Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
Duan Min sat on the living room sofa with the small plate of desserts, stunned for a moment before realizing he’d somehow opened the door again and inexplicably brought something in.
Of course, even more baffling was the woman.
When she’d first rung the doorbell after moving in, Duan Min had half-suspected he’d misheard, as his doorbell had never rung before.
But the ringing stopped for a moment, then began again, one after another, a relentless tirade.
He was manipulating a puppet as the landlord to negotiate with the new tenants, having previously said the seventh floor wasn’t occupied, yet now someone was living next door.
It wasn’t that he was afraid of the noise; the house was well-insulated, but he hated the smell of the living, so he wanted to make the person who rang the doorbell a dead person.
Upon opening the door, he saw the young woman reverently cradling a box of gnawed egg tarts, as if offering sacrifices to an ancestor.
Her hands were shaking with fear, yet her smile was sweet.
Her almond eyes curved and her lips lifted up, bringing out a shallow dimple.
She looked harmless, but was she really harmless? Or had that group of people discovered his whereabouts and sent someone to test him?
It was interesting after all. No matter why she came, considering that she was the first person to smile at him, he decided to let her live a few more days. It was just a few days.
A well-behaved life, a monotonous day would always be broken by a theorem, that was, the unexpected.
The woman who was so scared that her hands were shaking that night, should have left immediately, or not appeared in front of him, but she came again, holding a plate of spare ribs, and her smile was still sweet.
Duan Min thought, this was the second time, if she dared to come to disturb him for the third time, he would dismember her no matter how she smiled.
The third time, she came again, and there was no fear in her eyes. It seemed that she was used to disturbing him.
He stared at her expressionlessly, wondering when to start. She simply explained the dish she had prepared, from the ingredients to the cooking steps and the final taste. She spoke slowly and meticulously, her voice soft and gentle.
She seemed to have a natural tendency to laugh, even her words evoking a faint smile.
It was the first time Duan Min had encountered someone so persistent and boisterous.
He didn’t understand why she could talk so much, and even more so why she came to disturb him every night at seven o’clock, rain or shine.
Knowing he didn’t eat, she even placed a high stool by the door and placed the dishes on it.
His body had been modified, so he could go ten days or even half a month without eating. He actually hated eating; the act of swallowing reminded him of the disgusting things he’d been forced to eat.
But he patiently listened to her until she finished speaking before closing the door.
Duan Min thought it was probably because the room was so quiet that he was constantly drawn to her voice. He could hold off on killing her for now, but if he lost control and killed her, there was nothing he could do.
He would have seizures at irregular intervals, which were uncontrollable and difficult to suppress, so everyone in the building became a victim. He then simply turned them into puppets to control them, reducing the need to go out.
Just now, he had another seizure, and all his consciousness turned into the urge to kill. His blood rushed up, and his eyes were blood red. He didn’t want to hear the slightest breath of a living thing. But he felt a delicate and warm touch under his hand, and the blood color in his eyes faded a little. He saw her smile clearly, and found that he was strangling her neck, and his palm unconsciously loosened its strength.
Because he thought that if she died, she would never smile like this again.
Inexplicably, he felt a little sorry.
With the last bit of rationality he had, Duan Min let her go, thinking that she would be scared by his appearance and run away, never daring to come again.
Unexpectedly, she was so brave that she dared to come to deliver food after seeing him like that.
Was she not afraid of death, or was she not afraid of him?
Duan Min lowered his eyes and looked at the plate of dessert in his hand. It was divided into two layers, the top was red, and the bottom was milky white.
The colors were distinct, and one could smell the faint aroma of cream and sweet strawberries.
There was an orange sticky note on the porcelain plate, with no words on it, only a smiley face. Duan Min was silent for a moment, his expression struggling. Finally, he picked up the small porcelain spoon, scooped a spoonful of red jam, took a bite, and immediately frowned.
“Tsk, sweet.”
Too sweet, so sweet that it was choking.
He pursed his lips, put the dessert on the table, and pushed it away.
Duan Min pursed his lips in dissatisfaction, snorted with a nasal sound, lay back on the pure black sofa, pulled a pillow into his arms, and turned his back.
After more than ten minutes, he licked the corner of his lips and turned around, staring at the dessert on the other side of the table. After looking at it for a long time, he threw away the pillow and sat up again, then he leaned over and reached out to bring it back.
He picked up the small porcelain spoon again, picked out the crushed strawberries on it and ate them, then spread the red jam and scooped a spoonful of the milky white jelly-like substance underneath.
“Sour.”
Duan Min was unhappy and frowned again. The thing was warm, with a delicate and smooth texture, but too sour.
Tsk, what on earth did she make.
He wanted to put the dessert back on the table again, but halfway through, he saw the smiling face on the orange sticky note and paused. After a long pause, Duan Min picked up the spoon again, scooped up the next layer of the thing and dipped it in the jam on it.
The taste mixed together and became sour and sweet.
His brows were still frowning, but he didn’t stop, eating one spoonful after another.
Putting down the empty cup, Duan Min lay back on the sofa, hugging a pillow and lying on his side, his mouth full of sour and sweet taste.
From the mouth to the oesophagus, he felt a sense of warmth for the first time.
Maybe because of the jam, his pale lips after the onset of the disease had a little more color.
….
The next day, You Xu opened the door and saw the porcelain plate and empty cup placed on the high stool.
A ding sound went off in her mind, and the system announced, “Congratulations, host. Your current villain trust level is 5.”
You Xu hummed, then took the porcelain plate and empty cup and went back to wash them.
From that day on, Duan Min ate whatever dishes You Xu brought him in the evening, but there was no other progress. This lasted for over a month, and the system finally couldn’t help but urge, “Host, don’t you think the progress bar is too slow? Why not take some other action?”
You Xu said calmly, “You have to believe in science.”
The system asked, puzzled, “What science?”
You Xu understood that stick figures might not have common sense, so she explained seriously, “Twenty-one days to form a habit, understand?”
“…” The system panicked. “So you deliver food every day because it’s a habit?”
You Xu: “It’s hard to communicate. You’re on the children’s channel, and I’m on the adult channel.”
—The most subtle form of change is habit.
Duan Min, who initially said he’d only let her live a few more days, had kept her safe and sound for almost two months.
He had developed a terrible habit. When the evening sky darkened and seven o’clock approached, he would involuntarily become irritable, his mind seemingly hooked by something, and he would be unable to do anything.
His mind automatically guessed what dishes she would bring today, what she would say, and how she would laugh.
A tiny bit of anticipation ignited in his heart, vague, but unusually present.
This habit was like the rising sea water flooding the land, slowly and unnoticeably. By the time he noticed it, he found that he had no place to stand and didn’t know how to struggle.
Duan Min raised his eyes and saw the time display in the center of the living room – 7:00 PM. The time had arrived. He walked to the door, walked to the entrance and waited quietly. When the doorbell will ring, he would open the door.
A few minutes passed, and the doorbell was as silent as him.
This door was made of a special material and had no peephole. Unless the door was open, there was no way to see if there was anyone outside.
Duan Min gripped the door handle, frowned impatiently, and waited for another three minutes.
He turned back to the living room and saw that the time on the display was 7:10. She was late.
Did she forget, or did she not want to come?
People are so fickle.
Duan Min pursed his lips, lay back on the sofa with drooping eyelids, and closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, it was already 7:30.
She hadn’t come yet.
Duan Min propped himself up and sat up. A strange and indescribable emotion made him confused for a moment, followed by irritation.
Duan Min stood up again and paced in the living room, each step adding a bit of impatience. He paced until 8 o’clock and he couldn’t bear it anymore.
This inexplicable emotion made him so dissatisfied that he wanted to cut off the source.
She couldn’t live anymore, but he could make her into a puppet with the longest shelf life.
Duan Min frowned and walked straight to the entrance and opened the door. He looked outside. Great, empty.
Duan Min lowered his eyelids, lowered the corners of his lips, slightly retracted his jaw, and pressed You Xu’s doorbell with obvious anger.
The doorbell kept ringing, but no one came to open the door.
Duan Min’s patience was completely wiped out, and instead, he was filled with anger that was blown three feet high by the wind. He summoned the puppets downstairs to come up and smash the door. Just at this moment, the door was opened.
Duan Min’s expression was not good, and he was about to speak, but You Xu’s expression was even uglier when he saw her coming out. Her face was sickly pale, her lips were bloodless, but her cheeks were strangely flushed, and there was sweat on her forehead.
She held the door frame with both hands, and said weakly: “Ah, you are here.”
Duan Min frowned: “What are you doing-“
Before he finished speaking, the woman suddenly leaned forward and threw herself into his arms.
The soft and warm body nestled in his arms.
He froze.
The author has something to say:
There is a surprise when you open the door, a big hug gift package.
So if you bother your neighbors for no reason, you won’t get a beating. You’ll only get a warm hug. (×
Guys, ads are my only source of revenue, so please do not turn on the AdBlock when you are accessing this website…. Thank you, this would be a great help…
You can buy me a ko-fi and sponsor a chapter on: https://ko-fi.com/midnightrambles
Or become a Patron on: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45665005
If you support me, I would be able to provide more chapters….
Previous • Table of Contents • Next