Chapter 80 – Until gege is pregnant.

Jiang Que actually wanted to prepare some half-finished dishes for emergencies, but he had never expected the mating season to arrive so suddenly.

The next morning, as soon as he opened his eyes, Jiang Que distinctly felt that something was off with himself.

His body felt off, his emotions felt off.

He felt uncomfortable, like he wanted to cry, but he didn’t know why. His forehead was also burning up.

He blinked in confusion until he threw off the covers, got out of bed, and saw his tentacles all aflutter. It was then that he realized he seemed to have entered the mating season.

Some things were instinctual, like maturity and mating periods. Before the Anomaly Investigation Department could examine his body, Jiang Que vaguely sensed the presence of these two stages.

At that time, he could only feel that his maturity period was crucial, a once-in-a-lifetime event, while the mating period was hazy, just a vague feeling that maybe it wouldn’t be as uncomfortable as the maturity period.

But now Jiang Que felt uneasy.

As usual, Shen Tazhi got up early. He should be making breakfast at this time, but the entire bedroom was empty, with only him in the bathroom getting ready.

The room was air-conditioned, and Jiang Que, in his pajamas, actually felt a bit cold. While brushing his teeth and looking at the other set of toiletries on the sink, he suddenly felt very aggrieved.

Why wasn’t Shen Tazhi here? Why leave him alone upstairs?

Rationally, he knew Shen Tazhi was downstairs preparing breakfast, and all of this was just a normal daily routine, but emotions couldn’t be controlled.

There seemed to be other voices clamoring in his head.

Shen Tazhi wasn’t here, Shen Tazhi wasn’t with him. He was abandoned by Shen Tazhi, and he wanted Shen Tazhi.

Initially, the signs weren’t so obvious when he woke up, but at the moment the thought of “Shen Tazhi doesn’t want him” crossed his mind, countless intricate emotions seemed to flood towards Jiang Que from all sides.

His heart felt heavy and sour, and Jiang Que didn’t understand why he was so upset.

He saw himself in the mirror, tears gradually welling up in his eyes, his nose turning red, as if he had suffered a great injustice. Finally, his tears couldn’t be contained, rolling down from his chin into his collar.

After quickly rinsing his mouth, Jiang Que couldn’t hold back any longer. He hugged his knees and crouched beside the sink, letting out a sob:

“Shen Tazhi…”

He wanted Shen Tazhi. Why didn’t he see Shen Tazhi as soon as he woke up? Was Shen Tazhi still downstairs? Or had he already left at this time?

Actually, these speculations couldn’t hold water at all, but the feelings of unease and fear had seeped into Jiang Que’s marrow like maggots on bone.

Jiang Que stumbled out of the bathroom in a sorry state, wanting to go downstairs to find Shen Tazhi and temporarily control his strange emotions.

However, upon seeing the empty room, his nose tingled, and tears welled up in his eyes again.

He wanted Shen Tazhi, so badly. He needed to see Shen Tazhi right now.

Jiang Que almost rushed out of the bedroom, his tentacles also showing signs of distress, with a few even starting to involuntarily shrink and curl up, secreting a bit of mucus, seeming like they wanted to cry too… for Zhi Zhi.

“Que…?”

Hearing the hurried footsteps coming down the stairs, Shen Tazhi was about to turn around to greet Jiang Que when he was suddenly engulfed in a hug by a still pajama-clad Jiang Que.

Jiang Que’s embrace was frantic and fearful, his furry head rubbing against Shen Tazhi’s shoulder. Shen Tazhi immediately felt the wetness on his shoulder from Jiang Que’s tears.

“What’s wrong?” He panicked, quickly wiping Jiang Que’s tears, “Did something happen?”

Immersed in the familiar scent of the shower gel on Shen Tazhi, Jiang Que was practically trembling. He bit his tongue hard, managed to say “mating season”, then completely lost his rationality in Shen Tazhi’s embrace.

At that moment when all rationality disappeared, the emotions that had been suppressed inevitably poured out.

The tears that had been falling one by one collapsed instantly, and Jiang Que tightly grabbed Shen Tazhi’s clothes, “Shen Tazhi… Gege, don’t leave me… Don’t leave me alone…”

Shen Tazhi was momentarily stunned when he heard “mating season”. He had never expected Jiang Que’s mating season to be like this. Before he could figure out why, Jiang Que’s breakdown completely threw him into a panic.

“I haven’t left you, I was just downstairs making breakfast.”

He patted Jiang Que’s back, explaining gently, trying to soothe Jiang Que as he had done before.

But this time, it didn’t work.

Jiang Que wasn’t in a state to listen to reason like he usually did. His tentacles also climbed Shen Tazhi’s body in a limp manner, seemingly accusing him:

“You don’t want me… you went downstairs without calling me… Gege,”

The latter part of his words trailed off because Jiang Que urgently kissed him.

His face was still wet with tears, his lips moist, kissing over and over again, as if confirming Shen Tazhi’s presence.

It wasn’t really a kiss; it was more like a haphazard nibbling without any order.

“You can’t leave me,” Jiang Que said tearfully.

Finally, Shen Tazhi somewhat understood the situation:

Jiang Que was feeling anxious.

Or rather, Jiang Que was particularly sensitive and fragile under the so-called “mating season,” which is why he collapsed into this state over a small incident in the morning.

Realizing this, Shen Tazhi softened. Quietly, he let Jiang Que kiss him, gently patting his back, as if comforting an uneasy kitten, little by little.

When Jiang Que stopped kissing him and buried his face on his shoulder, silently shedding tears, Shen Tazhi spoke.

His voice was soft, afraid that raising it would make Jiang Que think he was scolding him:

“Que Que, let’s go back upstairs first. I’ll go with you, okay?”

Jiang Que looked up at him, his eyes red from crying, looking pitiful. Shen Tazhi couldn’t resist and gently kissed the corner of his eye.

He continued to kiss Jiang Que, the kiss deepening until Jiang Que’s tentacles, entwining around him, began to resist. Shen Tazhi let him go.

He lowered his head, touching Jiang Que’s forehead:

“Que Que, shall we go upstairs?”

Shen Tazhi had initially planned to prepare breakfast, then do some morning jogging on the treadmill while waiting for Jiang Que to wake up, which is why he was wearing a sports tank top under his apron.

His smooth yet not exaggerated muscles were clearly defined, and when he gently furrowed his brow to comfort Jiang Que…

It exuded an extra touch of sensuality.

Even though Jiang Que was lacking in rationality, he was left dazed by Shen Tazhi’s demeanor. It took him a while to nod tearfully, then after a moment, he shook his head.

Before Shen Tazhi could inquire further, Jiang Que extended a few more tentacles, firmly wrapping Shen Tazhi up.

He was afraid that Shen Tazhi might run away when he wasn’t paying attention. Without giving Shen Tazhi a chance to react, he wrapped his tentacles around him and carried him upstairs.

Shen Tazhi noticed Jiang Que’s tentacles curling protectively around him.

Still the familiar round and smooth curves.

Shen Tazhi: …

Wasn’t it said that there’s only one maturity period¹he meant the eggs wowwww?

Before he could voice his question, they finally entered the familiar enclosed space filled with the essence of their life together. Jiang Que held Shen Tazhi tightly, tears streaming down his face once again.

He continued to haphazardly kiss Shen Tazhi, his voice sticky, as if being coquettish, “Gege… I want gege, you can’t leave…”

“I’m not leaving,” Shen Tazhi said.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Que looked up, gazed at Shen Tazhi for a moment, and then cried again, “You’re not kissing me, you want to leave.”

Shen Tazhi: …

Wasn’t he speaking?

Evidently, reasoning with Jiang Que at this moment was futile. Shen Tazhi half-supported himself up and pressed Jiang Que’s head down, engaging in a deep kiss.

Even if Jiang Que resisted, Shen Tazhi didn’t let go. He continued the kiss until Jiang Que, still in a daze and unaware of the need for air, began to show signs of hypoxia before slowly pulling away.

The ambiguous tension dissipated, and Shen Tazhi spoke softly, “I’ve kissed you, stop crying.”

Blushing, with tears still in his eyes, Jiang Que, looking brightly at Shen Tazhi, said, “I want more kisses.”

After his statement, without giving Shen Tazhi a chance to respond, he pressed him down onto the bed.

Kneeling over Shen Tazhi, he leaned in to kiss him, shedding a few more tears during the pause for breath, and murmured, “You can’t leave.”

“I never said I was leaving,” Shen Tazhi tried to explain.

He didn’t even understand how Jiang Que arrived at the conclusion that he wanted to leave. He had been staying at home all along.

“You want to leave, you didn’t even wait for me this morning… Gege doesn’t love me…”

Jiang Que, feeling more aggrieved, began repeatedly nibbling on Shen Tazhi’s neck, tugging at the apron’s ties, as his tentacles continued to wriggle under the apron, pressing against Shen Tazhi’s warm skin.

The apron was lifted by the tentacles, creating winding and convoluted lines. Even though the specific view under the apron was obscured, one could sense the young man being entwined by a terrifying monster from these folds.

“I love you, love everything about you, don’t cry…” Shen Tazhi, with a patch of red skin from Jiang Que’s biting, winced slightly in pain and moved away.

This slight avoidance froze Jiang Que’s movements instantly.

He stopped nibbling and just watched Shen Tazhi while shedding tears, with an expression that seemed to say, “I knew you didn’t really love me.”

Shen Tazhi finally felt the complexity of the situation and tried to communicate with Jiang Que, “I didn’t mean to… I was just instinctively… Forget it. How can I prove my love for you?”

Jiang Que continued to cry without speaking, until Shen Tazhi soothingly petted him for a while, asking several times before Jiang Que reluctantly said, “I want my little tentacles…”

Shen Tazhi: “Okay… wait, what?”

He looked at Jiang Que, who was about to start crying again because of his last sentence, and hurriedly added, “I’m not unwilling, I do love you. But first, tell me, what do you want me to do?”

“Stop crying… don’t cry, your eyes are getting swollen.”

Jiang Que’s tentacles wrapped around Shen Tazhi’s waist, matter-of-factly stating, “I want… Gege to touch my little tentacles.”

Shen Tazhi’s expression went blank for a moment.

…

Shen Tazhi finally understood the difference between the mating season and the maturity period.

Jiang Que’s eggs weren’t as abundant as during the maturity period, but back then, Jiang Que was always direct and straightforward, never…

Trembling, he leaned in to kiss Jiang Que, saying, “None are missing, not a single one… Stop crying.”

This time, there wouldn’t be any breaking,

Because this time, it wasn’t the tentacles.

Shen Tazhi was truly being tormented this time.

Any hint of resistance from him, and Jiang Que would cry uncontrollably, questioning repeatedly whether Shen Tazhi still loved him, whether he wanted him at all.

If he didn’t like wearing a skirt, that meant he didn’t love him; if he couldn’t take it anymore and tried to escape, that meant he didn’t want him.

Not allowing kisses meant not liking, being silent meant ignoring him—basically, any twisted logic was twisted further by Jiang Que. Shen Tazhi didn’t even have the chance to refuse; he just had to let Jiang Que act as he pleased.

Fortunately, there was still food in the fridge at home, and lately, he wasn’t that busy. Even if Jiang Que kept clinging onto him, not letting go, Shen Tazhi wouldn’t starve in these seven days.

In the beginning, those first few days were when Jiang Que was most emotionally unstable. Shen Tazhi didn’t even have the opportunity to get out of bed, and he was fed by Jiang Que in the midst of chaos and turmoil.

His abdomen swelled, not with many eggs, but more with Jiang Que’s…

Repeatedly, with red-rimmed eyes, Jiang Que pitifully asked him why he hadn’t given birth to little tentacles yet. Was it because he didn’t like him, so he wouldn’t give birth?

Shen Tazhi, who fundamentally couldn’t give birth to offspring, of course couldn’t do it. He wanted to explain that this was unscientific and illogical, but Jiang Que dismissed it as not loving him enough.

The consequence of not loving enough was being cried on and entangled by Jiang Que until he could produce little tentacles to prove his love.

In the first few days, Shen Tazhi was more broken than Jiang Que. It was only then that he realized how restrained and gentle the previous Jiang Que had been.

He said all sorts of nonsensical things, almost crumbling without putting up a fight. Shen Tazhi felt like he was being driven crazy by Jiang Que’s torment.

Starting from the fourth day, Jiang Que finally started to regain a bit of rationality.

Just a bit, enough so that Jiang Que wouldn’t burst into tears the moment Shen Tazhi looked away from him.

And now, it was the seventh day.

Shen Tazhi had lost track of time, feeling like these days were bleak and all memories were blurry, except for the vivid image of Jiang Que’s pitiful tear-streaked face.

…Pitiful, my foot.

Shen Tazhi had seen through it—Jiang Que’s tears were just tears, his tantrums were just tantrums, not affecting his actions at all.

Not a pitiful little flower, but a tentacled monster that looked pitiful.

His abdomen never flattened, even though every night he would sneak off to the bathroom to clean up while Jiang Que was asleep.

The next day, he would return to his original state once again.

With a determined look of “I won’t give up until you give birth.”

Finally, everything returned to calmness. Just as Shen Tazhi let out a sigh of relief and was thinking of persuading Jiang Que to go back to the bedroom, he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder.

Jiang Que had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

Does this mean… the mating season has ended?

Uncertain, Shen Tazhi gently touched Jiang Que’s swollen red eyes, slowly separating from him. As he felt liquid trickling down his thighs, his ears turned red gradually.

It’s just—too much.

Shen Tazhi wasn’t sure of Jiang Que’s current state, but he couldn’t leave Jiang Que sleeping on the floor alone. He almost tremblingly carried the sleeping Jiang Que back to the bedroom.

The path was a mess, and Shen Tazhi didn’t dare look back at the scene behind him. After settling Jiang Que and barely washing up for both of them, he felt his vision darken and fell asleep directly on the bed.

He hadn’t slept much in these days, sometimes dozing off in the process. When he woke up, he could still see Jiang Que, who had been crying, still there…

So, does the mating season mean having no sense of security, making the partner pregnant until it’s over?

Will he have to go through this every time in the future?

This was Shen Tazhi’s last thought before falling asleep.

…

The next day.

Jiang Que opened his eyes.

At first, he felt uncomfortable with his dry eyes, blinking hard to adjust. Then, he felt sore all over.

Sitting up, he looked around the messy room, stunned.

Little skirts, Shen Tazhi’s suit, aprons… and a cat tail? Where did that come from?

The drawer containing the safety balloon was wide open, with only one box opened and just one used. It was then discarded to the side in disdain.

As memories slowly resurfaced, Jiang Que’s face suddenly turned red.

…What had he done!!!

He had asked Shen Tazhi to give birth to little tentacles for him, and even… Oh no, his thoughts wandered.

Jiang Que smacked his own face, trying to steer his thoughts back on track, but memories from the past few days lingered in his mind.

Shen Tazhi comforting him not to cry when he was on the verge of breaking down…

Shen Tazhi crying while he pressed abdomen…

Jiang Que hugged his head in silence.

Oh no, his mind was filled with various images of Shen Tazhi, rendering him incapable of coherent thought.

He looked at Shen Tazhi sleeping soundly beside him—this time, he was truly exhausted, still not awake even now, probably unable to wake up for a while.

Jiang Que gazed at the various bite marks on Shen Tazhi’s body, silently condemning his own terrible behavior, then got out of bed.

He needed to freshen up, apply some medicine to Shen Tazhi, and tidy up the messy house… for now, he shouldn’t let Shen Tazhi, who had been bullied by him for a full seven days, worry about anything else.

Jiang Que tried to be as quiet as possible as he freshened up, then went downstairs to find the first aid kit. Seeing the mess all over the floor, he blushed again.

Both phones were casually thrown on the ground. Jiang Que picked them up, planning to charge them while he was at it.

As he picked up the phone, the screen lit up, and Jiang Que’s first glance caught sight of his tracking information.

It was from two days ago, showing that the customized ring he ordered was placed in the delivery box at his doorstep due to no one answering the door.

After some thought, Jiang Que charged his phone and went out to get the delivery. On the way, he opened the packaging and took a quick look inside the box.

Inside was an exquisite ring, intricately designed with intertwined vines and a diamond surrounded by the vines. The small leaves around the vines were also made of tiny diamonds.

Actually, this design was a bit too fancy for Shen Tazhi’s taste, but Jiang Que had been unsatisfied with many ring styles he had seen.

According to Du Lulu’s explanation, a wedding ring should be a token of love given to the other person, something that can only be given once in a lifetime during marriage. Jiang Que didn’t want to confine Shen Tazhi’s entire life with a simple circle.

He wanted Shen Tazhi to wear him on his hand.

The vine design resembled his tentacles, but he didn’t choose tentacles because Jiang Que thought it would be too strange, and Shen Tazhi couldn’t go out wearing them.

The ring turned out similar to what he had in mind, and Jiang Que was satisfied. After putting away the ring, he went to find the first aid kit.

Shen Tazhi always kept a first aid kit at home. Jiang Que found the familiar spot and lifted the whole box, planning to apply medicine to Shen Tazhi while he was still asleep.

“Fever medicine, anti-inflammatory drugs, antibacterial ointment… I probably shouldn’t use the fever medicine, right?”

Jiang Que muttered to himself softly. He first tidied up the mess beside the bed, clearing a small space for himself to squat, then carefully applied ointment to Shen Tazhi’s wounds.

In the past few days, he hadn’t been very rational, expressing his affection instinctively by nibbling wherever he liked on Shen Tazhi. The more he applied the ointment now, the guiltier he felt.

He had really gone too far this time.

He was a bit worried that Shen Tazhi would blame him when he woke up. Would crying work this time? He had been holding onto Shen Tazhi with tears for these seven days; even if Shen Tazhi couldn’t resist much against his face, he must have gotten tired of it, right?

Lost in his thoughts, Jiang Que’s actions became erratic.

As he applied the ointment to the same spot on Shen Tazhi’s forearm for the fifth time, he heard Shen Tazhi’s hoarse laughter by his ear:

“Que Que, how many more times are you going to do that?”

Jiang Que straightened up suddenly, his tentacles nervously held behind him.

He couldn’t discern anything unusual from Shen Tazhi’s expression, but he felt guilty nonetheless. He could only crouch by the bedside and apologize earnestly, “I’m sorry… I went too far.”

But he couldn’t guarantee it wouldn’t happen again; he couldn’t control these things.

Shen Tazhi touched his still swollen eyes and said, “It’s okay, I’m not mad at you, and I’m not in pain. It’s just that…”

It was a bit too overwhelming.

Jiang Que suddenly understood Shen Tazhi’s unspoken words and blushed, unable to speak, softly saying, “But there’s one every month from now on…”

Bringing up this matter, Shen Tazhi recalled his speculation from last night.

“So your mating season requires me to…” He found it difficult to articulate, “truly get pregnant to end it?”

Jiang Que blushed and nodded.

“It should… be like that.”

But Shen Tazhi couldn’t get pregnant, so it could never come to an end in his lifetime.

Shen Tazhi seemed to realize this too, and he chuckled bitterly, “I must have been tormented enough by you, Que Que.”

Jiang Que’s face reddened even more, burying his face by the bedside in silence, then softly said after a while, “If you don’t like it… during the mating season, stay away from me, or just tell me you don’t like me, that you hate me. If you hate me, I’ll walk away myself.”

Recalling how Jiang Que had cried pitifully, saying intermittently that he wanted gege to love him, Shen Tazhi, touching his conscience, said, “I might not be able to do that. At that moment… I couldn’t bear to.”

It was not only cruel to Jiang Que but also a bit too cruel for him.

Jiang Que let out a cooing sound from his throat, not daring to lift his head, “Well, there’s nothing I can do then…”

As he spoke, due to his head being buried, his knee bumped against something hard.

It was the ring he had just put in his pajama pocket.

Although the timing might not have been ideal for this gesture, Jiang Que didn’t care. He just wanted to give it to Shen Tazhi right then and there.

So, he suddenly lifted his head, looking at Shen Tazhi.

“Gege, I have something I want to give you.”

“What are you giving me?” Shen Tazhi asked.

He had long known that Jiang Que wanted to give him something and had been curious about it. Now that Jiang Que brought it up, Shen Tazhi was also intrigued and sat up slightly from the bed.

Under his puzzled gaze, Jiang Que took out a black velvet box from his pocket.

“It’s… a ring,” Jiang Que obediently said.

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  he meant the eggs wowwww ↩︎