Chapter 13: “Like, Mommy, Like, Doggy.”

Tao Xiu’s hand on his abdomen trembled slightly, his heart pounded, and the dizzying scent still filled his nostrils.

He blinked, as if asking the unconscious tentacles, or perhaps muttering to himself: “Is he (she)… responding to us?”

There was no answer, only the dark blue tentacles clinging even more possessively to the young man’s body.

Tao Xiu’s eyes curved. He gently caressed the folds of his soft shirt around his waist and abdomen, and tenderly said, “Good child…”

This time, there was no response.

The tiny life seemed too faint, not yet strong enough to respond to more love. He (she) affectionately clung to the young man, growing quietly and obediently.

Tao Xiu’s smile grew even softer. He wiped his face clean and left the bathroom to eat his nutritious meal.

That shop not only had delicious signature hamburger steak, but its nutritious meals were also delicious, with a well-balanced ratio of meat and vegetables.

However, relying solely on takeout every day might not be ideal.

Perhaps he should consider switching his work from a seven-day, no-break schedule to a typical five-day work week.

As he ate dinner, thinking about various minor tasks, Tao Xiu, in a rare good mood, entered Huo Si’s room to water the succulents.

After watering, he looked at the handsome man sleeping on the bed, leaned down to plant a kiss on his forehead, and raised an eyebrow, saying, “You’d better wake up before he (she) is born, or else you’ll regret it.”

Upon hearing this, the tentacles in the room surged wildly from all directions towards the young man, intertwining with his body, yet not daring to impede his steps or movements. Tao Xiu stood there, looking around.

The bone lamp by the bed emitted a cold, eerie blue light, but it only illuminated the area around the bedside.

The rest of the room remained in thick darkness.

The other two “doggy” pets, who preferred living here, didn’t seem to be in the room, and he couldn’t precisely locate them.

Actually, in the past year, he had never turned on the main light in this room or seen its full extent.

After they started dating, Huo Si, who had gained some common sense about human society, seemed very reluctant to let him see the room, so Tao Xiu hadn’t actively asked to see it.

After all, even in the most intimate relationships, partners should have some private space.

He actually understood that the man was worried he’d be scared, but Huo Si never seemed to grasp that if he’d accepted getting into bed with those eerie tentacles, what else could possibly scare him?

Thinking this, Tao Xiu thoughtfully looked in one direction: that should be the window, because the two dogs, when running, jumping, and acting cute before, had once brought him thick curtains from there.

He wondered what was outside the window of this room that made Huo Si so afraid for him to see it. Tao Xiu smiled helplessly and left the room to get ready for bed.

Considering the easy access for the tentacles, he merely closed the door without entirely shutting it.

After quickly finishing his evening routine, Tao Xiu began to modify his house. He didn’t make too many special designs, just reinforced the door and converted all the outward-facing glass in his home into infinite ponds.

However, the possibility of accidentally harming ordinary people bothered Tao Xiu a little. He stood by the living room window, stroking his chin, considering how to improve it.

Suddenly, Coconut, who had been playing with his toy on the rug, abruptly sat up and looked at the utility room door. He let out a wary “Awooo” bark, revealing his fearsome fangs.

Tao Xiu’s movements paused, and he sharply looked towards the door.

“Thump, thump, thump.”

A muffled knocking sound came from deep within the darkness beyond the door. Tao Xiu tensed up.

He secured Coconut’s leash, opened the door, and stepped inside. The dull “thumping” became clearer.

Tao Xiu turned on the bone lamp by Huo Si’s bed, used the bed to pinpoint his location, and looked in the direction of the sound: it was the window.

Tao Xiu instantly tightened Coconut’s leash: Someone was knocking on the window from outside!

But strangely, Coconut was still barking warily, while the exceptionally exclusive tentacles in the room showed no reaction. They were still leisurely nuzzling against his body, acting cute.

Tao Xiu thought for a moment, pursed his lips, held his breath, and led Coconut towards the source of the sound.

“Boss, if you woke me up, at least open the window—Ah, someone’s there, right?! Help! Help! This windowsill is impossibly slippery, I can’t hold on much longer!”

Tao Xiu’s pupils constricted: Did Huo Si call someone here? No wonder the tentacles in the room weren’t reacting at all.

He was about to take another step forward to feel for the curtain’s position, but a tentacle possessively restrained him, making him step back.

Only then did another tentacle unhurriedly move in that direction, disdainfully pulling back the curtain and, with a “snap,” opening the window.

It swiftly scooped something up, pulled it back, and unceremoniously dropped it at Tao Xiu’s feet with a crisp “thump.”

Tao Xiu held the bedside lamp and shone it over.

A person—or, to be precise, a blurry humanoid creature—was rolling on the ground: “Ah, it really hurts QAQ.”

The voice was clear and pleasant, like a teenager’s.

Even in humanoid form, Tao Xiu could sense it: it was one of his own kind… another of his kind, besides Huo Si.

Tao Xiu blinked, trying to make his tone sound friendly: “Hello?”

He paused and pointed towards the door. “Do you want to check your injuries over there first?”

After all, from the sound, it really seemed like their head had been bumped.

The creature on the ground now sat up, hugging its knees, and whimpered aggrievedly, saying, “You’re really a good person! QAQ”

Tao Xiu thought about what those tentacles had just done, and cleared his throat guiltily.

He walked out, saying as he went, “Anyway, follow me first.”

The humanoid creature “hmm-ed” and stumbled out, following the warmth emanating from Tao Xiu.

…

Under the living room light, Tao Xiu blinked in surprise at the person before him: the voice sounded very young, but the person was unexpectedly tall.

The muscular youth, with silver hair, silver eyes, and overly pale skin, wore a disheveled black butler’s suit and sat awkwardly on the sofa, secretly and curiously observing his surroundings.

However, one of his hands was tightly tucked into his suit sleeve, as if he was very reluctant for Tao Xiu to see it.

Tao Xiu soothed Coconut, then politely served juice to the guest. He deliberated, “May I ask who you are?”

The youth looked at Tao Xiu, blinked, then curiously glanced at Tao Xiu’s slender waist.

He said, “My name is Zhu, and I’m a butler. The boss woke me up and told me to accompany you.”

He was also told to take good care of this young man.

Tao Xiu was stunned: “…Huo Si?”

The youth gasped when Tao Xiu said that name, then, after a moment, quickly said, “Yes, yes.”

He paused and added, “You can use me however you wish! Anything is fine! I am a butler; this is my duty.” He was a very competent butler!

Tao Xiu was in a daze for a long time, unable to recover: He was an ordinary worker living in a 90-square-meter apartment, and now he had… a butler???

This was too surreal!

What was Huo Si thinking?!

He couldn’t even give him peace of mind while asleep!

He twitched his lips, about to say something, but then his pupils suddenly constricted.

His gaze fixed on Zhu’s arm, which was retracted into his sleeve. The youth’s brow quickly furrowed for a moment, and a finger had accidentally slipped out of the sleeve.

Even though it had retracted, Tao Xiu saw the finger with a bloody hole very clearly.

He immediately half-crouched in front of the youth and unhesitatingly pulled up the sleeve.

Zhu didn’t have time to stop him, his face instantly turning crimson.

He stammered quickly, “It’s, it’s fine! I’m awake and I’ll digest them soon, it’s just a little uncomfortable, it’s nothing! It’s just a bit ugly, but it absolutely won’t affect my work—”

Tao Xiu’s eyes widened at the sight before him, and threads of cold light gradually emerged in his moss-green pupils: On the youth’s arm, there were countless blackish-brown, soft, leech-like worms.

Each worm had a bizarre, human-like face, resembling something from the uncanny valley.

They burrowed in and out of the youth’s flesh, gnawing at it.

Tao Xiu’s voice was icy as he asked, “What are these?”

Zhu’s face shone sheepishly. He said, “They’re just worms, really. No one would usually mind them; you step on them. But recently, I don’t know what happened; it seems to have gotten a bit more severe. I was startled when I woke up.”

Seeing that the other seemed worried about him, he said, “It’s really nothing. Otherwise, the boss wouldn’t have let me into the room at all.”

Such minuscule creatures as worms were not worthy of His attention.

Tao Xiu sighed: “But it must be very uncomfortable, right?”

Zhu froze and opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say: How could there be such a gentle fellow being? He was even essentially his other master…

Tao Xiu didn’t notice the other’s emotions. He simply carefully lowered the arm.

Because of his time with Huo Si, he was now very good at interacting with his kind who had just arrived in human society.

He turned on the TV, his eyes curving as he said, “You rest first. I’ll go ask the doctor how to deal with leech-like creatures.”

With that, he got up and went to the bedroom, calling Qiao Zhi’an.

…

Sitting on the sofa, Zhu watched the screen that displayed images with interest: many little ants were speaking a language he didn’t understand.

It was so much fun.

“According to our frontline reporter, 13 female students’ parents have reported to the police. It is understood that they are all students from Class 2, Grade 3 of Mingyuan High School, and all went missing at the same time tonight. We urge all citizens with relevant clues to provide them to the police as soon as possible!”

“The names of the 13 female students are: Zhao Cancan, Li Hangyuan…”

Zhu tilted his head curiously, watching the screen: he still didn’t understand what those cute little ants were saying.

It was either his own effort to become an ant or an unconscious command from the slumbering boss.

The fellow his boss wanted him to take care of also spoke the ant language, but they could communicate with each other, most likely because of his little master’s ability.

He quietly looked at the dense “leeches” on his right hand and arm: actually, there was really no need to worry about him so much.

At most, in seven days, he would have digested them all.

They were just worms; no one would care about them.

It was just really, really disgusting.

Just then, Tao Xiu finished his call and came out of the bedroom. He sighed a bit helplessly, saying, “I have a doctor friend, and he said he’ll come over himself.”

Qiao Zhi’an was an orthopedic surgeon, but he could still handle leeches. Him coming over was definitely more convenient than bringing a person with no ID and no life experience to the hospital.

However, when Qiao Zhi’an arrived with his medical bag and various medical instruments, he was still shocked.

He stared at the horrifying arm for a long time without speaking, then frowned thoughtfully, quickly put on medical gloves, and half-crouched in front of Zhu, saying, “Tao Xiu, you’re in charge of handing me the tools.”

Tao Xiu was startled and stopped him: “No, you tell me how to do it; I’ll do it.”

Qiao Zhi’an widened his eyes at him: “Setting aside the fact that I’m the doctor, do you know that you are currently—”

But Tao Xiu looked at him with unwavering determination: “Qiao Zhi’an, I have a premonition that if I let you touch these things, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”

With that, he pushed him aside, put on rubber gloves, and picked up the tools.

Qiao Zhi’an was stunned, then, realizing, quickly said, “Leeches have a suction cup mouthpart, so you need to…”

…

Who knew how much time had passed before Tao Xiu finished treating the worms on Zhu?

 Qiao Zhi’an sat on the sofa, carefully disinfecting Zhu’s arm, occasionally glancing towards the bathroom—Tao Xiu had been in there for a long time.

He lowered his voice and said, “I’m just asking casually, buddy, who are you? And what’s your relationship with Tao Xiu?”

Zhu: “???”

His arm felt very comfortable now; he was very pleased. But, dear little ant, he was truly sorry and couldn’t quite understand!

Assuming the other didn’t want to talk, Qiao Zhi’an grumbled inwardly about how tight-lipped this guy was, while continuing to disinfect the arm dutifully.

…

In the bathroom, Tao Xiu frowned, looking at the horrifying worms in the basin.

Each worm’s circular mouthpart had terrifying teeth.

They seemed very afraid of Tao Xiu, constantly wriggling their bodies, trying to escape.

The “human faces” on their bodies, combined with their mouthparts, emitted a sharp wail.

Tao Xiu narrowed his eyes: These were definitely not ordinary leeches. But what exactly were they?

Then, Tao Xiu helplessly looked at Coconut.

Its two scarlet eyes gleamed as it looked at the food in the basin.

Coconut seemed to really like eating these.

Huo Si had said before that Coconut had two sets of mouths: one for eating and the other for daily activities, and another for acting as a cleaner, cleaning the house.

He had seen it; Coconut’s cleaning mouth was even more potent than bleach.

But this was the first time he’d seen Coconut’s eating mouth, and also the first time he’d seen Coconut drooling.

Feeling a bit soft-hearted, he stroked Coconut’s head and said gently, “Sorry, it took me until now to realize what you like to eat.”

Then he pushed the basin full of worms forward and said, “Eat.”

As soon as he spoke, the worms in the basin instantly broke in half, losing all their vitality.

Their hard-to-digest mouthparts all turned to powder.

Coconut wagged its tail even more excitedly: the food was even prepared for him!

Wuwuwu, he loved them so much!

Then he picked up the food bowl, happily pushed open the bathroom door, and joyfully ran into the utility room, calling out to his friends to enjoy the feast.

…

Tao Xiu stood stunned in the bathroom, looking at his hands, which he had washed many times.

It wasn’t him. This wasn’t his ability. Could it be…

He suddenly widened his eyes, his heart beating faster and faster.

A very light, very faint, very blurry, very nascent, almost unformed consciousness gently transmitted into his mind: “Like, Mommy, like, Doggy.”