Les Secrets du Paradis, Saison 4

Chapitre 8

The girl pouted, "This kind of stuff isn't for poor people like us. If it weren't for this guy offering to treat us, do you think I'd be in a place like this?"

He looked at her with suspicion. If she couldn't even afford a cocktail, would she spend three thousand dollars on a dress?

"You must be thinking, if you can't even afford alcohol, how could you buy a CACHAREL dress, right?"

He turned his face away somewhat awkwardly.

The girl scoffed, "It's because I want to buy a CACHAREL dress that I don't have money for alcohol."

She picked up her stemmed glass, took a small sip, and frowned. "It's weak, like juice. It's not as refreshing as beer."

"Many cocktails are fruit juice flavored, but the one you're drinking is made with sake, cherry liqueur, white liqueur, lemon juice, and ice. It's quite potent."

The girl tilted her head: "Knowing so much about this, you must be rich."

Feng Nian'en smiled bitterly and took a sip of the green grasshopper drink. As if remembering something, he took out the advance payment Zhang Hanwen had given him from his wallet.

"What?"

"The money for the dress. Since we've run into each other here, it saves you the trouble of going elsewhere."

The girl tilted her head and looked at him for a while: "You really want to give it to me?"

He nodded.

"What an idiot!" she said, taking the money, rolling it up, and stuffing it into his shirt pocket. "I don't want it."

"What?" he exclaimed in surprise.

"If you don't want it, you don't want it. What's so surprising?"

"But...but your skirt..."

The girl shrugged. "I suddenly think this is pretty cool. So, I don't want it anymore." She then downed the blue liquid in her stemmed glass and stood up.

“Remember,” she said, almost leaning on Feng Nian’en’s shoulder, “you owe me three thousand yuan.”

“But you…”

"I've changed my mind again."

"Then take it," he said, handing the money back.

"No, I want you to owe me that. You can come and get it when I want it."

She patted his shoulder as she spoke, then turned and left.

Feng Nian'en watched the bodies twirling wildly on the dance floor, shook his head, and finished his green grasshopper drink with a wry smile. He would never understand what these women were thinking.

Bars are always a great place to kill time. A few songs, a few fruit drinks, and some lighthearted banter—and the night is over.

Every time she emerged from that bizarre and fantastical world, it was already the early hours of the next day. Feng Nian'en parked the car and reached out to hug the drunken Zhang Hanwen.

"Feng Nian'en, you're an idiot! An idiot, do you know that?"

"Yes, miss."

He carried her out of the carriage while dealing with her punches and kicks.

"No! You don't know! If you knew, you wouldn't be here. You don't know, you know nothing! You idiot, the biggest fool in the world, the biggest idiot!"

Feng Nian'en stopped talking and simply dragged her, half-carrying her, into the elevator.

"You have a girlfriend, right?"

She suddenly hugged him, her eyes glazed over with a silly grin. The strong smell of alcohol mixed with the floral water on her clothes created a peculiar odor, and he felt dizzy again.

"You have a girlfriend, don't you? Don't you?"

"No, I don't. I don't have a girlfriend."

"Lying! Lying! A fool shouldn't lie! Do you think I didn't see it? Two, two women came to see you today, do you think I didn't see it?"

“No.” He said as he carried her out of the elevator. “The first one was a man, and the second one was my neighbor.”

"Liar! Liar! All men like to lie, but a fool shouldn't lie. You're a fool, the biggest fool in the world, a fool who knows nothing..."

She started crying as she spoke.

Feng Nian'en was taken aback. Although Zhang Hanwen frequented bars, he rarely got drunk. Even when he did, he would usually just sleep. He had never been like this before.

“You know nothing!” she shouted. “Do you think Dad is really doing this for your own good? Do you think you can get into the company by following me? You’re wrong! He just treats you as a housekeeper, a servant, like Uncle Feng, to drive for him for the rest of your life, to be his driver for the rest of your life, to keep his whereabouts secret, and to keep his shameful secrets secret.”

Feng Nian'en remained silent and carried her into the bedroom.

"Why do you think he put you by my side to let us develop feelings for each other? Fool! Fool! He's testing you, seeing if you'll be loyal to me. He's already found me a fiancé, didn't you know? Didn't you know? You know nothing! That guy's coming back in a month. He'll go to another company, yes! One of those companies that's going against the Zhang family, and he'll climb and climb until the old man approves of him, and then he can come and marry me. He'll ruin that company, ruin it! Ruin it! And then use that as a dowry, you understand? You understand? You fool! Fool!"

Feng Nian'en helped her take off her shoes and covered her with a blanket.

"But even then, the old man won't fully trust him. That's where your role comes in. He'll leave you with some power—the power to restrict that guy even if he doesn't let you into the company. That's the only power, the only one. Fool! Fool!"

"Would you like some water, miss?"

"Water? Water?" She looked at him, giggled, then suddenly sat up and vomited all over him.

"Fool, fool, the biggest fool in the world! He knows nothing and understands nothing!"

She vomited and murmured.

Feng Nian'en patted her back and waited for her to finish vomiting. Then she took off her shirt, took a towel from the bathroom, and wiped her face.

"Why? Why arrange it this way?"

Zhang Hanwen squirmed on the bed: "Am I not human? Can't I choose for myself? What am I, what am I... Are you my father? Are you my father..."

She murmured, her voice growing softer and softer until she finally drifted off to sleep.

Feng Nian'en wiped the floor clean, roughly dealt with the filth on her body, and looked at Zhang Hanwen's flushed face.

Her flushed face exuded allure even in her sleep. Long eyelashes cast shadows on her eyelids like tiny brushes, creating a delicate and pitiful look on her captivating face.

He stood there for a moment, and seeing that Zhang Hanwen was fast asleep, he went into the kitchen to cook some porridge, left a note on her bedside table, stuffed his shirt into a bag, and walked out of the room.

Am I an idiot?

He looked at the waning crescent moon in the sky, its curved hook and soft light like an illustration from a fairy tale.

A cool breeze swayed the slender branches, and Feng Nian'en shivered, grabbing the bag and running back to her residence.

Feng Nian'en returned to his residence, tidied up a bit, and sat by the window, quietly gazing at the deep blue sky. Zhang Hanwen's repeated use of the word "idiot," Lan Ya's dreamlike figure and words, and the strange behavior of the girl next door kept replaying in his mind.

What am I doing? Why am I always thinking about useless things? He patted his face and took out the information that Li Zilin had compiled.

"According to past records, no vampire has ever been able to transform back into a normal human. However, there is a legend that if a vampire can obtain the sincere tears of a virgin, it may be possible for them to revert back to their human form."

This legend has always remained just that—a rumor. It hasn't appeared in any historical records, nor has there been any successful precedent, so it can only be considered as a reference for now.

Feng Nian'en closed the folder. She took a deep breath and waited until she calmed down before reopening the folder and carefully reading the passage twice more.

A virgin's tears.

It seems he really did encounter Ranga at the bar, and he really did say those words to him. But why did Ranga later deny it? Why doesn't this legend appear in any historical records? Why did the prince say there was no way to resolve it? Is there something wrong here?

Feng Nian'en shook his head. No matter what the problem was, this was his only option at the moment.

But, the tears of a virgin...

He thought of those five words again, his head aching.

If he had sisters, this might not have been a problem, but he didn't. In his twenty-two years of life, besides his grandmother, the only woman he knew was Zhang Hanwen. Even his mother, because she died too early, had long since faded from his memory.

He stared at that passage.

It seems he needs to find a woman, make her fall in love with him, and then shed tears for him. And this woman must be a virgin!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but groan. How could he know if the other person was a virgin? Was he supposed to ask her that question?

Even though he didn't know much about women, he knew that this wasn't a question to be asked casually, and that someone with a bad temper might even slap him.

Of course, he could ask after dating for a while. But what if things change? Should he break up with her? Wouldn't that be too unfair to her?

Moreover, he sighed, recalling a report he'd read before that stated the average age of virgins worldwide was under eighteen. Under eighteen! That meant even at eighteen, a woman might not be a virgin anymore. Unless it was a child under twelve, there was truly no guarantee.

child?

Feng Nian'en's eyes lit up, and she quickly glanced at the passage again.

That's right. The above only mentioned that she must be a virgin, but it didn't restrict her age or say that it had to be for love. So that means he can find a girl to cry for him.

A little girl, not too old, under ten, just be kind to her, buy her two pretty outfits and some candy, and after she falls for him, ask her to cry for him once. Or—he thought with a touch of guilt—he would fabricate a tragic story to make her shed tears for him.

That's right, that's it!

Virginity, sincerity, and tears. If all three elements are present, and the legend is true, then he can return to normal!

He excitedly stood up and paced back and forth in the room.

You must find a timid girl. Such girls have the softest hearts and might fall in love with him immediately. They might even shed tears for him in less than two days. Then he won't have to worry about what to do after four days.

Thinking of the 800 milliliters of fresh blood that he would bleed every ten days, Feng Nian'en suddenly stopped in his excited steps.

"It can't be that simple," he told himself. If it were that easy to escape the ranks of vampires, there must be countless examples of success stories before. Was he the only one who hadn't wanted to become a vampire all these years?

He grabbed the folder.

Virginity, sincerity, tears.

It seems like only three conditions are required. Is the allure of immortality really that great? Or is this legend simply useless?

He shook his head. Okay. Anyway, it's a road, and even if there's a cliff behind it, you'll only know once you've walked it.

Although he was excited, he fell asleep almost as soon as he lay down on the bed because he had finally found a way and hadn't slept well for several days.

Chapter Six

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When he woke up again, it was completely dark, and a light rain was falling outside the window. Feng Nian'en blinked, jumped off the bed barefoot, and opened the window. He saw only fine rain and a hazy view. He cursed angrily, almost unable to resist cursing the heavens.

It's bad enough that it's made him look like this, but now it's causing trouble again after he finally found a way. The rain isn't heavy, but there won't be any children playing outside.

He lay back on the bed in frustration, groaned under the covers, and suddenly remembered something. He picked up the receiver and dialed Zhang Hanwen's number.

"Miss?"

"kindness."

Are you alright?