Vampire in the Trash Bin

Chapter Two

"Brother-in-law Keith hasn't done 'it' with you, has he?" Eva gasped, clearly reading the answer on her sister's face. She clapped her hands. "I knew it! But that's unbelievable! You've been engaged for two years, and he hasn't made a move?"

"E... Eva, is *this* the 'impossible' thing you meant?" Liam rolled his eyes, piecing it together. Eva must have raided Eleanor's room last night. "Poor Eleanor..."

Eva nodded emphatically. "At first, when I found Eleanor's used sanitary pad, I didn't believe it. I thought Eleanor couldn't possibly be a virgin, that Keith must have done it. But I couldn't have misjudged. So I compared it with Mom's used pad. The pressure points on the leg area were different! So Eleanor must be a virgin! I thought about it: since I couldn't have been wrong, then..."

"You dug through *my* sanitary pads too?" Sophia shrieked, joining the ranks of the violated. She covered her cheeks in disbelief, jaw dropping. Good heavens! Even her... She should have hidden even the consumables! What kind of monster daughter had she raised?

Ryan leaned forward with keen interest. "Eva, are you saying you can tell if a woman's a virgin just by looking at her used sanitary pad? Fascinating! I never knew our trash held such private secrets."

"Ryan!"

"Ryan Ling!" Both victims roared simultaneously, silencing him.

Ryan shrugged easily. "I was just curious." It wasn't *him* who dug through the women's trash.

"Ryan didn't do anything wrong, why yell at him?" Eva blinked her charming eyes, smiling sweetly at her attentive brother. "Ryan, let me explain. You judge virginity by the pressure points on the sides. For virgins, the pressure points are farther forward. You can also tell a woman's weight, buttock muscle tone, and whether her job is sedentary or active by how the pad is compressed. It requires very subtle observation. And the brand of pad is crucial too, different brands have different..."

"Enough!" Eleanor bellowed, unable to take more. She glared at Eva, then turned to her father. "Dad, I can't take it anymore! We constantly have to hide our trash because of Eva's 'research'. Now she's digging through my... I don't care! For the sake of the family, I propose Eva moves out." She refused to live with a junior Sherlock Holmes, feeling like a thief in her own home.

"I second that," Liam sighed mournfully. "Last time Eva messed up my Tarot cards I've been collecting for two years. No one else can touch them! My readings haven't been right since. Not to mention all the other secrets she's dug up."

"I agree," Ryan added, despite being engrossed in the family gossip. Self-preservation demanded he evict his little sister.

Eva pouted, hurt. "Ryan, Liam! How could you do this to me?"

"Sorry, Eva," Liam offered a distinctly traitorous smile. "For the sake of our secrets, it has to be this way."

Victor's face darkened as he pondered. Finally, he spoke. "Sophia, do you think Eva moving out is a good idea?" Her trash-digging antics disrupted the whole household, but throwing her out worried him about her wellbeing. What if she got into trouble rummaging through other people's trash?

Though furious, Sophia's maternal instincts warred with her anger. "What choice do we have? But Eva has nowhere to go."

"Don't worry, she can have my place on Dunhua South Road," Ryan volunteered immediately, offering his sanctuary. Better to sacrifice a bolt-hole than risk Eva uncovering more of his secrets elsewhere.

"That apartment in the Dunhua South Road building?" Liam perked up, a calculating gleam flashing in his eyes. Hah! Last time he visited Ryan's place, he'd sensed a very strange neighbor. Ordinary people wouldn't notice, but with his super-sensitive intuition, that person was definitely significant. If he could trick Eva into living there, maybe she'd dig up his secrets and satisfy Liam's curiosity.

Ryan nodded. "That's the one. Dad, Mom, you don't object, do you?" Sophia and Victor exchanged hesitant glances. Ryan pressed his advantage. "That building is very secure. Lots of politicians, business tycoons, and celebrities live there. The neighborhood is safe. Eva will be fine there." *Though the problem might be Eva herself.*

"Well..." Victor considered, looking at the troubled faces around the table. He had to agree. "Alright, Eva..."

"I don't want to!" Eva protested indignantly. "I don't know the area. Living alone? What if something happens? Besides, I don't want to leave home!"

Eleanor's lips thinned into a cold line. "You don't have a choice. If you won't go willingly, I'll lock you in there myself."

Eva looked ready to argue, but Liam suddenly materialized silently beside her. He whispered something in her ear. Her eyes suddenly sparkled with intense interest. "Really?"

"Of course, Eva. Have I ever lied to you?" Liam smirked.

"Fine, I'll move. I'm finished eating anyway. No class today, I'll go pack now." Eva jumped up from her seat, grabbed her empty dishes, and practically skipped out of the dining room.

Ryan watched his sister's enthusiastic departure, then turned to Liam. "What did you say to her? Why the sudden change? She looks like she can't wait to get to my place." His apartment wasn't *that* appealing. Unless Liam had sold him out, urging Eva to dig up unimaginable secrets?

"Oh, nothing much," Liam shrugged casually. "I just told her your next-door neighbor lives exclusively on pig-blood cakes."

"What?" Ryan was stunned. "You lied to her?" If there really was such a weirdo, no wonder Eva was eager to move.

Liam rolled his eyes mysteriously. "Who knows? Ryan, this tactic is called 'sacrificing the pawn to save the king.' Better than having our scars picked open, right?" Heh heh. Divine mysteries couldn't be revealed. He wouldn't spill the clues he'd painstakingly divined last night!

So the key factor driving Eva Ling to move out was still... digging through other people's trash! The family fell silent, sighing in unison. Having such a freakish family member... alas!

And so, Eva Ling, carrying two simple bags of luggage, followed her heartthrob brother Ryan to his apartment. Like a cat in a new environment, she cautiously explored every corner, almost pressing her nose to the walls to sniff out any potential danger.

She surveyed the minimally furnished, neutrally styled forty-plus ping apartment (approx. 1,400 sq ft). The space was open-plan; with one glance, she could see Ryan's living room, bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. She pointed to the light brown bed behind a screen partition. "Ryan, this is where you sleep? No quilt, no pillow?" Seriously? Was she supposed to freeze to death at night?