Chapter 7

What should I do when my son is hungry?

What do children his age eat?

An Xiang was completely at a loss. After all, she had left her child in other people's care since he was born and could be said to have no parenting experience whatsoever.

An Xiang scratched her head in distress, took out her phone, and opened Baidu, her fingertips typing deftly on the keyboard-[What do young children eat?]

Just as she was about to search, An Xiang frowned and deleted the words one by one.

No, half the genes in my son's body are vampire genes, so what do children who are half human and half vampire eat...?

S-spicy blood curd stew?

D-duck blood vermicelli soup?

Oh, I'm hungry too.

An Xiang rubbed her flat, empty belly, having gone all day without food or water, and slumped listlessly over the low table beside her.

Raising a son is so hard.

She let out a long sigh, forced herself to perk up and sit upright, and prepared to keep searching.

"Mm..."

A faint groan came from beside her. An Xiang jolted and bounded over, gazing eagerly at An Zimo, who had slept in bed for several hours straight. Pouting, she said with a hint of grievance, "Momo, you're awake! Mommy was so worried about you."

An Zimo felt weak all over. He gave An Xiang a faint glance, then quickly looked away.

Gurgle.

His stomach growled even more fiercely than before.

An Zimo was so hungry that he didn't even have the strength to glare viciously at his enemy.

"Momo, are you very hungry?" An Xiang bit her lip. "But I don't know what you eat..."

An Zimo said nothing.

After weighing things for a long time, An Xiang finally made a painful decision. She edged over to him, undid two buttons at her collar, and offered him her neck. "Baby, would you like a couple of sucks?"

"...?"

"...??"

A couple of sucks?

An Zimo's eyes went wide, and his little face instantly flushed bright red.

He was already this old! How could he still drink breast milk? It was an affront to his dignity!!!

"Get away from me!! This isn't appropriate!" An Zimo protested fiercely at An Xiang. Unfortunately, his childish voice was soft and sweet, and with his cold making matters worse, he sounded anything but intimidating-more like a baby acting coy with his mother.

Faced with that earnestly serious, adorable little face, An Xiang's heart instantly melted into a puddle.

Never mind a little blood-she wanted to give her son her very life!

"I'm your mommy. There's nothing inappropriate about it." An Xiang pulled her collar wider. "Come on, hurry and suck. Don't be shy."

An Zimo was about to explode.

"Go away! Get away from me!"

"No means no! Don't come near me!"

An Zimo reacted violently, his ears so red they looked as though they might drip blood.

Never mind that he was almost four now-even if he were one year old, or one month old, he wouldn't let this hateful woman breastfeed him!

An Xiang tilted her head, not understanding why her son was so resistant.

Could vampire mixed-bloods dislike drinking blood?

Or does my son think my blood smells bad?

I get it. Maybe he doesn't want blood from a major artery.

An Xiang's thoughts twisted and turned, every word of her inner voice pouring into An Zimo's ears.

His expression grew even more horrified than before. His little face went from red to white and back again, until only bewilderment remained.

What nonsense was this woman thinking?

What vampires? What major arteries? Was she insane?

An Zimo wasn't surprised that his mother might have a mental illness. That woman was paranoid, violent, and strange, and often talked to herself when she was alone.

He couldn't stay with her. Absolutely not.

An Zimo gradually calmed down and said expressionlessly, "I want food."

"Food?" An Xiang tilted her head again, revealing a sweet, harmless smile. "It's all right. You can think of Mommy as your food."

The overhead light was dim. In this cramped room, An Zimo didn't find the smile before him particularly comforting; instead, the flickering light lent it an eerie, ghostly quality.

For some reason, a chill ran down An Zimo's back. He steeled himself and said, "Just get something humans eat." In his compromising state, there was no trace of his earlier ferocity or arrogance.

An Zimo truly was afraid-not of death, but of torment.

The room was old and cramped, and beyond the window lay pitch darkness without a speck of light. He didn't know where he was or what he would face next.

Perhaps this mentally unstable mother would even sell him to organ traffickers.

An Zimo wasn't pessimistic; he was simply accustomed to preparing for the worst.

"All right." An Xiang nodded. "I'll go buy some now." She didn't like forcing her child. Since he didn't want to drink blood, he didn't have to. More importantly, she was hungry too.

An Xiang buttoned her collar again, then, under An Zimo's astonished gaze, pulled a folding knife from her backpack and tucked it into her jeans.

Noticing her son's gaze, An Xiang took the opportunity to teach him a lesson. "You have to protect yourself when you're out. There are lots of bad people."

"..."

You're the worst fucking one of them all!!

An Zimo suddenly began to feel exhausted. He lay sprawled on the bed, too tired even to open his eyes.

With everything ready, An Xiang prepared to leave, but she was still a little worried. She turned back and said to An Zimo, "Mommy will only be gone for a little while. You absolutely mustn't run outside, understand?"

"Mm," An Zimo answered perfunctorily.

"It really isn't safe outside. There are big bad wolves after dark, too. You must be good."

"I know."

Though he agreed readily, An Xiang still felt uneasy.

"I'm hungry. Hurry up and go."

An Zimo began urging her along. An Xiang gave him one last look, opened the door, and left.

The footsteps gradually receded. Once they had completely vanished outside the room, An Zimo swiftly jumped out of bed. Only then did he discover that he was wearing An Xiang's T-shirt, with nothing covering his bottom, which felt particularly uncomfortable.

After a few seconds of inner struggle, An Zimo temporarily set aside his shame, put on his shoes, picked up the wallet on the table, moved a little stool in front of the door, turned the handle, and nimbly slipped out.

An Zimo knew it wasn't very safe to leave alone. An ordinary child would certainly be easy to abduct.

But he wasn't an ordinary child. He had enough intelligence and strategy to survive. Even if a long, dangerous road lay ahead, he would make his way through it alone!

"Oh! Momo, why did you come down?"

"..."

"...?"

"...!!!"

Standing at the junction, before he had even had a chance to venture out, An Zimo was deeply shocked to find An Xiang at the bottom of the stairs.

Mother and son faced each other, one above and one below, as the atmosphere sank into awkward silence.

An Xiang lowered her eyes, her gaze fixing directly on the cream-colored wallet in his little hands.

An Zimo's breath caught. He instinctively moved his little hands behind his back, tightening his grip on the wallet slightly.

It's over. I've been caught so soon.

An Xiang definitely won't let me off.

An Zimo remembered falling in love with a mecha cartoon when he was five and becoming especially fond of its toys. He wanted one, only to be harshly scolded by his mother. That day, he stole money for the first time, just to buy something he wanted to own.

The result was predictable. His mother smashed the television, cracked the toy, and locked him in the wardrobe for an entire day.

An Zimo's throat tightened. He had thought that, having died once, he would no longer care. Yet he was still afraid-afraid of the name An Xiang, afraid of this face, afraid of his childhood, and even more afraid of his memories.

It was a curse he couldn't escape.

An Xiang moved closer and tapped the little hands behind his back with her fingertip. "Is that my wallet?"

An Zimo gritted his teeth without speaking.

She suddenly raised her hand. An Zimo's spine stiffened, and he involuntarily closed his eyes.

The beating he expected never landed. An exceedingly gentle weight settled on top of his head, and that gentle palm tousled his hair.

He froze.

"Did Momo come down to bring Mommy her wallet?"

An Zimo stared blankly at her.

Long hair framed the woman's small, fair face. Her brows curved, and her peach-blossom eyes held a spring breeze.

"That shop doesn't accept WeChat." An Xiang sounded a little vexed. "But I arranged it with him. He'll deliver it, and I can pay later."

An Zimo was speechless.

An Xiang bent down and picked him up. "Although I did say you shouldn't run outside alone, thank you anyway."

Oh, my son is so considerate.

He's the sweetest, best-behaved baby in the whole world.

Just what I'd expect of the child I gave birth to. Just what I'd expect of the child I gave birth to.

Aaaaaah!

Aaaaaaaaaah!!

An Zimo was about to be deafened by those annoying, repeated screams. Could this irritating Mind Reading ability be turned off or not? If it couldn't, could he at least turn the volume down a little?

No sooner had he thought this than her inner voice actually grew quieter.

An Zimo blinked. Turn it down.

Her inner voice became barely audible, as though someone had pressed a volume button.

An Zimo felt as though he had found something fun, and his eyes lit up. Louder.

Aaaaaah!!!!!

"Son, what are you saying should be louder?"

An Zimo swiftly returned to his original wooden expression and ignored her with a cold face.

The two returned to the room, and before long, someone from the restaurant delivered their food.

An Zimo had long since become ravenous. Only after watching An Xiang eat a mouthful and confirming there was nothing wrong with it did he start wolfing it down with a little spoon.

He ate with relish, but An Xiang had little appetite.

The scent of her son's blood filled her nose. Looking at his chubby little face, An Xiang swallowed audibly.

Oh, my son smells so good.

I really want to eat him.

What exactly is going on?

Why have I suddenly become so sensitive to the scent of human blood? Could it be... could it be that reward?

An Xiang carefully recalled all the gift packages customer service had sent her. Slow on the uptake, she finally realized what had been included in the extra compensation. Besides the milk tea shop and ingredients, there had indeed been something about a keen sense of smell.

Aaaaaah!

I'm such an idiot!

An Xiang tugged hard at her hair, wishing she could immediately turn back time and beat her morning self to death.

But...

An Xiang stared at An Zimo, her eyes shining.

If I secretly take a bite of my son tonight, he probably... won't notice, right?

No, he had noticed.

An Zimo had noticed right now.

He lost all appetite for the crispy sweet-and-sour pork in his food container. Silently, he set down his chopsticks and wiped his greasy little mouth clean. Without a word, he picked up a pillow from the bed, climbed barefoot into the wardrobe, and made sure to shut the door firmly.

An Xiang blinked in confusion, stepped forward, knocked on the wardrobe, and tugged at its door. But she discovered that he had secured it from inside with something, and she couldn't pull it open at all.

"Momo, what's wrong?" An Xiang couldn't make sense of it. Could her son be unhappy with the food? But he had clearly eaten a lot.

"Momo, let's come out and sleep."

An Zimo replied coldly and flatly with two words: "Not coming."

"Huh?" An Xiang was bewildered. "Why?"

An Zimo said, "I'm afraid you'll eat me." Given her vicious, brutal, abnormal nature, it wouldn't be surprising even if she really did eat a child.

An Xiang sucked in a sharp breath and instantly grew angry. "Son, don't talk nonsense! Even a vicious tiger doesn't eat its cubs! Do I look like that sort of person?!"

An Zimo pursed his lips disdainfully. "..."

That was hard to say.

An Xiang: Am I that kind of heartless mommy?!!

An Xiang: I am!

Oh, Chengcheng is hungry too.

Random red packets. See you tomorrow, and remember to give me lots of compliments~