Chapter 4: The Magical Projection

In the following days, Xu Fengling truly experienced what it meant to live like a goddess.

Every morning, she could sleep until she woke up naturally… since she didn’t have to go to school anyway.

When she woke, she would always see Ye Lingyue had already prepared breakfast and was waiting for her.

After eating, she could do whatever she wanted… reading, playing games, watching anime, scrolling through her phone, and so on.

This was a life she had never dared to imagine before.

However, there was one thing she absolutely could not do.

By the fourth day, Xu Fengling was so bored out of her mind that she noticed a bit of dust on the dining table and found a cloth to wipe it.

Just as she picked up the cloth, Ye Lingyue’s voice came from behind her, “Little Fengling, what are you doing?”

“I… I just wanted to wipe the table,” she said, turning her head.

“Put it down,” Ye Lingyue said calmly.

This sentence made her obediently put the cloth down.

“I told you, you don’t need to do anything,” Ye Lingyue walked over and took the cloth from her hand. “Leave these things to me.”

“But you have to cook and clean every day, isn’t that too hard…”

“It’s not hard. I like taking care of you,” Ye Lingyue said seriously.

Xu Fengling opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say.

“And if you’re bored, you can go play games. I bought you a Switch, it’s in the living room drawer.”

“Huh? A Switch?”

“That’s right. There’s also a PS5 and an Xbox. You can play whatever you want.”

Xu Fengling: “…”

What kind of rich lady talk was this?

So, that afternoon, Xu Fengling curled up on the sofa and played The Legend of Zelda for three hours.

During dinner that night, she couldn’t help but ask, “By the way… Sister Lingyue, why won’t you let me do housework?”

Ye Lingyue was cutting a steak.

Hearing this, she stopped her movements and said softly, “Because you are mine.”

“This… what does that have to do with doing housework?”

“Of course, I have to take care of my own things,” Ye Lingyue forked a piece of cut steak and brought it to Xu Fengling’s mouth.

“Open up.”

Xu Fengling subconsciously opened her mouth and was fed a bite.

“Is it good?”

“Delicious…”

“Good, then.”

Ye Lingyue smiled with satisfaction.

“From now on, I will take care of every meal you eat… every piece of clothing you wear… everything. You just need to enjoy it.”

As she chewed the steak, a strange feeling welled up in Xu Fengling’s heart.

This feeling… was really hard to describe…

…

That night, Xu Fengling had a dream.

In the dream, she returned to her original home… that apartment that always reeked of alcohol and cigarette smoke.

She stood at the door and saw her mother sitting on the living room sofa, her eyes red as if she had been crying.

“Mom!”

She wanted to shout, but no sound came out.

Then she wanted to rush over… but her feet seemed nailed to the floor.

The next moment, she saw her father walking toward her mother, swearing and holding a liquor bottle.

He directly smashed the bottle at her mother’s feet and roared, “What are you crying about! That little brat ran off and isn’t coming back? Good riddance! Saves me the fucking trouble of having to earn money to feed him!”

Her mother looked up, her voice trembling, “How can you say that… he’s your son…”

“Son? That piece of trash counts as my son?”

Her father came to her mother’s side, ready to punch her in the face…

At that moment, Xu Fengling’s eyes snapped open.

Before her were only the luxurious bed curtains and soft velvet pillows, not that hellish scene.

“Hah… hah…”

She gasped for breath.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

Ye Lingyue’s concerned voice came from beside her.

Xu Fengling turned her head and found Ye Lingyue lying next to her at some point… she was lying on her side, one hand propping up her head, the other gently patting Xu Fengling’s back.

“I… I dreamed about my mom,” Xu Fengling said.

Ye Lingyue didn’t speak, just continued to gently pat her back.

“I want to see her… can I… can I call her?”

Hearing this, Ye Lingyue’s hand paused for a moment.

“Now?”

“Yeah… if possible.”

Ye Lingyue was silent for a few seconds, then picked up her phone from the bedside table, pressed a few buttons, and said, “Wait a moment.”

Then she put the phone to her ear.

After about ten seconds, the call connected, and a weary woman’s voice came from the other end, “Hello? Who is this?”

Xu Fengling immediately sat up.

That was Mom’s voice!

Seeing she was about to shout out, Ye Lingyue quickly cast a layer of magic on Xu Fengling, temporarily changing her voice back to her male voice.

“Mom!”

Xu Fengling shouted the moment the magic took effect.

“Xiao Feng? Xiao Feng, where are you? Are you okay? You…”

“Mom, I’m fine… What about you? Where are you now?”

“I’m in a very big house…”

Mom’s voice sounded a bit flustered now.

“A few very nice people came to pick me up, saying my son found a girlfriend, and the young lady arranged a new house for us… Xiao Feng, is this true? When did you get a girlfriend?”

Xu Fengling was stunned for a moment, instinctively looking at Ye Lingyue, who smiled and nodded at her.

“It’s, it’s true! She’s very nice, treats me very well.”

“That’s good, that’s good… Then what about your dad…”

At this point, Mom suddenly fell silent.

“Mom?”

“Your dad… he was taken away a few days ago. I don’t know who took him or where… Xiao Feng, does this have anything to do with you?”

Xu Fengling looked at Ye Lingyue again, who shook her head.

“No, I don’t know anything about this.”

Then, there was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

“Mom?”

“Xiao Feng, when can you come back to see me… I miss you.”

These words made Xu Fengling’s tears fall instantly.

“I… I…”

“Auntie, Xiao Feng has been a bit busy lately. He’ll come see you in a few days.”

“You are…?”

“I’m Xiao Feng’s girlfriend… Auntie, don’t worry, Xiao Feng is doing very well here.”

“Good, good… Thank you, thank you…”

After chatting a few more sentences, Ye Lingyue hung up the phone.

Xu Fengling wiped her tears and looked at her, asking, “Sister Lingyue, can I really go see my mom in a few days?”

Ye Lingyue smiled, reached out, and wiped the tear stains from her face.

“Does Little Fengling miss her mom very much?”

“Yeah.”

“Then… let me think of a way.”

Ye Lingyue sat up from the bed, picked up her phone, and dialed another number.

Then she said into the phone, “Get that thing ready. Yes, right now.”

After hanging up, she turned to look at Xu Fengling and said, “I’ll take you somewhere. Get dressed first.”

…

Ye Lingyue led her through the corridor to a door on the third floor.

“What is this place…”

Xu Fengling asked nervously.

Mainly because Ye Lingyue had said before that the third floor was a private area.

“It’s fine, come in.”

Ye Lingyue pushed the door open.

Inside, it looked like some kind of studio.

In the center of the room was a round platform, engraved with the same magic circle Xu Fengling had seen that night.

“Is this a magic circle?”

Xu Fengling asked.

“Yes.”

Ye Lingyue walked to the side of the platform and gently traced her finger over the circle.

“Vampire magic can be used to do many things.”

“So, what is this magic circle for?”

“Remote projection. Didn’t you want to see your mom? You can see her with this.”

Xu Fengling’s eyes widened.

“Really?”

“Have I ever lied to you?”

“You have definitely lied to me,” Xu Fengling said without hesitation.

Ye Lingyue was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, “Okay, besides that one time.”

Then she took out a small bottle from a nearby cabinet… the bottle contained a dark red liquid… no need to guess what it was.

“Stand next to the platform.”

Hearing this, Xu Fengling obediently walked over and stood there.

Ye Lingyue poured the liquid from the bottle onto the magic circle… the dark red blood slowly flowed along the grooves, filling the entire pattern.

Then she began to chant an incantation.

Xu Fengling couldn’t understand the incantation at all.

The syllables were ancient and awkward, sounding completely unlike human language.

As the incantation proceeded, the runes began to emit a dark red glow.

After a while, the glow faded.

Xu Fengling found herself standing in a completely unfamiliar room… no, she could feel her body was still in place, but her vision appeared in a lavishly decorated living room… and her mother was sitting on the sofa opposite.

“Mom!”

Xu Fengling shouted.

Her mother looked up and around, asking, “Xiao Feng? Where are you?”

“I… I’m here!”

Xu Fengling waved her hand.

“Xiao Feng? Why can’t I see you?”

Her mother asked anxiously.

“Well, Auntie, can you see something like a screen?”

Ye Lingyue asked softly.

“Ah, yes, yes! Xiao Feng, it’s really you… you’ve lost weight…”

Her mother’s eyes immediately turned red.

Xu Fengling suddenly realized that what her mother saw here was probably Xu Feng, not the current vampire loli.

“Mom, you’ve lost weight too,” she said, holding back tears.

The two of them cried their hearts out across the projection.

After chatting for about half an hour, Xu Fengling said everything she could.

She said she had found a very good girlfriend… her family was very wealthy, had arranged a place for her to live, and she didn’t have to go to school anymore, just study at home.

“About your dad… you really don’t know?”

Her mother asked one last time.

“I really don’t know,” Xu Fengling said.

Her mother sighed and said, “Forget it, let’s not talk about him… as long as you’re doing well.”

“Mom, you have to take good care of yourself too.”

“I know, I know.”

After the projection disappeared, Xu Fengling wiped her tears and looked at Ye Lingyue, saying, “Thank you… Sister Lingyue.”

Ye Lingyue walked over and hugged her.

“You’re welcome. I told you, your business is my business.”