On the day of departure, both of us were filled with anticipation, and our smiles never left us, except for a small incident — because I unilaterally upgraded to business class, he felt that economy class was just fine and there was no need to spend money on an upgrade, especially for a relatively short flight. I confidently reassured him that I had the means and there was no need to worry about money. After that, he didn't say much more. Perhaps he might have felt slightly disappointed, but for me, it was truly inconsequential, hardly even worth mentioning.I sat by the window, reclined, and closed my eyes. Just before I drifted off, Neil was still seated beside me. After a while, I felt something brushing against my legs through my jeans. Opening my eyes, I saw a child attempting to get closer to the window to see the view outside.Why was there a child beside me? In my drowsiness, I had a ridiculous thought — when did Neil turn into a child? I shook off the drowsiness and tried to
During the remainder of the flight, I couldn't shake off the feeling of unease knowing that a dangerous individual was seated behind us. I sensed his gaze lingering on Neil. Even when I tried to block his view, he persisted in staring in our direction, as if he could see straight through me to Neil. There were moments when I genuinely wanted to turn around and give him a piece of my mind, but I knew that would only end up putting me in the wrong.Upon disembarking, all I could think about was getting Neil away as quickly as possible, but we had to wait for our luggage. So, I clung tightly to Neil, escorting him wherever he needed to go. If he needed the restroom, I went with him; if I wanted to buy a bottle of water, I dragged him along. As it turned out, this approach was the right one, because no matter where we went, I kept catching sight of that man, his eyes fixed on us, especially on Neil. If it was merely coincidental, our actions certainly didn't seem to justify his scrutiny.
Our maritime activities, seaside rests, and even evening dinners at the seaside restaurant had an extra light bulb, which annoyed me greatly. Fortunately, my Neil didn't seem to have any particular reaction to it, which is a small relief amid my irritation. However, I still worried about Neil falling into Harry's trap inadvertently at any moment.After dinner, I hurriedly pulled Neil along to head back to our room. Unexpectedly, that shadow followed us to the hotel and even joined us in the elevator. I was really losing my patience, ready to confront him, but Neil beat me to it with a question I had in mind too."Harry, do you also live here? Which floor are you on?" Neil asked, taking the lead."Yes, Neil, I do. I'm on the top floor," Harry replied."Are you living alone in the presidential suite?" I couldn't help but sound a bit disdainful."It's my habit. Sometimes when I'm not writing, I like to wander around the room for inspiration," Harry explained."How coincidental," Neil sai
When I woke up, he was already awake, gently stroking my hair strand by strand, as if counting how many I had. I grabbed his hand, placed it near my lips, and lightly kissed it. He chuckled, and I leaned in to give him a good morning kiss, seizing the opportunity to leave a mark on his neck. "So early?" I asked. "Happy," he replied. "Because of the trip? Or because of last night?" His face flushed as soon as I mentioned last night. "Yes, because of that." "Because of what?" "Because of this." He grabbed his phone, squinted at the screen, and showed me a picture. It was a photo of a white wolf and Neil. Turns out, he had woken up during the journey and snapped a photo. It was my first time being photographed in wolf form, and I had no idea it happened. "You took a sneaky picture of me?" I tickled him, and he squirmed in my embrace. "Your wolf form is so beautiful, so charismatic." "Of course." "The fur is so nice to touch." "So, you secretly touched my hair?" "Yeah, but wol
According to our itinerary, we were originally supposed to go to the aquarium. By the time Neil woke up, it was almost noon, and he hesitated with embarrassment about whether we should change the plan. I reassured him by patting his head, saying it's alright, we could just go and see, and if we could cover everything, great, and if not, it's okay. Truth be told, I didn't mind where we went, as long as I was with him.As soon as we stepped out, I was on high alert, observing our surroundings intently, worried that Harry might show up again to cause trouble, so the whole journey seemed quite serious. It wasn't until we arrived at the aquarium that Neil's question amused me."Do you feel like eating fish when you see them?""Why don't you ask me if I feel like eating people when I see them?" I chuckled and leaned close to his face, whispering in his ear."You wouldn't eat people, because you haven't eaten me.""I haven't eaten you, but I've consumed you in another way."With that said, I
Carrying the dinner, I headed upstairs. As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I heard Neil and Harry talking. I couldn't summon up anger anymore, and I even began to wonder about these two. Were they having an affair? Right in front of me? I didn't continue walking, staying in place to eavesdrop on their conversation."Neil, your wound. If you want, I can come in and help you dress it. Or if it's not convenient, you can come to my room, just for dressing the wound, I won't do anything else." It dawned on me that I had been too angry earlier and hadn't even thought to check on his injury."No need, Harry, I'm fine.""Are you crying?""No, I'm not crying." I could imagine Neil vigorously wiping his face."Neil, I'm sorry, I didn't expect things to turn out like that.""It's not your fault, it's mine.""How can it be your fault? Neil, you have no fault in this, he does." He? Me?"It's not Ryan's fault, it's mine. Ryan is good, he's good to me." I softened a bit. I had just scolded hi
After last night's frenzy on one side and cooperation on the other, I had no idea when the gauze around Neil's neck had fallen off. As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw that dry wound on his fair skin. It was a bit unusual; leaning in for a closer look, I could clearly see two round puncture marks, accompanied by minor bite marks and abrasions. Those two puncture wounds were unmistakably vampire bites. Could that brat Harry be a vampire?The more I thought about it, the more unsettling it seemed. I immediately shook Neil awake. He was groggy and wanted to go back to sleep, considering I had finished my activities well into the night, and it was almost dawn when I was done. He had barely slept four hours before I woke him up. Seeing him still squinting, I shook him again, harder this time. I felt it necessary to get to the bottom of this."Neil, wake up.""Huh? Ryan? Is it time?""Just wake up first, I have something to ask you." His tone became cautious upon seeing my serious expression
I returned to the hotel room, and Neil seemed to have just finished grooming, changing clothes, with breakfast untouched on the table. He looked puzzled when he saw me, freezing midway through dressing, one shoulder still unclad. He was adorable like that. Remembering Harry's remark about Neil's emotions being rooted in fear, I approached and hugged his slender waist."Awake now?""Yeah, Ryan, where did you go so early?""I went to see Harry.""Did you... did you guys argue?" He looked tense, so I quickly patted his head."No, don't worry. He checked out this morning, we just talked briefly.""Good, that's a relief. Have you had breakfast? Mine's untouched, want to have it together?" With emotions settled, I once again felt his tenderness."Don't bother with this breakfast; let's go out for your favorite Chinese breakfast.""But won't this be a waste?""Who cares about waste? Your happiness matters most to me." I playfully pinched his nose, like teasing a child."Haha, okay, let me fr