Archive of Our Own

Cheng Xiao was the one who suggested going out for drinks.

“Aren't we supposed to be going out tonight,” Yibo complains as she drags him through the front door to the bar. “If we’re going out then why are we at my work? You said you were going to be buying!”

“That’s exactly why we’re going somewhere cheap,” Cheng Xiao retorts. “Besides, I know that Bing-ge is sweet on you and we’ll get free drinks if we come here.”

“Stingy,” Yibo grumbles. At the mention of Hu Bing, Yibo glances at the man working behind the bar nervously. He’s not sure if Hu Bing has been flirting with him through all the free drinks and help during Yibo’s shifts or if it’s just because he’s fond of his youngest employee, but the possibility sends a shiver of excitement down his spine and he turns back to Cheng Xiao, “Do you think that Bing-ge—”

And then his gaze catches on a tall man making his way to the seating area reserved for vampires.

“If you mean do I think that Bing-ge would sleep with you, then the answer is definitely yes. Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t already hooked up–”

“Wait,” Yibo nudges his shoulder against Cheng Xiao. “Who do you think that is?”

The beautiful man has his hand on another man’s lower back, guiding him to the area cordoned off for feeding. He’s dressed impeccably in a well-cut suit and a soft-looking silk button-up—equal parts elegant and unapproachable. The two men walk up the stairs to the raised seating area, heads bent in towards each other as they whisper. As they turn, Yibo catches the glimpse of a pair of lovely drooped eyes and the curve of a sweet smile.

When Yibo looks back at Cheng Xiao, he finds her assessing him.

“I thought you said you didn’t like vampires,” she questions.

Yibo’s work brings him into contact with vampires daily—not only is the bar a vampire-friendly establishment, but even the entertainment company where Yibo trains is full of vampire investors.

Vampires may be legally allowed to work anywhere, but many are still drawn to more artistic or un-regulated careers that appreciate the finer things in life. Less conservative humans see vampires as a thrill, not a threat, and vampires not only love beauty, but they also have the money to pay for it.

Yibo watches as the two men sit. The taller one traces his fingers along the jawline of the other, presumably stroking over the spot where his teeth will sink in, and Yibo draws in a sharp breath.

“I don’t not like vampires,” Yibo protests as he turns. He hopes that Cheng Xiao doesn’t notice how red his ears are. “I just haven’t met many that I’ve been interested in.”

“Mhmm,” Cheng Xiao says doubtfully.

Yibo’s eyes continue to periodically drift over to the unknown vampire as they get drinks. Just as Cheng Xiao predicted, Hu Bing gives them cocktails for free, and Yibo sticks his tongue out at her when she looks at him pointedly. With a few drinks in Yibo’s system, he finds it even easier to loosen up.

Leaving Cheng Xiao at the bar, he wades into the crowd on the dance floor, leaning back into the first pair of hands to reel him in and slowly swaying his hips. Yibo has always liked dancing and he’s in his element here. It makes him heady to feel the pressure of someone else against his back, kissing along his neck and holding him in place.

He looks out across the bar and this time the vampire is looking back at him. Human or vampire, this is a game Yibo knows how to play. Smirking, he tips his head back, showing off the length of his neck as he continues to roll his body.

The vampire's companion is sitting on his lap by this point and the vampire is grazing his teeth over the other's neck. His attention, however, is completely on Yibo. The vampire tightens his hold on his companion and starts to drink. His eyes are still dark on Yibo and Yibo imagines the feeling of fangs sinking into his skin.

Yibo feels the warm, wet mouth of his dance partner latch on the sensitive skin of his nape and begin to suck.

"Fuck," he gasps.

The man behind Yibo chuckles. One of his hands has inched from Yibo’s hips to his front and he cups Yibo's growing erection, pulling their bodies flush. "You're so sensitive from just a few kisses." Yibo can feel a hard length forcefully pressing against him. "Are you always like this? Or am I just lucky?"

"Mmm, I don't know." Yibo can't remember a single feature of the man holding him, but it doesn't matter when the gaze fixed on him from across the room is so heavy. He meets those dark eyes with his own, purposefully drawing his voice out slow. "Do you want to find out?" He's heard before that vampires have abnormally good hearing, and he wonders if the vampire is listening to his conversation now, picking up on the subtle cues. "I like being watched."

The man swears, hungrily kissing the corner of Yibo's lax mouth. "You're crazy." The hand on Yibo’s cock tightens, rubbing him harder.

Yibo can see the moment the vampire realizes how Yibo is being touched. His eyes flash and his pointed nails dig into his companion's back as he pulls him in.

Is he thinking about Yibo the same way that Yibo is thinking about him, wishing that he were drinking from Yibo and touching him like this?

“What if I want to fuck you here,” the man behind Yibo laughs derisively, but his hands continue feeling Yibo, greedily touching as he rubs his dick against Yibo's ass. He eases the zipper at the front of Yibo's jeans down, palming Yibo through his boxers. Yibo sees the vampire's eyes follow the movement and Yibo rocks sinuously into the man's hold. "Are you going to let me fuck you right here on the dance floor, baby?"

Yibo snorts. The hands touching him are rougher than Yibo usually likes and if it weren't for the heated gaze on him then his erection would have flagged already. "If that's what you want, you're going to have to prove yourself a little bit more first.”

"You're a bit of a princess, huh?" The stranger thumbs the head of Yibo's cock and Yibo jerks forward with a moan as a dribble of precome seeps out.

The vampire had been whispering something to his companion, but at the noise, his gaze snaps back to Yibo. It seems like the vampire can hear them, and it only makes Yibo not want to hold back even more.

"Don't worry," the man behind Yibo continues. Yibo’s boxers are wet with precome now as the man keeps stroking him, kissing him. "I'll treat you right."

As brazen as Yibo is, this is the first time he's allowed someone to go this far while dancing and he's not sure if he's drunk on the vampire's intoxicating presence or if he needed this after the long days of work and training. It feels so good having hands on him, pleasuring him, and his gaze starts to slip out of focus.

Maybe Yibo just needed to be touched and it didn’t matter who was the one to do it.

The man appears to have taken Yibo's words of needing to prove himself seriously because he hones in on the things that make Yibo respond the most–licking and sucking on Yibo's neck as he teases the head of Yibo's cock through his boxers. Yibo wonders how good a vampire's night vision is, if the vampire can see how close Yibo is to coming in his pants like a hormonal teen.

He’s not sure when he closed his eyes, but when he opens them again, the vampire is gone.

"Shit." Yibo pushes the man away, hands fumbling as he zips his jeans back up.

Looking around the bar, Yibo sighs in relief when he spots the vampire making his way to the exit.

He's dimly aware of the man who he'd been dancing with calling him a slut as he darts away, but his focus is already on the tall man a few steps in front of him. Before he thinks about what he’s doing, he reaches out and grabs the vampire’s sleeve, and he’s probably holding onto a jacket that costs more than his rent, but—

“Wait!”

Up close, the vampire is even more beautiful than Yibo was expecting. He looks surprised to see Yibo, and his eyes flick over him, taking Yibo in from the half-hard erection in his pants to the rumpled state of his mesh shirt.

On the dance floor, having the vampire’s gaze on him had made him feel powerful. But now, Yibo is painfully aware of how his damp boxers are sticking to him. How he almost let a stranger get him off on the dance floor of the bar he works at, not even thinking about if Cheng Xiao or Hu Bing were watching too.

His cheeks heat up.

This is why he doesn’t do vampires, because how do you even begin to impress someone who has lived for centuries and seen all the pleasures the world has to offer?

Anxiety is gnawing at his insides, but he’s already come this far. Relying on his idol training, Yibo schools his face into something alluring and unaffected.

“You’re leaving already, ge?” He pouts, keeping his eyes teasing. “And without your friend too?”

“Friend?” The vampire looks younger when he laughs, and Yibo is pleased to find that his pretty, wide eyes are just as beautiful when creased in mirth as when they were intense and staring at him. The man’s gaze settles on Yibo, considering. “That wasn't a friend. He was just another vampire groupie.”

Just like you, seems to go unsaid.

Being mistaken as one of the many humans that hang around vampire bars in the hopes of being fed from makes Yibo’s stomach lurch. But then again, is he really that different?

He decides to go with it.

Yibo grins, tossing his head. “Was that guy really enough to satisfy you?”

“Yes?” The vampire’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. “I don’t need to feed too often. So even just those few minutes of feeding should—”

“No, ge,” Yibo cuts in impatiently. He tangles their fingers together, pulling the vampire’s hand up until it’s pressed against Yibo’s warm chest.

This way, he can feel Yibo’s hot skin through the mesh material, maybe can even feel the way his chest rises and falls with every breath and heartbeat. Vampires are predators, attuned to the feelings of their prey. Can he feel the way that Yibo trembles, so scared and yet so eager?

“I don’t mean blood. I mean, are you really satisfied with just that?”

Yibo draws in a shaky breath, then molds his expression into something inviting. There’s a reason why his company sends him to modeling jobs even though he’s technically still a trainee, and it’s because he knows how to hold himself. He knows how to fake confidence.

His mouth quirks up in amused arrogance and he deliberately drops the pitch of his voice, slow and rough. “Taste me and you won't want to drink from anyone else."

The vampire’s eyes darken immediately. As he looks Yibo over, Yibo hopes that he’s replaying the image of Yibo being taken apart on the dance floor. Maybe he’ll think competitively that he could do a better job than that other man. Yibo hopes so.

“What’s your name?” the vampire asks finally. He lifts his free hand to cup Yibo’s cheek and, just like the hand pressed against his chest, the touch is deathly cold.

“Yibo.” He licks his lips nervously and the vampire’s expression softens slightly. “I’m Wang Yibo.”

“A pleasure, Wang Yibo.” Yibo doesn’t know if the vampire is saying that meeting him is a pleasure or Yibo himself is one. “I’m Xiao Zhan.”

Then, Xiao Zhan uses his thumb to part Yibo’s lips and kisses him.

Yibo leans into the kiss and it tastes like copper, that someone’s blood.

When Xiao Zhan finally breaks the kiss, Yibo leans back in again. But he’s stopped by a gentle, yet firm hand on his chest.

“I’ll be waiting outside if you truly want to come home with me.” Although he says if, Xiao Zhan smiles like he knows that Yibo will definitely follow. “I expect that you’ll probably want to check in with your friends and put my name in the app first if you haven’t already.” He smiles darkly, wiping Yibo’s lip with his thumb, and when he pulls his hand back Yibo sees that there’s a bit of blood on it. “Got that, Wang Yibo?”

Still feeling a bit stunned, Yibo nods dumbly. It’s not until Xiao Zhan leaves that he looks for Cheng Xiao, quickly finding her at the bar not far from where Yibo left her.

“Yibo, what the fuck?” Cheng Xiao says in lieu of a greeting. She has moved on to another colorful drink, and there’s a pretty girl next to her, keeping a hand on her thigh. Seeing that Cheng Xiao seems to be getting along fine without him, Yibo doesn’t feel guilty at all about leaving her. “I thought you were interested in Bing-ge? What’s up with you and that vampire? You’re not going home with him are you?”

“Yeah, I am,” Yibo breathes, remembering the cold hand on his face, the lips that tasted like blood. Xiao Zhan had mentioned an app, and Yibo briefly remembers that he’s heard of an app that vampire groupies use to make sure that they’re going home with trustworthy vamps. It’s not something that Yibo has ever used before, nor intends to. “He said his name is Xiao Zhan.”

“You’re going home with Xiao Zhan?” The girl next to Cheng Xiao leans forward. Yibo thinks her name is Yang Zi? She looks familiar and Yibo wonders if he knows her from the bar or if he’d seen her with Cheng Xiao before. “I’ve known him for a long time, he’s a good guy. Not very social, but you know,” she quirks an eyebrow at Yibo, “with the right motivation….”

Yibo flushes at the thought that Xiao Zhan might be bending some of his own rules for the sake of him. Xiao Zhan had said that he didn’t even need to feed—was he just indulging Yibo’s request? Would a vampire care about the wants of a human like that?

“Wait, you said you’ve known him for a long time?” Cheng Xiao turns to Yang Zi, blinking. “How long is that?

Yang Zi parts her lips enough to reveal fangs, giggling sheepishly. “A very long time.”

“Oh,” Cheng Xiao stares at the glimpse of sharpened teeth.

Leaning in, over the bar, Yang Zi smiles. “That’s not a problem, is it?’

Yibo snorts—maybe he wouldn’t be the only one going home with a vampire tonight. Knowing that Cheng Xiao can handle herself, Yibo leaves her stuttering out a reply. He waves at Hu Bing over the patrons ordering drinks, then slips outside.

The barren street outside is deathly quiet in comparison to the deafening atmosphere inside. Not only the quiet, but the chill of the night air suddenly hits Yibo.

The street is completely empty. He’s not sure where Xiao Zhan is and Yibo feels nervous again. It’s so unlike him to let himself get carried away over a vampire, and he’s not sure if all of this is worth it.

Working at a vampire-friendly bar the way he does, of course, he has gotten picked up by vampires before. He’d even been like all the others in the beginning—eager to see what it felt like to be fed from and whether the floaty feeling made everything feel even better. He went home with a vampire or two, and everything was just…so-so.

The first vampire had hardly looked at him, hardly touched him as he prepped Yibo and entered him. The whole process felt so detached and when he bit Yibo’s neck, it didn’t feel particularly pleasurable at all. It was all just…fine.

And then, the vampire finished in him and everything was over. He told Yibo to clean himself and leave. Yibo ended the night by jacking himself off in a beautiful gilded bathroom and cleaning himself alone. The only good thing about the whole night was the fact that the vampire had called and paid for a DiDi to take Yibo home rather than making Yibo take the bus.

His next experience with a vampire wasn't much better. The second vampire had been just as utilitarian in his approach as the first, touching Yibo the bare amount necessary and forcing Yibo to his knees to suck him off. The lightheaded feeling of being fed from wasn't worth such coldness, such disinterest, nor such mediocre sex.

So, yeah, Yibo really hadn’t been interested in another experience with a vampire. What was it that people say about fool me once, fool me twice? It doesn’t make sense to expect that this time would be different just because Xiao Zhan has a prettier face.

If he's going to be disappointed anyway, it’s for the best that Xiao Zhan appears to have left already. If Yibo wants to face the embarrassment of returning, he can go back in, get Hu Bing to treat him to more drinks. Or maybe he should just cut his losses and go home.

A car pulls up next to him and the window rolls down. “Yibo!” Xiao Zhan smiles, and Yibo isn't sure if he's imagining it, but he looks…relieved. "You came."

"Yeah," Yibo smiles back, way too vulnerable for a mere hookup. "How could I, a good samaritan, ignore a fellow man in need?”

Xiao Zhan snorts, "You're ridiculous." He taps his hands absentmindedly against the steering wheel, adding awkwardly, “I’m a vampire, not your fellow man.”

Just like most vampires, Xiao Zhan appears to have money. Yibo slides into the passenger seat of the sleek black Audi, marveling at the leather seats and the new car smell. If Yibo wasn't already entranced by Xiao Zhan, seeing this car alone would make him want to fuck him. He strokes his hands over the soft leather, finding Xiao Zhan watching him in amusement when he looks up.

"Do you like it?"

"Who wouldn't?" Yibo leans back into the seat with a contented sigh. "Ge, your car is almost even sexier than you are."

“Is that so?” Xiao Zhan places a hand on Yibo’s thigh, leaning over the center console. “I’m glad I’m still sexier than my car.”

Yibo is finding it hard to concentrate on what he wants to say when Xiao Zhan is this close, smiling at him. He notices that there’s a small beauty mark underneath his lips and that’s sexy too. He licks his lips, drawing in a shaky breath, “Just by a little.”

Xiao Zhan backs Yibo into the seat as they kiss and it’s just the type of kiss that Yibo likes. It’s all-encompassing, Xiao Zhan nipping at his lips and not allowing him to escape. He can feel Xiao Zhan’s fangs scraping over his tongue and he’s dizzy with the nerves and excitement, wondering when Xiao Zhan will sink his teeth into Yibo’s lips and finally begin to drink from him.

The hand on Yibo’s thigh is just as deliberate as the kiss. Yibo thinks at first that Xiao Zhan will move his hand higher, maybe even start to jerk Yibo off, but Xiao Zhan’s hand stays firmly put. The weight is enough to remind Yibo of what’s to come and sparks of anticipation dance under his skin. Even after Xiao Zhan leans back in his seat and begins to drive, his hand stays on Yibo’s thigh and the touch feels like a promise.

The mix of arousal and anticipation makes Yibo feel jittery. He picks at Xiao Zhan’s fingers, and Xiao Zhan flips his hand over so they can hold hands, his hand squeezing Yibo’s reassuringly.

“So how old are you?” Yibo asks, at last, looking for something to say just to break the silence.

Xiao Zhan laughs. “Is that why you’re drawn to vampires? Because of how old we are?”

While Yibo likes dating older men, it’s never been about the age specifically. It’s just that older men normally give Yibo the attention he craves. He—like most people—likes to be appreciated, and he gravitates to the people who offer that to him.

He shrugs, pulling Xiao Zhan’s hand closer until he can cradle it between his hands. “I’m just trying to figure out if I should call you yeye or ge,” he teases.

Xiao Zhan uses the time that the car stops at a light to turn and stare at Yibo incredulously. Yibo meets his gaze, feigning innocence and Xiao Zhan finally breaks eye contact so he can begin driving again.

“Unbelievable… the youth these days,” Xiao Zhan grumbles, as he shakes his head. Then he sighs. “If we’re counting the years I’ve been…” he gestures helplessly, “alive, then I’m over 400 years old. But I was only 30 when I turned, so my body is physically not that much older than you are.”

Over 400 hundred years ago. Yibo tries to recall what China would have been like 400 years ago, but his memories of history class are hazy. He thinks of living without the modern conveniences of the internet and cell phones. Of their modern blue jeans and computers traded in for flowing robes and ink stones. It makes him feel small to think of how many years of experience Xiao Zhan has, and Yibo—who is Yibo?

Just a young trainee who has barely even started life as an adult.

“So, 30?” Yibo hums with false levity. “You’re only seven years older than me, ge.”

“You’re 23?” Xiao Zhan looks surprised, then laughs. “You’re still so young. I guess you should be using yeye with me.”

Yibo wonders if Xiao Zhan means that he’s young compared to other vampire fanatics that he’s met in the past. Or is he thinking of the frozen age of the other vampires he’s made love to? Xiao Zhan has 400 years of lovers to compare Yibo to.

“It’s more than old enough to know what I want.” Feeling competitive, Yibo catches Xiao Zhan’s gaze as he lifts Xiao Zhan’s hand to his lips, mouthing around the knuckles. The skin is so cold and smooth under his tongue as he takes two fingers into his mouth needily.

“Yibo,” Xiao Zhan warns, his hand tightening on the steering wheel. “And what is it—” He breaks off when Yibo bites teasingly at his palm. When he continues speaking, it’s half a whisper, his eyes darting between the road and Yibo beside him. “And what is it that you want?”

Yibo grins, feeling even more daring with Xiao Zhan’s attention on him. “I want to be the best meal you’ve ever had.”

Visibly affected, Xiao Zhan turns his attention to the road. He squeezes Yibo’s hand firmly as he drives the rest of the way to his apartment, speeding through the next few green lights. Whether Xiao Zhan is doing this because Yibo asked or because Yibo has awakened a blood-hunger in Xiao Zhan once again, it makes Yibo giddy to see how much Xiao Zhan desires him too.

After they park, Xiao Zhan keeps his hands on Yibo all the way up the elevator. Either Xiao Zhan’s building is exclusive enough that there’s no CCTV camera in the elevator, or he doesn’t care about what cameras there are, trapping Yibo against the wall and kissing him slow and dirty as he presses his leg cruelly between Yibo’s thighs.

Xiao Zhan hooks his fingers in Yibo’s mesh shirt, walking backward as he pulls Yibo off the elevator and right into the front hallway of his apartment. Yibo marvels briefly that he didn’t even notice if Xiao Zhan tapped his keycard or what floor this is, and then Xiao Zhan is pushing him up against the closed elevator door and his teeth are grazing messily over Yibo’s neck.

Yibo waits for Xiao Zhan to start drinking, but it still doesn’t come. He keeps touching Yibo, so thoroughly like he doesn’t even care how quickly they get to the main event, and Yibo’s embarrassingly pliable in his hands already.

“Did you enjoy putting on a show for me today?” Xiao Zhan asks mockingly. He slips his hands under Yibo’s shirt as he speaks against his neck, and Yibo remembers how shameless he was earlier at the bar. Xiao Zhan kisses the same places that the man did, and the skin is raw enough that it hurts as much as it feels good. “Did you think I would like seeing you getting touched by someone else? Letting him mark you?”

“But you did like it.” The air goes out of Yibo’s lungs, making it hard to breathe, and his voice pitches up, hopeful. “Didn’t you?”

They’re not together, Yibo thinks indignantly. They’re not even anything yet. There’s no reason why Yibo can’t be with anyone else and he knows that Xiao Zhan knows that too.

Besides, Xiao Zhan doesn’t sound like he’s upset.

When Xiao Zhan pulls back, bracing his arms on the wall over Yibo’s head, he’s smiling. “I couldn’t stop looking. I thought I should stop—you’d already found someone else to be with.”

“No, I didn’t—” Yibo can’t help but protest. His nose wrinkles at the thought of going home with the guy from earlier, letting that unnamed person from the bar trap him against the wall like this. “He was just—”

Tracing one hand down Yibo’s chest, Xiao Zhan plays with the button of Yibo’s jeans, a wry reminder of when Yibo let himself be undressed in the bar earlier. “You kept looking at me.”

“From the moment I saw you enter the bar,” insists Yibo, pushing his hips forward in encouragement, ”since I first caught sight of you, I was looking.”

Xiao Zhan pops the button of Yibo’s jeans, pulling the zipper down slowly. “Because you were sizing up the next vampire you would target?” he questions.

“No,” Yibo hooks his arms around Xiao Zhan’s neck. Grinning, he arches into Xiao Zhan’s touch. Xiao Zhan isn’t the only one who is good at being a tease. As slow and molten as Yibo feels, he wants Xiao Zhan to give him more. If he has to be more forward to get it, then he would. “Just sizing you up, ge”

Yibo’s remark seems to throw Xiao Zhan off-balance; he laughs incredulously. “You sure know how to talk.”

“It’s not just talk,” Yibo guides Xiao Zhan’s hand to his ass, sighing when Xiao Zhan takes the hint and slips his hand into Yibo’s jeans and cups his ass. Yibo’s pants are barely clinging to his hips at this point. “C’mon, Zhan-ge. Replace these bruises with your own.” He tilts his head to the side, showing off the splotchy red marks on his neck that will be bruised by tomorrow. “Mark me. Fuck me until you’re the only vampire I want, too.”

“That pretty mouth of yours is so dirty.” Xiao Zhan remarks as his smile quirks up. But, his scolding words are in contrast to his actions, as he helps Yibo out of his jeans and pulls the mesh shirt over Yibo’s head. He looks Yibo over with satisfaction, then he steps back. “Line your shoes up nicely. I don’t like dirt on my floors and if we’re going to do this then I want to do it properly.”

Being left half-naked at the door makes excited goosebumps rise over Yibo’s skin, feeling both chilled and excited. He likes that Xiao Zhan feels self-assured enough to order him around and he likes having his own body on display. If there’s one thing that Yibo doesn’t feel self-conscious about, then it’s his looks. Yibo knows he looks good and there’s no sense in pretending otherwise.

Obediently, Yibo lines up his sneakers next to a pair of dress shoes. After a moment’s thought, he pulls off his socks too and stuffs them into his shoes. Then, just in his slightly soiled boxers, he follows Xiao Zhan into the apartment.

Now that he’s not kissing Xiao Zhan, he can get a better look at his surroundings. From the outside, Yibo was expecting the penthouse to look minimalistic and modern. Usually apartments this expensive are filled with designer furniture and have as little personality as a department store showroom.

But Xiao Zhan’s apartment is different.

The whole room is bursting with color and life. The walls are covered with various paintings and photographs—from ink to oil to abstract—and the furniture looks almost as old as some of the paintings. Though the velvet chaise looks well-kept, the fabric is worn down in some areas. Yibo isn’t knowledgeable about art—he doesn’t know if the artists who painted the works are famous or not. But even without being an art aficionado, he can tell that each of them has been carefully chosen. Though there are a variety of styles and periods, they somehow all work with each other.

He catches sight of one of the older-looking pieces, an ink painting of a woman. On the ancient silk scroll, a woman stands in the garden, lotus flowers arranged behind her.

Xiao Zhan comes up behind him, wrapping his hands around Yibo’s waist, and Yibo shivers at the cool touch of Xiao Zhan’s fingers against his skin. “Her name is Xuan Lu," he murmurs. "She’s one of my oldest friends.”

Yibo wonders if Xuan Lu became a vampire at the same time as Xiao Zhan did, or if she had fed from Xiao Zhan in the years before his own turning. Did she drink from Xiao Zhan’s long elegant throat the way that Xiao Zhan has drunk from so many others?

“She’s pretty,” Yibo admits. Half-turning, he leans into Xiao Zhan’s hold as he continues looking around. Even though the large room is crammed with art and books, it doesn’t feel cramped at all. The whole place is teeming with Xiao Zhan’s interests and taste. “Do you bring people back to your place often?”

“Not really,” Xiao Zhan absentmindedly strokes Yibo’s lower stomach and Yibo’s breath stutters every time his hands get close to the elastic of his boxers. Either Xiao Zhan doesn’t notice or he likes Yibo’s reactions because Xiao Zhan's gentle movements don't falter. “I like my space to be quiet.”

Yibo thinks back to his dorm at the company where there’s never a quiet moment. Ever since he'd moved to Beijing from Luoyang, he’s been living a life that overlaps with that of the other trainees. They squeeze together into the bathroom in the mornings before a dance practice, and when Yibo’s bunkmate is too lazy to climb to the upper bunk, he sleeps next to Yibo instead.

“So,” Yibo says, leaning his head back against Xiao Zhan’s shoulder, “Does that mean that I’m special?”

Laughing, Xiao Zhan pets his hands down Yibo’s sides. Somewhere during Yibo’s time looking around the apartment, Xiao Zhan has taken off his jacket and Yibo can feel Xiao Zhan’s silky dress shirt pressed against his back. His metal belt buckle digs slightly into Yibo’s lower back, cold and tingling.

“Maybe,” Xiao Zhan says cryptically. Then he pulls back. “Come here.” He leads Yibo with hand on his lower back, the same way that he had guided the other man through the bar. “Sit.”

Yibo settles at the kitchen island, and Xiao Zhan pushes a bowl of dried figs and a glass of water to him.

“Hey, ge,” Yibo says wryly. “I thought this evening was supposed to be about me feeding you, not you feeding me.”

“If I’m going to drink from you, then you need to boost your iron. Water helps too.” He frowns, looking concerned. “Have other vampires not told you this before?”

Considering that Yibo’s past experience with vampires has been limited to two self-centered assholes, it isn’t surprising that this is the first time that he’s hearing this advice. He wonders if this is why he felt slightly nauseous after the other times.

“No, not really.” Under Xiao Zhan’s watchful gaze, he sips at the glass of water and then makes a show of nibbling at the figs. “Are you this considerate to all of your house guests?”

“It’s common courtesy,” Xiao Zhan says simply, sitting on the bar stool next to Yibo.

“And you take care of them afterward too?” Too impatient to continue being polite, Yibo shoves figs in his mouth until his cheeks bulge.

“Did my reviews say that I didn’t?” Xiao Zhan quirks an eyebrow up. “I guess I need to check my profile more often. I’m not too good with technology and I don’t like using apps either, but if someone was actually upset then I—”

Xiao Zhan eases his phone out of his back pocket, ready to unlock it.

“No, nothing like that!” Yibo reassures him—through a mouth still of figs—even as his own stomach is sinking.

It's not like Yibo knows what Xiao Zhan’s reviews said; Yibo never checked the app. But considering how gracious Xiao Zhan has been so far, it’s hard to imagine that anyone else would have a different experience.

Unless he truly was a different person when it came to Yibo—

It’s clear that this is just business as usual for Xiao Zhan, and Yibo isn’t sure why he keeps hoping that Xiao Zhan will say something to indicate that it isn’t. Yibo doesn’t have to be special, this is just a one-night stand. He swallows the dried fruit in his mouth with difficulty, reaching for the glass of water and washing them down.

“Are you feeling nervous?” Xiao Zhan tilts his head, gentle and considering. He puts his phone aside on the kitchen counter, giving Yibo all of his attention. “I can drive you home if you’ve changed your mind.”

Did Yibo need any more evidence that it didn’t really matter to Xiao Zhan how the evening went? It was cruel how kind he was. Here Yibo was, wanting to be wanted, and Xiao Zhan was simply willing to listen to whatever Yibo said, without any true wants of his own.

Yibo should feel grateful, but instead, he feels hollow. He pushes away the now-empty bowl, trying to climb onto Xiao Zhan’s lap and nearly knocking them both off-balance.

“Aren’t you hungry, ge?” insists Yibo. Xiao Zhan, eyes wide, has one hand braced on the kitchen counter and the other one gripping Yibo’s waist, keeping them both upright. Yibo’s hands go to the collar of Xiao Zhan’s expensive shirt, easing the top button open. “But even if you aren’t, I still am.”

Xiao Zhan’s face softens and his smile is unfairly brilliant as he leans up to kiss Yibo.

Yibo manages to get Xiao Zhan’s shirt open as they make their way down the corridor to Xiao Zhan’s bedroom. They’re stumbling over oriental rugs and passing by other gorgeous paintings that Yibo can’t fully appreciate because he can’t take his eyes off of the stunning person in front of him.

“Easy, easy,” Xiao Zhan laughs into the kiss. His shirt is sagging off of his shoulders and it falls to the floor. He hoists Yibo up and Yibo wraps his legs around Xiao Zhan, narrowly avoiding crashing into what looks like a Matisse as Xiao Zhan secures his hold on Yibo.

It’s hard to believe that Xiao Zhan has been dead for so long when his eyes are gleaming with repressed laughter like this and they can’t stop kissing. Yibo wraps his arms around Xiao Zhan’s neck and their kisses are so desperate and messy that Yibo doesn’t even realize that he has nicked his lip on Xiao Zhan’s fangs until the taste of copper fills both of their mouths.

Immediately, Xiao Zhan’s hold on Yibo tightens and he pushes back into the wall as he ravages his mouth, latching onto Yibo’s cut lip and sucking on it with a moan.

Yibo is lightheaded and he’s not sure if it’s from the blood or the lack of oxygen. He pulls back enough to dislodge Xiao Zhan from him, gasping greedily for air as Xiao Zhan turns his attention to the bare skin in front of him, licking up Yibo’s chest and curling his tongue around Yibo’s right nipple.

“Fuck,” he tries to say, but the word comes out in almost a wail. Yibo sinks his fingers into Xiao Zhan’s hair, holding him there at the same nipple as Xiao Zhan continues to tease it.

Then his fangs scrape over the hardening nub, and Yibo’s head falls back against the wall with a thump.

“Ge,” he whines. “Fuck, Zhan-ge,” Yibo babbles. “You haven’t even bitten me yet and I already want to give you a 5-star review.”

Xiao Zhan snorts with laughter.

Even if Xiao Zhan is just doing this because Yibo propositioned him. Even if Xiao Zhan was just too nice to say no. Even if it doesn’t mean anything more, Yibo is going to make sure that he fully experiences what it’s like to be with a vampire tonight.

Yibo is reminded just how strong vampires are when Xiao Zhan shifts all of Yibo’s weight onto one arm. He moves his mouth from one nipple to the other, using his free hand to pinch at the nipple he’d just left behind.

“Ah, ah—Bite me,” begs Yibo. Xiao Zhan’s secure hold on him doesn’t even budge when Yibo arches his body, curving off the wall needily as he tries to rub his body even more into Xiao Zhan’s mouth, tries to be touched even more. “Ge, I want to feel it.”

“So pushy,” Xiao Zhan chides, kissing the middle of Yibo’s chest so sweetly. “You weren’t this loud earlier in the bar.”

Laughing breathily, Yibo twists in Xiao Zhan’s arms. He feels confident enough that Xiao Zhan won't drop him that he begins to test how strong Xiao Zhan really is. “Should I have been louder back then?” He’s so hard already that he’s burning up with it. “I wasn’t sure how many people would be listening in. You heard me though, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did,” Xiao Zhan presses his hand to the front of Yibo’s boxers, rubbing him through the fabric. “You sounded so pretty as he touched you. Don’t tell me that was also a show for me?”

Yibo’s breath is rough as he collapses back into the wall, pressing his cheek into the smooth, cold surface as he groans, “I wanted you to notice.” His body is too tingly, too boneless for him to hold onto Xiao Zhan or even keep himself upright.

“I did.” Xiao Zhan slips his hand past the elastic of Yibo’s boxers to slide his hand over Yibo’s dry dick. It’s rough, almost painful, without anything slicking him up, but Yibo loves it. “I also thought about what kinds of lovely sounds my hands would pull from you, and how much nicer you would sound if you were touched directly.”

Xiao Zhan presses his thumb to the tip of Yibo’s length and precome weeps out of him, even more responsive than he had been in the bar.

Yibo’s legs kick out and he sobs.

“So, so beautiful,” Xiao Zhan soothes as he jerks Yibo off, spreading his wetness over him.

Yibo’s whole body feels like a live wire, crackling and twitching without his control. The coldness of Xiao Zhan’s skin is so glacial that it’s scalding.

With a cry, Yibo spills into Xiao Zhan's hand and Xiao Zhan strokes him through it.

“I don’t even have to bite you and you’re already like this,” Xiao Zhan observes with a laugh. “Do you even still want me to feed from you?”

It’s so unfair that Yibo’s sanity is hanging by a thread and Xiao Zhan is still this collected, this smug. He wants to see Xiao Zhan just as crazed as he feels. Yibo is already this wild, and he’s not even a monster in the way that Xiao Zhan is.

“You can’t back out, you can’t—” Yibo protests. He wonders if vampires have other ways that they entice humans or if Yibo is just this irrationally taken by Xiao Zhan. He hates how imbalanced it all is, hates that he somehow feels anything at all about this. “You can’t—”

Xiao Zhan cradles Yibo against his chest, and Yibo leans against him as Xiao Zhan steps away from the wall.

“I’ve got you,” Xiao Zhan murmurs.

Xiao Zhan’s hand goes to Yibo’s nape, stroking him. It’s not until Xiao Zhan walks the last few steps to the bedroom and tips Yibo back onto the bed that Yibo realizes just how close they had been to Xiao Zhan’s bedroom when they paused in the hallway.

The sheets on Yibo’s back are soft and silky, and it might even be the same expensive fabric as Xiao Zhan’s shirt is made of. It’s not the type of fabric that you would want to get blood on, but it doesn’t seem to bother Xiao Zhan and Yibo isn’t going to say anything either.

Now that Yibo has the chance to look at Xiao Zhan, it’s obvious that Xiao Zhan hasn’t been as unaffected as Yibo thought. There are spots of color high on Xiao Zhan’s cheeks, and his cock is straining in his pants, tenting his designer slacks obscenely.

Yibo sits up to fumble at Xiao Zhan’s pants.

Grinning cheekily, Xiao Zhan steps out of his pants as they fall from him, and then he tips Yibo’s hips up, pulling his boxers off in one smooth motion. Yibo’s body curls as Xiao Zhan pulls Yibo’s legs around him, crawling on his knees onto the bed. Xiao Zhan presses his clothed length against Yibo’s bare ass and his teeth are on Yibo’s neck grazing, scraping.

It’s the last silent ask for permission.

Yibo wraps his arms around Xiao Zhan in answer, and finally, Xiao Zhan lets his teeth sink into him.

There’s a sharp nip of pain as Xiao Zhan’s fangs dig in. It feels like his teeth go all the way to the bone, and Yibo can feel Xiao Zhan suckling at his neck, gulping Yibo’s blood down. Yibo can’t move, he’s never heard of a vampire that can paralyze humans and maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with Xiao Zhan at all, but Yibo can’t move.

As Xiao Zhan drinks more, the pain fades away and the tingling pleasure overtakes him. It spreads slowly from his neck, to his shoulder, then his chest and his twitching cock.

It’s even more cold and hot now. Yibo’s whole body is alight as a fog settles over him and his mind scatters. He feels drunk, and he pants, struggling to continue holding onto Xiao Zhan with his hands and limbs feeling so uncooperative.

In the end, Xiao Zhan’s a predator and Yibo is simply prey in front of him.

It feels so different from the other times that Yibo had been with vampires. It had never felt this excruciatingly good. It had never made him tremble like this, made him feel like every inch of his body was yearning. His soft cock has already begun to harden again, curving up towards his belly.

Xiao Zhan pulls away and it feels like the whole world has stopped. Yibo can feel blood dripping down his chest, slow and wet over his skin.

“More—ah more,” begs Yibo. “I feel so—”

Xiao Zhan licks over the wound, then drags his teeth down, biting into another part of his neck. Burning pleasure blooms out from the new wound and Yibo gasps, bucking his hips up. The second bite, although still so sensual, feels muted enough that Yibo is aware of how Xiao Zhan is beginning to grind his own hard cock against Yibo, growing even more and more desperate.

When Xiao Zhan reaches up to hold him steady, his fingers slide over Yibo’s blood-slick skin before gripping onto his shoulder.

Yibo wonders giddily if bloodlust is always connected with a lust for sex. It thrills him how Xiao Zhan’s distant politeness starts to peel away and how frantically Xiao Zhan pushes down his boxers to drag his bare cock across Yibo’s thighs. His hard erection pushes in and out between Yibo’s legs, rubbing messily against Yibo’s own curved length, and Xiao Zhan is spreading his own precome over him. Yibo’s wet with how much Xiao Zhan wants him, and Yibo is shaking with it.

When Yibo leans up to kiss Xiao Zhan, he tastes his own blood. It’s tacky and sharp, as Xiao Zhan slides his tongue against Yibo’s, exploring Yibo's mouth fully. Yibo can’t taste the difference between his blood and the blood that he tasted from Xiao Zhan’s lips earlier. He wonders if Xiao Zhan can taste a difference between them. Is Yibo sweeter? Is he more flavorful?

He nudges Xiao Zhan and Xiao Zhan stumbles backward as he steps down off the bed. With difficulty, Yibo flips himself onto his knees and Xiao Zhan is on him in an instant, nipping at Yibo’s neck and rubbing up against him. Xiao Zhan wraps one arm around Yibo and holds him up against his chest as his dick catches Yibo’s rim and slips past between his legs once again. Gasping, Xiao Zhan’s hips snap back and he pushes against Yibo again.

“Fuck, I just,” Xiao Zhan kisses Yibo’s earlobe, then pulls it between his lips. “I can’t get enough of you.”

The pressure disappears suddenly and Yibo only just manages to keep himself from falling into the sheets beneath him. He’s about to complain about Xiao Zhan making him wait yet again, but then he hears a condom being unrolled and the slick sound of Xiao Zhan jerking lube over himself.

Yibo stares down at the sheets below him, trying to keep his arms from buckling. He’s so shivery and lightheaded, and he’s not sure if it’s the blood loss or the arousal thrumming through him as he listens to Xiao Zhan prep himself. Yibo's blood is dripping onto the sheets below him, and he lets out a snort of amusement. “Laundry must be a pain—all the come and blood can’t come out easily.”

By this point, Xiao Zhan has climbed back over him and Yibo’s comment startles a laugh out of him. “It’s worth it sometimes,” Xiao Zhan reassures him. He continues nipping at the same side that he’d been drinking from as he reaches between Yibo’s legs to test how loose he is. His fingers play along Yibo's rim and then press inside. “Been busy recently, darling? You’re not too tight.”

Slightly startled by the intrusion, Yibo shivers at the feeling of Xiao Zhan’s ice-cold fingers pressing inside him. Even though the unexpected coldness feels strange, it feels good too. “It’s just like I told you," he says at last. "I know what I want.”

It doesn’t matter that the last few times have been Yibo opening himself up on his own fingers as he jerks off in the shower between work and dance practices. He’s been too busy and tired to search for hookups in the way that he used to. Even when he’s in the mood for sex, he’s often too bone-tired to even pick up his phone and call someone over.

“Hurry up, ge,” Yibo whines, not wanting to think about his sad love life. “Or I’m going to be 400 years old as well before you even get your dick in me.”

Xiao Zhan laughs. “You weren’t kidding about being clear about what you want.” He scissors his fingers open inside Yibo a few more times just to be sure, then he holds Yibo’s hips steady and pushes inside him.

It seems like Xiao Zhan is content just to wait, but Yibo isn’t going to let him. Luckily, all it takes is Yibo rocking his hips and then Xiao Zhan starts to piston inside him, setting a deliciously brutal pace.

By this point, the mind-fogging effects of being drunk from are nearly gone. All that’s left is a tingling sensation that dances along his skin as Xiao Zhan kisses the clotted wounds on his neck. Yibo relaxes into the drag of Xiao Zhan’s cock stroking him from the inside out, bonelessly letting Xiao Zhan fuck him as his face presses into the bed.

“Sweetheart,” Xiao Zhan groans into his nape. “Spread your legs wider for me.”

He tries to do as Xiao Zhan asks but it’s hard when all of his weight is resting on his bent knees. Noticing how Yibo is struggling, Xiao Zhan leans back and hefts Yibo’s leg up on his own, pulling him wide as he smoothly fucks in.

This new angle pushes Xiao Zhan’s cock up against his walls, rubbing past Yibo’s prostate with each stroke in. Being pressed into the bed like this, combined with the relentless pumping of Xiao Zhan’s cock into him as his leg is held aloft makes it nearly impossible to move. Yibo’s pinned there, taking all of Xiao Zhan’s wildness.

And it feels so good.

Xiao Zhan barely needs to wrap a hand around Yibo before he’s coming again. Yibo’s body draws tight and then he’s collapsing as Xiao Zhan’s hips jerk into him, fucking his own release into him as the two of them sink into the bed.

Squeezed against him, Xiao Zhan doesn’t move right away and it’s a struggle for Yibo to catch his breath. After coming twice in one night and losing so much blood, he feels too lightheaded and drained to move. Everything has been bled out of him—not only his blood, but also all his cares about what this did or didn’t mean. Even if Xiao Zhan tells him to leave right away like the other two vampires had, at least Yibo was able to get a good fuck out of it.

“How are you feeling?” Xiao Zhan gathers Yibo’s trembling body against him as they lie on the bed. He combs his fingers through Yibo’s sweaty locks of hair, kissing his nape. “I’ll get you some juice and more fruit in a moment.”

Yibo doesn’t want to eat anything, he just wants to lie here as Xiao Zhan holds him and fusses.

Turning in Xiao Zhan’s arms, Yibo grins. “Well, Zhan-ge?” he prompts, teasingly rubbing his foot against Xiao Zhan’s hairy calf. “Are you still hungry?”

“I don’t think I knew what it meant to be hungry until we met,” laughs Xiao Zhan as he leans in towards Yibo.

Even though Yibo’s body still feels heavy and achy, he manages to gather up enough strength to flip Xiao Zhan over. Tipping Xiao Zhan onto his back, Yibo rolls over him. Xiao Zhan’s hands immediately go to Yibo’s waist and it’s good that Xiao Zhan is holding him up because Yibo can barely prop himself up over Xiao Zhan as it is.

Yibo looks down at him with as much arrogant confidence as he can muster considering that he’s about two seconds away from falling against Xiao Zhan’s chest “Isn’t that what I said? That I’ll be the best meal you’ve ever had. That you won’t be able to drink from anyone else.”

“You were right," Xiao Zhan agrees easily with a sly smile, pinching Yibo’s waist. “Clearly wise beyond your young years.”

When Yibo’s arms finally buckle, Xiao Zhan pulls him into a kiss. Without breaking to breathe, Xiao Zhan sits up, rearranging Yibo onto his lap as he continues to lick between his lips. Yibo thinks giddily how amusing it is that Xiao Zhan would drink his blood from him, only to feed it back to him later on.

He’s not sure how long they’ve spent kissing when Xiao Zhan pauses, stroking his hands up Yibo’s back. He speaks softly, coaxingly, ”you need to eat something.”

Perhaps Xiao Zhan can feel how weak he is from how much Yibo is leaning on him.

“Don’t wanna move. And ‘m not hungry,” mumbles Yibo. He grazes his teeth over Xiao Zhan’s shoulder, then playfully nips at the skin. “Can’t I just eat you too?” Even that small movement ends up being too much and he sleepily smooshes his face into Xiao Zhan’s neck afterward.

“You’re not doing a good job of making your case,” Xiao Zhan remarks dryly, petting his fingers through Yibo’s hair. He snorts, fingers stilling. “I’ll just be a moment.”

Xiao Zhan lays Yibo back onto the bed and Yibo stays there while Xiao Zhan goes back to the kitchen. Spread out on those expensive sheets, Yibo looks around. The bedroom is less decorated than the living room is, but just like the other room, it looks cozy. Lived in.

There’s even a book and a pair of glasses on the nightstand.

Is this the Xiao Zhan that everyone else got to see as well? Yibo wants to ask.

Then Xiao Zhan is back. He helps Yibo sit against the headboard, moving aside his book so there is room for the bowl of dried fruit and nuts. He holds the glass of juice up to Yibo’s mouth, waiting until he’s sure that Yibo won’t drop it before he lets him hold it.

Yibo drinks his juice, then eats almonds and dried apricots, as Xiao Zhan retrieves a washcloth and begins cleaning him off.

Do you treat all your guests like this? Yibo wants to ask.

It’s a question that lingers in his mind well into the night when Xiao Zhan licks at the wounds on Yibo’s neck and pushes inside of him for a second time, rocking his hips into Yibo more languidly and lovingly. He tucks his head against Xiao Zhan’s nape, letting Xiao Zhan do all the work of lifting and lowering Yibo onto his cock. Without the frantic feeling from earlier, Xiao Zhan is slow in grinding out his release and—even though Yibo doesn’t have a third release in him, he still enjoys the feeling of being held.

They fall asleep as Xiao Zhan’s release finally stutters out of him, tangled up in each other.

It's sometime in the early morning when Yibo wakes. Xiao Zhan's arms are still wrapped around him and his dick is still inside. Yibo isn't sure how easily vampires wake up, but he extracts himself carefully, trying his best to be quiet.

Luckily, his clothes are easy to find, folded atop Xiao Zhan's dresser. Yibo gathers his boxers from the floor and heads to the bathroom to clean up.

Regardless of how different Xiao Zhan had seemed from the other vampires, the bathroom is just as fancy. Maybe vampires just really like having a nice bathroom, Yibo thinks in amusement. The shower is one of those rainfall showers with stone floors that he's only seen in dramas before, and he sighs in contentment as the water sluices over him. Humming quietly under the spray of water, he practices truncated versions of the newest dance routine he’d been learning.

Another fancy part of the bathroom is the fact that the mirror takes up nearly the whole wall. As Yibo is getting out of the shower, even without meaning to, he catches sight of himself in the wide reflective surface, and he looks—

Well fucked, is probably the only way to put it, he thinks wryly. There are bruises and hickeys all along his throat, mixed among the bite marks. Scabs speckle over the places where Xiao Zhan had fed from, and where Xiao Zhan’s nails had scratched him.

Yibo's also amused to note that Xiao Zhan only bit him where his previous hickeys had been—it looks suspiciously like the clumsy attempt of a dog peeing over another's marking. Perhaps Yibo had been able to awaken some kind of competitiveness in Xiao Zhan after all.

Or maybe it’s just yet another vampire thing that Yibo isn’t aware of.

Yibo dresses in his clothes from last night, opting to go commando instead of putting on his soiled boxers again. He stuffs them into one pocket, then pulls his phone out from his other. He’s tapping through his messages from last night when he remembers the app that Xiao Zhan kept mentioning.

It takes a moment for him to find it in the app store, but it’s easy enough to create an account and log in. As far as Yibo can tell, the app allows people to rate their experiences with vampires by choosing different adjectives to describe how the feeding went. Users can also leave comments, with the more profane or sexual words censored. There’s even a tab where people can report vampires for being abusive.

Yibo notes that there’s no similar reporting system for humans. Additionally, humans have their names partially censored with stars, while vampires have their full names displayed.

Within a few clicks, Yibo finds Xiao Zhan’s profile.

Considerate is the top adjective on Xiao Zhan’s page. Yibo scrolls through the 5-star ratings idly, watching the glowing comments flash by. Other words that show up a lot are gentlemanly and trustworthy. One person relates how Xiao Zhan didn’t mind when they canceled last minute, and another says that he's the perfect vampire for anyone who wants to try being bitten for the first time.

Then another comment catches his eye: Super sweet, and the perfect companion as long as you don’t mistake it for anything more.

Yibo exits out of the app, his face burning. When he sets his phone on the edge of the sink and looks at his reflection again, the hickeys and bite marks on his neck stare back at him mockingly. Even though Yibo kept reminding himself not to read too much into things, apparently there was some foolish part of him that still didn’t listen.

Perhaps it was just because Xiao Zhan was different from how Yibo thought he would be. Yibo never thought that he would be so taken by a vampire at first sight, nor that he would sleep with one again. Xiao Zhan knocked him off-balance, but that’s it.

After a moment, he opens the app again. After all, it’s unfair for Xiao Zhan’s reputation to suffer just because of Yibo’s one-sided delusions. He fills out Xiao Zhan's survey and when the spot for a comment pops open, Yibo settles on writing Very handsome and courteous.

He stares at his phone for a moment longer, then adds wryly, Much older than he looks.

When Yibo leaves the bathroom, Xiao Zhan is still sleeping. The covers are pulled back from when Yibo got out of bed, but he doesn't want to risk waking Xiao Zhan up if he goes closer to fix them. Instead, he tiptoes out through the apartment, back to the shoes he’d left neatly by the front door.

The ride down in the elevator feels longer than it had the day before. Yibo checks his schedule and has to be at the company in a few hours. That means there’s enough time to stop at the dorms and change; maybe he'll even have time to get in a quick nap and cover his neck up with some concealer.

With how many vampires invest in Yuehua, visiting the company to see the trainees at all hours, it would be easy for people to assume that Yibo’s sleeping with one of them. He’s not interested in becoming the topic of rumors or being accused of sleeping his way into opportunities. Just one good night with a vampire hasn’t changed Yibo’s mind. He still doesn’t really do vampires, even if it was a really good night.

Even if he still wishes Xiao Zhan felt differently.

Smiling, Yibo thinks back to the review that he left on Xiao Zhan’s profile, wondering what kind of expression Xiao Zhan will have once he sees it. Will Xiao Zhan remember him in 100, 400 years, amongst all the lovers he’s been with? Probably not.

But to Yibo—even if he never sees Xiao Zhan again—it was a night that he’ll remember.