eunoia | bl | tgcf

Chapter 1 : Part Two

Chapter 1

a nerium oleander

Part Two
•Deceit•

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Min smiled, one that was sweet and harmless. It hid the bloody deeds he had done in the dark, concealing the evil grin he wore as his teeth tore human flesh one piece at a time. A smile that kept his wickedness out of sight, allowing him to appear like a gentleman in public.

"Sure, Xiao Lan."

A handsome smile that shrouded his true self.

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Many thing can happen in the span of a few years. Dynasties may fall and civilizations may cease to exist in a blink of an eye. A whole nation may fall as plagues swing its scythe and reap lives of countless people. A person may change and show their true nature with a single smile.

Min waited for a handful of years, waited for a time when Xiao Lan, that sweet honey child, grew into an even more delectable meal. Gone was the purely sickening sweetness of honey, replaced with spice and citrus. It was an odd combination for Min's palate, but it simply made his mouth water all the more.

He watched that child grow up yet unlike what humans like to believe, he didn't form any sort of attachment.

Xiao Lan was and will always be the meal he'd been waiting for.

But five years wasn't enough.

Min believed that Xiao Lan would be the tastiest when he comes of age. At thirteen, this human child had grown tall enough that Min's neck no longer felt sore from looking down. The child was just half a head shorter than him now.

It was mildly disturbing how time passed by so fast—that thought seemed odd, especially for someone like him who had lived for more than two centuries now. Min glanced at Xiao Lan, who was busy taking care of the herb farm behind the shack they'd been living.

Never had Min thought that he could bear living in such a place for half a decade.

Life started becoming boring the past few weeks. Xiao Lan was busy tending to the farm while Grandmother Yun could barely leave the house due to her old age. Any other humans Min tried talking to smelled foul and disgusted him the second they step into arm's length.

Granted, Min could still smell their scents from far away but he just couldn't handle it when they get too close. It was like voluntarily stepping into his own grave.

Despite the blood on his hands, he still had a standard for living to uphold.

"Min-ge," Xiao Lan brought Min out of his musings. "What do you think we should have for lunch?"

The answer escaped Min's lips, almost as if it were second nature to him. "Something that old granny can eat." Those words once gave him the ick but now, Min barely blinked an eye as he uttered them without hesitation. He didn't know when exactly it happened but his words had become less... unfamiliar.

Unlike what humans like to believe, he didn't form any sort of attachments.

Or so he liked to believe himself.