Chapter 2: The New Name of the Vampire Miss

July 22, 2025, Tuesday.
By the lunar calendar, it’s the Great Heat.
The hottest time of summer.
Japan’s oceanic climate makes summers cooler than back home.
But today, Mo Ke feels like an ice cream cone—melting away.
Her ill-fitting clothes make walking a pain.

“F*cking Japan.
Can’t they plant more trees?
Worse than back home.
Not a speck of shade, just roasting under the sun…”
The silver-haired, red-eyed girl grumbles.
If she had the chance, she’d grab the prime minister by the neck.
Demand every street be lined with trees.
The kind that block out all the summer sunlight.

It’s the second day since claiming the inheritance.
No sign of her body changing back.
She woke up this morning extra depressed.
The problem is, she can’t even return home now.
Her passport?
That person and the current her aren’t the same, scientifically speaking.
Her old identity is completely invalid.

Luckily, after her grandpa’s corpse burned to ash yesterday, it left a key.
Using it, she opened a hidden compartment in the coffin.
Inside was his final will.
“Said drinking it would make me a vampire…
No special powers, though.
Can’t fly.
Not too scared of the sun…
Okay, maybe a bit more than before, but not like I’ll burst into flames, right?”
She mutters, pinching her small face.
She hates being a girl, but the soft, squishy feel of her cheeks is oddly stress-relieving.

So, Mo Ke became a so-called vampire.
Silver hair and red eyes must be the traits.
The will also gave an address.
Find the person there, and she’d get a new identity.
At least he planned for that.
Her resentment toward her grandpa eased a bit.
The will also mentioned she could get some money from that person.
Thinking of cash cheers her up instantly.

“Hmm-hmm-hmm…
Oh, wait, number 35…
Overshot it.
Number 17 should be back there…”
Mo Ke turns around, checking her phone’s navigation.
She passes rows of uniquely styled houses.
The sun scorches the treeless road.
She arrives at her destination.

It’s a paper-thin house, newly built.
Clearly limited by Japan’s strict building coverage rules.
“Ship-shaped design, huh?
Japanese houses always surprise me…”
Mo Ke smacks her lips, steps up, and presses the doorbell hard.

Through the glass door, she sees the interior.
A bar counter takes up half the space.
In front, a row of chairs and a narrow dining table.
Japan’s spaces are always so cramped.
Back home, this’d barely be bigger than an adult toy shop.
Here, it’s an izakaya that seats eight.

“Hey, who’s there?”
An old man’s voice comes through the intercom, in Japanese.
After a year here and some language talent, Mo Ke’s brain auto-translates it like subtitles.

“Um… sorry to bother you.
I’m here to pick something up…”

“Pick something up?”
His tone makes her think she’s at the wrong place.

The silver-haired girl scratches her cheek awkwardly and gives the code:
“Pepsi tastes bad.”

“…Ah!
It’s you, esteemed lord!
Please wait a moment, I’ll open the door!”
The old man’s tired voice perks up.

“Huh?
Was the old man some big shot?”
Mo Ke tilts her head, confused, as footsteps clatter downstairs.
A white-haired old man stumbles to the door, yanks it open, and bows repeatedly.

“So sorry!
Terribly sorry!
I didn’t know it was you!
Please forgive my rudeness!”

His excessive politeness gives Mo Ke goosebumps.
She can’t stand Japan’s over-the-top courtesy.
Do they have to act like servants?

“No, no, it’s fine, you’re too kind.”
She waves her hands, flashing a smile straight out of language school.
Her pride keeps her from bowing too deeply.
“Uh, so…”

“I know, I know.
You gave instructions, and I’ve been waiting.
Please, come upstairs.
No need to remove shoes, please, upstairs.”

“Uh, okay…”
Mo Ke follows awkwardly up the narrow stairs.
Her small frame makes it easy.
Back when she was nearly six-foot-two, she’d have to sidestep and duck.

The house is small but tall.
A staggered design with five floors.
Mo Ke follows the old man to the top.
Heat fills the attic, making her forehead sweat.

“So sorry!
I’ll turn on the AC!”

“Thank you.”
Too tired for honorifics, she switches to English.
The AC kicks in, cooling the attic quickly.
The old man kneels, rummaging through nested safes like Russian dolls.
Finally, he pulls out a thick manila envelope.

“For years, I’ve maintained this new identity.
As you said, you’ve returned looking exactly the same…”

“Huh…?”
Mo Ke opens the envelope, pulling out a stack of documents.
At the bottom, a birth certificate.
Above it, records for every stage of life.
From kindergarten to high school.
The latest is a first-year high school record, dated as if she’s completed one semester.

“Esteemed Cola-sama, rest assured, these were handled by our people.
I’ve kept them safe, never leaked.”

Mo Ke nods, picking up the top document—a student ID from Gunma Prefectural Seta Agricultural Girls’ High School.
The first page has her photo.
A silver-haired, red-eyed girl, identical to her now.

“When’d you take this?”

“Before you disappeared, around 19…”

“What?”

“As you said, you’d return with no memories.
But it’s fine, everything’s arranged as you instructed!”

“What the h*ll…”
Mo Ke twitches her mouth, muttering in Chinese.
Her eyes land on the name field.
It’s absurd.
Surname: Quantum.
Name: Cola.
Together: Quantum Cola.

“What the f*ck is this?”
She clutches her forehead.
“Grandpa, you gave me such a random name?!”

“What’s wrong, my lord?”
Her outburst makes the old man drop into a full bow, forehead to the floor.
“If I’ve done anything wrong, I’m so sorry!
Please, be merciful…”

“Whoa, don’t just kneel!
Get up!”
Mo Ke pulls him up, flustered.
“I wasn’t talking about you, old man.”

“I’m unworthy!”

“Unworthy of what?”
She’s baffled.
“So, this is all my identity stuff, right?”

“Yes, yes…
You can live as ‘Cola’ now.
If I may ask…
Have you remembered anything?”

“Remembered what?”

“Well…
You said once you retrieved the new identity, you’d…”

“Oh, I remember!”
Mo Ke slaps her forehead.
“The will said…
Your reward is a drop of blood, right?”

“Yes, yes!”
He lights up.
“Your kindness, I’ll never forget!”

“It’s just a drop, don’t get so excited.”
Mo Ke moves her finger to her fang, but he jumps up, stopping her.

“Please, wait!
I’ll get a proper container!”

“Oh, hurry up.”

“Yes, yes!”
The old man practically tumbles downstairs.

“Hey, slow down, don’t fall!”
She shouts in Japanese.
He responds frantically, returning in under a minute.
Impressive for his age.

Kneeling, he solemnly holds up a small glass vial.

“Drop it here?”

“Yes, my lord!”
His wrinkled face trembles with excitement.

“Ow…”
Mo Ke bites her fingertip with her fang, wincing as she squeezes a drop into the vial.
A second drop falls before she pulls back.
“Uh, one extra, but it’s fine, keep it.”

“Your generosity!
Even if I must go to h*ll, I’ll serve you!”

“Okay, okay, chill out.”
Mo Ke shakes her head, blushing slightly.
She clears her throat.
“So, uh, the will said I could get some money, right?”

“Yes, this card has the 500,000 yen you left.
With investment gains, it’s now 1,128,000 yen…”

“Whoa, a million?”

“Yes, over a million yen.”

“Not a ton, but pretty sweet…
Thanks.”

“My lord, the password is your birthday!”

“Birthday, huh.”
She glances at the birth date on the documents.
“This one?”

“Yes, my lord!”

“Got it.
Alright, I’m off.”

“My lord, I’ll escort you!”

“No, no, I’ll go alone.”
Mo Ke waves him off, escaping his barrage of honorifics.
Standing under the blazing sun, she sighs, neck shrinking.
“Too much politeness is fcking terrifying…
Phew, got the new identity.
But it’s a full-on Japanese one.
Sht…
Online, people always threatened to revoke my citizenship.
Now it’s actually gone…

“Whatever.
From today, my new name’s Cola, I guess…
Oh, right, gotta call Mom to let her know I’m okay…”