Caught off guard by the collision with those fathomless eyes—pools of frozen darkness like millennia-old glacial lakes—Dawn Xiang's mind blanked completely. His heart hammered against his ribs, the drumming sound threatening to burst his eardrums. His jaw slackened; the carefully rehearsed opening lines he'd practiced endlessly in his mind were utterly obliterated by the crushing pressure of Ethan Yan's proximity, vanishing without a trace.
Ethan Yan simply looked down at him, his tall frame casting an intangible yet oppressive shadow. The air solidified; time seemed to stretch and warp. Dawn could hear the ragged sound of his own breathing and the distant echoes from the corridor with painful clarity. The suffocating silence stretched for agonizing seconds before Dawn, dredging up a shred of strength from the aftershocks of shock, mustered every ounce of courage he possessed and stammered:
"I… I-I came to apologize!" His voice was thick with congestion and terror. "I'm sorry! Truly, deeply sorry! I've been reflecting all this time, deeply reflecting on my mistake! Please forgive me… forgive me for losing control that day… Please, please don't let Division D come to arrest me…" His words tumbled out incoherently, every syllable saturated with profound fear.
A minuscule ripple stirred within Ethan. If he'd truly intended to deal with the boy, would he still be standing here unharmed? Why wait until now?
Dawn's delicate face twisted in misery, his once-bright eyes misty. He unconsciously tightened his grip on the bag in his hand, his knuckles whitening. "It… it was… it was my lack of self-control!" He finally blurted out the core of his regret, a touch of desperate frankness in his tone. But the moment the words left his mouth, he realized their impropriety. The faint, involuntary hint of "blame" in his voice startled even himself. "But… but… it's not entirely my fault…" His voice dropped to a near-inaudible whisper as he tacked on, "…it's because your blood is so… so fragrant…"
The instant he finished speaking, Dawn wished he could bite his tongue off! He shot a terrified glance at Ethan, like a cub caught red-handed in mischief, and immediately scrambled to correct himself, his voice small and frantic: "I'm wrong! I'm not blaming you! Really not! What I mean is… it's all my own fault! My self-control is terrible! I couldn't help it…" He bowed his head in shame, fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of his shirt, wishing the floor would swallow him whole.
Deep down, Ethan found the scene somewhat… indescribably comical? No, more accurately, it was an unprecedented sense of absurdity. Yet, his sharply defined face remained its usual mask of ice, betraying no emotion. He simply watched the stammering Dawn in silence with those darkly gleaming crimson eyes.
Dawn poured out his entire apology and confession in one breathless rush. Yet, the man opposite remained utterly silent, not even a twitch of an eyebrow. This immense silence pressed down on Dawn like a boulder. He couldn't decipher Ethan's attitude. Was he forgiven? Or was he angrier? Anxiety gnawed at him. Yet, simultaneously, a more primal, almost instinctive craving quietly stirred—he found himself inexplicably, intensely drawn to this powerful and dangerous source standing before him.
After stammering for a while longer, inspiration struck Dawn like lightning! He remembered his lifeline! He abruptly thrust the bubble tea bag he'd been clutching forward, arm held rigidly straight, with an almost reverent gesture of appeasement, nearly poking Ethan in the chest.
"Th-this! This is bubble tea from my shop! The newest flavor, the best one!" Dawn's voice rose slightly, filled with fervent hope. "I brought it specially to apologize! W-would you… try it? It's really delicious! I promise!" He stubbornly held the bag aloft, his damp eyes fixed on Ethan with desperate hope, radiating a "I'll hold this here forever if you don't take it" kind of defiance.
The corridor plunged back into dead silence. Two figures: one tall and immovable as a mountain, cold as frost; the other slender and fragile yet obstinately holding out a cup of bubble tea, locked in a silent standoff. Time ticked by. Dawn's arm began to ache faintly, his heart sinking incrementally. Just as he was on the verge of despair, convinced the other man disdained such human fare—
That long-fingered hand, the one that had effortlessly pulled him away before, finally reached out and calmly took the paper bag bearing the "Sunrise" logo.
In that instant, Dawn felt his heart yanked back from the abyss and slammed into his chest, where it began pounding like a war drum in frantic celebration! Immense relief washed over him, softening and brightening his entire face. His lips curved upwards unbidden, blossoming into a radiant, relieved smile, a shallow, sweet dimple appearing on his right cheek.
"You took it!" The joy in his voice threatened to overflow. "Does that mean… you forgive me?!" His eyes shone with an almost painful brilliance, like the purest crystal refracting light.
Ethan's gaze lifted from the bag and settled back on Dawn's expectant face. Under the boy's tense, fervent stare, he gave an almost imperceptible, infinitesimally small nod.
Boom!Dawn felt a colossal firework explode inside his head! His smile widened instantly, the dimple deepening. His whole face radiated immense, reclaimed joy. "Thank you! Thank you for forgiving my mistake!" He nearly jumped, hastening to reaffirm his promise. "I swear! I'll never make that mistake again! Ever!" Yet, no sooner had the vow left his lips than his traitorous brain tacked on a regretful little whisper, so soft only he could hear: "…Well… as long as I don't smell that deadly scent again… probably… maybe… perhaps… I won't…"
Intoxicated by joy, he forgot his earlier fear, even forgot to maintain distance. He simply stood there, gazing dumbly and directly at Ethan's handsome, impassive face, as if trying to etch every line into his memory. A little voice inside him danced wildly: Oh my god! He's so handsome! So imposing! Even his frown is gorgeous! Is this the aura of a high-ranking vampire?…
But after the joy came boundless emptiness. The apology was spoken, the tea delivered, forgiveness granted. What now? What else could he say?
Dawn's brain whirred, scrambling for a topic to shatter the awkward silence. Ask if he liked the tea? He hadn't drunk it yet… Ask if work was busy? Too formal… Ask if his wound was truly healed?… Oh god, what a suicidal question!
He thought until his face flushed slightly pink. Finally, like a pufferfish inflating only to rapidly deflate, he spoke with a touch of petulance and overwhelming reluctance: "Th-then… I'll go now…" Every word dripped with reluctance.
Ethan remained as unresponsive as an ice sculpture standing in a blizzard.
Dawn's jubilant heart sank incrementally. He reluctantly turned sideways, inching towards the elevator at the corridor's far end with agonizing slowness, as if moving through molasses. He glanced back after every step, paused after every three, each look brimming with hope, yearning to hear even a single word from those thin lips—a "Wait," or even just a "Hmm."
But nothing.
Not once.
Just as he was about to turn the corner into the elevator alcove, the accumulated disappointments finally coalesced into a surge of defiant impulse! Dawn clenched his small fists, turned on his heel with sudden resolve, and charged back like a small cannonball. He stopped directly in front of Ethan, much closer this time, tilting his now-flushed face upwards and declaring loudly, as if demanding confirmation:
"I! Am! Really! Leaving! Now!" He emphasized each word, his gaze stubbornly locked onto Ethan's eyes.
Ethan looked down, meeting his stare. At this proximity, the faint scent of milk and something inherently bright and fresh—like dawn itself—wafted from the boy, causing Ethan to tense almost imperceptibly. The blazing, near-scalding intensity in the other's eyes sparked an unprecedented flicker of unease within him, a primal urge to step back, to create distance.
Dawn stared back unblinkingly, radiating a "I won't budge without an answer" aura.
Ethan felt a faint tic seem to pulse at his temple. Suppressing the impulse to retreat, he finally gave the smallest possible nod.
That tiny movement, to Dawn in that moment, was nothing less than a pardon granted! His eyes instantly blazed with incandescent light, as if countless stars had plummeted from the sky, illuminating the entire dim corridor!
Immense joy overwhelmed him! Dawn was so excited he fidgeted helplessly, his cheeks flushed. Words tumbled out incoherently: "I… you… you must remember to drink the tea! I promise it's super delicious! Next time… next welfare day… I'll bring you more! I'll make it myself!" He finished, looking at Ethan with wide, hopeful eyes, as if awaiting a greater benediction.
Ethan gave another slight nod. With this second confirmation, Dawn was practically melting with happiness! Unable to contain his inner ecstasy any longer, his mouth stretched into an impossibly wide, almost goofy grin. He spun around and practically skipped towards the elevator, his steps so light he seemed to bounce. At the very moment he turned the corner and vanished, he didn't forget to whirl back, waving vigorously and joyfully at the tall figure still standing at the corridor's end, leaving behind a vibrant afterimage.
Long after the bouncing figure had disappeared from sight and the corridor had reclaimed its profound silence, Ethan remained standing there, gazing towards the empty corner. His fingers flexed slightly. He looked down at the incongruous, slightly childish bubble tea bag in his hand.
The next second, space rippled faintly. Ethan's form dissolved like ink diffusing in water, vanishing instantly from the spot.
*
In the spacious secretary area outside the top-floor CEO's office, Luna Yue was bent over her files. The air before her desk shimmered silently, and Ethan materialized like an apparition right in front of her. Accustomed to her master's ghostly appearances, Luna didn't even bat an eyelid.
However, when her peripheral vision caught the all-too-familiar "Sunrise" logo on the bag in his hand, the pen she was holding jerked violently! A chill shot from her soles to the crown of her head! Her mind reeled as if struck by a hammer—Bubble tea?!From thatshop?! Held by the Master?!
"Out." Ethan's voice was devoid of inflection, as curt as ever.
"Y-yes, sir!" Luna snapped back to reality, scrambling to her feet. Struggling to control the shock on her face and the tempest raging within, she bowed stiffly and practically marched out of the secretary area, carefully closing the door behind her.
Leaning against the cold wall outside, her heart still pounding wildly, Luna's mind raced, replaying the shocking image. So, the Master's sudden absence earlier… was to retrieve a cup of bubble tea?! And from that little vampire's shop across the street?!
But… fetching tea shouldn't have taken that long! What on earth had happened during that time?!
"Luna-jie, the bubble tea is on the table!" Her colleague Selina Zhong's cheerful voice drifted faintly through the door crack; she seemed to be organizing the afternoon tea snacks.
Bubble tea? On the table? Luna whipped her head around, peering through the glass partition at the communal table in the secretary area. Several drinks bearing the same familiar logo sat there—the employee bubble tea ordered for the company welfare day!
That unassuming logo now struck Luna like a thunderbolt! Identical!
Just moments ago, the Master—who seemed to disdain all earthly concerns—had personally accepted, and even specifically brought back, a cup of bubble tea. A private "tribute" from that little vampire!
The implications… were staggering! So staggering Luna felt her worldview tremble! Could it be… could that seemingly innocent Dawn Xiang have employed some special method? Or… an even more inconceivable, spine-chilling thought suddenly surfaced—could the Master himself…? Luna shook her head violently, not daring to pursue the thought further. She only felt the air up here today was unnervingly thin and strange.