Blood Queen - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: A New Home

***

The off-road vehicle drove along the bustling streets, weaving between high-rise buildings.

Dazzling signboards, colorful advertisements, and an endless stream of vehicles, the modern civilization’s orderly peacetime was so seamlessly integrated that it gave the illusion that the world was still eternal and unique.

The place where Wan Yue was taking the two women, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao, was said to be an old city folk culture protection area in J District, forming part of the historical and cultural heritage of the entire C City. In the current era of rapid real estate development, it was one of the few areas listed as prohibited from commercial real estate demolition and development.

The road gradually narrowed, and the buildings on both sides gradually changed from high-rises to low traditional residences. Finally, they parked at the entrance of a small alley where motor vehicles were prohibited, and they continued on foot.

The alley was narrow, with traditional green-tiled white walls on both sides, embellished with various local folk culture reliefs. Behind the low walls were rows of old-style houses with separate courtyards.

In appearance, the alley and these independent courtyard houses had been carefully renovated with special municipal funds, retaining the impression of an old-fashioned style while incorporating exquisite modern details.

“…5 years ago, I met a little friend whose ancestral house was here. Recently, her ancestors passed away, so she took the opportunity of returning home for the funeral to rent out this ancestral house. In local terms, it’s called ‘nurturing the house with smoke and fire’. She doesn’t care about the rent amount; the main thing is that the person must be trustworthy.”

After entering the alley for several hundred meters, Wan Yue finally led the two women to stand in front of a red-painted wooden door of an independent courtyard house.

The door wasn’t locked. Gently pushing it open, in the small courtyard, a beautiful tall woman wearing a black dress with straight long black hair was sitting quietly at an elegant small stone table reading a book.

After entering the small courtyard, Jiang Yao began to look around, shocked at the existence of such an ancient and luxurious private courtyard in the heart of the bustling urban area.

Jiang Yan, on the other hand, turned her gaze towards the woman in the black dress at the stone table, just as their eyes met.

The woman in the black dress wore light makeup, and judging by her appearance alone, she looked to be not yet 30, elegant and dignified, not given to frivolous speech, with a pair of beautiful, clear, and bright large eyes.

Upon meeting Jiang Yan’s gaze, a hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of the woman in the black dress, as if encountering someone familiar.

Jiang Yan also seemed to resonate with something in this eye contact, and her footsteps unconsciously came to a halt.

“Sister Wan is here, let’s have some tea together.”

The woman in the black dress withdrew her gaze, put down her book, slowly stood up, and made an inviting gesture towards the three.

“Mama!”

A little girl about 6 or 7 years old, dressed in an adorable black princess dress, ran out from the inner room and clung to the side of the woman in the black dress, curiously looking at the strangers who had appeared in the courtyard.

The exquisitely cute little lady, like a porcelain doll, made even Jiang Yan take a few extra glances.

Following closely, a tall young man in a suit, looking at most in his early 30s, walked out carrying a tea tray. He just smiled slightly at everyone and placed the tea tray on the stone table.

“This is my little friend, you can call her Sister Min. These are the Jiang sisters, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao.”

Wan Yue sat down without any ceremony, and even deliberately winked at the tall young man who was pouring tea: “Yang Nie, you two might as well move back to C City, then you can come to my place for drinks every day!”

“Hehe, you chat, I’ll take Mengxi for a walk outside.”

The young man smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and walked out of the courtyard gate holding his daughter’s hand, leaving the space to Wan Yue and the others.

“Xiao Min, what do you think?”

After the young man left, Wan Yue finally turned to the woman in the black dress with an inquiring look: “The children I just brought out plan to help at my shop, and they’re very self-disciplined in their personal lives.”

“Mm, since Sister Wan introduced them, I’m very reassured.”

The woman in the black dress looked at Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao again, nodding slightly: “Give me two more days to tidy up, and you can move in. The rent is 20,000 per year, is that alright?”

Such a luxurious private courtyard with three bedrooms and one living room, and the annual rent was only 20,000!

The calmness and generosity of the woman in the black dress directly stumped Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao, who almost couldn’t hold their teacups. At this moment, all they could do was nod quickly in gratitude.

“Jiang Yan, you’re the older sister, right… Mm, you seem a bit too nervous, you should relax more.”

With the main business settled with extremely high efficiency, taking no more than 2 minutes, the woman in the black dress personally refilled Jiang Yan’s water, blinking her beautiful big eyes, with a half-smile.

“Jiang Yan, you might have a chance to learn from Sister Min here, her throwing knife accuracy is rare to see, even I have to admit defeat.”

Wan Yue smiled, looking at the scene before her with a somewhat peculiar atmosphere, seemingly implying something.

Holy crap, she’s that capable? Even the old witch admits inferiority? Isn’t she an ordinary person?

Jiang Yao was stunned, even wanting to activate her boiling blood on the spot to investigate. However, just as she was about to mobilize her body’s senses, she found that one of Jiang Yan’s hands was pressing firmly on her knee under the table.

“Thank you for your trust, Sister Min. My sister and I will take good care of this house… Um, I need to tidy up my current rental place now, so Xiao Yao and I will leave first. Thank you also, Sister Wan!”

From the moment she stepped into the small courtyard and met the gaze of the woman in the black dress, Jiang Yan had fallen into a strange state of wild guessing and uneasiness.

That gaze, which seemed to see through her in an instant, hid an invisible cold blade, stripping away layers, dissecting like a skilled butcher, causing her disguise to shatter unexpectedly.

Not daring to have any more eye contact with the woman in the black dress, Jiang Yan immediately stood up with an inexplicable nervousness, lowered her head, and pulled Jiang Yao out of the courtyard gate.

Jiang Yan’s seemingly impolite behavior made Wan Yue and the woman in the black dress in the small courtyard laugh in surprise.

“Sister Wan, I’ve seen many interesting people in your shop, but these two today are even more interesting, reminding me of some past events.”

With no outsiders present, the woman in the black dress changed her expression, her quiet elegance gradually fading away, her demeanor becoming increasingly relaxed. She somehow produced a pack of cigarettes, took one out and lit it, and casually tossed one to Wan Yue.

“Oh? Tell me your thoughts.” Wan Yue held the cigarette in her mouth, her eyes smiling.

“That Jiang Yan doesn’t seem much like a woman… Hehe, let’s not talk about this. Let’s go to your shop for drinks tonight, otherwise, in a few more days, I’ll be heading back to S City. This past month and a half has been suffocating!”

The woman in the black dress suddenly burst into unladylike laughter. Not far away, the tall young man who was about to re-enter the courtyard with his daughter, seeing his wife and Wan Yue, two female hooligans, shamelessly puffing away, quickly retreated and closed the door.

Letting his daughter see her mother smoking would only lead to the birth of another female hooligan in the future, right?

“Haha, your man is such a wimp!”

Wan Yue laughed so hard tears came to her eyes.

…

With Zhao Peng’s help, in just a few short days, the sublease of Lingzui’er Cold Snacks was successfully completed. Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao, after paying half of the deposit for early termination of their current lease, officially moved into their new home on July 14.

The traditional folk culture alley, specially protected by the municipal government, was very quiet. The exquisite small courtyard, with its three-bedroom and one-living room interior layout, though old, was extremely well-maintained, fully equipped with household appliances and furniture.

Flopping onto the large master bedroom bed, Jiang Yao was so comfortable she almost moaned. To prepare for the move, they had been packing in the old rental apartment until midnight yesterday, and then rushed to the new home early in the morning. Jiang Yao couldn’t wait to take a nice nap.

Jiang Yan, on the other hand, was moving back and forth between each room with curious eyes, appreciating the traces left by the years.

Now, she and Jiang Yao had essentially chosen a dependent relationship with Wan Yue. No matter how beautifully the other party phrased it out of consideration for their self-esteem, it couldn’t change this fact.

Wan Yue’s personal strength was undoubtedly, and the resources at her disposal were even more unfathomable. Moreover, she had finally resolved one of Jiang Yan’s mental knots.

To truly live freely and safely, one must first know exactly what kind of being they are, and secondly, have the strength to protect their current life. They had seen enough of the cruelty of the vampire world in recent days, and she didn’t want to become the next Sister Tan.

“Xiao Yao, stop lounging on the bed, get up quickly, we need to do another thorough cleaning. The appliances we brought need to be connected, and we need to go out to buy some household items. Let’s get the house in order over the next few days, and next Wednesday we’ll start working at Sister Wan’s shop.”

“Smack!”

“Ah!”

Directly slapping the light golden-haired girl’s buttocks, that bouncy and tender feeling made Jiang Yan feel good for several seconds, and her tense and suppressed mood improved a bit.