Chapter 55 Part 1

Since the Masked Man had said to stay within his line of sight as much as possible, Zhong Nian consciously did so.

No matter what the other did, he followed behind. When the Masked Man washed dishes and wouldn’t let him help, he stood to the side and watched. When the Masked Man fixed the door and tidied the cabin for him, he joined in. Even if the man just went downstairs to grab a screw, he immediately set down the rag in his hand and hurried after him.

This experience was novel for the lone-wolf Masked Man. The young man’s light footsteps always accompanied him from behind, like a family cat sticking to his heels, creating a tingling, sweet sensation in his chest.

It was also the first time he realized that having someone by his side could make his mood this good.

Beneath the mask that no one else could see, the man’s lips never dropped from their curve. He occasionally turned back to confirm that the other had followed, relaxing only upon seeing him.

Zhong Nian, unable to see the man’s expression, developed a slight misunderstanding. “Following you like this—is it inconveniencing you a bit?”

The Masked Man paused. “No.”

Zhong Nian feigned sulkiness, pouting as he complained, “After all, at the beginning, you coldly chased me away and wouldn’t let me follow you. You looked so fierce back then.”

Since their relationship had grown much closer than at first, Zhong Nian spoke without much reservation, joking around.

He hadn’t expected the Masked Man to take it seriously. The man lowered his head, a flash of helplessness in his eyes. “Sorry, I… I didn’t mean to be fierce with you. It was my fault.”

Zhong Nian blinked, unable to hold back a chuckle at the man’s clumsy apology. He comforted him, “I stopped minding ages ago. We weren’t close before, so it was normal. But now our relationship is different, right?”

He had bright eyes full of kindness. When he smiled, ripples formed in his gaze, gentle and beautiful, like the first Yingchun Flower blooming on an early spring branch.

The Masked Man stared in a daze, only managing a low, hoarse sound from his throat after a long moment. “Mm.”

【I’m really jealous now…】

【Wife, don’t smile so beautifully at other men, wuwuwu.】

【I noticed Baby is especially nice to his own people. He speaks so softly. If I were Baby’s dog, would I get this kind of treatment too?】

【You’re bubbling with joy inside, huh, Masked Bro? Acting all cool.】

【Wife, being like this makes it easy for people to get bold and take advantage… Don’t casually say things like ‘our relationship is different’!】

【Nian Bao turned off the livestream last night while sleeping. Did something really happen?】

Of course, there were some inconvenient things that required separation, like using the bathroom.

It was only a few short minutes, and the Masked Man waited outside, so Zhong Nian wasn’t too worried about anything happening.

He hadn’t expected to see that octopus appear again while washing his hands, right before his eyes.

It hadn’t hidden in a human’s shadow this time. Instead, it squeezed out from the drain of the leaky faucet with a “pop.”

A round, jelly-like blue head emerged, covered in some moss and unidentified grime. It made “pop pop chirp chirp” sounds while wriggling its tentacles over to his feet. A tentacle coiled around his pant leg, trying to climb up his body.

It was exactly like an undiscerning dog pouncing wildly.

This time was different. Zhong Nian wasn’t startled. He drew the dagger at his waist in one motion, flashing its sharp blade.

“Gurgle!” The octopus convulsed like it had hiccuped, terrified into clinging to Zhong Nian’s calf without daring to move.

Seeing it truly posed no threat, Zhong Nian didn’t bother calling the Masked Man outside for help. He grabbed the octopus’s head with one hand, yanked it off his leg, and pressed it onto the sink.

The octopus was like clingy glue. Once freed from his leg, it shamelessly wrapped all its tentacles around his hand, rubbing uncontrollably.

Only when the cold blade pressed against a tentacle did the octopus snap awake from its sweet dream, halting its cheap advances.

Zhong Nian didn’t strike immediately. He just brandished the knife threateningly as he demanded, “What do you want by wrapping around me? If you don’t explain properly, I’ll chop off all your Tentacles and make them into bar snacks!”

In truth, Zhong Nian didn’t like seafood sashimi at all, let alone eating a small monster of unknown toxicity. He was just putting on a fierce act to scare it.

“Gugu dudu, chirp chirp—”

The octopus excitedly conveyed its meaning through bubbly mouth sounds, but sadly, Zhong Nian couldn’t understand a word.

“You can’t speak human language?” Zhong Nian frowned.

The octopus laboriously shook its head beneath his palm.

Zhong Nian asked again, “Are you that devil who bullied me before?”

“Guji…”

The octopus hugged Zhong Nian’s wrist again, rubbing ingratiatingly twice.

Compared to its previous ferocious appearance, it now looked weak and pitiful.

However, rabbits held a bit of a grudge.

Zhong Nian wouldn’t forget how this stinky octopus demon had bullied him with its tentacles that night.

It had even dared to reach there…

The more he thought, the angrier he got. A flush of shame and anger rose on Zhong Nian’s face as he gripped the knife handle. “I’m going to chop off all your bad tentacles—”

The blade tip lifted, but before it fell, the targeted tentacle swiftly retracted.

The octopus dodged the dagger, then extended a tentacle to its own mouth.