Chapter 8: Vampire Miss Wants to Rent a Room

(Part One)

Cola, who was packing, is now glued to her phone, scrolling endlessly.
The AC’s on, windows shut, and the once-restless curtains hang still.

“Hmm… this one looks okay.
This… a bit old, but it’s a detached house, rent’s 35,000 yen a month…
Huh?
Surprisingly cheap…
Kinda tempting…”

“Miss Cola, Miss Cola?”

“Huh?
What’s up?”

“Noodles are ready!”

“Oh, thanks, I’ll eat now.”
Cola, phone in hand, takes two steps and thwack—walks straight into the fridge.
“Ouch!”

“What happened, Miss Cola?”

“Nothing, nothing…”

“What’re you looking at?”

“Houses.
Checking online first, then I’ll get an agent to show me around.”
Cola mutters, favoriting another listing.
“This one’s nice too, but pricier…”

“Miss Cola~ sit down!”

“Oh, thanks…”
Still staring at her phone, Cola sits naturally, then freezes.
Something’s off.
She looks down—soft, springy.
She’s not on a chair.
She’s on Liuli’s lap!

Despite a pang of reluctance, her body catapults off.
“Whoa!”

“What’s wrong?”

“I sat in the wrong spot!”

“It’s fine to sit on my lap!
You’re super light, Miss Cola!”

“Feels weird, let’s not…”
Cola’s words betray her feelings, grabbing the bowl of udon and scooting it closer.
She picks up some noodles with chopsticks and slurps.
“Huh?
Cold?”

“Cold udon’s better in summer, right?
I even added ice from the fridge!”

“Like eating cold noodles…”
Cola mutters in Chinese.
“But it tastes pretty good.
Didn’t know instant udon could be done like this.”

“Eh?
Was that… a magic spell?”

“Nah, just Chinese.”

“Oh!
It sounded so ceremonial!”

“Sounds ceremonial ‘cause you don’t get it…”
Cola slurps another bite, eyes lighting up at a new listing.
She holds the phone with both hands—her small hands struggle with the big screen.
“Is this house for real?
Detached, only 20,000 yen a month?
Too cheap.”

“Might be run-down or far from the city.”

“Looks like it’s in the middle of nowhere—fields and mountains.”

“So, what kind of house do you want, Miss Cola?”

“A house, huh…”
Cola casually bites into cold noodles fed to her mouth, chewing twice before swallowing.
“Cheap, kinda convenient, and roomy.
Ideally with a study, bedroom, and living room separated.”

“What about an altar?”

“For what, drawing magic circles?
I’d rather have a gaming room…”
Cola bites into another piece of food—soft fried chicken this time.
“…Huh?!”

“Eh?”

“Why’re you feeding me…?!”

“You were busy holding your phone, so I thought I’d help!”

“I-I can eat myself…”

“But feeding you is so cute!”

“Am I a baby to you…?”

“You’re adorable, so I wanna keep looking!
Especially your eyes!”

Cola, blushing, dodges her gaze, muttering in Chinese, “Calling me cute doesn’t make me f*cking happy at all…”

“Another bite of udon~?”

“Ah—”
Her body betrays her, mouth opening wide.

…Being fed feels kinda nice.

(Part Two)

Maebashi has tons of listings, but each has flaws.
None satisfy Cola.
The ones she loves are insanely expensive.

“Miss Cola,” Liuli sips her Cola softly, “want my cousin to show you houses?”

“Your cousin?”

“He works at a real estate company.
They’ve got way more listings than online—and no agent fees!”

“Hope he can find something in a day.”

“Should be fine?
Maebashi’s not that big.”

“Alright, leave it to him.”
Cola tosses her phone aside, slumping onto the table.
“Didn’t do much, but I’m wiped.”

“Want the curtains closed?”

“Nah, it’s cozy with sunlight.
I like it streaming in.
AC’s on, so it’s not hot.”

“Right, we’re sun-proof vampires!”

“I read in my grandpa’s diary about some vampire ancestor.
He modified himself to be stronger in sunlight than at night.”

“Wow, is that even a vampire?
More like a light clan!”

“So that ancestor died quick.
Grandpa didn’t say why.”

“Your grandpa must be from thousands of years ago, right?”

“Not that far…”
Cola smirks, about to say her grandpa only lived a few hundred years, when a bzzz doorbell interrupts.

“Excuse me!
Is Miss Quantum Cola home?”

“Don’t use my full name…”
Cola covers her forehead, awkwardly opening the door.

A lively young man stands there.
“Hello, Yinniang Express!
Are the items ready to ship?”

“They’re boxed, just need sealing…
Might need another box, or it could break.”
Cola gestures to a big box by the door.
“That’s it.”

“Alright, let’s confirm the details.
Ahem, address is Showa Town, Maebashi, Gunma… correct?”

“Yup.”

“Recipient is Yuezuki Yuri, right?”

“Correct.”

“Phone number and shipping cost…”

After tedious checks and paying the fee, the delivery guy heaves the box of Cola, wobbling downstairs.

“Thanks for the hard work…!”
Cola calls after his shaky figure.

“No trouble!
Have a great day!”

“Japan’s service industry is exhausting.”
Cola sighs.
“All those honorifics give me a headache.”

She turns, but the room’s empty.
Yuezuki Liuli, just at the table, has vanished.
“Huh… where’d she go?”

A whoosh of water comes from the bathroom.
Steam seeps through the door crack.

“She’s showering…
Phew… maybe I should too…”

(Part Three)

A lithe, pale body soaks in the bathtub.
Sunlight through the window casts colorful ripples on the water, dancing with the girl’s steady breaths.

“Hey…!
Who falls asleep in a bathtub?!”
Cola, cheeks averted, shouts from the bathroom doorway, embarrassed.

“Mmm…”
The girl’s long lashes flutter, eyes slowly opening.
She stares at Cola, her face flushing visibly red.

“Eek!”

“I-I didn’t look!
I just saw you in the tub from the door, I didn’t get close!”
Cola explains frantically, though her truth sounds like a flimsy excuse.

“D-did you see…?”

“Didn’t see!”

“Eh—”

“What’s with that disappointed tone?!”
Cola slams the door shut.
“You’ve been in there two hours!
I was worried, so I checked.
Get out if you’re fine, don’t soak too long!”

“Eh!
Y-yes!
Sorry!”

“No need to apologize, just… how do you fall asleep bathing?”

“The view outside was relaxing, so… I dozed off.
Sorry, Miss Cola!”

“I said, no apologizing!
Change and come out, I need to shower.”

“Y-yes, I’m coming!”

(Part Four)

Now Liuli sits in the living room, listening to the whoosh of water from the bathroom.
Cola’s shower sounds louder than most girls’—like she cranked the water to max, rinsing like a torrential downpour.

Liuli props her cheek, eyeing a fresh Coca-Cola from the fridge.
Dew beads glisten on the bottle, wetting the table.
The new vampire girl licks her lips, then tips the bottle over with a slender finger.

“Delicious Cola…”
Her fingers trace the bottle’s curves, legs pressing together, breath growing heavy.
She grabs her half-drunk Sprite, gently pressing it against the Cola, rubbing slowly.
Her heated body steams faintly.

Biting her lip, she lets out a soft “mmph.”
Just as she’s losing herself, a loud voice cuts in: “Hey—what’re you doing?”

“Eh, eh?!
N-nothing!”

“Why’re you waving those bottles around?
Shake ‘em too much, they’ll explode when opened.”

“Eh?”

“You shake like that, it’ll spray everywhere.”

“S-spray?”
Liuli’s face reddens like it’s bleeding.

“Of course, what else?”

“Y-yeah, too soon for me…”

“Huh?!”