Chapter 14: Waver

That day, Ming Hui’s body was taken away by the police.

The forensic examiner issued a report, stating that if Ming Ci and the truck driver had no objections, cremation could take place three days later.

Over the next three days, Ming Ci lived in a daze.

Most of the time, he stayed at home, not going anywhere except the police station.

Ming Hui was an only child, his parents had passed away years ago, and his wife was also deceased, leaving Ming Ci as his only direct relative.

So the police had to find him.

Ming Hui’s behavior before his death was too poor; even distant relatives had severed ties with him long ago, and Ming Ci didn’t even have the thought of arranging a funeral for him, so the day of cremation was cold and desolate.

Ming Ci arrived at the crematorium early, empty-handed, without even buying a bouquet of chrysanthemums.

There was no need.

When a person dies, everything is gone in a flash, reduced to ashes by a flame; what use is a flower? Besides, Ming Hui hated chrysanthemums.

He sat in the waiting room, silently contemplating.

On the electronic screen on the wall flashed a line of red text: [Ming Hui being cremated]

Ming Ci stared at the line of red text, and the suppressed emotions began to surge up gradually.

It was strange, when Ming Hui was alive, he hated him fiercely, wishing he would die outside and never come back. However, now that Ming Hui was really dead, he unexpectedly felt sad.

He was actually grieving for this unworthy excuse of a father.

It was too pathetic, too ugly, too absurd.

Ming Ci tightened his lips, stood up, and walked to the corridor next to the cremation room, staring at the tightly closed door.

A wave of hot air rushed towards him, filled with the smell of flames and ashes.

In this uncomfortably hot environment, the monster suddenly spoke up, “He’s completely gone. Is Ming Ci happy now?”

Its words were like a hook, pulling out fragments of memories buried deep in his mind.

“As long as you completely disappear from my sight, I’ll be happy.”

He did say that to Ming Hui during an argument.

Happy… he rarely experienced the feeling of happiness, always living in the dark shadows.

Ming Hui had once been one of the culprits of his suffering, and now that he was dead, completely vanished, Ming Ci didn’t feel the happiness he had imagined.

It was like a kite string being cut off, leaving him with a sense of emptiness drifting in the wind.

In the midst of silence, the monster asked again, “Ming Ci, why aren’t you happy?”

It remembered every word Ming Ci had said. According to its linear logic, if Ming Hui disappeared completely, Ming Ci would be happy, and his heart rate should increase, his body should become warmer and fragrant.

But now Ming Ci’s physiological response was not like that, which puzzled it.

Ming Ci could have continued to remain silent or casually brushed off the question, but he went against his usual behavior and earnestly answered its question, “Because that’s how humans are—happy, sad, liking, hating, all are complex and ever-changing emotions.”

“One moment ecstatic, the next desolate; one day loving passionately, the next day hating to the core. Sometimes, humans can even be happy and sad at the same time, liking and hating simultaneously.”

The monster was even more confused and asked straightforwardly, “Ming Ci, I don’t understand. Why happy and sad, liking and hating?”

Ming Ci made a short sound like a chuckle, as if laughing, and then heard it continue, “Sadness is bad, hatred is bad. I want Ming Ci to only be happy, only to like.”

A subtle and complex emotion slowly fermented in his heart. He lowered his cheek, picked open his collar with his fingertips, and looked at the crimson nestled on his chest.

At this moment, he unexpectedly felt a slight sense of pity towards this seemingly harmless yet actually dangerous monster.

He softly called out, “Xiao Hong.”

“Xiao Hong is here.”

The monster reflexively responded.

“As long as you leave my body, stay far away from me, I will be happy, and I will like you.”

Ming Ci’s voice was unusually gentle, “Xiao Hong, leave me, okay?”

The monster hesitated for a moment, dumbly repeating, “Leave, me?”

Then it suddenly reacted, exploding like a burst bomb, its emotions extremely agitated, “No! No no no no! Xiao Hong won’t leave, Xiao Hong and Ming Ci, will always be together!”

“Ming Ci, don’t abandon me, don’t, don’t—”

Its voice became sharper and more distorted, almost like a howl of anguish, chilling to the bone.

Ming Ci’s mind seemed to be pierced by thorns, his vision blurred for a moment, unable to focus, only vaguely feeling its wriggling spread over his skin.

That soft and subtle feeling vanished suddenly, and he nervously pressed his chest, “Stop, Xiao Hong, stop!”

“I won’t abandon you, Xiao Hong, be obedient… go back.”

Amidst the terrifying howling, Ming Ci couldn’t think too much, he could only try to soothe the monster as much as possible.

“If you don’t want to leave, you don’t have to leave. I won’t abandon you, just stop. Xiao Hong, you’re very good, aren’t you?”

“Wu wu wu… Yes, Xiao Hong is very good…”

The monster finally calmed down slightly, its howls turning into choked sobs.

“Xiao Hong, be obedient, go back, Ming Ci can’t leave, we have to be together…”

Ming Ci breathed deeply, his hand back tense with prominent veins.

After a while, he dejectedly covered his face, feeling defeated by his moment of wavering.

The monster wouldn’t let him off.

So, he couldn’t entertain any naive and unnecessary thoughts, he could only proceed according to plan.

·

At ten o’clock in the morning, Ming Ci received the urn and walked to the nearby cemetery to bury the ashes.

He stood alone in front of the grave, without kowtowing, without shedding tears.

After a moment of silence, he turned and left.

Later, Ming Ci went to the police station again. Various matters related to the car accident required his presence as the closest relative to confirm.

This day was particularly long, until the sun set, he finally returned home.

It was on this evening that Boss Wu received the news of Ming Hui’s death in a car accident and hurriedly came to find out what had happened.

Chang Zijin had been hiding at home in a daze these days, refusing to go out no matter what, so Boss Wu had to bring two other henchmen along.

Boss Wu was about to knock on the door when one of the henchmen, trying to be helpful, kicked the iron door, making a loud clang.

After a while, there was no response from inside.

The henchman pressed his ear against the door and frowned, saying, “Boss, there’s no one in there! Did he run away?”

Before he could finish his words, the iron door was suddenly pulled open.

The henchman was startled, and when he looked up, he saw that the room was pitch black, with a vague figure standing silently by the door.

“What the hell! What’s going on!”

He was so shocked that he kept backing away.

“Move aside!”

Boss Wu, with boldness, pushed the henchman aside and walked into the room, promptly turning on the light switch.

The bright light illuminated the entire living room, revealing the person standing by the door, silently watching them with deep and chilling eyes.

Boss Wu avoided the person’s gaze somewhat uneasily, cleared his throat, and got straight to the point, “Ming Ci, I heard your dad had an accident.”

Ming Ci remained expressionless, his dark eyes shifting slightly as he scanned the three men, finally resting on Boss Wu’s face. “How much money does Ming Hui owe you?”

With this question, Boss Wu didn’t beat around the bush either and replied directly, “Up to this month, a total of one hundred and ninety-eight thousand, divided into three loans, with clear and explicit promissory notes signed by him with his signature and red handprint.”

Ming Ci: “Once the compensation from the car accident comes in, I’ll transfer it to you. Just leave me your account information.”

So straightforward?

Boss Wu suspiciously provided the account details, his eyes shifting as he couldn’t help but ask, “What happened with Ming Hui’s accident? Purely accidental? The other party should have to compensate quite a bit, right?”

This time, Ming Hui was mainly at fault in the accident, so the truck driver didn’t have much to compensate for. The main compensation would come from the insurance company, which would be enough to pay off debts.

Ming Ci didn’t need to explain these matters to Boss Wu in detail, so he didn’t even bat an eyelid and coldly said, “It’s none of your concern. You can leave now.”

One of the henchmen beside immediately frowned and pointed at Ming Ci, “What’s your attitude? Huh? How dare you speak like that! My boss is asking you—”

“That’s enough.” Boss Wu interrupted him, smiling as he looked at Ming Ci, “Alright, I’ll wait for your payment. The new semester is coming soon, can I expect it before you go to Nanzhou University?”

Ming Ci understood this as an implication that Boss Wu knew where he studied and was warning him not to try to escape.

“Not so fast. It’ll take about three months for the money to come in. Once it arrives, I’ll transfer it to you. You don’t have to come looking for me every day; I won’t run away.”

The degree from Nanzhou University was worth more than two hundred thousand; this guy indeed wouldn’t drop out and run away.

Boss Wu nodded, his smile forced, “Then, I’ll be waiting.”

As he was about to leave after saying this, he suddenly heard Ming Ci ask, “Your little brother, A’Jin, why didn’t he come?”

Boss Wu paused his steps, turned to look at Ming Ci, “Xiao Ming, are you interested in making friends with A’Jin?”

Unexpectedly, Ming Ci smiled faintly, his tone carrying an inexplicable strangeness, “It seems he didn’t tell you.”

What? He didn’t tell me what?

Boss Wu’s heart skipped a beat, and inexplicably, cold sweat started dripping down his back.

Before he could even ask, he heard Ming Ci continue, “Attempted murder. He tried to stab me that day, but failed and ran away.”

Boss Wu’s expression changed instantly, his smile freezing on his face. Inside, he wished he could immediately beat Chang Zijin to a pulp.

What a brainless nut-job! A fool who doesn’t consider the consequences of his actions at all!

“I didn’t make a big deal out of it because it’s better to avoid trouble when possible,” Ming Ci stared into Boss Wu’s eyes, “But if he shows up in front of me again, I will call the police.”

Boss Wu’s smile vanished, his face instantly turning serious.

These people, none of them were clean, and they couldn’t withstand thorough investigation. If it really escalated to the police station, trouble would ensue.

“It’s all a misunderstanding. Ah Jin has some issues in his head, he’s mentally unstable, don’t bother with him. Rest assured, he won’t bother you again in the future.”

With that said, he gestured to his two henchmen and turned to leave.

Creak—

Ming Ci closed the door tightly, his expression cold and calm.

“Ming Ci.”

As soon as the outsider left, the monster stuck to him like glue, hoping to continue what had been interrupted earlier.

Ming Ci turned off the lights and sat in the dark living room. The monster slipped quietly from his palm, turning into a soft lump, curling up on his lap.

“Touch me, Ming Ci,” it said eagerly.

Ming Ci’s fingertips trembled slightly, then he slowly began to stroke it, like petting a small animal.

TN:

Creepyyy😭