Chapter 54 – Reacting to touch

At that moment, Shen Tazhi held his breath.

His gaze was fixed solely on Jiang Que’s back, where a slightly larger, newly grown small tentacle was visible.

The small tentacle was about the size of half a palm, probably just sprouting from its original bump. It timidly lay on Jiang Que’s back, not daring to move, and shrank back even more upon seeing Shen Tazhi.

“You…” Shen Tazhi took a while to find his voice.

“I grew a tentacle!!” Jiang Que answered happily. “I always felt something was off on my back when I showered. When I lifted the tentacle to look at the mirror, I discovered it.”

He controlled the small tentacle and made it move slightly. After swaying a bit, the small tentacle softly settled back on Jiang Que’s back.

Shen Tazhi took a few steps forward, allowing him to get a clear view of the newly grown tentacle:

It wasn’t completely black but a transparent gray. The small bump that was previously there had disappeared, and this lone tentacle was now curled up at the spot where the bump used to be. It had a bit of moisture on it, like a freshly sprouted shoot.

With some concern, Shen Tazhi asked, “Are you feeling uncomfortable now? Have all the tentacles grown out?”

Jiang Que shook his head. “I’m not uncomfortable. I don’t know if more have grown out, but I only found this one.”

He then raised his tentacle again and asked Shen Tazhi, “Can you check if there are any others?”

At Shen Tazhi’s words, he squatted down, lifted Jiang Que’s tentacle, and examined it closely. Unfortunately, apart from the newly grown small tentacle, the rest were still small bumps. Shen Tazhi said, “No, only this one has grown out.”

He glanced at Jiang Que’s back again and felt like the number of small bumps had increased. He counted and exclaimed, “Que Que, besides the tentacle that has already grown out, you have exactly nine small bumps on your back.”

“…So, does that mean all my eighteen tentacles are really coming back??!”

Suddenly realizing the implication of Shen Tazhi’s words, even the newly grown small tentacle on his back shivered energetically.

It seemed to be looking around, perhaps searching for the small bumps mentioned by Shen Tazhi, eagerly anticipating them giving birth to new small tentacles.

So adorable.

Shen Tazhi, watching the tentacle move around in confusion, couldn’t resist and gently poked it.

The touch of the newly grown small tentacle was completely different from Jiang Que’s large tentacle. The small tentacle had not even developed white suction cups yet, just a soft gray patch that fell over when poked, looking defenseless.

Unable to resist, Shen Tazhi poked it again.

“Uh.” Jiang Que shivered and retracted the tentacle.

The newly grown tentacle was very sensitive to any external touch. The two pokes from Shen Tazhi almost made Jiang Que shiver all over, with a strange sensation rising from under him and a tingling feeling spreading from his back, making him feel like curling up.

Unfortunately, Shen Tazhi didn’t realize what Jiang Que’s unusual reaction meant and simply covered the small tentacle with his warm palm.

Jiang Que: !

It was too… stimulating.

He suddenly knelt up in the bathtub, creating a big splash, while the tentacle on his back directly wrapped around Shen Tazhi’s wrist, stopping him from any further movements.

Blushing, whether from Shen Tazhi’s actions or the steam, Jiang Que, amidst Shen Tazhi’s exclamation, used his tentacle to drag him into the bathtub.

“How dare you touch my small tentacle without my permission!”

Jiang Que blushed and looked at Shen Tazhi, using his tentacle to protectively wrap around his own immature small tentacle on his back.

Caught off guard by being thrown into the bathtub, Shen Tazhi’s clothes were soaked through. Sitting up in the slippery tub, he gazed in astonishment at Jiang Que’s intense reaction. Just as he was about to apologize, he lowered his head and noticed something off about Jiang Que.

Blushing as well, Shen Tazhi was about to apologize when he stuttered, “I’m sorry… I, I didn’t know…”

Jiang Que also noticed where his gaze had landed and followed it.

The next moment, he jumped out of the bathtub as if his tail had been stepped on, quickly wrapping himself in a towel and glaring at Shen Tazhi on the floor, accusing him, “You pervert!!”

Previously, it was his tentacle that reacted so strongly upon seeing Shen Tazhi, not him personally, so Jiang Que didn’t connect that brief moment of a special feeling with his own desires when his small tentacle was touched just now.

Feeling wronged, he tightened the towel around himself.

He had been completely exposed.

Shen Tazhi had never seen Jiang Que’s body so directly before. He wasn’t feeling well either, slipping a few times before hastily getting out of the bathtub. His gaze wandered around, unable to look at Jiang Que:

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know touching your tentacle would have this effect. I… I just thought it was cute, so I wanted to try touching it. You, you go ahead and shower first. I’ll leave. Please don’t be angry. We can talk about this later.”

After Shen Tazhi finished speaking, he quickly opened and closed the door, leaning against it outside the bathroom. The blush on his ears spread slightly to his neck and face, ending with him sitting on the floor, his face completely red.

How could… he thought it was just the tentacles.

Inside the bathroom.

With the sound of the bathroom door closing, Jiang Que slowly peeked out from the towel, staring blankly at the misty bathroom door.

Why… touching his own tentacles wouldn’t trigger such a strong reaction.

Jiang Que stared blankly, lost in thought.

After discovering his newly grown small tentacle, he had curiously touched it with his other tentacles before calling Shen Tazhi in. That’s why he had exposed his back to Shen Tazhi without any defenses. If he knew that being touched by someone would lead to this, he wouldn’t have done it.

After the scare he had just experienced, his initial reaction had completely subsided. Despite that, Jiang Que remained crouched in place for a long time before slowly standing up, refilling the bathtub to take another bath.

The innocent “culprit” lay limp on his back, silently sighing:

It felt so comfortable to be touched by Shen Tazhi; the whole tentacle had softened.

Jiang Que came out after his bath but didn’t dare to make eye contact with Shen Tazhi. Shen Tazhi, now in dry pajamas, also seemed awkward, exchanging a greeting before quickly entering the bathroom.

Jiang Que climbed into bed, his mind filled with random thoughts.

He had planned to sleep while Shen Tazhi was showering to avoid the awkward atmosphere. However, whenever he closed his eyes, the sound of flowing water from the bathroom was particularly clear, making his cheeks flush.

Unable to fall asleep after several attempts, Jiang Que sat up, picked up his phone, and decided to distract himself by browsing randomly.

He rarely used his phone, only using it for search engines and reading novels occasionally. Now, Jiang Que reopened the search engine and began to search:

【What to do if caught in an embarrassing situation?】

The top search result was a question on a Q&A website: “What to do if you forget to lock the bathroom door while living with NPY and accidentally get exposed?”

The top popular answer read: Make him/her take responsibility.

Jiang Que fell silent.

An epiphany struck Jiang Que.

Right, Shen Tazhi was even more embarrassed than him. Why was he feeling shy? He should make Shen Tazhi take responsibility for seeing him.

Having found the correct answer, Jiang Que was about to close the search engine when he noticed the red notification with “99+ unread messages” in the bottom right corner.

“Unread messages, what’s this?”

Muttering to himself in confusion, Jiang Que clicked on the red dot.

The screen was filled with reply messages.

[Comment 193: Reply to user d8216a7: Oh my! Shen Liushi is actually in prison!! How did you know?]

[Comment 186: Reply to user d8216a7: Huh? Shen Liushi is gone, did their relationship break down??]

[Comment 173: Reply to user d8216a7: Prophet, it seems like he had a falling out with his brother. My friend works at the Shen’s, said he’s been silent all day today.]

…

At the very bottom was the first reply from a long time ago.

[Comment 98: Reply to user d8216a7: Impossible, how can you be so sure that Shen Tazhi hates Shen Liushi? Everyone knows he dotes on Shen Liushi, his chosen heir whom he’s invested so much time and effort into.]

Jiang Que: Huh?

So, what did he post back then? How did it cause such a stir?

Jiang Que clicked on it, clumsily searching for a while before finally finding his old comment:

[User d8216a7 replying to the fifth comment: Shen Tazhi and Shen Liushi can never be together! He absolutely detests Shen Liushi!!!]

Suddenly, Jiang Que remembered. This was when he had just gotten his phone and searched for information about Shen Tazhi. Upon seeing a post shipping Shen Tazhi and Shen Liushi, he got worked up and replied in the heat of the moment.

However…

Jiang Que looked at the information from the first reply on the 98th floor, squinting slightly.

He didn’t know that Shen Tazhi used to be so close with Shen Liushi, to the point where it was common knowledge.

He felt a bit unhappy.

At that moment, the sound of water from the bathroom stopped.

Quickly typing on his phone, Jiang Que edited a reply and sent it out, then tossed his phone onto the bedside table, eagerly watching the bathroom door, waiting for Shen Tazhi to come out.

*Click.*

The bathroom door swung open.

Shen Tazhi emerged, drying his damp hair. Seeing Jiang Que still awake, he paused and asked, “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“Do you really wish I’d fall asleep while you’re showering?” Jiang Que complained.

His question caught Shen Tazhi off guard, but Jiang Que wasn’t really looking for an answer. He directly reached out with his tentacle and pulled Shen Tazhi onto the bed.

“Gege,” Jiang Que smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed. “You touched my small tentacle just now.”

He then slightly turned his back, showing Shen Tazhi the small tentacle that was still curled up on his back.

“I can apologize,” Shen Tazhi tensed up, “How would you like me to make it up to you? As long as it’s within my capabilities, I can do it for you.”

Jiang Que dragged out his words, “Really? Then—”

“Really.”

“I want you to take responsibility for what you did to me.”

Two voices spoke simultaneously.

Jiang Que calmly watched as Shen Tazhi subconsciously nodded, then showed a surprised expression. It was as if he threatened to wrap his tentacle around Shen Tazhi’s neck, but in reality, he applied no force at all.

“What? You don’t want to? But online it says you favor Shen Liushi a lot, giving him everything.”

Jiang Que sighed dramatically, “Unlike me, I’m not your real brother. You won’t even take responsibility for your actions towards me.”

What’s all this about? Why did Jiang Que suddenly bring up Shen Liushi again?

Shen Tazhi was a bit puzzled, but he decided to first answer Jiang Que’s initial question to prevent any further strange topics:

“I’m not unwilling, I’m willing.”

Shen Tazhi sat up and, while secretly lamenting how lately he seemed to be getting pinned down by Jiang Que more and more, he leaned in to kiss Jiang Que’s lips, softly saying, “Haven’t I let you kiss me already? When did I ever say I wouldn’t take responsibility?”

“And about Shen Liushi—” Shen Tazhi hesitated, then reacted, “Are you jealous of him?”

Jiang Que’s expression froze, “Jealous¹吃醋 which is eating vinegar cuz you’re feeling sour? I only like eating rice²吃飯 eating rice/a meal tbh I find a meal to be a more fitting word but it wouldn’t really match the dialogue.”

“Don’t pretend.” Shen Tazhi lightly patted his head, “You know what kind of jealousy I’m talking about.”

He added, a bit puzzled, “But how did you suddenly remember Shen Liushi? I thought you had already forgotten about him, especially since he’s in prison now.”

“How could I forget?” Jiang Que snuggled into Shen Tazhi’s arms, “The whole world knows you favor that brother of yours the most, grooming him as your successor. It’s hard for me to forget.”

Just because Shen Liushi was sent to prison, people online reacted so dramatically. It was evident how good Shen Tazhi was to Shen Liushi on a daily basis.

Shen Tazhi helplessly embraced Jiang Que as he burrowed into his arms, explaining gently, “That was in the past, and how good was I to him? It’s all media misinformation. I treated him like I treat any other heir. You must have seen the press releases Shen Liushi bought himself, right?”

Jiang Que didn’t believe it, “Tell me, how did you treat Shen Liushi before? If you dared to buy snacks for Shen Liushi, take him to amusement parks… you’d be in trouble.”

How did he treat Shen Liushi before?

That was from a past life, a bit too distant for Shen Tazhi. After thinking for a moment, he replied, “I sent him abroad to study, put him in charge of a few subsidiaries, and occasionally took him out for learning experiences. But he’s a bit shrewd, so I praised him a few times. That was the extent of our relationship.”

Shen Tazhi began to understand.

Setting aside the grievances of their fathers’ generation, he and Shen Liushi could be considered familiar strangers. Due to the melodramatic events of the past generation, Shen Tazhi maintained a normal attitude towards Shen Liushi, which now seemed quite odd.

No wonder Shen Liushi always had an inexplicable confidence. There were also constant rumors about Shen Tazhi favoring Shen Liushi. While it was true that he had treated Shen Liushi well in the past, it was nowhere near the level of the media’s portrayal of Shen Liushi as the only heir.

“You never bought snacks for him?” Jiang Que asked.

“No,” Shen Tazhi replied, “If he wanted to eat something, he could buy it himself. It’s none of my business.”

Jiang Que continued, “You never drove him around or took him out to have fun together?”

Shen Tazhi said, “Of course not. We only went out on a few business trips together, and even then, we had a driver.”

He couldn’t help but ask, “Why do you think there’s something between me and Shen Liushi? Our relationship is just cousins, and he probably won’t be going to prison again in his lifetime.”

Of course, Jiang Que wouldn’t expose that post. He was satisfied with Shen Tazhi’s answers and hugged him, generously forgiving, “That’s acceptable, I forgive you. But you still have to take responsibility for what you did.”

Shen Tazhi followed along, “How exactly do you want me to take responsibility? Tell me.”

“Um…” Jiang Que hesitated.

The online post only mentioned taking responsibility without specifying how.

So, he explained based on his understanding, “You have to be with me in the future, can’t like anyone else, and can’t be nice to others.”

“…And, you can only give birth to my eggs, even if another person with tentacles like me appears, you can’t give birth to their eggs,” Jiang Que added.

“Okay,” Shen Tazhi agreed.

But besides Jiang Que, there probably wouldn’t be another person like him in this world, right?

As Shen Tazhi thought about it, he naturally remembered the question he had long ignored:

His lifespan was at most a little over a hundred years. Even if Jiang Que relied on him and he was willing to accompany Jiang Que, there would still come a day to bid farewell.

Previously, he hadn’t cared about this issue because he didn’t believe he could develop a relationship with Jiang Que beyond the scope of “family”. But now things were different.

The previous barriers had slowly been broken down, and he needed to start considering this matter, whether to prepare for the inevitable future or to find a solution.

Of course, this thought only occurred in a fleeting moment. Shen Tazhi’s face remained calm.

He held Jiang Que, who was now content and satisfied, and reached for his phone.

“Although you said the growth of tentacles isn’t uncomfortable, I’ll message Du Lulu first to arrange another medical check-up for you.”

“And the ointment, I left it at home. I’ll have my assistant send it over later, just in case. Tomorrow morning, we’ll apply the ointment again, okay?”

Jiang Que had no objections and nodded in agreement, adding, “When you go for the check-up, remember to see if they can determine the maturity period of my tentacles.”

He really couldn’t forget about making Shen Tazhi lay his eggs.

Blushing slightly, Shen Tazhi agreed and opened his phone to message Du Lulu, but then hesitated for a while.

“What’s wrong?”

Not hearing the sound of keys being pressed for a while, Jiang Que raised his head to look at Shen Tazhi’s phone screen.

Shen Tazhi didn’t deliberately hide it from him, and Jiang Que immediately saw an email from Du Lulu on the screen.

[Sender: dululu@163

Recipient: STZgongwu@163

Mr. Shen, thank you for your cooperation with Jiang Que this afternoon at the amusement park. Of course, I’m not writing about that. When I was returning to the hotel, around 9 o’clock, I saw a foreigner checking in at the lobby.

If I’m not mistaken, he should be Shen Liushi’s representative and his friend, Sharp Adonis. According to the information you provided me, because Mr. Adonis is very particular and doesn’t like the hotel’s buffet, he should only arrive after the chef you have arranged personally cooks for him tomorrow.

Although Mr. Adonis may have changed his plans last minute and arrived early, I still feel something is off. So I’m informing you. If the investigation turns out fine and I was just overthinking, I apologize for troubling you with this late-night message.]

Jiang Que looked at the email content in surprise, his first reaction being:

“Du Lulu is speaking so politely?”

In his memory, Du Lulu had always spoken to him in a friendly tone, and he had never seen this formal side of her before.

“She always speaks to me this way, maybe it’s her attitude towards her boss?”

Shen Tazhi said, scrolling to the bottom of the email, where he found an attachment. Upon opening it, he saw a photo taken by Du Lulu.

The photo was a bit blurry, but taken from a close distance. He could clearly see Sharp Adonis checking in at the front desk, confirming that it was indeed him and not a case of mistaken identity by Du Lulu.

As thorough and meticulous as always.

“How strange,” Shen Tazhi muttered to himself, “He really shouldn’t have come this early.”

“What should we do?” Jiang Que asked, “Do you need me to take care of him for you? If you can delete the hotel’s surveillance, I can handle it cleanly without causing any trouble.”

“Xiao Que…” Shen Tazhi helplessly said, “We’re in a society governed by the law now. Someone mysteriously disappearing is a big case. Even without evidence, they’d look at the motive for murder, and as we’re Sharp’s business partners, we’re clearly the most likely suspects.”

“Oh,” Jiang Que seemed to understand, “So, even without evidence, we could still be arrested?”

“More or less,” Shen Tazhi chuckled, “So in a society governed by law, you have to use legal means to get rid of people you dislike, understand?”

Blinking his eyes, Jiang Que still didn’t fully comprehend, but he listened to Shen Tazhi and let go of his previous thoughts, simply saying, “Remember to take me with you tomorrow. If there’s any danger, I’ll notice it early.”

Whether it was the odd resentment from the waiter, the eyes at the amusement park, or Sharp’s early check-in, he felt a hint of danger.

Shen Tazhi sent a few messages to his assistant before shutting off his phone. Seeing this, Jiang Que asked, “So what do we do now?”

Shen Tazhi embraced him, straightening out the tentacles he had haphazardly piled up and smiled, “Let’s sleep now.”

“Eh?” Jiang Que was surprised.

Shen Tazhi started arranging the pillows, saying, “You’re tired today. Don’t worry about these things anymore. My assistant is paid handsomely, not just for delivering things.”

“So, rest easy now. Perhaps by tomorrow morning, we’ll have some answers.”

Reluctantly, Jiang Que was dragged into the covers by Shen Tazhi.

The bedside lamp was switched off, the bed felt unfamiliar, the scent of the hotel’s shower gel was foreign, but Shen Tazhi beside him remained the same.

He thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep, whether due to the kiss at the amusement park or the matter with the small tentacle, but Shen Tazhi was right.

He was truly exhausted. Finding a comfortable spot in Shen Tazhi’s arms, he fell asleep completely.

Late at night, around 3 am.

Giant tentacles surrounded Shen Tazhi, and Jiang Que breathed evenly. The feeling of being completely wrapped up like prey made him feel at ease.

Behind him, the small tentacle that had been limp for a while suddenly twitched, standing up again.

It stretched its tip, trying to reach Shen Tazhi.

It wanted a hug from Shen Tazhi too.

Being only two to three centimeters tall, it couldn’t reach. After struggling for a while, it could only watch helplessly as the main body and the other tentacles enjoyed Shen Tazhi’s embrace.

The newly grown small tentacle quietly drooped in disappointment.

It longed to grow up.

• 1
  吃醋 which is eating vinegar cuz you’re feeling sour ↩︎
• 2
  吃飯 eating rice/a meal tbh I find a meal to be a more fitting word but it wouldn’t really match the dialogue ↩︎