Chapter 17: Grow Up

Thump, thump, thump…

Ming Ci’s heartbeat gradually accelerated, his voice dryly answered, “I’m not hungry, I don’t need to be fed.”

As he spoke, he gently moved, feeling that his body was not restrained, so he struggled to crawl forward.

The monster didn’t stop him; instead, it cleared the way, allowing him to grope his way to the wall in the darkness.

Every touch was slippery and soft; even the wall was the same. When Ming Ci pressed his palm against it, there was a gurgling sound.

A chill ran through him, and he fumbled around, realizing that the monster’s body still covered the entire room.

“…Xiao Hong.”

Ming Ci hoarsely called out to it, then took a deep breath, catching a hint of residual fragrance with his nose, causing his sensitive nerves to jolt.

It was this scent that made his mind unclear and his consciousness confused.

He dared not take another deep breath and just wanted to get out of this dark and closed space quickly.

“Xiao Hong, make your body smaller.”

Although it was pitch-black, Ming Ci knew how terrifying the surroundings were. He wanted to stay calm, but his voice couldn’t help but tremble.

“You’re too big now, it’s easy, easy for humans to find you.” He paused, forcing himself to stroke it, “Xiao Hong, be obedient, shrink back to how you were before.”

Despite his trembling fingers, the monster still felt pleased with this false intimacy.

It didn’t obediently shrink but asked, “Ming Ci, are you really not hungry? Do you really not need me to feed you?”

“Why don’t you need?”

As its stubborn and eager voice fell, several broad palms grew from the soft ground, grasping his ankles.

“Ming Ci must be very hungry, right?”

Two arms stretched out from the wall, clasping his waist, pressing lightly on his abdomen.

“I’ve fed you twice before, and nothing bad happened, so, Ming Ci can eat me.”

In the darkness, another arm emerged, delicate fingertips rubbing against his lips, tentatively probing inward.

Cold sweat oozed from Ming Ci’s temples as he raised his hand to grasp the soft hand touching his lips.

“Xiao Hong, you promised me.” He suppressed his panic, trying to stop it, “Remember? You promised not to feed me.”

The monster made a confused sound and inserted its fingers into the gaps between his fingers, clasping his right hand with its ten fingers intertwined.

“I remember, you said ‘Don’t feed me, understand?’ and I said ‘Understood.'”

It replied meekly, and before Ming Ci could relax, it continued, “I understood, but I didn’t promise.”

Ming Ci’s breath halted, his body stiffened.

A chilling cold spread from the bottom of his heart, and he finally realized a terrifying fact.

In such a short time, not only did the monster’s body grow, but its mindset also underwent a qualitative change. It was no longer the fool he could easily fool.

“Ming Ci, I want to feed you.”

Unconcealed fanatic desire flowed from every word.

Psychological resistance reached its peak in this instant, and Ming Ci felt a strong sense of nausea in his throat.

Like a small insect falling into a spider’s web in the dark night, his heart pounded, and he struggled uncontrollably, trying to break free from its restraint.

“Ming Ci, don’t be afraid.”

The monster was extremely excited.

“Don’t be afraid, I won’t enter directly, it’s just dead flesh, you’ll be fine.”

To appease the human host, it pinched out more arms, touching Ming Ci with countless palms, firmly trapping him.

Ming Ci couldn’t speak, and if he relaxed his clenched teeth, the soft object against his lips would enter his mouth.

He knew he couldn’t escape now, but he couldn’t accept everything obediently; he resisted desperately. In his haste, he touched something, and with a snap, a faint white light spilled from above, illuminating the room slightly.

The scene in front of him was even more terrifying than last night. Ming Ci’s pupils contracted, even thinking he was in an absurd nightmare.

The completely stretched body of the monster intertwined and wriggled, pinching out various human limbs, surrounding him.

This scene was like countless bloody limbs crawling out of a flesh swamp.

Ming Ci’s heart stopped, his brain blank for a moment.

“Ming Ci.”

The monster called him excitedly.

Ming Ci closed his eyes, relaxed his teeth, and took a heavy breath.

The soft object against his lips squeezed into his mouth, quickly melting and flowing into the depths of his throat, the unique rich taste spreading on his lips and tongue.

Surprisingly… it’s delicious.

Ming Ci was stunned for a moment, then reacted, his face becoming even more unsightly.

He almost gritted his teeth and said, “I’ve eaten it. Now, can you obediently shrink back?”

“Shrink to the smallest, then return to my wrist.”

The monster let out a sweet and slow long hum, as if genuinely feeling happy.

“Does Ming Ci like my taste?”

As it shrank its body, it asked near Ming Ci’s ear.

“Very fragrant, am I as delicious as you? From now on, we’ll feed every day…”

Ming Ci ignored it, only his heart beating extremely fast.

“Ming Ci’s heart is beating so fast, are you happy?”

The monster pressed against his chest, feeling the rhythm of his heartbeat, one beat after another.

Ming Ci’s nerves were stretched to the extreme, and he pressed each word tightly, “I don’t like it, and I’m not happy. If you don’t shrink back now, you don’t need to feed me in the future.”

“Uh…” The monster hesitated, “But I’ve grown up, I can’t shrink back all at once, and now this is the smallest I can be.”

In this moment, Ming Ci’s astonishment overwhelmed his fear.

He abruptly opened his eyes, only to see that the monster had retracted its bizarre soft limbs, but even after shrinking, its body was still several times larger than that of an adult, occupying one-third of the living room.

A buzzing sound reverberated in Ming Ci’s mind, and he forced out words from between his teeth, “What do you mean this is the smallest? With your current size, you will definitely be discovered by people!”

“And,” he paused for a moment, swallowing saliva, “this way, you won’t be able to return to my body anymore.”

Hearing this, the monster hesitated and asked, “Can I try?”

“To see if I’ll die, right?” Ming Ci asked in a low voice.

The monster was speechless.

After all, humans were so fragile, and trying might really harm Ming Ci’s body.

This form was really annoying.

Not big, not small; it couldn’t safely confine Ming Ci, nor could it return to him.

Thinking this, it made an effort to shrink a little more.

Under Ming Ci’s gaze, this large mass of crimson finally shrank a little.

“Ming Ci, I can still shrink,” it said somewhat melancholically, “but it will take time.”

This was simply a heaven-sent opportunity. Ming Ci immediately thought of escaping.

Or setting fire!

Directly close the door and set fire, burning it to ashes?

This crazy idea flashed through his mind, immediately vetoed by him.

No, a small fire would be useless, and a big fire would be controlled by firefighters. It might not even be burned to death before the fire was extinguished. Besides, this was a residential building, setting fire was illegal.

He couldn’t do something stupid that wasn’t worth it.

Escape… If he tried to escape now, with its speed, it would catch up within three seconds.

If it panicked or became angry, would it drill into his body on the spot?

Thinking of this, Ming Ci’s turbulent thoughts cooled slightly, and he reluctantly suppressed the impulse.

“Stay still and don’t move.”

Under the coercion of his willpower, his voice was unusually steady, and his expression returned to its usual calmness.

“I’m not feeling well right now. I’ll take a shower and change clothes. You stay quietly in the living room and wait for me.”

However, the monster’s obedience was selective. Unable to return to its host’s body now, it paid even more attention to his every move.

It didn’t stay still but followed closely behind Ming Ci, from the living room to the bedroom, then to the bathroom, finally pressing against the frosted glass, staring at him bluntly.

Warm water splashed, mist filled the air.

Amidst the rushing water, the monster couldn’t help but push open the glass door, gripping Ming Ci’s calf with newly formed palms.

Ming Ci trembled, his face obscured by wet hair, his dark eyes devoid of any light.

“Red, let go,” he said hoarsely, “I want to take a shower.”

“You can shower like this.”

It didn’t let go, its warm palm pressed against his skin, as if trying to embed itself into his flesh.

Ming Ci knew that temporarily compromising was the right thing to do, but he still couldn’t help but kick it.

“Hmm?” The monster took hold of his foot and asked cheerfully, “Does Ming Ci want to play with me?”

“…”

Ming Ci remained silent for a moment, about to speak, when suddenly there came a knock on the living room door.

With the bathroom door open, voices from outside echoed through the living room. Faintly, someone asked, “Is anyone home?”

“Ming Ci, are you home?”

It was Chen Xiu’s voice.

The monster squeezed into the corner and asked in a low voice, “There are humans. If she finds me, should I kill and devour her?”

Ming Ci’s heart skipped a beat. “No!”

“Why not? You said I shouldn’t be discovered by humans. If I devour her completely, no one will find out.”

Ming Ci pressed against its approaching body and said slowly, “I also said you shouldn’t eat others. I am your caretaker, the only human you can eat. If you encounter others, you should hide, not kill them. Do you remember?”

“Uh…”

The monster hesitated, reluctantly responding, “I remember.”

“Ming Ci, are you home?”

Chen Xiu knocked loudly on the metal door. Soon, the voice of the neighbor next door also came through, “He must be home. I heard noises earlier, not sure what he’s up to.”

Ming Ci pinched it hard. “Move aside. If you don’t open the door now, they’ll get suspicious.”

“This time you must hide properly, stay inside and don’t come out.”

The monster hesitated, then let go of Ming Ci, squeezing into the bathroom, watching him dry himself with a towel, put on clothes, and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Ming Ci walked to the living room door, took a deep breath, then grasped the doorknob.

Before opening the door, he glanced back at the direction of the bathroom.

As expected, the monster wasn’t that obedient. It quietly twisted open the bathroom door, peering through the narrow gap to spy on him.

TN:

I can’t for the life of me picture how this will turn into a romance! I’m so creeped out right now.