What It's Like Being a Vampire

“Mr. Xiang, that was… Thank you. The commotion probably disturbed you…”

Shiling’s Mom looked utterly drained, but she kept her spirits up, thanking Xiang Kun and inviting him into their house for a chat.

“We’re all neighbors. We should help each other.”

Xiang Kun spoke and observed Liu Shiling, who seemed a bit dazed. He knew the incident had likely terrified her. Still, he was slightly surprised as her timid demeanor didn’t suggest that she would grab a fruit knife in a crisis.

Even though she hadn’t burst into tears, Xiang Kun was more worried. The Little Fatty Girl was usually straightforward and carefree. He guessed this must be the first time she’d encountered such a situation.

So, Xiang Kun squatted down in front of Liu Shiling, and after capturing her attention, he asked, “Did those men bully your mom?”

Liu Shiling pouted, took a look at her mom, nodded emphatically, and tears started to well up in her eyes.

Does your arm hurt?” Xiang Kun gently held Liu Shiling’s wrist and lifted her arm to check. He knew that the thin, tall man had been pretty rough trying to grab the knife from her.

There were faint red marks on her plump arm, but it didn’t seem severe.

Liu Shiling nodded, then shook her head.

Xiang Kun said, “It’s okay, that bad uncle has been taught a lesson by Uncle Bald. He was naughty, so Uncle Bald hit him. Did you see it?”

Liu Shiling nodded, her eyes seeming less upset.

“Is Xiao Lingdanc good at kindergarten? Does she listen to the teacher?”

The Little Fatty Girl nodded slightly, looking somewhat uncertain.

Xiang Kun picked up the fruit knife from the floor with two fingers, closed it, and then asked, “Has your teacher ever told you that children shouldn’t handle knives?”

Liu Shiling nodded.

“Has your teacher told you what to do if you encounter a bad person?” Liu Shiling thought for a moment, then whispered, “Tell a police officer.”

“How do you tell a police officer?”

“Dial 110.”

“Do you know what you should have done just now?”

“Dial 110, tell the police officer, there is a bad person at home.”

Xiang Kun realized Shiling’s Mom didn’t want to call the police, and those individuals were unlikely to actually harm them. But he wanted Liu Shiling to develop a habit of seeking police help in a crisis because the strong-headed girl, from what he’d seen, could end up in trouble.

“That’s correct. For answering correctly, Uncle Bald has a gift for you.” Xiang

Kun took “Coin 1” from his pocket and asked, “Do you know what this is?” “It’s a coin.”

“Yes, it is a coin, but not just any coin. This is your Uncle Bald’s Lucky Coin. It brings good luck when you carry it. And it also happens to be a magic coin, with magical powers.”

Xiang Kun illustrated, swiftly flipping the coin between his fingers. He then tossed it in the air and caught it with the back of his hand covered by the other.

“This magic coin, no matter where it falls and at any time, Uncle Bald can tell which side is up. Now, it’s the flower side up.” Saying this, he uncovered the coin, and indeed, the flower side was up.

Xiang Kun placed the coin in Liu Shiling’s hand, and asked her to hide it behind her back, either in her left or right hand while he guessed where it was.

He guessed correctly more than a dozen times.

“No matter where this coin is hidden, Uncle can find it, ” Xiang Kun said.

So he let Liu Shiling go and hide the coin anywhere in the room. No matter where she hid it, he could find it immediately.

He even asked Liu Shiling to place a disposable paper cup anywhere in the room, and he was able to toss the coin into it every single time.

Shiling’s Mom was watching from the side, thinking that Xiang Kun was just using a regular coin to divert Liu Shiling’s attention, but to her surprise, it turned out to be miraculous. She didn’t attribute the magic to the coin itself, instead, she thought Xiang Kun must have practiced some magic tricks.

Before long, Little Fatty Girl was engrossed in playing, completely drenched in sweat. She was fully convinced that the coin Xiang Kun gave her was a combination of a lucky and magical coin. Her face lit up with excitement, completely erasing every trace of her previous gloom and fear.

After letting Liu Shiling watch a cartoon by herself, Xiang Kun had a brief chat with Shiling’s Mom, and then took his leave from room 706.

Even though Shiling’s Mom was unaware that Xiang Kun had heard what those people said earlier, she didn’t hide any details from him, and concisely explained their identities and purpose.

According to Shiling’s Mom, she was in a relationship with a man who worked in construction before he, under the pressure of his company and family, went back to his hometown to marry a wealthy man’s daughter.

However, her partner and the wealthy man’s daughter only had a wedding ceremony, they didn’t register their marriage legally. Of course, he and Shiling’s Mom didn’t register their marriage either.

Given that her partner’s work in construction often necessitated him to travel around the country, he had managed over the years to maintain two families without any major issues.

It was only recently that the other family unexpectedly discovered her existence.

Those four people who came today also knew about their apartment here, so they came to claim it as marital property.

But in fact, this apartment was bought by her partner before he went back home to get married, and both the down payment and loan were in her name. She had invested all her savings into the down payment, so she was quite confident that the apartment couldn’t be taken away, no matter what happened.

Xiang Kun didn’t offer any judgment on the situation because it was none of his business.

He did, however, look down on Shiling’s Mom’s “husband” in his mind. The so-called “pressure from his company and family” most likely was his financial problems at that time, which he hoped to resolve by marrying a rich woman and getting support from her family. Moreover, it was mind-boggling how he managed to just have a wedding without marrying legally.

Without a doubt, two women and two families had been impacted by this.

There’s Liu Shiling on one side, and who knows if there are any children on the other side.

He could envision that Liu Shiling’s future might not be as stress-free as it has been over the past few years. He hoped, however, that this incident would not affect her significantly.

Nevertheless, all Xiang Kun could do was worry inwardly and hope that “Coin 1” could bring her good luck. Other than that, he was helpless.

Before leaving room 706, Shiling’s Mom expressed her concerns to Xiang Kun, worried about the skinny tall man whose buttocks he had spanked. That man, who happens to be a distant cousin of her “husband”‘s rich wife, had been living in the city for many years. Apparently, he owned a bar and was quite influential. She was concerned that he might seek revenge on Xiang Kun.

It was actually the tall, skinny man who threatened to confront them at the kindergarten if they didn’t negotiate with him, wanting to let Liu Shiling’s teachers, classmates, and other parents know that her mom was a mistress. This was the reason she let them in.

Xiang Kun, on the other hand, did not seem too bothered about this. He reassured her, “Don’t worry, if he tries to confront me, I’ll call the police.”

Back in his own apartment, Xiang Kun thought it over and decided to tell Officer Chen about the day’s events via WeChat, as a precaution.

He didn’t exaggerate the tall, skinny man’s actions, stating that it was only after subduing him that he learned from Shiling’s Mom that Liu Shiling had initially grabbed the fruit knife, which the skinny man then snatched away.

Of course, he wouldn’t admit that he already knew the full story from the noises before he even got out of his apartment. From his perspective, to begin with, he saw a man threatening a small girl with a knife at a neighbor’s house. He arose in anger to stop the harm, so his reasons to take action were well-founded.

After several minutes, Officer Chen replied with a shocked emoji on WeChat: “(Ox@)!! How can you always run into these kinds of situations…”

Xiang Kun responded half-seriously and half-jokingly: “Don’t blame me… I saw the weather was nice today and decided to go out for a meal. As soon as I opened the door, I saw that my neighbor’s door was open and a strange man was yelling at a little girl who just started kindergarten, wielding a knife! What was I to do? I was desperate too! Could I just ignore it…”

Officer Chen:

Officer Chen: “Didn’t you call the police?”

Xiang Kun: “I didn’t have time to call the police at first. After restraining that man, my neighbor didn’t seem to want to make a big deal out of it and hence we didn’t call the police.”

Officer Chen: “Next time you encounter such a situation, don’t act impulsively. What would you do if the little girl was injured during a confrontation? The correct approach is to call the police first, then calm the suspect’s temper. I know you’re good with martial arts, but you can’t always be taking the law into your own hands.”

Xiang Kun obviously wouldn’t argue with him: “Yes, Officer Chen. You’re right.

“By the way, what should I do if the man I subdued seeks to take revenge on me?”

“Did you hurt him badly?”

“Not really, I just wrestled him to the ground and smacked his buttocks a couple of times.”