Although she had said she would finish singing before coming, Du Lulu still came to find Jiang Que and Shen Tazhi after helping to set up the venue.
By this time, it was already noon. Jiang Que had eaten four small cakes during this time, and he also greeted some investigators who knew him, friendly and cordially. Due to his mostly empty back area, he had attracted the surprised looks of many investigators, so he wasn’t very hungry. Shen Tazhi, who had been fed along the way by Jiang Que, wasn’t hungry either.
However—
Shen Tazhi quietly patted the transparent tentacle that had been wrapped around his waist all along and whispered, “You don’t have to do this all the time. I can walk on my own.”
Despite being an adult male, he hadn’t exercised much in the month since his rebirth, but he certainly wasn’t at a point where he couldn’t walk after just one night.
At most, he felt a bit uncomfortable.
Jiang Que gave him a meaningful look and obediently moved the tentacle away, instead looping his arm around Shen Tazhi’s, pulling him to catch up with Du Lulu’s steps.
Du Lulu didn’t find it strange to see the two of them sticking together like that. She naturally led Jiang Que and Shen Tazhi upstairs, interjecting, “Director Wu should have told you about your tentacles, right? The Anomaly Investigation Department is preparing to consult you for compensation. Do you want money or…”
“Money,” Jiang Que immediately responded, “And I want the money used to send you to the northwest too.”
As expected, Du Lulu wasn’t particularly surprised by the answer, just a bit curious. She asked, “What do you need so much money for?”
This was probably the umpteenth time that Jiang Que had been asked this question. He replied matter-of-factly, “To buy things for Shen Tazhi, but I haven’t decided what to buy yet.”
“I see…” Du Lulu led Jiang Que into the familiar examination room thoughtfully.
“You should go for the machine check first. It’s indeed strange that you suddenly grew eighteen tentacles, and also—Huh? Mr. Shen?”
Du Lulu looked surprised as she watched Shen Tazhi, who had been dragged to the equipment by Jiang Que.
Shen Tazhi smiled helplessly at her, “Sorry, but I might need you to check me first.”
Du Lulu was momentarily taken aback, “But isn’t the machine for human examination?”
Jiang Que couldn’t be bothered to explain from the beginning, “It’s a bit complicated. Anyway, you check first, and I’ll explain if anything comes up.”
“Alright, then I’ll start the machine…?”
Though Du Lulu didn’t quite understand, it was just about operating the machine a bit more. Checking the machine wouldn’t have any impact on the human body, so she went along with Jiang Que’s suggestion.
The inspection equipment was activated, and a report was quickly printed out. Du Lulu had just taken the printed report when Jiang Que leaned over to look.
“These are the initial data and haven’t been translated into the examination report yet, so you won’t understand it,” Du Lulu said helplessly. “You go up first. I’ll scan your tentacles and take a blood sample. Later, I’ll give you and Mr. Shen your reports together.”
Jiang Que then pulled back his head and stood on the examination machine to undergo the scan.
This time, they took a total of eighteen blood samples from his tentacles. When Du Lulu reached the thickest and swollen tentacle, she was so surprised that she couldn’t steady the needle she had just removed:
“You’ve already reached maturity? Wasn’t it supposed to be about a week away?”
Innocently, Jiang Que raised the seventeen remaining tentacles behind him, “They all grew out early. It’s only natural for maturity to come early too, right?”
Du Lulu was momentarily speechless but felt that something was amiss, “How many days have you been in the mature stage?”
“Today is the second to last day. What’s wrong?” Jiang Que asked in confusion.
Finally realizing what was wrong, Du Lulu exclaimed in shock, “Why are you so calm going out during the mature stage?!”
Jiang Que: ?
Even more puzzled now, Jiang Que asked, “Does that mean I can’t go out during the mature stage?”
“No…” Du Lulu frantically found a screenshot of a report on her phone and handed it to Jiang Que, saying, “Look, this is the tentacle specimen we contained before.”
Taking the phone, Jiang Que saw the report with black text on white paper:
[On the sixth day of maturity.
The containment specimen has entered a manic phase, starting to indiscriminately attack all living beings around it, including itself. White eggs are scattered all over the ground. We had mental investigators attempt remote appeasement but failed. No investigator was willing to engage in dialogue with it voluntarily. The containment room exterior walls are being urgently reinforced.]
Accompanying the report was a picture of the tentacle specimen he had seen before, its tentacles visibly scarred from impacts, its mental state significantly deteriorated. The thickest reproductive tentacle had even curled up.
“How is it now?” Jiang Que inquired.
Du Lulu shrugged, “It’s dead, but not completely. It’s barely hanging on to life. Now, no one knows what to do, and everyone is hoping to find a solution from you.”
“But it seems impossible now. You seem to be a special case, able to maintain rationality during the mature stage. According to our speculation, this one-time mature stage is crucial for tentacle specimens. Ideally, for whatever reason, at this point, you shouldn’t be able to leave Mr. Shen at all.”
Du Lulu glanced at Shen Tazhi and was horrified to find that the usually stoic Shen Tazhi’s ears were now red at this moment.
Being caught off guard by his reaction, Du Lulu, who had previously felt nothing unusual, suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable, as if she had inadvertently said something particularly inappropriate.
She cleared her throat, “I… I’ll go bring you the examination reports and blood samples. You two continue your conversation. I won’t disturb you.”
With that, Du Lulu promptly opened the door and made her escape.
Although she wasn’t sure exactly what she had said wrong, the atmosphere now didn’t seem suitable for an outsider like her to stay here.
The room door closed with a “click.”
Shen Tazhi, with reddened ears, looked at Jiang Que and spoke first, “Is the mature stage so important to you… I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Can I make it up to you when we get home tonight?”
Jiang Que’s mature stage lasted a whole week, but all in all, he had only spent two days with Jiang Que, making Shen Tazhi feel like he had been a bit excessive.
Jiang Que, who had blushed instantly from being teased by Shen Tazhi just the night before, stammered, “W-w-w-what are you… saying outside?!”
Was that something you could say out loud?!
He reached out to cover Shen Tazhi’s mouth, taking a while to recover from the shock of Shen Tazhi’s mention of “compensation”. With his head lowered, he whispered softly, “It’s true that it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event, but it’s not that important… Your well-being is the most important.”
There was still the mating season to consider, and it wasn’t urgent at the moment. If he scared Shen Tazhi off with just one instance, things might not be as easy in the future.
At least, it wouldn’t be as simple as coaxing Shen Tazhi into bed with a bit of a tantrum.
While Jiang Que was thinking long-term, Shen Tazhi misunderstood his intentions. After a moment of silence, he cautiously asked, “Do you think I can’t handle it because I always pass out halfway through?”
Jiang Que’s face turned completely red. He stopped covering Shen Tazhi’s mouth and instead covered his own face, feeling helpless as he crouched down, pleading, “Please, stop talking, gege.”
Discussing such matters in public was really embarrassing.
Shen Tazhi also crouched down, and due to the events of the previous night, his movements were a bit stiff. He leaned in close to Jiang Que’s head and asked softly, “But this is important to me, Que Que. You have to tell me.”
Jiang Que kept his head down, burying his face in his knees, his voice muffled, “…It’s partly that, but mainly because I don’t want to scare you.”
Raising his eyes, Jiang Que noticed that Shen Tazhi had also crouched down. Frowning, he used his tentacles to circle Shen Tazhi’s waist, lifted him onto a chair, and then moved a chair next to him.
“Because I could see that you were afraid of my tentacles at first. I didn’t want to push it too far, gege. I want you to be comfortable too.” Jiang Que said, leaning against Shen Tazhi’s shoulder. “Let’s not talk about this outside. Let’s talk about something else.”
Shen Tazhi paused, seeming to understand a bit.
Jiang Que’s peculiar shyness was quite odd. He never seemed shy in bed, but once off the bed, especially outside the house, he became unusually bashful.
Asking at home would only lead to the outcome of being dragged into the room. Shen Tazhi wouldn’t miss the opportunity before him, so he asked, “Does it not bother you?”
He was referring to Jiang Que’s reproductive tentacle that was still swollen.
Jiang Que uneasily hid his tentacle, saying, “It’s not that uncomfortable… I can bear it, really.”
He looked ripe for the taking, but still obediently listened to Shen Tazhi. Unable to resist, Shen Tazhi chuckled and ruffled his head.
So obedient, so cute.
But despite his cuteness, Shen Tazhi became serious again and started to say, “But—”
“Wait a moment.”
Before he could finish, Jiang Que interrupted him.
Extending two tentacles, Jiang Que accurately pierced the cameras located in the two corners of the room.
The cameras fell, shattering into pieces, emitting a crackling sound as they short-circuited.
Although it was common to have cameras in places with sophisticated equipment, and even though Director Wu wouldn’t likely spy on their privacy or prevent them from destroying the footage later, Jiang Que still felt uncomfortable.
After knocking down the cameras, Jiang Que finally relaxed a bit. Blushing, he leaned into Shen Tazhi’s embrace, wrapping his arms around his waist, as if he were acting spoiled. He mumbled, “I told you to stop, why do you keep talking.”
Before Shen Tazhi could respond, Jiang Que continued, “Because no matter what, you are a human body. I have eighteen tentacles… If you really accompany me through the entire week of the mature stage.”
Approaching him, Jiang Que whispered softly in Shen Tazhi’s ear, “Gege, you’ll truly die in bed.”
Shen Tazhi’s expression froze, then he saw Jiang Que’s flushed face as he hugged him and whispered softly, “And if we alternate like this, swapping turns, my eighteen tentacles won’t even have taken their turns yet. Really making you accompany me through the mature stage would be too much.”
Shen Tazhi stiffened all over.
“…Not finished yet?”
He had thought they had finished rotating last night.
“No.” Jiang Que grumbled discontentedly, “They don’t come in order. Sometimes I can’t control them, and several tentacles keep coming back to you for several rounds. That’s why the later tentacles couldn’t resist cutting in line.”
Seeing Shen Tazhi’s expression, Jiang Que deliberately looked troubled, “But since gege loves me so much, we can just finish in one night. After all, we still have a chance when we go home tonight.”
Shen Tazhi swallowed hard, unable to speak.
He didn’t dare mention why Jiang Que hadn’t brought up the topic himself now. He was a bit worried about whether his waist could handle tonight.
So, he really needed to step up his exercise routine…
While Shen Tazhi was lost in his thoughts, the room’s door was pushed open with a “click”.
It was Du Lulu, returning once again.
Du Lulu held two test reports and looked at the two people who had stuck together again in the room. She felt relieved that she had made the right choice to leave earlier and avoid the awkward situation. After noticing the broken surveillance inside the room, she continued, “Your test reports are out. Jiang Que’s eighteen tentacles are in good condition, but he’s still in the maturity stage. Some data is slightly abnormal, but within a reasonable range. As for Mr. Shen…”
Du Lulu paused, “Do you mind if I take another blood sample for testing? Of course, like Jiang Que, your examination results will also become part of the research data for the Anomaly Investigation Department.”
Shen Tazhi nodded, not refusing, only asking, “Is there anything abnormal in the test results?”
Du Lulu skillfully disinfected the needle before responding, “No problem… It’s not a big deal, but, oh, it’s hard to explain. Just take a look at the report.”
She quickly drew a blood sample from Shen Tazhi, handed him the examination report, and then swiftly left.
Shen Tazhi took the report and, with Jiang Que curiously leaning in, they read together. The report boldly stated:
【Name: Shen Tazhi
Gender: Male
Age: ???
Race: ???
“What’s this?” Shen Tazhi was surprised.
He could understand the age being marked as a question mark, considering he had reincarnated, so it was normal for his age to be uncertain. But how did even his race change?
Jiang Que, not as surprised as Shen Tazhi, said, “Didn’t I tell you about the previous life? That day, you consumed my eggs, then died and came back to life. Perhaps from that moment, you became like a parasitic host1like a parasite’s host for me?”
The term “parasitic host” made Shen Tazhi’s scalp tingle momentarily, but he quickly grasped Jiang Que’s meaning. “Are you saying that our lives are connected?”
“Mm-hmm,” Jiang Que nodded.
Naturally, he wrapped his tentacles around Shen Tazhi and continued, “Because from the moment I first saw you in this life, I felt close to you, and so did my tentacles. They’ve always liked you from the start, not like the love at first sight from the previous life, but a kind of reliance, a fondness built on trust.”
“I think they might see you as one of their own.”
“Que Que… we shouldn’t call it ‘parasitism’, it’s ‘assimilation,'” Shen Tazhi corrected with a wry smile.
He had indeed been startled by Jiang Que’s slip of the tongue with the word “parasitisite”. It had been a while since Jiang Que had misused words like that, so it was quite sudden and a bit scary.
“It’s almost the same thing,” Jiang Que didn’t seem to mind.
Leaning against Shen Tazhi, he lazily said, “The question mark for lifespan should also be related to this. Strictly speaking, your life should be as long as mine because you survived after consuming my eggs. As long as I’m alive, you won’t die.”
He remembered the things he had pressd out of Shen Tazhi last night and chuckled coldly, “So, with you leaving me with so much inheritance, it seems your wish to make me a widow won’t come true.”
He still harbored resentment over that matter.
After being tossed around all night, Shen Tazhi quickly apologized out of reflex, “I’m sorry, I didn’t consider it thoroughly.”
Rubbing his forehead, he asked, “How can I earn your forgiveness, Que Que, since you hold grudges like this?”
“Am I angry about your lack of consideration?” Jiang Que was irritated to the core.
He had been preoccupied with today’s funeral arrangements, and after forcing Shen Tazhi to promise not to repeat the behavior, he had let it go, assuming Shen Tazhi understood. But it turned out Shen Tazhi had no idea where he had gone wrong.
“Ah, I see.” Du Lulu nodded. “This has great research value. It might be a bit presumptuous, but would you mind giving us one of your eggs? We want to compare it with the eggs of another tentacle containment subject.”
Jiang Que hesitated after looking at his tentacles and the precious eggs inside their tips. “Okay, but it’ll cost extra.”
Du Lulu: …
Shen Tazhi couldn’t help but laugh. “What exactly are you trying to buy? Selling your tentacles one moment and now your eggs?”
Jiang Que hugged him pitifully. “But I have no way to earn money. I’m just a fragile monster with eighteen tentacles. I have no choice but to do this, or I won’t have money to buy things for you, gege.”
Even though Shen Tazhi knew Jiang Que was intentionally playing the victim, he couldn’t help but soften a bit. “It’s okay, you don’t have to buy me anything. My money is yours.”
Jiang Que shook his head insistently. “I don’t want that; it’s different.”
Du Lulu: …
Is this even human language?
A monster with eighteen tentacles? Fragile and pitiful?
Who, other than Shen Tazhi, would consider Jiang Que pitiful?!!
Du Lulu was too exhausted to comment and could only carefully accept an egg that Jiang Que reluctantly spit out from his tentacle tips. She then bid farewell to Jiang Que and Shen Tazhi as they left.
Watching Jiang Que walk away, Du Lulu recalled the many times she had been tricked by him and felt a mix of sadness and calculation.
She took out her phone and sent a message to Jiang Que:
[Du Lulu: You wanted to buy something for Mr. Shen, right? I know of something Mr. Shen definitely doesn’t have, something precious and can only be given by a human partner. Do you want to know?]
When Jiang Que was getting into the car with Shen Tazhi, he thought Du Lulu had forgotten something important when he heard the message notification. He checked his phone and then froze.
“What’s wrong?” Shen Tazhi, who was already in the car, asked.
“Nothing.” Jiang Que quickly replied to the message as if nothing had happened and got into the car, “Du Lulu asked if I could give the Anomaly Investigation Department a discount, but I said it’s impossible.”
Shen Tazhi chuckled and ruffled his head. “Alright, but remember, if you ever need something and are short on money, tell me. Don’t just contact the Anomaly Investigation Department and sell yourself. Got it?”
“I know, I’m not stupid.” Jiang Que got into the car and rubbed against Shen Tazhi.
He transformed his tentacles back to their transparent state, wrapping around Shen Tazhi, and said with a smile, “Gege, instead of worrying about me, worry about yourself first.”
Shen Tazhi blushed instantly and fell silent, forgetting about the message Jiang Que had sent earlier.
Only Du Lulu stood in the Anomaly Investigation Department, looking at the message from Jiang Que with a smile of long-awaited revenge:
[Jiang Que: You tell me.]
Du Lulu quickly started searching for the most expensive brand of diamond rings.
She wasn’t going to interfere with Jiang Que’s love life, and with the huge salary he currently had, he could definitely afford a diamond ring. But she could create some information asymmetry and make Jiang Que’s proposal truly unforgettable.
