Dawn Xiang ultimately chose not to reveal the terrifying events of that day at Twilight Tower to his family. He didn't want his parents, Marcus Xiang and Eleanor Zhuang, nor his doting grandparents Arthur Xiang and Grace Zu (on his father's side), or Victor Ji and Eleanor Zhuang again (on his mother's side), to be consumed with worry.
Dawn was a newly-of-age young vampire.
According to clan tradition, vampires were expected to start living independently upon reaching adulthood. Dawn's family, having doted on him unconditionally, was naturally apprehensive. After much deliberation, the elders purchased a comfortable apartment and a commercial property for him in Ningqu City, helping him establish the "Sunrise" bubble tea shop. To ensure his comfort, they specifically selected mild-mannered, easygoing staff members: Mia Yao and Kevin Kong. Only after completing these arrangements did the family reluctantly agree to let him reside alone in this unfamiliar city.
Although Dawn's lineage belonged to the vampire kindred, their lifestyle had long mirrored that of an ordinary human family, making them a prime example of deep cultural assimilation.
This integration traced back to the Covenant of Peace signed after the devastating Human-Vampire War three millennia ago. Since then, vampires and humans had embarked on an era of prolonged coexistence. Many vampires, like Dawn's family, gradually chose to assimilate into human society, leading quiet, mundane lives.
Dawn had been sent to human schools from a young age. The advantages were clear: his habits and thought processes became almost indistinguishable from humans. However, a significant drawback also emerged: his family remained oblivious that throughout primary and secondary school, Dawn had silently endured relentless bullying.
It manifested as frosty discrimination and exclusion, deliberate ostracism, and even direct physical shoves and humiliations. He wasn't the only young vampire attending human schools, but Dawn's naturally gentle and timid disposition led him to habitually endure. Fear overpowered any urge to fight back; he dared not complain to teachers or reveal anything at home, bearing the torment day after day in silence.
By high school, the situation finally improved. A new environment, different classmates—though he still remained somewhat isolated and failed to forge close friendships—at least meant he was no longer actively bullied. He navigated relatively peaceful years before gaining admission to a university in Ningqu City, where he drifted through his college years in a routine, unremarkable fashion.
His family's roots lay in Suling City, the neighboring municipality. Yet, like a seed scattered by chance, he had quietly taken root in this new, unknown city.
At this very moment, the source of so much familial concern was languidly draped over a long table bathed in the light of Sunrise Bubble Tea's floor-to-ceiling windows. His chin rested on the cool surface, his body resembling a boneless puddle.
His gaze remained fixed, almost entranced, on the imposing entrance of Twilight Tower across the street. This distracted state had persisted for several days now.
Mia, carrying a tray, passed behind her boss and couldn't resist a backward glance at the sighing figure slumped on the table, shaking her head with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
Just then, a sleek black luxury sedan glided to a smooth stop before Twilight Tower's main entrance.
Dawn jolted upright as if injected with adrenaline, his previously dull eyes snapping into sharp focus. He knew – Ethan Yan was about to emerge from that car. That man. The one he had nearly treated like a mobile blood bank!
In the short span of a few days, Dawn had managed to uncover essential information. Ethan Yan: the sole authority behind Twilight Group's sprawling business empire, his power as towering and unassailable as the skyscraper itself.
His thoughts were still swirling when the car's rear door opened. Ethan stepped out with practiced ease, striding towards the revolving doors with his characteristic swift, purposeful gait. Yet, just as his figure was about to be swallowed by the building's maw, something shifted.
Ethan's footsteps halted abruptly. Then, he turned sharply, his gaze—deep as frozen tarns and piercingly sharp—snapping towards the direction of Sunrise Bubble Tea with unexpected, laser-focused intensity!
Dawn's heart seized as if gripped by an icy fist! He gasped audibly, recoiling like a startled cat. With a loud clatter, he scrambled frantically off the high barstool, practically diving for cover behind the serving counter.
The sudden commotion startled both Mia and Kevin, busy at their stations. They stared, dumbfounded, at their little manager's over-the-top, tail-stepped-on-a-trap reaction. His eccentric behavior had become increasingly pronounced lately!
Dawn cowered behind the relative safety of the counter for a long moment. Only when the palpitations induced by that penetrating gaze faded did he cautiously, like a thief, poke his head out and peer around. Deeming the "danger" past, he slinked back to his window seat, palpitations still echoing.
Across the street, the black sedan had vanished, and with it, the imposing, austere figure. Dawn exhaled a long, slow breath. The tension bled from his nerves, only to be replaced by a peculiar, hollow ache blooming deep within.
Lost in thought, he stared at the imposing silhouette of the corporate fortress. Unconsciously, his tongue swept over his lower lip, a small, reflexive motion laden with a potent mixture of recollection and craving.
That man… his blood… it was so sweet.
Dawn had never tasted anything so profoundly tempting. Pure, potent, saturated with an indefinable vitality. The mere aftertaste imprinted in his memory rendered all synthetic blood additives and donated blood utterly bland.
A wave of overwhelming disappointment washed over him, leaving him feeling strangely deflated. As a vampire, he could consume regular human food, but it amounted to little more than a sensual appeasement, never truly satiating the primal hunger for the vital essence found only in actual nourishment – blood.
He'd been so good at resisting before! Passing clinics, the smell of disinfectant from hospitals, even the faintest whiff of blood from a scratched finger on the street – he'd mastered the art of suppressing the instinctive stirrings. He never lost control simply from scenting blood.
But the aroma he'd encountered – and tasted – atop Twilight Tower that day… that pure, lethal fragrance was like a brand seared onto his senses. Unforgettable, incessantly teasing, beckoning. Its allure surpassed anything in Dawn's previous experience.
Involuntarily, he lifted his gaze again towards the imposing edifice. He knew that man, Ethan Yan, was also a vampire. And unequivocally, no ordinary one. The palpable aura of dominance radiating from his eyes, the instantaneous healing of his wound, the effortless summoning of the servitor bat… each detail screamed of an extraordinary, elevated status.
Dawn vaguely recalled snippets of conversation overheard during family gatherings. The blood of ancient vampires residing at the apex of power was spoken of not just as supreme nourishment for their lesser kin, but also as possessing an unimaginable allure. Rumors hinted at abilities to amplify strength, even purify the bloodline itself…
Though he'd only managed a fleeting, frantic lick before being wrenched away, the profound sense of satisfaction and the soul-deep resonance he'd felt in that instant were fragmentary yet undeniable proof: Ethan Yan himself was an entity so formidable it commanded instinctive reverence.