The Tentacle Monster I Brought Home Always Says It Wants to Fix My Bones at Night - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Su Jingyao and I met at a high-rise restaurant not far from the office.

It was the kind of place I used to only dare look at on group-buying apps-three thousand yuan per person, with window seats overlooking the entire river view.

Su Jingyao seemed completely unaffected by the recent turmoil. His suit was as crisp as ever, and even his cufflinks had been swapped for a low-profile silver-gray.

When he saw me arrive, he pulled out my chair first, then pushed the menu toward me with a flawless, practiced smile.

“You don’t look very well. Have you been working too hard lately?”

I gave a small smile. “That’s just life for a corporate drone.”

He sighed softly, looking as if he truly felt bad for me.

“That’s why I’ve always admired you. Someone as capable and resilient as you shouldn’t be buried in a small company like that.”

I sneered inwardly.

Xu Yichuan had said similar things.

When a man is about to drag you into a pit, he often starts by pretending to build you a ladder.

Motiao was hidden in the deepest part of my handbag, as quiet as if it were dead.

But I knew it was listening.

Halfway through the meal, Su Jingyao finally brought the conversation to the main point.

“Shuwan, I heard you picked up something very… unique.”

He looked up at me. His gaze remained gentle, yet there wasn’t a hint of warmth in it.

“That thing is dangerous. It shouldn’t be kept by your side.”

I feigned ignorance. “What are you talking about, Mr. Su?”

He set his wine glass down gently, his voice dropping an octave.

“Pei Yuming.”

A chill ran down my spine.

A second later, he pulled a document from his briefcase and slid it across the table toward me.

“A Non-Disclosure and Compensation Agreement.”

“As long as you hand the sample over to me, I can settle the matter with Xu Yichuan for you. I can also ensure you’re put in charge of your company’s accounts. Your annual salary will triple, and you’ll get an apartment reserved for skilled professionals on top of that.”

“Shuwan, to survive in this world, one must know how to adapt to the circumstances.”

I looked at the agreement and suddenly found it incredibly absurd.

I was twenty-six years old. My savings account had less than five digits. The walls of my rented apartment were so thin I could hear the neighbors arguing at midnight. Meanwhile, my family back home always assumed I was making a fortune in the big city.

Someone like me should have been the most easily swayed by these terms.

But what flashed through my mind was the feel of Motiao’s touch as it slowly worked the stiffness out of my neck and shoulders late at night.

It was the way it clumsily learned how to order food delivery.

It was the sentence it typed on the screen: “I don’t want you to break.”

I suddenly realized something.

Not everyone who offers me a high price respects me.

Some people give me money simply because they believe I can be bought.

So, I pushed the agreement back.

“Mr. Su, you’re wrong.”

“There’s more to living than just ‘adapting to circumstances.'”

Su Jingyao’s smile finally faded.

“It seems you’re even more naive than I thought.”

“Do you even know what that thing you brought home is? It’s a parasite. It’s addictive. It will hollow out its host’s emotions until nothing is left.”

“Do you think it’s close to you because it likes you?”

He leaned forward, his voice as soft as venom.

“No. It’s just hungry.”

My fingertips turned cold.

In that moment, I genuinely wavered.

Because I remembered how Motiao had indeed been growing faster and faster over the past three months.

The time it spent clinging to me at night was also getting longer.

There were several times after it touched me when I would become inexplicably drowsy, sleeping for over a dozen hours at a time.

Su Jingyao seemed to see right through me, the corners of his lips curling up inch by inch.

“Shuwan, monsters are experts at feigning tenderness. It will make you believe you are needed, favored, and protected.”

“By the time it’s fully grown, there won’t even be bones left of you.”

My back went cold, and my fingers instinctively gripped the strap of my bag.

Right then, a very faint vibration came from inside the bag.

It felt like a reassurance.

Then, my phone screen lit up on its own.

No one had touched it.

There was only one sentence on the screen.

“He’s lying.”

Then, another line followed.

“They are the ones feeding me with your exhaustion, not I.”

I froze.

Su Jingyao saw the words too, and the composure on his face finally cracked.

“You can already access devices remotely?”

He cursed under his breath and suddenly stood up.

The moment he rose, every light in the restaurant cut out.

The entire floor plunged into darkness, and screams erupted everywhere.

My wrist was suddenly seized, and I was yanked toward the exit.

It wasn’t Su Jingyao.

The hand was ice-cold, with a damp texture.

Motiao had slipped out of the bag at some point. Its tentacles wrapped around my arm, dragging me toward the fire escape.

In the darkness, Su Jingyao’s voice revealed true malice for the first time.

“Catch her!”

“We cannot lose the sample again!”