Chapter 21: Oh.

Xia Yu searched all over her house but couldn’t find Mo Yidong anywhere.

She was worried—she had just pulled out a tooth, and her right arm was still bleeding.

That would be bad.

She also had no idea where that snake from earlier had gone.

If it ended up biting Mo Yidong and he didn’t get medical attention in time, that would be terrible.

Just as Xia Yu was feeling completely overwhelmed, her phone suddenly buzzed with a message.

“I’m home.”

A white Siberian Samoyed’s avatar suddenly appeared on Xia Yu’s screen.

Seeing the previous transfer notification, she immediately understood.

He ran off without even saying hello—really making her worry for nothing.

That brat…

“Is your hand okay?”

After typing the message, Xia Yu stared at the four words on the screen for a few seconds.

If his hand was hurt, he wouldn’t have left in such a hurry.

Xia Yu didn’t understand why he had to leave so fast without even saying goodbye.

After some thought, she retracted the message and typed a new one.

“Did you see a snake anywhere?”

After finishing the message, Xia Yu hesitated.

If Mo Yidong had seen it, he would have told her immediately.

Sigh, forget it.

Since he was fine but left without a word, he must have had something urgent.

Xia Yu deleted the message again, feeling conflicted.

Caring but not caring—it was complicated.

After transforming back, he was feeling conflicted too.

Xia Yu had just finished feeding, and he also cared a lot about Mo Yidong’s feelings.

After all, it was the first time feeding on blood, and the customer had paid to endure it—there still had to be a post-meal satisfaction survey.

Forget it, she’d ask after she finished cutting and dyeing her hair black.

As usual, after styling her hair and rinsing out the dye, Xia Yu realized things were worse than she thought.

Even after rinsing off the dye, her hair didn’t change color.

At first, she thought the dye had expired.

She even tested it on some fabric, but the dye worked fine there.

The problem was definitely her hair.

No doubt about it—this had to be Mo Yidong’s blood!

This was bad.

If she went to school tomorrow with a head of silver hair, she’d attract too much attention.

Worse, the Dean of Discipline would never approve.

The school had strict rules against dyeing hair.

Unless someone naturally had a different hair color from childhood, everyone else had to dye their hair black.

Otherwise, they would get their heads shaved just like the school’s early romance troublemakers, plus be forced to copy the school regulations multiple times—a humiliating punishment that would wreck one’s hand from all the writing!

But shaving Xia Yu’s head wouldn’t help—her hair grew fast, and in less than a week, it would be long again.

When she first entered the school, she had black hair.

If the Dean caught her tomorrow, she’d be ordered to dye it back.

If she refused, the only option was a shaved head.

Xia Yu took out her phone, intending to chat with Mo Yidong about the blood.

Looking at the chat record stuck at “I’m home,” Xia Yu didn’t reply.

Come to think of it, the purpose of feeding on blood was to heal skin injuries.

The areas burned by ultraviolet rays had already healed, looking even smoother than before.

Under the bath light, Xia Yu noticed subtle changes in her arm’s contours, almost as if it had slimmed down a bit.

Slimmed down?

Squinting slightly, Xia Yu examined her arm.

She had the frustrating body type of never gaining weight or muscle.

Her frail appearance made her an easy target for exclusion and bullying wherever she went.

She envied Mo Yidong’s physique a lot.

If she could be like him, life would be much easier every day.

Xia Yu actually had a lot to say and many questions for Mo Yidong, but after thinking it over, she decided not to bother him.

Mo Yidong just wanted to experience being fed on; he didn’t understand the changes that could happen afterward.

It was better this way…

Out of courtesy, Xia Yu finally replied with a very brief message.

“Oh.”

Xia Yu opened the Seafood Market app and bought a fake wig locally, deliberately choosing a well-maintained black short hairstyle.

She also ordered a delivery to her home, hoping to get away with it tomorrow.

The next day, Xia Yu’s face was tense as she kept touching her hair.

She stared calmly ahead at the school gate where a stern-looking middle-aged man stood.

The man’s bald head gleamed under the early morning sunlight.

Wearing an old gray short-sleeved shirt, he was inspecting each student’s attire and belongings.

“Damn! Guangtou Qiang is here!? I forgot my school ID!”

A student outside the school saw the red armband on the man’s right arm and immediately darkened.

“Bad news, the Dean of Discipline is on duty today! You go in first; I’ll wait at the back gate for you to bring the school ID.”

Xia Yu passed through the school gate as usual.

Just after entering, she heard a sharp reprimand from nearby.

“Stop right there!”

Xia Yu stopped and turned to see Guangtou Qiang’s serious expression.

His gaze shifted farther away, as if he wasn’t calling her.

“You! Yes, you! The yellow-haired one! Come here!”

Xia Yu turned toward the person Guangtou Qiang mentioned, eyes slightly widening.

Before the person noticed Xia Yu, he quickly turned his head back.

“Zhang Wenshan! What’s wrong with your hair?!”

Guangtou Qiang sounded like he had known Zhang Wenshan for a long time.

His tone was different than usual—not just angry, but almost ready to slap him.

“Uncle Liu, I’m here to check in.”

Zhang Wenshan seemed unfazed and even smirked proudly.

“Zhang Wenshan, I’m telling you, if you don’t dye your hair back tomorrow, I’ll call your dad!”

The Dean of Discipline pointed angrily at the Contribution Wall by the school gate, where photos and names were posted.

“Your dad’s number is still in the school directory—I can call anytime.”

Zhang Wenshan smiled awkwardly and quickly apologized to Uncle Liu, trying to make peace.

“Let’s talk it out—I’ll dye it back tomorrow, I swear.”

After finishing his scolding, the Dean suddenly noticed Xia Yu standing nearby watching the drama unfold.

Seeing Xia Yu enjoying the spectacle too much, the Dean glared at her sternly.

“Xia Yu, you…”

“What about me?”

Xia Yu’s wig was so well put on—could Guangtou Qiang really have developed the sharp eye to see through it at once?

“What’s wrong with your eyes?”

It turned out it was about her eyes.

Xia Yu had noticed this yesterday too.

Not only was her hair impossible to dye, but her eyes had changed from their usual black-blue to a clear red.

In dark places, her eyes gleamed like rubies.

They looked beautiful, but she couldn’t wear colored contacts.

After several tries, she gave up.

“I got chili water in my eyes.”

“You think I’m a three-year-old?”

The Dean glared coldly at Xia Yu, scanning her for any issues.

She was dressed properly and even wore a school ID.

He couldn’t find any faults.

“Hmph, I bet you got into a fight and got mad when you lost.”

Usually, the one who’s mad is the other side.

Xia Yu never got angry.

“I haven’t fought in a long time.”

Lately, few people had been bothering Xia Yu.

She was even a bit unaccustomed to it.

“Hmm… true.”

The Dean had heard about group fights outside the school.

Rarely involved were students from Ninth Middle School, especially the short-haired boys with small braids and Xia Yu’s group.

“If your eyes bother you, remember to see a doctor.”

Hearing the Dean’s concern, Xia Yu felt a little surprised.

“Okay. I’ll go now.”

“Wait, student.”

Not long after letting Zhang Wenshan leave, the Dean called out to a student ahead.

“Do you know where the Chinese department is?”

Xia Yu pointed Zhang Wenshan in the right direction, then quickened her pace to put distance between them, afraid of being recognized.

Although she was currently a boy, Zhang Wenshan probably wouldn’t recognize that she had been a girl yesterday.

Watching Zhang Wenshan’s departing direction, Xia Yu had a bad feeling.

Could it be…