Love in Cthulhu

Chapter 26: Touch and feel?
Both of them got up and looked at each other. Jian Xi, wrapped in her clothes, looked resentful. Her clothes were so loose that her shoulders were completely exposed. Her bare feet were cold on the floor. Zhou Nan's headache had not yet subsided.

"Hey, aren't you going to say anything?" Jian Xi finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"What can I say... We're an old married couple... It's not like it's the first time we've seen it."

The last time I saw her naked was when she was very young. We took a bath together in the public bathhouse and had a contest to see who could pee the farthest. Whenever she lost, she would definitely beat him up first.

"Pah! Who said we're an old married couple!" Jian Xi was furious and raised her foot to kick him, but Zhou Nan jumped around to dodge. Anyway, it didn't hurt, and only a fool would mention that he had just been fond of xiaolongbao.

It does feel a bit bigger than last year, but ultimately it's just a shift from seemingly nothing to a suspected breakthrough, just like 0 isn't necessarily followed by 1, it could also be 0.1.

Aside from that, she's pretty good. She has a slim waist, long and slender arms, and best of all, she has a pair of perfectly proportioned, straight, and exquisitely beautiful legs, making her very suitable for wearing short skirts.

"You're acting like it's some big deal, like you're going to kill yourself. Anyway, we'll all see it all sooner or later." Zhou Nan said casually, glancing sideways.

"Who's discussing that important point with you! Don't I know what my figure is like! You're getting the better end of the deal and still acting innocent, aren't you!" Jian Xi said angrily, kicking him as she spoke. "I'm asking you if I've changed back to my original shape!"

"It turned into a puddle of gel that looked like a shadow."

Those words were like a curse. Jian Xi froze when she heard them, standing there. Just a second ago she was so agitated, but now she was wrapped in her coat, her eyes dim, and her long hair cast fine shadows on her forehead.

"Isn't it... ugly and disgusting?" she whispered, looking down at her toes.

From a human perspective, such a thing is of course bizarre and disgusting, and she herself knows this. So when she deliberately showed it to Zhou Nan, she would only deliberately make herself appear flat, but you could still see a bit of a girl's appearance.

But this time, the movie touched her heart. Thinking about the dog, about Jian Xi, about herself, a jumble of thoughts intertwined and she was so sad that she cried herself to tears.

She couldn't even imagine how horrifying that scene would be, even though she had clearly decided not to act inhuman in front of him again.

When she's so down, she looks quite pitiful. Her sad appearance is like a little mushroom, holding up its tiny umbrella, standing in the drizzling rain, looking up at the gray sky.

Zhou Nan roughly knew what she was thinking.

When Jianxi was little, she had short hair. But at some point, her hair grew longer and longer. When she went out to play with him, she would always wear a beautiful dress and sit by the river facing the sunset, quietly drinking a cup of milk tea. The wind would lift her silky long hair, and everything would be peaceful until the sun sank below the horizon and darkness swept across the world.

Because they liked each other, they cherished each other; because they valued each other, they cared about each other. Neither of them were oblivious fools when it came to feelings; it was just that neither of them had the courage to take the first step.

He slowly reached out his hand. Although he knew the girl standing there was a monster, the monster was disguised as Jian Xi, and he couldn't bear to watch her fight herself like this.

"Alright, alright, as long as you're a beautiful girl now, that's enough. You have great skin and a great figure, you're absolutely gorgeous." He ran his fingertips through her hair, the smooth, silky feel of which was irresistible.

Jian Xi remained silent, nestling into his arms with her forehead pressed against his chest, as if seeking comfort, or perhaps unwilling to let him see her in such a wretched state.

"I'm sorry, actually I remember a little bit, I know I almost ate you." Her voice was muffled. "Don't hate me because of this, okay? I promised you I would be a normal girl... and I will definitely keep my promise."

The fingers that comforted her hesitated for a second, then continued.

He didn't know if this was an unintentional display of vulnerability or a feigned allure. If it was truly an allure, it was an irresistible temptation, a temptation that could slay swords and spears. Using her body, her voice, her appearance, acting coquettishly and playfully, how could anyone tell the difference? Even if he knew it was fake, wouldn't he still want to accept these things he had never had before?
But there was always a stubborn little soul stirring within him, and the real Jian Xi would never show such a delicate side in front of him.

If she's really sad and wants to cry, she'll hide somewhere he can't find her. When she reappears, even if her eyes are still red, she'll say in a disdainful tone, "What? You expect me to borrow your shoulder? Dream on!"
She has always been so competitive, strong-willed, and stubborn. Even if you wanted to act like a macho man in front of him, you wouldn't have the chance, so naturally you wouldn't even have the chance to confess your feelings.

If he weren't facing this monster, he probably wouldn't have been able to say it.

"I won't hate you."

He already hated her a lot, but he couldn't ignore the affection she showed him. It was like a deadly blow; she wielded it to cut him until he bled profusely, but it took her a long time to make him feel the pain.

"Then can you show some kind of proof?" Jian Xi tugged at his clothes. "Words are no proof."

What kind of gesture do you want?

"Sleep with me tonight."

"what?"

…………

Zhou Nan lay on the bed, turning his head to look around the girly bedroom.

Light blue gauze curtains, cream-colored wallpaper, an L-shaped corner desk, and a wardrobe crammed full in the corner, so full that the door couldn't even cover it, giving the feeling that it might burst out at any moment.

In short, this place perfectly matches any boy's imagination of a standard girl's bedroom, but Jian Xi is definitely not a girl who knows how to tidy up. Living alone without adults means being unrestrained. Books and single shoes and clothes are scattered all over the floor, and even her newly bought underwear is hanging alone on the back of a chair.

I went closer to take a look, and lo and behold, it was two sizes too big.

He could picture the guy stuffing his breasts full of padding, putting on a skirt, and then strutting around in front of the mirror, hands on his hips, trying to fool himself.

The door opened, and Jian Xi, who had dried her hair, came in wearing a Peter Pan collar lace nightgown. She gave Zhou Nan a kick without any politeness: "Go inside and make room for me."

Her little bed was naturally a single bed; it would be a bit cramped if two people slept in it. Zhou Nan moved over a bit, and Jian Xi crawled into the thick quilt, her clothes rustling against each other.

"What are you doing?" Zhou Nan felt her legs kicking wildly in the blankets.

"Tuck the blanket in."

She writhed and twisted within the blanket like a silkworm, managing to fold it in by gripping the edges with just her toes. The already cramped space became even more confined, and the two of them were almost face to face. The fragrant scent of her freshly washed long hair made one's mind wander.

Seduction! Pure seduction! A million grass mud horses were galloping through Zhou Nan's mind.

"It's so crowded. I might as well go back to the guest room to sleep." He spoke softly, not daring to raise his voice too much, otherwise he felt like his spittle would hit her face. "It's better to be a little crowded, so you don't suddenly become a beast." Jian Xi blinked.

"You know I'll go berserk and you still play this game? If you're hoping to be taken advantage of, just say so. It's not like I'm unwilling to cooperate."

He was spouting nonsense, but he was actually a little nervous. He didn't know what the monster lady was up to. Seduction was an old trick, but it was effective. Besides, he was a young, vigorous man, not a middle-aged man who was losing his strength.

But upon closer reflection, if the other party uses a few tricks, it seems like he's the one who was tied up and forced into a relationship.

Oh no! He's only just realizing it now; could he have been tricked?

"This is what they call being anxious because you can't get the meat," Jian Xi chuckled mischievously, a cunning thought like a cat's. She kicked him with her bare feet under the covers. "Want to touch them?"

Zhou Nan was taken aback, but when he saw Jian Xi's mischievous smile, he immediately realized that if she wanted to have sex, she wouldn't need to beat around the bush; she must have some ulterior motive.

"Trying to take advantage of me, huh?" He covered his chest with his hands under the covers and moved back a little.

"Are you tofu? At most, you're just a piece of dried tofu."

"Even dried tofu has its dignity, okay?"

"Pah, shameless!" Jian Xi smiled sweetly. "Do you know about variety shows from Japan and South Korea?"

"I don't watch that stuff much," Zhou Nan said honestly.

"I love watching it. They're really naughty. They'll find a few pretty girl group members and have them put their hands into a dark box and feel around for something. The side of the box facing the camera is transparent so the audience can see what's inside. Sometimes it's a gecko, sometimes a squid, and sometimes an octopus or a non-venomous snake. The girls are always terrified because they can't see, and the hosts and the audience find it really funny."

Zhou Nan thought to himself that the Japanese people are truly shameless and irreverent, able to come up with so many creative ideas for variety shows.

But then he suddenly felt something was off. A man and a woman sharing a bed, with no wicked intentions of getting intimate, couldn't possibly be here to have a long talk about life, could they? This wasn't Jian Xi's style.

Just as he was wondering what was going on, he suddenly felt something cold and icy touch him from under the covers.

It was definitely not her hand. The hand didn't feel wet and oily. It was more like the octopus she had just mentioned, and it seemed vaguely familiar.

"Can you feel it?" Jian Xi asked with a smile.

"Is that your true form?" Zhou Nan realized that her true form had just covered his entire body and devoured him like that, but at that time it was in a fluid gel-like state, which was also cool, but not this wet.

"Yeah, I don't want you to see it. It's too ugly and disgusting. You'd have a splitting headache if you saw me like that. And if I have another emotional breakdown someday, those disgusting things might come out again. I think I should give you a heads-up. At least... let you get used to it."

This method is good. If you can't see, you really won't get a headache. Zhou Nan could feel something moving inside the blanket. The cool and slippery touch penetrated his clothes and roamed over his skin.

At first, he was somewhat resistant, and couldn't help but shudder slightly, feeling as if a weak electric current was running through his spine. When he thought of Jian Xi's original appearance, which seemed to contain the depths of the universe, he felt even more panicked.

However, the touch was unusually gentle, with a tentative caution, or even an awkward attempt to please. It was not aggressive, unlike the primal, devouring desire that came with the melting earlier. Instead, it was as if afraid of breaking him, gently brushing over his arms and legs, occasionally wrapping around his fingertips, then quickly releasing them, and repeating the process, with a hint of shyness.

This feels like communicating with some kind of small animal. When you encounter newborn kittens or puppies, this is how you touch them, and they will often gently rub against you in response.

The small winter quilt shared by the two people was already crowded, and now it was even more cramped inside. If it were lifted, one might see Jian Xi with the upper body of a beautiful girl and countless dark shadow tentacles on the lower body.

However, he dared not and did not want to. Not to mention that seeing those things would make his head hurt, Jian Xi would not agree either. Everything takes time. If he could get used to touching them, perhaps he could gradually accept looking directly at them in the future.

No wonder she wanted to share a bed. Zhou Nan had initially had some wild thoughts, wondering what if the monster girl tried to force herself on him. Now it seemed she was just thinking about how to get along better with him.

That's really quite a lot of effort...

Thinking this, he reached out to respond. Her true form was actually a special kind of substance. Although he could touch her, when he touched her in the opposite direction, he could clearly feel his fingers entering a completely unknown world. It was a void, like the center of the universe, which could swallow him up at any time. Yet, there were countless invisible substances around him, hindering his movement.

Jian Xi instinctively hummed in surprise, her breath sweet and carrying the fresh scent of a recent bath. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she glared at him reproachfully.

"what are you doing!"

"Just trying it out..." He was too embarrassed to admit he was a pervert, but whenever he pinched Jian Xi, she would make a sound like a soft moan, as if some kind of particularly sensitive switch had been turned on.

Even though you're doing something perfectly normal, it's like you've just pulled a slippery catfish out of the water; it might slip away from your arms if you're not careful. Can you say that the catfish is lewd?
Humans are naturally drawn to cold and slippery things, or perhaps they are drawn to them. Zhou Nan is somewhere in between. First, he is bold enough. Second, he is not currently resistant to this monster. Opening up is not an easy thing. He was also surprised that the movie had such a strong aftereffect. He felt that it was much more effective than simply saying "I like you".

Thinking this, he pinched it again... Jian Xi instantly felt pain, arched her back like a shrimp, and kicked him hard in the thigh.

It was a purely retaliatory kick, and that wasn't all. She immediately reverted to her human form, crawled out from under the covers, and stomped on Zhou Nan repeatedly.

"Are you never going to stop? Are you doing this on purpose?! I'll kick you to death!"

"I don't even know what it is! Don't you want to test the quality of something you've touched when you're unfamiliar with it?"

"I'll give you a try!"

Jian Xi grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. Zhou Nan was not to be outdone and grabbed another pillow to retaliate.

With such a soft cushion, there's no need to worry about slipping. You can use as much force as you want, and even through the pillow, you'll feel like mortal enemies, ready to kick back if you punch me.

The pillow's zipper was torn, and the soft duck wool filling spilled out like rain. In the end, both of them were exhausted from fighting and collapsed onto the bed, panting heavily.

The moonlight outside the window was thick and deep, and the heavy snow fell with the wind. For a moment, both the monster and the boy were only concerned with laughing at each other's feathers covering their heads.

(End of this chapter)