Chapter 1: A Strange New Beginning

“Is the wedding dress ready? Little Chuye!”

“Wait a minute, the back is troublesome!”

“Do you need my help~”

The young master slowly pulled aside the purple curtain and looked at me standing before the mirror in the wedding dress.

He came behind me, helped me zip up the back that I couldn’t reach, and even tidied my heavy hair ornaments.

“Very troublesome, right~”

“Huh? Yeah! Really troublesome!”

“Haha~ Oh! Little Chuye, do you still remember this room?”

“Yes… the first time you caught me… no, brought me back, I changed clothes in this room! It seemed to be something you wore when you were little.”

“Hehe… you still remember… even though so many years have passed…”

I looked at my indistinct reflection in the mirror and sighed.

“Yeah~ Time… goes fast.”

The uncomfortable ringing in my ears, accompanied by the hollow feeling of unconscious falling, fear gripped my heart. Falling… I didn’t know how long it lasted, but it felt like reaching a destination. Everything became clear, yet it was still pitch black until a rustling dark red light came from the corner… awareness gradually returned to my mind.

That was the sound of dripping water… and… the sound of wind… I remember… no… this is… my eyes won’t open…! Where am I? Hospital? But I remember running home in the rain with her just a moment ago, right! Car accident? But I remember water… hmm…

“Actually, you’re already dead, human.”

Suddenly, an ethereal voice sounded all around.

Huh? What voice? Is someone speaking? But it was faint… My sense of my own existence told me that I seemed to have passed out? Or was I already… really…

“You died.”

The voice came from somewhere, telling me this fact again.

“Don’t you remember? Your childhood friend pushed you out of the way to save you, but you fell into a sewer and… drowned in sewage. Your strong will to survive forced you into this world. Well, actually, I don’t know the details. Your will to survive doesn’t seem that strong either~ Ahem! Anyway, you seem to be from another world~ Ai, so pitiful. Oh! You’ll wake up soon. I hope you like this body~.”

What the hell! Is my mind messed up? Such a long speech, who said it? I couldn’t respond. Who? How could there be…

The sound of rain and a car losing control, mixed with the childhood friend’s shouts, and the feeling of losing balance told me faintly that those facts from before were true. Past life?

But I seem to have an impression… I really did die.

Suddenly, a resonating “hum” like a tuning fork, a sensation of being reborn swept through my body.

I could open my eyes. I tried hard, and before me was complete darkness, but I could vaguely see strange-shaped objects. What… what place is this? The new body that voice mentioned refers to?

Though I couldn’t see myself in the dark, I vaguely sensed something was wrong.

No, this world… what does it mean? If so, did I die and reincarnate in another world? Just like those trashy novels… But now I can only understand it that way. But did I really die…? Yet the feeling now is so real.

I have to get out of here. This place doesn’t feel like a closed space. The typical plot in late-night anime… hmm… the protagonist who accidentally enters another world… I should be able to return to my world, right?

I could feel the flow of wind, meaning there was an exit ahead. Though my consciousness was still blurry, suddenly my eyes were hit by a strong light. This… huh? I saw light. That must be light.

As if seeing a glimmer of hope, I dragged my nearly numb body forward with difficulty.

Leaning on something like a rugged rock wall, I slowly came out. Outside was night. The light I saw earlier was moonlight. Leaning against the rock wall, I weakly scanned the surroundings. That shimmering silver light—was it water?

In front of the cave was a lawn, but I lost strength. My vision went black, and my body tumbled towards the glittering place, letting my almost senseless body roll freely on the grass.

Until it stopped naturally, one hand even touched something like water.

I lifted my head from the grass unsteadily, slowly sitting up.

But under the moonlight, the lake faintly reflected my appearance. Is this person me?

Looking at the reflection in the water, a white-haired, red-eyed loli face appeared. Big bright red eyes, fair skin, silver-white hair that looked especially dazzling under the moonlight, though tangled with some weeds… but still especially special.

“Ah?!” I screamed, but a delicate female voice I never normally made came out.

Huh? A beauty in the water. I poked the reflection with my finger, then suddenly realized.

This person is me. Really? I stared at my glowing red eyes, then fiercely slapped the water’s surface. What a joke, this is the so-called new body? At that moment, strength came from nowhere. I stood up in panic, but sat back down on the ground. My stamina… so weak! A naked silver-haired girl was reflected in the water. I poked my own cheek, and the reflection poked its cheek too.

It seems… this is real… But is this really me? No, it’s not. No, it’s not. No, it’s not, I repeated in my mind.

Better have some water. I cupped water with my hands and brought it to my mouth. Wow, so cold! I looked around, splashed water on my face to stay awake.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

My body resisted the foreign liquid…

“I…”

What kind of situation is this! Why? That voice just now! Come out! I! Hmm…

I looked at my appearance—exactly like a wicked vampire from those light novels that person liked so much! I could already imagine my ending.

Surrounded by bushes and forest, I felt like I might pass out any moment. Maybe this was just a dream, right?

I slowly opened my mouth, revealing four protruding canine teeth.

After a period of internal struggle, I tried to accept this fact. Looking at this new body, the first time I saw a girl… was myself. If those guys at school saw this, they’d definitely be thrilled. A petite figure… aren’t vampires usually muscular? Hmm… why am I not feeling cold despite being naked? Or is my body gradually cooling down and I can’t feel it?

I looked at the moon in the sky. It seemed the moon here was the same as in my original world. I felt a glimmer of comfort.

Rustle, rustle… Rustle, rustle…

Some sound approached. What was it?

A white thing darted through the cypress forest, flying towards me…

I instinctively dodged back sharply. “Ha?” Splash! I fell into the cold lake.

My stamina is too weak! Hmm…

How can the shore be so deep! It felt like a whirlpool pulling me deeper. Seems like I’m going to die right after reincarnation… How unlucky~

Suddenly, everything went dark.

“Where’s that vampire?”

“Looks like it fell into the lake!”

“Idiot, you let the prey escape on your first hunt.”

“Sorry…”

“Chuye! Let’s go read outside?”

Xiao Linlin called my name from downstairs. I opened the window.

“I know, coming right away.” Downstairs was the daughter of my neighbor. Every day during summer break, she would come to take me to the library.

I opened the door. She had tied her chestnut hair into two buns, wearing her school uniform, standing properly at the door. She tossed her bag directly to me, grinning and winking. Why did I always have to carry it?

But she was pretty cute. Many boys at school seemed to like her. I’d known her since kindergarten. No matter how cute… once you got used to it, it became routine.

“The college entrance exam is coming up. How are you planning to study?”

She walked and turned back to look at me.

“I’m bad at math. I plan to study something related to math.”

“You’re still studying math? What was your class rank last time? And your teaching quality is terrible! I’m really going to fail this exam.”

I tapped her head. “You don’t study often, you hang out with me every day. How is my teaching quality bad? Besides, you’ve been like this since elementary school. You sleep in class and don’t do homework. Sigh~”

“Hmph! You’ll still let me copy, right? Let’s go!”

“Ha?”

Pushing open the glass door of the school library, the receptionist greeted us warmly.

Xiao Linlin poked me and pointed at the receptionist. “Wasn’t there two people last semester?” I glanced at him. “Heard he went abroad.”

“Such gossip.”

“Hey! How about I become a receptionist? Since there’s an opening!”

“Sure, then you won’t be idle every day.”

She puffed her cheeks like a balloon, pulled my hand to the far end, put down the bag, and took out a book. It looked like a light novel.

I opened the textbook and started my so-called end-of-semester sprint. When I looked up again, the sky outside was tinged with crimson. She was sitting across from me, watching, then held up the novel she was reading.

“Want to take a look at this?” She directly handed the book to me.

“What is it?”

“Seventeen Ways to Eat a Vampire Girl.”

“What kind of book is that? The name is so weird. Is it readable?”

She pointed at the white-haired girl on the cover and the pot behind her.

“This is the work of the author Gu Yi Miao I told you about! Aren’t you curious what a beautiful girl tastes like?”

“What a pervert! …Alright, I’ll take a look. If I can’t get into it, I’ll return it. Anyway, even if I don’t read it, you’ll force me to, right!”

“No, the heroine is very cute!”

“Hey, Chuye.”

“What?”

“Has anyone ever told you that you look a lot like a girl?”

“Not enough? Ever since school… that voice… people always say that. I hate this face!”

“But it’s true! Your chin, your glasses, your body type is pretty petite too~”

“Stop, stop!”

If she recommended something, I had to accept it, or she’d climb over the wall to my house and deliver it to me. She was a very stubborn person.

“It’s time to go back.”

We walked to the door, and it began to rain outside… So sudden! And the summer rain was heavy. Beside me, she shook her two big buns. How did she do that hairstyle?

“How do we get back?”

“Hey! Let’s run back!” She was talking nonsense again.

Suddenly, she grabbed my hand and started running. “Hey, we’ll catch a cold like this!”

“Just shower when we get home, right? The last time we ran home in the rain like this was in elementary school.”

“Seems like it.”

She looked at me with a bright smile. I reached out my hand, and rain droplets the size of soybeans hit my palm. Wasn’t this rain too heavy?

“Maybe we should wait a…”

Before I finished, she grabbed my hand and ran towards the school gate.

Somehow, I had a bad feeling.

She led me quickly out of the school gate and sprinted down the street towards home. The raindrops hurt a bit hitting my face. The rainy season rain was really scary.

Thinking this, I checked the intersection ahead.

Around a corner, I could vaguely see a manhole without a cover. I turned back to her. “That has…”

“Danger.” As if hearing a car horn, but then… the sound of a car losing control came to my ears.

She suddenly pushed me hard. Since she was running, gravity made me fall right into the manhole. Then my consciousness snapped like a broken string.

I think I remember now. Running home together in the heavy rain, and then…

Suddenly, I felt warmth around me. I opened my eyes. I was still in the lake. In front of me floated a box glowing red. I looked around, surrounded by water, but why could I breathe?

“Because you drowned. As your magic box, I grant you the ability to breathe underwater. This talent… thank me~ Because for you, it’s quite good, given your current self…”

That ethereal voice again. I followed its source—a square box with intricate strange carvings was speaking? Was this a dream? Or…

“Who are you?”

“I’m the box in front of you. I just awakened, not enough magic to communicate before. Actually, you’ve been lying at the bottom of this lake for over a month. Finally awake.”

The box pulsed with red light rhythmically as it spoke.

“Wait! Can you tell me why I became like this?”

The box approached me, circled around, and looked me over.

I instinctively shrank back, but it made the box laugh.

“Haha… Simple. You died.”

It said it in a cheerful tone, but… such content.

“Me? Really dead?”

“At least the you in that world is dead.”

“Hmm… You were a boy before coming to this world, but you were pretty cute. It’s the first time I’ve seen a reincarnator become a vampire. You must have come into contact with something. But isn’t it cute this way! Even if you are a vampire, or rather, not fully assimilated yet…”

“Oh right, you might wonder what I am. I’m your magic box, your accessory… um… guide! Only reincarnators have one!”

“Reincarnator? But can I go back?”

“Your attention is really different.”

The box came in front of me.

“You can’t go back. Because you’re dead in that world. So this is your new life! For now, let’s take you ashore!”

The box emitted a strong red light, stirred up a whirlpool, and shot me towards the surface. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the place I had drunk water earlier.

The box floated in the air. On closer look, it was a black box with a red gem-like object in the center.

“And you can’t be naked like this. You need to wear something.”

I sat on the grass and watched it glow red again. When I opened my eyes, I was wearing a simple black dress. Was this a human trafficking device?

The box circled around me.

“Not bad, it suits you! Do you have any goals?”

I looked at it blankly and shook my head.

“I haven’t adjusted to this body yet. For now, no ideas. If anything, it’s to go back!”

“Doesn’t every reincarnator have a goal? Like saving the world, defeating the Demon King, and so on?”

As it spoke, the floating box fell to the ground, looking particularly cheap.

“Hey! That’s it already? My current state… hmm! Chuye, sorry, I don’t have much magic left. Wait until I wake up next time. I hope you can live well here. If you die, I die too… Ai.”

The box gradually lost its color. Goals? Maybe only going back. But too bad, I can’t go back. What use is the box? Such a box, I have nowhere to put it. Better throw it into the lake. Carrying such a strange box… hmm! Would look weird!

So, what should I do now? Reincarnated as a girl. For Xiao Linlin, I have to find a way back to the original world.

I picked up the box from the ground. My flat figure pressed against the box, and my chest even hurt a bit.

“Do you think any vampire will come out and get caught near dawn?”

“Probably not. But the young master insists on catching one. No choice!”

These words came from not far away. How could I hear this! Was it a talent or racial ability? If only those in my class who played more games had come here, it would be fine. But what about someone like me who doesn’t game normally? How…

I hugged the box and walked to the lake, crouched down…

“Let’s search a bit more. If we don’t catch one, the young master will definitely… sigh~”

The voice got closer, still some distance away… I need to hide first. In the books I’ve read, vampires can’t come out during the day, right? They turn to ash… hmm!

But things didn’t look good. The box… having a magic box would expose a reincarnator… If found, I’d probably be killed? In the book Xiao Linlin showed me, it was written like that. I raised my arm, with the last of my strength, and threw the box into the lake. The box is smart; it will find a way back.

But getting found as a vampire seemed even more dangerous! And being a reincarnator! Hmm! Both seemed dangerous! The moment I thought of this, I heard the box hit the water.

“Splash~”

“Hey! What’s that sound?”

Two girls armed with long swords parted the bushes and appeared before me…

Huh? The atmosphere seemed off.

The air seemed to freeze. The two girls and I all froze, staring at each other.

The one with gray hair spoke.

“Little girl, what are you doing here?”

I lowered my head sharply. I shouldn’t have thrown it away. Maybe I should jump into the lake again.

“Alone in a place like this, with white hair, bright red eyes at night… skin so pale…” They whispered to each other.

But I could hear them! They were…

“I’ll block her retreat. You confront her. Remember not to ruin her face, or the young master might not want her.”

“Idiot, Kelo, don’t speak so loud!”

Plotting right in front of me… They turned around and looked at me with professional fake smiles.

Hearing what they said before, “Come with us. Our young master is very nice.”

They stepped closer, step by step.

“Hey, don’t come any closer!”