Les Secrets du Paradis, Saison 4

Chapitre 38

"This is—" He looked at the other person, puzzled.

“This city is located by the sea, and occasionally taking a boat trip to enjoy the sea view can help pass the time.” He finished speaking with a slight smile, then turned to bid farewell to the prince.

"Eh..." Feng Nian'en was stunned for a moment before realizing what she was holding. Just as she was about to chase after it, she heard Ruoya's voice: "Take it."

Volume Two, Chapter Twenty-Nine: Father's Last Words

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"What?" He turned around and said urgently, "But this is..."

“A yacht.” Ruoya interrupted before he could finish, “I know what it is. You don’t need to be surprised. Whatever it is, it’s just a gift for you.”

"A gift?" A yacht as a gift? Feng Nian'en felt as if she had fallen into some kind of Solomon's treasure.

"He is representing the Philt lineage today. There are only two blood clans in this city, ours and the others. The other four should arrive in the next few days."

Are there other lineages of vampires in this city? He looked at her in surprise, about to ask for clarification, when a lazy voice interrupted: "Finally joined, my dear Botis."

“He’s got fangs now, Lin Ya!” The clear, beautiful voice was unusually certain.

“Of course, Fang.” The lazy smile didn’t diminish at all. Suzaku flicked the silver hair that was falling in front of his eyes with his finger and said, “I really admire that brat for actually thinking of using this name. Our dear boy could never be that bloodthirsty.”

As he spoke, he slowly walked over, and Long Xinsheng followed beside him, even though his face revealed anger and reluctance.

"Congratulations!" Long Xinsheng extended his hand, maintaining a very composed expression, at least not revealing the slightest surprise.

Feng Nian'en also hesitantly extended his hand. This was their first handshake. The slender hand was strong and warm, a pair of warm, human hands.

He mumbled something incoherently, as if trying to say something. A whole host of questions were on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't bring himself to ask them. He could only look at Long Xinsheng with a complicated expression.

Xu Zuo had no intention of having a long talk. After exchanging a few casual words, he turned and left with Long Xinsheng. Although the latter's gait was somewhat strained, he did not resist. Feng Nian'en was somewhat surprised to notice this, as she remembered Long Xinsheng as someone who would never force himself to do such a thing.

"Come, tonight you will share a room with the prince."

Feng Nian'en turned around abruptly, looking at the woman in front of her with a puzzled expression.

"It's just part of the ritual. In the past, it was used to check whether newly joined vampires met the standards, but now it's just a formality."

"Inspection? How will the inspection be conducted?" he couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know." The crisp voice replied irresponsibly, even with a hint of amusement that was rarely seen. "I'm not a prince; all I know is the result of the investigation."

"What?"

Ruoya stopped and looked at him, a mischievous smile suddenly appearing on her smooth face: "If you pass, then of course there's no problem. But if you don't—" She suddenly drew out the word, stretched out her hand, and made a gesture like fireworks exploding.

"Uh, really?" Blinking, Feng Nian'en did not show any fear.

Ruoya was slightly disappointed, muttering resentfully, "I knew I shouldn't have told you it had become just a formality; I didn't even fall for it." As she finished speaking, her expression suddenly froze. What was she doing? How could she say that? How could she have such a mindset? How could she think of playing such a joke on this newly joined vampire?

Feng Nian'en didn't notice Ruoya at this moment. He was just pondering the last sentence. He didn't fall for it? He didn't fall for it? No, he didn't think about whether Ruoya was joking with him. He just... didn't care.

Volume Two, Chapter Thirty: Father's Last Words

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He didn't fall for it?

Fool! Fool!

That androgynous voice rang in my ears again, the flamboyant laugh, the bright purple short hair, the arrogant tone echoing in the night sky: "Fool! Fool! I will never tell the truth! Haha! You've been fooled again, fooled again...!"

Siwen... will we never see that head of purple hair again? But even if we did, what difference would it make?

With this bewildered feeling, Feng Nian'en spent the last part of the ceremony. The night was not long, but he learned more about the vampires from the prince.

Like humans, vampires also have different races, which they call "lineages." No one has bothered to investigate exactly how many lineages there are in the world; throughout history, even if only one vampire remains in a lineage, it cannot be said that the lineage has disappeared. However, the majority, consisting of only six lineages, are those that participated in the Kalarima Treaty.

They are: Graeme, Ellie, Felt, Bass, Huang, and Bomhaba. He belongs to Ellie's lineage, which is why Saiya referred to the prince as Prince Ellie yesterday.

According to vampire custom, each city has only one prince to avoid conflict over bloodlines. This city has two vampire clans for two reasons: first, the city is large and populous, so the supply of bloodlines is not a problem; second, both are leaders of their respective clans.

Of course, there is one more crucial point that Prince Ellie did not mention, but which should have been told to him by his elders: the Ellie lineage holds a higher status than the other lineage, so even if disputes arise, they can be resolved.

As for why the prince of the Fürth lineage would stay in this city, that remains a mystery. After all, even if the prince of a lineage has a lower status, there is absolutely no need for him to live in the same city as another lineage.

Feng Nian'en had never imagined how complicated the vampire world was; she was simply stunned after receiving gifts from other lineages.

"Every single...every newly joined vampire receives such a gift?" he murmured, asking Ruoya beside him, who was also talking to herself. Yesterday, the prince had told him that there were approximately ten thousand vampires in the world. If every single one of them received a similar gift upon formally joining, then almost everyone would be a billionaire!

"Of course not." Ruoya looked up, playing with the purple ballpoint pen.

“Then why…” He looked down at the gifts on the table again. A pile of certificates, documents, and keys. It wasn't complicated to organize: a brand-new silver-grey Mercedes-Benz Eurowing 300SL, an apartment in the city's most well-equipped neighborhood, shares in a casino called Silver in Las Vegas, a farmhouse in the south of France, complete with two brown Sierra horses. A French horse, and of course, the yacht that Saiya had given him yesterday, now waiting for him to name it at the city's largest yacht club.

If he hadn't retained some semblance of rationality, he might have truly believed he was a prince fallen to earth, but even so, he couldn't help but feel his blood rushing. He had suddenly acquired so much? And all of this was now his?

"Because you are Cangya's junior."

Feng Nian'en struggled to break free from the mind-numbing gift and looked at her in bewilderment.

Ruoya put down her pen and began to explain further.

Volume Two, Chapter Thirty-One: Father's Last Words

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Feng Nian'en finally gained a better understanding of the vampire clan and her current status.

It's hard to tell whether this is true for all living beings or because vampires are all descended from humans, yet this life form also has hierarchical divisions. Among the six lineages, the Ellie lineage ranks second, and in terms of overall strength, it's not much different from the first-ranked Golem lineage.

When Feng Nian'en asked how the rankings were determined, Ruoya's answer astonished him: bloodline. Simply put, it was the strength of the first vampire in each lineage at the time. This is similar to horse racing. Training is important, of course, but lineage is the key factor. The purer the bloodline, the greater the chance of winning. This is why some people would spend tens of millions of dollars to buy a colt; all they want is its bloodline.

According to Ruoya, he was of noble birth, not only because he belonged to the Ellie lineage, but also because Cangya's bloodline was pure.

After hearing the explanation, Feng Nian'en couldn't help but smile wryly. She had been given this bloodline by a child who was only a teenager. Although this child might be the oldest in the world, it still felt really uncomfortable.

“And another thing,” Ruoya continued, “you are now by Prince Ellie’s side, and your status is several levels higher than that of princes in ordinary local cities.” After she finished speaking, she picked up a ballpoint pen and lowered her head to write something again.

"So, I guess I really am quite lucky." After living an ordinary life, I've suddenly become a ghost with status, wealth, and power. I don't know whether I should be grateful or not.

"You know that much." She said, putting down her pen and using the computer to calculate the final result. Ruoya nodded in satisfaction. "What's your next step?"

"What?" He looked up at her, somewhat bewildered.

"What's your next plan? Are you preparing to acquire a large number of Zhang's shares to achieve a vertical integration, or are you starting to operate related products to influence them indirectly?"

Feng Nian'en paused for a moment before realizing what Ruoya meant. He scratched his head and asked cautiously, "I... um, Cangya, I mean, how much money do I have right now?" It took him a long time to finally ask this question.

"Not much. Cangya likes to collect things, and those things can't be considered formal assets yet. He can only give you about 30 million US dollars."

This would certainly be a huge fortune for an ordinary person, and even Feng Nian'en, a vampire, wouldn't have too many extravagant hopes. But if she wanted to use this money to influence the Zhang family, that would be impossible.

"It's not impossible." Ruoya took out a cigarette and tossed one to him. "If arranged properly, it could cause the Zhang family some losses."

"Losses?" Feng Nian'en placed the cigarette on the corner of the table, as if seeing a beautiful, tearful face. No! He had never harbored ambitions towards the Zhang family; high position and power were never his goals, and he knew he had no innate leadership abilities. He only wanted to protect the Zhang family, to protect the Zhang family as she had instructed.

"Protect the Zhang family?"

Ruoya's slightly mocking tone pulled him back to reality, and he realized that he had blurted it out unconsciously.

"Leaving aside Zhang Jiru's own abilities, even your young lady is probably more talented in business than you. Are you going to protect the Zhang family for them?"

Feng Nian'en understood what he meant and didn't intend to refute it. He simply lowered his head and fiddled with the cigarette.

These words had already been repeated once, and Ruoya sighed, her brows furrowing slightly. What was wrong with her? Why bring this up again? Let him do what he wants; her only goal was to protect Cangya during his confinement. What did it matter if things succeeded or not? Why should she care?

Volume Two, Chapter Thirty-Two of Father's Last Words

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"Alright." After a moment's pause, Ruoya stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray, her voice revealing a resolve she herself didn't realize. "Let's give it a try."

Feng Nian'en raised her face, revealing a self-deprecating bitter smile, and whispered, "Thank you."

Ruoya snorted coldly, tossed the notebook in front of her to him, and was about to say something when Feng Nian'en's phone rang. He glanced at her apologetically, answered the call, and heard a voice he least wanted to hear. He stammered a few words, ended the conversation, sat in his chair in a daze for a long time, and finally stood up as if he had made up his mind.

"I need to go out for a bit." He said stiffly, his back to Ruoya.

"It's Long Xinsheng, isn't it?" The tone was extremely certain.

"Okay." His hand was already on the doorknob.

"Starting yesterday, you are not allowed to act without the permission of your elders for the next three years."

Feng Nian'en's hand froze on the doorknob. After a long pause, he finally spoke: "You mean you won't let me see him?"

"No, you go. But—" she said, her tone seemingly indifferent, "I'll go with you."

"I understand." He nodded, opened the door, and strode out. From the first time he saw Ruoya at Zhang's, he knew that if she wanted to, there was nothing he could hide from her, especially now that he was under her supervision. Besides, he had never intended to hide it from her.

Since the ceremony, he's been staying in this house on the same street as the Zhang family mansion for the past two days. Ruoya hasn't asked him to quit his job, and he hasn't thought it through yet. Fortunately, today is only Friday, and he's already taken two days off. He'll think about it some more in the next couple of days.

He went downstairs, stood in the entryway for a moment, and considered the matter. The sports car, which had been called a gift, had been delivered along with the certificate, and all the formalities had been completed. The sun was shining brightly, and his health was really not suited to being exposed to the elements at this time. However—he shook his head and decided to go outside and hail a taxi.

He tried to walk in the shade of the trees, becoming increasingly certain that he should bring an umbrella, otherwise he might faint on the street one day.

On a normal street, Feng Nian'en could flag down a car in less than five minutes. Unfortunately, this was a so-called wealthy area, where almost every household owned a private car, so very few taxis came here.

He was walking slowly when he suddenly caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of his eye. He looked up sharply and saw it was Zhang Hanwen's Ferrari.

Feng Nian'en's first thought was to hide. He couldn't see her; he was no longer the same person. How could he possibly see her now? But did he have to never see her again? Did he have to hide from her for the rest of his life?

A lifetime… He gave a self-deprecating smile. What a long lifetime.

Thinking this, his heart gradually calmed down. When he looked up at the car again, he discovered that there was a woman inside, with red hair, leaning on the steering wheel.

Zhang Hanwen? It should be her, but why is she here? Isn't this near the Zhang family mansion? What is she doing here?

As he pondered, his feet moved toward the car.

"Miss?" he called out uncertainly; hair dyeing was all the rage these days. The person in the car didn't move, so he called out again.

The woman's shoulders twitched, and she slowly raised her face. Feng Nian'en froze instantly.

It was Zhang Hanwen, with those thick eyebrows, those large eyes, that oval face—his mistress. But when had his mistress ever been so bewildered? When had she ever been so dejected? When had she ever been so…desperate…

Volume Two, Chapter Thirty-Three of Father's Last Words

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Yes, despair. Those dark eyes and bloodless lips conveyed this heartbreaking message.

"Miss..." he managed to say. He didn't know if the dizziness was from the scorching sun or from the face before him.

Zhang Hanwen didn't answer, only stared blankly at him. After a long while, he seemed to recognize the person in front of him, his lips moved a few times, and finally he uttered a barely audible voice: "Idiot..."

"Miss, what's wrong?"