That night, Jian Hou naturally stayed over at Jiang Yan's apartment.
The two of them had grown up together like brothers, sharing everything from childhood. Their mothers were best friends for decades, so Jian Hou had always treated Jiang Yan’s home as his own. Even after Jiang Yan got married and moved into this apartment, Jian Hou would often drop by unannounced to crash or share a meal.
However, newlyweds need their privacy, and with Jiang Yan and Yu Xiu being in their honeymoon phase, Jian Hou gradually stopped frequenting their home. Life after graduation had also kept him busy, so his visits became even less frequent.
That changed after Jiang Yan’s divorce and Yu Xiu’s disappearance.
Watching Jiang Yan live alone in this apartment, shutting himself off from the world, Jian Hou couldn’t help but worry.
He feared that Jiang Yan’s irregular routines might lead to him collapsing from exhaustion, or worse—that he might take drastic measures over heartbreak. No matter how busy Jian Hou was, he always found time to check in on his friend.
Jiang Yan thought Jian Hou’s concerns were ridiculous. Why would he commit suicide over something as trivial as a divorce?
It was just a divorce.
Dinner that evening was cooked by Jian Hou. Ever since Yu Xiu left, Jiang Yan’s apartment only saw the warmth of home-cooked meals when Jian Hou or Jiang Yan’s parents came by.
After dinner, the two of them sprawled on the couch to play video games.
“Jump over there! Watch out, there’s a trap!”
“I made it across. Where are you?”
“Hey, hey! Careful—”
“Ah… damn it!”
Jiang Yan glanced at the screen with a deadpan expression, watching Jian Hou’s character fall off a cliff and die. “I told you to be careful.”
Jian Hou chuckled. “It’s fine. I can respawn.”
Then his expression darkened slightly. “If only… we could respawn too.”
Jiang Yan knew what he was referring to. He reached out and patted Jian Hou on the shoulder, offering comfort. “Don’t worry. We won’t die.”
Jian Hou sighed, forcing a smile. “Yeah. We won’t die. We’ll make it out of this game.”
“And we’ll bring Yu Xiu with us,” Jiang Yan added.
A small black tentacle extended from Jiang Yan’s waist, curling around his wrist as he held the game controller. The touch was both affectionate and oddly intimate.
Jiang Yan glanced at the tentacle, then said firmly, “No matter what happened to him in that world, I will bring him back.”
Outside the window, neon lights flickered against the quiet city skyline, illuminating countless lives in their homes.
Jian Hou seemed to have had a sudden realization. “So… is that your wish?”
Jiang Yan cast him a faintly annoyed glance. “I told you, I don’t have a wish.”
“But you just said you want to bring Yu Xiu back. Doesn’t that count as your wish now, at least in the game?” Jian Hou asked.
After a moment of thought, Jian Hou added, “Think about it. Maybe that’s how it works. We didn’t have any wishes when we were first pulled into the game, but now that we’re here, you want to bring Yu Xiu back, and I want us all to leave this game alive. Wouldn’t that mean we’ve made our wishes?”
He paused, then spoke as though he’d had an epiphany. “If that’s the case, does that mean the game’s ‘deal’ is already in progress?”
Hearing this, Jiang Yan furrowed his brows slightly.
“Can it work that way?” Jiang Yan asked. “If we weren’t drawn into the game because of pre-existing wishes, but only developed wishes after entering, then what’s the point of the game requiring wishes in the first place?”
“Hm… yeah, good point,” Jian Hou admitted after a moment of reflection.
Jiang Yan’s gaze darkened as he fell deep into thought.
He and Jian Hou didn't so much stumble into the game as they were inexplicably pulled into that terrifying game world by the main system without any warning or abnormalities.
If there was one thing connecting them to the game, it was that they both knew Yu Xiu.
Could it be that Yu Xiu was trapped in the game and somehow managed to drag them in to rescue him?
That possibility seemed less plausible than Jian Hou's earlier theory that "this is Yu Xiu's wish."
Both he and Jian Hou could barely survive the game; how could someone like Yu Xiu possibly be trapped there?
Besides, even if Yu Xiu were stuck, with his personality, he would never involve those around him in such a dangerous situation.
But if he and Jian Hou had entered the game purely by chance...
Jiang Yan's grip on the game controller tightened unconsciously.
If this game, Jian no longer adhered to the "wish-for-entry" mechanism and instead could pull people into its nightmarish world at random, then what about the real world...?
“Ding.”
Jian Hou's phone buzzed with a notification.
Jian Hou set down his controller and picked up his phone. “It’s a news update,” he said casually.
“Another earthquake triggered a volcanic eruption… Damn! Natural disasters have been getting worse and worse these past few years, especially this year.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yan frowned deeply.
Something felt off.
At that moment, a cold sensation brushed against his forehead.
Jiang Yan paused, startled. He looked down to see a thin, black tendril with a tiny suction cup gently pressing against his forehead, its motion soft and almost... comforting.
His frown disappeared as if smoothed away by the tendril. Jiang Yan grabbed the tendril and peeled it away from his face, a subtle smile playing on his lips. “Hey, don’t smear that green goo all over my face.”
Jian Hou, watching the black tendril coiling around Jiang Yan’s fingers, raised an eyebrow curiously. “I’ve always wondered—Yu Xiu’s turned into... this. How did you even recognize him?”
“Because he is Yu Xiu,” Jiang Yan said firmly.
At his words, the tendril tightened its coil around Jiang Yan’s fingers, its suction cup softly pecking at his skin. The green, viscous liquid glistened on Jiang Yan’s slender, pale hand.
Jian Hou stared at the tendril for a long moment before expressing his concern. “But… what if he’s not Yu Xiu? What if he’s just a creature that’s learned to mimic someone you know?”
“He is,” Jiang Yan insisted.
To prove his point, Jiang Yan gently called, “Yu Xiu.”
The tendril lifted higher, responding to his call.
“See?” Jiang Yan turned to Jian Hou with a smug expression. “Not only that, but he even does chores.”
“...What?” Jian Hou was utterly dumbfounded.
“When I brought him back from the last level, he just... naturally cleaned up the place,” Jiang Yan said with a rare, soft smile.
Hearing this, the tendril rose even higher, as if puffing itself up with pride.
Jian Hou couldn’t believe his ears. “So... you’re saying this thing does housework? What if it’s just an obedient pet, though?”
“What if it’s not Yu Xiu at all, but a random creature looking for a way out of the game and latching onto you?” Jian Hou said. “Honestly, I don’t see much resemblance between this thing and Yu Xiu.”
At this, Jian Hou studied the tendril thoughtfully and added, “Don’t you think it’s a bit reckless to bring it home, let it cling to you, and trust it completely without solid proof?”
“I’m certain he’s Yu Xiu,” Jiang Yan said through gritted teeth, glaring at the tendril in his hand. “Even if he turned to ashes, I’d recognize him!”
The tendril responded by wrapping tighter around Jiang Yan’s fingers, an unmistakable gesture of affection.
Seeing this, Jian Hou stroked his chin and mused, “Okay, let’s say he is Yu Xiu. But you two are divorced, aren’t you? Isn’t it a bit much to let him... take advantage of you like this?”
Jiang Yan froze for a moment, his mind flashing back to the many questionable things this tendril had done while attached to him.
Jian Hou didn't realize it, but Jiang Yan did: despite their divorce, they shouldn't be maintaining this kind of physical connection anymore. While they hadn't taken things all the way after reuniting, it still felt inappropriate.
Jiang Yan looked at the tendril in his hand, hesitant. “Yeah... you're right! Yu Xiu and I are divorced.”
At this, the small tendril wrapping around Jiang Yan's fingers suddenly stiffened, then quickly shrank back.
The next moment, two tendrils, thicker than before, extended from under Jiang Yan's clothes. One swiftly snatched Jian Hou’s phone.
"Hey..." Jian Hou called out.
Jiang Yan and Jian Hou watched in disbelief as the tendrils skillfully unlocked Jian Hou’s phone.
Jian Hou’s eyes widened. “How do you know my password...?”
The next second, the tendril opened the notes app and began typing:
【Jian Hou.】
“What?!”
Jian Hou’s eyes went wide in shock. Jiang Yan, too, stared in disbelief. That’s right! The tendril could type! Why hadn’t they thought of using it to communicate earlier?
The tendril kept typing rapidly:
【I think your parents would really like to know that the last time you asked them for a line of investment and then went on a business trip, you were actually tricked into a pyramid scheme by your ex-boyfriend, and it was me and Jiang Yan who had to rescue you in the end.】
Jian Hou immediately pleaded, “Stop, stop! I’m sorry, bro! Yu Xiu! You and Jiang Yan are truly made for each other! Wishing you both eternal happiness, growing old together, and having lots of kids!”
Only then did the tendril toss the phone back into Jian Hou's lap, clearly satisfied.
Jian Hou was still dazed, staring at the tendril that had just typed on his phone. “You… are still Yu Xiu?”
The tendril wiggled affirmatively in response.
Then it began to retract back into Jiang Yan’s soft, warm body.
However, just as it was about to retreat, Jiang Yan grabbed it.
“Wait!” Jiang Yan said, pulling out his phone and placing it on the couch. “If you can type, then talk to me. How did you end up like this?”
The tendril froze, then started to wrap around Jiang Yan’s hand in a playful, almost affectionate way, trying to deflect the question.
“Stop playing around!” Jiang Yan snapped, roughly pulling the tendril off. “Tell me the truth, how did you end up like this? How did you get into the game?”
The tendril hesitated before opening the notes app again.
Jiang Yan, I... I can't say.
Jiang Yan frowned deeply.
Jian Hou’s expression also turned serious. “Can’t say? Is it because of the game?”
Yes.
Jiang Yan took a deep breath, feeling a mix of worry and warmth flood through him. It had been so long since he had a real conversation with Yu Xiu.
Not one of those fragmented chats with the “Yu Xiu” made from the game’s copy of his body, not something related to the game’s scenarios where he had to worry about the character's integrity being polluted by the system.
This was a genuine conversation with the real Yu Xiu.
Since their divorce, Yu Xiu had left home, and they hadn’t spoken since.
For a moment, Jiang Yan felt a pang of sadness. He couldn’t explain why, but it was as if a deep, unspoken grievance had risen in him.
“Then, about us... Yes or no?” Jiang Yan asked coldly.
Yes!
Yu Xiu’s tendril typed those words with finality.
Jiang Yan took a moment before slowly asking, “Why did we divorce?”
The tendril paused for a moment, and Jian Hou was about to speak up, wondering if it was the right time to ask that question.
Looking at Jiang Yan's expressionless face, with his blue eyes faintly flickering, Jian Hou swallowed the words that were about to leave his mouth.
It was true! If Yu Xiu hadn’t proposed, Jiang Yan and Yu Xiu wouldn’t have divorced. If they hadn’t divorced, Yu Xiu wouldn’t have disappeared. Now they knew that Yu Xiu’s disappearance was tied to the game.
If they hadn’t divorced, Yu Xiu would never have been dragged into the game, and Jiang Yan and Yu Xiu would still be the loving couple they once were. Yu Xiu would be at home every day, doing housework, cooking, and arranging his "specimens," while Jiang Yan would live the carefree life of a gaming addict, playing games all day, only sleeping when the sun set.
The two of them would occasionally go out for walks, visit friends, or go to Jiang Yan's parents' home for a meal. On some weekends, when both of them were free, they might take a short trip.
Such an enviable life! An enviable couple! They’d even occasionally invite friends over for dinner, and Yu Xiu’s cooking skills were really good!
Now, everything had changed. When you think about it, their divorce was the spark that set everything off.
Jian Hou sighed and glanced at Jiang Yan.
To be honest, Jian Hou had always thought that their divorce was just a silly mistake, something they would get over. Their relationship had been so good, and although there had been some misunderstandings at his birthday party, what couple doesn’t argue? You fight a bit, and it’s over! But unexpectedly, things had escalated to the point of divorce.
At first, everyone around them, including Jiang Yan's parents, thought it was just a temporary fight, a phase. They thought for sure that Jiang Yan and Yu Xiu couldn’t live without each other, so they would get back together soon.
But then, Yu Xiu disappeared. It was as if they had truly cut ties, and Jiang Yan didn’t seem too affected by it. He lived alone in his apartment, indifferent as usual.
This puzzled everyone, especially Jian Hou. After seeing how close they were before, it was hard to believe they had actually gone through with the divorce. Jian Hou even started to doubt whether he believed in love anymore.
It wasn’t until one night, in the middle of the night, when Jiang Yan’s call woke Jian Hou up from his sleep that things took a turn.
He still remembered the trembling in Jiang Yan's voice on the phone.
"Old Jian... I can't find him..."
“Who? What do you mean?” Jian Hou, still half-asleep, didn’t understand at first. It had been some time since Jiang Yan and Yu Xiu divorced, so it took him a moment to realize who Jiang Yan was talking about.
"Yu Xiu," Jiang Yan said, his voice shaky. "He's gone... I can't find him anywhere."
That’s when Jian Hou finally snapped awake.
By the time they arrived at Jiang Yan's apartment, Jiang Yan’s parents were already there. They shared the information they had gathered and confirmed that Yu Xiu had indeed gone missing. Without hesitation, they decided to report the disappearance that very night.
Jian Hou sighed, remembering the events that led to this moment. When Jiang Yan had said that sentence at his birthday party, Jian Hou thought it was just a quirky way for Jiang Yan to express his feelings, different from how others would do it. Of course, Yu Xiu had felt upset — it was normal in a relationship. After all, many couples had arguments, but they would usually make up after a while.
But when they actually divorced, it seemed like they had truly broken up for good. He had thought it was over for them, but now seeing this, with one of them no longer human and yet still so attached... It was complicated.
【Because...】
【... not...】
【Clearly...】
Yu Xiu’s black tendrils paused, tapping a couple of times on the phone’s keyboard before deleting and re-typing. Finally, after much hesitation, it typed:
【It’s Yan Yan. Yan Yan doesn’t want me anymore.】
Jiang Yan shot back immediately, “You’re talking nonsense! You were the one who wanted the divorce!”
This guy was trying to pin everything on him? The one who suggested divorce? It was Yu Xiu! The one who insisted on arguing? Yu Xiu! The one who dragged him to the civil affairs bureau to finalize the divorce? Yu Xiu! And what was worse? The night before the divorce, Yu Xiu had dragged him through a whole night of... who knows what. Was this the "breakup sex" everyone talked about?
The more Jiang Yan thought about it, the angrier he became. In a burst of frustration, he pulled Yu Xiu’s tendrils off himself and tossed them onto the couch.
As soon as Yu Xiu’s tendrils made contact with the couch, they expanded in size, gripping the cushions like a giant octopus.
Jian Hou blinked in disbelief. “Wait, he can actually come off of you? I thought he could only stay attached to you now.”
Jiang Yan nodded. “In real life, yes. But in the game, it’s different.”
“Whoa! That’s cool!” Jian Hou was impressed, then silently moved to the side to give the couple some space. It was clear they were about to argue again.
He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Why was he always in the middle of their fights? He had been there when their divorce had started, and now, even after their divorce, he was still stuck in the middle.
Jiang Yan’s voice was cold as he demanded, “Get off! Your slime is making my couch dirty!”
Yu Xiu quickly typed, 【I did all the housework! I know how to wash the couch cover.】
Jiang Yan shot back, “Not anymore! Now it’s Auntie who washes it.”
Yu Xiu still had no intention of getting off the sofa. He remained sprawled out, continuing to type:
"I’ve washed it before, so I can dirty it!"
Jiang Yan, for a moment, didn’t know how to refute this. He bit his lip and continued:
"I’m asking you why you want a divorce!"
Yu Xiu quickly typed in response:
"It’s clearly because Yan Yan doesn’t want me!"
"When did I ever say that?! It was clearly you who wanted the divorce!" Jiang Yan's voice rose slightly.
As he said this, he pointed at Jian Hou behind him, saying, "Our divorce process, Jian Hou knows everything. Ask him who proposed the divorce!"
Yu Xiu quickly typed in rebuttal:
"Yes! Jian Hou knows everything! Ask him who said he didn’t love me!"
At that moment, Jian Hou, who had been hugging a pillow, tried to avoid the argument: "....."
Jiang Yan paused for a moment, then asked incredulously, "You… you really want a divorce for this reason?"
At the time, when Yu Xiu told him the reason for the divorce, he found it unbelievable. Is this really the reason you want a divorce?
Yu Xiu typed one word at a time:
"Isn’t this reason enough? My wife doesn’t love me, isn’t that reason enough to divorce?"
"According to the law, if the couple’s relationship has broken down, even the court will grant a divorce. Do you think this reason isn’t enough?"
Jiang Yan was at a loss for words.
Yu Xiu continued to press the attack:
"Yan Yan said it himself, you don’t love me, I’m just someone who’s suitable to be with you."
"So what am I in Yan Yan’s eyes? Your cook? Your nanny? Your playmate who spends every day with you?"
"Of course not!" Jiang Yan quickly retorted.
"But Yan Yan, you said it exactly like that!"
"You’re freaking talking nonsense! I never said anything like that!" Jiang Yan couldn’t help but curse.
"You did say it! You said it at Jian Hou’s birthday party!"
Yu Xiu’s fingers hit the keyboard, causing it to make clicking sounds.
"Jian Hou!"
"Jian Hou!"
Both of them looked at Jian Hou.
Jian Hou: "..."
Why is my life so hard?
"Tell me, did I really say something like that?" Jiang Yan asked.
"You heard it! He clearly said it!" Yu Xiu insisted.
Jian Hou silently raised his hands in surrender, saying, "Big brothers, I’ve forgotten."
"How could you forget?" Jiang Yan replied.
"Then… do you remember what you said at the time?" Jian Hou put his hands down and smiled as he responded.
Jiang Yan: "..."
Yu Xiu typed again:
"Ha... Look! Yan Yan himself doesn’t even remember what he said... but I’ll always remember every word Yan Yan said."
Upon seeing this, Jiang Yan retorted, "I absolutely never said you were my cook, my nanny, or my playmate! Otherwise, why would I marry you?"
"You did say it!"
"I didn’t!!"
"You did!"
"I didn’t!"
At that moment, as they both argued fiercely over the phone screen, Jian Hou raised his hand again, saying, "Brothers! I have the video!"
Jiang Yan: "..."
Yu Xiu: "..."
---
It was late at night, and the lights in the residential buildings gradually went out, leaving only the advertisements on the commercial buildings still glowing.
In the relatively luxurious apartment in the city center, the two men and one tentacle were sitting on the sofa, watching TV through screen mirroring.
"Your smart TV is really not smart at all! Why is the screen mirroring so slow?" Jian Hou fiddled with it.
"Do we really need to mirror the screen?" Jiang Yan looked unhappily at the tentacle beside him.
Yu Xiu firmly typed a sentence:
"Yes! I have to magnify it! I want to see how cruel Yan Yan was when he said that to me!"
Jiang Yan: "... He probably just recorded an audio, and we might not even be in the shot!"
"I don’t care!"
"I can’t mirror it!" Jian Hou complained while holding his phone.
Jiang Yan, feeling a bit irritated, said, "Let him do it himself! It’s his TV."
Jian Hou respectfully handed the phone to the black tentacle on the sofa. "Xiu Ge, please."
Yu Xiu wrapped the phone with his tentacle and quickly set up the screen mirroring.
Then, the two men and the tentacle began staring at the TV screen.
Jian Hou sat in the middle, with Jiang Yan and Yu Xiu sitting on either side. All three had expressionless faces, but their eyes revealed different emotions.
At this moment, Jian Hou felt like a judge presiding over a "To Kill a Mockingbird"-like trial, trying to handle the "divorce case" between the two young men.
Soon, a colorful scene appeared on the black screen.
First, there was a sweeping shot of Jian Hou's villa’s decorations, followed by Jian Hou greeting one guest after another at the door.
Before long, Jiang Yan and Yu Xiu appeared in the frame. As soon as they appeared, they drew the attention of everyone in the room.
Both of them were wearing sharp suits, arms linked, appearing intimate and close!
"They really do look like a perfect couple."
Yu Xiu, smiling, handed a box to Jian Hou: "Happy Birthday!"
Jian Hou thanked him with a smile as he accepted the gift.
"Look how charming I am!" Yu Xiu typed quickly on his phone.
Jiang Yan, looking at the video of himself standing next to Yu Xiu with little expression on his face, said, "... You’re being fake."
Jian Hou: "..."
The video continued to play.
After receiving the gift, Jian Hou said to Yu Xiu, "It’s probably going to be quite late tonight. After the cake is cut, if you two want to leave, feel free. Xiao Yan doesn’t like this kind of atmosphere."
Once all the guests had arrived, the birthday party began its festivities.
Jiang Yan never liked such occasions.
So, once the party started, he and Yu Xiu just hid in a corner, eating and watching Jian Hou and the others drinking and having fun.
The camera kept following Jian Hou as it turned.
A while later, Jian Hou, a bit drunk, came out to the hallway to get some fresh air.
Jiang Yan returned to the center of the frame, observing Jian Hou, who was hiding from the party by the hallway. He made a cup of honey water and brought it over to him.
"Thanks!" Jian Hou half-drunk, accepted the cup.
"Stay a bit longer. After we finish, we’ll head back. Let’s catch up next time." Jiang Yan said.
Jian Hou nodded and then looked back toward the room, the camera following his movement.
Through the floor-to-ceiling glass door in the hallway, Yu Xiu was sitting in the center of the crowd, smiling like a blooming flower. His green, glowing eyes, under the light and the haze of alcohol, looked especially captivating.
Yu Xiu's tentacle quickly typed another message:
"Look! When I was still human, I looked so good! Yan Yan didn’t even like me."
Jiang Yan: "... Shut up."
"I don’t have a mouth, Yan Yan should tell me to stop." Yu Xiu replied, typing with his tentacle in a playful manner.
Jiang Yan: "... If I keep engaging with this guy, I’ll be a fool!"
The camera stayed on Yu Xiu for a few seconds before returning to Jian Hou and Jiang Yan.
In the night breeze, Jian Hou, holding the honey water, said to Jiang Yan, "I thought, with your personality, you would never get married. I didn’t expect you to be the first one around me to settle down."
Jiang Yan turned his head: "Getting married isn’t that difficult, is it?"
Jian Hou laughed: "Do you think everyone can meet someone like your husband, who treats you like a goddess?"
Jiang Yan didn’t care and replied, "Marriage is fine! As long as we’re at ease."
Yu Xiu's tentacle rapidly typed:
"Listen! Do you hear what you're saying? 'As long as we're at ease!' "
Jian Hou shook his head with a smile: "But there has to be love, right? If you’re just marrying because it’s convenient… it feels like something’s missing."
Jiang Yan replied: "When I’m with Yu Xiu, I feel at ease."
"Just at ease!"
"It’s not the same!" Jian Hou smiled, "Your feelings for Yu Xiu, can they be the same as how you feel about your parents?"
"What’s different?" Jiang Yan answered without thinking.
"There’s no difference! You said there’s no difference! Just look, you said it yourself!!"
"Look-!"
The glass door was opened, and Yu Xiu appeared in the frame.
His face was pale, looking incredulously at his lover. His green eyes shone brightly, filled with tears.
He trembled as he spoke: "Yan Yan... "
Seeing this, Jian Hou quickly stepped in, trying to smooth things over: "Yu Xiu, don't... Jiang Yan is just joking!"
Jiang Yan didn’t show much expression and said, "Are we going home now?"
"Right, right! You two should go home and get some rest. Jiang Yan had a bit to drink today." Jian Hou said.
Then, the two of them disappeared from the video.
"Click."
Yu Xiu, with his tentacle, turned off the TV.
He typed on Jiang Yan's phone keyboard:
"Do you still need to argue? There’s evidence, whether it's valid or not."
"What evidence is this? This actually proves that I never said those things you’re claiming!" Jiang Yan thought it was all incredibly strange.
Yu Xiu: "?? You definitely said it! The video just played! I even recorded it!"
Then, Yu Xiu opened the voice recording on his phone.
The audio played repeatedly, the two sentences he had just recorded:
"When I’m with Yu Xiu, I feel at ease."
"What’s different?"
"When I’m with Yu Xiu, I feel at ease..."
Yu Xiu turned the volume all the way up, letting these two sentences echo throughout the entire apartment.
Then, he typed two words on the keyboard:
"Liar!"
Jiang Yan turned to look at Jian Hou, who was pretending to be invisible, and asked, "What does this prove?"
Jian Hou chose to stay silent.
Jiang Yan then turned to Yu Xiu: "I only said those two sentences. Where did I ever say you were my chef, my maid, or my playmate? You still say you didn’t wrong me?"
Jian Hou: "..."
Yu Xiu paused his tentacle, then quickly typed:
"?? These two sentences mean exactly that! You meant that!"
"I didn’t!" Jiang Yan retorted.
Watching the two bicker like schoolchildren, Jian Hou felt a headache coming on. He glanced at Jiang Yan, who was looking at the phone screen with a serious expression while Yu Xiu typed with his tentacle, and sighed softly.
Yan Yan... you’re really lost in this!
The two were still arguing.
"I never said that! You were the one who brought up divorce!" Jiang Yan bit his teeth and glared at Yu Xiu’s tentacle.
Yu Xiu wasn’t backing down:
"These two sentences mean that! You said being with me is just for peace of mind!"
"You said the way you feel with me is the same as how you feel with your parents! Doesn’t that mean you don’t love me anymore?"
"Being with me just for peace of mind? The way you feel with me is like how you feel with your parents? Didn't you also say Jian Hou felt like family to you, that being with him was the same as being with your parents?"
"So? Are you planning to marry Jian Hou instead?"
"Enough!" Jian Hou couldn’t stand it anymore.
At first, when he wasn’t sure whose dark tentacle it was, he was a bit scared, but now he wasn’t afraid at all. He casually tossed the pillow in his hand toward Yu Xiu and said, "You two can argue all you want, but don’t drag me into your personal issues, thank you!"
With that, Jian Hou moved to the other side and made space in the middle for them to continue their discussion.
Jiang Yan was so angry that he almost laughed: "What do you mean, am I supposed to marry Jian Hou now? If I was planning to marry him, would I even need you?!"
"Then why did you say being with me feels like being with your parents?"
"The people I trust most in this world are my parents. When I said being with you feels like being with them, it means you’re someone I trust just as much. What's wrong with that?" Jiang Yan was confused.
"What’s wrong with saying that being with you makes me feel at ease?" Jiang Yan asked.
"Of course there’s something wrong with it!" Yu Xiu typed four words.
Jiang Yan was confused: "I rarely feel at ease with anyone. So when I say I feel at ease with you, why is that wrong?"
"At ease is at ease, it’s not love."
"The way you feel about your parents, your friends, and how you feel about me should be different."
"Of course it’s the same!" Jiang Yan retorted.
Jian Hou couldn’t help but sigh deeply.
"Of course it’s not the same! How could it be?!"
"Why can’t it be the same?!"
Yu Xiu was going crazy! He didn’t understand! Clearly, he was the one who wasn’t human!
He clearly didn’t understand what it was like to be human. So why did he feel like his wife—someone born and raised in the human world—was even more clueless than he was?
Finally, Jian Hou couldn’t stand it any longer: "Of course, it’s not the same."
Jiang Yan bit his lip. He wasn’t unaware of Jian Hou and Yu Xiu’s concerns.
He wasn’t stupid; he knew.
It’s just... he didn’t understand why.
He had so many emotions, but not too many to spare. So why was Yu Xiu so fixated and concerned about this?
Wasn’t it fine for them to be together?
Haven’t they always been together?
Why insist on dwelling on such a trivial issue?
However, this time, Yu Xiu seemed determined to get to the bottom of it. His black tentacle slowly typed out a few words on the phone:
"Yan Yan... did you ever love me?"