The Cold Queen is My Exclusive Little Snack - Chapter 6

Whether it was from indulging in ice cream during the day or the lingering effects of the relentless rain, the “fearless” Zuo Xingning lost her bravado in the middle of the night, replaced by something else entirely.

She had a fever again.

This time, the burning sensation was more intense than ever before, as if she had fallen into a furnace or a pool of molten lava. Every bone ached, and each breath felt like it was draining the last drop of moisture from her body.

Her throat was so dry it felt like it was about to burst into flames. Trembling, Zuo Xingning rolled over and stretched her arm toward the glass of water on the bedside table.

She managed to reach it.

But before she could rejoice, her body suddenly went limp, her arm gave way, and the glass crashed to the floor, shattering into pieces.

In the adjacent room, Tuantuan, who had been dozing, was startled awake and darted around frantically, hiding behind the curtains with wide, wary eyes.

Chu Shiyin sighed, threw back the covers, and got out of bed.

She twisted the handle of the guest room door. In the darkness, only the warm yellow glow of the bedside lamp illuminated the room, casting a soft, spherical light that seemed to envelop Zuo Xingning.

Wearing a white nightgown, Zuo Xingning was crouched on the floor. She looked up at the sound of the door opening, two tears clinging precariously to her pale cheeks, reflecting the faint light along with something she held cupped in her hands.

Chu Shiyin switched on the light and saw what it was: shards of glass.

The fragments lay submerged in a shallow layer of water, clinging to the hem of Zuo Xingning’s drooping skirt. It wasn’t hard to guess what had just happened.

“Why didn’t you turn on the light? What if you’d cut yourself?” Chu Shiyin walked over, braced her hands on her knees, and leaned down to look at Zuo Xingning. A blush slowly crept across Zuo Xingning’s face, like the fiery hues of a sunset. She opened her mouth, but her parched throat could only produce a few faint, broken syllables, too quiet for anyone to hear.

“Did you faint from the heat?” Chu Shiyin tilted forward, her pale blue veins pulsing beneath her skin as if with a will of their own.

So fragrant, so close…

No!

Zuo Xingning jerked her head away, her lips pressed into a tight line. She bared her fangs again, deliberately sinking them deeper than before.

Bl00d gurgled out, mingling with the meager saliva that slid down her throat. Finally, she managed to force out a voice.

“Sister, I… I can do it myself…”

Due to the contract’s influence, a vampire’s fangs would instantly kill a Familiar upon piercing their flesh. Now that their bloodlines had been diluted, the contract’s effectiveness was uncertain. But she couldn’t risk it—absolutely, absolutely couldn’t harm Chu Shiyin.

Tonight, she had to make her leave.

Zuo Xingning tugged at the corners of her mouth, her expression wavering between a smile and tears. She still refused to look at Chu Shiyin. “I’m fine, Sister. You should go rest. Don’t worry about me.”

She was practically declaring, “I don’t need you.”

Chu Shiyin studied her for a moment, then turned and left.

Zuo Xingning didn’t look up. The footsteps faded into the distance until they were no longer audible. She lowered her head and diligently gathered the glass shards, then grabbed a stack of tissues to mop up the water on the floor.

She had no idea how much water had been in the cup, but it seemed impossible to clean up. The more she wiped, the more the water spread, as if a localized drizzle had begun, the floor alternating between wet and dry, dry and wet.

Overwhelmed by frustration, Zuo Xingning resented her fever, resented breaking the cup, resented her own helplessness. Finally, she threw the crumpled tissues into the trash can and used her clothes to catch the persistent drizzle.

What should I do…?

What should I do?

What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?

She repeated the question in her mind, unsure who she was asking or who could provide an answer. The words circled endlessly, threatening to breach her mental defenses.

A faint sigh drifted through the air, but Zuo Xingning didn’t hear it.

A shadow fell over her. Someone gripped her shoulders and forcibly tilted her head upward.

She felt the soft touch of a tissue against her face, and cool fingers cradled her cheek, soothing the burning sensation. Zuo Xingning instinctively nuzzled against the comforting touch.

“Stop crying.”

A crumpled tissue flew into the trash can. The hand that had wiped her tears now gently rubbed her cheek before moving to the back of her head.

She was pressed into the fragrant magnolia-scented hair, the movement a little too forceful, making her head spin. Zuo Xingning vaguely wondered why, despite using the same shampoo, she could never get her hair to smell like Chu Shiyin’s.

“What’s there to cry about?”

Chu Shiyin’s voice rang in her ear, sending a tingling sensation through her. An awkward pat landed on her back as Chu Shiyin continued, “My immune system is strong, so you don’t have to worry about giving me your cold.”

Zuo Xingning’s lips trembled, and she could no longer hold back, silently soaking Chu Shiyin’s shoulder with tears.

Chu Shiyin patted her back for as long as Zuo Xingning cried, until no new tears fell. Convinced she had soothed her, she stood up and pulled Zuo Xingning, who had been kneeling on the floor, to her feet, guiding her to sit on the edge of the bed.

Chu Shiyin had stepped out earlier to fetch medicine.

She understood Zuo Xingning’s words telling her to leave, and a heavy weight settled in her chest. She had resolved to simply deliver the medicine and leave.

Just deliver the medicine and leave…

Chu Shiyin gazed at Zuo Xingning’s tear-reddened eyes and sighed inwardly.

Forget it. What’s the point of arguing with a child?

“Take your medicine,” she said, handing over the pills and water.

“Or do you want me to feed you?”

After tossing and turning half the night, Zuo Xingning woke up to find the sun high in the sky. She yawned, unlocked her phone, and saw several unread messages from Zuo Minglan.

Ten minutes later, Zuo Xingning hurriedly washed up and knocked on the study door.

Chu Shiyin, wearing her thin silver-rimmed glasses (she only needed them for reading or computer work), looked up from her book at Zuo Xingning’s words and gave her a cold, sidelong glance.

“Are you sure this is something a patient should be eating?”

Zuo Xingning shrank back in the doorway, only half her body visible, feeling a bit intimidated but forcing herself to explain, “When I was little and sick, Mom used to make me dishes like maoxuewang. She said I was anemic and eating bl00d-rich foods would help me recover faster—you know, replenish what’s lacking. It’s… a family secret recipe, yeah, a family secret recipe! I can show you the chat history if you don’t believe me.”

She pulled out her phone and held it up as if she were about to show it, but her feet remained rooted to the spot, not moving an inch.

“Never mind,” Chu Shiyin said, uninterested in prying into someone else’s privacy. She just wanted to confirm Zuo Xingning wasn’t joking. “Go find Aunt Chen and ask her to make it for you at noon.”

“Okay, thank you, Sis~”

Finally getting permission, Zuo Xingning dashed to the kitchen to share the good news with Aunt Chen.

This meant another trip to the market was needed. Aunt Chen insisted the patient stay home, leaving Zuo Xingning to idly play with her phone.

That morning, Zuo Minglan had sent a belated reminder:

She first asked if Zuo Xingning was feeling unwell, then explained that every vampire falls ill after their first scent of food. The solution was simple: either eat or tough it out.

Zuo Xingning clearly had no choice but to endure. Consuming bl00d-based dishes like maoxuewang could shorten the ordeal. Once this phase passed, a vampire would enter true adulthood, craving fresh bl00d more intensely but also developing greater resistance to enticing aromas—unless the Master deliberately seduced them.

Recalling her mother’s words, Zuo Xingning’s expression was indescribable: Vampires feel sick? Just eat more bl00d products to replenish themselves! It was absurdly logical.

Still, if it could shorten this illness, she’d do anything.

The day after her complete recovery, on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Yu Siya finally returned from her business trip, bringing news.

“Shiyin has a variety show filming in a couple of days. You should go and make an appearance. Here’s the list of regular cast members—familiarize yourself with them.” Yu Siya sat at the far end of the sofa, diagonally across from Zuo Xingning, as if separated by an invisible border.

“Okay, got it,” Zuo Xingning replied, subtly glancing at Yu Siya. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Yu Siya seemed… afraid of her? Zuo Xingning saved the cast list from WeChat and suddenly sprang up, making a sprinting motion.

As expected, Yu Siya instinctively flinched, nearly falling off the edge of the sofa.

“Nonsense,” she scolded, adjusting her glasses.

Zuo Xingning grinned, unfazed. “Sister Siya, why are you so scared of me today?”

“…” Yu Siya lowered her gaze, pinching the bridge of her nose. “My cold just cleared up. I don’t want to catch your strange ‘virus’.”

“My cold is long gone,” Zuo Xingning insisted, though she didn’t quite believe it herself. Under Chu Shiyin’s gaze, she reluctantly moved back to her original spot. “Sister Siya, did your assistant find any leads on apartments for me? Maybe I should move out after all. I feel like I’m really bothering you here.”

“Living alone?” Chu Shiyin interjected casually before Yu Siya could answer. “I’ve never seen an adult run a fever for three days just from getting caught in the rain. Are you sure you’re ready to live on your own?”

Zuo Xingning couldn’t refute this. She could only weakly mutter, “That was just an accident.”

“Then how about this?” Desperate, she turned to Yu Siya. “Sister Siya, could I squeeze in at your place?”

“No, absolutely not, there’s no room,” Yu Siya blurted out, as if a strange switch had been flipped. If she had a tail, it would have been bristling and drooping at the same time.

“You two sort this out yourselves. I’ve said all I need to say. I’m going back to rest now. Goodbye.”

Chu Shiyin stood up to see her off. “I’ll walk you downstairs, Siya. Xingning, could you grab a box of the mooncakes we made yesterday?”

“Sure.”

After retrieving the mooncakes, Chu Shiyin escorted Yu Siya downstairs.

Two people with hidden thoughts waited for the other to speak first.

After opening the trunk, Chu Shiyin placed the mooncakes inside and said, “Same flavors as always. They should be properly oiled by tomorrow. Remember to eat them with Auntie.”

“Mm,” Yu Siya replied, sizing her up with a meaningful glance. “Has Zuo Xingning been giving you any trouble these past few days?”

“You mean her being sick for a few days?” Chu Shiyin denied it. “It wasn’t much trouble.”

“What about having Zuo Xingning move out?”

“Didn’t I already explain that?” Chu Shiyin’s expression remained calm. “With Zuo Xingning in her current state, how could you be comfortable letting her live alone?”

Yu Siya remained noncommittal. “I’m even less comfortable with the ‘patient’ standing right in front of me.”

“……”

Chu Shiyin closed the trunk, crossed her long legs, and leaned against the car door, her slender neck arching back like a swan’s. “Why worry about me? I know what I’m doing. Besides, Dr. Lin suggested I socialize more.”

“……Do as you please.” Yu Siya stopped trying to persuade her and followed her gaze upward.

A bright moon hung high in the deep blue sky.

“Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.”