Chapter 11 New Life (Part One)
The dilapidated building undergoing demolition could never serve as a long-term residence. After obtaining one hundred thousand cash from Zhong Jing, Xia Yan decisively rented an old and shabby apartment in another nearby old community—a one-bedroom, one-living room, and one-bathroom layout.
The quality of the house and the living environment were hardly commendable; the only advantage was that after paying a higher rent and double the deposit, the landlady, an elderly woman, no longer fussed over the rental needs of two young girls who couldn’t provide identification.
Time flew by, and the May Day holiday had ended several days ago. All cities in Huaguo had transitioned from one kind of hustle and bustle to another.
On May 9th, Thursday.
In District J of City C, at a riverside old community undergoing demolition, the rumbling machinery clattered about, knocking down old red brick walls and causing old buildings to collapse like they were stripped of their spines. Dump trucks were constantly coming and going, with construction site barriers being built along the streets and the edges of the demolition plans.
On the site, amidst a rugged industrial beauty, a stylish girl in work attire was operating a large excavator, wearing a hard hat and appearing serious.
At the other end of the site, a dark-haired girl in a white chef’s coat was carefully moving a large barrel of egg flower soup on a flat cart towards a dining area.
The brother and sister duo raised in an orphanage had smoothly enlisted after turning eighteen. Gu Yao, who had a physical flaw by birth, struggled much more, trying various jobs to gain experience, especially while working at a hydropower station where he managed to learn a bit about operating an excavator.
Though he didn’t have a license, Gu Yao’s daily wage conditions were so appallingly low—only two hundred yuan per day—that it led a meticulous foreman at the demolition site to agree to give him a short job after he showed decent skill and had an appealing appearance.
On the other hand, Xia Yan, who had a more graceful appearance and demeanor, lacked any marketable labor skills and could only take on the role of providing meals for the workers, earning a meager forty yuan a day—barely worth it.
The two young girls stood out brightly among a crowd of older male migrant workers, adding a different atmosphere to the demolition site.
As night fell and work ended, Gu Yao jumped down from the excavator and met up with Xia Yan, marking the conclusion of their day.
The foreman, sporting a beer belly, approached with a smile, counting out two hundred and forty yuan in cash to hand over, while meaningfully addressing Gu Yao, who was removing her hard hat and taking off her plastic hair cover: “Xiao Yan, Xiao Yao, there’s a beer festival at the Water Park tonight. Why not go together to watch the show and grab some late-night snacks?”
“No, thank you for your kindness, Manager Chen, but we have some personal matters to attend to tonight. Today is also our last day of short work, as we agreed beforehand.”
Gu Yao nonchalantly positioned himself in front of quiet Xia Yan, displaying a charming smile; he sensed something was off with her physical condition today.
“Oh, I see… How about you work a bit longer? The wages can be negotiated!”
The foreman was slightly displeased, disappointment from the rejection conflicting with a sense of regret over losing cheap labor.
Gu Yao simply shook his head, supporting Xia Yan’s arm and walking towards the exit of the construction site.
…
They casually bought some fast food in the neighborhood and crossed the dimly lit narrow old street, turning into an even older small community before finally returning to their shabby rental apartment.
Upon entering, Gu Yao quickly helped the weak Xia Yan to bed and checked her forehead.
“I’m fine, just a precursor. It’s not blood thirst yet.”
Xia Yan smiled, waving her hand and trying to regulate her breathing, dismissing the faint aches in her limbs.
It had been six days since she last ingested blood, and only now had she begun to feel the initial signs of blood thirst.
Different blood servant individuals have varying intervals for dependence on blood intake, generally ranging from three to seven days. More advanced individuals might extend this interval to over half a month or even a month. By comparison, Xia Yan was already exhibiting top-tier resilience for her kind.
Reducing the intensity and frequency of blood boiling could effectively prolong the blood thirst intervals, a conclusion Xia Yan had confirmed through Gu Yao.
That afternoon when they encountered Huang Gu, Gu Yao’s outburst had caused that blood thirst interval to last merely a day. During the past week, Gu Yao had only ingested blood once, which was considered normal.
“Brother, how about I sneak some at the hospital tonight?”
Gu Yao was obviously less composed than Xia Yan and was preparing to execute the same old plan.
“No need, I can last for two more days. According to the information Huang Gu gave, the underground shop is tomorrow night, so there’s still time. Also, Xiao Yao, please, under no circumstances should you do anything that increases your exposure risk. Absolutely, absolutely!”
Xia Yan grasped Gu Yao’s hand firmly, emphasizing every word.
“I know, you’ve said it countless times…”
Gu Yao nodded with a hint of impatience, as if he had developed a psychological reflex to the repeated reminders of these past days.
“Delivery for Room 303!”
While the two were discussing, outside the window, under the night sky, the voice of the delivery person echoed from the corridor. Soon, Gu Yao returned to the room with a cardboard box.
Glancing at the shipping address, which was located in the office building where Zhong Jing worked, Xia Yan let out a long breath, knowing that their new identities had finally been solidified.
Two sealed personal file folders, a household registration book, two identification cards, two bank cards, and two mobile SIM cards lay on the bed as Xia Yan picked up her ID card.
The photo had been taken on the afternoon she left Zhong Jing’s company, and after background retouching, it became the new identification photo on her ID.
The dark-haired girl’s photo captured her youthful age, calm demeanor, and serious expression.
Upon examining the information on the household registration book, it all had been modified and confirmed under Zhong Jing’s suggestion. The registered address was in a suburban area of District J of City C, which had long been converted from agricultural to residential use, making it difficult to trace.
Everything received had clearly been handled through special channels, both fake and absolutely real. In Xia Yan’s view, the tip of the iceberg of the blood clan world was perhaps barely visible now.
“Brother, let me see yours… Hehe, I think I might be prettier than you!”
Gu Yao excitedly compared the two ID cards, surprisingly focusing on whose photo was more attractive.
Watching her younger brother’s relaxed smile quietly, the last thread of anxiety in Xia Yan’s heart disappeared. It seemed that with the psychological management over the past few days, Gu Yao had accepted the reality of giving up their old surname.
Starting today, Xia Yan and Gu Yao would cease to exist in this world, replaced by Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao.
…
While having dinner, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao continued discussing going to the underground shop together tomorrow night.
Suddenly, a phone rang in Jiang Yan’s pocket. She knew it was Zhong Jing calling and quickly jumped off the bed, heading to the bathroom.
“Hi, did you receive everything? The bank cards were opened under your new identities at an overseas bank. The password is your birthdays, and theoretically, you can link them to a few domestic online payment platforms.”
“Oh, and those two phone cards were registered with out-of-province IDs, mainly for your day-to-day communications. It’s best to get your own real-name phone cards only for functions requiring real-name registration, and try to use them sparingly.”
“Yep, thanks, just received it ten minutes ago.”
Jiang Yan hurriedly expressed her gratitude, very satisfied with Zhong Jing’s careful arrangements.
“No need to be polite. Additionally, there are also some anniversary gift items from our company being sent out, which you’ll receive by tomorrow at the latest. No need to thank me; customer first.”
After hanging up, Jiang Yan was a bit stunned.
What the hell, a company straddling the line between normalcy and vampirism with an anniversary celebration… The image of Zhong Jing’s pretentious, cynical, and unfathomable face resurfaced in her mind, and the more she thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
