Hunting

·

I actually didn’t realize it was already afternoon until I got home. Time flies so fast.

However, Shi Yanli was still busy with work today. I opened my phone and saw the messages he sent me one after another, as well as several missed calls.

Did I bring my phone to Pei Xuwan's house? I wondered.

Before I could finish thinking about this problem completely, Shi Yanli called me.

What a coincidence.

Looking at the caller ID jumping on the phone, the moment I answered the call, I heard Shi Yanli's anxious voice.

"An An, have you seen the message your brother sent? The whole building is out of power due to maintenance. Are you okay? Are you scared? How are you feeling now? I just called to check on you and the power is back on. Is everything okay at home? Don't be afraid. Your brother won't be working overtime today and will be back to be with you soon. What would you like to eat tonight..."

Shi Yanli really enjoyed giving these instructions. He had tried to keep things short over the years, but judging by this phone call, the effect was minimal.

After thoroughly digesting the long paragraph, I caught the key words.

Shi Yanli was still nagging me over the phone, and without a response from me, he probably didn't seem to be letting up. I raised my phone suspiciously and said, "There's a call from home."

But when I went to Pei Xuwan's house before, there was no sign of power outage. I remembered the TV with bright white light and Shi Yanli's description.

From the anxious tone, one could guess that the power outage had been going on for a long time.

"An An, did you hear me?"

"Aangan, are you okay?"

"An An?"

…

My thoughts completely returned to me, and I slowly replied, "I understand."

"Okay, that's good, that's good. I won't bother you anymore."

My response to Shi Yanli has always been like this, neither too strong nor too weak.

He was probably already used to this, and after forcing a smile he continued to coax me softly, telling me that the weather was obviously getting colder today and there would be thunderstorms in the evening.

After hanging up the phone, Shi Yanli would actually call me like this every afternoon except when I was in class.

After a good sleep, I felt refreshed and finally regained some strength to open the things Pei Xuwan sent me.

In addition to the exquisitely presented desserts, there are also some mellow cookies. The packaging clearly took a lot of thought, with the end of the ribbon wrapped around it adorned with a miniature version of the teddy bear from our first encounter.

I stared at the teddy bear's two round, dark eyes and took out a cookie from my pocket.

It was sprinkled with finely chopped chocolate chips and tasted soft and delicious. While savoring it, I clicked on the surveillance camera to check on Shi Yanli.

He has been very busy with work recently and has to travel frequently.

I turned on the surveillance camera and found that Shi Yanli was not in the office. It seemed that he was in a meeting.

Fortunately, the camera had recently been replaced with a new one, and I turned the lens to scan his office.

Apart from his home, this large office is the second place where Shi Yanli spends the most time.

The office's decor leaned towards minimalism, and because it was cleaned regularly, it appeared spotless. There weren't many of Shi Yanli's personal belongings inside, and it rather had a formal and orderly feel.

My camera fell on the neatly tidied desk, with documents neatly stacked on one side and a thin painting in the center.

It was placed in a conspicuous position, as if Shi Yanli had placed it there specifically for me to see.

I zoomed in and saw that it was my self-portrait. Shi Yanli had sketched my entire face onto the paper. Unfortunately, time was running out, and the details weren't quite right.

Following the self-portrait, my gaze slowly moved downwards, and I saw the drawer that was not yet closed, and also saw some things hidden in the dark corner.

Those are all "items" that I don't want.

Some of them were just thrown into the trash can, but Shi Yanli collected them all unexpectedly. And judging from how neatly they were arranged, he must do this often.

Some of them were cosmetics I had used and clothes I had discarded. He had placed them neatly in a small corner, covered with thick books.

I remember that Shi Yanli had not shown such serious signs before.

It was just that every time she held my hand, she would greedily lick the warmth and scent of my palm, and when I caught her, she would look frightened and cry. Later, she became more and more aggressive, from collecting these to making hair bags out of my fallen hair. I saw everything.

I just thought these little actions were cute, so I just let him do it.

After all, my brother's illness was caused by me.

·

I was awakened by waves of intense hunger.

When I woke up, it was already bright outside the window.

Since it's still summer vacation, my body clock is always out of sync.

I opened the room in my slippers and saw my brother busy in the kitchen wearing an apron.

Then I remembered that today is the weekend and my brother will be at home with me.

"Are you awake? You were sleeping so soundly, I didn't want to wake you up."

Shi Yanli placed breakfast in front of me. The aroma of breakfast piqued my taste buds. I stared at his sharp eyes and asked, "Brother, where is the matcha cake I didn't finish yesterday?"

Shi Yanli was obviously stunned. He suppressed his discomfort and smiled gently, rubbing the top of my head to comfort me: "Ah...you mean that cake? It's been sitting there all night, so it must not taste good, so I threw it away. I'm sorry for not telling you in advance."

I shook my head, looked at the frightened Shi Yanli, smiled and waved my hands, "It's okay. It's just that the matcha cake is delicious, and I wanted to let my brother taste my cooking skills."

"Is it really that delicious? I can make cakes too."

Shi Yanli's voice gradually faded away, and I saw him leave the table and go to the kitchen to clean the dishes. The sound of the water was particularly loud today, making it difficult for me to hear the sound of the TV.

Shi Yanli was cleaning the dishes, bright red tears slid down his cheeks and dripped into the sink, completely staining the clear pool of water crimson.

His sister is still young and doesn't understand anything. It's all his negligence. He didn't take good care of his sister.

Tick-tick…

Blood flowed out from between his fingers, flowed into the sewer, and was washed away by the clean water.

·

I watched the surveillance for a long time, but there was no sign of Shi Yanli returning.

However, my cell phone rang with the news that he would not be coming back for dinner at an inopportune time. I stared at the long black text for a long time, so I prepared tonight's dinner by heating up the food that Shi Yanli had left in the morning.

Fortunately, the power outage didn't cause any problems. After a hastily tasteless dinner, I set my sights on the largest gift box. My intuition told me that it must contain a cake made by Pei Xuwan.

It was a pity that I had just eaten half of the cookies, so I stood up and prepared to put this biggest gift into the refrigerator.

The appearance of the gift box is the same as other packaging, with a soft satin ribbon wrapped around it, and even the surface of the ribbon is carefully painted with gold thread patterns.

I wrapped my arms around the crimson gift box, and only when I moved it did I realize how heavy it was.

This is definitely not the weight a cake should be...

I lowered my eyes and tentatively began to shake the huge gift box.

Even the thing that was a little difficult to hold up, when shaken, a sound similar to that of a hard object hitting the inside could be heard.

Sometimes dull, sometimes crisp.

I stared quietly at the blood seeping out from the cracks on the edge, and felt something was wrong.

I have to admit that I smelled that strange fragrance again.

The moment my hunger and keen taste buds were completely aroused, I quickly tore open the ribbon with the scissors next to me. The petals were peeled off layer by layer from the center, allowing me to see clearly what was inside the gift box.

There was blood inside, but I couldn't smell any blood.

On the golden tray in the middle was a ball of meat whose surface was completely invisible, and it kept jumping as I looked.

In an instant, my tentacles shot out uncontrollably, a familiar smell rushed into my nose, and I bit my lips.

My senses and smell were instantly stimulated. I covered my mouth, resisted the urge, and hastily closed the gift bag.

After wiping the blood splattered on the table, I was about to throw the gift bag out when I bumped into Shi Yanli who just opened the door.

"An An, what's wrong with you? Why do you look so bad?"

“Hmm!”

I covered my mouth and shook my head hurriedly, not caring about anything else.

I wanted to reach out and push Shi Yanli out of my range, but my tentacles had already taken the lead and instinctively wrapped around Shi Yanli's body.

Why did he come back so early today? Didn’t he agree not to come back?

Why why why why…

My mind was filled with more and more random thoughts. The tentacles had already tightened around Shi Yanli's body, dragging him and everything he had in front of me.

Shi Yanli was startled. In the brief buffer time, he had not yet fully understood the current situation.

He was still wearing his perfectly ironed suit. The material was exquisitely tailored, and it fitted his figure perfectly. But the grip of the tentacles was so strong that even the perfectly ironed suit began to show signs of strain.

The more you struggle, the stronger the tentacles will become. Shi Yanli already knew this.

With every breath, he could feel the mark being carved on his body. He stiffened his body and spoke softly: "An An, brother hasn't taken a shower yet, it's not good to eat."

"An An, today is not the best time for me to eat..."

…

I ignored it completely. When my fangs bit Shi Yanli's neck, I suddenly realized that he had not cleaned it cleanly and he was shaking violently.

Being scared would indeed affect the taste and hinder my absorption, so I pouted, released my tentacles, and pushed him into the bathroom.

Everything Shi Yanli said seemed so light and airy to me, as he always obeyed me in everything.

I was still wearing that thin nightgown, with my arms folded as I stared at Shi Yanli as he began to wash off the dust brought in from outside.

Time is running out and there is no time to clean up carefully.

However, Shi Yanli has appeared in front of me in this state several times, and now I am used to it.

He has a habit of exercising regularly, so he maintains a perfect figure at his age.

Now, her perfect body is covered with traces of my tentacles. I have to say, it's an eyesore.

I stared at the mark that stretched from my waist to my thigh, and suddenly heard Shi Yanli ask, "An An, what kind of shower gel do you want me to use? Fruity or floral?"

I bit my fingers and didn't answer Shi Yanli's question.

Shi Yanli didn't say anything else. The bathroom was filled with steam. I watched him silently squeeze some shower gel, rub it into foam and apply it on his body.

In a daze, I didn't have time to see what the smell was.

"Brother, can you hurry up?"

I leaned against the door and watched him wash his hair again.

The tentacles were bored waiting, and from time to time they would climb up Shi Yanli's body, leaving small marks on the surface of his skin.

Every time I heard the slight "popping" sound of water when leaving, I could see Shi Yanli's red ears.