Her Tentacles 23

Chapter 23: Yaoyao

The light from the helicopters and vehicles illuminated the outside of the industrial park as if it were daytime—

A little over ten minutes later.

Shu Yao looked at the familiar person in front of her, the familiar notebook, and the very familiar questions. She felt as if she had been interrogated twice in a short period of time.

“I mean, from the time you entered the industrial park, apart from being stared at by that group of green slime monsters, did you not encounter anything else strange during the process of entering the last building and bringing your friend out? Can you be more specific?”

But this time, there really was something.

In her mind, the image of that bizarrely colored, dangerous, and huge tentacle reappeared. It had appeared and disappeared in a flash, as if it were just to block the falling rebar and cement floor for her.

But how could that be?

She didn’t know such a monster, and besides, were there helpful types among monsters?

Her expression was complicated, but in the end, she still shook her head at this Mr. Lu from the special department. Because her friend, who had finished her statement and was being comforted by the Situ couple nearby, hadn’t mentioned this matter at all just now. Perhaps it was just that her own eye problems had worsened recently.

She should probably go to an ophthalmologist first.

So Shu Yao shook her head.

Lu Ren, who was taking the notes, was clearly not convinced. After all, what normal person could encounter monsters with such high frequency as Shu Yao and still be lucky enough to escape death every time?

He would rather believe that he was the First Emperor of Qin than that she was that lucky.

Lu Ren nodded along, and once again put a large question mark in her statement.

…

Shu Yao knew he didn’t believe her, but she felt she had told the truth. Just then, Situ saw that she was done and came over with her parents. “You fell just now. Do you want to come with us later and have the doctors at the base put some medicine on it for you?”

The Situ couple were also the ones who had received their daughter’s SOS message. But compared to Shu Yao, who had single-handedly brought her girlfriend into the dragon’s den, they had been more thorough, contacting the police and the special department personnel at the first opportunity. The rescue was launched from both land and air. Unfortunately, a fog had risen later, causing the navigation of the vehicles and helicopters to fail, and they were all stuck in a loop.

Now, although they could reach the destination, it was said that the monster had already disappeared. Just in case, their family had still decided to go to the special protection base to stay for a while.

Faced with the elders’ invitation, Shu Yao smiled a little reservedly and subconsciously glanced at where Lin Ran was in the distance. She whispered to Situ Jin:

“As for a doctor, I have one by my side.”

Situ Jin was at a loss for words.

She also looked at the woman in the distance who had finished her questioning first. Her long, silk-like hair was draped over the shoulders of her red, thin knit sweater, paired with snow-white casual trousers. The black, red, and white were particularly striking in the light from all directions.

Even though her trousers were stained with dust and had a tear on the side, it did not diminish her charm.

But it was this beauty who, during her and Shu Yao’s thrilling escape, had fainted at the very beginning because she had run up the wrong staircase, found it broken, and was hit by falling stones when she tried to change her route. She had only woken up when the rescue personnel arrived.

From beginning to end, she might not have even encountered that Chu Wan face-to-face.

What kind of frail, Daiyu-like constitution was this!

Situ Jin, who had just met Shu Yao’s new girlfriend today, was amazed by Lin Ran’s deceptively beautiful appearance, but even more shocked that she was even more useless than she looked!

She could only comfort herself, forget it, at least she resolutely came with Shu Yao to save me. This willingness to be a useless sacrifice is what’s important!

“She…” Situ Jin’s expression changed again and again, and finally she patted Shu Yao’s shoulder in compromise. “Fine, as long as you two are happy.”

Lin Daiyu and Her Highness, aren’t they a kind of match?

Amidst the repeated reminders of the Situ family, Shu Yao walked toward Lin Ran, who had been waiting for her for a long time on the side. Seeing that she had even found the umbrella she had lost while escaping from the ruins, she couldn’t help but give her a big smile.

“Shall we go home?”

Selectively forgetting that her girlfriend’s dormitory had just been leaking and that she was only temporarily staying at her place, Shu Yao unilaterally declared that her home was now their common home.

Lin Ran nodded at her.

Because this place was in the middle of nowhere and they couldn’t get a taxi, the two of them took the special department’s police car back to the Star River community. When they arrived, the small lights in the green belt downstairs of the community lit up circles in the night.

Shu Yao looked back and saw that the car had already left. There were no other pedestrians on the path at this moment. At the intersection of two hanging lamps, she turned to look at the person next to her. “Lin Ran.”

“Mmm?”

As the woman answered as usual, she was suddenly pulled into an embrace by the person who had been walking quietly beside her. Her soft, light hair brushed against her jaw and cheek, as if she were eagerly rushing to a beautiful night that belonged to them.

“Can I hug you?” Shu Yao asked, but she had already contentedly tightened her arms around her waist. The light green long dress was like a green leaf, gently snuggling against her red flower.

Lin Ran looked down at her, but her senses were focused on the people who had ostensibly driven away but had actually secretly returned and were lurking around them.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t, in front of them, and while her appetite was good, just eat Shu Yao as a post-meal dessert. But she seemed to be enjoying the feeling of Shu Yao taking the initiative to approach her.

I’ll wait a little longer.

She thought, and under those watchful eyes, she raised her hand and pulled the person completely into her arms, her cool breath landing by Shu Yao’s ear. “Don’t you already have the answer?”

Shu Yao was tickled by her breath, and then looked up in the dim night of the community. A star of warm light from the lamp in front of her shone in her eyes. She looked at Lin Ran like this. “Because I feel that you’re in a good mood now, so you’ll definitely agree—”

“Why are you so happy? Is it because we’re both safe?”

Lin Ran’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

She was a little surprised that her emotions after eating were so obvious, but she nodded resolutely. “Yes.”

“I’m so happy too,” Shu Yao immediately replied, smelling the faint fragrance on her that was still pleasant even though it was mixed with the same dust as her own. “I’m happy that you came with me to save Jin. I’m happy that the three of us escaped from that monster safely…”

Although Lin Ran had fainted not long after entering the industrial park, thinking of how she had calmly directed her before, Shu Yao felt that her girlfriend’s contrast was quite cute.

So she blurted out the last sentence, “I’m happiest when I like you!”

As soon as she finished speaking.

Shu Yao herself felt a little embarrassed.

She had never confessed so unreservedly before, but thinking of how Lin Ran had told her she liked her with such deep affection and focus not long after they started dating, she felt she should give the same feedback.

As she was thinking this, the force on her lower back suddenly increased, making her breath catch—

“Lin—Lin Ran?”

The person who had unconsciously tightened her embrace saw that she was uncomfortable, paused, and grudgingly loosened her grip just a little, then requested, “Say it again.”

Shu Yao’s palm rested on her arm. Just as she had always been responsive to her requests, she endured her shyness, looked her straight in the eye, and said again, “I like you.”

“I like you so much.”

“I like Lin Ran the most.”

As she repeated it again and again, Lin Ran heard a noisy, pounding sound.

At first, it was just Shu Yao’s heartbeat, but then there was one, two, three sounds, resonating with her in the same frequency, exploding in her mind like fireworks, thump, thump, thump, thump…

Lin Ran lowered her head and heard her own three hearts beating at the same frequency as Shu Yao’s heartbeat at this moment.

【More! Say more!】

【Love to hear it!】

The tentacles, in their mimicry state, the same color as the green belt, in this heartbeat, took advantage of the fact that the secret observers had been sent away by the public display of affection, and joyfully rustled the leaves of the nearby rose bushes.

…

After all, it wasn’t late at night yet, and they were bound to run into other residents downstairs. Shu Yao was startled by the noise, and vaguely saw a figure passing by in the distance. She quickly pulled Lin Ran’s hand and went home first.

When they got home, her rumbling stomach, her dirty clothes, and the delicate flowers on the balcony and rooftop, all needed to be satisfied more than the surging emotions in Shu Yao’s heart at this moment.

So she let Lin Ran go to take a shower first, ordered takeout for two after asking about her preferences, and then rolled up her sleeves and started working. She tragically found that although she had lived through a more exciting day than in her past twenty-plus years, she still had to face housework and work the next day when she got home.

When the clock on the living room wall pointed to ten-thirty.

Shu Yao dried her hair, took the medicine box to the sofa, and knelt down to take Lin Ran’s hand. “Where did the stone hit you before? Let me put some medicine on it for you.”

The woman, who had changed into a black spaghetti-strap nightdress, quietly closed the book in her hand and looked at her with obsidian-like eyes. “What about you?”

“I think I’ve gained some experience in falling recently,” Shu Yao rolled up her milky-white pajama sleeves and showed her her smooth arm, which had already recovered and had no marks left tonight. “See, not injured at all!”

Lin Ran smiled.

She didn’t expose her because the dress she wore today had long sleeves, and because her own tentacles had helped her block the fatal danger.

“I don’t need it either.” When she had been examined by the special department personnel earlier, the bump she had deliberately created on the back of her head had disappeared after she returned to this house, just like the torn trousers that had been thrown into the trash can, all evidence that Lin Ran no longer needed.

But Shu Yao didn’t believe her.

She leaned over and stared at Lin Ran’s head, examining her for any injuries with a seriousness that seemed to want to part every strand of her hair—

And then she was pressed into an embrace by Lin Ran, who had raised her hand, because she was too close.

The silk nightdress and the satin pajamas were both very thin. Even though there were two layers, just a slight movement created a completely different feeling from the previous embrace.

Shu Yao instinctively struggled for a moment, then didn’t dare to move again. Her hands were suspended in the air. Her milky-white skin and top made her flushed cheeks particularly conspicuous, but she was completely unaware. After a while, she slowly rested her palms on Lin Ran’s shoulders.

She didn’t know if it was because the air conditioner in the living room was on, and Lin Ran had been in it for a longer time, or if her body temperature was just lower, but Shu Yao always felt as if her palms were resting on a cool piece of jade.

She had to try very hard to restrain herself from repeatedly caressing it.

“Is it… do you still want to hug?”

Compared to her restraint, Lin Ran was much more casual. After answering, not only did she hug her over, but she even felt that this wasn’t enough skin contact, and finally held her on her lap, their waists and abdomens pressed tightly together, their necks even touching in an intimate posture.

Shu Yao’s ears were bright red as she buried herself in her shoulder. The still-damp ends of her hair fell between their touching necks, and the insteps and toes of her feet, which were curled on either side of her thighs and resting on the sofa, couldn’t help but curl up.

It was just a simple embrace, but it felt as if her whole body was being entangled.

Ah, so embarrassing.

As the embrace, with their skin touching, continued to heat up, Shu Yao’s ears were about to emit smoke. She started to randomly find reasons to get off Lin Ran’s lap. “What book were you reading just now?”

Lin Ran saw her actions, but did not stop her. Instead, she opened the book and let her see the second cover inside.

Another romance novel!

Shu Yao’s toes gripped the floor. She didn’t know why she could always accurately find these re-covered contents from her bookshelf full of serious literature. She immediately stood up and stepped over Lin Ran’s lap, wanting to close the book and take it away.

But she was pressed down on her lap—

“Why this name?”

The person, holding her down with one hand, saw her go from struggling to despair, and soon her face turned red, and she gave up. She simply changed her posture to resting her head on her lap, burying her head in her waist, lying on the sofa and hugging her waist, refusing to look up. “What name?”

“Yaoyao.” Lin Ran said the sound that was the same as her name.

Shu Yao raised her head. “Oh, that. When my mom was naming me, she initially chose this character(Other Chinese character with same pronunciation). It describes the scene of the sun setting and the trees becoming dim. But my dad thought this character was unlucky and didn’t sound good, so he wrote ‘Yao’ from ‘graceful and elegant lady’ on my birth certificate.”

“My mom thought ‘Yao’ was very common and wanted to change it back on the household registration book, but unfortunately, there was a problem with the system, and she could only register the one on the birth certificate. Until she divorced my dad, she always insisted on calling me by the original character.”

So her nickname was Yaoyao, and her friends who grew up with her also called her that.

In fact, Mrs. Shu might not have known that the imagery of ‘Yao’ (杳) was not good. As a Chinese teacher, how could she not know that “Yao means darkness”? But she was stubborn and strong-willed, and refused to bow down for anything, especially when her husband changed her child’s name without her consent, which made her feel disrespected and angry.

Later, when Shu Yao turned eighteen, she had always thought that Mrs. Shu would ask her to change her name again, to Shu Yao (舒杳).

But she didn’t.

Mrs. Shu’s love for her was always hidden under this extreme desire for control, just like how she didn’t give her pocket money for her safety and locked her at home to prevent her from playing outside, and also like this name, which she had stubbornly called her for so long. In the end, she was still afraid that this character, which had a meaning that leaned toward darkness and was similar to disappearing without a trace, would bring any misfortune to her child.

Shu Yao came back to her senses and, resting her head on Lin Ran’s lap, looked up at her and smiled. “But you can call me whichever you like. It’s up to you.”

Lin Ran pointed to the words “Yaoyao” (杳杳) on the book page.

“I like this one.”

Shu Yao was not surprised. Situ Jin and Lin Jingshu had also chosen this one before. “Because this character looks better?”

…

Lin Ran did not answer.

Until Shu Yao changed the subject later, complaining to her that the takeout she had ordered tonight was not as delicious as her cooking. As she spoke, her breathing gradually became even, and she fell asleep on the sofa, her head resting on her lap.

One breath was hot, the other was cold, falling on her abdomen through the fabric.

She reached out and stroked Shu Yao’s loose long hair, and only then did she slowly open her lips. “No.”

Because the place where she was born, the abyss.

It was a place darker than the bottom of the deep sea, thousands of meters below. For a long time, she had hunted, fought, and grown in such an environment. Compared to these creatures that loved the sun and lived on land, many beings in the abyss, like her, preferred darkness.

On the contrary, light meant danger and exposure.

Lin Ran really liked the two characters “Yaoyao” (杳杳).

As if in response to her thoughts, the tentacles, which had been dormant during their embrace, now crept up Shu Yao’s hands and feet from the sofa. Compared to the snowy white skin of the sleeping person and her pure white pajamas, the dangerous and ominous black and red spread wantonly.

Like dragging the moon into the deep sea—

The color of the predator, bit by bit, stained the woman with her own traces and scent.

Thinking of her repeated approaches tonight, and the way she had said “I like you” again and again in her soft voice, Lin Ran looked down at Shu Yao, and suddenly couldn’t bear to eat her so soon.

Shu Yao, who spoke such pleasant words, who always showed her her vulnerable neck without any guard—she wanted to see more.

Lin Ran had always been good at enduring for a sweet reward, and never lacked patience.

And so, the hunter, with a smile and an indulgent, permissive posture, lured Shu Yao closer, and closer.

Until they fell into the abyss together.