CRIMSON NOCTURNE

CHAPTER 7: A FRAGILE PEACE

With Brother Zhang dead, no one knew Wu Lei was a vampire anymore. She bounced around the apartment, practically glowing. Her first day back at the station was tomorrow, and she couldn't contain herself.

Yi Fei watched her buzzing with manic energy and felt the need to be the voice of reason. "Wu Lei. What happens when you're still hosting the news fifty years from now and you haven't aged a single day?"

She froze mid-stride. For a second, the smile flickered. Then she shrugged it off. "I'll deal with that when it comes. The world's a big place. Plenty of room to disappear, change identities, start over." She grinned, sharp and playful. "Right, puppy Yi Fei?"

She bolted out the door before he could throw a comeback.

A second later, Zeng Dan came tearing through the living room like a cyclone, snatching the breakfast Yi Fei had set on the table. "Crap — I've got a morning interview! Why didn't you wake me?!"

"You didn't ask me to—"

The door slammed. Yi Fei stood alone in the sudden silence, staring at the empty doorway.

Two vampires. Both of them charging into their days like nothing had changed. No mourning. No existential dread. Just... living. He shook his head. Maybe that was the right answer. Maybe that was the only answer.

* * *

His phone buzzed. Cheng Yao.

Yi Fei sat up straight, suddenly aware of his heartbeat. He cleared his throat and answered.

She was calling to check on him. He'd vanished so suddenly last night, without a word to anyone. Was everything okay? He fed her a vague excuse about a family emergency. She didn't press. They traded small talk about the school break, about homework, about nothing at all. Her voice was warm. Familiar.

Right before hanging up, she said, "Chen Jing was really worried too, you know. You should call her."

Yi Fei held the phone, weighing it in his hand. Should he? The question gnawed at him until the device buzzed again.

Chen Jing.

He almost dropped it. "Uh, hello?"

"Hello? What kind of hello is that?" Her voice was sweet — like honey poured over gravel. "You disappeared last night without a single word! Didn't even say goodbye! Scared us half to death! And your phone was off all night! Explain yourself, mister!"

He gave her the same excuse. She bought it. But as he stammered through the lie, a strange thought surfaced: why am I groveling to her?

"Fine. Tomorrow's the last day of break. Come help clean the classroom in the afternoon. We'll be there around two. Bye."

Click.

He stared at the dead line. "Why did I just agree to clean a classroom?"

* * *

The rest of the day was almost boring. Compared to the chaos of the past week — the fights, the chases, the blood — normal life felt foreign. He bought some chickens and rabbits from the market, stocking up on what he'd need. Then he watched TV. Napped. Stared at the ceiling.

That evening, the three of them ate dinner together. Wu Lei told stories from the station. Zeng Dan complained about her editor. Yi Fei listened, said nothing, and felt something he hadn't felt in days.

Peace.

After dinner, they scattered to their own corners. Wu Lei did her skincare routine with religious intensity. Zeng Dan hunched over her laptop, filing her last article. Yi Fei lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling fan spin.

For the first time in a long time, no one was trying to kill him.

* * *

The last day of break arrived. Yi Fei drifted through the morning in a haze, then dragged himself to school.

The classroom was a disaster. Thick dust covered every surface — the building sat right on a main road, and a week of traffic grime had turned every desk into a gray blanket. Everyone grabbed rags and buckets and got to work. Someone turned on music. Someone else started a water fight.

Cheng Yao watched Yi Fei from across the room. He was laughing. Joking with Zhao Chuang. Splashing water at Chen Jing. In three years of knowing him, she'd never seen him like this. Open. Relaxed. Happy.

Maybe Chen Jing really was good for him.

With a dozen hands working, the room was spotless in an hour. Yi Fei had dust in his hair and a smile he couldn't shake. He said goodbye to Cheng Yao and Chen Jing and headed home.

Dinner duty was his. His foster parents were still out of town, and he had no idea when they'd be back.

* * *

That night, over dinner, Zeng Dan and Wu Lei made their announcement.

"We bought a place."

Yi Fei's chopsticks stopped halfway to his mouth. "What?"

"An apartment. Fully furnished. Big. Near the city center." Zeng Dan said it like she was reading the weather report. "The three of us are moving in together."

They didn't ask. They told.

"What about this apartment?"

"We'll leave it for my parents when they come back."

Yi Fei opened his mouth. Closed it. Thought about arguing. Decided against it. "Fine."

Dinner cleanup fell to him, of course. While he scrubbed dishes, the two vampire queens sprawled across the couch, absorbed in some ridiculous soap opera. A rich heiress had amnesia. Again. When he finished the kitchen, they demanded drinks. Then pillows. Then snacks.

"Is this my life now?" he muttered, carrying a bowl of grapes to the living room. "If Dad ever finds out I'm serving two vampires..."

Far away, in a tiny cabin buried in the frozen north, his father Yi Yun was gently massaging his wife's shoulders while she read a book. He glanced out the window at the endless snow and wondered what his son was doing. Probably having the time of his life, the lucky kid.

* * *

Monday morning. School.

Yi Fei's alarm dragged him out of a deep, dreamless sleep. For once, he didn't hit snooze. He actually wanted to go.

He walked through the gates with a nod for everyone. Greeted classmates he'd ignored for years. Sat through Mr. Liu's math lecture without once checking the clock. When he spotted Chen Jing by the lockers, he didn't avoid her. He walked over and started a conversation.

Cheng Yao watched from two rows back, a satisfied smile on her face. "Good. One step at a time."

The days blurred together. School had never felt this short. Morning bell to final dismissal passed in a breath. Lunch breaks were loud and chaotic and full of laughter. Even Zhao Chuang noticed. "Dude, what happened to you? You're almost... fun?"

"Shut up."

"See? There he is."

But the fun stopped at the front door. Home meant chores. Endless, soul-crushing chores. Wu Lei and Zeng Dan had turned the apartment into a dictatorship, and Yi Fei was the sole citizen.

* * *

Saturday came fast. Moving day.

Zeng Dan and Wu Lei directed Yi Fei like he was a rented mule. Boxes of clothes. Suitcases of shoes. A suspiciously heavy crate that Wu Lei refused to explain. By the time everything was packed, Yi Fei was sweating through his shirt.

Then Zeng Dan picked up the phone and called a moving company.

Yi Fei watched four burly men load the truck in twenty minutes flat. "Professional movers?" He leaned against the doorframe, grinning. "I thought I'd have to carry everything myself. On my back. Like a beast of burden."

Zeng Dan and Wu Lei exchanged a look. Then, in perfect sync, they slapped their thighs. "We almost forgot! Thanks for the reminder — next time, we'll make you haul everything at midnight. In wolf form. For old times' sake."

"I talk too much." His grin collapsed. His face turned the color of a bruised eggplant.

The new apartment was in Li Jing District — N City's heart. Eighteenth floor. Floor-to-ceiling windows. Nearly two thousand square feet of polished wood and soft lighting. Yi Fei's jaw hit the floor.

Wu Lei pointed to the smallest bedroom, barely big enough for a bed and a desk. "That one's yours. Student discount on the rent. Just handle all the housework. Oh, and we cover meals."

Yi Fei didn't need the discount. But he kept his mouth shut. His dad worked hard in the frozen north, sending money when he could. Every penny saved was a penny earned.

He had no idea his father could fund a decade of living from a single hunt.

* * *

Life found its rhythm. School by day. Chores by night. TV marathons with two vampires who argued about everything and nothing. Laughter echoed through the hallways of the new apartment. For the first time since he'd discovered what he really was, Yi Fei felt like he belonged somewhere.

But peace never lasts.

* * *

Across town, in a penthouse that smelled of old blood and expensive cologne, the new vampire leader of N City was losing his mind.

Brother Chen had inherited the mess that Brother Zhang left behind. Five days. He'd spent five days mobilizing every resource in the city. Informants. Enforcers. Even his moles in the police department. He'd turned N City upside down, shaken it by the ankles, and come up empty.

Not a single trace of the silver wolf. Not since the night Hong Ji died.

His superiors had stopped calling. They didn't push. They didn't demand updates. They just... waited.

That silence was worse than any threat.

The seven-day deadline was almost up. Brother Chen sat in the dark, staring at the empty space in front of him. His hands trembled. The noose was tightening.

Bloody Mary was coming. And when she arrived, she would bring hell with her.

* * *

[END OF CHAPTER 7]