Her Tentacles 20

Chapter 20: Hunger

Shu Yao tapped open the screen, but before she could type, Director Zhou stopped her:

“Don’t worry about work for now. You and Little Hao haven’t properly introduced yourselves yet.”

As if on cue, the man sitting across from her in the private room stood up and extended his hand. “Hao Guangjing. You’re Shu Yao, right? Uncle Zhou was just praising you to my mother yesterday for your brave act of protecting the students at school—”

Shu Yao could only hastily turn off the screen and stand up as well.

She had never expected that a single thought of hers back then could lead to so many consequences: being forced to write a self-praising report, being dragged up to speak at a school-wide staff meeting, and now, her deeds being widely publicized by Uncle Zhou as a basis for arranging a blind date for her.

One act of extroversion in exchange for a lifetime of introversion.

She was the living embodiment of this saying right now.

It wasn’t until Director Zhou saw them exchange names and then reminded Hao Guangjing that she was introverted, not good at socializing, and that he should take good care of her, that he finally left with a satisfied smile, laughing and chatting with Mrs. Zhou and the Hao couple.

The private room fell silent. Only the light from a few elegant lanterns fell from above, making Shu Yao’s nervous and awkward coldness seem even more like a serene orchid on a high mountain.

Hao Guangjing pushed up his glasses, studying her appearance, and took the initiative to speak. “Uncle Zhou said your social circle isn’t wide, and you’re not good at socializing. It’s okay, I’m very good at this.”

“I’m a civil servant, I work at the Water Resources Bureau. As for my future career and family development plans, this is what I’m thinking…” He began to talk nonstop, speaking for about ten minutes without getting any encouraging response. He pushed up his glasses again.

“How about we talk about something more casual? Do you know how the internet is talking about that strange creature that appeared at your school?”

Before Shu Yao could react, he launched into another speech. “All this talk of ‘monsters eating people’ is just sensationalism. Some people even say the water plant is contaminated and is supplying residents with polluted water every day. This is all non-existent. As a teacher of the people, you can’t believe this—”

Shu Yao hadn’t expected to be listening to another man unilaterally fantasize about their future before she had even eaten, and to even deny everything she had seen. Her lips suddenly tightened.

Her heel unintentionally knocked against the chair.

Hao Guangjing stopped in time, looked at her appropriately, as if waiting for her to agree.

Shu Yao stood up. “Sorry, I need to go to the restroom first.”

Hao Guangjing stood up with her. “I’ll walk you there.”

…

Shu Yao was surrounded by his overly enthusiastic attitude, and several times she wanted to end this inexplicable blind date but couldn’t get a word in, until he followed her step by step to the vicinity of the women’s restroom.

She placed her bag and umbrella by the sink, her head bowed, trying to alleviate the ringing in her ears.

Who knew the door would be pushed open again.

The person who came in leaned against the wall next to her and let out a soft sneer. “You broke up with me just to go on a blind date with this kind of person?”

Shu Yao immediately looked up, her expression full of vigilance as she looked at Lin Jingshu, who had appeared here for some reason.

They hadn’t seen each other for a few days, and there were dark circles under Lin Jingshu’s eyes, but at this moment, meeting her gaze, she smiled from the bottom of her heart, and her gloomy expression brightened a little.

She hadn’t expected to see Shu Yao again.

She had thought…

Lin Jingshu’s gaze suddenly moved to the sink. She thought of the scene she had seen at the fruit tea shop that day. Because Shu Yao and Situ Jin were one fainted and one dumbfounded, only she, standing on the table, could clearly see that after this red umbrella fell, in the twenty-odd seconds of emptiness before the police rushed in, that writhing, man-eating monster was blocked.

As if it were afraid.

She had previously thought this was something Situ Jin, with her money-making abilities, had given to Shu Yao.

But looking at the recent bad luck of the Century Group, it didn’t seem likely.

The way Lin Jingshu stared at the umbrella made Shu Yao’s hair stand on end. She had no idea what was going on in this ex’s head now, and even felt that she might rush over and snatch the umbrella from her in the next second—

“I’ll take care of it for you.” In the end, Lin Jingshu’s gaze returned to her, and she smiled. “You don’t like this man, do you?”

Shu Yao clutched the red umbrella’s handle tightly.

As if she had suddenly gained courage, just as Lin Jingshu had made her own decision and was about to turn and leave, she said, “No.”

She would reject Hao Guangjing herself, just as she was rejecting Lin Jingshu now.

But it seemed to have no effect.

Even though Lin Jingshu seemed quite surprised by her response and had let her leave first, the moment Shu Yao pushed open the door to the private room again, she reappeared behind her like a lingering ghost.

And followed her in.

“You’re Yaoyao’s blind date?” she said, seizing the initiative.

And Shu Yao stood by the door in astonishment, watching Lin Jingshu, who was more at ease and more like the one being introduced for a blind date, push past her and walk toward the man.

The steaming hot pot had already been placed on the table by the waiter, along with several appetizing cold dishes, but the main characters of this meal clearly had no mind for it.

Hao Guangjing habitually pushed up his glasses, looked at the suddenly appearing, androgynously dressed girl, then at Shu Yao, who seemed reluctant to enter, and instinctively showed a friendly demeanor:

“Yes, may I ask who you are?”

“I’m her friend.” Lin Jingshu smiled faintly and walked over to pull out a chair to sit down.

But she was interrupted by the words from behind her. “You’re not.”

The smile on her face stiffened. She looked back at Shu Yao, whose expression was rarely firm, and her eyebrows twitched. She turned and strode back to her side, lowering her voice to ask, “Then should I change it to girlfriend?”

—Definitely not!

Shu Yao’s eyes widened as she glared at her. Just as she was about to speak, she was interrupted by Hao Guangjing standing up. “Are you asking a friend to help you size me up? I have no objection. Welcome, please sit. It just so happens I also want to get to know her better.”

“…”

Can either of these two people just listen to what someone has to say?

A few minutes later, she sat numbly in the seat closest to the door, listening to Lin Jingshu and Hao Guangjing engage in a battle of condescension, thinking that there probably wasn’t anything more absurd in the world than being forced on a blind date and having an ex crash it.

Her gaze was vacant, staring at the steam rising from the pot.

The delicate mist curled upward, blurring the figure of someone who had, at some point, appeared outside the scenic window.

Through the steam, she met a pair of eyes that were like the deep sea.

…

Lin Ran hadn’t received a message from her for a long time, so she had followed the scent she had left behind.

She hadn’t expected to hear something so unexpected.

Her eyes shifted slightly, first looking at the short-haired girl who wanted to change her self-introduction to “girlfriend,” then at the man who was now saying, “If there are no surprises, I’d like to get married by the end of this year.”

Finally, her gaze returned to the dazed Shu Yao.

The hunger returned.

The desire to eat her became unprecedentedly strong, mixed with other emotions that burned her empty stomach with unbearable heat. Even her mimicked tentacles twisted restlessly into chaotic, dangerous shadows.

She suddenly thought of how to eat Shu Yao—

Whole, in one bite.

Lock her in her stomach.

From then on, her breath, her soft voice, her warm, delicate skin, her hot flesh and slender bones, would all belong exclusively to Lin Ran.