Chapter 18: The Milky-Scented Pillow

(Part One)

Liuli’s bedroom lamp has three modes: on, off, and a dim glow, about as bright as candlelight.
It doesn’t illuminate much, just enough to keep the room from total darkness.
Maybe it’s for a sense of security while sleeping or to avoid fumbling for the switch at night.
But for playing horror games, this faint light amps up the spooky vibe.

Liuli grips the controller, leaning back, cautiously nudging the joystick.
After turning a corner in-game, she whips her head away, eyes shut.
“Eek—!!”

“Nothing’s even happened yet…”
Cola forces calm.
“Just move forward boldly.”

“B-but… the BGM’s so creepy…!”

“It’s fine, nothing’s there.”

“Okay…”
Liuli hesitantly turns back to the dim corridor on the TV, takes a deep breath—and a ghostly face fills the screen.
“Yah!!”

“Urgh…!”
Cola clenches her teeth, barely stifling a scream.

“M-Miss Cola!
Is the ghost gone?”

“No idea…”

“Eh?”

“I mean, it’s gone, gone!
I was watching, haha, not scary at all!”

“As expected of an ancient vampire lord, modern horror games are probably nothing to you, right?”

“Huh?”

“Back in the day, vampires lived in caves, right?
Surrounded by skeletons, corpses, maybe zombies guarding the door—ghosts and ghouls are like servants to us, aren’t they?”

“Uh… yeah… something like that?”
Cola coughs dryly.

As Liuli grabs the controller again, the screen shakes, turning blood-red.
A spider-like humanoid monster from the corner charges.

“Run!”

“N-no, my f-fingers won’t move… can’t move…”

The TV blares with sounds of tearing flesh, cringe-inducing just to hear.
“Ehh—dead.”
Liuli’s eyes are wide now.
“Gotta restart from the last save.”

“Now you’re not scared?”

“Once I’m dead, I’m not so scared anymore.”

“Are you afraid of your character dying or the game’s horror vibe?”

“Uh… both, kinda?”

“You’re not scared the ghosts’ll crawl out of the screen, right?”
Cola feigns calm.
“You’re a vampire now.
Even real ghosts wouldn’t stand a chance.
What’s to fear?”

She’s bluffing—she was terrified playing, but in front of Liuli, a girl, she can’t show fear!
Even as a girl now, her male pride lingers.
Cola doesn’t get why some girls, despite being scared, love horror movies and games.
Shouldn’t they avoid them?
Or is the thrill of stiffness and racing hearts addictive?

“Right, I’m a vampire, I shouldn’t fear ghosts… mm, that makes it easier!”

“See?”

“Yup, one more try—I won’t get scared!”

(Part Two)

“One more time, I won’t lose!”

Don’t misunderstand—Liuli’s not that resilient.
After getting spooked twice more in the horror game, she huffily switches to a new one.
This one’s vibrant, full of street life.
Besides the main story, the protagonist wanders, picking fights with yakuza, punks, or drunks.
It’s a violent game, reminding Cola of Crows Zero someone played during middle school study hall.

“This is the kinda game to play.”
Cola, lying on the floor, props her head with her right hand.
With some sunflower seeds, she’d be snacking happily.
“Relaxing games are real games.”

“I wanted to challenge myself… I’m too timid.”

“I think you’re plenty brave.
When that guy rushed me with a knife, you didn’t hesitate to push me out of the way.”

“Mm… I didn’t think?
Just felt you were in danger, so I had to save you.”

“See, you weren’t scared then.
No need to play games you don’t like to prove yourself.”

“Makes sense.”

“Oh, how late do you usually game?”

“On breaks, I sneak till midnight or pull all-nighters—”
Liuli lowers her voice.
“Miss Cola, keep it a secret.”

“Your mom probably knows you stay up late… does she wake you in the morning?”

“On breaks, I manage my own time.”

“Such a chill family.”
Cola smacks her lips, envious.

In Japan, she controls her time.
Back in Qingguo, even on summer break, she had to sleep by 10 p.m. and wake by 7 a.m.
Good thing she never did homework, copying classmates’ in the morning—otherwise, with that workload, no way she’d sleep by 10…

“This game’s new, first time playing something like this.
I usually stick to Nintendo’s stuff.”

“You’re not great at it… why’d you get this one?”

“Wanted to try a less ordinary life?”
Liuli pauses the game, smiling at Cola.
“Miss Cola, know why I love vampires?”

“Uh, ‘cause vampire girls are pretty?”

“Not just that… though it’s a reason.
Mainly, vampire life feels exciting—wild, bizarre stories, meeting all sorts of strange people.”
She rests the controller on her chin, grinning goofily.
“If I didn’t become a vampire, I’d probably live a predictable life.
Finish high school, maybe not go to college, just work, day after day, nothing new, no goals, till I’m old…”

“Pretty pessimistic.”

“Most people around me are like that, living the same pattern, being ordinary…”

“So you want to be extraordinary?”

“…Yup!
Want to, but too scared, so I wanted to be a vampire!”

“Why vampires specifically?”

“They’re nocturnal, right?
Fits my lifestyle.”

“Just so you can stay up gaming?”
Cola teases.

“Ehh~ vampires’ all-night stamina is super useful!”

“That’s just being an otaku!”

“Mm… modern vampires are like that, right?”

“Tch, you’re not ordinary anymore.
Don’t you want to do something extraordinary?”

“Becoming a vampire’s already pretty extraordinary.”

“After that, I mean.”

“So fresh!
Super fun!”

“No, no, I mean, something special, different from normal people?”

“Wanna feel what it’s like to fly!”

“Anything else?”

“Hmm… nope.”

“Hey, you’re still settling for the status quo!”

“But a vampire’s status quo is different from a normal person’s.”

“How?”

“Vampires can embrace the status quo guilt-free.
It’s… fulfilling?
Like being rich but living simply versus having no choice but to live simply—different vibes, right?”

“Uh…”
Cola freezes.
“That… kinda makes sense.”

“And there’s a thrill, like what if a vampire hunter comes for me, or a werewolf enemy shows up?
Life gets a bit tense!”

“Then you cherish each calm day with that tension?”

“Yup!”

“Such a weird theory.”

“Miss Cola… will you dislike me for this?”

“Why would anyone dislike you for that?”

“‘Cause… I don’t fit in with most people.”

“Don’t worry, vampires are all misfits…”
Cola scratches her stomach, muttering as she lowers her sore arm.
“Phew, arm’s tired…”

“Need a pillow?”

“I can…”

“Here, got it!”

“Oh, comfy.”
Cola lies on the pillow as Liuli resumes the game, wandering a neon-lit street.
“…Huh?”

“What’s up, Miss Cola?”

“This pillow smells strong…”
Cola flips over, burying her face in it, sniffing deeply.

“E-Eh!?”
Liuli’s face flushes, as if Cola’s sniffing her chest.

“Oh, I got it—milky scent!”
Cola lifts her head, meeting Liuli’s eyes.

“T-that’s my usual pillow… m-might have… drool…”

“…Cough!”

“If Miss Cola likes the smell, keep sniffing… i-it’s fine!”

“Hey, don’t look at me like I’m a pervert!”

“N-no!
I don’t think you’re a pervert!”
Liuli panics.
“Ancient beings having weird quirks is… normal, right?”

“Stop making it worse!”

“Sorry!
Ancient vampire lord, I offer my pillow to you!”

“Don’t apologize with honorifics!
I’m not a drool-pillow-collecting freak!”

“Sorry!
So sorry!”

“Hey!
No apologizing!!”