I raised a Vampire！

Chapter 4

Cheng Cheng frowned. "What proof do you have that Chen Tiao isn't the killer? What makes him so special that he warrants attention from the authorities?"

Ye Ye turned her back, unwilling to reveal the truth. His condition—half a year without feeding on human blood—left him a shadow of his former self. Fang Meizhen bore no marks of being fed on, either. A vampire deprived of human blood for so long was little more than a weakened shell.

"He suffers from a rare genetic disorder, occurring at a probability of one in a million. To the medical community, he's of significant research value. This illness causes his physical functions to deteriorate, necessitating specialized medicine to slow the decline. You mentioned there were no traces of alcohol or toxins in the victim's body. Given his condition, he couldn't possibly have the strength to commit murder."

Ye Ye delivered her fabricated story with a straight face. Cheng Cheng, skeptical, scrutinized her closely, but her doll-like visage betrayed no emotion.

"Is Qi Dabao still living next door?" she suddenly asked, catching Cheng Cheng off guard mid-observation.

Startled, he stammered, "Ah… no. After Fang Meizhen's death, he moved out. He's now staying with his daughter and son-in-law."

"Oh." Ye Ye walked to the balcony of Unit 603 and looked outside. The complex was a high-end residential area, accessible only with a special keycard. The balconies, open and unprotected by security bars, were spaced too far apart for anyone to climb across.

"Captain Cheng." Zhou Dingtian entered the room just then. "The property management said they and the police reviewed all surveillance footage from February 5. Only five people entered using temporary keycards that day, and none of them seemed suspicious."

"The elevator footage was also examined. Nothing unusual. None of them even used the elevator."

Cheng Cheng nodded. He noticed Ye Ye standing precariously on the balcony railing, gazing outward. Outside, a shimmering moat surrounded the complex, the golden light of the setting sun dancing on the water's surface like shattered gold tiles.

"Let’s head back to the precinct and organize the clues we have," Cheng Cheng suggested. He didn’t place much hope in this "special operative," viewing her as a mere emissary from above—here to observe and soon depart, like a transient spectator.

The other officers hadn’t uncovered anything noteworthy from the neighbors.

"The couple built their business from scratch and now run a profitable company. Fang Meizhen had her own stash of private funds, spent lavishly, and liked associating with younger men."

"Qi Dabao isn't clean himself. Neither is better than the other. Their divorce? It’s been dragging on forever."

"And Chen? Not much to say about him. He keeps to himself. His wife seems nice, though."

Cheng Cheng stared at the neighbors' remarks in his notebook, lost in thought. On the ride back, Zhou Dingtian took the wheel. Ye Ye sat in the front passenger seat, but unlike before, the two were chatting and laughing.

"You really climbed Everest?" Zhou Dingtian asked, his face a mix of astonishment and admiration. "Hard to believe—you look so delicate!"

"I was young and reckless. Nearly froze to death up there," Ye Ye replied with self-deprecating humor. Her easygoing manner seemed to draw the male officers toward her, filling the car with lively chatter. Only Cheng Cheng sat silently, feeling like an outcast.

What a group of shallow, appearance-obsessed fools, he thought, turning his gaze to the window.

Night had fallen. The city streets, now illuminated by neon lights, came alive with the bustling activity of food stalls and the mingling aromas of street food, infusing the urban air with warmth and vitality.

After a while, a hollow sensation stirred in Cheng Cheng's stomach—not quite hunger, but an unsettling emptiness.

"Drop me off here. You guys head back to the station," he said.

"Captain, are you sneaking off for a drink?"

He smacked the back of Zhou Dingtian’s head. "Drink, my foot! I’m following up on a lead. Qi Dabao's daughter lives nearby. I’ll question her myself."

"Really?" Zhou scratched his head. Just as he started the car, Ye Ye opened her door and got out.

"Special operative—"

She cut him off. "Don’t overthink. I’m just hungry and want to grab some food nearby."

Cheng Cheng glanced at her, then walked off with his hands in his pockets, his slightly hunched figure casting a lonely shadow under the streetlights.

Ye Ye followed, maintaining a few paces’ distance.

The roadside was lined with food carts selling everything from skewered snacks to stir-fried noodles and grilled squid. Their greasy allure was softened by dim lights, beckoning passersby.

Vampires didn't eat anything besides blood, but as a White Faction member, Ye Ye often had to blend in with humans. Over time, she’d trained herself to mechanically consume food, though it all tasted like ash.

"Five yuan." She fished a bill from her pocket, exchanging it for a cup of oden. She didn’t eat it but held it in her hands, warming her cheeks against the cup’s surface.

If there was one thing she feared as a vampire, it was the cold. Human blood gave her strength but no warmth. In extreme cold, vampires didn’t die—they froze, becoming immobile statues. Her near-death experience on Everest wasn’t an exaggeration.

"Add two eggs and a sausage," Cheng Cheng said, handing over a large bill. As the vendor scrambled to make change, Cheng turned instinctively and saw Ye Ye standing in the middle of the road, cradling her cup.

Through the rising steam, her eyes were obscured, her figure small and frail against the night. Beside her stood a man in his thirties, holding a phone and gesturing animatedly.

"Little miss, play WeChat? Scan the code for a chance to win a trip to Yunnan!" The man’s tone was half flirtation, half scam.

Irritated, Ye Ye bit into a meatball. She had half a mind to "accidentally" jab the skewer into his foot when another figure approached, disrupting her plan.

"Hey, let’s go," Cheng Cheng called, his mouth full of a massive jianbing. He glanced coolly at the QR code peddler.

"Brother, scan the code?" The man grinned sheepishly, holding up his phone. Cheng Cheng stared him down silently, chewing deliberately. Within moments, the man retreated, defeated.

"You’re a young woman. Be more careful when you're out alone," Cheng Cheng lectured as they walked, his tone akin to scolding a child. "Don’t trust these QR code scams—they’ll leak your personal info. If something happens, you’ll regret it."

Ye Ye thought: Vampires don’t cry.

Cheng Cheng finished his jianbing in a few bites and started on a hand-grabbed pancake. "Where are you staying? They didn’t assign you a guesthouse, did they?"

Ye Ye shook her head. Her oden had gone cold. She tossed it into a nearby bush, where two stray cats quickly claimed it. "I’m at the Twelve Days Inn on XX Road."

"An economy hotel? Alone?" Cheng Cheng frowned disapprovingly, about to chide her further when they turned a corner and saw a row of small buildings. Qi Dabao's daughter’s home was among them.

Without a word, the two approached the house, their earlier banter giving way to a shared focus on the task ahead.