What It's Like Being a Vampire

Xia Libing stopped after stepping out of the courtyard gate, looking left and right. There were no people, no creatures, no unusual occurrences.

Her phone vibrated again, receiving a message: “Take a few steps forward.”

Xia Libing did as instructed and took a few steps forward, stopping at the edge of the road outside the gate.

Chongyun Village’s terrain was not flat. Their position was on a high area, and from the courtyard, on the other edge of the road, one could see most of the village below. The newly constructed village path stretched from a distance, completely deserted, illuminated by bright street lamps on both sides.

Suddenly, the street lamps in the village started to extinguish from where they lived towards the outside of the village, like a wave of darkness quickly swallowing everything in its path.

Soon, the entire village was plunged into darkness again, only the lights from each household were on.

However, the street lamps in Chongyun Village were just recently installed, so the villagers were used to the lack of them. Plus, most of them were home at this time, so they didn’t pay much attention to it. No one came out to investigate.

After most of the village’s lamps were extinguished, a point of light rose slowly from the ground near the entrance of the village. It burst open in mid-air with a very soft crackling sound, and points of light adorned the night sky, forming a huge cartoon cat face pattern.

Then, more points of light rose into the sky, one by one, exploding.

The patterns were different each time, either a cartoon cat or images of chicken legs and cakes, and even a circular coin — unmistakable Little Fatty Girl style.

It was normal that the villagers didn’t notice the extinguishing of the street lamps, but it was strange that even this continuous and overwhelming array of fireworks didn’t attract anyone to come out to watch. Even the courtyard behind Xia Libing remained quiet.

Xia Libing had foreseen this. From the moment the first firework rose into the sky, she realized:

These were not actual fireworks, not even a range-specific illusion. It was a scene transmitted by Alice exclusively for her. Before the fireworks burst, Alice had already established a sensory link through the pair of “Emotion Infused” chopsticks she left on the dining table, along with the new bracelet on her wrist.

In other words, this firework show was an “illusion” only she could see, a dedicated performance prepared by Alice for her.

The source of the firework show was actually Old Xia’s new wristband. In addition to carrying a large number of “Super-connected Objects,” this wristband was an “Emotion Infused Object.”

And the emotion that created this wristband was the joyful feeling that Kun had transformed from the Little Fatty Girl during the Lantern Festival in Star City.

Such emotions were not possessed by Old Xia herself, so even if this “Emotion Infused Object” was stimulated, it couldn’t induce direct resonance.

Alice accomplished the relay through Old Xia’s pair of “Emotion Infused” chopsticks that could generate emotional resonance. In Chongyun Village, due to the presence of a large number of “Super-connected Objects” around, the influence range of “Emotion Infused Objects” could be greatly increased, and the whole village area was Alice’s operation platform.

But after the relay, only Old Xia could see the emotional projection illusion of the wristband, and not feel the emotion directly.

After the firework show ended, Xia Libing turned around and looked at Alice standing by the courtyard wall.

At this moment, all the cameras in Chongyun Village that could capture the nearby area froze their screens and stopped working.

Alice, in a white princess dress, gave Xia Libing a brilliant and happy smile, saying, “Old Xia, happy birthday, thank you.”

The physical co-manifestation of Alice disappeared afterwards, but that dazzling smile remained etched in Xia Libing’s mind.

Alice, who had been modeled after her childhood look, had a smile she never had when she was a child.

She knew Alice’s smile was derived from the joyous emotion of the “Emotion Infused” wristband on her hand. It was a genuine feeling from the depths of her “heart”. It was an honest expression of emotion.

Alice, from nothing to existence, less than a year after her birth, already possesses a rich ability to perceive emotions, with such a cheerful smile, but what about her?

Xia Libing understood the meaning of Alice’s “thank you”. One of the main reasons Alice was able to integrate into the “Super Sensory Item System” so quickly was her “Dream in A Dream” ability. Whether it was communicating with the Little Fatty Girl or connecting with Xiao Pingguo, she initially relied on the “Dream in A Dream” to commence. Needless to say, the most core ability to appear in reality across the digital world was “Illusion Reality”.

She also knew what Alice’s “birthday gift” to her was.

Since she couldn’t understand “Super Sensory Information” like Alice and Kun, the illusion of her exclusive firework show and that heartfelt dazzling smile was Alice using a way she could understand, to slowly reveal to her the emotion in the wristband, helping her to understand to a certain extent the steps and methods of how such an emotion could affect.

This gift was probably given after Alice and Kun discussed it. The two of them indeed knew what she wanted.

Xia Libing walked back into the courtyard, paused slightly at the gate, lightly said “thank you” to the place where Alice had just been.

The next second, her phone vibrated. Xia Libing picked it up and saw a panda making a heart with its paws. Alice’s reply seemed to be heavily influenced by her.

Walking through the courtyard and back to the living room, Xia Libing noted that the living room was dark, as if the lights had been turned off.

She knew this wasn’t due to a power outage or caused by Alice, because the lights in the courtyard and upstairs were still on, and she could vaguely hear Yang Zhen’er suppressing her laughter.

Indeed, as soon as she entered the living room, the light turned back on. Then, people on both sides of the door holding confetti cannons burst them open over her head, and a bunch of shiny pieces fluttered down.

She could have easily avoided it, but after walking in, she decided not to dodge, letting the shiny pieces fall on her hair and shoulders.

“Old Xia/Little Sister/Bing/Young Xia! Happy birthday!!”

Everyone shouted in unison with different nicknames, giving Old Xia their blessings.

Just as Xia Libing was hesitating whether to put on a fake smile to blend in with the mood, Kun and Tang Baona had brought out a cake with candles stuck in it, and the lights in the living room were turned off again by Yang Zhen’er.

Then the candles on the cake were quickly lit, inviting her to make a wish.

Even though she wasn’t used to such a scenario, Xia Libing cooperatively stood in front of the cake and pretended to make a wish.

But since it was her birthday and since she was making a wish, she decided to make a real wish. After all, she was already here.

So, Xia Libing copied what she had seen others do on their birthdays and made a wish. Eyes closed, she silently prayed to herself: “Bless me, bless me. May the lab be fully built before the end of the year, the reasons for Xiang Kun’s mutation be understood, a method to perceive emotions be found, the deep impact method of the ‘Super sensory Item System’ be figured out, the situation of ‘Divine Technology’ and other ‘mutants’ be clarified…”

“Old Xia?” Seeing Xia Libing half-closing her eyes and standing motionless in front of the cake for nearly a minute, Yang Zhen Er couldn’t help but call out: “Did you fall asleep?”

No sooner had she spoken, than Old Xia blew out all the candles with one “puff”.

Just as the candles went out and before the lights were turned on, Xia Libing felt a strong gust of wind attacking her face.

She instinctively wanted to raise her hand and block it, but she immediately realized what was hurtling towards her face. A thought crossed her mind, so she didn’t block it or dodge it, instead she squinted her eyes and let the thing hit her face.

And so, the moment the living room light was turned on, everyone saw Yang Zhen Er’s hand wrapped around a mass of cream, squarely landing on Old Xia’s face.

Even Yang Zhen Er herself was stunned for a second; she clearly didn’t expect her sneak attack to be successful.

But the next moment, Old Xia naturally retaliated, a larger lump of cream plopped onto her face.

Seeing this pair of cousins covered in cream, especially the always calm Old Xia now in such a ludicrous state, everyone started laughing heartily.

However, Xia Tianhuo who had just opened his mouth to laugh suddenly stopped and ended up screaming in pain because Old Xia grabbed a lump of cream and plopped it onto his face, and most of it went into his mouth.

Next up, Xiang Kun was also hit in the face by Old Xia, of course, he deliberately didn’t dodge it.

Tang Baona realized what was happening and quickly tried to duck behind Xiao Pingguo, but was grabbed by Yang Zhen Er who was next to her and then Xiang Kun, who was grinning wickedly, smeared cake on her cheek.

Seeing the cake’s sorry state, everyone realized they wouldn’t be able to eat it, so they seized the opportunity to start a cream fight—actually, they just had an incredibly lavish dinner, and really, no one could eat any cake.

Zi Cheng tried to sneak attack Xiang Kun, but ended up getting a face full of cream from his girlfriend Chu Xiaoting.

Even Xiao Pingguo sneakily moved to the cake, grabbed a handful of cream, and smeared it on Professor Li Yang’s face.

“Ahahaha! Oh dear, it’s stuck in my hair! Eh, it’s gone up my nose…” Yang Zhen Er wiped some of the cream off her face, laughing nonstop.

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t use my clothes to wipe it off!” Tang Baona, who was wiping the cream from her face, had a ball of cream ready to attack Old Xia, when she suddenly noticed Yang Zhen Er grabbing her knitwear and trying to wipe her face on it. Alarmed, she quickly pushed her face away.

“Wait wait wait. Old Xia, don’t wipe it off yet! Everyone, don’t wipe it off, let’s take a picture first!” After shamelessly wiping her eyes on Nana’s sweater, Yang Zhen Er didn’t go to the bathroom to clean up. She also stopped Xiang Kun from getting a wet towel for Old Xia, and hurriedly rushed to get her phone. She wanted to record Old Xia’s rare moment of embarrassment, and also take a “disastrous group photo.”

However, as soon as she got her phone, she noticed a video call request on Old Xia’s phone, which was also on the table. Upon seeing the name of the person making the request, she immediately picked it up, accepted the call and handed it to Old Xia: “Old Xia, Old Xia, it’s your aunt!”

Yang Zhen Er’s aunt was, of course, Old Xia’s mother.

After the video camera was stabilized, it took Xia Libing’s mother two seconds to realize that the girl with a face full of cream was her own daughter.

“Xiao Bing… are you… with your cousin?” Mrs. Xia asked uncertainly, having never seen her daughter in such a state.

Yang Zhen’er deliberately moved her face closer to the camera lens and greeted Mrs. Xia, “Hello aunt! We’re celebrating Xiao Bing’s birthday! Nana and the bulky Xia Tianhuo are also here!”

“Good, good, thank you, Zhen’er.” Mrs. Xia said with a smile.

Then, seeing Xia Libing take a towel from someone next to her and wipe the cream off her face, still with a lingering smile, caused Mrs. Xia to stare in disbelief.

It was not that she had never seen her daughter smile. In fact, after receiving treatment from Dr. Li in her childhood, her daughter began to actively try to mimic all sorts of smiles. However, these obviously simulated and fabricated smiles were often odd and unnatural to both her and her husband, to the point where a blank expression seemed preferable.

But now, the smile lingering on her daughter’s brows, lips, and cheeks was clearly different – it was a happy smile that genuinely came from the heart.

Thus, before Xia Libing could say a word, Mrs. Xia was already slightly teary-eyed.

Seeing her mother’s reaction, Xia Libing was surprised for a moment. She realized her reaction and subconsciously turned to look at Xiang Kun, who was holding the towel nearby. He nodded at her with a smile.

Xia Libing immediately knew that during the playfulness just now, Xiang Kun’s “Emotional Assimilation” had come into effect, and she had successfully experienced the cheerful emotions.

This kind of emotion was similar to what she felt when she and Xiang Kun would watch comical videos together, but it was slightly different. However, even she, who was always adept at summarizing with data, couldn’t precisely describe the difference. Remembering it now, it felt like the satisfaction of drinking a bottle of ice-cold beverage after a hot and sweaty run, or the joy of being allowed to eat as much crispy pig’s elbow as one wished after having been starving for days.

In fact, when she received Alice’s “gift” from outside and returned to the living room, she already had a vague plan in mind. Clearly, although she did not give him a heads-up, Xiang Kun accurately grasped her intention and successfully completed the “Emotional Assimilation”.

Not only her, but actually everyone in the living room just now were affected, even Professor Li Yang. The pile of cake on Xiao Pingguo’s face was his “masterpiece”.

Of course, successful “Emotional Assimilation” also involves a certain element of luck. After all, Xiang Kun had to genuinely feel the happiness and experience this strong emotion for “Emotional Assimilation” to occur.

Xiang Kun took a towel and let everyone go clean up the cake in the upstairs restrooms. Those who were hit worst by the cake could take a shower and change their clothes.

This was also to give Old Xia and her mother some space.

Xia Libing took her phone into the courtyard and told her mother, as well as her father who had just joined her mother, about her birthday tonight.

She talked about the friends who came to celebrate her birthday, the gifts they gave her, and what they ate for dinner. Although her speaking speed was as unhurried as usual and her tone and expressions were calm, both Mrs. Xia and Mr. Xia noticed a slight difference.

The couple had been somewhat worried that their daughter, who had suddenly left her hospital job and was no longer under the care of her third aunt, might become more antisocial living in the countryside. However, it now seemed that since working together with the bald programmer who was said to be a good cook, a very positive change had occurred in their daughter.

After finishing the video chat with her parents, Xia Libing did not immediately return to the house but continued to sit in the courtyard, squinting at the night sky.

Having just received Alice’s “gift” and gained an preliminary understanding of the emotional projection mode infused into the wristband by Xiang Kun, she immediately experienced the same type of “Emotional Assimilation”, which gave her a more complete understanding and experience of the mechanism of this emotion.

She wanted to take advantage of this feeling to summarize a methodology or model that could be applied to herself.

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