Chapter 26: Jealous

“Now I understand. What I feel for you is called love.”

Ming Ci was stunned, almost forgetting to breathe.

All his thoughts floated away in his mind, like colorful beams of light, carrying his trembling soul towards the crimson abyss.

It felt like falling into a dream, intoxicated yet dangerous. The obscure hopes hidden in his subconscious mind had all floated out now.

In that moment, his blood seemed to flow faster, rushing through countless veins, violently pounding against his heart.

Ming Ci remained silent for a long time, his blurry figure blending into the dim night, motionless. Yet his eyes remained open, pupils slightly dilated, silently gazing into the sky.

The thunderous thumping of his heartbeat was deafening. After a few minutes, he vaguely realized it was his own heartbeat.

“Ming Ci.” The monster pressed its cheek against his, whispering softly, “Ming Ci, what should I do to make you love me? Teach me.”

“…” Ming Ci opened his mouth slightly, barely audible as he uttered half a sentence, “But I…”

“But what?”

“I…” He gently bit his lip, closed his eyes, and said as if avoiding, “I want to sleep.”

Ming Ci thought he would have trouble sleeping all night, but unexpectedly, he quickly fell into a deep slumber, only to be awakened by his phone alarm the next morning.

The freshman orientation ceremony was held in the school’s auditorium, starting promptly at nine o’clock.

The school had already divided the seating areas in advance, and the incoming freshmen sat down according to their departments.

As Ming Ci entered the auditorium, most of the seats were already filled. He walked to the area designated for the Physics department and found a quiet corner to sit in.

“Ming Ci!”

Wei Yuheng spotted him and waved, loudly asking, “There’s a seat over here, do you want to come? The view is better here!”

Ming Ci shook his head.

Seeing this, Wei Yuheng put down his hand and took out his phone, tapping the screen rapidly with his fingertips.

After a while, Ming Ci picked up his phone to check the time and found that the other person had sent him several private messages in quick succession.

“You and Qin Shuyi share a dorm, right?”

“I was gaming with Miao Nianchun last night, and he mentioned that you and Qin Shuyi have some conflicts. What’s going on?”

“Be careful, okay? I’m from the same city as him. I’ve seen both sides of him. He’s not someone to mess with, quite arrogant and proud.”

“If things don’t work out, just change dorms. Don’t put up with it.”

Ming Ci remained composed and politely replied, “Thanks for the reminder. I’ve already applied for a dorm change.”

As soon as he sent this message, the other person almost instantly replied, “So you really have a grudge against him?”

A grudge?

For Ming Ci, Qin Shuyi wasn’t much different from a stranger.

Even if what the other person said was true, on the day when his memory was hazy, they had interacted for a few hours by chance. It wasn’t a big deal.

The only thing that mattered to him now was that the monster harbored an intense hatred towards Qin Shuyi.

It was strange. He had only seen the monster harbor such strong animosity towards two people: Chang Zijin, who had nearly injured him, and Qin Shuyi.

The former was understandable, but the latter was inexplicable.

He didn’t understand why the monster, upon meeting Qin Shuyi for the first time, detested him to the point of wanting to kill him?

Ming Ci lowered his gaze in contemplation, his fingertips hovering over the phone screen, hesitating to reply.

At this moment, Wei Yuheng sent another message: “Look up quickly, he’s actually this year’s freshman representative. Hmm, pretending to be so earnest.”

Before Ming Ci could look up, he heard the monster ask in a muffled voice, “Ming Ci, what did the other person say to you in the text?”

While it could share everything Ming Ci saw and heard since it was parasitic on him, it couldn’t perceive his thoughts. Because it couldn’t understand human language, it felt excluded, especially since Ming Ci seemed so focused.

“Ming Ci, what are you thinking about?” The monster’s tone was heavy. “Are you concerned about that human? What did she say to you?”

“Nothing, I was just thinking…”

Ming Ci’s words trailed off as Qin Shuyi’s voice came through the microphone on stage.

The monster’s attention was now entirely on him, immediately pressing, “Just thinking about what?”

Perhaps its reaction was too obvious. A flash of insight struck Ming Ci’s mind, and he finally realized what was happening.

Was the monster jealous?

Ming Ci raised his head, glanced at Qin Shuyi who was giving the speech on stage, then lowered his head again, cupping half of his face with his hands, sighing deeply with complicated emotions.

Watching his series of actions, the monster’s agitation grew, unable to resist sliding into his palm. “Ming Ci, tell me, what are you thinking? Are you really concerned about that human named Qin Shuyi?”

Ming Ci’s eyes flickered slightly, and after a moment of silence, he lowered his voice and replied, “It’s not him that I’m concerned about, it’s you.”

The monster was taken aback. “Me?”

“Xiao Hong, he has never harmed me, but you dislike him so much, even wanting to kill him. Why?”

“I…” The monster hesitated.

Ming Ci urged, “Tell me.”

“I hate his eyes because of the way he looks at you, as if he wants to take you away. I hate his voice because the words he says to you imply intimacy. I also hate his scent, I don’t know why, it just makes me uncomfortable.”

The monster’s emotions reached their peak, its repressed anger making its tone distorted and chilling.

“So I want to gouge out his eyes, break his neck, tear apart his body, and make him disappear forever in front of you.”

With the last chilling words, it pressed close to Ming Ci’s lips, speaking with paranoia and fervor, “Ming Ci, don’t care about those humans, don’t like them, otherwise, I really can’t help it, I really can’t stand it.”

Ming Ci’s eyelashes drooped, appearing calm on the surface but his heartbeat was irregular.

He bit his lip, holding back a reply for a moment.

It wasn’t until the whole auditorium erupted into applause, signaling the end of Qin Shuyi’s speech as he descended from the stage, walking through the rows of seats and gradually approaching Ming Ci’s position.

Ming Ci released his teeth from his lip, leaving a small red mark on the bitten flesh, inconspicuous.

“Xiao Hong,” his voice was barely audible, blending with its warmth, “I don’t care about anyone else, I only care about you, the little monster. Stay calm, okay?”

“Ming Ci…”

“Ming Ci.”

The two different voices overlapped in his ears. Ming Ci lightly touched the red mark on his inner lip with his tongue, then lowered his hand from his cheek, lifting his head calmly.

Qin Shuyi walked closer, taking the seat beside him without paying much attention to the surrounding attention. Leaning his head slightly, he spoke in a low voice to Ming Ci, “Why are you changing rooms?”

He asked straight away, as if they were close friends, despite receiving information from somewhere.

Ming Ci felt somewhat speechless, casting a cold glance at him before turning his face away, gazing at the musical performance on stage.

“I found out from the counselor last night when I applied for an overnight stay, and he mentioned that you applied to change rooms in the afternoon. He even asked me which roommate you had conflicts with.”

Here, Qin Shuyi smiled bitterly, gazing at his profile. “I think our relationship isn’t at the point of having conflicts, is it?”

Ming Ci remained silent, pressing his tongue against the restless red mark, silently soothing it.

“Do you hate me that much?” Qin Shuyi leaned slightly, “Not only changing rooms, but you also can’t even bother to talk to me?”

As his arm brushed against Ming Ci’s body, Ming Ci jolted as if struck by electricity, jerking away abruptly.

“Stay away from me.”

With a cold tone, Ming Ci stood up and walked towards the door, squeezing through the narrow aisle on the side.

Qin Shuyi watched his back with an unpleasant expression. After a few seconds, unable to swallow his frustration, he hurriedly followed.

He rushed out of the auditorium, swiftly descending the steps and turning the corner, quickly catching up to Ming Ci and blocking his path.

Ming Ci halted, expressionless, looking at him coldly. He asked in an icy tone, “Do you have a problem?”

“In a hall full of people, you can easily find hundreds willing to be your friend. Why are you clinging to me?”

With these words, Qin Shuyi’s patience reached its limit. His voice became urgent and heavy, “Ming Ci, I refuse to believe you have no memory of me whatsoever. How could you hate me so much the moment we met? There must be a misunderstanding, and we need to clear it up!”

Ming Ci asked indifferently, “What’s the fuss about meeting once two years ago?”

“I want to know the real reason you withdrew from the competition. Was it because I criticized you too harshly that afternoon, causing you to lose confidence? Not only did you not show up the next day, but you also never participated in competitions again—”

“No!”

Ming Ci cut him off, taking two steps back and standing under the dappled shadows of the trees. “Qin Shuyi, you’re too self-centered. I’ve told you that my withdrawal was accidental and had nothing to do with you. Can’t you stop speculating?”

“Speculating.” Qin Shuyi repeated the words through gritted teeth, staring into his eyes. “Then where does your aversion to me come from?”

Ming Ci replied, “Our auras clash naturally.”

Qin Shuyi almost laughed out loud, nodding repeatedly. “Alright, then tell me, what exactly happened to you?”

“…”

“What’s wrong, you suddenly don’t remember again?”

The surroundings weren’t quiet, the piercing chirping of cicadas continued, adding to the chaotic atmosphere.

Ming Ci closed his eyes, not wanting to drag this out any longer. He spoke directly, “That night, I fell into the lake next to Fengda Library. When I woke up, it was already the next afternoon.”

Qin Shuyi was taken aback, visibly surprised. “Fell into the lake?”

Just as he was about to ask more, he saw Ming Ci turning away and immediately took a big step forward, reaching out to grab his arm. “Wait!”

Qin Shuyi’s fingertips barely touched Ming Ci’s arm, and the cicada chirping in the shade suddenly vanished, enveloping the surroundings in an eerie silence.

Shortly after, a strong sense of crisis suddenly surged, and his survival instinct went into overdrive, prompting him to withdraw his hand like lightning.

“Don’t touch me, stay away.”

Ming Ci said word by word with his back turned.

Despite the bright noon sun, a bone-chilling coldness unexpectedly crawled up Qin Shuyi’s spine, causing his body hair to stand on end. He subconsciously took a few steps back.

The air seemed to stagnate, and an invisible undercurrent silently surged.

After a full ten seconds, Qin Shuyi suppressed the inexplicable sense of fear and forced out a voice, “Sorry, I just wanted to tell you that I harbor no ill intentions towards you.”

“I really want to be friends with you, whether it’s back then or now.”

Ming Ci stood silently in the shadow of the trees, unmoving.

“At that time, I thought you also wanted to be friends with me. I didn’t expect this reaction when we met again.”

Qin Shuyi took a short breath and smiled wryly, “Turns out I misunderstood. I won’t bother you anymore in the future.”

He stiffly turned around and began to walk forward step by step, images of the past involuntarily flashing through his mind.

The young man in his memories nodded, his dark and bright eyes staring directly at him as he softly said, “Alright, I admit you have a point, but lower your voice, this is a library.”

He pushed the brown-covered notebook towards him.

“Here, write down the derivation.”

As Ming Ci began to jot down some notes, he rested his chin on his hand, his gaze fixed on the paper, and casually asked, “Have you watched ‘Alien Invasion’?”

“Saw the first one,” he replied while writing, “The second one premiered in North America the day before yesterday, not yet released in mainland China. Interested? I have resources, I can share them with you.”

Ming Ci remained noncommittal, just asking him, “If you discovered someone being parasitized by an alien species in real life, what would you do?”

“If it’s a stranger, report it directly to the authorities. But if it’s my family or friends, I would definitely try to find a way to help them conceal it, to extract the alien from their body and try to save their life as much as possible.”

“You speak so lightly, but you might end up being implicated, even killed by the alien.”

“Well, that’s just the way it is, I’ll take my chances.”

He put down the pen and pushed the notebook back in front of Ming Ci.

Ming Ci smiled and lowered his head to carefully examine the notes he had written, reaching out to take the pen.

…

That afternoon passed quickly, until evening, when they were quietly arguing, accidentally dropping the notebook to the ground.

They both bent down to pick it up, and in that moment their fingertips touched. Before he could react, he saw Ming Ci abruptly stand up, grab his backpack, and rush out in a hurry.

“I have an urgent matter, I’ll go first!”

Two years had passed, and he had thought that meeting again was fate, hoping they could be friends, but it turned out to be wishful thinking on his part.

The dazzling summer sunlight shone on his face, and Qin Shuyi was momentarily blinded by its brightness.

He walked slowly, hoping to hear Ming Ci’s voice behind him, calling out to him, saying anything, anything at all.

But after he had walked a few meters, there wasn’t even the slightest sound from the other person.

Qin Shuyi paused, suppressing his emotions, maintaining a dignified demeanor, trying to keep his tone as flat as possible. “Ming Ci, you don’t need to change dorms. I’ll be staying outside for a few days, and afterwards, I’ll move to a dorm near the lab building.”

Under the dappled shade of light and shadow, Ming Ci’s pupils dilated, his palm tightly pressed against his lips.

Threads of crimson, like blood, seeped out from between his fingers, silently dripping down, gathering strand by strand.

This was bad; it seemed like the monster was about to lose control.

Ming Ci’s mind buzzed, he didn’t have the slightest intention of listening to what Qin Shuyi was saying, he just hoped the other would leave quickly.

After waiting for two seconds without a response from behind, Qin Shuyi finally gave up and briskly walked away from there.

A soft thud.

Ming Ci knelt halfway in the grass, his hands clasping it tightly. “Xiao Hong, Xiao Hong! Stay calm!”

The monster coalesced in his embrace, embracing him tightly like this.

“Xiao Hong… don’t lose control.”

Ming Ci lowered his head deeply, burying his cheek in its embrace, trembling all over so much so that his voice was trembling too. “I just want you, I just want you…”

“Ming Ci, I can learn human knowledge, mimic human behavior, and become like a human.”

The soft touch of its limbs melted away as a pair of warm and powerful arms embraced his shoulders.

A rhythmic thud came from the position where his cheek was pressed against, like the beat of a heart.

“Ming Ci, I can learn to be with you like a human.”

The humanoid monster lifted his cheek, placing a gentle soothing kiss on his forehead.

“Don’t be afraid, okay?”

Noticed by it.

Ming Ci thought, dazedly.

He was truly afraid.

Afraid that its overwhelming possessiveness would trigger its savage nature, ruthlessly killing others without restraint, causing irreparable disasters.

Even more afraid that it would be exposed in front of everyone, subjected to unbearable torment, and mercilessly killed.

As it turned out… what had almost lost control just now wasn’t the monster, but him.