Jiang Que suddenly opened his eyes.
All he could see was darkness. He stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, unable to recall where he was for quite some time.
He… must have come out of his memories, right?
He needed to hurry and find Shen Tazhi. Shen Tazhi would be worried.
Jiang Que struggled to sit up. To his surprise, he found his tentacles spreading everywhere in the room.
The bedroom wasn’t very large. Black tentacles filled almost all the space under the bed, with a few even needing to cling to the wall with their suckers.
Among the ferocious, huge entwined tentacles, Shen Tazhi was firmly wrapped up by him, placed by his side.
The human targeted by the monster had closed his eyes tightly, unaware of being surrounded, peacefully sleeping.
Or maybe he already knew, just allowing Jiang Que to wrap him up like this while unconscious.
Jiang Que immediately sensed that something was wrong.
The number of his tentacles seemed to be too many.
Even if his tentacles were incredibly long, eight tentacles shouldn’t be enough to fill the entire room. But now, the whole room was filled with his tentacles.
Jiang Que couldn’t believe it as he counted them once, then again, finally accepting the reality in front of him:
Eighteen tentacles.
He had eighteen tentacles.
How did all his tentacles grow out in his dream?
Feeling the awakening of his true self, the tentacles were excited. They crawled onto the bed, affectionately brushing against Jiang Que’s cheek. One tentacle, in particular, was especially happy, its suckers excitedly attaching everywhere, leaving a red mark on Jiang Que’s cheek.
At a glance, Jiang Que recognized this as the tentacle that had slowly grown behind him earlier.
Tch, it had just grown bigger, why was it so excited?
He disdainfully pushed away his tentacles and turned to look at Shen Tazhi.
Shen Tazhi was still sleeping, with faint dark circles under his eyes, indicating he hadn’t slept well during Jiang Que’s period of unconsciousness.
Jiang Que remembered the excessive things he had done in the previous life. He gently bent down, feeling sorry, and touched the faint dark circles under Shen Tazhi’s eyes.
He finally understood why Shen Tazhi always avoided mentioning the events of the past life.
Anyone who watched the person they had just rescued, who was just a step away from being brought out of the abyss, leap off in front of them, and only realized the depth of their emotions at the moment of the other’s death, probably wouldn’t want to remember it again.
Jiang Que bit his lip.
Shen Tazhi, why are you so forgiving?
If their roles were reversed, and he had to watch Shen Tazhi die in front of him, he would come back in the next life furious, tying Shen Tazhi to the bed so he would never dare to think of suicide again.
But Shen Tazhi actually did as he had said, coming back to save him, leading him out of the abyss, and giving him everything he wanted.
…Why didn’t he consider himself?
He taught himself what fairness was but always placed himself in a lower position in this relationship, giving endlessly without thinking about what he could gain from it.
Jiang Que squinted, realizing something was wrong.
This wasn’t right. Love shouldn’t be like this.
If he was a bit confused before, with the return of memories from the past life, Jiang Que finally realized what was wrong with Shen Tazhi:
Shen Tazhi never seemed to think about reciprocating, or about the future. It was as if he existed solely for Jiang Que, rescuing him without considering what would come next.
Why did Shen Tazhi think this way?
Jiang Que couldn’t comprehend it.
He had said they would be together forever, with a long and bright future ahead.
While Jiang Que pondered this, Shen Tazhi seemed to sense the hand causing a disturbance on his face and tilted his head slightly.
Looking down, Jiang Que froze when he saw the tentacles entwining Shen Tazhi.
These were his reproductive tentacles.
At this moment, his reproductive tentacles had a slight curvature, indicating they were entering a mature phase. Although not fully formed yet, Jiang Que knew at a glance that this was a sign of their maturation.
Wait a minute, he didn’t even know where he was, and Shen Tazhi wasn’t prepared. How could he be entering his mature phase at this moment!
Jiang Que frantically tried to retract his tentacles, but they completely encircled Shen Tazhi, pinning themselves under him. His movement inadvertently disturbed Shen Tazhi.
Seeing Shen Tazhi frown in his sleep, Jiang Que gritted his teeth and forcefully yanked back the tentacles that he was reluctant to let go of from under Shen Tazhi, quickly hiding them behind himself.
“J-Jiang Que?”
Shen Tazhi’s voice came through, half in a dream-like state.
Jiang Que had been trying to hide his tentacles, but after being trapped in memories for so long, upon hearing Shen Tazhi’s voice, his immediate reaction was to suddenly throw himself into Shen Tazhi’s arms.
“Shen Tazhi, I missed you so much,” Jiang Que spoke honestly.
He truly missed Shen Tazhi. While in his memories, he could only watch from a distance, unable to touch or speak to Shen Tazhi. In the previous life, he would occasionally tease Shen Tazhi, infuriating him.
Jiang Que nuzzled against Shen Tazhi, his voice soft and sticky, “If the tentacles bully you, you should resist. It’s so uncomfortable to be entangled while sleeping… Did I scare you? I’m sorry, I won’t risk it again in the future.”
Shen Tazhi, just waking up and feeling a bit dazed, was suddenly embraced by Jiang Que, who rambled on. Shen Tazhi, momentarily unable to react, instinctively hugged Jiang Que back.
“It’s okay…” Shen Tazhi said softly.
He raised his eyes to see Jiang Que’s tentacles continuously moving, and Shen Tazhi’s gaze paused on the thickest tentacle hidden behind Jiang Que, bulging as if it concealed something.
Shen Tazhi uncertainly asked, “Are you… entering the mature phase?”
In fact, he had suspected this when Jiang Que grew the tentacles while unconscious. However, at that time, he was too preoccupied with bringing Jiang Que back to the inn from the desert to dwell on it.
After returning to the inn, Jiang Que was in distress in his dreams, and Shen Tazhi dared not leave his side, not even eating. It wasn’t until late at night that he reluctantly washed up and went to bed, with no time to think about Jiang Que’s tentacles.
Now that Jiang Que had woken up and brought up the topic of the tentacles, Shen Tazhi recalled the strange thing he had overlooked before.
He glanced at the tentacle controlled by Jiang Que, which was retracting backward. The tentacle that usually liked to stick to him was now bulging due to an unknown spherical shape, and Shen Tazhi couldn’t help but feel like it had grown a circle larger just now.
The tentacle looked uncomfortable, suppressed by Jiang Que’s violent actions, now curling up behind Jiang Que in distress.
Jiang Que saw Shen Tazhi staring at his reproductive tentacle, so he shifted it back and hugged Shen Tazhi, muttering:
“It seems so, but I can endure it for now.”
Although his tentacles were already prepared to deliver the eggs into the mother’s body, he didn’t wake up feeling uncomfortable, nor did he desperately seek comfort from Shen Tazhi. This meant he hadn’t fully entered the mature phase yet.
This wasn’t home, and Shen Tazhi wasn’t ready. Jiang Que didn’t want to engage with Shen Tazhi directly at this moment.
“Well…” he heard Shen Tazhi hesitate.
Looking at his ferocious tentacles, Shen Tazhi seemed visibly fearful but still softly asked, “Are you uncomfortable? Do you want to do it with me now, Jiang Que?”
“I don’tā” Jiang Que was about to explain in a panic but was pulled back down by Shen Tazhi.
Shen Tazhi held him close, not letting him go. Whether out of fear or some other reason, feeling the warm body and intense heartbeat in his arms, Shen Tazhi finally felt the reality of Jiang Que being alive.
He pressed his forehead against Jiang Que’s, as if intending to kiss:
“You’re okay, Jiang Que. Let’s do it.”
Jiang Que fell silent for a moment, realizing that Shen Tazhi probably hadn’t listened to what he had said earlier.
His unconsciousness seemed to have deeply frightened Shen Tazhi, perhaps due to the excessive death in the previous life.
In any case, Shen Tazhi was holding him, not letting him go, even with fear in his eyes, seemingly willing to have him.
…This wasn’t right. He didn’t want Shen Tazhi to be scared.
Jiang Que gritted his teeth, about to refuse, when he felt his tentacle being grabbed by a warm hand.
“Ah!”
His tentacles were sensitive at this moment, and even just being held by Shen Tazhi made Jiang Que shudder involuntarily.
The tentacle was too large, so Shen Tazhi could only barely hold it with both hands.
He looked at the black tentacle in front of him, where the tip of the tentacle showed a white ovum almost ready to drop out due to stimulation.
He stuck out his tongue and licked the tip of the tentacle.
!!!
Jiang Que shuddered and immediately wrapped Shen Tazhi up, preventing him from taking any further, more extreme actions.
Shen Tazhi didn’t realize the danger, or perhaps he was seeking danger as proof that Jiang Que still existed. He smiled with narrowed eyes and asked, “What’s wrong, don’t you like it?”
He seemed confused as he continued, “This shouldn’t be the case. According to your words, during the mature phase, you should be eager to find a body to mate with. Or is it that you don’t like me…”
There seemed to be something off about Shen Tazhi.
Jiang Que gritted his teeth and called out to him, “Shen Tazhi.”
Shen Tazhi fell silent, looking at Jiang Que quietly, as if anticipating his next move.
Jiang Que’s throat trembled several times, unsure of what to say. He kissed Shen Tazhi as if biting, their breaths entwined. He whispered softly in Shen Tazhi’s ear, “Gege, I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. I will make you fully aware that I am still alive.”
The previously daring Shen Tazhi, who seemed unafraid, was stunned, finally realizing something was wrong.
But it was too late; Jiang Que’s tentacles had already shrunk to a size that Shen Tazhi could barely accommodate.
The beautiful youth caressed the back of his head, kissed him, and smiled seductively, “Gege, you will regret this.”
…
Shen Tazhi did indeed regret it.
He tried to push Jiang Que away, tears streaming down his face, even starting to frantically reach out to pull away the tentacles.
However, the barbs of the tentacles had already risen, firmly gripping their prey, emotionlessly injecting the eggs into the mother’s body.
His abdomen had swelled to its limit, but Jiang Que still insisted on kneading it, occasionally pressing down harshly, asking in his ear, “Gege, what were you really thinking when you woke up? Were you thinking it didn’t matter if I played you to death? Am I just a monster in your eyes? Why are you so afraid yet say such things?”
“What are you thinking? Tell me.”
Shen Tazhi shook his head, tears streaming down.
He couldn’t even utter a complete sentence, only gasping and crying, trying to push Jiang Que away, to escape from his grasp.
It was too overwhelming, far beyond what he could bear… The eggs couldn’t be spawned anymore.
“Gege, this is too much, using crying to avoid answering questions,” Jiang Que muttered disapprovingly.
He removed Shen Tazhi’s arm covering his eyes, held his chin, and looked directly at him, saying, “Let me tell you something. When I was unconscious, I remembered everything from our past life.”
Seeing Shen Tazhi’s pupils shrink in fear, Jiang Que, while despising his past self, lowered his head to kiss Shen Tazhi tenderly.
“I’m here, gege. I’m a scoundrel. I’ll explain to you tomorrow about my decision to die in the previous life. You can scold me or hit me however you want.”
“Today, let’s deal with the most important matter.”
After spawning all the eggs, the tentacles retreated satisfactorily. Shen Tazhi trembled, trying to crawl away, but Jiang Que pulled him back.
In the midst of Shen Tazhi’s disbelief, Jiang Que revealed his second tentacle.
“What were you really thinking at that moment? What thoughts did you keep to yourself?” Jiang Que asked, making moves to comfort Shen Tazhi in his breakdown.
“Gege, tell me. Be honest, as you said,” Jiang Que said in a coquettish tone.
“You have eighteen chances to consider your answer, but I’m easy to talk to. If you don’t want to speak, I can come back for another round,” Jiang Que said playfully.
…
What was he thinking? In reality, Shen Tazhi didn’t know himself.
After Jiang Que fell unconscious, the strings in his mind had completely snapped. The scenes of Jiang Que’s death from the previous life overlapped with this life, and he didn’t even think about Du Lulu and the others. All he could think of was “take Jiang Que away”.
He can give Jiang Que anything he desires, anything at all, even himself if needed. As long as Jiang Que can come back, as long as he can still hold his hand like in the past, nestle in his arms, and call him “gege.”
If the fixation from the previous life to this life was a fleeting glimpse of obsession, then after long companionship, Jiang Que became his most unforgettable bond.
He loved Jiang Que’s face, his affectionate personality, and hopelessly loved Jiang Que as a person, just as Jiang Que loved him. Perhaps even deeper than Jiang Que’s love for him.
Shen Tazhi never pondered over this matter, as love was never something that could be quantified or compared.
In any case, he loved Jiang Que.
Starting with just wanting to accompany him for a while, to becoming increasingly greedy, he wanted to be with Jiang Que, to leave an indelible mark in his heart forever, to… even if he truly died, to live on in Jiang Que’s heart.
He was becoming selfish.
At this moment, Shen Tazhi was completely devoid of consciousness under Jiang Que’s relentless questioning. He couldn’t remember which tentacle this was or how many rounds had passed; he just wanted to end this excessive sensation.
He couldn’t even shed tears anymore, his voice hoarse and intermittent as he confessed to Jiang Que.
He didn’t know what he was confessing, just speaking unconsciously, letting his thoughts flow out, hoping his honesty could bring an end to this prolonged ordeal.
He heard Jiang Que grit his teeth and say, “Shen Tazhi, you’re really.good.”
And then came the more intense, almost punitive actions.
Perhaps his selfish behavior had angered Jiang Que…
Before passing out, Shen Tazhi thought this way.
On the third day, Shen Tazhi developed a fever.
After taking care of Jiang Que all night and enduring a day of back and forth, even the strongest person couldn’t bear it.
Jiang Que discovered Shen Tazhi’s fever in the middle of the night. Lacking experience in taking care of a feverish person, he followed online advice, ordered medicine, cleaned Shen Tazhi’s body, fed him the medicine, and waited for the fever to subside.
During this time, Jiang Que also checked the time on his phone and finally realized how long they had been in disarray.
It had been a full day…
Jiang Que couldn’t help but blush when he remembered the bathtub full of the eggs that had slipped down while he was cleaning Shen Tazhi, along with Shen Tazhi’s belly that had gradually deflated. Truly, he was quite lustful.
The tentacles behind him swayed slightly, in agreement, and secretly hoped for another round.
They didn’t know empathy; they were just Jiang Que’s most primitive desires, only understanding that when you like someone, you should stick close to them.
Dinner was takeaway again, and Jiang Que fed the thin rice porridge to the groggy Shen Tazhi. Even in his feverish state, Shen Tazhi held onto his hand, making Jiang Que both amused and exasperated. This reminded him of the infuriating things Shen Tazhi had said when pushed to the brink of breakdown.
“Really annoying,” he muttered while feeding Shen Tazhi.
“We need to have a good talk once you’re awake.”
The reproductive tentacles, thoroughly stimulated by Shen Tazhi, had completely entered their mature phase. After a night had passed, they returned to their swollen appearance and quietly climbed onto the bed, wanting to snuggle up to Shen Tazhi.
Jiang Que ruthlessly swatted them away.
“Don’t disturb his rest. Wasn’t last night enough?” he scolded.
The tentacles shook in a dejected manner.
No, their mature phase was supposed to last for a week.
It was only one night last night, and they weren’t allowed to snuggle anymore. Was there no justice for the tentacles?
The tentacles protested dejectedly, but Jiang Que completely ignored them.
The main body’s desires prevailed, and after a half-day standoff with Jiang Que, the tentacles reluctantly shrank back.
The mature phase had been wasted in vain…
Eighteen tentacles silently shed tears of dejection.
Regardless, not a single day could be wasted during the mating period.
On the fourth day, Shen Tazhi woke up.
His first reaction upon waking up was pain, as if his whole body had been disassembled and reassembled. Even upon seeing the tentacles sleeping soundly around his waist, his initial reaction was to wonder why it hadn’t ended yet.
After a moment, he realized that all the absurdity had come to an end, and he was peacefully asleep in bed.
Clean and fresh, wearing new pajamas, Shen Tazhi absentmindedly touched his forehead and peeled off a fever patch.
He stared blankly at the fever patch.
Ah, he had a fever.
It had been a long time since he was last sick.
Shen Tazhi wasn’t sure if his health had deteriorated or if Jiang Que’s antics had been too much. In any case, he struggled to turn over and looked at Jiang Que, who was sleeping soundly while hugging him.
The beautiful non-human youth had grown tall quickly; now, he was probably almost as tall as Shen Tazhi. Still delicate and beautiful, his small chin tucked in the blanket, eyes closed in sleep, resembling an elegant and pretty little cat.
But this pretty little cat could be quite ruthless when provoked.
The haze of the past few days, which felt like a dream, seemed to have been shattered that night. The sense of detachment he felt due to Jiang Que’s unconsciousness had finally dissipated.
Shen Tazhi remembered everything he had done earlier and blushed, hastily burrowing back under the covers.
How could he have willingly done such things?
He must have been out of his mind at the time, right???
Just as Shen Tazhi took a breath, ready to turn around, a slippery tentacle wrapped around his waist, providing just the right support.
Jiang Que’s hand also reached over, feeling his forehead. When he felt that Shen Tazhi had returned to his normal temperature, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Holding Shen Tazhi, Jiang Que cuddled up to him, “You’re awake. I’m sorry, I went too far. I won’t do that again.”
“It’s okay…” Shen Tazhi replied, feeling unsure.
It was he who had initiated things, and Jiang Que had even patiently crushed several eggs, only taking action when there was enough water.
Nothing was as terrifying as he had imagined, but… it was just too much. Whether it was the eggs or the tentacles, Jiang Que hadn’t even done anything yet, and Shen Tazhi was already pushed to the brink of breakdown.
Jiang Que sat up on the bed, smiling at him, “There’s something we haven’t resolved yet.”
“Let’s start with the matters from the previous life, shall we? You probably don’t remember, so I’ll remind you. I remembered everything from our past life while I was unconscious.”
Jiang Que extended a tentacle, pressing down on Shen Tazhi, who was surprised and trying to sit up.
“Don’t rush, I haven’t finished yet.”
“Now our information is equal, Shen Tazhi. Don’t lie to me, don’t hide anything from me. Explain properly to me about what you said that nightā”
“What did you mean by worrying about me not living well after you die?”
Jiang Que gritted his teeth in anger.
“I want to spend my whole life with you, and you were already thinking about what would happen after you die? Shen Tazhiāgege, you’ve gone too far.”
Shen Tazhi was now thoroughly afraid of the term “gege”. Unconsciously trembling, he was about to turn his head to avoid Jiang Que’s piercing gaze when Jiang Que held his chin with his hand.
The Jiang Que who used to blush at the slightest teasing and become shy and unable to get up if he was kissed was now staring at him fiercely, pressing closer without any intention of backing down.
A tentacle menacingly wrapped around his waist, poking his abdomen.
Jiang Que smiled brightly, “Gege, you taught me that we should be honest with each other.”
“My mature phase lasts a whole week. You don’t want to be forced to speak like that night again, do you?”
Shen Tazhi:…
It seemed like he had raised a terrifying Jiang Que.
