Blood-sucking fangs

Chapter 13

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Si Wen looked at the Ferrari from all angles, occasionally reaching out to stroke the car body. After a while, he finally whistled, "Wow!! Ferrari, it's fucking awesome!"

Zhang Hanwen frowned: "You can leave now."

“Hey, Auntie,” the girl laughed, “Don’t be so stingy. I’m the idiot’s neighbor. Since you’re going to take him home, one more won’t make a difference. Besides, he’s never ridden in such a cool car before.”

Zhang Hanwen looked at Feng Nian'en.

"Hey, you idiot, you wouldn't be so heartless as to leave me here, would you?!" Before Feng Nian'en could speak, Si Wen interrupted. "Don't forget I'm your..."

"Let's take her back with us." Before she could finish speaking, Feng Nian'en immediately interjected, "It's on the way anyway."

Zhang Hanwen narrowed his eyes and tossed his hair: "Get in the car."

Si Wen cheered and jumped up first. Zhang Hanwen stopped her, gesturing for her to go to the back.

The car drove out of the parking lot. Along the way, Si Wen asked all sorts of questions and made strange noises. Zhang Hanwen's face grew increasingly grim. Finally, when they arrived at the community, Zhang Hanwen stopped the car.

"I'm going to Hong Kong tomorrow," she said solemnly, but her voice was not loud.

"Huh?" Feng Nian'en was taken aback by the sudden revelation.

"What do you mean, 'huh'?!" she glared at him, speaking angrily. "If Dad asks you, just say you don't know!"

"But……"

"No buts! If Dad finds out where I am, you'd better watch out!"

"Hey, hey, hey, Auntie," Si Wen called out, stepping between the two. "You're being unreasonable. Even if your father knows where you've been, it doesn't necessarily mean that idiot told him. Why are you causing him trouble?"

Zhang Hanwen didn't answer, his face hardening. "Get out of the car, all of you!"

"Fine, I'll get off then." The girl muttered as she jumped off the car. "But people should still be reasonable, right, you idiot?"

Feng Nian'en didn't reply, but whispered before getting out of the car, "I understand, Miss."

Zhang Hanwen acted as if he hadn't heard, but before he could even steady himself, the Ferrari charged off like a burning bull.

"How did you come to know someone like that, you idiot?" Siwen asked, watching the Ferrari drive away.

“I’m her driver,” he said, turning around.

“Driver? Come on! Do you think I’m stupid? But—” she wrinkled her nose, “this aunt is really pretty, you’re quite the lucky one.”

"She's the same age as me."

"The same?" The girl shrugged. "I call those under three 'older sister' and those over three 'auntie.' That's how I've always distinguished them."

He didn't answer, silently stepped into the elevator, pressed "7" on the keypad, and the elevator made a creaking sound as it went up.

"This damn broken elevator! It wouldn't be surprising if it fell down and crushed me to death one day!" She kicked the bare panel as if she was getting impatient. Seeing Feng Nian'en frown, she laughed and said, "Why are you frowning? Do you think it will only crush me to death?"

Feng Nian'en sighed and stepped out of the elevator.

"Sigh! Sigh! More sighs! What's there to sigh about when you're only in your twenties?"

"Aren't you going back to your own home?" he couldn't help but ask, seeing that she had followed him all the way to his door.

"Why go back? There's no one inside. Why don't we come to your house and have some fun?"

"You should go back." He took out his keys. "I'm not in a good mood right now."

"I only wanted to talk to you to cheer you up because you were in a bad mood," Si Wen said, squeezing in next to him.

Feng Nian'en walked into the room helplessly, lay down on the bed without even glancing at the girl.

“Hey,” Siwen leaned closer to the bed, “What’s the big deal? It’s just a trip to the police station. I’m in there dozens of times a year, and I still eat and drink as usual. Don’t worry, those guys are just paper tigers. They’ll be soft if you’re tough, especially since you have such a powerful backer. From now on, they’ll have to smile and give way when they see you.”

Feng Nian'en turned over and faced the wall.

"Hey!" the girl said unhappily, "I'm trying to give you some advice and you just turn your back on me?"

"You should go back," he said in a muffled voice, feeling a little impatient. Why was this girl always bothering him?

"If you tell me to go back, I'll just go back. Wouldn't that make me lose face?" she said, raising her chin. "I'm not going back!"

"Do whatever you want, just don't bother me!"

He pulled the blanket over his face.

Feng Nian'en's fiery voice startled Si Wen, and a strange expression appeared on her face. After a moment, she gently pulled back a corner of the blanket and said in an unusually soft voice, "You're not upset because you went to jail, are you?"

Feng Nian'en didn't move.

"If I'm not mistaken, you're upset because you didn't win over those brats, right?"

Feng Nian'en's shoulders twitched, but she still didn't answer.

"Why do you want to get to know those kids so much? Is there some special reason?"

“Alright,” the girl waited a moment, and seeing that he still didn’t answer, she said to herself, “Since you really think so, and unfortunately I owe you a favor today, I’ll help you this time.”

"Go back now."

"You damned pig-headed idiot!" Si Wen angrily ripped off the blanket. "Who do you think you are? Do you think I'm this kind of person every day? How dare you refuse me? Are you out of your mind?"

Feng Nian'en sat up, looked at her, and growled, "What exactly do you want to do?"

"I'm going to help you! Try and refuse!"

"Help me?" he said through gritted teeth. "It's your damn idea that's what got me into this state."

"My idea?" She looked at him questioningly. "When did I give you an idea?"

He fell back onto the bed without saying a word.

"You wouldn't have..." the girl began slowly, "because I said the most popular cartoon character right now is Crayon Shin-chan, so you wore this outfit and went to the garden to tease the kids, right?"

Feng Nian'en faced the wall again.

Si Wen burst into laughter: "God! God! Only today do I believe you are omnipotent, so great as to create such human beings. I truly admire you..."

"Go back now that you've laughed enough."

He pulled the blanket over his head again.

The girl stopped laughing and pulled back the covers: "Okay, okay, I won't laugh at you anymore, ha... I won't laugh anymore, I won't laugh anymore..." She laughed on and off for a while before finally stopping, and said seriously, "I really won't laugh at you this time. Okay, a real man shouldn't be so petty. Being laughed at a couple of times won't hurt you. Besides, if you want to win over those little devils, you can't do without me."

"No."

"Tsk tsk tsk, why are you so discouraged? They're just a bunch of kids. As long as I take action, there's nothing I can't handle."

"Can you leave, or just shut up and let me have some peace and quiet?" he said impatiently, rubbing his temples.

Si Wen pulled out a cigarette: "Ha, trying to play the deep game with me now, want to calm down? Fine! Go to hell!"

After she finished speaking, she threw the cigarette she had just taken a puff at him, walked out the door, and slammed the door shut.

Feng Nian'en slowly crushed the cigarette the girl had thrown away. The burning sensation traveled from his palm to his heart. He shuddered, but continued crushing it... until it was all turned into powder and fell from his hand little by little.

After a long while, he finally got out of bed, staggered to the kitchen, poured himself a glass of water, took a sip, then dropped the glass, rushed to the bathroom, and vomited violently over the sink.

Even after vomiting up everything I could—undigested noodles, bile, and acid—I still felt like something was trying to come out of my mouth, and I still felt extremely nauseous.

He's finished.

Yes, it's over.

Only one day left, just one more day and he'll be sucking blood like those things.

Although he had anticipated this possibility, he had always clung to a sliver of hope, thinking he could avoid it. He found a third path, and although he didn't know if it would succeed, it was worth a try. He always thought it wouldn't be too difficult.

Isn't that right? A little girl, a single, heartfelt tear, that's all...

But can he get it? Can he get it? Girls cry often, but could it be for him?

This afternoon, and yesterday... everything is crystal clear: he can't have it! He will never have it!

Feng Nian'en raised her face, and on the shattered mirror were dozens of pale, bluish faces, like...ghosts...

************************

Feng Nian'en opened the door, took several deep breaths, and then closed his eyes before taking his first step. His reason repeatedly reminded him that if he didn't want to suck the blood of a human when he couldn't control himself, he had to make some preparations.

He left home at 6:05 a.m. The sky was already light at the end of April, there was no wind, but it was still as cool as water. The breakfast stalls had already fried golden-brown dough sticks, white smoke was rising from the steamers, the aroma of steamed buns slowly lingered in the air, and the calls of vendors selling milk and soy milk alternated back and forth on the street.

He crossed the street and arrived at the market, stopping in front of a shop selling live chickens and ducks. The pungent smell of blood assaulted his senses. He closed his eyes, struggling to control his desires and inner turmoil. For a moment, he even considered rushing forward, diving into the basin of blood, and drinking the bright red liquid...

His blood was calling out to those bright red liquids, as if they were responding to each other.

"Sir? Sir?"

Feng Nian'en opened her eyes, trying her best to keep her gaze away from the basin containing the blood.

"What would you like to buy?" the middle-aged man asked in Mandarin with a distinct southern accent.

"Blood." The word seemed like a demon, and he couldn't help but shudder.

"Blood? Do you want chicken blood or duck blood? If you want duck blood, you'll have to wait a while; they're killing the animal right now."

"No." He licked his lips. "Chicken blood is fine, chicken blood is fine."

"How much do you want?" the man asked as he searched for a container.

"Two, two jin."

"Two catties, is it? Sir, are you going back to make soup? My blood is the freshest, you can see it's still red. Oh dear, it's a bit high, it's already two catties and five taels."

"How much!" He closed his eyes again, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth.

"It's 1.5 yuan per jin. It was originally 3.8 yuan, but you can give me 3.7 yuan."

He grabbed a handful of loose change, stuffed it into the man's hand without counting, snatched the bag containing the blood, and ran away.

"Hey! There's way too much!"

...

Feng Nian'en didn't stop until he entered the corridor of his apartment building. He leaned against the wall, the thick stench of blood still surrounding him, like the seductive smile of a bewitching woman tempting him. He took deep breaths until the bloody smell gradually dissipated before straightening up and mechanically stepping into the elevator.

He arrived at his house and had just inserted the key into the lock when the iron door on his left opened from the inside, and two dark figures slammed into his face one after the other.

"Wait for me at home at four o'clock this afternoon!"

Feng Nian'en removed the clothes covering her face and stared blankly at the girl.

"What are you looking at? If you dare not come, you're dead!" After saying that, she glared at him fiercely and slammed the door shut.