Chapter 348 – Your Blood Is So Sweet – The Abnormally Normal (14)
Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, Trey held Bai Tang and kissed the corner of his lips. “Don’t ignore me like that again, okay? It scares me.” He would rather Bai Tang hit him or yell at him than hide behind someone else and refuse to speak to him.
“That depends on how you behave.” The little squirrel spoke stubbornly, though his heart felt sweet.
Bai Tang felt guilty for misunderstanding Trey and wanted to make it up to him. His way of compensating Trey was by eating a few extra bites of the dinner Trey made tonight—especially the meat. For a little squirrel who loved vegetables above all else, this was already giving a great deal of face.
Trey ran his hand over Bai Tang’s body, which had grown slightly thinner after refusing to eat meat these past few days. He secretly pondered how to coax Tang Tang into eating more meat. Chubby and soft, he would feel even nicer to hold. Edith had lived with Trey in the Vatican for decades and had never once tasted Trey’s cooking. Yet after arriving at the prince’s castle, she got to enjoy his signature dishes. She felt a little bitter for no reason, but she knew this was not the moment for her to speak.
After dinner, Butler Norman arranged a room for Edith on the first floor and strictly forbade her from going upstairs.
He might trust Trey for now, but he could not trust Edith.
They had never met her before, and she had come from the Vatican. Although she could speak in detail about Duke Adams, who knew whether she was telling the truth—or whether she had been planted by the Pope to provoke internal conflict among the vampires. And although Duke Adams truly did harbor ill intentions, after the previous incident his strength had already been greatly diminished. Even at his peak he hadn’t been able to pull Bai Tang down from power, much less now, when most vampires had submitted to Bai Tang.
Feeling embarrassed about eating and staying for free, Edith volunteered to wash the dishes.
Through the window, she saw Trey holding Bai Tang’s hand as they took a walk in the garden. The soft moonlight fell on them, making them a perfectly matched pair.
Walking face-to-face, Bai Tang stepped backward.
The boy asked, “Aren’t you tired of staying up with me every night and sleeping during the day?”
Trey laughed. “Not at all. After being busy in the Vatican for so long, it’s rare to finally slow down. I really like this kind of pace—no need to think about this or that, just figuring out new menus for my prince every day. Life like this is wonderful.” As long as he could live with Tang Tang, he wouldn’t trade it even for the position of the Pope.
“Hehehe~ But I feel like I’m holding you back~”
The seriousness in the boy’s expression made Trey worry. “Not at all. I’m very free, and I should thank Tang Tang for giving me such a stable life.” Afraid that Tang Tang’s next line would be something like “You should move out,” Trey quickly cut in to express his true feelings.
Bai Tang was actually thinking: in this world, the biggest final boss was Duke Adams. In the original storyline, Duke Adams had nearly wiped out the entire Vatican. Even the male and female leads had suffered losses at his hands. Under his command, the vampires had also caused countless casualties.
Adams was absolutely a disaster to both humans and vampires.
Bai Tang thought that since Adams had already made his move, he couldn’t just sit there and take the blow. He was a vampire prince, and most vampires were loyal to him, so he might be fine—but Trey wasn’t. Trey was human, standing on the opposing side of the vampires. If Adams decided to target him, Trey probably wouldn’t be able to defeat him.
“Trey, I’m afraid Adams will go after you…” Bai Tang spoke bluntly. After spending time with his lover, he had slowly learned the best way to get along: simply saying what was on his mind.
“But if he really wants to target me, wouldn’t it be even easier for him if I left? He’d have no scruples at all.” Trey gently ran his fingers through the boy’s hair—smooth as always.
Bai Tang had only thought that if Trey left this place and went somewhere Adams couldn’t find him, Trey would be safe. He hadn’t considered the reverse—Trey’s actual concern.
Staying by Bai Tang’s side, under the protection of a vampire prince, was in fact much safer for him.
Xiao A held a sheet of paper, studying something intently, while Qiu’er lay beside him, fast asleep. “Don’t worry, Host. I’ll come up with the perfect plan so you and the male lead can live without any future worries.”
Xiao A was full of fighting spirit. To be honest, he used to be extremely capable—talented, smart, and resourceful—always having to give advice to help his hosts complete their missions perfectly. But ever since being bound to Bai Tang, Xiao A felt like he was gradually becoming useless. Bai Tang didn’t need his help at all to complete tasks brilliantly, and the luck he collected always exceeded the quota.
Now he finally had the chance to use his skills again—just thinking about it made him excited.
Excited or not, a plan still needed planning.
After finishing their walk, the two returned to the room.
They sat in front of the fireplace, a chessboard placed on the table.
Bai Tang had recently become obsessed with Western chess. He wasn’t very skilled, yet he loved playing, and he loved regretting his moves. Trey even had to subtly let him win—because if Bai Tang lost too many rounds, he might throw a mini tantrum. Playing chess with him was more exhausting than going to war, yet Trey enjoyed every second of it, sweet as honey.
Edith, familiar with vampire routines, cut some fruit and brought it over.
Bai Tang murmured a soft “thank you” before immediately returning his full attention to the chessboard.
Edith stood watching for a while and noticed that Bai Tang’s pieces had already fallen into a dead end.
Bai Tang thought for a moment and pushed the “soldier” piece on the side forward. Without that soldier guarding, Trey could charge straight in, and the game would be over.
Seeing this, Edith couldn’t help praising Trey. “Trey, nicely done…”
Bai Tang glanced at her. “What do you mean?”
Smiling, Edith pointed at the layout on the board and explained the key point. “No matter what move you make next, Trey’s pieces can take yours—and then he’ll win.”
Bai Tang turned his head back toward Trey. Trey smiled. “Tang Tang just slipped up this time. Let’s play again.”
The pieces on the board were reset, and a new round began.
Edith pulled a stool over to the table and watched them with full attention.
A person’s cleverness could be seen in the way they played chess. Bai Tang wasn’t someone good at setting traps; he never thought ahead about what to do after the next move. He simply focused on whatever seemed advantageous at the moment.
Even though Trey tried every possible way to let him win, Bai Tang’s pieces still kept disappearing. Of course, Trey’s were also decreasing—because he was deliberately giving ground.
As one game neared its end, after watching Trey practically give way the entire time, Edith couldn’t help intervening. She pushed one of Trey’s pieces into the most advantageous position. “Here. Tang Tang loses.”
Bai Tang glanced at Edith again, clearly displeased. He didn’t say a word, but the way his lips tightened showed just how unhappy he was.
Trey said, “Edith, go get some rest. You don’t need to stay here with us.”
At this moment, Trey really wished Edith would hurry up and leave. If she made the little squirrel angry, Butler Norman would surely throw her out.
Edith had been quite sleepy earlier, but after taking a shower and watching two rounds of chess, her mind was running at full speed. She didn’t feel tired at all now.
“It’s fine. I’m not sleepy. Don’t worry—keep playing.”
Trey felt a pang of frustration. He had never seen Edith be this oblivious before.
“Again!” the little squirrel snapped in irritation.
Trey had no choice but to continue.
After several more rounds, every game still ended with Bai Tang losing.
The little squirrel finally got angry, threw his chess piece onto the floor, and said, “I’m tired. You two play. I’m going to bed.”
Edith finally snapped out of the chess game and realized she had somehow caused the two of them to start arguing.
She looked at Trey apologetically. “I’m sorry…”
Trey took a deep breath. “Edith, help tidy this up and get some rest.”
After giving the instruction, Trey took off after the boy. He had just reached for Bai Tang’s hand when the latter brusquely shook him off.
He tried to take his hand again—Bai Tang shook him off again.
After a few repetitions of this, the two had already reached the second floor.
Suddenly, Trey swept Bai Tang up from behind, carrying him horizontally in a princess hold. He pushed open the door, entered the room, and shut it with a loud bang.
Edith looked at the scattered chess pieces and felt like an unwanted extra.
Helplessly, she gathered the pieces, put everything back in place, and returned to her room to sleep.
…
Second Floor
Trey carried Bai Tang into the room and gently set him on the bed.
They no longer slept in coffins, but on a Simmons mattress brought out from the small storage space.
A soft mattress—something this era did not have.
“Don’t be mad, okay?” Trey kissed Bai Tang’s forehead.
The little squirrel puffed up his cheeks. “Am I such a petty person? Hmph…”
Trey chuckled. “Right, Tang Tang is the most generous. Thanks to Tang Tang’s guidance, my chess skills have improved so fast that I could win several rounds tonight.”
Since Trey was lowering himself so much, Bai Tang couldn’t stay cold-faced.
He wasn’t angry about Trey winning. He was angry that Edith had moved Trey’s piece for him—as if they had perfect tacit understanding.
To put it bluntly, the little squirrel was jealous.
“Th–that’s right. I know lots of things you don’t. You’ll have to learn them all slowly.”
“Okay. I’ll wait for Tang Tang to teach me one by one.” Trey leaned closer and closer until their lips pressed together. Soon, embarrassing sounds filled the room.
“S-slower…” the boy gasped.
“Tang Tang…” the man’s breathing was also unsteady.
Luckily, the castle was well soundproofed, and Butler Norman was focused on other matters. Otherwise, if he heard such sounds, he might very well burst through the door and throw out the pretty boy taking advantage of his Prince—without even giving him clothes.
In his room, Butler Norman listened to the messages brought back by the small bats. Everything at the Duke’s castle appeared normal. Since Duke Adams announced he would enter a deep sleep a few months ago, no vampires had entered or left the estate.
Everything looked normal—but the most normal places were often the most suspicious.
The Duke’s castle wasn’t just home to Duke Adams. There were also his butler and his servants, who still needed food and supplies. If no one had gone in or out, there was only one explanation: no one was living inside.
Butler Norman had sent a small bat to infiltrate the Duke’s castle and verify whether Duke Adams was truly asleep within.
Author’s Note :
Trey has lived in the castle for so long, and this is the first time he finally got what he wished for. Let’s congratulate him.