in seconds.

Not that Lucien needed threats—if he truly wanted to kill Ethan, it would’ve been effortless.

“I’m ordering you to download that game for me,” Lucien declared.

Ethan, unwilling to lose the upper hand, mocked, “Aren’t vampires supposed to be all-powerful? Yet you can’t even download a game without a human’s help?”

Lucien glared wordlessly.

Ethan pushed further. “Are all vampires as dim as you?”

Lucien’s temper snapped. “You—damn you!”

Watching the vampire bare his teeth, face twisted in fury, Ethan couldn’t help but chuckle. The smile was faint, but Lucien’s sharp eyes caught it instantly.

“You’re mocking me again! I swear, I’ll—”

“I’ll help you download it,” Ethan cut in smoothly, “but not because you ordered me. First, answer my question—does my friend know you’re a vampire?”

Lucien’s arrogance vanished in an instant. He shook his head and urged impatiently, “Just download it already!”

The speed of his mood shift was almost comical. Seeing the eager expression, Ethan felt a twinge of guilt and decided not to tease him further.

He sat down, saved his paper, and opened the game’s website. This computer had never run a single game before, but soon the download bar began to crawl forward.

A pale face leaned close beside him, watching every click with fascination. “So this is downloading?” Lucien asked. “Why do you Eastlanders have such fun games?”

Ethan had wondered that since last night. For someone who spoke Chinese and looked distinctly Asian, Lucien’s name was oddly Western.

For a creature with a century of life experience, Lucien acted startlingly naïve—he didn’t even know how to use chopsticks.

Curiosity piqued, Ethan tried a gentler approach. “Did you ever go to school?”

Even elementary students these days understood downloads.

“I told you humans make everything complicated,” Lucien said airily. His eyes lit up when the game’s login screen appeared. “We Blood Clan don’t need such things.”

Ethan frowned. “Then how would you find a job without an education?”

Lucien burst into a derisive laugh. As Ethan expected, the vampire launched into a proud monologue about the might of his kind—their power, wealth, and immortality. The word powerful seemed to punctuate every sentence.

It was almost exactly like in the movies. The Blood Clan—ancient, secretive, wealthy beyond comprehension—had long since rooted themselves deep in the world.

Now in good spirits, Lucien glanced at his “blood supplier” with unexpected warmth. “Do you play this game?”

“I don’t play games,” Ethan replied.

Lucien smirked. “So you can’t play. Pathetic.”

Ethan’s mouth twitched. He suddenly regretted ever introducing Ryan to this overgrown child. “Not playing doesn’t mean not knowing how.”

Lucien was too eager to argue. He grabbed the laptop and tried to run downstairs, but the power cable stopped him short. Turning back, he barked, “Unplug this thing—I’m going to your friend’s room.”

Ethan sighed, resigned. The vampire acted more like a bandit than a noble creature of the night. Wordlessly, he pulled the plug and watched Lucien march off with his laptop, keyboard, and mouse—he even took the mousepad.

When silence finally returned, Ethan stared at the sunlight filtering through the window, uneasy. Ryan could get loud while gaming; if Lucien started cursing too, it’d be chaos.

Sure enough, noise erupted from downstairs minutes later.

By the time Ethan descended, he found one man and one vampire sitting harmoniously at the desk, deeply engrossed in the game. Clearly, Ryan had no idea Lucien was anything but human.

This i***t vampire wasn’t as hopeless as he looked.

When Ryan spotted Ethan, he set down his soda. “Hey, Qinghe, did you feel that earthquake earlier? Freaked me out. I asked Lucien, and he said no.”

Ethan glanced at the “noob” who was now deftly pressing keys, his excitement both clumsy and endearing. “Earthquake? I didn’t feel anything.”

“You both didn’t? Weird.” Ryan shrugged, tearing open a bag of chips. Watching Lucien’s screen, he yelled, “No, no—run! What are you doing? Waiting for the ghost to grab you?”

Lucien yelped, “I’m getting revenge! That i***t hit me just now!”

Ryan laughed. “You’re fighting bots, man. Chill. The ghost’s targeting someone else—go finish your mission.”

Lucien blinked. “Bots?”

“Yeah—robots. AI players. New accounts like mine usually get matched with bots.”

Lucien scowled and dropped the mouse. “That’s boring. I want to fight real humans.”

Ethan smirked. “You can’t even beat bots, and you want real players? Noob.”

Lucien spun around, furious. “You’re the noob, you broke-ass mortal!”

Ethan shot Ryan a cold look. “Did you teach him that phrase?”

Ryan blinked. “What, ‘broke-ass’? Yeah—why?”

“Don’t say things like that again,” Ethan said curtly. “It’s crude.”

Ryan gaped. “Uh… okay?”

“I’m making dinner,” Ethan added. “If you don’t like it, order takeout.”

After a short while, Ryan concluded Lucien was a typical anime-obsessed teen with too much imagination and a knack for parroting words. When Ethan left for the kitchen, Ryan lowered his voice.

“I didn’t know your friend was him. How’d you two meet?”

Ethan asked dryly, “How did you meet?”

Ryan shrugged. “He just appeared behind me while I was gaming. Nearly scared me to death. Said he wanted me to teach him how to play.”

Ethan sighed.

“I figured he was your guest since he had a spare key,” Ryan continued. “But seriously, is he all right in the head?”

Ethan invented a quick lie. “We ran into each other at the night market yesterday. He’s fine—just… lonely. Wants to make friends.”

“Oh, so he’s from our school?” Ryan asked. “I asked his age and he wouldn’t say.”

Ethan thought of Lucien’s hundred years and answered, “Eighteen.”

Ryan grinned. “A freshman, huh?”

Just then, their “freshman” bounded over, eyes bright with triumph. “Ryan! I just played as the ghost and wiped out every bot! Let me try your account—I want to kill more!” He shot Ethan a smug look. See? Still think I’m a noob?

Ethan could only sigh. “Eighteen” was generous—Lucien’s childish glee barely qualified him as human.

He hadn’t expected the vampire’s gaming addiction to last all afternoon, though. By the time Ethan finished his workout and showered, the pair were still downstairs, gaming side by side.

But when he went down again, they weren’t gaming anymore—they were passionately discussing two recent murder cases.

Trust Ryan to find a “kindred spirit” in a vampire.

“…The reports are too vague,” Ryan said animatedly. “No gender, no cause of death, barely any clues. I think it’s all connected to that mysterious cave in Westspring Mountain.”

Lucien’s eyes gleamed. Of course it would cause panic, he thought. You fragile humans wouldn’t survive knowing the truth.

Still, curiosity pricked him. “What kind of cave?”

Ryan perked up, thrilled by the interest. “Why don’t we go see for ourselves this weekend?”

Lucien was about to agree when Ethan’s cold voice cut through the air.

“It’s late. Go to bed.”

Ryan scoffed. “We’re not old men.”

“Check the time,” Ethan said evenly.

Ryan did—and blanched. “What the—ten-thirty already? You are an old man!”

“You’re too loud,” Ethan said flatly. He turned to Lucien. “Aren’t you going home?”

After a day of flying and gaming, drowsiness finally hit. Lucien yawned and pushed past Ethan. “I’m tired. I’m going to rest.”

Moments later, footsteps sounded on the stairs. Ryan blinked in confusion as Ethan followed him up.

When he entered his room, Ethan found a lump on his bed—a pig-shaped lump, already in pajamas this time.

He sighed, sitting beside him. “Go shower before you sleep.”

Lucien mumbled drowsily, swatting at his hand. Mistaking Ethan for his servant, he grumbled, “Go away, or I’ll kill you.” Then promptly fell asleep.

Ethan stared at him, helpless. Tomorrow would bring another headache—though he didn’t know yet that the first pain he’d feel wouldn’t be in his head, but at his throat.

Lucien had quite the way of saying good morning.