The Cold Queen is My Exclusive Little Snack - Chapter 4

No fan could resist sharing the same joy as their idol, especially when that joy came directly from their idol’s own hands.

Zuo Xingning was no different.

After wavering between treating the phone like a sacred relic or using it normally, she ultimately chose the latter.

Her reasoning was simple: she feared Chu Shiyin might take the phone back if she thought Zuo Xingning didn’t need it.

As soon as her SIM card was replaced, Zuo Xingning immediately downloaded Taobao and ordered phone cases, tempered glass screen protectors, and several packs of alcohol wipes. If she could have found it, she would have even purchased insurance for the phone.

By the time she finished fussing over the phone, Chu Shiyin had already driven her to their next destination: the mall.

Having arrived empty-handed, Zuo Xingning needed to buy everything.

The most urgent items were undoubtedly clothes. Feeling uncomfortable accepting both food and gifts, and already having received the phone, Zuo Xingning insisted on paying for her own purchases this time.

Underwear and pajamas were easy enough—just grab a few sets in her size. But choosing everyday casual wear required more careful consideration.

After selecting summer outfits, Chu Shiyin asked the sales assistant to bring out the early autumn collection. After filtering out styles that didn’t suit Zuo Xingning’s temperament, the remaining pieces were piled into the fitting room for her to try on one by one.

After visiting two stores, Chu Shiyin seemed to want to continue, but Zuo Xingning flatly refused to go to another fitting room, contenting herself with simply holding the clothes up against her body.

With her figure and face, as long as the size and cut were decent, a quick comparison was usually accurate enough.

Chu Shiyin seemed indifferent, offering no further comment.

Zuo Xingning observed her quietly for a moment, noticing a faint downward turn at the corners of her lips, but nothing more.

If she had to describe it, it was reminiscent of the slight disappointment she felt as a child when someone interrupted her dress-up games with her Barbie dolls.

But I’m probably just overthinking it, she thought.

The absurd idea flitted through her mind, leaving no trace.

It wasn’t until two days later, when she saw a dozen new cat outfits hanging on the balcony and learned from the housekeeper that these were only part of Chu Shiyin’s recent online shopping spree, that the thought truly took root.

Chu Shiyin really did see her as some kind of real-life dress-up doll.

The shopping trip took nearly three hours, filling two shopping carts to the brim with daily necessities and fresh produce. In the end, they provided their address and arranged for delivery.

Even after that, the SUV’s trunk remained quite full.

The silver SUV pulled up to their apartment building. Chu Shiyin went to park while Zuo Xingning hopped out of the passenger seat and dashed upstairs to retrieve a small cart.

As the elevator ascended to the 17th floor, Zuo Xingning kicked off her shoes and entered the passcode: 110912—a six-digit sequence clearly representing a date.

With no time to dwell on it, Zuo Xingning hurried downstairs with the cart. By the time she’d roughly sorted the groceries at home, it was already late.

She rubbed her stomach.

Hungry.

Not the physical hunger of an empty stomach, but something deeper—like parched earth yearning for rain, a profound craving.

A craving that had only been awakened today, a deeper, more primal yearning.

“Hungry?” Chu Shiyin noticed her gesture.

Unaware of Zuo Xingning’s thoughts, Chu Shiyin simply nodded and set down her things before heading into the kitchen.

The supermarket had already delivered the groceries. Chu Shiyin said, “Let’s leave everything here for Aunt Chen to put away tomorrow. What do you want to eat?”

“Anything’s fine,” Zuo Xingning replied, following her into the kitchen and washing her hands. “Sister, are we going to cook ourselves?”

“We?” Chu Shiyin’s tone rose slightly, a hint of teasing without malice. “Can you even cook?”

It wasn’t that Chu Shiyin had anything against Zuo Xingning, but young, pampered girls who had never left home and were her age were rarely capable of cooking.

Zuo Xingning fell silent. After a few seconds, as Chu Shiyin was already opening the refrigerator, a determined declaration rang out from behind her:

“I can chop vegetables!”

Zuo Xingning wasn’t just trying to show off. During her year spent at home, she had occasionally volunteered to help with chores to avoid feeling completely useless. At the very least, she could handle simple tasks like chopping vegetables.

Chu Shiyin retrieved the beef brisket, which had been soaking to remove the bl00d, and diced it into uniform cubes on the cutting board. She then scored crosses into the fresh tomatoes to make peeling easier after simmering…

The rhythmic “thump-thump-thump” of the knife against the cutting board seemed to possess a peculiar magic, partially dissolving the tension between Zuo Xingning and Chu Shiyin in the confined space.

After meticulously chopping all the vegetables into the required shapes and sizes, Zuo Xingning hesitated when she reached the garlic.

She loathed the smell of raw garlic, and even cooked garlic could trigger nausea if she accidentally ate it.

For years, she had attributed this aversion to her mother’s picky eating habits, only recently realizing it was an innate repulsion etched into her vampire DNA.

Zuo Xingning hovered the knife over the few lonely garlic cloves on the cutting board, wavering indecisively. Before she could steel herself, the knife was effortlessly snatched from her hand.

“What’s wrong?”

It was Chu Shiyin.

“Nothing, just…” Zuo Xingning felt a little embarrassed. “I don’t really like the taste of garlic…”

“Is it okay if it’s just used for seasoning?”

“The flavor is fine, but I can’t stand eating it. Touching raw garlic makes me feel really sick.” After all, she was a vampire.

Zuo Xingning was about to elaborate when Chu Shiyin stepped back, swiftly smashed the garlic cloves, peeled them, and transferred them to a plate—without letting her touch the garlic-stained cutting board or knife.

Amidst the gushing of the faucet, Zuo Xingning wiped the countertop with a cleaning cloth, unable to resist asking, “Sister, am I… a little useless?”

Chu Shiyin, who was picking tomato skins out of the clay pot, glanced at Zuo Xingning and shook her head. “No, you’re doing great.”

Zuo Xingning’s face lit up with joy, but Chu Shiyin paused for two seconds before casually adding, “Being able to ask such a blunt question… at least you have courage.”

“……”

Was that a compliment or an insult?

Seeing there was nothing else to do, Zuo Xingning huffed, put down the cleaning cloth, washed her hands, and muttered, “Tuantuan seems hungry. I’ll go check on her,” before turning and leaving the kitchen.

However, when someone’s day starts with bad luck, it often continues that way.

Almost the instant she stepped out of the kitchen, the automatic feeder suddenly whirred to dispense food. A large white cat launched itself into the air, creating a commotion loud enough for anyone who wasn’t deaf to hear.

Pfft—

Zuo Xingning: “……”

Why did she even have ears?

After showering that evening, Zuo Xingning lay in bed and buried her face in the pillow, taking a deep breath.

The bedding was brand new, freshly washed and dried, emitting a faint fragrance of laundry detergent pods.

She rolled around on the bed a couple of times before picking up her phone and unlocking it.

Her wallpaper was a photo she’d taken of Tuantuan earlier that evening. The cat’s wide, round pupils were fixed intently on the cat teaser, making her look particularly adorable.

In the far right corner of the screen, as if accidentally caught in the frame, was a slender hand holding the end of the cat teaser.

Still preoccupied with the numbers from the combination lock, Zuo Xingning briefly admired the wallpaper before opening her calendar and scrolling back to September 12, 2011.

That year, Chu Shiyin was fifteen, having just graduated from middle school. The date happened to be the Mid-Autumn Festival, but there was nothing else particularly noteworthy about it. A news search yielded no further clues.

Scratching her head, Zuo Xingning temporarily set aside the mysterious date and opened WeChat instead.

Her contact list showed two starred friends. The first was labeled with a moon emoji, and the second… well, there was soon no second.

Without hesitation, Zuo Xingning removed the star from her second friend’s contact and immediately sent her a message.

1

The reply came almost instantly, clearly indicating her mother had been glued to her phone.

Rizhao Shenlan: Oh, finally! You’re replying!

Rizhao Shenlan: Why haven’t you accepted the transfer I sent? Still mad at your mom? It’s all your dad’s fault—what kind of terrible advice was that?!

Zuo Xingning rolled her eyes skyward. Her mother’s tone made it clear that Chu Shiyin had already reported her safety to them earlier in the day.

As for the latter part of the message—

Dear, have you considered that my phone isn’t in my possession? I can’t see any previous messages you sent. 😊😊

A moment of silence hung in the air. Just as Zuo Xingning was about to press her advantage and scold them for their unreliability, her eyes were nearly blinded by a sudden barrage of golden transfer notifications.

The daily transfer limit on WeChat was clearly no match for her mother’s financial prowess.

The remarkably shrewd Madam Zuo Minglan clearly understood the principle of “traveling rich to avoid trouble.” In an instant, Zuo Xingning’s personal treasury was not only replenished but also significantly expanded.

She was adaptable, quickly deleting the lines of text in the input box, one by one.

Thank you, Mommy~~ I knew you loved me the most! /heart/rose

By the way, Mommy, why can I smell food on my Familiar? Have there been ghosts like me before?

She had learned everything about vampires from her mother and grandmother. Perhaps they had encountered such a precedent before?

Unfortunately, Zuo Xingning didn’t get the answer she wanted.

Ms. Zuo Minglan first sent a string of question marks, then called to confirm Zuo Xingning wasn’t joking before switching to a serious tone.

However, this phenomenon was unheard of even to her. She could only promise to inquire among her fellow vampires when the opportunity arose.

Before hanging up, Ms. Zuo Minglan repeatedly urged Zuo Xingning to control herself.

Of course she knew that.

Zuo Xingning placed her phone on the pillow beside her and rubbed her stomach.

More than anyone, she didn’t want to harm Chu Shiyin.

After a day spent running around, Zuo Xingning fell asleep quickly. When she opened her eyes again, her phone showed it was two in the morning.

The gnawing hunger persisted, twisting her intestines into knots and leaving her with an empty, uncomfortable feeling.

Rubbing her eyes, Zuo Xingning threw back the covers and got out of bed.

Whether it was from the air conditioning running too long, her throat felt like it was burning, making her so thirsty she felt dizzy.

She groped her way to the living room for water, then went to the bathroom. As she emerged, a fluffy white shadow drifted across the floor, resembling a cotton candy with legs.

The white shadow nudged open the bedroom door, releasing a cool, faintly fragrant breeze from the air conditioning. It brushed against her calves, then crept upward like vines, weaving a net around her from all directions.

She had no choice but to enter the web.

Zuo Xingning involuntarily took a step forward and pushed open the half-closed door.

The white cat crouched at the foot of the bed, watching her without a sound or any attempt to drive her away. Zuo Xingning stepped past it and approached the head of the bed.

A sliver of light crept in through the edge of the curtains, tiptoeing across the room so as not to disturb the person sleeping soundly in bed.

Chu Shiyin slept gracefully, lying perfectly still on her back with her head turned to the side. A strand of hair draped across her neck, its tip resting on her collarbone, occasionally trembling gently with each breath.

Even Zuo Xingning’s eyelashes trembled in response.

If that sliver of light had shifted its angle, it might have illuminated the crimson depths hidden in Zuo Xingning’s eyes—a secret no one had ever glimpsed.

Drawn in by the fragrance, the hunger in her stomach and the burning thirst in her throat seemed to find a new remedy.

“Jiejie,” Zuo Xingning whispered, bending down to gently lift that strand of hair. She replaced it with something else, pressing it against Chu Shiyin’s skin.

“You smell so good.”