Chapter 18: Choice

Chen Xiu stood at the door with things in both hands, while the neighbor surnamed Tan leaned against the wall smoking. As the iron gate opened, both of their gazes fell on Ming Ci simultaneously.

The neighbor leisurely blew smoke rings, raising his chin. “See, I told you he was home.”

“Auntie Chen, Uncle Tan, what brings you here?” Ming Ci asked calmly.

“I’m just passing by, thought I’d drop by.”

The neighbor took a drag of his cigarette, glanced inside, then turned and walked towards the elevator.

Chen Xiu held a bag of fruit in her left hand and a box of milk in her right, without a word she stepped into the house.

“Auntie Chen?” Ming Ci took a couple of steps, blocking Chen Xiu. “Is there something you need?”

“It’s nothing, I thought you’d be starting school soon, so I came to check on you. I brought some fruit and milk for you.”

She placed the items on the floor, straightened her clothes, and spoke cautiously, “Ming Ci, are you doing okay these days? How did things go with your father? If there’s anything I can help with, let me know. Don’t keep everything to yourself.”

Ming Ci lowered his eyelashes, calmly replied, “Thank you, Auntie Chen, I’m doing fine. My father’s affairs have been taken care of.”

“Ah.” Chen Xiu sighed, “You’re such a reserved and stubborn child. You haven’t been eating properly these days, have you? Look how pale you are! Come over to my house for lunch today. I’ve made chicken soup, it’ll nourish you.”

As she spoke, she casually took a few steps, about to face the direction of the bathroom. Ming Ci subtly blocked her path.

“Auntie Chen, I appreciate your kindness. I have something to do at noon and can’t make it for lunch.”

As he spoke, Ming Ci discreetly glanced at the gap under the bathroom door, catching a glimpse of a dark crimson hue.

It was the first time the monster had been separated from him for such a long time, and it was starting to grow restless.

Unaware of all this, Chen Xiu remained oblivious to the terrifying monster lurking just a few meters away.

Hearing Ming Ci’s words, she pursed her lips and advised, “Nothing should interfere with your meals. Finish eating first, then do whatever you need to. Listen to Auntie.”

Meanwhile, the monster couldn’t help but speak, “Ming Ci… Ming Ci, I want to come out.”

Ming Ci’s heart sank, fearing it might lose control and burst out directly.

Forcing a smile, he made up an excuse, “Auntie Chen, I’m attending an online class. Let’s chat another time.”

“Take the fruit and milk back for Lan Lan to eat. I’m leaving for Nanzhou soon and won’t be able to carry so much stuff.”

As he spoke, he carried the items outside the door.

“Hey! Ming Ci, what are you doing? I bought those for you, why are you taking them out?” Chen Xiu’s voice raised as she hurried outside, trying to bring the items back in, but Ming Ci blocked the door, refusing to let them in. “You really don’t need to, Auntie Chen.”

“I have to go attend my class. Sorry.”

With that said, he decisively closed the door.

In the next moment, a crimson surge enveloped him from behind, tightly coiling around his waist.

“Ming Ci, I hate being apart, hate being so far away from you.”

Its voice fell upon his ears, the bizarre tone revealing a disturbing paranoia.

Ming Ci stood motionless, his forehead against the icy metal door, wet black hair obscuring his profile, making his expression unreadable.

“I know.”

His tone was light and airy, as if responding to it, yet also as if speaking to himself.

“I hate that human, you don’t need to eat her food, I can feed you.”

The monster formed several hands, wrapping them around him in an embrace from behind.

“And she’s wrong, you’re not alone in feeling down. I’m with you, always by your side, making you happy…”

These words sounded absurdly laughable to Ming Ci’s ears.

All the mental torment he had endured these days was thanks to it… At one point, he was driven to the brink of insanity. If this continued, wouldn’t he soon reach the point of collapse?

Even when forced by reason and willpower to remain calm, he still felt fear upon seeing its form and hearing its voice.

Fear of death, and even more so, fear of being influenced by it—when he had just consumed its flesh and blood, he had actually found it delicious, craving for more.

Ming Ci smiled gently. “You’re right, Xiao Hong, you make me very happy.”

Although the monster’s intelligence had noticeably improved, its thinking still differed greatly from that of humans, and it didn’t know what lies were. It believed everything Ming Ci said to be true.

It felt satisfied, clinging to him affectionately, palms pressed against his neck, feeling the vibrations of his throat as he spoke.

Ming Ci tilted his face upwards, took a deep breath, and pushed the monster away gently. “Let go.”

The monster obediently released him, following him into the kitchen and watching as he turned on the gas stove.

A faint blue flame emerged, but Ming Ci didn’t move, his gaze fixed on the flame.

The monster disliked fire and shrank back a bit. Seeing Ming Ci still not moving, it called out in confusion, “Ming Ci?”

Ming Ci remained unmoved, raising his hand as if in a trance, allowing the scorching flame to burn his palm.

“Ming Ci!”

The monster panicked. Its first reaction was to wrap its soft limbs around Ming Ci’s hand. The moment it was scorched by the flames, it shrank back abruptly, instinctively pulling Ming Ci back.

Dragged out of the kitchen by the monster, Ming Ci heard its plaintive voice in his ear, “It hurts… Ming Ci, it hurts so much from the fire…”

He stared at his reddened palm, his voice barely audible as he replied, “Yeah, it hurts.”

“Ming Ci, don’t play with fire anymore. Fire is very scary, it will burn us to death.”

“Us.”

He slowly repeated the word, paused, then smiled faintly. “Xiao Hong, if a big fire breaks out, you can run away on your own, no need to come back to save me. You run so fast, you won’t be burned to death anyway.”

The monster was stunned, then said dazedly, “But, but what about Ming Ci?”

“You will be burned to death, and it will hurt a lot. I don’t want you to die, or suffer. I just want you to be happy.”

Now he was the monster’s nest and feeder, of course, it didn’t want him to die. But when it no longer needed him, that would be another matter.

Ming Ci understood this very well, showing no emotion towards its words.

He asked with a smile, “Why do you want me to be happy?”

“Because like this, Ming Ci—”

“Because my heartbeat will speed up, my body temperature will rise, and my blood will become sweeter.” Ming Ci interrupted, full of sarcasm. “Because you like sweeter blood.”

“Uh…”

The monster felt that Ming Ci’s explanation wasn’t quite right, unable to articulate its own feelings clearly. It clumsily explained, “I like Ming Ci’s blood, I want to make you happy. Feeling happy is a good feeling, even if the blood doesn’t become sweeter, I still want to make you happy.”

“Heh.” Ming Ci chuckled, then changed the subject. “Every time I feed you blood, I have to cut my skin. This process hurts me. If you don’t want me to feel pain, you can’t eat my flesh and blood.”

“So, do you still want me to feed you?”

The monster had never considered this point and was suddenly at a loss.

“Ming Ci… It hurts?”

“Feeding me… Cutting the skin hurts…”

“Humans are very fragile… Fire makes them hurt, wounds make them hurt…”

The monster’s thoughts were in disarray, murmuring to itself.

It wasn’t until evening that it finally sorted out its thoughts. What it desired and what it abhorred were closely intertwined, irreconcilable.

If it wanted to continue growing, it had to consume Ming Ci’s flesh and blood. Body. Fluids. Ming Ci had to injure himself to provide it with fresh blood, but this would cause him great pain.

Its growth was built upon Ming Ci’s suffering.

The monster had not fully grasped human nature yet it was already faced with this cruel choice.

In its agonizing dilemma, Ming Ci grasped the knife.

The blade against his arm, he didn’t even blink as he made a slight cut.

Warm fresh blood flowed from the wound, trickling down his pale skin and dripping onto the floor.

The confined space was filled with the enticing smell, sweet and rich, tempting the monster’s hungry primal instincts.

Ming Ci extended his blood-stained hand, a drop of crimson blood falling from his fingertip.

Plop.

The blood droplet lightly fell onto the monster’s body, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Ming Ci’s face showed no emotion as he calmly said, “Drink up, lick the blood clean.”

In this extreme temptation, the monster couldn’t think at all. By the time it realized what was happening, it had already enveloped Ming Ci’s entire arm.

It uncontrollably consumed every drop of blood, even extending its fine tentacles into Ming Ci’s wound.

In a sudden awakening, the monster shrank back as if burned, quickly retracting its greedy tentacles.

It had drunk Ming Ci’s blood… Ming Ci was injured… Ming Ci was in pain now.

With this realization, the monster became frantic and restless, not knowing what to do.

And in Ming Ci’s heart, there was only ice-cold indifference.

The monster was just that—a monster. Even knowing that he would suffer, it was impossible for it to give up predation.

His subconscious even harbored unrealistic hopes, how weak.

“Ming Ci, what should I do? Are you in pain? I’ll shrink quickly, return to you, and make the wound disappear… Ming Ci… Ming Ci…”

The monster’s old habit, if it didn’t get a response, it would repeatedly call Ming Ci’s name until he responded to it.

“Okay.”

Ming Ci responded perfunctorily, pressing the alcohol cotton into the wound. The burning pain surged instantly, causing the flesh around the wound to spasm uncontrollably.

The pain made him even more alert.

After disinfecting the wound, he opened the shopping app on his phone, searched for “alcohol,” added it to the cart, placed the order, and paid in one go.

At nine in the evening, the monster finally shrank to the extent where it could parasitize. It settled on Ming Ci’s skin, almost occupying half of his body.

Its speed in healing Ming Ci’s wound was faster now, and in barely half an hour, his arm was as clean as before.

“Ming Ci, it’s okay now, it doesn’t hurt anymore… Ming Ci, are you hungry? Cutting off flesh and blood won’t hurt, shall I give you some more to eat?”

Ming Ci lay on the bed, staring at the dim ceiling. It took him a few minutes before he spoke again, “How big will you grow in the future?”

He had asked this question before, and the monster didn’t know the answer.

Now, as the monster entered the second stage of growth, it probably understood its species’ characteristics and naturally knew the answer.

“Very big, very big.” The monster thought for a moment, finding a reference that Ming Ci had seen before, “Much bigger than this neighborhood.”

“I can keep growing, hiding in places where there are no humans, and keep Ming Ci inside my body!”

Its voice was filled with impatient fervor.

Ming Ci’s breath caught, terrifying scenes flashing through his mind.

Being kept captive inside the monster… He couldn’t allow himself to fall into such a situation.