Chapter 1: Scarlet

Ming Ci had just finished showering, and the bathroom was filled with steam.

Standing in front of the mirror at the sink, he reached out and wiped away the mist, revealing his damp appearance.

His pale skin was soaked with water, and under the light, it emitted a porcelain-like cold gleam.

Droplets fell from his jet-black hair tips, trickling down his neck slowly, landing in the hollow of his collarbone, where a round red mole glistened with moisture.

Ming Ci stared quietly at this mole.

Two months ago, on the night after his college entrance exam, he had accidentally noticed a red dot on his collarbone.

At first, it was only as small as a pinhead, requiring careful observation to see clearly, so he didn’t pay it much mind. However, over time, it gradually transformed from a tiny red dot into a petite mole… and now, it looked like a bright vermilion cinnabar solidified on his skin.

So vivid and striking, every time he saw it, he wanted to try to rub it off with force.

Ming Ci raised his hand, his fingertip gently stroking the red mole on his collarbone.

Of course, it couldn’t be rubbed off, but the sensation felt strangely indescribable, unlike touching his own skin.

Suddenly growing a mole wasn’t uncommon, he searched online, and many people had similar situations. But was it really normal for the mole to slowly enlarge? Could it be some kind of skin disease?

He would wait a few more days, and if the red mole continued to spread, then he should go to the hospital.

“Meow~ Meow~”

The cat outside the door kept meowing, scratching the door panel with a sharp sound.

Snapping out of his contemplation, Ming Ci scolded, “Xiao Mi, stop scratching.”

He grabbed a towel and wiped his body, put on his clothes, and opened the door. There, he saw a tabby cat squatting at the doorway, lifting its round head to look at him, with a cute and innocent posture.

Ming Ci stepped over its head, closed the door behind him, and walked towards the bedroom. Xiao Mi followed beside him with light steps, rubbing against him with its furry body.

Unmoved, he stepped into the bedroom with the leading foot and with the trailing foot shut the door mercilessly.

Just before the bedroom door closed, the tabby cat agilely leaped, landing like a light fluffy ball at the corner of the bed.

Expressionless, Ming Ci said, “Go out.”

As if not understanding, Xiao Mi swaggered to the bedside and curled up near the pillow.

Ming Ci pointed to the floor, slightly emphasizing his tone, “No sleeping on the bed, Xiao Mi, go down.”

Xiao Mi lay still, its bright round eyes gazing at him.

“…”

He pursed his lips, took two steps to the bedside, and reached out to pick it up.

Ming Ci’s feelings towards cats and dogs were average, neither liking nor disliking them, but Xiao Mi was different. It was a stray cat adopted by his mother before her passing, something she left behind for him.

He had taken good care of the tabby cat, weighing at least nine catties, feeling heavy when picked up.

“Little piggy Mi.”

Ming Ci teased softly, but Xiao Mi licked his palm with its tongue.

An affectionate and clingy cat.

A hint of a smile curved Ming Ci’s lips as he placed Xiao Mi on the soft chair and gently patted its head, “Stay here, no jumping on the bed.”

A few minutes later, Ming Ci turned off the bedside lamp and lay down on the bed.

He closed his eyes, his breathing gradually becoming calm and long, drifting off to sleep unknowingly.

It was a summer midnight, the temperature hovering around twenty-eight or twenty-nine degrees. The small bedroom was not equipped with air conditioning; a stand fan blew towards the bed, its rotating blades emitting a faint whirring sound. Apart from that, there was hardly any other sound.

Xiao Mi lay sprawled out, eyes closed, dozing off. Ming Ci slept deeply, his chest rising and falling slowly with his heartbeat.

Gusts of wind blew in, seeping through the loose neckline of his old T-shirt. The thin white fabric fluttered, revealing a faint crimson mark like a brand.

Unconsciously, Ming Ci shifted his position, his right hand reaching to his collarbone.

The red mole nestled on his collarbone quietly spread, like a living creature growing in the darkness, thick crimson liquid flowing freely on his smooth skin.

In the dimness, faint sticky sounds could be heard.

Ming Ci shifted uncomfortably, his breathing slightly intensified.

At this moment, Xiao Mi, who was dozing off, sensed something. It abruptly opened its eyes, its dark cat pupils staring straight ahead at the center of the bed.

In its black-and-white-gray vision, a strange and ominous dark entity was covering its owner’s body.

Xiao Mi’s fur stood on end instantly, baring its teeth and arching its back.

It didn’t understand what it was, but survival instinct sounded the alarm. Fear dominated its body for a moment, and it instantly jumped off the chair, fleeing into the hidden crevices between the wall and clutter, trembling and curled up into a ball.

The soft and warm crimson entity seemed like a piece of blood-red velvet being stretched out, slowly wrapping around Ming Ci.

“Mmm…”

He seemed to sense something in his sleep, letting out a low groan.

The crimson spread to his neck, the gentle yet eerie sensation feeling like a cat’s tongue licking his skin.

Was something licking him, Xiao Mi?

Ming Ci, half asleep and half awake, vaguely felt the warm thing licking his cheek and murmured with his eyes closed, “Xiao Mi, go away… stop licking… get down.”

But instead of stopping, it became more audacious, moving towards his slightly parted lips.

“Xiao Mi, be good… Xiao Mi!”

Ming Ci suddenly woke up, instinctively raising his hand to swipe around his face.

The licking sensation disappeared, his palm swiped through empty air, not hitting the cat.

He let out a long breath, then reached out to switch on the bedside lamp, instantly brightening the small bedroom.

Huh? Where’s the cat? Did it get scared away?

Ming Ci squinted and looked around, spotting the cat huddled in the corner amidst the clutter.

“Xiao Mi, come out.”

Xiao Mi remained curled up, staring at him warily.

Since calling didn’t work, Ming Ci got up and walked to the pile of miscellaneous items, intending to lift off the plastic boxes on top to fetch the cat from the corner. But just as his hand reached underneath, Xiao Mi, as if startled, suddenly scratched him forcefully.

Before he could react, it had darted out of the bedroom like lightning and hid under the sofa in the living room.

“Hiss…”

Ming Ci took a deep breath and looked down at the scratch on the back of his left hand, furrowing his brows involuntarily.

It wasn’t very painful, but his fair skin made the red and swollen, oozing wound look quite alarming.

Being awakened in the middle of the night and then scratched by the cat he had been raising for two years, Ming Ci’s mood instantly turned sour.

With a cold expression, he searched for alcohol swabs and band-aids, paying no attention to Xiao Mi hiding under the sofa.

Luckily, Xiao Mi had been vaccinated against rabies, so there was no need to worry about rabies infection. Ming Ci simply treated the wound and applied a band-aid.

Then he closed the bedroom door tightly, turned off the light, and lay back on the bed.

With the doors and windows tightly shut, the room was extremely quiet, but he closed his eyes and felt no drowsiness.

The wound, previously not feeling painful, now burned and stung as the alcohol soaked into it, accompanied by waves of itching, as if many tiny ants were crawling in and out of the wound, making him extremely uncomfortable.

After an unknown amount of time, creak…

The sharp, piercing sound of the door opening suddenly rang out, followed by heavy, slow footsteps landing on the living room floor.

The poor sound insulation of the old building in the old neighborhood made everything clear to Ming Ci in the bedroom.

In the dead of night, Ming Hui, who knows where he’d been hanging out, was back.

Probably drunk again, stumbling back home, why doesn’t he just drink himself to death outside?

Ming Ci silently opened his eyes, indifferent to the thought.

Thud, thud, thud… The footsteps approached from afar, stopping outside the bedroom door.

Then the door handle turned, and the door was pushed open slightly, allowing the pale light to seep in through the crack.

Ming Ci lay still, knowing without looking that Ming Hui was standing at the doorway, peering inside.

“Xiao Ci?”

The hoarse, murky voice sounded, followed by a heavy smell of alcohol.

Ming Ci remained unmoved, his cheek hidden in the shadows, ignoring his father.

After a few seconds of Ming Hui’s son remaining motionless, he dragged his heavy body back step by step to the living room.

The movements of a drunk person were neither light nor heavy, causing a series of clattering sounds as he searched for something.

Ming Ci listened to his father bustling around for a while, and after a moment, he finally quieted down and slowly left the room.

Only then did Ming Ci turn his head and look out through the crack in the door, finding that the lights in the living room were still on.

Ming Ci gritted his teeth and got up to turn off the lights. But as he pushed open the bedroom door, his heart suddenly sank.

Not turning off the lights was one thing, but this old bastard didn’t even close the door!

The maroon iron door stood wide open, revealing the pitch-black corridor outside.

Xiao Mi, who had been hiding under the sofa, had long since taken the opportunity to disappear without a trace!

Ming Ci didn’t have time to be angry. He quickly grabbed a flashlight and his keys, and went out to find the cat.

Xiao Mi was bold and would definitely run around once outside. If it stayed out for too long, it would be a disaster if it ran out of the community. It was a very common tabby cat, not very conspicuous-looking, and putting up missing cat notices might not even help.

“Xiao Mi.”

“Xiao Mi.”

In the dimly lit stairwell, the calls echoed faintly, with no other sounds.

Ming Ci turned on the flashlight, slowly descending the steps while scanning around for the cat.

Since the elevator was installed in this building two years ago, few people used the stairs. Residents treated this area as a place to store miscellaneous items, with each landing platform piled with old furniture, flower pots, and shoe racks.

It would be very difficult to find a small animal hiding among this junk.

The cold white beam dispersed the darkness, illuminating a small area in front of him.

In the dimly lit corner, there was a rustling sound coming from the pile of broken tables and chairs.

Ming Ci slowed his steps, approaching cautiously, and bent down to peer into the gap.

As the flashlight shone, the emerald green cat’s eyes reflected back, locking onto his gaze.

Startled, the skinny black cat cowered behind the broken table, then suddenly leaped up, knocking the flashlight out of Ming Ci’s hand.

The flashlight clattered down and rolled away, possibly breaking the bulb and leaving them in complete darkness.

Surrounded by darkness, Ming Ci felt a sense of foreboding.

The next moment, the shaky tables and chairs collapsed one after another. He hurriedly dodged, but stumbled over something, and fell down the stairs unprepared.

It was strange; he didn’t feel any pain at all.

It felt like falling into a swampy mud pit, damp, slippery, and soft. It seemed that with a little pressure, viscous fluid would seep out between his fingers.

Ming Ci lay prone, his pupils dilated dramatically in the pitch-blackness, unable to see anything.

In this state of blindness, his other senses became sensitive and eerie.

The beating of his heart and the sound of his breath changed tone, becoming unfamiliar and strange whispers.

The air entering his mouth gradually thickened, the airflow seemed to solidify, brushing over his lips and tongue, slipping into his throat, flowing deeper into his body.

Sensations were distorted and confused, Ming Ci’s mind blank, unable to make a sound, feeling an eerie chill running through his entire body.

It was just a fall, but he felt like he had plunged into a swamp.

TN:

This story gave me Venom vibes, but romantic? And I absolutely love that fool Venom. Although it’s not really like Venom and don’t get it twisted, I’m not a Venom x Broddy shipper! It just seems like an interesting and novel concept to have a symbiote x host CP! Hope you enjoy it~