The Vampire Marquis

Chapter 3

She finally managed to suppress her laughter, shaking her head and saying, "Please, Sir Siska, I'm eighteen now, past the age of listening to fairy tales, alright?"

"This is not a fairy tale!" His face tightened, his eyes concealing a storm.

She shrugged, "Even if it's not, sorry, but I don't have the patience to indulge in a vampire legend with you." She stood up once more, ignoring his disgruntled expression.

"I'm really leaving now."

"But you promised to listen to the whole story."

"I've changed my mind because I didn't know you were going to tell such a boring story."

"This is not boring at all!" He gritted his teeth as he spoke.

She shrugged again, glanced at her watch, and looked at the handsome yet furious face in front of her. "Would you believe me if I told you that I expected to be jobless tonight, so I already told my grandparents that I would be home early? And it's almost time."

He looked genuinely upset and extremely angry, gazing at her for a long while until her stunning face began to show signs of impatience.

"I'm leaving!" She strode past him and exited the scene.

This time, Siska didn't stop her.

He was incredibly disheartened. After two hundred years apart, she seemed even more aloof than in her previous lives. Is such a version of her worth his efforts in love and sincerity yet again?

*For the following week, Siska remained holed up in the Hyatt hotel, not disturbing Chen Shanyi at all.

Kongde watched with a heavy heart. This lifetime's 'her' was independent, in the prime of her eighteen years, and wouldn't understand the marquis’ intention.

He sighed softly, handed Siska a cup of coffee and asked, "Marquis, are you really decided on returning to France?"

He nodded, "I think I should be the one to stop disrupting her life. To her, I'm a stranger."

"But…"

"Enough. Have you booked the tickets?"

Kongde nodded, "Tomorrow morning's flight."

"Has the money been sent to her grandparents?"

"It's been sent. I told them, as per your instructions, that the sum of pension money was entrusted by their son. They burst into tears of joy upon hearing this."

Siska took a sip of his coffee, "They're easily fooled. But, once Chen Shanyi returns home, she might not believe where the money came from."

"I think so too. She's not a fool."

Siska put the coffee cup back on the table, deep in thought. He was certain that she would come looking for him because of the money. However, since it was due to his involvement that she lost her job and considering he had decided not to disturb her anymore, he should arrange for her and her grandparents' living expenses to avoid seeing her perform those distasteful pole dancing routines for a living.

"Marquis, how do you like my outfit?" Xueer, wearing a doll dress but with a bosom, walked in cheerfully. "What do you think? Not bad, right?" She showed off her chest to them with great pride.

"What did you stuff in there again?" Kongde asked intuitively.

She rolled her eyes at him, "No one would think you're dumb if you keep quiet!"

So that's what she meant? Kongde chuckled.

Siska looked at her. With her youthful face and sleeveless doll dress, she had two bulges at her chest, which were almost as big as her small face.

He shook his head, "Xueer, I thought you had accepted reality."

"Siska, why ask so much? Anyway, we're going home," Kongde shook his head at her on the side, hinting she should stop talking.

"But..." She glared at Kongde with dissatisfaction, then glanced at Siska, who looked troubled, "Forget it. Looking at the Marquis like this, I know he can't let her go."

Siska patted his forehead, walked back, and sat down on the sofa. He didn't refute her words because indeed he couldn't let go of Chen Shanyi. However, he would try to suppress his longing heart since he'd already met her. Her features would be engraved in his mind, just as her past beautiful faces were indelible.

Seeing his silence, Kongde knew Siska silently acknowledged her words.

Xueer tightened her lips, unable to tolerate the dull atmosphere in the room. She gritted her teeth and decided to meet the oblivious woman alone.

*The sky in Taipei was clear with no clouds, yet Chen Shanyi was fraught with worry. She had been jobless for a week, and embarrassingly, the Marquis Siska, who had disrupted her life inexplicably, hadn't shown up at all this week.

Damn it! Did he treat her as a toy? Just messing up her life and then walking away nonchalantly?

Or was he throwing a tantrum because she didn't want to hear that ridiculous vampire story?

Hmph! As she thought, she walked into the Nissan on Zhongshan North Road. It was just as well that he didn't bother her anymore, and she could find another job in peace and provide for her family.

However, although she thought optimistically, she knew that an unexplained emptiness lurked in a corner of her heart, which seemed to be waiting for him.

With pursed lips and long hair to her shoulders, she pushed open the door to Nissan.

The daytime club was always less bustling, and the dim interior was devoid of customers.

However, Jackson's wife, Liu Li, was unexpectedly sitting at the bar. Chen Shanyi glanced at her and then scanned the room.

"Don't have to look around anymore, he won't come until later." Liu Li was already thirty-eight, but because of her good maintenance, she looked only in her early thirties. Although she was a beauty, she was no match for the blossoming rose that was Chen Shanyi.

Liu Li's critical gaze scanned Chen Shanyi's cheap T-shirt and jeans before returning to her beautiful, youthful face without any makeup, "I heard from Jackson that you want to return to our store to dance?"

She pursed her lips and angrily reached into her clothes, unlatching the latest real-feel bra and throwing it into the trash can. She just wanted to grow up and be like a grown woman.

Siska walked up to her, looking at the little girl he'd spent thousands of years with. Perhaps because she looked eternally young, he had always regarded her as his daughter. With her, he felt more than just guilt, but also a profound sense of familial love. However, she never understood his feelings.

He patted her on the shoulder, "Alright, don't be angry anymore. I have some news that might cheer you up."

She pouted, "What good news?"

"We're going back to France tomorrow morning."

She frowned, "Really? Just us?"

He nodded, "Just us."

Her eyes lit up, "That's great. You've given up on her, haven't you?"

He gave a bitter smile. Was this giving up? Or was he simply fulfilling her wish never to see him again?

She nodded, "Yes."

Upon hearing this, Liu Li gritted her teeth in anger, "Didn't you promise me you wouldn't perform in the club again?"

Indeed, she had said so, but ... she shook her head and replied helplessly, "I had no choice. I'm doing this for survival."

"But you knew full well that Jackson wanted to support you. He had real feelings for you, even wanted to divorce me. It all happened just half a year ago. He barely managed to control his feelings now, and you're creating turbulence in our peaceful life again, how can you be so cruel..."

"Enough!" Despite her young age, Chen Shanyi was no pushover. She cut off Liu Li's complaints and retorted coldly, "I'm just here to get a job. If you don't trust your husband, you can follow him 24 hours a day."

"You know full well that while I can keep my husband's body, I can't control his heart."

"That's because your charm isn't enough."

"You..." Liu Li was too exasperated to speak.

At this moment, the door of the club was pushed open again, and in walked the nearly forty-year-old, good-looking and upright Jackson.

Jackson, an American, looked delighted on seeing Chen Shanyi. His clear blue eyes instantly brightened up. He walked closer and gave her a big hug, "It's so great to see you."

"Jackson!" Liu Li clenched her fists in anger, "I'm right here!"

He glanced at her. He had lost interest in her a long time ago, but he had to stick with her because she knew his secret.

"Enough, you can let go now." Chen Shanyi pushed away his suffocating hug with displeasure.

He gazed at her beautiful face affectionately, "We talked on the phone. From tomorrow night, you can start working."

"I know. I came here first," she glanced at Liu Li who was sullen, "to advance a week's salary."

"Is it for your grandmother's dialysis treatment?"