My Good Life - Chapter 3
Readers thought that I was writing a fantasy comic book, but I wasn’t.
It’s real.
The comic I was publishing on the Internet was called “Vampire Series – The Vampire Prince Licks Intestines.” Of course, the protagonist was none other than Li Weiwei. Most of the panels were of him collecting rent and his daily life.
Readers find it very interesting, although I don’t quite understand why some people think that such a scary Li Weiwei was so handsome it reached the sky, but as long as the readers spent money and I got to eat, it didn’t matter. My priority was to feed myself. As long as the readers like it, I’ll draw it.
So, in a way, I was grateful for Li Weiwei and his daily dose of foul mood, sharp tongue, viciousness and venomous words. Because of him, I have a story to tell and draw.
What’s more was that, because of his arrogance and coldness, he wouldn’t read my comics. For now, I was safe, and my life was at peace.
Otherwise, according to Li Peipei and my general knowledge about vampires, it should be quite easy for him to kill me.
And he will once he finds out.
Which is why I’m truly grateful for his unpleasant personality.
So, when I got paid, I didn’t delay. I immediately withdrew the money and prepared myself to hand him the money face to face.
This is the rent I owe and the first rent I pay him. I didn’t have the money when I first moved into this building. Even though I’ve earned money before, some things came up that needed taking care of…
“Aaaah!” I heard a scream from the rooftop. It’s loud enough that I was sure the whole building must have heard it. I didn’t know anyone who could do that other than Li Peipei.
As she was someone who’s rarely awake during daytime, it’s only natural that I should check up on her, especially since we’re neighbors and friends. Thing is, Li Peipei was the kind of vampire who screams at anything, and so I didn’t pay it any mind and headed to Li Weiwei’s place on the first floor.
But after knocking for a long time, no one answered the door.
It’s common knowledge that vampires sleep during the day, but Li Weiwei and Li Peipei were considered as “day walkers” who can walk around town in broad daylight. Especially for Li Weiwei, who can be awake for 24 hours a day as long as he can smell the scent of money.
I was still wondering where he could’ve been when I heard rapid footsteps from upstairs.
As soon as I turned towards the stairs, I saw a pair of long legs in cartoon coral velvet pajama pants rushing down, and as for her upper body… It was completely blocked by the furry creature in her arms.
It was Li Peipei’s dog named Mangzi. The dog was her treasure even though it didn’t do anything other than eat, sleep and shit.
“What happened to Mangzi?” I asked. Mangzi’s head was drooping, tongue hanging out, and drool dripping to the ground. It didn’t look any different from a dying dog.
“It swallowed my magic weapon I dropped on the ground!”
That wasn’t surprising.
Each of them had their own magic weapon designed to protect them. It’s a very important item that would remain with them for the rest of their lives.
Li Peipei’s weapon was a whip that can change its form. She called it an egg whip because when the whip wasn’t in use, it would turn into a ball.
I’ve been to her messy room before, and I’ve seen her carelessly throwing her egg whip into her coffin. She didn’t close her coffin either, just like how some people wouldn’t make their bed after getting up.
At that time, I tried to warn her. “Mangzi might eat your whip.”
But Li Peipei just brushed it off. “It has a murderous aura. Mangzi is too cowardly. He wouldn’t dare eat it.”
Now here we are, her carelessness finally came to slap her in the face.
“What now?”
“I’m going to take him to the hospital and get it out!”
“Then hurry up!”
“I don’t have any money!”
“…”
I put my hand on Li Weiwei’s door while the other was clutching on to a red envelope. I looked at it, then to Li Peipei and down to Mangzi. I sighed.
“I do. Let’s go.”
It may sound absurd, but every time I could finally pay the rent, a variety of peculiar and messy situations related to my neighbors would come up. In the end, my money was…gone.
While Mangzi was in the surgery room getting the foreign body out of him, Li Peipei and I sat outside and waited.
She looked at the envelope in my hand, with only half of the money remaining, and asked me, “Are you going to pay the rent?” “
“Yeah.”
“Please, don’t. If you do, it’ll make the rest of us look worse.”
I rolled my eyes at Li Peipei. “Li Weiwei may not like this, but money is still money to him. I should give him whatever that’s left.”
“Li Weiwei called us the ‘Four Kings of Rent Arrears.’ If you paid the rent, wouldn’t you be breaking up our small group?” Li Pei continued to persuade me, “Besides, you can’t pay the rent for two days.”
“Why is that?”
Li Pei glanced at me. “The Vampire Association recently received a request for assistance. Xiangxi is asking for help in getting rid of the corpses. Decades ago, several corpses went missing in the Xiangxi border’s town. Li Weiwei has been busy with this matter. He wouldn’t have time to collect your rent.”
The United Vampire Association, also known as Vampire Association, was an organization of vampires with Li Weiwei as the person in charge. I even heard someone calling him Director Li.
No wonder I haven’t seen him around. It’s because the director has been busy with official duties.
Speaking of which, this United Association of Vampires was also a magical existence.
In recent years, because of Chongqing’s good infrastructure, regulated real estate, affordable housing, and other advantages, it attracted a large number of non-human residents who were looking for a place to live. In addition to Chongqing’s topography, it’s also cloudy and foggy all year round, with little sunshine which is suitable for vampires. Vampires around the world loved it here.
In January 2015, the United Vampire Association officially moved their headquarters to Chongqing. They’re determined to take root in the mountain slope city and give vampires a bright future.
That’s what Li Peipei told me when I first arrived here. At that time, I only thought she was talking nonsense, but now I realize how wrong I was…
“I think Li Weiwei won’t be here for a while. You’ll have to wait till he gets back. Why don’t we celebrate for now?”
“Celebrate what? That your dog nearly choked to death because of the egg whip you left hanging around?”
“Xiaoxin, you haven’t gone out for a long time. Let’s celebrate today that the egg didn’t choke Mangzi to death, and that you can finally afford to pay rent! I recently heard about a small bar with good wine! You can still earn money if you spend it, but you can’t get back time if you waste it! Let’s go!”
She had a point and so I…went along.
After taking Mangzi home, Li Peipei and I went to the bar to loosen up.
Jiefangbei Square was as lively as ever. We headed straight to the small bar she mentioned. The bar has a pleasant atmosphere. There’s a band on the stage playing chill-out music which makes it a good place to relax and chat.
Two or three glasses of wine down and Li Peipei’s eyes started wandering, eyeing the men in the room. Not long after that, men began to come over and talk to her, one after another.
I held my glass of wine and remained quietly sitting on the side.
Li Peipei wanted to be in a serious relationship but didn’t have the means to do so. Going to bars was a very important social occasion for her as it was where she could find a partner. Someone who could make her heart beat and bring her a sense of excitement.
Perhaps I was just being a prude or something, but I don’t think someone you met in a bar was an ideal partner for a long-lasting healthy relationship.
I took a cursory look around. The bar has a lot of customers. Some were in groups chatting with each other while some came alone to get drunk. Some came to drink with friends and joke around while some were interested in making a profit. The waiters would go back and forth, urging the customers to have a few more drinks. The bartender was polishing a glass, occasionally looking up at the customers sitting at the bar, his eyes reflecting the dullness of repetitive and mundane work.
A lot of types of beings were present in this small bar.
But in my opinion, the most dazzling being here was Li Peipei. Her energy was so different from these people that it made her stand out…
On second thought…
My gaze stopped at a man sitting alone in the corner.
Dressed in a black down jacket, he’s doing nothing but stare at the wine glass in front of him. The air around him seemed frozen and his demeanor was so out of place with the atmosphere of the whole bar.
I can only see the side of his face under the neon glow. He has a hard facial feature, his beady eyes have a cold light I’ve never seen before, and he just sat there like a sword about to be unsheathed.
I was drawn to him.
And perhaps it’s true that people can feel it when someone is looking at them, because he then turned his head slightly, his indifferent gaze at me.
Our eyes met and I couldn’t help but tremble at the sudden sensation of my throat being at the end of a very sharp sword.
This man…
“Su Xiaoxin!” Li Peipei yelled at me. The urgency in her voice was startling. All the men around her before were already gone and she’s now standing beside me, her troubled eyes fixed on the man in the corner.
“What’s wrong?”
“We should go.” Li Peipei grabbed me by the wrist and hurriedly walked out the door. She pulled me along as we took a couple of turns away from the bar. Then she rubbed her arms and trembled. “That was scary. I’ve got goosebumps! Next time, I’ll bring my egg whip with me. This world is dangerous!”
I’m confused. “What’s going on? Was that a vampire just now? Did you fight with a super speed that’s why I didn’t see it?”
Li Peipei gave me a blank look. “What super speed? You watch too much anime.” She rubbed her arms, “That one wasn’t a vampire. I can’t see what he is, but he’s definitely not human.”
In this world, creatures such as vampires, mermaids, werewolves and so much more existed. They’re referred to as non-humans.
After World War II came the establishment of the United Nations. To cope in an era wherein non-human creatures were in danger and prevent their extinction due to the advancement in human technology, non-humans formed an alliance that will help each other survive in a world dominated by humans. And so, the World Non-Human Alliance came into being.
The World Non-Human Alliance is probably their United Nations. Under that is the National Non-Human Management Committee of China, also known as Non-Human State Committee, and under that are various provincial and municipal management committees.
Different races have groups of their own such as the Vampire Association, the Werewolf Association, the Mermaid Association, and more.
Non-human beings in human society are actually a huge group.
I am no longer surprised by the appearance of non-human beings in my life, nor was I afraid like before. Especially since Li Peipei is with me, because in my opinion, she’s very powerful. Well, at least compared to Xiao Lang and Meimei. As for Li Weiwei, I don’t know, but in Li Peipei’s words, “Ten of me isn’t enough to fight him.”
But even if Li Weiwei is a strong vampire, it didn’t prevent his sister from provoking him. Hence, her reaction just now was worrying.
Although the man’s gaze was indeed…
“Anyway, don’t go to that bar again.” Li Peipei’s eyes widened at her watch, “Ah! It’s almost ten o’clock, I have to go to class now. You go home and be careful, okay?”
I waved her goodbye and headed for the bus stop.
After crossing several overpasses, it was already past eleven o’clock when I got off the bus. It would take another twenty minutes to reach home. It started to drizzle.
In Chongqing, such weather was very common. I put my hat on, planning to jog on my way home. As soon as I stepped down from the bus, my feet landed on a shadow on the ground.
I looked up only to see Li Weiwei in his signature suit and leather shoes standing in front of me holding an umbrella.
“Where did you go?”
Perhaps it’s because he’s been busy and tired, his voice is low and his temper isn’t as bad as usual. Hearing that, plus the soft sound of the rain, made it seemed as if he’s…concerned.
The author has something to say: The previous chapter was a bit short, so this chapter is long