As the cold dawn crept through the cracks of the old room, Leng Wei woke up, rubbing the stiffness from his muscles after sleeping on the hard floor. He looked at his mother, who was sleeping, her face pale and with beads of sweat despite the chilly room. Her breath was ragged and wheezy.
"Mom," he said softly, adjusting the blanket over her as she murmured in her sleep.
Leng Wei walked to the corner of the room, where an old photo of his father sat on an altar. In the photo, the man had a proud look and strange, slightly sharp fangs, which Leng Wei had always thought were a film effect.
"It's my seventeenth birthday today," he whispered as he lit an incense. "I'll find a way to help you, I promise."
While water boiled on the stove for the medicine, he pulled out a bundle of money from under his mattress - all he had managed to save from a month's worth of odd jobs. But it wasn't enough for the medicine. Not enough again.
Suddenly, his mother woke up with a violent cough. Leng Wei helped her up, holding a cup of herbal tea to her lips.
"Don't waste the last of your money on me," she whispered, her eyes filled with pain and guilt. "You need to think about yourself. Your future."
"There is no future without you," he smiled, trying to hide his despair.
After his mother went back to sleep, he got ready for school. As he left, he tied an old, faded bracelet around her wrist - the only thing his father had left behind.
"This will protect you," he said, not believing it himself.
On his way to school, Wang Jie caught up with him. They were both poor and cheerful rascals.
"Happy birthday, brother!" Wang Jie smiled broadly and handed him a still-warm bun. "I know you're hungry. Don't refuse!"
Leng Wei thanked him gratefully. His friend understood his situation and never pried into it.
Outside the school, they ran into Lin Mei, stepping out of a luxury car with a driver. They exchanged a brief glance. Leng Wei looked down, his face burning. She looked as beautiful as always, but still unattainable. However, today, there was something in her eyes he couldn't read - pity or perhaps interest?
"Look, Lin Mei's beloved is here," someone shouted, causing laughter in the crowd.
Lin Mei gave the offender a cold look and walked into the building without saying a word.
Leng Wei tightened his fists, hating his helplessness, hating his poverty, hating not being able to stand up for the girl he loved.
As he hurried to his part-time job after school, Lin Mei caught up with him.
"Leng Wei," she said quietly but firmly, handing him an envelope. "Here, take this. Just don't let anyone know."
Before he could reply, she turned and walked away. The envelope contained a significant amount of money, along with a note that read, "For your mother. This is not a gift."
Leng stood there, holding the envelope, a strange mixture of gratitude, guilt, and anger swirling inside him. He vowed that one day, he would become strong enough to protect those he loved and to ensure that no one dared laugh at him again.
Little did he know, his desire would come true sooner than he imagined. And the cost of this power would be more terrible than he could have ever imagined.
As he returned home that evening with the medicine bought with Lin Mei's money, a strange red glow began to appear in the western sky. The air grew heavy with an ominous stillness, and Leng felt a chill run down his spine.
Leng Wei stopped and stared at the glow, suddenly his body was pierced by a sharp and incomparable pain. His blood was awakened, the ancient blood of the vampire king. A new era had begun.