The Cold Queen is My Exclusive Little Snack - Chapter 1

At a busy intersection, a black car screeched to a halt, its door flinging open to eject a passenger like a discarded burden before speeding away.

Ten minutes later, the promised downpour arrived.

Zuo Xingning stood rooted to the spot, the wind-whipped raindrops slapping her face like a wet hand.

“Seriously? You couldn’t even leave me an umbrella? Mom! Mom—cough, cough, ptoo!”

Rainwater streamed down her cheeks and into her mouth. She ducked her head, spitting and scrambling for shelter.

Summer rain, like the sun, was brutally intense, drenching her to the bone in mere seconds.

Zuo Xingning clenched her fist in the direction the car had vanished, then whirled around and sprinted toward the nearest building.

In the office tower lobby, her waterlogged slippers slapped against the marble tiles with a drip-drip sound.

The receptionist, dozing at her desk, startled awake. She yawned, her narrowed eyes misting over. The next instant, a dripping, featureless face materialized from the fog.

She flinched, a scream trapped in her throat by tense muscles. Before she could recover, the Water Ghost-like figure spoke.

“Hello, could you tell me where the restroom is?”

A polite Water Ghost… Oh, it’s a person!

The receptionist snapped out of her daze, swallowing the scream that had risen to her lips. She pointed in the direction of the restroom.

The drenched girl thanked her and hurried away.

The receptionist touched her pounding heart, still shaken.

After reading horror novels all morning, her mind was filled with the supernatural creatures described in the books.

The girl’s skin had been so pale it seemed almost bloodless, her small face half-hidden by dripping strands of hair. At first glance, she looked like she had just crawled out of the water, giving the receptionist a real fright.

Beep—

The pedestrian turnstile beeped, interrupting her thoughts. The receptionist met the eyes of the person who had just entered and quickly straightened her clothes, sitting up straight.

“Hello,” the newcomer said, dressed casually with a mask covering their face. Their voice had a slight nasal quality. “I’m here to pick up a package for room 2301.”

“Certainly, please wait a moment.”

People often had their packages delivered here for convenience, so the receptionist was used to it. Still, she gave the woman an extra glance before retrieving the package.

If she remembered correctly, the 23rd floor was rented to a personal studio.

The renovations had been completed two months ago, but no one had moved in. She’d assumed the studio had failed before even getting started, but this month she heard someone had brought in desks and chairs to set up…

Judging by the woman’s demeanor, she must be in management.

The package was quickly located—a small item. The receptionist glanced at the delivery slip and asked, “Chu, right?”

“Yes,” the woman replied, accepting the package. She didn’t leave immediately. “Why is there so much water on the floor?”

“Water?” The receptionist stood up and peered outside. “It’s raining out there. A girl came in to take shelter and tracked in some water. I’ll call the cleaning staff right away.”

“Did she leave?”

Who? The receptionist paused, then shook her head. “No, she probably went to the restroom.”

The woman nodded, about to say something, when her phone buzzed. She glanced at the message, her peripheral vision catching the scattered trails of water on the floor again.

“If you see that girl again, please tell her to come to the 23rd floor to find me.”

Although autumn had officially arrived, the lingering heat of late summer remained oppressive.

The office building’s air conditioning was set to a frigid temperature. Zuo Xingning, still drenched from the rain, shivered violently and sneezed twice within moments of entering.

She rubbed her arms, walked to the sink, and bared her teeth at the mirror.

Her teeth were pearly white, perfectly aligned, with no sudden “mutations.”

Slightly relieved, Zuo Xingning entered a stall, wrung out her wet clothes, shook her hair dry, and only then glanced at the inner side of her right wrist.

Under her gaze, crimson and emerald hues gradually materialized on her pale skin, forming a floral pattern.

The green stem and two tiny leaves, which should have formed an arrowhead shape, flickered erratically, like a faulty connection, making them difficult to discern.

She could only infer from the flower’s colors that her Familiar must be nearby.

To give credit where it was due, Zuo Minglan still possessed a sliver of conscience. At least she had abandoned her daughter near her Familiar. Otherwise, finding her in this vast, unfamiliar city would have been a hopeless task.

Zuo Xingning pursed her lips and flicked her wrist, causing the emblem to vanish once more.

Her mother’s craftsmanship was crude and amateurish; the hastily drawn mark was unreliable and prone to malfunction.

Leaving the restroom, Zuo Xingning scanned her surroundings as she walked back.

The emblem on her wrist had burned briefly when she first ran here, indicating her Familiar’s proximity. But she had seen no one around at the time, dismissing it as a glitch.

Only when she turned back did she realize that the elevator corridor was just a meter behind her previous position, tucked into a corner that had been in her blind spot.

A turnstile blocked the entrance, forcing Zuo Xingning to stand outside and peer in.

Eight elevators lined the corridor, divided into high and low floors. The numbers above the inner two rows were difficult to read, but based on the lower-floor indicators, the building must have at least thirty or forty stories.

In other words, without a specific target, searching floor by floor would be a futile endeavor.

More importantly…

Zuo Xingning glanced down at her loose gray T-shirt and then raised her gaze to stare at the “roadblock” before her.

More importantly, there was no way she could blend in wearing these casual clothes!

Seriously, why didn’t anyone remind me to change before I left?

Zuo Xingning seethed with resentment, completely forgetting that two weeks earlier, her mother, Zuo Minglan, had been exposed when she secretly packed a few of Zuo Xingning’s belongings, revealing her plan to trick her into leaving.

Fine, I’ll just find a place to sit and wait for my Familiar to find me.

Having made up her mind, Zuo Xingning turned and scanned her surroundings for a chair or bench. She found no seating, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of something swaying back and forth.

It was the receptionist. She didn’t know how long the woman had been watching her, but when Zuo Xingning noticed her, the receptionist stopped waving and smiled faintly.

“Hello, there’s a woman on the 23rd floor looking for you.”

Floor 23, Ms. Chu.

Muttering the information the receptionist had given her, Zuo Xingning stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the 23rd floor.

As the elevator ascended, she turned to face the mirror and scrutinized her reflection.

Gray shorts, a loose black T-shirt, and a bare face.

Her nocturnal lifestyle had left dark, bluish circles under her eyes, their stark contrast against her pale skin giving her an almost gloomy appearance.

Zuo Xingning rubbed her cheeks, forcing a smile. Now she looked like an ordinary college student.

Except she’d graduated a year ago and was currently working as a full-time daughter.

If it weren’t for that, her parents wouldn’t have finally lost their patience and kicked her out, contacting a long-lost Familiar to arrange for her to be dumped here.

Rumor had it that her grandmother had even consulted a fortune-teller for this, who declared it auspicious.

The thought struck Zuo Xingning as utterly absurd.

Even though their customs had long been assimilated into human society and their bloodlines diluted, they were still vampires!

Fortune-telling? Could a fortune-teller really predict the fate of such “ghosts”?

Logically, Zuo Xingning suspected they’d been scammed. Emotionally, she felt even more certain of it.

After all, staying home was truly blissful.

Unfortunately, no matter how much Zuo Xingning pleaded until her lips were raw, Madam Zuo Minglan, the apex predator of the family food chain, remained unmoved. And so, here she stood, dripping wet.

Truly dripping wet.

Water began to trickle from her hair again. Zuo Xingning smoothed her hair one last time in the mirror and tugged at her clothes.

The 23rd floor arrived.

Stepping out of the elevator, Zuo Xingning easily spotted her destination: 2301.

The entire floor had been rented by Lingyin Film and Television Culture Studio. A man was on a phone call in the corridor to the left of the elevator, so Zuo Xingning avoided disturbing him and walked to the other side.

The emblem on her wrist had been heating up since she arrived on this floor, confirming she was in the right place.

Yet Zuo Xingning unconsciously slowed her pace.

…A little nervous.

Just this morning, Zuo Xingning had finally learned the basic details about “Familiars.”

In essence, her ancestors had once protected a certain family. To repay this debt, that family had signed a contract with her ancestors, pledging to serve the Bl00d Clan’s descendants as Familiars for generations.

Over centuries, as times changed and both clans’ bloodlines diluted, the contract’s power gradually weakened with each generation.

As early as the last century, the bond between the Bl00d Clan and their Familiars had ceased to be a rigid one. Now, contact between them occurred only once every few decades, if at all.

When Zuo Minglan recounted this history, she added, “When I was little, I met a Familiar sister who was a few years older than me. Do you remember her?”

Of course, Zuo Xingning didn’t remember. Her mother immediately realized it was from her own full-moon celebration for her daughter.

So, from the very beginning, this whole situation had been absurd!

Sighing, Zuo Xingning felt her body grow heavier. No matter how slowly she walked, she would eventually reach her destination.

The glass door was ajar, as if deliberately left open.

Zuo Xingning pushed it open and stepped inside. The office area was brightly lit and fully equipped, yet utterly devoid of any signs of life, creating an unsettlingly desolate atmosphere.

She shivered, goosebumps rising on her skin, and glanced back at the company plaque on the wall:

Lingyin Film and Television Culture Studio

The name seemed relevant to her field of study. It made sense that her parents would ask a Familiar working here to mentor her. She hadn’t come to the wrong place.

Reassured, Zuo Xingning took a few more steps inside, hesitating between several brightly lit offices and conference rooms. Suddenly, a sharp rip cut through the silence.

It was the sound of a package being opened.

In an instant, Zuo Xingning pinpointed the source of the noise. She strode purposefully toward the door, but as she approached, her nose caught a faint, almost imperceptible fragrance.

Was it perfume?

An inexplicable itch rose from the roots of her teeth. She instinctively clenched her jaw to suppress the sensation and raised her hand to knock.

A voice from inside called out, “Come in,” sounding vaguely familiar.

As Zuo Xingning pushed the door open, she tried to place the voice. But before she could dwell on it, all other thoughts vanished.

The door swung fully open, and a dense, overpowering fragrance—one only she could detect—pounced on her like a wild beast, shattering her self-control like an avalanche.

Sharp fangs instantly erupted, piercing the tender flesh of her inner lip. The metallic tang of bl00d filled her mouth, and a searing pain washed over her. Zuo Xingning’s body went limp, and she leaned against the door, her lips pressed tightly shut.

Someone approached her, each step bringing an even more intense, intoxicating scent.

Zuo Xingning tilted her head back, straining to make out the person’s face.

The moment her fangs pierced her lip, she understood the true meaning of this fragrance.

It was the scent of “food.”