"I want you to help me."
Count Charlie said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He never once considered the possibility that Nian Nian might refuse.
One couldn't help but wonder what he had eaten to have such a thick skin.
"I can't help you."
Nian Nian didn't even bother asking what the other person wanted her to do. She flat - out refused.
This strange spirit was clearly a troublemaker, and the little girl didn't want to invite any trouble for herself.
Sometimes she would take the initiative to help others solve problems, but only because the person seemed too pitiful or the matter was far - reaching and she had no choice but to act.
This one in front of her clearly didn't meet either of those criteria.
She might as well use this time to take a nap.
"I'm so heartbroken. I thought we could be friends."
Count Charlie, who had been directly rejected, didn't seem overly sad. He placed his hand over his heart, looking dejected, but his tone was still as flippant as ever.
"I don't want to be friends with you."
Nian Nian said this without any mercy, but it was exactly how she felt.
Count Charlie's eyes widened. This time, he was truly shocked.
Wasn't it said that the Eastern countries were the land of courtesy?
The people here were supposed to be easy to deceive, easy to talk to, and express their emotions very subtly. Why was this kid so straightforward and hurtful!
Count Charlie was really a bit heartbroken this time.
As a vampire with noble blood, not to mention the popularity he enjoyed in his own country because of his status and the hordes of servants he had, just his face alone was enough to charm countless young ladies.
But ever since he came to the East, nothing had gone smoothly for him.
First, he had a mishap and was inexplicably sealed away for who knew how many years. Finally, when he was released, the one who freed him was this unyielding kid.
He knew that the beauty - trap strategy wouldn't work.
But now he had nothing on him and no other friends in the East. Besides using his good looks to seduce this little kid in front of him, he seemed to have no other choice.
He had already put aside his pride, yet he still failed!
A deep sense of frustration and helplessness washed over him. Count Charlie felt that he was doomed.
The sudden aura of decadence made the little girl take a second look at him.
"What's wrong with you?"
Why did this strange bat - spirit look so dejected?
Darn it, she was starting to feel a bit soft - hearted!
Nian Nian clenched her little fists and kept telling herself in her heart that this was a big bat - spirit, not a normal person.
"Alas, I'm all alone, far from home. I mean no harm to anyone here. Why won't you believe me? I was forced to come here..."
Count Charlie actually understood the principle that those who are not of our kind must have different intentions.
If it weren't for the helpless situation, who would be willing to leave their hometown?
"What exactly happened to you?"
Nian Nian felt that this big bat - spirit was on the verge of breaking down. He really seemed very sad.
Could it be because of her words about not wanting to be friends with him?
Were foreign spirits so fragile?
Most of the local spirits in their land didn't want to be friends with humans.
"Beautiful miss, I know this is rather abrupt, but I'm really at the end of my rope. I was sealed away for who knows how long. Now that I've woken up, I don't even know what year it is. I want to go home, but I simply can't. Can't you really help me?"
"How did you get here? What do you want me to do for you?"
Sincerity is always the most powerful weapon. The exaggerated act of Count Charlie just now didn't evoke much sympathy from Nian Nian.
But now, the dejection and helplessness that Count Charlie showed out of desperation softened the little girl's heart a bit.
However, the little girl was a smart kid. She wouldn't let down her guard completely just because of a few words from Count Charlie.
She had to figure out how this spirit had come here.
If his initial intention was to cause trouble in the East, she would never help this big bat - spirit.
With the Heart - Clarifying Mirror given by the Earth - Listening Beast, the little girl wasn't afraid of being deceived.
"This is a very poignant and heart - rending story. It's a long story. Do you want to hear it?"
"Oh, if you don't want to say it, then don't."
Nian Nian only felt a tiny bit of sympathy for this big bat. She still wanted to sleep. If the big bat was being so hesitant and didn't want to talk, then forget it. She could use this time to take a longer nap.
She was still a kid, and she needed to grow taller!
Count Charlie felt a moment of embarrassment. The pretense he had just mustered was shattered once again.
He could see that this kid didn't plan to give him any face at all.
A wise man knows when to yield. He'd better not make so much of a fuss.
"My full name is Charlie Edward. I was born in the Middle Ages. I'm a second - generation vampire. Originally, I was doing quite well in my hometown. Like other vampire counts, I had my own castle, with hordes of servants and many beautiful ladies. Every day, they would have afternoon tea with me, and many were waiting for my first embrace to be turned into vampires. But then, an Eastern girl came to my castle. She completely disrupted the course of my life..."
The story that Count Charlie told took place during a time of war. At that time, China was weak and was bullied by many overseas countries. Later, the people were living in dire straits.
The girl he mentioned was, at that time, given to Count Charlie in order to gain protection for her family.
The girl had a high - class background. According to the terms of that time, she was a princess.
She was proficient in all the four arts of the Chinese literati: music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She was a typical gentle and graceful young lady.
Her temperament was similar to that of Lin Daiyu, with a delicate and frail beauty.
Count Charlie had never seen such a beautiful and uniquely - charming Eastern girl.
He was smitten at first sight.
But he knew that the girl didn't come to the castle willingly. She frowned every day, looking deeply troubled.
He was afraid that if the girl knew he was the master of the castle, she would resist him. So he pretended to be a servant in the castle and interacted with the girl.
But the girl had been educated in the traditional Chinese concepts of propriety, such as "a man and a woman should not touch hands" and "boys and girls should not sit together after the age of four".
Every time they communicated, they would usually stand at least a meter apart, and their conversations would end after no more than ten sentences.
This really frustrated Count Charlie.
He wanted to get closer, but doing so would not only scare the girl but also make her dislike him.
Finally, one day, Count Charlie found an opportunity to get close to the girl.
He staged a heroic rescue.