Weiwei didn't like being out at night anymore. Not since the vampires had come out of the closet. It was thing to know the streets were dangerous and not knowing what lurked behind them, but now knowing. It just didn't feel right or safe. She felt vulnerable and scared, unprotected. Mostly she was scared for her best friend. Shanshan had no fear when it came to them or really anything. Maybe spiders. Weiwei dug through her purse looking for her phone. She had just left work, the sun had gone down, and she needed to see if she had enough money to take a cab home.
"Excuse me." Weiwei looked up to see a man standing there. He looked young and bright, living.
"I'm sorry I don't have any change." She went to walk away, but he quickly jumped in front of her.
"No, I'm not looking for money. I'm just asking about an employee that works here. Her name is Bei Weiwei?" Weiwei looked at him slightly startled. He noticed, before she could say anything his smile grew. "You are Bei Weiwei." It was a statement not a question.
"What can I help you with?" She gripped her purse, reaching in and gripping the can of pepper spray.
"Oh you have no idea how happy I am to find you! I've been looking for weeks, you are one hard woman to find." Weiwei took a step back. "No! I'm sorry, I don't mean to scare you! I have a job offer." He reached into his pocket pulling out a business card. Weiwei reached taking it.
Yu Banshan
District 8 Deputy Sheriff
(21) XXX - XXXX
"Yu Banshan-"
"Is my boss. I'm Hao Mei." He held out his hand. Eyeing it, she slowly took it. He smiled at her shaking it wildly. She pulled away, quickly looking back at the card.
"What is District 8?" She watched as Hao Mei got a little fidget.
"It's in the East section of Shanghai, a little more upscale than what most Sheriffs have gotten. Yu Banshan will explain what the job is. He is available to talk at any point in the night. He's actually offering-"
"Night? Is he a-"
"Yes but-" Weiwei began to walk away, dropping his card. Hao Mei quickly picked it back up, stopping her from moving forward.
"I'm not interested in working for Vampires."
"But that's the thing he is offering you a job during the daytime. They need someone to set up appointments and deal with light matter while they are asleep. You never have to see them or deal with them, not unless you want to."
"I don't-"
"It's also an offer for a woman named Xue Shanshan . You both would be working together." He grabs her hand, quickly shoving the card back into her palm. "Please, it's very high paying. They are willing to offer you a 6 figure minimum salary to start, both of you. And a place to live for free."
"This sounds too good to be true."
"Well, it's not. If you call Yu Banshan he will give you all the information you need in order to make a decision. I'm sure Xue Shanshan would like to know." Weiwei reached out a hand to hail a cab. "Please at least promise you will call, whether or not you will take it. My own job is on the line with this." Weiwei looks once more at the card before nodding her head.
"I will try to call sometime tonight or tomorrow night." Hao mei smile grew back on his face. He paid the cab driver enough for her fare and the tip for the trouble he caused her. Once the cab drove away he pulled out his phone. The sun had set, his boss would just be waking up.
"Hao Mei, you couldn't at least wait till I had gotten out of my coffin to call?"
"Yes, but sir-"
"Tell me again why you are worth the money?"
"I found her sir. She has your card. Promising to call you tonight or tomorrow."
"And if she doesn't-"
"I have her address as well." Hao Mei held his breath.
"Well...Mr. Beauty, you may turn out more of use to us than we thought." Hao Mei held in his anger at being the nickname he will never live down.
Weiwei held let out a breath the moment she walked into their small apartment, both Shanshan and her could only afford. Since Vampires coming out of the closets, prices seem to have skyrocketed for housing in the city. The studio apartment, if it could be called that, had a double bed that the two of them shared, a tiny bathroom, with a smaller shower, and kitchen that mostly consisted of a small fridge and a hot plate. Both of them worked two jobs and barely had enough to afford food after paying the rent. The micro apartment was barely big enough for one, but it was something they knew that they could work with.
Shanshan handed Weiwei a cup of noodles the moment she walked in. Shanshan's second job was a online night blogger teaching Vampires Mandarin or English. Weiwei waited till she had a break before bringing up the job.
"I don't know what we would be doing, but he said we would never have to deal with them in person if we don't want to."
"One job paying us six figures, it seems to good to be true Weiwei." Shanshan sipped on some tea. Her voice was hoarse from talking so much.
"That's what I said. But this Hao Mei, promised it was real." Shanshan looked at the screen, checking to make sure her next student wasn't going to call soon.
"Call him now, I can't wait till later." Weiwei pulled out her phone dialing his number, she placed the call on speaker.
"This is Yu Banshan." Shanshan held her breath.
"Hello, this is Bei Weiwei and Xue Shanshan, calling about the job offer." They heard some rustling, as if someone fell out of their chair.
"I'm so glad you called, my Boss has been dying for me to hire you."
"I'm sorry sir, but we are confused as to why he wants us." Shanshan spoke, her hands shaking the tea.
"Well, Ms. Bei, we have been needing a really good secretary that knows her way around a computer. Rumor has it, your one of the best hackers in Shanghai. Ms. Xue, your linguistic skills would come in handy with our English speaking co-workers over in the states. We have been having trouble speaking to them, due to the time changes. Both of you would be working out of our offices during the daytime with Hao Mei, the man you met earlier. Most of the time it's just paperwork and translations, nothing to hectic, but it's very important that everything is in order by the time my boss wakes up for the night. Is that something you two think you could do?"
"Yes, but why is the salary so high?" Weiwei asked.
"Because we understand the difficulties of working for Vampires. I'm not going to lie to you, the man you will be working for is the Sheriff of District 8. A very influential bigwig in our Vampire community. It has it's safety risks but we try to compensate for that in the pay. Let me assure you though, that you are in no danger of being harmed by anyone in our offices or in our district. It's merely just a incentive to work. We also offer housing. There is an apartment complex right next to our main building, allowing you an easy and safe way to and from work."
"Will we have to...donate anything?" Both girls heard Yu Banshan laugh.
"No, that is not apart of the job. Not unless you wish it to be." Shanshan looked at Weiwei. The job was everything the wanted and more. "If you accepted we can have a car there to pick you up by tomorrow morning." Shanshan's smile grew, her eyes lighting up. No matter what the future holds, Weiwei knew they had to do it together, just like how they always have done.
"We Accept."
Xiao Nai was reading the new report from District 2. It was what Feng Teng was worried about, a small group of so called Vampire Hunters, was using a storage facility down by the docks. They wouldn't be able to make their move till the human mayor said or did something. Not until Feng Teng was certain they had actually committed a crime. He was deep in thought when Banshan walked into his office smiling.
"Who's the best?"
"Xiao Nai." He replied smirking at his friend.
"That's not funny." Banshan quickly sat down, sliding into the chair in front of the desk. "The answer is me."
"What deems you worthy of my praise this time?"
"I found Bei Weiwei, she will be your new daytime assistant. Her friend, turns out is a hell of a translator, and since our last daylight one decided to become apart of the the living dead, we needed a new one." He looked at his boss, his smile wide and proud.
"Good, you know where your placing her."
"In the apartment complex right next door, just like you asked. You should be able to see her apartment through your office window." Xiao Nai turned his stare on his friend.
"Why would I need to be able to do that?"
"I don't know, your the one who wanted her." Banshan went over to the heated fridge, pulling out a True Blood A+.
"Whatever you may think we need to keep this a secret from Feng Teng." Xiao Nai, dropped the file down on his desk. Walking around he took the bottle from his friend, drinking half o fit, before handing it back.
"I mean he knows you hire people all the time. What makes this one different?"
"In all the hundred of years with Feng Teng, I've never sought out a human woman before. Not like this. I'm afraid of what he might do."
"But your not scared of anything."
"I am of Feng Teng. There's a reason my Maker became the King of Shanghai." He walked over to his window, the night life of Shanghai shining bright, the closest thing he would ever get to seeing the sun again.