The 'Take Care of the Girls' for Vietnamese Women's Day event officially kicked off today. It would run for three full weeks, from September 29th to October 20th.
Since Ethan had breakfast with Autumn's family, he had no idea what the atmosphere was like in the school cafeteria that morning.
But by lunchtime, Harmony High's cafeteria was buzzing with energy, excitement, and heat. It looked like a massive "Dating Festival" was unfolding right there.
At the food counters, groups of male students lined up patiently, waiting their turn to pick meals, for themselves and their "princesses."
At the tables, male and female students were seated together in mixed groups. Many had even brought adorable lunch boxes prepared from home instead of opting for the standard school meals.
The cafeteria was also decorated specially for the occasion. Four garlands of colorful paper flowers stretched from the corners of the ceiling, converging in the center where a beautiful floral paper ball hung. Most tables were adorned with cute little plastic flower baskets.
All the decorations created a soft romantic vibe, but thankfully not too cheesy.
Overall, everyone seemed to be happily embracing the spirit of 'Take Care of the Girls'.
The happiest bunch appeared to be the boys of Class 11D. Ethan spotted Class President Lucas Vu and Secretary Simon Tran grinning from ear to ear beside their "princesses." Those two were like hand and foot, always attached at the hip.
However, there were still students who chose not to participate. They sat quietly in a corner, far away from all the flirting and sweet-talking happening elsewhere.
Ethan could only guess:
Maybe they already had boyfriends or girlfriends.
Or maybe they were just hardcore introverts who preferred not to socialize with anyone.
Or maybe their looks didn't fit society's beauty standards?
Or perhaps they just weren't into all this wooing, dating, and taking care of the opposite sex.
And the simplest case of all, maybe the person they were supposed to care for was mysteriously absent today.
Like Ethan's case.
Honestly, Ethan felt incredibly lucky. According to the draw results, he was supposed to be taking care of none other than Ruby this week.
Ruby, that girl…
Autumn had previously avoided answering Ethan's questions about the Femme Fatale group, or about herself and Royce.
But now, Ethan was 99% certain: Ruby, Anya, and Yara were just like Autumn's family, members of Harmony Town's Vampire Community.
But why was Ruby absent from school today?
She had seemed completely fine last Friday night, lively enough to throw a party and even call Ethan to play Werewolf with her. She'd sounded tipsy over the phone, too.
But… What would it take to get a creature like Ruby drunk?
It was quite the coincidence, given the story Celestia had told Summer that morning. Her younger sister had drunk several bottles of RARE BLOOD that their parents had been gifted.
Then, buzzed and HIGH, the sister had bitten Celestia and ran off into the night.
And that was Friday night too, the same terrifying night Ethan nearly lost his life.
It was like lightning struck Ethan's brain. The left side of his head buzzed with static as he mentally pieced the timeline together.
Celestia and Ruby shared several similar facial features, something Ethan had felt vaguely from the moment he first met her.
He took out his phone.
He needed to confirm this.
Ethan pulled up Autumn's contact.
And texted her one direct question.
Ethan waited patiently, but Autumn still hadn't replied to his message. Maybe she was asleep?
He jumped when Andrew The Detective suddenly slammed his homemade lunchbox down on the table where Ethan was sitting.
"Hey. Ethan! Why are you sitting in the 'lonely people's corner' like this?"
Wait… was Andrew The Detective planning to sit here too?
Ethan quickly shoved his phone into his pocket.
Before Ethan could respond, Andrew The Detective already made his own assumption.
"Sigh… Don't tell me your 'Princess' has gone missing like mine? Do you know where my 'Princess' is right now, Ethan?"
"I have no idea. I don't even know who your 'Princess' is."
Andrew The Detective gave a sly little grin.
"Of course you do. You two seem pretty close, don't you? My 'Princess' sits at the same desk as you in Class 11D."
Before Ethan could react to that unexpected reveal, Andrew The Detective suddenly shouted:
"Whoa, Ethan! That red mark on your neck… is that a hickey?"
"What? Are you crazy, Andrew?"
Andrew The Detective pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of Ethan's neck. Then he immediately sent it to Ethan via Telegram.
(How the heck does Andrew The Detective know my Telegram?)
"Here, Ethan. Look! LOOK!"
"This… This can't be called a hickey, can it?"
Ethan's face turned bright red as he looked at the photo Andrew had just sent. Sure enough, there was a red bruise on his neck, exactly where Autumn's fangs had pierced his skin.
"Then what does a hickey look like, Ethan? You naughty boy."
"How should I know?"
"It even looks like there are fang marks in there… That intense? Whoever did this must've been really into you."
"It's not what you think…"
"Oh please, Ethan! Last time I interrogated you, you were ice cold. You lied without even blinking."
There was a glint in Andrew The Detective's glasses, like the kind of anime sparkle that appears when a character figures something out.
"…But this time, you're overreacting. That proves it's a hickey. Now spill it, who left that mark on your neck?"
"No one!"
Ethan stayed firm.
"You're a terrible liar, Ethan. Fine then. I'll just guess myself. Heh!"
Andrew The Detective struck a classic detective pose, one hand under his chin.
"Out of all the girls you've interacted with lately, I suspect the Femme Fatale trio the most. If it were the twins, Anya and Yara, you'd probably have two hickeys on your neck."
Grinning smugly, Andrew The Detective pointed straight at Ethan:
"According to my intel, last Friday night, Ruby invited you to her private party at Angels' Pub. So it was Ruby who left the hickey, right?"
Clatter!
A chair nearby suddenly toppled over.
"You two are way too loud!"
The one who knocked over the chair was a guy about the same height as Ethan. He might've been quite handsome if it weren't for the permanent scowl scrunched up on his face.
With a flick of his long legs, the guy smoothly righted the chair. All the students in the 'lonely people's corner' let out a collective "ooh" of admiration.
Without saying another word, he picked up his lunch tray and walked away, though not before shooting Ethan and Andrew The Detective a contemptuous side-eye.
"Nathaniel Nguyen, Class 11B. The only 11th grader on Harmony's Math Olympiad team. In terms of looks, he ranks second only to Royce, at least according to the school's female student vote."
Andrew The Detective commented flatly, still watching Nathaniel's figure disappear from view.
"You owe me 50.000 VND for that intel, Ethan."
"What? You told me that yourself! I never asked about that Nathaniel guy."
Andrew The Detective sighed dramatically and shook his head.
"Sigh… Don't blame me for being ruthless later, okay, Ethan?"