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## **Chapter Four: Teeth, Trouble, and Tragedy in a Hoodie**
> *Location: Bai Lu's Safehouse – Xintai's Quiet Zone, Sector 5C*
Rin stood in Bai Lu's kitchen, completely overwhelmed.
He'd opened a cabinet and found nothing but vitamins, knives, and vacuum-sealed blood packs labeled in clinical fonts.
No snacks. No ramen. No chocolate. No joy.
"You live like a beautiful serial killer," he muttered.
From the couch, Bai Lu didn't look up from her tablet. "You're a vampire. You don't need snacks."
"I *emotionally* need snacks."
Silence.
Then: "You may sleep in the guest room. Don't make noise."
"Wait, I passed the vibe check?"
"You're still on trial."
He grinned. "Trial implies you think there's a chance I'll be acquitted."
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### **Rin, the Unwanted Intern**
The next morning, Bai Lu rose at five. Rin was already up—somehow—wearing a novelty apron that read *Bite Me, I'm Adorable*, and flipping what looked like a sad excuse for pancakes.
"Good morning, Mistress of Night and Mild Scowls," he chirped.
She stared at him. "What are you doing?"
"Reclaiming a shred of my dignity via breakfast."
"You don't digest food."
"I said *dignity*, not logic."
She walked away.
"Also," he called after her, "I've organized your case files alphabetically, cleaned your weapons bench, and vacuumed the hallway. I think I qualify for minion status now."
"No one asked you to do that."
"I'm anticipating my performance review."
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### **The Cat, the Knife, and the Karaoke**
Later that day, Rin followed Bai Lu on an errand. That is to say, she told him not to come, and he did anyway.
She was hunting a warlock with a demon parasite. Rin was mostly trying not to trip over trash bins.
As she interrogated an informant, Rin distracted a nearby hellhound disguised as a stray cat. He offered it jerky. It promptly bit him.
He yelped. The informant ran. Bai Lu sighed.
"You're a liability," she said, watching the hellhound curl at Rin's feet, now oddly fond of him.
"I prefer the term 'surprise asset.' Also, I'm bleeding."
"You'll regenerate."
"Oh, yay. Suffering with a rewind button."
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They ended the day at a safehouse on the edge of the city. Rin found a busted karaoke machine in the basement.
"Careful," he said, plugging it in. "This is how I became undead."
Bai Lu raised an eyebrow.
"You became a vampire... during karaoke?"
He nodded solemnly. "It was 2 AM. I was singing a tragic ballad about lost dumplings. A girl bit me between verses. Worst encore ever."
She didn't laugh. But her eyes twitched. Just a little.
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### **The Truth Beneath the Jokes**
Later that night, Bai Lu stood on the rooftop. Rin joined her, unusually quiet. No jokes, no apron, no hellhound-cat.
"You're not always like this," she said after a while.
"Like what?"
"Clownish."
He shrugged, leaning against the rail. His voice, when he spoke again, lacked its usual bounce.
"It's a shield."
She glanced at him.
"I was turned young," he said. "Not important enough to be trained. Not old enough to be killed. They kept me around like a pet. When you laugh enough, they forget to look too closely."
"You're smarter than you pretend to be."
"Don't tell anyone," he smirked. "Ruins the illusion."
Then he looked at her seriously.
"Why'd you let me stay?"
"You made me laugh. Almost."
"Harsh but fair."
He paused. Then, softer: "I meant what I said. I'll prove I'm useful."
"I don't need a sidekick."
"You might need a friend."
Silence stretched between them. Then Bai Lu turned and walked away.
Rin stayed on the roof a while, staring at the stars.
---
### **Flashback – Rin's Turning (Six Years Ago)**
The bar had been half-empty. Neon soaked the floor like spilled wine. Rin was twenty-one, broke, and singing an off-key love song into a busted mic.
She sat in the back—hair black as silence, smile sharp as glass. She clapped when he finished. He bowed dramatically, flushed and dumb.
He thought she was into him.
She was.
For the taste.
She kissed him just once before the bite. He remembered the cold. The feeling of drowning in velvet. Then nothing.
When he woke, she was gone.
And he was something else.
The coven found him, starved, feral. They caged him. Trained him. Beat the soul out of him.
Until one day he smiled and made a joke that made the Highborn laugh.
That's how he survived.
With charm. With absurdity.
With armor made of words.
---
### **Back to Present – Blood Contract**
Bai Lu found Rin asleep on the couch, a book on monster anatomy drooling from his hands. The hellhound-cat snored on his chest.
She stared at him for a long time.
Then whispered something under her breath.
A glyph glowed faintly on the ceiling. A circle of protection.
For the room.
For him.
He stirred, eyes fluttering open. "Did you just... ward me while I was asleep?"
"I didn't want your pet eating you."
"You care," he said, mock-gasping. "That's so touching."
"Sleep," she ordered.
"Yes, Supreme Empress of Denial."
He smiled, softer this time. And obeyed.
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> *Rin was ridiculous, chaotic, and absolutely out of place in Bai Lu's world.*
> *But for reasons she didn't understand yet... she kept him close.*
> *And one day soon, she'd be very glad she did.*
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