Chapter 5 (1/2)

Hao Ren had a lot on his mind.

The virtue of gratitude; revolutionaries who dedicated their life to their cause and the truth; his first, brave attempt to fight back against the bully who took his chocolate during his primary school years and whatnot. However at that moment, there was only one thing he was interested in. That girl, Lily was mystical; of something unusual. She was anything but human yet she was not bad as she just saved his life. Hao Ren knew it. He was the primary target when the half-human, half-bat creature attacked him.

He was just another ordinary man but he took pride in his sharp instincts and his ability to remain calm in all kinds of situations thanks to his upbringing. He was known as a bad boy during his childhood and he laughed in the face of danger. This honed and sharpened his instincts as he grew up.

Lily on the other hand, did not notice this subtlety. It was probably because her mind was set; she thought that the bat was coming after her all along. It might also have been due to the fact that she was a little dumb.

No matter what he thought of her as a person, the werewolf girl had indeed saved his life. Moreover, it was dark at night and she had nowhere to go. He couldn’t leave her alone at that desolate place. He wouldn’t.

Of course, he was also being pragmatic: the bat could have returned at anytime. So, he figured that it would be safer if Lily stuck with him—her flaky Shooting Brick was a better weapon than his rolling pin in the kitchen at the very least.

That might have been a little self-deprecating but he was fully aware of his ability, or lack thereof. Lily was the best option.

“Let’s go, it’s getting late.” Hao Ren rubbed his legs as they were still numb from the chill earlier. He then went ahead of Lily. “I will get you something to eat once we are home. Are you okay with a vegetarian meal?”

However, he immediately realized that it was a silly question—Lily was a werewolf!

“Anything is fine!” Lily nodded happily as she carried her 100-pound suitcase, walking beside him. “Aren’t you scared? Have you seen ‘the other kind’ before? I have seen it in movies, those people are afraid of us. But fret not! I’m not going to hurt you.”

She was at it again—overly amiable, naive, dumb and being too chatty. He had a headache; he couldn’t answer her questions. He sighed and said to her, “Frankly, I’m still feeling a little dizzy right now. I need a nicotine fix to soothe my mind before I can answer your questions. Shall we talk about that later when we get home?”

Lily was unexpectedly compliant. She kept her mouth shut. They did not utter a word as they passed through the alley and arrived at Whitestone Road.

Hao Ren’s house was right at the end of the street with concrete pavement. Beyond that was an endless wasteland. The location of his house was one where civilization met the wilderness—a cool description Hao Ren had always used when referring to his dwelling to portray his young state of mind despite his age. On both sides of Whitestone Road were rows of motley, old residential buildings of two or even three stories. However, most of them were vacant. They felt haunted especially at night. Developments had not come by and more people moved out than in. His apartment was one of the few which still had occupants in the sleepy town.

“It would feel spooky around here if not for the still-functioning street lamps,” Hao Ren mumbled.

“Huh? Spooky?” Lily had sharp hearing, true to her canid origin.

Hao Ren waved his hand, gesturing that he was just talking nonsense. Lily did not give it much thought. She was staring at the house with satisfaction, “This will make a good hideout. Quiet; deserted. You know, it’s tough to live within the human society. You have to constantly worry about being exposed and sent for biopsies. Not only that, the human world has too many conmen. It’s tiring.”

“Would you look at that! A fearsome werewolf is afraid of a biopsy blade!” quipped Hao Ren as he took out his keys to open the doors.

He was amused by the antilogy.

Lily nodded aggressively. “I saw it in the movies. The human species is inherently exclusive and resents other species. In America, extraterrestrials that are caught always end up on a biopsy table. Whereas in China, they always end up on a plate!”