Vero hoped to avoid the party tonight. But, of course, Jia didn’t let her curl up in her room and mourn Lev’s hurtful words. Jia came to her room in the afternoon after the daytime party ended and everyone went home to get ready for the evening event. When Jia saw Vero’s condition, she asked her to wait because she was going to buy something. “Take this.” Jia returned shortly after and handed Vero a bag of cold cucumber slices when Vero opened the door for her. “Thanks.” Vero accepted the plastic bag and turned to lie down on the bed. Jia walked in and closed the door behind her. “First thing first,” she said as she walked up to Vero and helped her stick the cucumber slices to her swollen and puffy eyes. “Lev is a jerk.” “Surprise, surprise,” Vero flatly replied. “Second,” Jia continued. “He may be a jerk, but he has a good heart.” “So, which side are you really on?” grumbled Vero. Her complaint soon subsided and was replaced by a sigh of relief as the coolness from the cucumber

All the students who were tasked with organizing the game for tonight fell silent when they saw Vero bringing Lev as her partner. One of them stepped forward, looking nervous with his hands clasped in front of him. His fingers were pressing against each other and he couldn’t bring himself to look directly at Lev. He chose to speak to Vero instead.“Ar-are you... sure about your... partner?” The guy paused for a moment to glance at Lev. “Your... partner?”Vero shrugged and glanced over at Lev. “Yeah. Why?”The guy swallowed hard. “It’s okay if you want to change partners or-““She said she’s okay with me,” Lev interjected.The guy jumped at the sound of Lev’s voice, even though Lev spoke in a flat tone.“Ye-yeah, sure! Let’s play the game!” the guy exclaimed with too much enthusiasm, sounding awkward as he adjusted his glasses.The other pairs of participants kept looking at Vero and Lev and whispering to each other. Lev seemed used to their behavior and remained calm, while Vero was n

Vero stared wide-eyed at Lev’s words. Didn’t he think that the kiss was enough for the night? Now he wanted to carry her? Was he trying to give her a heart attack? “I can still walk,” Vero declined. “And I won’t leave these shoes behind. They belong to Jia. She might scold me for it.” The fireworks display had ended, and they could hear music in the distance as the locals returned to their homes. Vero could hear their conversations in the wind. “I’ll talk to Jia about her shoes,” Lev said. “And whether you like it or not, I’m still going to carry you.” He shrugged. “You just have to choose.” Trying to match Lev’s tiresome arrogance, Vero put her hands on her hips. “Choose what?” she snapped. “Do you want to be carried in front or in the back?” His offer instantly made her embarrassed. Her lips twitched as she tried to hold back a shy smile. She shook her head firmly. “Didn’t you hear me? I don’t want to be carried.” “We can keep debating about this until everyone goes home, or y

Hatice walked towards her. The sound of her shoe hitting the floor was so loud. She stopped in front of Vero and pushed up her sunglasses onto her head.“You,” she said, pointing her index finger. Her nails were sharp and adorned with bright red nail polish. “I want to talk to you.”Hatice is not a vampire. She doesn’t have the same elegance as Lev and Sant or the mysterious aura like Jia. She’s just a pure bitch.Although Vero’s legs began to tremble from the memories of Hatice’s treatment of her in the past, which brought up traumatic experiences, Vero steadied herself and met Hatice’s gaze with anger.She now knew she wasn’t alone in this place. Although Lev wasn’t by her side at the moment, she didn’t have to be afraid if something happened to her. Lev would definitely come looking for her.“I don’t feel the need to talk to you,” Vero replied. She sidestepped and glanced at Hatice’s shoes. No wonder their eyes were level now because her heels were so high. “Hatice.” Vero intention

Sant pressed his finger to Vero’s lips and then placed his other finger on his lips. “Shh,” he whispered. “Follow me.”Vero didn’t understand why Sant wanted her to follow him, but she could only nod and submit as Sant dragged her into a nearby room, which turned out to be a storage room for cleaning supplies.They squeezed into the small space, and Vero almost toppled a pile of brooms in the corner when her foot accidentally bumped into them. Fortunately, Sant quickly caught them and carefully returned the brooms to their place.They stood facing the door, with her back leaning against his chest, and she could faintly feel his steady heartbeat. Vero didn’t dare speak or ask questions. She felt the tension in Sant’s grip on her hand and his other hand still covering her mouth, as if he was afraid she would scream.After a short while, Vero saw black shadows passing through the gap under the door. There was no sound, only darkness that temporarily obscured the light in the cramped room