Chapter 17 – Paper Man 16
After leaving the clothing section, they found the mall crowded with shoppers, especially around the supermarket entrance where people were most concentrated.
Su Tang’s eyes lingered on the snacks carried by passersby, his fingers unconsciously tugging at Luo Yuan’s sleeve in silent request.
Luo Yuan accompanied him through the supermarket, their striking features and distinct aura drawing natural attention like twin beacons. Long accustomed to this, they had grown indifferent to the stares since childhood—an inevitable consequence of their looks that had gradually become background noise.
Exiting the store, Su Tang tore open a chocolate bar and began munching with rodent-like enthusiasm. Remembering his benefactor, he offered a piece to Luo Yuan, who declined with a “I don’t care for overly sweet things. Just a taste will do.”
Without missing a beat, Luo Yuan leaned in to press his lips against the chocolate bar Su Tang had bitten, taking a deliberate mouthful.
The casual intimacy of the gesture caught Su Tang’s eye. He glanced at the candy, then back at Luo Yuan. Indirect kiss, huh? he thought. Refusing now would make me look petty. We’ve shared unexpected kisses before—getting hung up on this would be ridiculous. Maintaining his composure, Su Tang continued eating, though his ears betrayed him with a faint blush.
After finishing his snack, Su Tang found a trash bin and walked over to dispose of it. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a young mother pushing a shopping cart with a toddler trailing beside her, and a baby sitting in the cart. He couldn’t help but think how difficult being a mother must be. The wheels of the shopping cart seemed to be stuck, making it difficult for her to push.
Su Tang paused for a moment, wondering if he should go help. But at that moment, a hat-wearing man approached them. Suddenly, while the young mother wasn’t looking, he picked up the child beside her, stuffed a lollipop in the child’s mouth, and quickly turned to leave.
The child was confused, and the young mother didn’t notice for a moment. In those brief seconds, everyone around was busy with their own affairs and didn’t notice. The kidnapper must have carefully chosen the right moment to act, taking advantage of the brief opening no one else saw. Su Tang happened to be standing behind a column next to the trash bin, and he accidentally saw everything.
Su Tang froze for a moment, his mind blank. Without thinking, he moved first, rushing to the kidnapper at an extraordinary speed. He suddenly twisted the man’s arm. The hat-wearing man didn’t expect this, and he cried out in pain. His hand loosened, and Su Tang took the chance to grab the child, pulling him behind his body and shouting, “Someone’s kidnapping a child! Someone’s kidnapping a child!”
The pedestrians around them jumped in fright, especially those with children, who immediately tightened their grip on their kids’ hands.
The man Su Tang had grabbed panicked, his face paling. He screamed “Thief! Thief!” and began cursing profusely. “Are you crazy?! You’re the one who suddenly attacked me! Look at my arm—it’s bruised and nearly broken! You must be guilty—you were caught stealing a phone from that girl’s pocket. Young people these days, always resorting to shady tricks. And when caught, you even beat people up. This kind of thing can’t be done…”
As he spoke, he furiously shook off Su Tang’s hand and tried to leave. But Su Tang clamped down harder, fearing the kidnapper might escape. In his panic, he yanked too hard, and a sharp crack echoed—the sound of bone breaking. The man howled in pain, glaring around with bloodshot eyes. “Are you all just going to watch a young man bully an old man? He’s broken my arm!”
Most people cared more about their own safety and didn’t dare to step forward, instead contacting the mall security. The only one who rushed forward without hesitation was Luo Yuan.
The kidnapper, who had initially intended to escape in the chaos, now found himself facing additional help for Su Tang. Fear of being arrested drove him to desperation. His eyes bloodshot, he suddenly pulled a knife from his pocket and lunged at Su Tang’s abdomen.
Su Tang’s reaction was even more peculiar. He perceived the man’s movements as unnaturally slow. Acting on some inexplicable impulse, he reached out bare-handed to block the knife. With a slight exertion of force, the blade snapped like a paper sheet!
The man’s eyes bulged out of their sockets, his face contorted with terror as if he’d seen a ghost. His legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the ground, scrambling backward desperately. “Monster! Monster! D-d-don’t come closer! Help! Help me!”
In an instant, his earlier arrogance had transformed into desperate pleas for help. He was mere inches from clawing at the arriving security guards, begging to be arrested.
The security guards stood frozen in shock.
Su Tang himself was equally bewildered, feeling as though he’d caused some kind of disaster. When he looked down at the knife in his hand, he found it had returned to its original state—no folding or bending, its blade gleaming with cold sharpness. Luo Yuan, his face pale, wrapped his arms around Su Tang and carefully removed the knife, then anxiously checked for any injuries.
Su Tang spread his hands in bewilderment. His skin, as fair as jade, showed no trace of injury—not even a scratch, let alone blood.
The kidnapper, however, bore visible wounds. Perhaps haunted by his misdeeds and superstitious beliefs, he had stumbled in panic. His elbow and palm now bled faintly.
Su Tang’s keen sense of smell detected the metallic tang of blood from several meters away. A shudder ran through him as he threw himself into Luo Yuan’s arms, desperate to drown out the scent with his presence. He feared another episode of frenzied bloodlust.
Luo Yuan held him close, patting his back and murmuring, “It’s over now. Don’t be afraid.”
Naturally, the entire group was taken to the police station.
The hat-wearing man ranted like a madman, insisting he’d seen Su Tang’s eyes turn red—a monster who’d effortlessly snapped his knife. “He’s not human! Arrest him immediately!”
What police officer would believe such nonsense? The man already had a criminal record, and his wild claims reeked of desperate excuse-making. Moreover, the knife collected as evidence remained perfectly intact—no breakage in sight.
The young mother and her husband clutched their child tightly, testifying to Su Tang’s heroism through tearful gratitude. They trembled with fear, unable to imagine what would have happened if Su Tang hadn’t intervened—the thought of their child being kidnapped was too horrifying to bear.
Meanwhile, during the witness account recording, Luo Yuan summoned a lawyer. He stated coldly, “My Su Tang witnessed a child abduction. He fearlessly rushed to help, disregarding his own safety. The kidnapper even turned the tables on him, nearly stabbing him to death. Now he’s deeply traumatized.”
As instructed, Su Tang lowered his head and trembled. When answering police questions, he gripped Luo Yuan’s clothes tightly, maintaining a fearful appearance. In truth, he feared losing control and revealing his fangs, unable to suppress the urge to drink blood. Pressing against Luo Yuan, breathing in his scent, was the only way to maintain some semblance of calm.
Midway through the process, Su Tang caught sight of the captured kidnapper and other bloodied individuals brought in for assault. The metallic scent of blood flooded his nostrils, threatening to trigger his primal instincts. He braced himself for a sudden transformation into a bloodthirsty beast, yet paradoxically found the scent repulsive—acrid and nauseating, turning his stomach.
Su Tang: “……???” Could he be a picky-eating vampire?
Realizing there was no immediate danger, Su Tang cautiously emerged from behind Luo Yuan and obediently answered every police question.
When asked to fill out basic personal information, he momentarily panicked.
He was just a paper person after all—no ID, a complete undocumented immigrant.
Luo Yuan had been prepared, arranging for someone to secure his identity when he first appeared. But money bought solutions always exist in gray areas, never truly safe.
The system chimed in: “Host, no need to worry. I’ve cleared your identity through proper channels. All documents are meticulously prepared; no one can find any discrepancies. Oh, and I helped restore that knife for you too. It’s identical to the original. The supermarket surveillance only captured your back, no footage of you folding the blade. None of the onlookers saw it either.”
Su Tang was stunned. “So I really folded a knife? I thought it was just my imagination!”
The system almost wanted to laugh. “You did it yourself, host. Your power level is quite high.”
Su Tang hesitated. “Is it because I’m half-human, half-vampire? So now I have superpowers?”
Superpowers! Who doesn’t have a chuunibyou dream? Just thinking about it made him excited; he almost wanted to demonstrate his power by crushing a stone with his bare chest.
Su Tang thought about what the system had done. “Tongtong, thank you.”
The system shook its head. “This is what I should do.”
“Even so,” Su Tang said, “you’ve helped me, so I’ll do my tasks properly.”
The system was very happy and immediately gave him a kiss.
After returning from the police station, Su Tang sat in the back seat. Luo Yuan kept holding his hand, not letting go. Su Tang could feel Luo Yuan’s concern for him and obediently stayed still.
However, with them sitting so close, Su Tang kept looking at Luo Yuan and felt like there was some sweet smell tempting him. He stared at Luo Yuan’s neck and swallowed hard, feeling hungry.
Hwo, it looks so delicious.
Su Tang pressed his lips together, lowered his head, and tried not to drool. But even then, the smell kept invading his nose. A red light flashed in his eyes as he secretly licked his canine tooth.
Luo Yuan felt his gaze. Seeing Su Tang leaning against him so dependently made him happy, and the tips of his ears turned red.
He never could have imagined that Su Tang simply craved his blood.
Author’s Note:
Luo Yuan: Awooo… QAQ
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