Sweet Nights with A Vampire

She was awakened by the bustling sounds outside her window. Reluctantly opening her eyes, she walked barefoot to the window in a daze and pulled the curtains open with a swoosh. Sunlight flooded in, making her furrow her brows. Through her bleary vision, she saw cars lined up like dragons below, while vibrant young men and women weaved through these irregular queues. Another year, another beginning of the school term. She slowly walked to her wardrobe to pick out clothes, but her outstretched hand suddenly froze mid-air, suspended for a long while. A young man's face appeared in her mind - distinct features, deep-set eyes. If you were here now, would we also be bouncing into university campuses like them? She could almost see his slightly furrowed brows and the subtle lift of his lips. If she had said this to him, he would have surely looked her up and down and remarked, "Hmm, bouncing around? You? As if you could." She heaved a deep sigh. Never mind, why think about such a jerk anyway? Yawning again as she gazed outside, at the far end of the bustling street near the campus gate, she thought she saw a familiar figure - so familiar it ached. She instantly snapped her mouth shut and rushed to the window, craning her neck. But that tall, straight figure had vanished, disappearing into the crowd and flowing through the campus gates. As if evaporating into thin air. She smiled bitterly as she returned to picking out her clothes for the day, shaking her head at her thoughts. Two years. That person hadn't returned for two years, and now she was starting to have hallucinations. Yet life had to go on, and as she dawdled, noon had crept up without her noticing. Eternal University. On this sunny summer afternoon, even the slight sultriness couldn't dampen the vitality of Eternalis University. A sweet female voice rang clearly through the broadcast: "Welcome, new juniors, to Eternal University. Today marks the first day of your university life..." The wide paths were filled with countless volunteers and freshmen. Various voices intertwined with the broadcast, and the enthusiastic new students seemed undaunted by the scorching sun - the campus remained alive with laughter and chatter. Following Eternalis University's tradition, the broadcast would first air half an hour of campus news discovered by the school's journalism team, followed by half an hour of the latest news from Eternalis City News Channel. "Now for the campus news..." "...The Chancellor's welcome speech is as follows..." "..." "...Luna, a current sophomore majoring in Chinese Language, has been appointed as one of the youth writers for the Saturday column 'Dreams of Eternalis' in Eternalis Evening News, known for her unique writing style and warm narrative tone..." "...Lily Li, a current sophomore majoring in English, will perform in the Eternalis City drama 'Blooming Flowers' and represent Eternalis City's Drama Society in the national competition..." "..." Somehow, the female announcer's voice suddenly softened, becoming even sweeter. "...Among this year's freshmen, we have quite a few outstanding juniors..." "...Xavier Storm from the Mathematics Department recently won first place in the men's 5000-meter race at the Eternalis City Summer Running Championship. Photos from Xavier Storm's competition have been posted on the school's official website by the journalism team, so please take a look..." "...Additionally, Xavier Storm will represent our school in the Flying Swan Cup National Advanced Mathematics Competition this December..." Perhaps intrigued by the change in the announcer's tone, the moment campus news ended, website login numbers surged. The broadcast continued, now switching to the latest news from the news channel. The saccharine-sweet announcer's voice finally gave way to a middle-aged man's clear, precise pronunciation. "...Now for Eternal City News Channel..." "...Here's an update on a recent case that has caught public attention: The manager of the mining group at Red Moon Mountain in Changxi Town, Eternal City, Mr. Tian, passed away unexpectedly while inspecting mining operations at the beginning of this month. The cause of death is still under investigation. According to witnesses, when Mr. Tian was carried onto the stretcher, his face was purple, and there were obvious bite marks from a large creature on his neck, which was covered in blood. Based on two extremely deep circular wounds on the victim's neck, preliminary judgment suggests the creature had long fangs. However, after expert and policy analysis, no matching species has been identified. Now we have invited Dr. Nan, a local biology expert, who has recently returned from the crime scene and autopsy. Let's hear his findings..." The voice of Dr. Nan, with his indistinct pronunciation, echoed throughout the university campus. "...Skeletal remains resembling human structure were discovered at Red Moon Mountain, found by workers in recently excavated land. However, the skull structure isn't entirely similar to humans, possibly suggesting a new type of hominid species..." "...We reasonably suspect that some new, terrifying creature might have appeared near Red Moon Mountain..." "...But as for the true cause of death, we need to investigate further with the police..." A brief silence fell over the Eternalis University campus as if everyone was stunned by this seemingly absurd news. "...Meanwhile, multiple Eternalis City media outlets, including Eternalis Evening News, 'Eternalis Peace' Monthly, the Saturday variety show 'Eternalis Teahouse,' and others, have expressed their intention to follow this case. Our station will continue to broadcast-related news updates, so please stay tuned..." "..." The broadcast ended. Amid the bustling activity, a new semester at Eternalis University had begun.