Dealing with Jiang Que’s injury served two purposes: to test Jiang Que’s attitude towards him and to buy some time.
The wound on Jiang Que’s hand was indeed shocking to see. His index finger’s nail had been almost completely turned over, requiring removal and waiting for a new nail to grow.
Shen Tazhi hesitated and said, “Your nail may need to be removed. If you’re afraid of pain, let me know. I can call a family doctor to administer anesthesia for you.”
Jiang Que tilted his head, seemingly pondering the meaning of “family doctor” and “anesthesia” in Shen Tazhi’s words, then shook his head.
“No need for anyone else.”
Helplessly, Shen Tazhi carefully used tweezers to remove what was left of Jiang Que’s nail, which was barely attached by a thin layer of skin. When the nail completely detached, blood gushed out, causing Shen Tazhi to panic. After disinfecting and applying an anti-inflammatory ointment, he quickly tied a tourniquet.
By the time everything was done, Shen Tazhi was already sweating profusely—just watching was painful enough for him.
Throughout the whole ordeal, Jiang Que remained silent, sitting on the couch, quietly watching Shen Tazhi with his dark eyes.
As if it wasn’t him having his nail removed.
Once the wound was tended to, the tentacles that had been still at Shen Tazhi’s waist began to move upward again. Shen Tazhi, who was tidying up the first aid kit, tensed up.
His hand brushed past the wooden cabinet again, not taking anything, but he turned and asked, “What happened to your hand?”
Jiang Que casually replied, “I need to come out of the abyss to find you, so I need to do this.”
Shen Tazhi didn’t quite grasp Jiang Que’s logic in his words, but after their brief interaction earlier, he could sense that Jiang Que simply didn’t know how to communicate with humans, rather than intentionally giving cryptic puzzles to solve.
So he softened his tone again and asked, “Why do you need to do this when you come out?”
As expected, Jiang Que obediently answered, “Because there’s no pen in the abyss, so I have to use blood to draw the magic circle.”
Having been briefed on Jiang Que’s background by Chief Wu earlier, Shen Tazhi subconsciously began to imagine Jiang Que expressionlessly drawing a magic circle with blood on the ground. The scenario of his slender and beautiful hands being cut by gravel, nails scraped off on the cold hard ground made him shudder.
He involuntarily furrowed his brow. “Don’t you feel pain at all?”
Jiang Que remained silent, quietly watching Shen Tazhi.
The person who had died completely in front of him in the previous life now stood vividly before him.
Jiang Que felt a slight regret. Perhaps he should have started by giving Shen Tazhi a hug instead of gripping his neck, trying to make him remember.
But Shen Tazhi struggling with his neck held was also quite captivating.
Lost in his thoughts, Jiang Que’s tentacles began to move erratically, with a few already slipping under Shen Tazhi’s clothes.
Shen Tazhi froze. He wanted to change the subject and repeated his question, “Don’t you feel pain?”
Finally hearing Shen Tazhi’s question, Jiang Que pondered for a moment and asked back, “Should I be feeling pain?”
He lifted his hand and, following his instincts, embraced Shen Tazhi directly.
The slender and frail youth fell into the man’s arms, like a tender and delicate lamb or a delicate and beautiful canary, so beautiful and fragile.
—If one were to ignore the horrifying tentacles clinging to Shen Tazhi.
“Gege,” Jiang Que’s voice was soft, as if he was coquettish. “If I say it hurts, will you stay for me?”
Stay for what?
Shen Tazhi didn’t understand, feeling at a loss. He hesitated to respond, not daring to hug back or pull away, and could only tentatively ask, “Stay for what?”
He sensed Jiang Que’s breath pause for a second.
Then came a self-mocking chuckle, “Of course, gege has always been afraid of me, right?”
Almost as Jiang Que’s words trailed off, a sudden sense of impending danger made Shen Tazhi startle. In an instant, he felt he had misspoken:
“Wait—”
But the next moment, he couldn’t speak anymore.
A tentacle directly blocked his mouth, plunging from lips to throat.
Shen Tazhi had no doubt that if Jiang Que had intentions to harm him, he could easily pierce him in such a manner.
But Jiang Que just looked at the tentacles with regret, saying, “Not now,” a vague and disjointed phrase. He then continued to hold onto Shen Tazhi, who was struggling and retching incessantly, before Shen Tazhi’s expression of anger appeared. Jiang Que, showing signs of weakness, lowered his gaze before Shen Tazhi could display his fury.
In a pitiful tone, Jiang Que said, “Gege doesn’t like me… but the eggs in gege’s belly still need me. Without me, you would die.”
“Mmm…” Shen Tazhi could only make a sound in response.
Jiang Que, absorbed in his own world, slid his fingertips up and down Shen Tazhi’s waist and abdomen, smiling slyly.
“If it weren’t for me, these eggs would hatch into little tentacles inside you. These little tentacles would roam your body, searching for a way out, emerging from countless places.”
“Your esophagus, extending from your mouth, your eyes, your ears, your…”
Jiang Que’s hand gradually moved elsewhere.
Shen Tazhi’s eyes widened in horror, shaking his head desperately. However, with his mouth blocked by a tentacle, he could only let out a weak “mmm” sound.
This was Jiang Que’s most terrifying speculation, deliberately picking the things Shen Tazhi feared the most to say, as he saw Shen Tazhi’s emotions and decided to exploit them.
The tentacles were enveloped by the warm cavity of the mouth, gradually delving in deeper, with the nearby tentacles growing restless.
Jiang Que simply changed to another tentacle to continue blocking Shen Tazhi’s mouth, letting out a slight, contented sigh, like a snake coiling around Shen Tazhi without letting go.
“Gege, you can’t fear me, you can’t hate me. You must be with me for the rest of your life.”
Shen Tazhi struggled to reach for his phone scattered on the couch to send a message to the Anomaly Investigation Department.
Just as his hand was about to touch the phone, a tentacle deftly snatched it away.
In the face of Shen Tazhi’s despairing gaze, Jiang Que chuckled and tossed the phone to him, saying, “Contact the Anomaly Investigation Department. Tell them I’m fine. We are lovers.”
Shen Tazhi held the phone, momentarily confused by Jiang Que’s intentions.
Contact the Anomaly Investigation Department? Was Jiang Que not afraid that he might send a distress signal if he felt cornered?
Seeing Shen Tazhi’s puzzled expression, Jiang Que nonchalantly added, “If the Anomaly Investigation Department takes me away, the eggs in gege’s belly won’t be soothed, and you will die.”
“Or perhaps—”
He leaned in close to Shen Tazhi, whispering softly in his ear:
“Gege, do you want to come to the Anomaly Investigation Department regularly and be exposed in front of everyone there by me…”
Shen Tazhi trembled suddenly, emitting a whimper that sounded like a plea for mercy, then quickly sent a message to the Anomaly Investigation Department as per Jiang Que’s words.
Once the message was sent, Jiang Que satisfiedly wrapped Shen Tazhi with his tentacles, saying, “Gege, let’s go upstairs.”
In the bedroom.
Shen Tazhi’s originally neat and cool-toned bedroom was now in disarray, clothes strewn all over, and even the safety tao had been casually tossed aside by Jiang Que.
As for Shen Tazhi himself, he was ensnared in bed by Jiang Que’s tentacles. Every possible entrance was blocked, and Jiang Que even, self-taught, learned to shrink his tentacles to block his… exits.
The tentacles, not being human, naturally didn’t tire. Shen Tazhi had been dragged into a state of near suffocation for over eight hours without respite.
From attempting to struggle and negotiate to complete breakdown, it had only taken eight hours. Shen Tazhi almost pleaded with Jiang Que, hoping for release.
Jiang Que merely touched his wet eyes, cruelly and innocently saying, “But without doing this, the eggs in gege’s belly won’t be soothed.”
Shen Tazhi actually wanted to ask where exactly there were eggs in his belly, but aside from when he was kissing Jiang Que, his mouth had no respite. He couldn’t even manage a complete word, let alone ask Jiang Que.
In a state of consciousness drifting, Shen Tazhi thought it was all over when Jiang Que finally released him.
But unexpectedly, he heard a voice from above:
“Don’t forget about me. gege only favors my tentacles, it’s too much.”
Truly… it would be the end.
Shen Tazhi was dragged back into the abyss.
When he woke up again, he had no idea what time it was.
Shen Tazhi opened his eyes, seeing a pitch-black room. Subconsciously, he thought it was nighttime and prepared to go back to sleep, but then he realized something was wrong.
He couldn’t move.
His limbs were all locked by the tentacles, every possible exit was blocked by the tentacles. He looked like a sacrificial offering to some alien god, lying on the bed with his limbs sprawled in the most humiliating posture.
He was confined, not even in his own home, but locked on this not-so-large bed.
This realization ignited an unnamed anger in Shen Tazhi’s heart. He almost forcefully removed the most troublesome tentacle from his body and was about to confront Jiang Que.
But then he froze.
It wasn’t because he couldn’t find Jiang Que, quite the opposite, Jiang Que was sleeping right beside him.
The beautiful black-haired youth breathed evenly, curled up in a small ball next to him. His tentacles roamed freely in the room, while Jiang Que occupied a small and pitiful space.
This was a posture that wanted to snuggle into Shen Tazhi’s embrace but didn’t dare to. Shen Tazhi could even clearly see that if he were to hold Jiang Que, with this posture, Jiang Que’s head should be resting on his chest.
Not pitifully leaning on his tentacles.
Sensing the prey on his tentacles attempting to escape, Jiang Que urgently wrapped Shen Tazhi once again, clutching him tightly like an insecure little bird.
“Gege… it hurts, I’m in pain.”
“Don’t leave, it hurts, I’m not a monster… don’t be afraid of me…”
The words came out in a blurry murmur from Jiang Que, the panicked tone sounding far from contrived.
Shen Tazhi: …
Yet he couldn’t believe that Jiang Que was truly asleep now. His tentacles within his body were active.
Pretending to be pitiful.
Shen Tazhi thought this, but couldn’t help but soften his heart. He gently moved back, carefully shifting the curled-up Jiang Que into his embrace.
Forget it, he wasn’t feeling comfortable tonight anyway. Dealing with this could wait until tomorrow. It didn’t matter to spend the night holding Jiang Que.
After a whole day of turmoil, Shen Tazhi drifted back to sleep.
In the darkness, Jiang Que opened his eyes.
He gazed steadily at the sleeping Shen Tazhi for a while, then slowly squeezed himself closer to Shen Tazhi, reaching out to embrace him.
Even if the favoritism came from a pitiful act, it was still love. Whatever emotions Shen Tazhi had, Jiang Que wanted them.
Shen Tazhi’s embrace was warm, and Jiang Que soon began to feel drowsy, gradually falling asleep.
Unnoticed by Jiang Que, in the late night, Shen Tazhi, who should have been in a peaceful dream, furrowed his brows slightly, as if he had fallen into a nightmare, silently opening his mouth.
The shape of his mouth seemed to be saying: Que Que.
Memories from the past life resurfaced in the dream.
Perhaps it was the warmth of Shen Tazhi’s embrace, or maybe it was because the tentacles that had been hurting for so long weren’t as painful last night, but Jiang Que rarely had a good night’s sleep.
When he woke up again, he found the space beside him empty.
Shen Tazhi had somehow left at some point.
The slight drowsiness Jiang Que felt vanished instantly. He sat up abruptly, lips pressed tightly together, and pushed the door open with his tentacles. He got out of bed, intending to look for Shen Tazhi.
Only upon getting off the bed did Jiang Que realize something was off.
His clothes had been changed to clean pajamas, and the mess on the floor had clearly been tidied up.
Feeling bewildered for a moment, before he could process what was happening, Shen Tazhi, who had just walked by from the living room downstairs, saw him.
Shen Tazhi was also dressed in home pajamas, walking somewhat awkwardly but not to the point of being unable to move. Upon seeing Jiang Que, he casually waved his hand:
“Que Que, would you like to have breakfast?”
Jiang Que quickly rushed downstairs, locking Shen Tazhi tightly with his tentacles as he anxiously asked, “Why did you leave?”
“Why can’t I leave?” Shen Tazhi asked in confusion. “I came down to make breakfast. Do you expect me to wait for you to make breakfast and bring it to me?”
Jiang Que fell silent. “…Do you want breakfast?”
Shen Tazhi was even more puzzled. “If I don’t eat, what will I have?”
Jiang Que fell into contemplation.
In the previous life, Shen Tazhi didn’t need to eat after consuming his eggs. Why did he need to eat this time? Could it be because Shen Tazhi hadn’t reverted back? Was the Shen Tazhi in front of him the one who had never met him, completely unrelated to him?
The speculation struck Jiang Que like lightning, leaving him rooted to the spot. He hadn’t even reacted by the time Shen Tazhi brought out breakfast.
Shen Tazhi pushed the plate towards him. “We only have frozen dumplings at home. If the dumpling skin is frozen for too long, it’s easy to break when boiled. I pan-fried them this morning. Would you like to try?”
He was just making it up. Pan-fried dumplings were simply better for dipping than slippery boiled dumplings, and he was worried that Jiang Que wouldn’t know how to use chopsticks.
Jiang Que blinked in confusion, sitting at the table, staring at the unfamiliar food in front of him. After a while, he awkwardly picked up the chopsticks, imitating the way he remembered humans doing it.
As Shen Tazhi expected, Jiang Que indeed didn’t know how to use chopsticks. He awkwardly picked up a dumpling, carefully took a bite.
Although Jiang Que’s bite was small, only tasting the dumpling skin, the crispy, oily, and meaty flavor of the dumpling skin was enough to leave him stunned for a long time.
This was… the taste of food?
“What’s wrong?” Shen Tazhi asked. “Don’t you like it?”
“No,” Jiang Que shook his head, quickly finished the dumplings in two bites, then went for another one, proving his liking with actions.
Shen Tazhi chuckled, poured some vinegar for him, and pushed it over. “I also made some red bean congee this morning. Would you like to try it?”
Although Jiang Que didn’t know what red bean congee was, he nodded. At that moment, he even forgot why he had come to find Shen Tazhi in the first place. All that filled his mind was the taste spreading on his taste buds.
It was hot, fragrant, and didn’t make his tentacles hurt or nauseous. This was the human food Shen Tazhi had told him about from the previous life.
In truth, Jiang Que didn’t really care about the fact that Shen Tazhi was afraid of him. At worst, it would make Shen Tazhi never dare to fear him again. But at that moment, Jiang Que felt like crying.
He remembered the Shen Tazhi from the previous life who had patted his head, then the Shen Tazhi who had looked at him with fear before jumping off. The Shen Tazhi who had said he would take him out and give him human food might never return, and the current Shen Tazhi… would definitely dislike him even more.
Even though he claimed not to care, he actually wanted Shen Tazhi’s love. However, no one had ever taught him how to handle it. His current behavior was already the gentlest way he could think of from all the human behaviors he knew.
“Why are you crying?”
Shen Tazhi’s slightly panicked voice reached Jiang Que’s ears, and then he felt a warmth on his face. Shen Tazhi was wiping away his tears.
The scene, somewhat similar to the previous life, caused Jiang Que’s tears to flow more freely. He had a pan-fried dumpling in his mouth, and he cried expressionlessly, without making a sound or any movement.
Silent and still, but particularly heart-wrenching.
In the end, his tears weren’t completely wiped away. Jiang Que avoided Shen Tazhi’s hand, wiping his face with his sleeve, finishing the last few dumplings, and then the congee.
As Jiang Que was about to lift the vinegar to drink it all, Shen Tazhi hurriedly stopped him. “Wait, this isn’t for drinking.”
Looking confused, Jiang Que had stopped crying, but his eyes were still red. He looked like a pure crybaby with red eyes.
No one would have thought that he had been so maliciously bullying Shen Tazhi for the past two days.
Shen Tazhi sighed, explaining, “Que Que, this is for dipping the dumplings.”
He briefly educated Jiang Que on the human dipping sauce, then took him to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth.
After wiping away the tear stains and clumsily brushing his teeth, Jiang Que finally managed to sort out the inexplicable emotions he had just experienced.
His tentacles wrapped around Shen Tazhi’s waist again, unreasonably hugging him. “Gege, I don’t want you to go downstairs. Can we go back upstairs?”
Shen Tazhi fell silent for a moment, not refusing, but asking him, “What about breakfast?”
Jiang Que replied, “…I can learn.”
Shen Tazhi couldn’t help but laugh, taking his wrist. Jiang Que then noticed that the bandage on his fingers had been replaced with a new one at some point.
“Que Que, you should take care of your hand first,” Shen Tazhi teased.
It was strange. He had been able to unreasonably tie up Shen Tazhi before, but now, facing Shen Tazhi speaking to him kindly, Jiang Que didn’t know what to do.
He could only awkwardly repeat, “Let’s go back.”
Surprisingly, Shen Tazhi was accommodating. “Okay.”
He took Jiang Que upstairs, showing no sign of reluctance.
Jiang Que couldn’t understand Shen Tazhi’s emotions. Being unfamiliar with humans, he was like a highly nearsighted person without eyes, totally unsure of what to do in the face of a Shen Tazhi who was speaking kindly to him.
Until he sat down on the bed, Jiang Que still hadn’t fully grasped the situation.
“Do you want to take a nap?” Shen Tazhi asked.
Jiang Que shook his head. He had just woken up and wasn’t sleepy at all.
“Not sleepy?” Shen Tazhi chuckled softly. “That’s good then, let’s chat.”
Chat about what?
Jiang Que became wary. “I won’t let you leave.”
That was his bottom line. He wouldn’t allow Shen Tazhi to leave his sight.
Shen Tazhi sighed in resignation. “I’m right here, aren’t I? I won’t leave. Let’s talk about something else.”
“What do you want to talk about?” Jiang Que asked, puzzled.
Shen Tazhi sat down beside him. Due to Jiang Que’s tentacles sticking to him, Shen Tazhi had to keep a bit of distance to accommodate them.
“Let’s talk about… the eggs,” Shen Tazhi’s voice paused for a moment, and his ears turned slightly red. “You mentioned the eggs in my belly… what is that?”
Jiang Que, with a straight face, made up a story, “In the previous life, you were pregnant with my eggs. Without me, you would have died.”
“Pregnant?” Shen Tazhi’s expression turned odd. “How did I get pregnant?”
“Just… like last night,” Jiang Que stumbled, “Just like how it was last night.”
He quickly realized Shen Tazhi was doubting him.
It was a baseless claim, so it was normal for Shen Tazhi to doubt. Jiang Que paused, then directly wrapped Shen Tazhi with his tentacles, laying him down on the bed.
With pale, sickly fingers, he pressed Shen Tazhi’s lower abdomen and asked in a strange tone, “Gege, do you not like our baby? Then I’ll help you take it out. I don’t like them either. In the previous life, you insisted on protecting them and didn’t want a miscarriage.”
Shen Tazhi was once again laid down. He looked at Jiang Que’s hand and softly asked, “In the previous life, what were we like in your eyes?”
Why was he suddenly asking this question?
Jiang Que tilted his head, stating matter-of-factly, “In the previous life, I saved you, but you were afraid of me, always compromising with me… Hmm.”
His icy hand touched Shen Tazhi’s neck, where the marks of the past days’ strangulation still lingered.
“I almost killed you many times,” Jiang Que smiled brightly, “So it’s normal for you to fear me.”
“Later, you were too afraid of me, didn’t want to be entangled with me anymore, so you died.”
The black tentacles entwined Shen Tazhi’s hands, seemingly expressing anger on behalf of the smiling entity.
“Gege, this time I won’t give you a chance to die. Liking me or being afraid of me doesn’t matter. You must be with me.”
Shen Tazhi neither struggled nor resisted. He simply looked at Jiang Que, seemingly trying to judge the truthfulness of his words through his expression.
Just as the tentacles skillfully began to undo the pajamas, Shen Tazhi suddenly used his bound hands to prop himself up and kissed Jiang Que before Jiang Que could react.
In the past few days, it had always been Jiang Que kissing him, or rather, biting him. Jiang Que didn’t know how to kiss; he only used fragmented skin contact to express his emotions.
But Shen Tazhi, after prying open Jiang Que’s teeth, gave him a deep kiss.
Their breaths intertwined, leaving Jiang Que dumbfounded, subconsciously following Shen Tazhi’s lead.
In that moment of separation, he seemed to hear Shen Tazhi’s soft laughter and whisper, “Que Que, who said I don’t like you?”
It was an answer that seemed to belong in a dream, leaving Jiang Que blinking in confusion.
He thought that perhaps he had already been killed by Shen Tazhi in his sleep.
Otherwise, how could everything from waking up feel so surreal, like a dream?
