161 Is that why you don't want me?

\"Should I go inside or…\" Standing behind a tree, Klyn takes deep breaths. The mansion is right in front of him. The metal gate is slightly open. \"Should I run away?\"

Finding a true mate during the apocalypse has never been his plan. Heck! He doesn't even want a true-mate. After thinking about the pros and cons, he still thinks that they are better off away from each other.

\"I am being like the queen.\" He mutters, \"But the queen was a human. I am a pureblooded vampire. How could a pureblooded vampire be with a heavenly blessed immortal girl? To make it worse, he has heard that she's also a sun guardian.

\"Why are you so incredible, Sung Nami?\" He wraps his arms around the tree and bangs his head on the tree. \"Why do you have nine demon brothers? A demonic goddess for a mother and a heavenly… wait! What does her father do? I thought that he went to heaven for trials.\"

\"He's a great saint.\"

Klyn jumps when he hears the familiar voice. When he turns around, he finds Sung Nami standing behind him. It's been only three days, but his eyes find relief after seeing her again -- a kind of relief that he hasn't thought that he was missing.

Sung Nami is dressed in a plain ivory white shirt and white nicely fitted trousers. As usual, her soft brown hair is tied up in a ponytail. She tilts her head slightly and stares at him. \"Why are you here?\"

\"I-I…\" He takes a few steps back. It's unnerving to talk to a true mate. \"I was…\"

\"You look like you have a lot of time.\" She frowns at him. \"Follow me.\"

\"Huh?\" Klyn blinks his eyes, surprised. Does she not know about him and her brother? What about her father? Her father must have said something to her. Nevertheless, he trails after her. 

Sung Nami doesn't walk toward the Sung Mansion. She heads in the opposite direction, into the woods. \"All the converts had turned into dust all of a sudden. One-tenth of the human population has survived, but they are still hiding here and there.\"

\"I heard that there were wars.\" Klyn murmurs, \"Some humans launched nuclear missiles to wipe out the converts in some countries.\"

\"It was basically an excuse to start a war by a few countries in another continent.\" She lets out a sigh. \"Half of the population was wiped out by the war because of their panicked reaction. Of course, the converts didn't die. So, what we have now is… a huge mess.\"

Klyn sees the ashes lying in human shapes on the ground. It must be converted vampires. Now, there is only one convert left in this world -- the queen. Huang Qiuyan is different for sure. 

\"It would take forever to reach stability.\" Sung Nami says to him, \"As a Sun Guardian, it's my duty to create this new world.\"

So, she knows. Klyn gazes at her back. \"You don't have to do it alone. You have people who will help you.\"

He scratches the back of his head, looking at the ground. A faint blush appears on his face. \"Yes.\"

\"You ran away because you didn't want to be with me.\"

Klyn widens his eyes and raises his head. Her honey eyes are calm and composed. It scares him. \"I was… I didn't know… Nami, it's not that I rejected you. I felt that you are better off without me.\"

Nami gives him a nod. \"I heard my brothers. You are the man who stole my elder brother's girlfriend.\"

\"Nami…\" Klyn's voice trembles. \"I want to apologize.\"

\"If he wasn't my brother, you wouldn't have thought about apologizing,\" Sung Nami replies in a distant tone. \"Did my father ask you to come?\"

\"Yes.\" He can't deny a single word that she said. \"Nami, I want…\"

\"I don't want you.\"

He feels a sharp pain in his chest. His throat turns dry when he hears her words. \"Are you rejecting me?\"

\"I am not stupid enough to formally reject you and cause us great pain.\" Sung Nami exhales. \"As a Sun Guardian, I have a lot to do. I am going to find out who brought the world to the brink of destruction. I need to lead this world in this dire time. There's just so much to do, and I think that I can't be with someone who stole my brother's girlfriend. You are free to do anything you want.\"

He strides toward her, only to stop inches away from her. \"Nami, can't you forgive me? That was my past. I didn't know that I had a true mate.\"

True mates are strange. Nobody knows when the true mates meet, and even if they meet, it's hard to tell when the bonds are felt and realized. It takes a long time for some people or a few seconds for another one. 

And it's different for every pair of true mates. 

\"So, you changed suddenly in a day.\" Nami raises her brows. \"Fine, I believe you. My mother told me that people might take forever to change or only a second. It depends on their IQ. So, you changed after you found out that you had a true mate…\"

\"Nami, I changed because I met you.\" He stares into her eyes, feeling desperate. \"I like you.\"

The corner of her lips twitch. She flares her nostrils. \"Like? Only like? We are freaking true mates!\"

Didn't she just say that she doesn't want him? Why is she angry now? Klyn, who is used to the double-edged language of women, feels his heart skipping a beat. Is she testing him? \"Yes, I like you.\"

\"I don't like you.\" She shrugs. \"Why would I like a pureblooded vampire? A heavenly cultivator being with a dark creature? Impossible!\"

\"You liked my king though,\" He teases her. \"I figured out that you were gazing at Fu Sheng instead of Huang Qiuyan at that time.\"

\"He's a vampire king.\" She crosses her arms and snaps at him. \"That person can gain the approval of my family. You failed before you could even begin.\"

\"Is that why you don't want me?\" He scrutinizes her face curiously. \"No other reasons?\"