Chapter 51 – Don’t bully me

“Mm.”

Shen Tazhi didn’t dare to stop the back rubbing motion and briefly described to Jiang Que the condition of his back:

“You have a few small bumps on your back, it should be the tentacles growing and coming out.”

Jiang Que frowned upon hearing this, seemingly imagining the situation on his back. “It’s ugly, I don’t like it.”

Shen Tazhi chuckled at his words. “It’s not ugly, it’s very cute.”

He truly found it cute, but Jiang Que seemed to take this statement as his way of comforting, still sulking in his embrace, occasionally asking him for a tissue to blow his nose.

Shen Tazhi’s clothes were soaked in a large patch on the chest, from Jiang Que’s recent crying. Jiang Que looked at this mark, guiltily shifting his gaze away.

This time he wasn’t pretending to cry with a purpose, leaving Shen Tazhi unsure of what to do next. He could only awkwardly tug at Shen Tazhi and ask, “Do you want to change your clothes?”

Shen Tazhi lowered his head and saw the mark on his chest, laughing, “Forget it, let’s just leave it like this. Do you want me to put you down now?”

As he said this, he pretended to stop the motion of rubbing Jiang Que’s back, causing Jiang Que to make a sound, about to cry again, shaking his head repeatedly and pulling his hand towards his own back.

“It’s uncomfortable, don’t bully me,” Jiang Que muttered.

Shen Tazhi had only pretended to put his hand down, not expecting Jiang Que’s reaction to be so intense. He quickly put his hand back in place to continue rubbing.

Jiang Que stopped wanting to cry at this point, instead quietly laying in his arms like a koala, occasionally feeling comfortable from the rubbing and making soft humming sounds.

By now, it was already dusk. Jiang Que insisted on hanging onto him, making it impossible for Shen Tazhi to cook. He could only use one hand to text his assistant to order takeout from the restaurant, while he continued to sit on the sofa holding Jiang Que, chatting with him in a soothing voice, diverting his attention:

“If everything goes as planned, we should be able to go to the amusement park in two or three days. Do you have any specific rides you want to try?”

Jiang Que was also looking forward to the amusement park. He lifted his head from Shen Tazhi’s embrace and asked, “What rides are there?”

Shen Tazhi reminisced, “There are roller coasters, carousels, pirate ships, rowing boats… and so on. Do you not know what those are?”

Jiang Que nodded. He only knew about pirates and was unaware of what a pirate ship ride entailed.

Shen Tazhi then pulled out one hand, took out his phone, and cast the amusement park promotional video onto the TV screen in the living room.

This was the first time Jiang Que had watched television since emerging from the abyss.

Previously, Shen Tazhi had always worried that the TV light was too harsh for him, so he had forcibly changed his habit of watching the news in the morning. But now, Jiang Que was slowly getting used to the light, and the TV screen wasn’t causing discomfort to his eyes.

Cheerful music played as the colorful logo of “Haitian Amusement Park” appeared on the TV, followed by an aerial view of the entire amusement park.

Then, the screen switched, and the video started from the park entrance, showcasing the typical representative facilities in the park one by one along the main road.

“This colorful one with many fake horses and pumpkin carriages is the carousel—oh, this long track with the big loop is the roller coaster,” Shen Tazhi explained one by one.

Jiang Que pointed to the swinging ship, “Is this the pirate ship?”

“Yes,” Shen Tazhi smiled, “Very clever of you.”

“You always praise me as clever, so insincere.” Jiang Que, a bit irritable due to the itch on his back, muttered softly while picking faults.

Shen Tazhi fell silent for a moment. “So should I stop praising you in the future?”

“No way,” Jiang Que anxiously raised his head, only realizing he was being teased after meeting Shen Tazhi’s smiling gaze, and then angrily punched him.

“Don’t always bully me.”

He had noticed that Shen Tazhi was both naughty and mischievous, always taking advantage of his lack of knowledge to tease him.

Shen Tazhi, imitating his innocent expression, said, “Haven’t you bullied me too?”

“I haven’t.” Jiang Que turned his head away in dissatisfaction, ignoring Shen Tazhi.

He hadn’t bullied Shen Tazhi at all; that was just his way of expressing affection!

His small tentacles, which had been languid due to discomfort, gradually became active again, snuggling back up to Shen Tazhi’s side, watching the TV screen with him.

The amusement park promotional video was a full fifteen minutes long, during which Jiang Que saw many things he had never seen before.

Ice cream carts, cotton candy, colorful balloons… and many other unheard-of amusement facilities.

With Shen Tazhi’s patient explanations, Jiang Que, who initially had no interest in the amusement park and simply wanted to experience a human dating form, truly became interested in the amusement park.

He also wanted to try the ice cream from the ice cream cart.

As the video reached the point where the sun set, when Jiang Que thought it was about to end, the darkened video suddenly lit up again.

This time, it was showcasing the amusement park at night.

The amusement park was adorned with colorful lights, and the morning facilities had all transformed into a dreamlike appearance. The magical lights and shadows made Jiang Que exclaim, sitting up all of a sudden.

The most prominent feature in this sea of lights was the Ferris wheel brightly illuminated at the center of the park.

“That looks beautiful,” Jiang Que pointed to the Ferris wheel on the screen.

“Mm,” Shen Tazhi said, “That’s the Ferris wheel. If you want to go, we can ride it too.”

As he spoke, the video camera transitioned from the exterior of the Ferris wheel to the inside.

Inside the narrow Ferris wheel cabin, a man and a woman sat facing each other, with fireworks rising and exploding behind them.

When the Ferris wheel reached its highest point, the two slowly leaned closer, just before they were about to kiss, the video completely darkened.

Immediately after, the words “Haitian Amusement Park welcomes your arrival” appeared on the screen.

The video came to a complete end.

Jiang Que turned his head, his eyes shining. “Gege, can we really go on this Ferris wheel?”

Shen Tazhi: “Mm.”

So who made this promotional video anyway? In this day and age, they’re still filming the cliché plot of kissing on a Ferris wheel?

Shen Tazhi internally cursed but maintained a calm demeanor on the surface, saying, “The Ferris wheel is just a facility that offers a high viewpoint to enjoy the scenery. The two people in the video did that because…”

“I know, because they’re partners,” Jiang Que interrupted.

He looked at Shen Tazhi, very earnestly saying, “Gege, I will learn well. I want to be your partner, the kind that’s for a lifetime.”

He liked Shen Tazhi, whether it was the gentle, powerful, perfect Shen Tazhi, or the Shen Tazhi who revealed his inner self after being peeled. He liked him so much that…

Jiang Que couldn’t find the right words; his tentacles involuntarily wrapped around Shen Tazhi, the suction cups moving urgently, his eyes suddenly darkening.

The feeling of being targeted by a ferocious beast struck him once again.

Shen Tazhi had already raised his guard in advance, always on alert for the potential “attacks” from Jiang Que.

Just then—

*Ding dong.*

The doorbell rang from outside.

The tense atmosphere that had resurfaced was shattered by the sound of the doorbell. Shen Tazhi clearly felt the gaze on him dissipate. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, “It should be the assistant delivering dinner. Que Que, I’ll go get the food, do you still want me to carry you?”

Jiang Que’s gaze softened again. He did want Shen Tazhi to carry him, but it would be too embarrassing to hang onto Shen Tazhi even to go to the door. After some contemplation, he finally hesitantly emerged from Shen Tazhi’s embrace, saying, “Hurry up, I’ll give you thirty seconds.”

“Okay,” Shen Tazhi’s retreating figure answered.

Shen Tazhi really took his coquettish words seriously.

Jiang Que continued to snuggle on the sofa. He was indeed feeling uncomfortable, and now without Shen Tazhi’s help with the rubbing, he felt even more uneasy. He had to try hard to distract himself by twisting his tentacles, not really caring whether Shen Tazhi would return within thirty seconds as promised.

With a muffled sound of a heavy object landing on the coffee table, he was once again lifted and carried, as Shen Tazhi returned to continue gently massaging the small bumps on Jiang Que’s back.

Jiang Que finally breathed a sigh of relief and peeked out from Shen Tazhi’s embrace to inquire about tonight’s dinner.

“What’s this?” he asked curiously, looking at the double-layered steamer on the table.

Shen Tazhi sat down with him at the coffee table, gesturing for him to open it himself. Jiang Que reached out and opened the steamer.

A wave of heat hit his face, and inside the steamer was a beautifully roasted duck, crispy on the outside and tender inside.

The duck had been sliced neatly, with the crispy skin cut into strips on the side, and in the middle were chunks of boneless, juicy duck meat.

Jiang Que marveled, “Such beautiful meat.”

“This is roast duck, a specialty of the capital,” Shen Tazhi said behind him. “Pull open the bottom layer and take a look.”

Following his instructions, Jiang Que pulled open the drawer on the bottom of the steamer, revealing neatly arranged thin pancake-like sheets, shredded cucumber, scallions, green peppers, and carrots, along with two stacks of brown sweet bean sauce.

Jiang Que exclaimed again, “What’s this?”

“These are the ingredients for the roast duck¹damn its peking duck… my favourite.” Shen Tazhi replied.

Using his free hand, Shen Tazhi took out two pairs of chopsticks from a hidden compartment in the steamer lid and handed a pair to Jiang Que. He then instructed, “First, take a pancake, add some of the second-layer ingredients on top, then add the roast duck and duck skin from the first layer, dip it in sauce, and roll it up together. You can fold both ends of the rolled pancake to prevent the filling from spilling out.”

Clumsily following Shen Tazhi’s instructions, Jiang Que rolled up a roast duck pancake and asked, “And then? Can I eat it now?”

After receiving Shen Tazhi’s affirmative response, Jiang Que took a bite.

The crispy roast duck skin soaked in seasoning was salty and crispy, complemented by the tender duck meat, fresh vegetables, sweet bean sauce, and fragrant pancake. It was a mouthful of sweetness.

Jiang Que finished one pancake in two bites, too eager to admire the taste, and immediately began to roll up a second one.

Seeing that he enjoyed it, Shen Tazhi felt relieved and said, “I had my assistant pack this from Elegant Pavillion. The shop offers more than just roast duck. If you like it, we can go eat other things together in the future… Huh?”

Shen Tazhi ended his sentence with a puzzled tone as Jiang Que brought the second rolled pancake to his mouth, saying, “This is delicious, have a bite.”

Momentarily surprised, Shen Tazhi leaned over and took a bite from Jiang Que’s hand.

He had eaten the roast duck pancakes from this shop several times during business discussions, which is why he ordered them for Jiang Que. However, the flavor, so familiar to him, seemed a bit different now.

“Is it delicious, is it delicious?” Jiang Que looked at him expectantly.

Shen Tazhi smiled and said, “Yes, it’s very delicious.”

Because Jiang Que didn’t allow him to stop the back rubbing motion, Shen Tazhi couldn’t free his hands to eat. Jiang Que fed him the rest of the pancakes, and the two of them finished dinner on the sofa before heading upstairs to get ready for bed.

Having already showered in the afternoon, Jiang Que didn’t request another bath. He quickly brushed his teeth and freshened up before diving back into bed to ask Shen Tazhi for some cuddling.

Shen Tazhi brought the medicine and applied it to the small bumps on Jiang Que’s back. Comfortable in Shen Tazhi’s embrace, Jiang Que eventually drifted off to sleep, feeling drowsy.

As Shen Tazhi continued to rub Jiang Que’s back, he realized Jiang Que had fallen asleep.

He carefully lowered his hand and observed Jiang Que’s expression. After confirming that letting go was safe, he slowly exhaled.

It seemed like Jiang Que had indeed fallen asleep.

At this late and quiet hour, Shen Tazhi finally had time to contemplate the events of the afternoon.

Today’s Jiang Que… was a bit strange.

Shen Tazhi thought to himself as he massaged his own wrist.

Things had seemed odd since they returned from the supermarket, especially after the tutoring session with Du Lulu. In a short span of time, he had felt extreme danger twice.

He had only experienced this kind of feeling when Jiang Que had just left the Anomaly Investigation Department in the past life. But back then, Jiang Que genuinely wanted to kill him. So, what was the reason this time?

Shen Tazhi glanced at the tentacles clinging to him.

The small tentacles seemed a bit listless today, perhaps due to the new small bumps on his back. Even in the evening, they seemed limp as they wrapped around him, occasionally trembling lightly on the pillow, resembling the shivers of a nightmare.

But do tentacles dream too?

Shen Tazhi pondered aimlessly.

The phone at the bedside lit up, and he quickly checked the screen. It was probably feedback on the class from Du Lulu.

Initially, Shen Tazhi wasn’t planning to check it now. However, considering the upcoming trip to the amusement park in a few days and the need to inform Du Lulu, he picked up the phone and took a glance at Du Lulu’s feedback before sending the email.

Similar to the previous days, Du Lulu’s email contained the course outline and Jiang Que’s progress in the class. But today, there was an additional sentence at the end:

[Mr. Shen, although I know it might not be appropriate for me, please pay attention to Jiang Que recently. If his tentacles really are reaching maturity… if necessary, you can contact me. The Anomaly Investigation Department has some special methods to deal with such tentacle-based containment entities.]

Maturity…

Shen Tazhi recalled Jiang Que’s previous nonsense about needing to carry eggs and the overly aggressive tentacles today, feeling his face flush.

But why did Du Lulu suddenly bring this up? Did Jiang Que say something to her?

Combining Jiang Que’s recent strange behavior and a little thought, Shen Tazhi came to a conclusion:

Jiang Que probably asked Du Lulu many other questions during the class.

He said things like liking someone, going on dates… He thought that normally he didn’t see Jiang Que playing on his phone much, so how did Jiang Que always manage to find so many strange things online?

No wonder Jiang Que didn’t let him eavesdrop on the class. Du Lulu had indeed worked hard these past few days.

Shen Tazhi chuckled helplessly, replying to Du Lulu’s email to acknowledge and inform her about their plan to stay at Haitian Amusement Park for two days.

After all, Du Lulu wasn’t exactly a true tutor; she was sent by the Anomaly Investigation Department as an observer. Their upcoming trip required at least one night outside, so it was better to inform her in advance for preparation purposes.

As for the “special methods” Du Lulu mentioned, Shen Tazhi didn’t even consider them. Whether it was bringing Jiang Que out or agreeing to let him carry eggs, these were things he had consented to. There was no logic in backing out at the last minute and letting Jiang Que be mistreated by the Anomaly Investigation Department. He wouldn’t take advantage of Jiang Que’s trust.

However—

At that time, Shen Tazhi had agreed because he assumed Jiang Que didn’t know much. Even in emotional matters, he would be led by Shen Tazhi. Shen Tazhi believed he could control everything within manageable limits.

The sense of crisis this afternoon made Shen Tazhi feel like his previous judgment might have been biased.

Jiang Que was indeed learning too quickly.

…Could he really control everything within manageable limits as he had previously thought?

The small bumps at the base of Jiang Que’s tentacles were no longer red the next day, so he didn’t insist on sticking to Shen Tazhi all the time. However, as a precaution, he applied the medicine every night.

The following days were unusually calm.

Every morning, Jiang Que would have breakfast with Shen Tazhi, then lazily lounge on the sofa reading novels or occasionally learn to cook new dishes with Shen Tazhi. He would also sneakily retrieve a blood-activating and stasis-relieving medicine from the medicine cabinet for his tentacles, just in case.

After lunch, he would wait for Du Lulu to come for class. If there was free time, he would continue asking Du Lulu questions about dating details. After class, he would have dinner with Shen Tazhi, take a shower, and before bed, read a novel or finish reading the materials Shen Tazhi couldn’t complete last time.

If there was anything different, it was that he gradually could tolerate brighter light. Although the midday sun was still a bit harsh for him, it wasn’t as unbearable as before.

Time flowed by steadily and swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

The calm was broken on the fourth morning when Shen Tazhi casually mentioned over breakfast, “The contract for the amusement park has been negotiated. We can go sign it in the next few days. When do you want to go and play?”

Jiang Que was drinking soy milk, and upon hearing about the possibility of going to the amusement park that day, he quickly swallowed what was in his mouth and set down his cup. “Can we go today?”

In the past few days, he had learned quite a bit about the amusement park and started counting on his fingers as he spoke, “I want to ride the roller coaster, and I also want to try bumper cars… Oh, and the rotating hotel you mentioned, let’s stay there.”

“It’s not a rotating hotel,” Shen Tazhi corrected with a smirk, “It’s a hotel with a revolving restaurant at the top.”

Next to Haitian Amusement Park was a decent star-rated hotel that was initially on the list of alternative accommodation options.

Before making a decision, Shen Tazhi asked for Jiang Que’s opinion. Jiang Que showed great interest in the rotating restaurant, so this hotel was promoted from being an alternative choice to the official location.

“Anyway, it’s a hotel with a rotating feature,” Jiang Que said, asking again, “Can we go today?”

He was genuinely curious about standing on the rotating floor of the hotel.

After considering their original plans for the day, Shen Tazhi realized there was nothing important scheduled. “Sure, after breakfast, let’s pack our bags. I’ll drive you there at noon. Do you want to have lunch at home or at the hotel?”

“At the hotel!” Jiang Que promptly replied.

Shen Tazhi wasn’t surprised by Jiang Que’s answer. He picked up his phone to inform the hotel about their early check-in while Jiang Que quickly finished breakfast and started packing his luggage.

First, he packed some fresh clothes. Shen Tazhi had always had good taste in clothes, so Jiang Que simply grabbed three or four outfits. Then he collected his phone, charger, novels, and other miscellaneous items. He didn’t need to bring toiletries as the hotel would provide them.

Using his eight tentacles, Jiang Que rolled up different items and put them in his suitcase. Following Shen Tazhi’s method of folding and organizing, he arranged everything neatly. Finally, he picked up his most important belongings—his small backpack and sunglasses.

Shen Tazhi had also finished packing and saw Jiang Que preparing to put on his backpack. He furrowed his brows slightly and asked, “Is this bag too small? Should we switch to a bigger one?”

“No need, it’ll fit,” Jiang Que shook his head. “If I switch to a bigger bag, it will be too obvious.”

Looking at him shrinking his tentacles, Shen Tazhi suddenly remembered being bound by Jiang Que’s tentacles on the sofa a few days back. His ears felt hot, and he averted his gaze, feeling guilty for what he had been thinking about earlier. Shrinking wasn’t meant for situations like that.

Unaware of Shen Tazhi’s odd expression, Jiang Que finished packing his backpack and looked up. Shen Tazhi had regained his composure by then.

“Let’s go.” Jiang Que, with his sunglasses and suitcase, cheerfully said.

“I looked up the hotel online, and it says the restaurant in the rotating tower is a buffet. You can take whatever you want, and there are many small cakes…”

Jiang Que chatted away as he pulled Shen Tazhi out the door. Without his tentacles, he couldn’t wrap them around Shen Tazhi anymore, so he had to hold his hand instead.

Shen Tazhi followed along helplessly as Jiang Que led the way. He also sent Du Lulu a red envelope for reimbursement of the amusement park tickets and hotel expenses.

Meanwhile, Du Lulu, who had just woken up, received Shen Tazhi’s message about Jiang Que wanting to go to the amusement park early, so they were leaving. As she saw the message and the red envelope, she quietly set aside her teaching materials and began to pack her bags.

A date, a cute little date. The best part was that she had to accompany them on this work trip.

Damned couples!!

Du Lulu angrily accepted Shen Tazhi’s red envelope.

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  damn its peking duck… my favourite