Chapter 13: Out Of Control

When a spring is compressed to its limit, it rebounds; when a balloon is blown too big, it bursts.

Ming Ci’s emotions were like an gradually inflating balloon, almost reaching its bursting point, yet the monster came to prick it with a needle.

“Ming Ci, are you sad?” It asked again, “What is sadness?”

Ming Ci released his finger, which had been bitten until it bled, and instead covered his face, the heavy sound of his breathing muffled in his palms.

“I’m not sad…” His voice was faint and blurred, only the monster could hear him clearly, “I’m not sad at all.”

Ming Ci didn’t respond to the latter question, and the monster didn’t press further, as its attention was drawn to the drops of blood oozing from his fingers.

It eagerly moved to his palm, restless, craving the sweet taste of blood.

As it prepared to discreetly move towards that finger, it suddenly noticed that Ming Ci’s palm was damp.

Warm tears trickled slowly from the tightly closed corners of his eyes, moistening his cheeks and palms.

As a hot tear stained it, the monster unconsciously quivered.

What was Ming Ci doing?

The monster paused, then began searching through its memories. Soon, it found the answer from similar scenes it had witnessed before—this was crying, shedding tears.

Ming Ci was crying.

Following this realization, it had a new question: Why was Ming Ci crying?

In its limited memory, it recalled seeing human children scraping their knees, tears streaming down as they wailed in pain.

Then, the nearby humans would pat them, lifting them up, saying, “Don’t cry, don’t cry, good boy, you’re the bravest, it doesn’t hurt, baby…”

So, was Ming Ci in a lot of pain now?

A strange and unfamiliar feeling suddenly disturbed the monster’s thoughts, causing it to forget about the blood and just wanting to unfurl its body gently around Ming Ci.

But it remembered that Ming Ci had said it couldn’t unfurl its body outside, as if other humans found out, they would burn them.

It could only spread slightly in his palm, like a soft velvet, gently brushing against his cheeks, covering his damp eyelashes.

Yet Ming Ci reacted as if he had been suddenly scorched by a red-hot iron, grasping the thin velvet tightly, squeezing it tightly in his hand.

At this moment… at this moment, it… it was still so urgent, so greedy?

He opened his eyes, lowered his gaze to the clenched fist, and said each word deliberately, “Go… away.”

The monster moved sluggishly, a hint of crimson squeezing out from between the fingers, looking at Ming Ci’s moist and dark eyes, calling out in confusion, “Ming Ci.”

Its actions were like igniting a spark, causing Ming Ci’s mind to feel like it had exploded!

A policeman named Yang happened to come over, caught sight of the crimson between his fingers, and said, “Your hand is bleeding, is it scraped?”

As Officer Yang spoke, he reached out to pull Ming Ci up, saying, “Let’s go over there and let the doctor take a look at you first—”

Smack!

Ming Ci forcefully pushed away Officer Yang’s hand, like a startled wild cat, backing away.

“Don’t touch me!”

He blurted out, staggering back a few steps, muttering to himself, “Go away, I told you to go away!”

The people around were all stunned, Officer Yang’s face slightly stiffened, standing in place, saying, “Don’t get agitated, I don’t mean anything else, I just want to help you with the wound, and as a family member and witness to the accident, you’ll have to come with us to the police station.”

He paused, his tone becoming more friendly, “I understand, you must be very upset right now, it’s hard to accept such things for a while, we just want to help you.”

“No… none of you can understand…”

Ming Ci’s hoarse voice was unclear, sounding like crying or laughing.

“Why? Why is it me… I just want… to live normally…”

Officer Yang took a step forward, looking at him earnestly, “Ming Ci, listen to me.”

In the short span of just over ten minutes, they had verified the identity information of the deceased and the identity of the young man in front of them.

“Although you’ve encountered such a thing today, but you’re only eighteen, your life is still long, you’ve been admitted to Nanzhou University, a bright future is within reach, life will get better and better in the future.”

At this point, he cautiously approached, tentatively reaching out, “Ming Ci, don’t be afraid, we’ll help you, don’t be afraid.”

Ming Ci lowered his head, his knuckles turning white from the grip.

“You don’t understand, no one will help me…,” he choked, murmuring, “No one can help me.”

Officer Yang embraced him, pressing his cheek against his own shoulder, patting his back soothingly, “It’s okay now, don’t be upset, don’t be afraid, it’s okay…”

Ming Ci gritted his teeth, his chest heaving, breathing deeply one after another.

The pair of black eyes visible outside of the policeman’s shoulder were wide open, staring straight at the open palm.

From this angle, only he could see the glaring crimson sliding out of the palm, adhering to the skin on the inner side of his arm, quickly slipping into his clothes.

Within two seconds, it returned to his chest, silently hiding away.

“It’s okay now… Ming Ci, let me see your hand.”

Officer Yang was still comforting him, pulling his hand over to take a look, finding no abrasions, just a bite on the middle of his index finger, with some oozing blood.

“How do you feel now? Can you walk on your own?”

Ming Ci’s bangs were disheveled, his face astonishingly pale, thin eyelids tinged with a faint red, traces of moist tears lingering at the corners of his eyes.

He was tense all over, slowly pushing the other person away and squeezing out a word from between his teeth: “Fine.”

As he walked towards the police car, the monster whispered softly, “Ming Ci, I’m rolling back.”

“Ming Ci…”

It felt vaguely uneasy, unable to help but murmur softly, “I’m very obedient and well-behaved.”

Ming Ci showed no response to the monster’s voice, his steps relentless, his pitch-black eyes staring ahead without blinking.

“Ming Ci… Ming Ci…”

The monster grew increasingly uneasy, calling out to him again and again.

Not getting any response for a long time, it began to heat up and squirm, like a piece of melting candy slithering down its chest, trying to catch Ming Ci’s attention.

Ming Ci bent over and stepped into the police car, silently sitting in the back seat, his mind filled with chaotic and impulsive thoughts.

For some reason, his breathing became rapid again, and he suddenly raised his hand to press against his chest. Through the thin clothes, his fingertips pressed against the spreading crimson.

“Xiao Hong, do you want to come out?”

His voice was light and hoarse, drowned out by the hum of the car engine, the two policemen in the front row completely unable to hear.

The monster stopped, hesitatingly answering, “Xiao Hong doesn’t want to come out. Ming Ci said to roll back.”

Ming Ci’s lips trembled slightly, his tone peculiar, “Come out, I’m letting you out now.”

Three seconds later, the monster shrank into a thin film the size of a coin, slipping into his palm.

“Ming Ci.”

It extended a few fine tentacles, gently swaying, as if greeting him.

Ming Ci pinched up this soft film, a dim blood color reflecting deep in his eyes, an indescribable expression appearing on his pale face.

The monster had never seen him like this before, and naturally asked, “Ming Ci, what do you want to do?”

Just then, the police car began to slow down, and Yang, sitting in the passenger seat, turned his head, “Ming Ci, we’re almost there. Are you okay?”

Ming Ci’s breath paused slightly, slowly raising his head to meet Yang’s gaze, giving a sluggish nod.

Meanwhile, his left hand resting on his thigh silently closed, gripping the monster in his hand.

“Umm…”

After some thought, the monster decided to obediently stay still.

A few minutes later, the police car slowly came to a stop.

“Oh right, you haven’t eaten anything, have you? I know you probably can’t eat anything right now.”

Officer Yang reached into the compartment and took out a few candies, got out of the car, and handed them to Ming Ci. “Here, have some candy. You can’t not eat anything, it’s not good for you, no matter how sad you are.”

Ming Ci shook his head.

“Your complexion looks really bad, you know. People can’t come back to life once they’re dead, and even if you’re sad, you can’t ruin your health.”

Ming Ci whispered, “I’m fine.”

Officer Yang couldn’t force the candy into his mouth, so he sighed and put the candy in his own pocket.

Ming Ci followed behind the two policemen in silence, while the monster hidden in his palm couldn’t help but speak up, “Ming Ci, humans keep saying you’re sad. What is sadness?”

Ming Ci remained silent, and it continued, “Does being sad harm the body? If Ming Ci is sad, will his body break?”

After waiting for a while without getting a response, it fell into contemplation, attempting to find the answer on its own.

All the way, the monster thought and thought, finally understanding a simple truth with its simple mind.

—Sadness is a bad thing, a very bad feeling, so it makes the body break too!

After reaching this conclusion, that strange and unfamiliar feeling invaded the monster’s thoughts again, making it particularly uncomfortable.

At this moment, it longed to envelop Ming Ci or, like humans, gently stroke him.

“Ming Ci, don’t be sad.” It pressed against Ming Ci’s fingertip, gently moving, “Don’t be sad.”

Ming Ci pursed his lips, still not making a sound, just gripping his left hand tighter by his side.

At the moment before stepping into the door, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. “I want to go to the bathroom.”

Officer Yang turned around and nodded. “Sure, I’ll take you.”

The bathroom was very close, just a few steps away.

Officer Yang stood at the door waiting while Ming Ci walked into the farthest stall and closed the door.

Ming Ci spread out his left hand, staring at the monster intently.

At this point, it had turned into the shape of a palm, soft and sticking to his palm, its slender fingers interlacing with his, firmly holding his hand in this ten-finger clasped posture.

“Ming Ci, don’t be sad, don’t be afraid, it’s okay… don’t be sad…”

It even rigidly imitated humans, speaking those comforting words.

Ming Ci stared at it motionlessly for five minutes, until Officer Yang loudly asked from outside, “Ming Ci, are you okay?”

He closed his eyes, pressed the flush button on the toilet, and amidst the gushing water sound, he said to the monster, “Shrink to the smallest, return to my chest.”