GCLA VOL. 2 CHAPTER 26

Chapter 26: Early Morning, Full of Energy

 

—

 

Ugh——

 

I didn’t sleep at all last night!

 

Standing in front of the mirror, I stared at my two dark circles. Right now, I looked about as lifeless as Heimei’s zombie.

 

“Oh! You’re scaring me to death~~”

 

Not sleeping well put me in a bad mood, and having to face a mirror that would mock you all day didn’t help.

 

“Screw you!” I squeezed a glob of toothpaste and smeared it all over the mirror. Then came a scream from the mirror, like it had been shattered: “Ah—ah—my eyes—my eyes are going blind—”

 

What eyes? You don’t even have any!

 

When the eight hours were up, Mo Ming naturally left. I stayed there, pretending to be dead to avoid the awkwardness. As I walked downstairs, I saw Mo Ming sitting at the dining table. When he saw me, he immediately averted his gaze, focusing solely on his food bowl, like a husky staring at its food.

 

Mao Mao was already seated, sipping coffee while looking at himself in a hand mirror. I walked past Mo Ming, and his back instantly stiffened. I headed to the order counter, and seeing how much Mo Ming was contributing to our dorm, I decided to let it go.

 

“Crab roe soup dumplings and soy milk.” I opened the cabinet, and a portion of crab roe soup dumplings with soy milk was already prepared. Thanks to Mo Ming, everyone had saved on breakfast expenses, and Mao Mao could indulge in his coffee every morning.

 

After all the fighting and blood loss yesterday, followed by a terrible night’s sleep, I decided to replenish myself today. Thinking it over, I added a portion of black-bone chicken soup with goji berries to nourish my blood.

 

Just as I sat down, Qing Ming and Si Yinuo also dragged themselves in, looking completely drained, as if they had gamed all night.

 

The chair in front of me slid out. Jiang Yan, the senior, had apparently come downstairs at some point and was sitting across from me, sipping an orange juice while gazing at his tablet.

 

Something felt off. It was… unsettling.

 

I kept staring at him, but he didn’t seem to notice, focused on his tablet. After a while, I realized—ah, he wasn’t drinking from a blood bag anymore. No wonder it felt so strange.

 

“Senior Jiang Yan, how long can you go without eating after drinking from me once?” I couldn’t hold back and asked.

 

He froze. Everyone looked at him. Mo Ming’s green eyes flickered, his cold gaze fixed on his bowl.

 

Jiang Yan narrowed his eyes and smiled at me, raising his head: “I don’t drink much. About seven days.”

 

“No wonder you still pack leftovers!” I shot him a disdainful look. “Back then, I bled all over the floor. Just that should’ve been enough to keep you going for ages! And yet you haven’t even said a single thank you! You’re talking about psychological coercion? I must’ve really wronged you, making you pick up scraps from the floor!” I hadn’t slept well and was in a bad mood. Everyone was pissing me off!

 

His smile froze on his face. He blinked, then lowered his head again, focusing on his tablet, sucking on his orange juice with exaggerated force: “Slurp slurp slurp—”

 

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

 

Everyone tensed up, immediately focusing on their breakfasts. Nima, can you really learn anything by staring at your food like that?

 

I was so frustrated that I stabbed a soup dumpling with my fork and started eating.

 

The room fell silent, apart from the faint sounds of chewing.

 

“We made a pact last night.” Suddenly, Mo Ming broke the awkward silence with a declaration at the dining table. Instantly, all eyes were on him.

 

I kept eating. I was used to Mo Ming’s random outbursts by now. If he didn’t say something, he wouldn’t be Mo Ming. As I ate, I glanced at the back of my hand. Sure enough, I could faintly see a glowing symbol, though it wasn’t fully formed—kind of like when you’re scanning your fingerprint for an iPhone, and it needs a few more tries.

 

“So~~~ you two~~~” Mao Mao smirked suggestively.

 

“Yes!” Mo Ming nodded. I had a bad feeling about this. When I looked at him again, he calmly said, “We slept together!”

 

“Pfft!” I spat out a mouthful of crab roe, spraying it right onto Jiang Yan’s tablet. Jiang Yan didn’t look at me, calmly pulling out a tissue to wipe his tablet, though he seemed a bit lost in thought, as if deeply pondering something.

 

Mo Ming glanced at Jiang Yan. Jiang Yan continued wiping his tablet, even though it was already clean.

 

Mo Ming squinted, staring intently at Jiang Yan as if to emphasize: “One bed!”

 

Qing Ming’s eyes widened, suddenly biting his lip in bashfulness, covering his face.

 

What the heck! Mo Ming saying that so shamelessly, and Qing Ming acting all shy—what does that even mean?! You’re this huge, burly guy from the northeast, acting shy is downright creepy, okay?!

 

Si Yinuo lowered her face slightly behind Xiao Bai, her silver eyes flashing coldly: “Anything else?”

 

“Yes.” Mo Ming withdrew his gaze from Jiang Yan, revealing a subtle smile. “We’ve been…”

 

“Mo Ming, shut up!” I yelled sharply.

 

He immediately lowered his head. “Yes!” But he still had a smirk on his face.

 

I rubbed my forehead. “I already didn’t sleep well, and now I can’t even enjoy my breakfast.”

 

“In any case,” Mo Ming began again. I figured I’d warned him enough, so he wouldn’t say anything too crazy. Then I heard him say, “I’ll make sure to become Xiao Lan’s man as soon as possible!”

 

“Mo Ming, from today onward, you’re not allowed to speak to me!” I jumped up and threw my chopsticks at him. “Not a single word!”

 

The chopsticks bounced off his head. He blinked and looked down, his expression pitiful. His wolf ears even drooped: “Yes.”

 

“Pfft.” Jiang Yan laughed. I glared at him. “Senior Jiang Yan! You’re supposed to be the mature one! Act serious!”

 

Jiang Yan slowly put down the tissue he had been using to wipe his tablet, leisurely looking at Mo Ming: “I also have an announcement. I’m preparing to form a blood pact with Xiao Lan.”

 

I froze. Wh-what? Senior Jiang Yan, are you trying to stir things up?

 

Everyone froze, clearly surprised by this sudden decision.

 

“What?! Really?” Mao Mao blinked excitedly. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking! You just want me to use my blood to maintain Jiang Yan’s looks so you can keep ogling a handsome guy every day!

 

“I object!” Mo Ming immediately glared at Jiang Yan.

 

Jiang Yan smiled at him. “Objection overruled.”

 

“I object too!” I said loudly.

 

“Xiao Lan has already objected,” Mo Ming said gravely.

 

Jiang Yan squinted. “Xiao Lan is a child. I’ll decide this for her.”

 

“What?!” I looked at Jiang Yan in shock.

 

“You don’t get to decide anything for her! I’m her guardian!” Mo Ming stood up immediately.

 

“I’m over eighteen, okay? I’m already an adult!” I shouted.

 

Jiang Yan smiled and stood up, slipping his hands into his pockets. “Seniority rules. Who stays gets decided by me.”

 

“Then let’s duel!” Mo Ming’s claws suddenly extended.

 

“Wait? Are you guys even listening to me?” Do they not take me seriously at all?!

 

Jiang Yan shrugged and picked up his tablet. “Want to battle in Six Realms Encyclopedia?”

 

“Wait! That’s your strong point. Hold on! You two, enough!” I jumped onto the dining table, standing between the two of them, pointing at Jiang Yan with one hand and Mo Ming with the other. “Are you two even listening to me? Stop acting so high and mighty!”

 

But my shouting had no effect at all. They continued to stare deeply into each other’s eyes. Even though I was standing right between them, I wasn’t even in their line of sight. In their world, at that moment, only the other existed!

 

Qing Ming had already shrunk down, almost hiding under the table, his nearly two-meter-tall frame disappearing from view.

 

As for Mao Mao, he had already slipped away and was now peeking out from behind the sofa.

 

Only Si Yinuo remained at the table, though she was hiding behind Xiao Bai, timidly watching Jiang Yan and Mo Ming.

 

“Fine! Keep staring! You two go on staring at each other until you see into each other’s souls!” I stomped my foot in frustration. “Do you want me to leave so you two can have a moment alone and gaze into each other’s hearts?! I’m seriously pissed off now.”

 

After a long period of silent staring, Jiang Yan suddenly rubbed his forehead. “Oh, I was just kidding. This idiot can’t even take a joke.”

 

Mo Ming was stunned.

 

I gawked at Jiang Yan. “Senior Jiang Yan, were you trying to be funny?! You’ve been creating such a tense atmosphere all morning just to amuse yourself?!”

 

Senior Jiang Yan massaged his temples. “How do I go out every day looking this handsome? Being constantly photographed by girls is such a hassle. There’s no way I’d drink your blood. It’s too pure; if I drank it, I’d get blood-drunk. It’s annoying…”

 

“Enough, Senior Jiang Yan! Mo Ming! Crush him! Right now!”

 

“With pleasure!” Mo Ming charged forward.

 

“Whoosh!” Senior Jiang Yan had already vanished, reappearing at the top of the stairs, striking his usual pose with one hand on his forehead, tilting his face at a forty-five-degree angle, looking weak and delicate. “Every day, I have to endure envy from other guys. Sigh… I just want to be left alone…”

 

“Get lost—!”

 

My shout echoed, and Senior Jiang Yan disappeared from the stairway.

 

I rubbed my forehead and squatted down. I was wrong. Ever since Senior Jiang Yan drank my blood, he’d been acting like he’s on some weird energy boost, constantly goofing around. I miss the old him, the one who barely spoke and was too weak to do anything.

 

“I…”

 

“You shut up too!”

 

“Yes.”

 

Senior Jiang Yan, are you just trying to tease Mo Ming? Fine, if you like him, just say it outright. Please stop dragging me into this, okay?