The Picked-Up Little Tentacle Begs Me to Take Responsibility 25p2

Chapter 25 Part 2

The pollutant quickly adapted its argument. “Since… I kissed you… I should… take responsibility… for you.”

“…” This creature always had an excuse.

Shi Xu: “It was just a kiss. I don’t need you to take responsibility.”

The pollutant: “But… I want to…”

Shi Xu: “It takes two to tango.”

The pollutant fell silent. Just as Shi Xu started to feel uncomfortable under its intense gaze, it spoke again. “I… think… we… both… want to…”

Shi Xu: “…”

No one liked having their thoughts read, especially Shi Xu.

He didn’t think a pollutant could understand him, but its confident tone suggested otherwise.

Shi Xu frowned, pushing the pollutant away. “I don’t like you saying that…”

He could have used harsher words to dismiss the pollutant. A single command would silence it. But he didn’t.

“I’m going upstairs to rest. Be quiet.” He abruptly ended the conversation.

The pollutant replied obediently, “I understand.”

Shi Xu always prioritized work. After yesterday’s incident, however, he felt exhausted, not immediately answering Shi Yan’s call.

After five rings, he finally picked up.

“With your abilities, you shouldn’t have fallen for such a simple trap. I know you consider Qi Yu your only friend, and you share a deep bond, but if he becomes a liability, I expect you to think rationally…”

Even through the phone, Shi Xu could picture his father’s disappointed expression.

Shi Yan’s words were veiled, but Shi Xu understood the message:

He had fallen into Lin Zhi’s trap because of Qi Yu.

Shi Yan wanted him to distance himself from Qi Yu.

Businessmen valued profit. To Shi Yan, Qi Yu was of no use to Shi Xu. One incident could lead to many more. Qi Yu would always be a liability.

Previously, Shi Xu always responded immediately to his father, even if he didn’t fully understand.

Shi Yan demanded absolute obedience, but this time, Shi Xu remained silent.

Sensing something amiss, Shi Yan asked, “Are you listening?”

Shi Xu looked at his reflection in the mirror, his voice flat. “I am.”

Still dissatisfied, Shi Yan ordered, “I know you’re not working these days. Come home sometime.”

Shi Xu: “I understand.”

He tossed his phone aside, collapsing onto the bed, his back sinking into the soft mattress. He lay still, his mind quiet.

Shi Xu stared at the ceiling light, his eyelids growing heavy, drifting off to sleep.

The worm’s toxins were gone, but he still felt drowsy, his dreams incessant.

He was numb to the repetitive dreams, but he was still glad to see his brother, even if his dream-self was grotesque, its expression twisted, its words demanding.

But this time was different.

After so many years, his brother’s image in his memory had blurred. The brother before him was both familiar and unfamiliar, his face unmarred, his touch no longer cold and menacing.

“Xiao Xu, I worry about you the most.”

Shi Xu chuckled self-deprecatingly. “There’s nothing to worry about. I’m not a child anymore.”

“Really?” His brother sighed, his touch gentler. “But to me, you’ll always be a child.”

Shi Xu’s stiff back relaxed, his cheek resting against his brother’s warm palm.

“Being Father’s child is such a misfortune…”

The familiar words, but with an unfamiliar addition.

“I don’t want you to become unhappy like us. I want you to break free from Father’s control. Never forget that you’re human. You breathe, you bleed, you feel. You’re alive. Never let your blood run cold, never let your heart stop beating.”

“I want you to be happy.”

A sharp pain shot through his shoulder and collarbone, a warm, wet sensation soothing the ache.

Shi Xu opened his eyes, tears blurring his vision. As his vision cleared, he saw the being leaning over him, licking his shoulder, its black hair swaying.

He realized what it was: the pollutant’s tongue.

Strangely, he felt no disgust, didn’t push it away.

He stared at the swaying hair for a long moment. “What are you doing?”

The pollutant jumped, lifting its head, stammering, “Wife… hurts… I… lick… so… no more pain…”

It seemed to have regressed to its early speech patterns, its wide eyes filled with anxiety.

“I… didn’t… mean to… sexually harass… Wife… Sorry…” The pollutant climbed off Shi Xu, apologizing profusely.

He always kept his shirt buttoned, his skin covered.

Even unconscious, he hadn’t unbuttoned his shirt. Now, it was open, exposing his shoulder and chest, a damp spot on his collarbone where the pollutant had licked him.

The red mark from the worm’s bite had faded, but the pollutant’s licking had made it red again.

Seeing the evidence, Shi Xu felt strangely calm. Perhaps influenced by the pleasant dream, he found the pollutant less irritating.

He remained still, observing the pollutant’s anxious expression. “How did you know I was in pain?” The fragment was gone. Had the pollutant implanted a new one without his knowledge?

Sensing his thoughts, the pollutant quickly explained, “Fragment… gone! I… didn’t… put new one… No… without Wife’s… permission… I won’t…”

Shi Xu didn’t mind, no longer as resistant to the pollutant’s protection.

He asked, “Then how did you know I was in pain?”

The pollutant struggled to explain, offering an unconvincing answer. “I… felt it.”

As expected, Shi Xu chuckled, but without mockery.

The pollutant sensed Shi Xu wasn’t angry.

Relieved, it smiled, mirroring Shi Xu’s expression.

Its emotions depended entirely on Shi Xu’s. If Shi Xu smiled, it smiled, instinctively wanting to share his happiness, even without understanding the reason.

Shi Xu’s smile faded. “Does your saliva have analgesic properties?”

The pollutant hesitated, then shook its head. “I… don’t know. Just thought… it would… help… Wife…”

“You didn’t know, and you just did it? Weren’t you afraid I’d be angry?” Shi Xu asked.

The pollutant acted on instinct, fear coming later. “Afraid! Wife… angry? I… apologize!”

“No need for apologies. I’ve heard enough.”

The pollutant was still anxious. “Still… angry?”

Shi Xu didn’t intend to pursue it. “No.” He was actually grateful to the pollutant for repeatedly rescuing him from his nightmares, this time, a final release.

The pollutant didn’t say anything. Perhaps even it didn’t realize that it had helped him end his seven-year torment, even reminding him of his brother’s final words.

Shi Xu blinked his dry eyes, repeating, “I’m really not angry.”

The pollutant visibly relaxed, its previous dejection vanishing.

It licked its lips, emboldened by Shi Xu’s words, its gaze lingering on his skin, its desire evident.

It hadn’t licked enough. It wished Shi Xu had woken up later.

Despite the invasive thoughts and gaze, Shi Xu felt no anger.

As the pollutant stared at him, he stared back, his gaze lingering on its full, red lips.

He remembered their touch on his cheek, on his collarbone and shoulder.

And the soft tongue within.

Shi Xu had never been this intimate with anyone. He thought he would find it repulsive, but he didn’t.

The pollutant gave him a novel, pleasant sensation.

He wanted to indulge in it.

Since his siblings’ deaths, he felt loved, cherished by a pollutant.

His aversion fading with each passing day, Shi Xu remembered his initial reason for keeping the pollutant.

His intentions had changed. He still wanted to understand the pollutant, but the questions were different now.

“Do you have a name?”

The pollutant knew his name, had even said it, but he didn’t know the pollutant’s, nor had he used any form of address for it.

The question sounded foolish even to him. How could a pollutant have a name? It had only just begun to learn about humans.

To his surprise, the pollutant said, “Yes.”

“Gu Sui.” It traced the characters in the air. “I… chose… this name.”

Shi Xu asked, “Why this name?”

The pollutant replied honestly, “I… looked in dictionary… liked… these characters… sound good… together…” No special meaning.

Shi Xu smiled. As expected, the pollutant didn’t overthink things, acting on impulse.

Only around him did it restrain itself.

Sensing Shi Xu’s softening demeanor, the pollutant leaned closer, its gaze fixed on his smiling eyes, countless transparent tentacles sprouting behind it, swaying excitedly, like a dog wagging its tail.

“Wife, do… you… like… this name?”

Shi Xu glanced at the wriggling tentacles. “It’s alright.”

The pollutant’s expression fell. “Then… I… think… of another…”

“This one is fine,” Shi Xu said. “It sounds good.”

The pollutant beamed. “Wife, you… like it… right?”

He knew it. Wife liked to play hard to get.

Shi Xu neither confirmed nor denied, his ambiguous response leaving room for interpretation, which the pollutant readily supplied.

It was certain now. Just like how Shi Xu saying he didn’t like it actually meant he did.

Ignoring the possibility of angering Shi Xu, it nudged his shoulder. “Wife, can… you… say… my name?”

The strange sensation on his shoulder made Shi Xu uncomfortable, reinforcing the “large dog” analogy.

The pollutant’s tone made it sound like saying its name was a privilege.

He was placed on a pedestal. From their first encounter, the pollutant had looked up to him, its gaze fervent, as if he was its entire world.

Shi Xu was used to being admired, to being in a position of power, but he had never derived pleasure from it before.

He swallowed, the two simple syllables echoing in his mind before he finally spoke, his voice low and hoarse.

“Gu Sui.”

The golden eyes instantly lit up. The pollutant, previously nestled against his shoulder, quickly sat up, its forehead gently touching Shi Xu’s.

Their noses brushed against each other. The light touch tickled Shi Xu’s nose. He resisted the urge to scratch it, and the urge to push the pollutant away.

“Wife, you… do… like me… right?”

The taut string finally snapped. Shi Xu pushed the beautiful face away, ending his indulgence.

“Shut up!”

The pollutant immediately sat obediently, its lips pressed together, but its upturned lips betrayed its happiness.

Only this creature could be so happy after being scolded.

Shi Xu, strangely unwilling to dismiss it, closed his eyes.

His right hand was suddenly grasped, his fingers unfurled, a warm hand tracing his palm—

Take responsibility for me, please QvQ