"But I won't let them ruin this game. There's no way I'm allowing a bad ending—especially not to such an interesting character who pays me a damn good salary!" Vijay thought to himself.
"First, I need to prevent them from meeting. According to the novel's timeline, Chapter 20 should be around four to six days away."
He analyzed the twisted romance of the original plot. 'Their end would be tragic anyway. For Soniya, Alex would only be an incredibly attractive guy because of his hypnotic vampire aura.
Meanwhile, Alex would only love her because of the demonic essence inside her. What a forced, artificial love story. Seriously, sis, you really outdid yourself with this one!'
A subtle smirk played on Vijay's lips as he recalled how the original Vijay and Alex had met for the first time.
Alex had once gathered information on all the local thugs and teachers in the school. Back then, the original Vijay was struggling financially.
Alex took him in, offered him a job, and successfully won his loyalty. When a person is at their lowest and someone extends a helping hand, they naturally adapt and mold themselves to that person's will.
"Boss, are you going to talk to her?" Vijay asked, pushing the conversation forward.
Since he lacked deep details about the plot's loopholes, asking direct questions was his best bet to gather information.
To Alex, it would just sound like curiosity. Whether the vampire chose to answer or not was up to him.
"Yes," Alex replied, pausing briefly before adding, "Today is a good day."
Vijay felt a momentary wave of confusion.
'What does the day have to do with anything?' he thought.
'Oh, wait. Today was the exact day Alex saw her for the first time in the original novel.'
'Romance really is a confusing mess.' Both the original Vijay and the current one knew next to nothing about love.
Stepping forward, Vijay casually said, "Then, Boss, I assume you are fully prepared?"
Alex looked slightly confused. "Prepared? What preparation are you talking about?"
This was exactly the opening Vijay was angling for. "Boss, we humans are highly emotional creatures. If someone we love hides a massive secret from us, the betrayal is unbearable—especially for women. If you intend to keep any secrets from Miss Soniya, you should prepare yourself for the fallout right now."
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "Otherwise, your story might end up turning into a complete nightmare."
Vijay's goal was simple: put an immediate brake on their interaction.
He chose his words deliberately so they would nestle deep into the vampire's mind—words like 'we humans,' 'creatures,' and 'the shock of betrayal.' It instantly triggered Alex's insecurity about hiding his vampire identity from Soniya.
Something felt deeply wrong to the vampire. Alex's mind raced.
The demonic essence within him urged him to move forward and claim his love, but Vijay's psychological warning sowed deep seeds of doubt.
Alex turned slightly toward Vijay.
His pale face had flushed a faint shade of red—likely due to the internal overheating caused by his racing thoughts. "Have you... ever seen this happen before your own eyes?"
Alex was desperate for Vijay to say no.
He wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, dismiss the human's words, and ignore the anxiety. After all, he viewed Vijay as nothing more than a worker.
Yet, being a human, Vijay's insight into human emotions could be terrifyingly accurate.
The thought deeply unsettled him.
"Yes, Boss. Right in our neighborhood, just a few days ago," Vijay lied smoothly, putting on a innocent face.
"A guy hid a tiny, insignificant secret from his girl. The moment she found out, she dumped him on the spot."
Hearing this, Alex looked like he wanted to cough up blood.
Vijay, completely unbothered, continued to turn the screw. "So... perhaps you should hold off for today, Boss?"
"What?! Why, Boss?!" Vijay figned utter confusion, watching the conflict play out on Alex's face. Alex remained silent, paralyzed by doubt.
"Oh, look, Boss! She's here!" Vijay struck the final blow while the iron was hot. Piling on more confusion right now would completely break Alex's resolve.
A girl with long, black hair cascading down to her waist approached. She was Asian and dressed in a traditional green saree.
She was undeniably beautiful, but not exceptionally so—certainly not enough to make a high-tier vampire fall madly in love without the interference of the demonic essence.
Glancing at Alex, Vijay delivered his closing line. "Boss, if there is a secret... it's better to prepare first," he whispered from behind in a reassuring, wise tone.
Alex seemed to calm down, the unnatural flush on his marble face fading back to his usual pale complexion.
He had come today fully intent on confessing his love at all costs, but now? He watched Soniya walk into the college building.
"I think... I'm short on time today. I will come back later," Alex muttered, using the excuse to mask his deep embarrassment.
Vijay pulled a slightly awkward face, playing along perfectly. "Right, Boss. You must be incredibly busy today." He made sure to stroke Alex's ego without challenging his pride. "I should get to work too.
After all, inflation is making everything so expensive these days," Vijay muttered under his breath.
He knew perfectly well that Alex's sharp senses would catch the remark. It was a calculated reminder about his salary.
Alex thought to himself, 'Even though I didn't get to do what I came for, if Vijay's advice is right and I almost ruined everything...'
Reaching into his pocket, Alex pulled out his premium X-Play smartphone and instantly transferred 1,200 Tox into Vijay's account. Resuming his calm, aristocratic vampire-novel aura, Alex said coolly, "Enjoy."
Vijay checked his phone, a brilliant, million-dollar smile spreading across his face.
Alex had given him a 200 Tox bonus! His standard pay was 250 Tox a week, meaning this single transaction amounted to almost two months' worth of his usual salary.
Alex cast one final glance toward the college. Seeing Vijay entirely absorbed in his phone, he jolted him back to reality. "Keep a close eye on her. But do it from a distance."
With that, Alex slammed the accelerator, and the luxury car roared away into the mist.
Vijay shivered slightly at Alex's parting words. Even when a vampire suppresses his aura, he is still a terrifying creature.
'Man, he really is blindly in love.
Well, a blindly in love vampire,' Vijay thought.
He watched the car vanish into the distance before turning his attention back toward the college gates.
Crossing the street, he began reviewing his immediate priorities. Alex had bought his story for now, but upon deeper reflection, the interaction felt a bit strange.
'First of all, why didn't he find it suspicious that the usually quiet, brooding Vijay was suddenly so talkative and expressive today?
Second, a vampire's senses are easily two to three times sharper than a human's.
A vampire like Alex is an Elite, sitting comfortably within Tier 2. How did he not notice the change in my presence?'
He looked up at the name etched above the entrance gates: Son Alex College.
'Right. The college is literally named after his family. He is far older and more outdated than he appears. That's probably why he knows absolutely nothing about modern romance, and simply chalked up my bizarre behavior to mere hesitation.'
Walking into the main building, Vijay noticed a group of rowdy, gangster-style students loitering in the corridors, casting predatory glances at passing girls.
Soniya, standing out completely in her traditional Asian saree, walked down the hall. The moment the thugs spotted her, their expressions turned malicious. Because of her distinct attire today, she was drawing a lot of unwanted attention.
Vijay followed from a distance. He caught sight of a bald thug leaning in as another student whispered something into his ear. The group erupted into nasty laughter.
As soon as Soniya passed them, the student signaled the bald thug. The bald man stood up from his spot and began tailing her at a calculated distance.
Vijay didn't see the entire interaction, but he saw enough to piece the puzzle together.
'It looks like they've been keeping tabs on Soniya for a while—where she goes, what she does, and where she's heading right now.
But who is feeding them this information? The original Vijay always kept a strict eye on Soniya to ensure no thugs ever got close to her.'
After a few seconds of fruitless contemplation, he brushed the thought aside.
'Soniya is heading toward the library. It's practically empty at this hour. That's exactly what they plan to take advantage of.'
'If Alex were here and got even a whiff of this? These guys would be dead meat.'
Sighing deeply, Vijay quietly fell into line, tailing both Soniya and the bald thug.
Meanwhile, the rest of the wannabe-gangster students who were busy chatting suddenly went dead silent.
Vijay walked right up to the remaining gang. The moment they faced him, their tough, gangster facades instantly crumbled into those of ordinary, terrified students.
"Ah... President 3! Good morning!" one of the boys stammered, his voice trembling with fear.
The original Vijay had systematically beaten up almost every single troublemaker in this college.
Consequently, the number of people who feared him was staggering.
Vijay casually shoved both hands into his jacket pockets, fixed them with a cold stare, and spoke.