The Unlucky Black Cat

chapter 9

It rained that night.

The young man had been busy for a long time. Jiang Sheng, watching his computer screen, could roughly guess what his work entailed. The young man was a freelance writer and editor, earning his living by providing articles to various websites. At the same time, he seemed to be working on his own novel.

Just now, the young man was revising an error in his article.

However, he seemed to have encountered some difficulties, causing him to type intermittently and often run his hands through his hair in frustration.

Fortunately, he still had a decent amount of hair; otherwise, he might have gone bald soon.

Worth mentioning is that since Jiang Sheng had dispersed the resentment around the young man's neck, it seemed to have become much more subdued.

At least up until now, it hadn't surged uncontrollably anymore.

It appeared to be wary of Jiang Sheng's presence, or perhaps it was gathering strength, waiting for an opportunity to counterattack.

However, Jiang Sheng didn't want to give it that chance.

Now that he had gained the upper hand, he naturally wanted to capitalize on this advantage and quickly find a way to assimilate the resentment.

Unfortunately, the black cat couldn't control its own resentment.

Therefore, it could only stand about a meter behind the young man, waiting to observe the reaction when the two masses of black mist came into contact.

As previously mentioned, one and a half meters was the current limit of Jiang Sheng's resentment's reach.

Standing at this distance, it could maintain a certain level of control.

If either side showed signs of losing control, it could increase the distance to detach its own resentment from the interaction.

It even planned to use this method to draw out the black mist within the young man's body in batches.

Thus, while the young man was revising his article, Jiang Sheng was also busy with its own tasks.

Moving forward and backward, it resembled a shy wild cat.

Finally, after observing for nearly two hours, it discovered some patterns.

Or rather, Jiang Sheng had found a behavioral logic to the black mist entwining around itself.

Resentment indeed attacked each other.

All their actions seemed to exist for the purpose of growing stronger.

Furthermore, the manifestation of a soul being eroded by resentment was the arrival of misfortune.

So, am I also being eroded by resentment?

Jiang Sheng thought but did not move away from the young man.

Instead, it allowed the resentment on its body to continue attacking the black mist within the young man's body and gradually expand.

The process of resentment devouring each other was extremely slow, almost like nibbling away.

Jiang Sheng realized that it had been overly cautious before.

While it couldn't deal with the resentment directly, the sheer volume of resentment it shared with the young man was clearly enough to suppress the remnants lingering around his neck.

However, this process was subtle, so Jiang Sheng only noticed it now.

Currently, the black mist around the young man's neck was contracting, resembling a small group of soldiers besieged.

Though fighting fiercely, they were powerless against the inevitable.

Almost every ten minutes, a strand of black mist would be torn from the young man's body by Jiang Sheng's resentment and swallowed whole.

The external black mist required about thirty minutes to separate a bit of resentment from Jiang Sheng's surroundings to serve as nourishment.

This difference in timing naturally led to a situation where the weak became weaker and the strong grew stronger.

However, this progress was too slow.

At this rate, Jiang Sheng estimated it would take at least another week to completely "devour" this strand of resentment.

Forget it, if staying means staying, then so be it.

After all, this person's situation couldn't get any worse, and I have nothing else to do, so I might as well enjoy the food and shelter.

Thinking lazily, the black cat jumped onto the windowsill beside it and lay down next to a potted plant.

Watching the yellow streetlights outside and the raindrops hitting the glass, it yawned.

The sound of keyboard tapping mixed with the fine rain, creating an unexpectedly serene and harmonious atmosphere. If one ignored the uneasy black mist in the room and the young man's troubled expression, it might have been a beautiful night.

Alas, life is always imperfect, so people must learn to compromise.

Summer, rainy night, black cat.

Small house, potted plants, and the glowing computer screen.

Some things will eventually leave, some are still waiting, and others have yet to arrive.

Leaning against the window, Jiang Sheng suddenly felt a twitch in its heart.

When the resentment on the young man's body dissipated further, and the resentment on its body expanded even more.But it only wagged its tail, squinting its eyes and silently savoring the carefree life of being a cat. Jiang Sheng is a creature with clear principles; it usually only does what it should do. However, it occasionally meddles in other matters. ... The next day, Jiang Sheng woke up to the sound of a ringing phone. When it turned its head, rubbing its eyes, it saw the young man already answering the phone beside the pillow, with his hair in disarray. Judging from the dark circles under his eyes and his sullen expression, the young man had not slept well last night. "Hello, Mom? What's up?" Seeing the young man sit up immediately, rubbing his forehead with a strained smile, Jiang Sheng empathetically remained silent. People living alone tend to try to sound relaxed when they receive calls from home, just to reassure their family members. It used to do this often too. "I'm up, I've been up for a while now, you didn't disturb me." As he spoke, the young man got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. "Yeah, everything's good, nothing much to do. You know my job, once I finish writing, there's nothing else to do, and I can even go out for a walk sometimes." The sound of his voice mixed with the running water in the bathroom, making Jiang Sheng helplessly adjust the drooping branches of a potted plant. "Oh, right, my salary for this month has been deposited. I have two thousand saved up, and the rest will be kept at home." "You and Dad need to take care of yourselves. Don't always try to save money by having porridge and pickles for breakfast. Those pickles are carcinogenic, and I've told you several times not to eat them." "I have enough, don't worry about the two thousand. There are still some miscellaneous payments that haven't come in yet, so don't worry." "Hmm, girlfriend? Come on, I just graduated, why are you in such a hurry? Besides, with the pandemic going on these past few years, I wouldn't dare go out recklessly." After finishing his morning routine, the young man came out of the bathroom and hung a towel on the balcony. He also opened the window, allowing the fresh air after the rain to rush in. Although his room was messy, there wasn't much actual garbage to clean up. This was a good thing, at least ensuring there were no unpleasant odors around. "Ah, my hand." "Oh, it's much better now. I can basically straighten it completely. If I bend it, it's probably around one hundred twenty degrees, almost like a normal person. Yes, the rehabilitation doctor said the recovery is good, what are you worried about?" As he spoke, the young man stood in the room, moving his left arm. The elbow of that hand could not fully straighten or bend, suggesting some kind of aftermath. It seemed his situation in life wasn't ideal either. Thinking this, Jiang Sheng stood up and shook its neck. "Mmm, this morning, I had a multigrain porridge. I just mashed some bananas and nuts, mixed them with rice, and cooked them in a pressure cooker. It was pretty good. Oh, don't underestimate me. During the New Year, didn't I make you some cola chicken wings and garlic shrimp? They were quite tasty." As he spoke, he grabbed a bucket of instant noodles from somewhere, making Jiang Sheng roll its eyes. Good grief, this guy sure knows how to talk. It's impressive he can cook at all.