After a short nap of an hour, Yibo woke up still holding Zhan, who was also awake again and looking at Yibo with a grin. "Hehehe, am I cuddly?" Asked Zhan.

"Mhhh, maybe. But I just wanted to cool off with you. Your body is so nice cold." Replied Yibo with a cheeky grin. Since Zhan reacted as he had expected. With red cheeks and a pout. "Hihihi, so cute." Murmured Yibo when he saw Zhan's gaze.

"Um you Yibo?"

"Mhm?"

"Is your upper arm injury very bad?"

"No. It's just a light cut and not deep. It's healing quickly and won't leave a scar."

"Then I'm relieved."

"But tell me Zhan, why are you so different when you've turned?"

"Different?"

"Yes. Now you're playful and all. But when you're transformed, you're so cool and rejecting."

"Mhhh, well. That's another story. I'll tell it to you someday."

"Okay good. Then does that explain why you don't talk about yourself, but about the other you?"

"Yes."

"Fine. Then I'll wait until you're ready to tell me. Now, though, one other thing. How about the cinema? Your other self said it wasn't necessary for me to invite you there. Do you feel the same way?"

"I'd like to go to the cinema."

"Very well. How about right away tonight? We could go to the late show. Or rather, we could ride my motorcycle."

"On your motorcycle? That's totally cool." Replied Zhan with wide eyes, beaming all over his face.

"You must be really excited huh?"

"Sure, because I've never been on a motorcycle before."

"I see. So you're also the first person that I've ever taken on my motorcycle. Ehm Zhan? Do you think we could spend a night or two with the humans?"

"Why? What do you have in mind?"

"Well, to be honest, I would like to go back to my city for a day. I still have to bring money to my parents, they don't make any anymore themselves, and my dad needs his medicine. But we would have to drive all night to get to my town. Then during the day I could take care of everything and tomorrow night we could go to the cinema and from there we could come back here."

"Mhhh, that's why the other me was against it. It already suspected that."

"Huh? How?"

"Yibo, um, I can't go with you. You have to go alone."

"Why?"

"Because I'm a vampire. I'll let a homunculus take you to the portal and to your motorcycle later. And in two days, I'll pick you up from there."

"But Zhan, what about the cinema? I was going to invite you to the cinema."

"Mhm I know and I'm happy about it. But I can't stay away for two days. Not that they couldn't handle two days here without me. But the thing is, I'm a vampire and I need blood. I can't carry blood around for two days. Nor do I want to have to hide alone in some strange room during the day. We can go to the cinema some other time. This time, however, I will not accompany you."

"Then I'll stay here, too. I wanted to do this together with you."

"No, you go ahead. You should definitely visit your parents and bring them some money. As you said, they depend on it. So you should drive."

"But I said I wouldn't leave your side. And I promised your parents I'd keep you company until they got back."

"Well don't worry about that. I'll stay here in the castle. I'll take care of my animals and do some more training until you get back. And in between, I'll check the cave to see if the dogs really got each of those men. Not that one should still be hiding there. The two days will pass quickly. Nothing will happen."

"I don't like that. Honestly, I don't like it at all."

"Don't worry, Yibo. Do what you have to do and come back when you really want to."

"Still don't like it. How about you take your blood with you in a cooler? And I'll spend the day with you in my room. However, you should know, I live with my uncle, who is also my boss. That reminds me, he'll be expecting some artifacts."

"Um, I had..."

"Zhan, I've made up my mind to invite you to the cinema and also not to leave your side. I want to take you with me. And if you still need blood, I'm sure we'll find some. So please don't be like that and come with me. And look outside. The weather is really bad and it's raining. So you can cover your skin and we can be on our way much sooner."

"You're not going to give up are you?"

"No. I insist you come with me."

"Mhhh. So what do we do?"

"Tell a servant to put blood in a cooler for you. We'll get changed and be on our way."

"And what about the artifacts for your uncle client?"

"That's right. It's not like I found any in the cave. So I guess he's not going to pay me for this job."

"Then why don't you take some of ours? We have so many old things here that no one would miss anyway."

"I can't do that, can I?"

"Sure. There's a room in the basement that's full of boxes of old stuff. You can pick something out of there."

"You really think so?"

"Sure. I'll show you." Said Zhan. And already the two were on their way to this said basement room, which as Zhan said, was full of boxes packed with relics and artifacts.

Zhan took a small empty box and packed various artifacts and relics from several boxes into the box. Then he handed it to Yibo and told him that his client would surely be very pleased and pay him well. Yibo somehow had no doubt about it.

As Yibo put these things into his backpack, he looked with relief at Zhan, who was just putting change of clothes into his own backpack. Yibo just couldn't imagine leaving Zhan here alone now. He also didn't want to go anywhere without Zhan. Therefore, he was now relieved to see Zhan packing for their trip together.

Yibo was even quite excited to spend two days alone with Zhan. And if it can be arranged, he even wants to take Zhan to see his parents. He would then claim that Zhan was a colleague so that they wouldn't notice that he was friends with him and that Zhan wasn't human. But he would take someone to his parents for the first time ever. This is a more than big step for Yibo and proof of how much he trusts and likes Zhan.

Thanks to the bad weather, the two didn't have to wait until evening. Zhan put on his full body clothes, which luckily could be explained by the bad weather and the cold. Otherwise, it would probably be a little difficult to explain to someone this getup, in which Zhan looks like a poor man's ninja.

Around 5 pm, the two headed for the portal, which Yibo was amazed to realize was under his nose the whole time. Two huge oak trees standing in front of the castle served as the portal here. Zhan slid a long crystal attached to a necklace into a barely visible hole in the trunk of the right oak tree, and the portal opened before them.

With just one step, they were already on the other side of the portal and in the cave. And after Zhan removed his crystal again, the portal closed within 5 seconds. Yibo was absolutely impressed.

Zhan handed Yibo his night vision device, since he can't see well in the darkness of this cave like Zhan can. Together they then set off and Yibo was more than amazed at how many secret passages there were in the cave, which brought them to a second exit in practically no time.

From the second exit, Yibo could look down on the hustle and bustle outside the entrance to the cave. Everything was still blocked off. Soldiers stood around while the former assassin Yang talked to a man who Yibo assumed must have a very high rank in the military.

When Yibo saw Yang, he would have liked to rush to him and kill him. After all, he told the commander who Yibo really was. And such a betrayal, Yibo can not let pass. But at the moment it would be too dangerous. It is still daylight and too many armed soldiers are present.

The heavy iron door to the cave was wide open, as Yibo also saw. Obviously they hoped that there would be survivors and that they would come out. But Yibo knew that they were waiting completely in vain. The Xiao's dogs did a good job and would not let anyone escape from there.

Using an unguarded sneak path, they made it to Yibo's motorcycle. His helmet was still there and so was the spare helmet, which he now gave to Zhan. However, not wanting to attract attention when starting the engine, Yibo pushed the motorcycle a little further away before sitting on it and telling Zhan to sit behind him and hold on tight.

At first, Zhan tried to hold on to the motorcycle itself. But when Yibo started the bike and rode the first few meters, Zhan wrapped his arms around Yibo, who smiled in satisfaction at this.

During the long ride, the two didn't talk. The machine's engine had simply been too loud for that, and Zhan was also far too focused on the scenery. While Yibo was already looking forward to introducing Zhan to his parents. 

And slowly but surely, Yibo begins to understand why this vampire means so much to him, even though they only met a few days ago. But to understand it is not enough yet. Because Yibo is not yet ready to admit it.

I realize now that I have fallen in love with Zhan. But, where does it go from here? He is a vampire, I am a human. We are both so different and live in completely different worlds. If I allow my feelings now, can it even work out with us? How would that work? Would a relationship between me a human and him a vampire, even have a chance or future? Until I find out, I will not allow my feelings!