“Jiang Que, are you waiting for a message from someone?”
On Jiang Que’s third time pulling out his phone, Du Lulu couldn’t help but ask.
After graduating from high school, Jiang Que, now sixteen, finally entered the growth spurt of boys. Not only did he grow taller rapidly, but even his tentacles began to lengthen significantly.
While growing taller was manageable, the rapid growth of his tentacles had caused quite a bit of trouble in Jiang Que’s daily life. He would inadvertently expose them when going out.
Helpless, Jiang Que had to visit the Anomaly Investigation Department, which he hadn’t visited in a long time, for another body check-up. Du Lulu, who had known Jiang Que since childhood, was assigned to conduct the examination on him.
Currently, as Du Lulu was drawing blood from Jiang Que, she couldn’t help but notice him glancing at his phone from time to time and spoke up.
“Ah…” Jiang Que put away his phone and smiled apologetically at Du Lulu, “I’m waiting for a message. Normally, my gege should call me at this time, but for some reason, he hasn’t called today.”
The young man had grown significantly taller, like a tall bamboo. Shedding his childishness, he exuded a bit less cuteness around his eyes and brows, replaced by a more youthful vigor. His beautiful face was mesmerizing when he smiled, captivating souls.
He was a very handsome young man, at least in Du Lulu’s experience, she hadn’t seen a second human who looked better than Jiang Que.
Hearing Jiang Que’s words, Du Lulu couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy. “Why are you still so attached to your gege? I remember you used to have your gege on your mind all the time when you were a child.”
Jiang Que naturally replied, “Because my gege is handsome, talented, and treats me the best. I like my gege the most. Is there a problem with that?”
Du Lulu:…
I just don’t understand the brotherly bond between you two.
She quickly finished drawing blood from Jiang Que, then took the blood sample, saying, “I’ll go out to send this sample for you. Would you like to go to the lounge upstairs and have some dessert?”
She still remembered that Jiang Que’s favorite afternoon snack in kindergarten was little cakes.
“No need,” Jiang Que shook his head, glanced at his phone, “I’ll stay here and wait for my gege’s call.”
He had already seen He Yun at the cafeteria when he arrived, so there was no rush to visit her now. Waiting in place would suffice.
Du Lulu once again showed a bitter expression, reluctantly nodded, and opened the door. “Alright, then you can wait here for me.”
She closed the door, and just before it shut, she caught sight of Jiang Que looking down at his phone. …she really don’t understand the brotherly bond between them.
Perhaps it was because her expression was too strange, but on her way to deliver the blood sample, Du Lulu was stopped by Duan Yasu who happened to pass by.
“Lulu, your complexion doesn’t look good. Are you feeling unwell?” Duan Yasu, who always cared for this new addition to the task force, couldn’t help but raise her hand to feel Du Lulu’s forehead.
“No.” Du Lulu shook her head repeatedly. She sighed and helplessly explained, “It’s about Jiang Que.”
“Jiang Que?” Duan Yasu was even more surprised at the mention. “Wasn’t the Chief saying that he has always been raised as an ordinary child and there shouldn’t be any danger?”
“It’s not about danger. I just can’t understand why the relationship between these boys is so close.” Du Lulu said.
She recounted the stickiness and persistence Jiang Que showed towards Shen Tazhi since childhood, as well as the clingy behavior towards his gege that had persisted for decades. Du Lulu sighed as she spoke.
“No, I’ve seen brothers before too. There’s never been anything like this. I’m starting to feel a bit uneasy hearing Jiang Que talk like this.”
Duan Yasu fell silent for a moment, then asked, “Are everything you said true?”
“Of course it’s true,” Du Lulu said. “I’ve known Jiang Que since I was a child. Back then, I thought he was childish and liked sticking to adults. I never expected him to be like this after all these years.”
Duan Yasu spoke softly, “Is there a possibility that normal brothers aren’t like this?”
Du Lulu looked at her in surprise, “Huh? But didn’t everyone say that Jiang Que is no different from a normal person?”
“I’m not saying he’s not a normal person,” Duan Yasu sighed, “Are you really that dense? I meant that Jiang Que’s feelings towards Shen Tazhi might not be normal.”
“Huh?”
Du Lulu was even more shocked.
Duan Yasu rested her chin in one hand, pondered for a moment, and said, “I think he might like Shen Tazhi? It’s just a guess. If you’re really curious, you can ask him. Once you find out, let me know.”
She was one of the few women in the Anomaly Investigation Department who could gossip with Du Lulu. Although she was Du Lulu’s senior, their interaction was more like sisters.
Du Lulu, with a look of deep shock on her face, absentmindedly nodded, “Okay. But Team Leader Duan, how did you figure this out?”
“I guessed,” Duan Yasu said. “I’ve read about it in novels before.”
Du Lulu became interested, “A novel? Is it good? I’d like to read it too.”
Duan Yasu smiled, “It’s quite good, a good way to pass the time during the holidays. Aren’t you supposed to deliver the blood sample? Go ahead and do that first, and later I’ll send you the reading app I use on WeChat.”
“Okay, thank you, Leader Duan!” Du Lulu happily agreed and went on to deliver the blood sample.
Inside the examination room, Jiang Que was still looking at his phone. Ever since that inexplicable conversation with Shen Tazhi back in the first year of high school, the daily phone calls had suddenly decreased. Now, it was probably every two or three days, mostly on Wednesday or Friday afternoons. Shen Tazhi seemed to deliberately avoid his busiest and most free times, trying not to intrude on his personal time.
The problem was, Jiang Que had his own plans during his personal time that involved Shen Tazhi. He hinted several times, but Shen Tazhi seemed to brush it off with a light laugh as if he hadn’t understood.
Bad gege, clearly enjoying himself abroad and not wanting to hear those boring things from him, yet still finding reasons to evade him.
Jiang Que puffed his cheeks and continued to look at his phone. It was almost one o’clock, and today was Wednesday. Shen Tazhi would usually call by twelve. Even though he had finished his college entrance exams, Shen Tazhi’s graduation season had passed, and there were no more thesis deadlines. What could possibly be stopping Shen Tazhi from calling him?
Feeling a bit frustrated, Jiang Que glanced at WeChat again, but there were no messages. He simply closed the social media app, opened the novel app on his phone, and started reading to pass the time.
Before he could finish reading a few chapters, Du Lulu returned.
Jiang Que looked up at the sound of the door opening and asked, “Are the results out?”
“They are.” Du Lulu handed over the medical and blood test reports to Jiang Que. “You’re fine, just going through a normal growth phase. The report says you might enter a maturation phase in about two years.”
“Based on our experience with handling tentacle-based entities we’ve housed before, if you haven’t found a partner before the maturation phase, it’s advisable to visit the Anomaly Investigation Department during that time. Because tentacle-based entities without partners during maturation can be highly destructive, you might end up harming the humans around you.”
Maturation phase?
Jiang Que paused for a moment.
This was the first time he had heard this term, but it felt strangely familiar, as if he should have known about it.
It’s probably an instinct carved into his genes, Jiang Que tentatively asked, “If I have a partner, does that mean I have to spend a full seven days together during my maturation phase?”
“Yes,” Du Lulu was surprised, “How did you know?”
“…It should be instinct?” Jiang Que uncertainly replied.
Glancing at the time, which was already half past one, he stood up and said, “Thank you for today. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back now.”
As Jiang Que made his way to the door, just as he was about to open it, Du Lulu couldn’t resist her curiosity and called out to him.
“Wait.”
“What’s up?” Jiang Que turned back and asked.
Du Lulu hesitated for several seconds before asking softly, “What exactly is the relationship between you and Shen Tazhi?”
Jiang Que was puzzled by the question, “We’re just siblings, he’s my gege. What other relationship could we have?”
“But don’t you feel like the relationship between you two is not like a normal sibling relationship?” Du Lulu asked.
“Of course.” Jiang Que, who had already put his hand on the door handle, turned back a bit smugly upon hearing Du Lulu’s words, a hint of pride in his voice.
“We are exceptionally good brothers.”
Du Lulu:…
What is this? Even if he’s been fixated on him in his heart, even if he’s liked him since he was young, they’re still considered siblings?
She swallowed her almost-said complaint and continued, “Isn’t there any relationship beyond being siblings?”
“There is,” Jiang Que said.
Meeting Du Lulu’s expectant gaze, though a bit puzzled, he continued, “Shen Tazhi is still my family. We grew up together.”
Du Lulu:…
She was completely speechless.
Seeing that her roundabout inquiries were futile, Du Lulu went straight to the point, “Just family? Don’t you like him?”
“Of course, I do…”
“I’m not talking about the kind of liking towards a brother, I’m talking about the kind of liking towards a partner.” This time, before Jiang Que could continue speaking, Du Lulu directly interrupted him.
Jiang Que subconsciously wanted to finish his sentence, but before he could say anything, he suddenly realized what Du Lulu was saying, and he froze in place.
What kind of liking?
What partner? What Shen Tazhi?
Just the combination of the words “partner” and “Shen Tazhi” made Jiang Que blush uncontrollably. Trembling, he said, “Shen Tazhi… is my gege…”
His voice got smaller and smaller as he spoke, and finally, with his face burning red, he crouched down on the spot.
Oh no, why did mentioning the name “Shen Tazhi” now make his scalp tingle a bit?
Du Lulu added on, “Is he really just a gege? You must have seen many brothers from childhood to now. Are they like you and Shen Tazhi?”
Jiang Que covered his face, “Please stop.”
Seeing Jiang Que’s reaction, Du Lulu already understood most of it. She stood in front of Jiang Que and calmly added, “Haven’t you noticed that you’re too clingy to your gege?”
Jiang Que buried his face in his knees.
How could he have noticed!! He had always been like this since he was a child!
He and Shen Tazhi were just too familiar. They had been this close since he could remember. Even when Shen Tazhi went abroad for studies, this closeness didn’t change much. At most, their communication gradually reduced, but the emotional closeness never faded away.
…Okay, it wasn’t about him and Shen Tazhi. He had no idea how his gege felt, but he had always been like this.
He had always been dependent on and admired Shen Tazhi, even as he grew older.
Over the years, this bond had quietly persisted, and no one had noticed when this relationship had started feeling off. If it weren’t for Du Lulu tearing down the facade today with a direct hit, Jiang Que probably wouldn’t have realized his feelings towards Shen Tazhi were a bit abnormal in the short term.
Gege… partner…
Jiang Que’s face grew even redder.
He had once imagined what he would do if Shen Tazhi got married – simply stay away and never see him again. But now, if he were to replace Shen Tazhi’s marriage partner with himself…
He couldn’t figure it out, his mind was about to overload.
Fortunately, his gege didn’t call him today. He hoped he wouldn’t call today either; he had no idea how to face Shen Tazhi now.
Du Lulu looked at Jiang Que, surprisingly, her conscience didn’t prompt her to further probe, but instead she sighed and said: “Are you stupid? Kids nowadays mature early, always getting into relationships, right? Why are you so clueless and only realizing this now?”
Jiang Que: …QAQ
Stop it, he really couldn’t make sense of it, he felt like his brain was about to short circuit.
In the end, Jiang Que almost wandered out of the Anomaly Investigation Department, and then sat in the car to go home in a daze.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t accept this feeling, it was just that he had considered Shen Tazhi as a gege for so many years. Suddenly being told he liked Shen Tazhi, Jiang Que instinctively found it unbelievable.
Did he really like Shen Tazhi? Was his affection towards Shen Tazhi really that of a partner? Did he really not confuse admiration and liking?
With a head full of questions, Jiang Que opened a search engine.
After staring blankly for a while, he finally began typing in the search box:【What are the specific signs of liking someone?】
Popular answer:
【Liking someone means being happy at the thought of them, wanting to be with them all the time, wanting to be together forever, wanting to kiss them, wanting to make love with them, wanting to give them all the good things in the world…it’s that heartfelt bittersweet feeling!】
Being happy at the thought of him, wanting to be with him all the time… he did seem to feel that way about Shen Tazhi.
But isn’t this a normal feeling for family?
Jiang Que felt doubtful, his ears turning red as he skimmed over the inappropriate topic of “wanting to make love with them”, and he stared at the phrase “wanting to kiss them” in a daze.
This was something that family members definitely wouldn’t do, at least not common in China. So… did he want to kiss Shen Tazhi?
Suddenly, Shen Tazhi’s image popped up in Jiang Que’s mind.
Shen Tazhi looked very noble, with a natural aloofness in his features. He had thin lips, and when he didn’t smile, he seemed very serious.
Thin lips…
With a jolt, Jiang Que, his cheeks burning red, quickly turned off his phone, feeling guilty as if he had been caught red-handed.
He really couldn’t tell if he wanted to kiss Shen Tazhi, because just thinking about this step completely shut down his brain.
Jiang Que could only be thankful that Shen Tazhi had forgotten to call him today. Otherwise, he really didn’t have the confidence to not reveal any clues in front of Shen Tazhi. After all, Shen Tazhi had always seen him as a little brother…
Thinking of Shen Tazhi’s attitude towards him over the years, Jiang Que couldn’t help but lower his gaze.
Due to his ability to feed on emotions, he could easily discern many human emotions. For instance, the true love between Aunt Qingxue and Uncle Zhao was hard to hide. Therefore, Jiang Que could be certain that when Shen Tazhi looked at him, there was no similar affection, only the kind of fondness an older brother has for a younger sibling.
The reason why he hadn’t realized anything was wrong with his feelings for Shen Tazhi partly stemmed from this. Because Shen Tazhi’s responses to him were of normal brotherly affection, he naturally assumed his feelings were the same, never considering another possibility.
What if Shen Tazhi discovered his feelings? Jiang Que couldn’t help but think about it.
He pondered for several minutes but couldn’t come up with an answer.
Shen Tazhi had always been indulgent towards him, but this indulgence was based on their status as brothers. Now, if he shattered this foundation of their relationship, Jiang Que wasn’t sure how Shen Tazhi would treat him.
Would he be afraid? Disgusted?
Or… would he continue to indulge him as before?
Wait, wait, wait, how could the last guess be possible? Even if Shen Tazhi indulged him, he had principles. Jiang Que vigorously shook his head, dismissing this unreliable speculation.
With his mind in disarray, Jiang Que had never dealt with such complex emotions before.
He was used to being straightforward – if he liked something, he said it, if he didn’t, he said so. This was the first time he had experienced such a complex emotion of liking someone but being afraid to say it, worrying that the other person might dislike him for it, and being unable to guess the other person’s attitude. Jiang Que felt like his brain was constantly teetering on the brink of overload, as if it could shut down any second.
But time waits for no one. Before he could figure it out, he heard the driver from the Anomaly Investigation Department say, “We’re here.”
Jiang Que snapped back to reality.
He patted his burning red face, took a few deep breaths, tried to calm his emotions, and then opened the car door to get out.
Regardless of everything, since Shen Tazhi wasn’t home, he had to maintain a normal attitude on his way back, so as not to worry Aunt Qingxue and Uncle Zhao.
Oh, right, Aunt Qingxue and Uncle Zhao.
Would they be angry if they found out that he actually liked their son?
Jiang Que, who had relaxed a bit, became nervous once again, almost mechanically walking into the house.
Unlocking the password lock, Jiang Que suppressed his pounding heart and, as usual, changed his shoes while saying:
“Aunt, Uncle, I’m back.”
“Jiang Que is back?”
A clear voice sounded in his ears.
Huh? Why did Uncle Zhao’s voice sound younger?
After changing his shoes, Jiang Que looked up in confusion and the next moment, he saw Shen Tazhi’s enlarged face.
Shen Tazhi was half-crouching, watching him change his shoes, with a gentle smile on his face. “Jiang Que, surprised? I’m back.”
“Sorry for not calling you today. I was on a plane at noon…”
Bam!
A loud noise interrupted Shen Tazhi’s words.
Jiang Que, who was already feeling guilty, was so startled that he lost his balance and fell flat on the ground.
Surprised, Shen Tazhi hurried over to help Jiang Que up, “Did I startle you? Are you hurt?”
Jiang Que, looking at Shen Tazhi’s clearly extended hand, had his mind filled with all the things he had been thinking about in the car just moments ago.
With a jolt, he awkwardly dodged Shen Tazhi’s outstretched hand, hastily got up from the ground, and quickly said, “I’m not hurt, gege… I’ll go upstairs to take a shower and change clothes, it’s too hot outside!”
He practically fled, leaving Shen Tazhi standing alone in place.
Shen Tazhi lowered his head, looking at his hand that hadn’t been retracted yet, slowly pulling it back and curling his fingers.
It seemed like… Jiang Que intentionally avoided him, was it just his imagination?
Why? They had a good conversation just a few days ago.
“Zhi Zhi, did Xiao Que come back?”
Shen Qingxue heard the commotion and peeked out from the kitchen to ask.
“Hmm,” Shen Tazhi replied.
Turning to Shen Qingxue, he asked, “Has something happened to Jiang Que in these few days? Why does he seem off?”
“Off?” Shen Qingxue was puzzled. “What’s strange about him? He’s been perfectly normal. He even asked me yesterday when you would be back, maybe he was just pleasantly surprised to see you all of a sudden?”
“…Maybe. Jiang Que fell just now, I’ll go upstairs to check on him.” Shen Tazhi responded, then turned and headed upstairs.
His expression gradually turned cold.
Jiang Que’s reaction just now… rather than being surprised, it seemed more like bewilderment, as if the other party didn’t expect him to return at all.
Why was that? Was it… because he had been away for too long, so Jiang Que had become completely unfamiliar with him? But no matter how long he was gone, he always treated Jiang Que as his most beloved little brother.
In the bedroom.
At the time, Jiang Que just wanted to quickly avoid Shen Tazhi, so he rushed into the bedroom without realizing the gravity of the situation.
This was Shen Tazhi’s bedroom.
Although Shen Qingxue had prepared a bedroom for him, when he was young, he used to sleep with Shen Tazhi every day and hardly used his own room.
As he grew older and Shen Tazhi went abroad, he continued to stay in Shen Tazhi’s bedroom without moving.
Initially, he didn’t think much of it, but now Jiang Que finally realized that something was wrong.
He had always been sleeping in Shen Tazhi’s bed, using Shen Tazhi’s toiletries, and even sharing a wardrobe with Shen Tazhi!
If Shen Tazhi rarely came back and didn’t mind, did Shen Qingxue and the others not notice anything wrong? He had been occupying their own son’s bedroom all this time?!
This seemed clearly inappropriate, why didn’t anyone in the family raise an objection before? Even the most sensible Uncle Zhao didn’t think anything was amiss?
Now that he was grown up and Shen Tazhi had returned, it was obviously unreasonable to share a room with him.
It wasn’t right to let his long-absent son come back home and still have to share his room with a lodger. He should quickly pack up his things and move to the adjacent room to shower.
With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Que didn’t even bother with taking a shower. He quickly pulled out his suitcase from under the bed, packed all his belongings in a hurry, and planned to escape to the neighboring room.
Dong, dong.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
“Coming.”
Thinking it was Shen Qingxue, Jiang Que walked over and opened the door directly. When he saw Shen Tazhi standing at the door, he froze.
Wait, he had already escaped upstairs, why was Shen Tazhi here?
Oh, right, this was Shen Tazhi’s bedroom, so it was normal for Shen Tazhi to come here, right?
Realizing this, Jiang Que didn’t even have time to greet him. He turned back to his room to grab his suitcase, “I’m sorry, gege, I didn’t know you were coming back. I’ve packed up my things, I’ll move to the neighboring room. I’ll come help you change the bedding later.”
Shen Tazhi reached out to grab Jiang Que’s suitcase. He actually wanted to grab Jiang Que’s hand, but Jiang Que recoiled as if he had been shocked when Shen Tazhi reached out, quickly pulling his hand back from the suitcase.
Shen Tazhi was looking down at Jiang Que’s suitcase, so Jiang Que couldn’t see his expression.
After a moment of silence, he heard Shen Tazhi speak, his voice somewhat muffled, “What… do you mean by this?”
If I wasn’t doing this at work, I would’ve used the “Here’s Johnny!” meme
