DCHHLT Chapter 2

As dusk approached, the misty drizzle finally ceased.

Uncharacteristically, Chu Junshan didn’t return to his own place, making a detour to his parents’ home instead.

When he pushed open the door, his mother was arranging flowers, and his father, Chu Yangqing, was in the kitchen.

“What brings you back?” Chen Wei asked in surprise, looking up at Chu Junshan. “How was your blind date today?”

It was no wonder Chen Wei was so surprised. Over three years ago, Chu Junshan had resigned from an enviable position at a state-owned enterprise, smashing his own “iron rice bowl” to transition into freelancing.

—Photography, illustration, digital media. Chu Junshan dabbled in all kinds of side hustles. Over the past few years, he had managed to save up enough money to bring smiles back to his anxious parents’ faces, so they stopped nagging him about getting a proper job again.

His parents had always held high expectations for him. Not understanding why he made such a choice, arguments and spats had broken out frequently in the past.

Once Chu Junshan achieved financial independence, he bought a house in the suburbs. After moving out, he rarely came back.

“Just back to grab a few things,” Chu Junshan replied, lifting the door curtain and walking straight into his room.

Chen Wei set down her floral shears and followed him inside. After carefully scrutinizing his frost-cold face for a long moment, she arrived at a conclusion—

This blind date had likely failed once again.

Recalling what the matchmaker had told her, Chen Wei said with a tinge of regret, “You met with that Teacher Liang today, right? He’s handsome and very warm-hearted. I thought he had great qualifications.”

Walking over to the storage cabinet, Chu Junshan rummaged through it while answering absently, “He is.”

Chen Wei: “…So you weren’t interested again?”

Chu Junshan said nothing. His gaze locked onto the dust motes dancing in the shafts of sunlight, still searching for something.

“That Mr. Liang is a kindergarten teacher,” Chen Wei said softly. “He’s worked at Xinghai Kindergarten for several years now. He’s sincere, driven, hardworking, and down-to-earth. He really is quite good.”

Under the dim light, Chu Junshan lowered his long, fringe-like eyelashes, concealing the dark gloom swirling in the depths of his eyes. When he raised his gaze again, those eyes were once more clear and spotless, like a pristine spring.

Amused, he arched an eyebrow. He looked at his mother and shook his head gently.

If his mother knew that the upstanding young man she was praising was actually a tentacle monster that had crawled out from another world, she would probably be terrified.

Yet that wasn’t the only thing. There were still many unexplainable mysteries surrounding this “human” named Liang Xingyuan.

For instance, how had he arrived in the normal human world? Aside from him, were there other monsters invading this world?

Why did he become a kindergarten teacher? Was he truly Liang Xingyuan, or had he killed the original “Liang Xingyuan” and replaced him?

Chu Junshan’s expression remained serene, seemingly unbothered by this long string of unanswered questions.

He didn’t mind that this tentacle monster had entered his world, nor did he care if it harbored malicious intent to bring catastrophic ruin upon the world.

It didn’t matter.

It had been a very, very long time since he had encountered a tentacle monster so thoroughly to his taste.

If it tried to pull anything, Chu Junshan would make sure to subdue it well before it could make its move.

After all, compared to simply touching rigid tentacles, he preferred the feeling of conquest.

Beside him, his oblivious mother continued to chatter away: “Someone introduced by your dad’s colleague couldn’t possibly be a bad pick. The boy seems so honest. You’re not getting any younger, either. It’s time to settle down.”

Chu Junshan responded flatly, “Mm.”

“Don’t just ‘mm’ me,” Chen Wei said, a touch of dissatisfaction in her voice. “What don’t you like about him? His job as a kindergarten teacher? He has a tenured position, you know. It’s already plenty good that he didn’t look down on you for being unemployed. If you hadn’t insisted on resigning back then, it wouldn’t be this hard to find someone now. The path I planned out for you was so clear, but you—”

Chu Junshan: “…”

So we’re never going to get past the tenure thing, are we?

Chu Yangqing happened to walk out holding a brimming, steaming dish of chestnut braised chicken. Seeing that they were bickering again, he stepped in to smooth things over: “Alright, alright, stop arguing! It’s rare for Chuchu to come home, so why nag him like this? Besides, that date might not even be a good fit for Chuchu.”

Chu Yangqing usually played the mediator in their household. After all, Chen Wei had a strong, assertive personality while Chu Junshan was cool and distant. One was constantly playing the bad cop while the other remained completely unmoved, which was bound to strain family harmony over time.

Chu Yangqing chuckled as he guided Chen Wei toward the dining table, winking at Chu Junshan. “I heard kindergarten teachers tend to be a bit childish. It’s perfectly normal if Chuchu isn’t into that type.”

“Besides, so what if he has tenure? Our Chuchu is great, too. Even though he’s a freelancer, he might be earning way more than him.

“You can’t rush matchmaking. We’ll take our time and find someone Chuchu likes and you approve of. Wouldn’t that be perfect?” Chu Yangqing smoothed things over with practiced ease, waiting until Chen Wei’s expression softened slightly before adding, “Alright, come eat.”

Chen Wei sat down, shaking her head, and muttered to herself, “This child… nothing ever satisfies him…”

Chu Junshan had no intention of taking a seat at the table. Raising his gaze slightly, he finally gave a direct answer: “I never said I wasn’t satisfied.”

The dim evening light outside flickered past the window. In that split second, Chen Wei caught a clear glimpse of what Chu Junshan was holding between his fingers—

It was a red… household register.

“Mom, Dad, I have something to take care of today, so I won’t stay for dinner.” Facing his astonished parents, Chu Junshan offered a polite smile. “Precisely because I am very satisfied, I’ve decided to marry Mr. Liang.”

—

Meanwhile, inside the office at Xinghai Kindergarten, a group of teachers was gathered around a desk. The teacher who had arranged the blind date for Liang Xingyuan spoke with a beaming smile to the tall, handsome man seated at the desk: “How was that Mr. Chu?”

“Very good.” At the mention of Chu Junshan, Liang Xingyuan’s face involuntarily flushed a soft red. “I think we’re a great fit.”

“Wow! That’s wonderful!” a recently graduated intern teacher chimed in. “The other party must have been really taken with you, right, Teacher Liang? After all, you’re handsome, kind-hearted, so full of warmth, and have such a great personality. Who could meet you and not be charmed?”

“No, no.” Liang Xingyuan explained with a touch of bashfulness, “It’s that I really like Mr. Chu.”

“What do you like about him?” someone asked.

Liang Xingyuan’s ears turned a shade redder. He pursed his lips as if hesitating. Only after a long pause did he say earnestly to the bright, curious eyes surrounding him, “I like his aloofness.”

Everyone went blank for a second. “…Huh?”

Who on earth likes a cold, distant blind date!?

Could Teacher Liang secretly harbor some peculiar little preferences of his own…?

In an instant, the looks his colleagues cast toward Liang Xingyuan took on a distinctly subtle flavor.

Still floating in a cloud of pink romantic bubbles, Liang Xingyuan failed to notice the shift in atmosphere around him.

Ever since crawling out of the infinite game, he had longed for the warmth of family life. Chu Junshan was the very first human he had ever liked this much.

He hadn’t been lying just now. He truly adored that unique air of cold detachment about Chu Junshan.

He loved his slightly pursed lips, loved his taut, expressionless face, and loved those clear eyes devoid of emotion.

In human society, aloofness often seemed synonymous with cold indifference. But Liang Xingyuan felt that if he married Chu Junshan, the two of them would surely share a very happy life together.

This was a monster’s sixth sense.

The affection he felt for Chu Junshan was different from any fondness he had ever experienced toward others before. For the very first time, he felt such a powerful desire to offer him the absolute best of everything in the world.

He wanted to hold his hand, cherish him properly, and possess him completely.

Liang Xingyuan recalled what Chu Junshan had said when they parted outside the café earlier.

“If you’re willing, we can make an appointment to register our marriage tomorrow.” Chu Junshan had stood on the damp street, the soft, warm twilight illuminating his face. Under the light, his pale tea-colored eyes revealed a peculiar shade of brown, looking all the clearer. “Of course, you can take some time to think about it.”

Liang Xingyuan was acutely aware of his heart fluttering. Whenever he faced Chu Junshan, his heart pounded uncontrollably. A monster’s heart beat at a much higher frequency, requiring immense effort on his part to suppress its racing thud.

He liked this human.

Therefore, Liang Xingyuan didn’t intend to settle things so rashly. He had heard that in human society, the most beautiful state of love was meeting and falling in love naturally.

He liked Chu Junshan, so he wanted to give him a complete, sweet, and happy romance.

His answer back then had been: “Mr. Chu, I don’t think we need to rush into this just yet. According to last month’s national marriage statistics recommendations, couples who cohabit before marriage enjoy greater harmony. If you don’t mind, could we move in together for a while first?”

After saying this, Liang Xingyuan held his breath, awaiting the other’s response.

Beneath the fading light, Chu Junshan had smiled. In Liang Xingyuan’s eyes, that smile was brighter than the glow of the sun and stars combined.

“Sure.”

…

Snapping back to reality, Liang Xingyuan realized that the teachers who had been gathered around him a moment ago had all departed.

His phone resting on the desk vibrated gently. As he picked it up to check it, he accidentally caught a glimpse of the mirror sitting on the neighboring teacher’s desk out of the corner of his eye—

Without realizing it, he was actually smiling.

Liang Xingyuan: “!”

Was it really that obvious?

He adjusted his expression back to one of serene composure, picked up his phone and bag, and slowly walked out.

An account with a default profile picture had sent him two messages.

【[Location]】 

【I’m in Unit 3, Room 201. Just wait for me downstairs. See you in twenty minutes.】 

The sender’s display name was 【chu】.

Before parting ways at the entrance of the café, Liang Xingyuan and Chu Junshan had exchanged WeChat contacts and phone numbers.

Chu Junshan had said he could pack up his things today and move into his place. Liang Xingyuan felt quite confident in his own tidy apartment. Now, he just needed to go to Chu Junshan’s place to pick him up.

【 Okay.】 

Liang Xingyuan hesitated for a moment. Feeling that his response and the period at the end seemed a bit too cold and stiff, he added another message after a brief pause.

【 [Puppy Welcome.gif]】 

Meanwhile, Chu Junshan’s gaze rested on the GIF of a little dog spinning around and throwing confetti on his screen. A subtle light glinted in his eyes before he raised them, letting his gaze fall back onto the display cabinet in front of him.

His apartment was located in the suburbs. It was not a particularly great location, offering few transportation options if he needed to get anywhere.

However, the reason Chu Junshan had chosen this apartment in the first place was that the study directly faced the balcony, forming a semi-open, front-to-back layout with an exceptionally spacious floor area.

The display cabinets held a wide array of tentacle figurines. Some were modeled after the Old Gods of the Cthulhu Mythos, looking inevitably ferocious.

A large portion of them were figurines Chu Junshan had collected through various channels, while others were models he had designed himself.

These several cabinetfuls of figurines were actually the more presentable ones among his entire collection of tentacle models.

As for those that were far less suitable for minors… Chu Junshan had tucked them away in the narrow cabinet at the back.

For this “move”, Chu Junshan did not plan to pack up and take these long-treasured possessions with him, nor did he want them to cross paths with a real tentacle monster.

…After all, real tentacles were far better to touch.

Just looking at them was enough to imagine that slick, supple texture. It was something no tentacle model, no matter how realistic, could ever replicate.

Chu Junshan raised his hand, his fingertips lightly brushing against the rigid surface of a figurine’s tentacle. The tip, slender as a snake’s tail, felt as though it were already coiling around his arm… and even deeper parts of his body, its icy temperature igniting a series of shuddering sparks that struck through him like lightning.

A message chime rang out like a gentle urge. Snapping back to his senses, Chu Junshan’s eyes crinkled, a faint smile gracing the corners of his lips.

Right now… he truly couldn’t wait to play with real tentacles with his own hands.

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