Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Leaving the grilled squid stall, Zhang Yu, a roasted squid in each hand, happily munched away as he followed his navigation to He Xu’s location.

Once the squid was devoured, he tossed the bamboo skewers into a roadside bin, clapped his hands, and looked up at the massive shopping mall before him.

The GPS indicated He Xu was inside.

Zhang Yu entered.

The mall was less crowded. As he walked, he curiously gazed at the empty dome above, where huge banners hung.

A few people passed nearby, and a familiar voice said, "They’re upstairs. Haven’t seen the boss in days—wonder how he’s recovering."

"Should be mostly better by now, right? But Brother Ran, don’t mention it in front of the boss, or he’ll get embarrassed."

"Obviously. You think I’m that tactless?"

Zhang Yu glanced at the backs of the group as they walked past him.

He Xu’s crew!

After a moment’s thought, he decided to follow them, tagging along as they headed up to the second floor.

The second floor was one large arcade, the lighting dimmer than downstairs. Zhang Yu followed the group, making a few turns before hearing Sun Ran and the others call out, "Boss!"

A few voices he recognized from the construction site greeted them, but He Xu’s voice was absent.

Zhang Yu crouched behind a two-player off-road racing game, peeking out cautiously.

Not far away, several booths were occupied by a group of boys and girls. In the center, sitting alone on a single sofa, was none other than He Xu, who had been missing for days.

He looked no different from before—wearing sportswear, legs crossed, leaning back into the sofa with one arm resting on the side, holding a glass of golden juice.

While the others joked and laughed, He Xu remained silent, slowly sipping his juice, staring into space as if lost in thought. He looked slightly tired.

After a while, the group dispersed, leaving only He Xu still seated on the sofa.

It wasn’t that no one tried to pull him along, but before they could even speak, they were dragged away by their companions.

Zhang Yu overheard them whispering, "Shut up, can’t you see the boss is in a bad mood?"

"Huh? Is his cold still not better?"

"Just drop it. Let’s go."

Wait, he actually caught a cold?

Zhang Yu rubbed his chin, watching He Xu sitting alone. He quietly stood up, sneaked forward a few steps, and switched to hiding behind another machine.

Glancing at the booth again, he felt it was still too far, so he crept closer.

As a marine creature, he was used to camouflaging himself—a tactic that always worked underwater. For a moment, he forgot he was pretending to be human and didn’t realize how blatantly suspicious his movements looked to others.

Just as he was inching forward, nearly reaching the machine closest to the booth, a hand suddenly clapped him twice on the shoulder.

Zhang Yu froze, turning in confusion to see a group of tough-looking guys standing behind him, popping their knuckles with sinister grins.

"......" Zhang Yu blinked slowly.

...Guess he’d been spotted.

"Boss!" Sun Ran grabbed Zhang Yu by the collar of his shirt and dragged him toward the booth, shoving him toward the sofa.

He Xu paused mid-sip, eyeing the curly-haired boy who staggered but managed to steady himself, giving him a nervous smile. He shot Sun Ran a questioning look.

"This guy’s been sneaking around, watching you," Sun Ran said angrily. "Definitely planning to ambush you!"

He Xu slowly lowered his glass, sizing up the kid in front of him. His gaze lingered on the fluffy curls before he seemed to recognize him. "Oh, it’s you."

His tone turned teasing. "What? Still mad about getting your ass kicked at school and looking for payback?"

Zhang Yu frantically waved his hands. "No, no! I’m not here for revenge."

"Then what the hell were you doing?!" Sun Ran snapped, unconvinced. "Sneaking around like that—clearly up to no good!"

Zhang Yu panicked. "I really wasn’t! I—I know better!"

"Then why were you staring at the boss like that?!"

"I just... I just..." Zhang Yu stammered, unable to come up with a good excuse. Since when did looking need a reason?

"Can’t explain, huh? Knew you were up to something!" Sun Ran glared. "Out with it, or I’ll beat it out of you!"

Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up imperceptibly. He’d spent days practicing how to act when bullied—he had this down pat!

Seeing Sun Ran raise his fist, he immediately crouched, covered his head, squeezed his eyes shut, and screamed, "_DON’T HIT ME!!_"

_DON’T HIT ME!!_

_DON’T HIT ME!_

_DON’T HIT ME..._

The ear-splitting shriek shot straight into the air, bouncing off the walls across the arcade, reverberating like an unending refrain.

Sun Ran, right in the line of fire, felt his ears go numb, his mind going blank as the words "DON’T HIT ME" looped endlessly. He stared blankly, utterly stunned.

Heads turned throughout the arcade, while the other guys who had come with Sun Ran silently covered their faces, pretending they weren’t there.

None of them actually believed this kid was here to ambush anyone—his skinny build alone made him the last person you'd worry about. But Sun Ran was convinced he was out to harm their boss.

Amid the stunned silence, a quiet laugh cut through.

Zhang Yu peered out from between his arms to see He Xu, who'd sat up straight, looking down at him with amused mockery in his dark eyes.

He stood, put down his drink, took a few steps forward, then paused and glanced back at Zhang Yu, still huddled on the ground. "You. Come here."

"?" Zhang Yu pointed at himself, then at the others. Seeing everyone staring, he obediently stood and followed He Xu.

They stopped in front of a hoops game.

He Xu smirked. "Hit eighty points, and I’ll let you off today."

He was messing with him.

Guys like this—pasty-faced nerds—were the teacher's pets. All they knew was hitting the books, let alone scoring in arcade games like this.

Eighty points was doable, but for some newbie, it might as well be rocket science.

"That's impossible."

He Xu admitted he was just looking for an excuse to punch someone.

Ever since being attacked by that monster a few days ago, he had been stewing with rage—he had never suffered such humiliation in his life!

Unfortunately, he had nowhere to vent it, and now this kid had walked right into his trap.

Just as He Xu expected, the curly-haired boy froze for a moment, a look of confusion on his face. "Throw... throw what?"

As he spoke, the machine started up, an orange basketball rolled down, and a one-minute timer started.

He Xu glanced at him, grabbed a basketball with one hand, and lobbed it up!

*Swish!*

The ball landed steadily in the hoop, and the scoreboard displayed a number—

3 points.

"Your turn," he said casually.

"..." Zhang Yu's eyes lit up.

So this is how humans play? Seemed kinda fun!

He picked up a basketball, copied He Xu's move, and threw—

*Thud!*

The ball hit the backboard above the hoop and bounced back, smacking Zhang Yu square in the forehead.

He heard a snicker beside him. Zhang Yu rubbed his forehead and turned to see He Xu standing with his arms crossed, a smirk on his face, his chin slightly raised. "Keep going."

Zhang Yu blinked, then picked up another basketball.

Learning from his mistake, he adjusted his strength more precisely this time. The orange ball arced through the air, clipped the rim, and dropped in.

4 points.

Wait? Why just one point?

Confused, Zhang Yu picked up another ball and threw it the same way.

Still only one point.

He thought for a moment, changed his angle slightly, and shot again—this time, the ball just nicked the rim.

7 points.

Ohhh! That's the trick! Zhang Yu suddenly understood. He kept adjusting his angle, and by the sixth attempt, the ball dropped straight through the center of the hoop. The scoreboard finally jumped by 3 points.

Nice! Pumped, he picked up another ball and continued shooting from the same angle and with the same force. The score on the screen kept rising by 3 points each time.

Beside him, He Xu's eyebrow twitched, watching the climbing numbers with narrowed eyes.

Huh... the kid had skills.

He glanced at the timer on the scoreboard—only ten seconds left.

Ten seconds was just enough time. Once Zhang Yu found his rhythm, he was firing off shots fast and accurate. However, he had wasted too much time at the beginning, so his consistent scoring only lasted for the last ten seconds or so.

Time was running out, and the numbers on the scoreboard rapidly increased.

41, 44, 47, 50, 53...

Basketballs were flying through the air one after another, like a blur. The relentless *swish-swish* sounds drew surprised glances from people nearby.

Zhang Yu’s speed kept increasing. By the last two seconds, the machine couldn’t keep up with his shooting, leaving the ball rack empty. He had to reach deep to snag one.

Until—*Clang!*

The final second ended, and the countdown hit zero.

The scoreboard lit up: 80.

He'd done it!

Zhang Yu stared at the number, eyes shining, and cheered, "Eighty!"

He turned to He Xu, beaming. "I got eighty. So you won’t hit me now, right?"

This was awesome—he wanted another round!

Unfortunately, his excitement fell flat.

He Xu stood with his arms crossed, his face blank.

The kid had actually pulled it off.

Drumming his fingers on his arm, He Xu looked down at the curly-haired boy’s hopeful face and said flatly, "Yeah, yeah, eighty..."

He sneered. "But forget something? My three points count too."

Zhang Yu froze. Oh... oh yeah...

The kid’s grin vanished. His eyes quickly grew moist, his shoulders slumped, and he looked downright pitiful.

"Y-you’re still going to hit me?" Zhang Yu glanced up at him nervously, then quickly looked down again, fidgeting with his shirt hem.

"..."

He Xu just glared. He never went back on his word, and nickel-and-diming the kid wasn’t his style.

If anything, he only had himself to blame for underestimating the kid and setting the score too low.

That just pissed him off more.

He Xu lowered his arms, shoved the kid aside, and tossed a game token into the machine. "Get lost!"

The machine started up, and the balls rolled down again. He grabbed two at once and slammed them into the hoop, putting all his anger into every throw.

Zhang Yu staggered back a couple of steps, eyes wide.

Huh? Wait... no beating?

He watched as He Xu kept shooting.

The guy was decked out in all-black sweats—only his head and hands exposed.

His jawline was slightly tense, his lips faintly plump and pressed together, his dark eyes locked onto the basket, burning with aggression.

He was tall and well-built, though still barely an adult by human standards; his physical presence alone was enough to be considered a man.

As he prepared to shoot, his strong, lean frame beneath the loose clothing arched slightly—agile yet coiled with power. The sleeves of his shirt occasionally slid up with his movements, revealing faded marks on his wrists, as if something had bound them tightly.

Zhang Yu's gaze lingered on those marks—they were left by his tentacles that night. Every time the human reached his limit, he would become overwhelmed, gripping the tentacles tightly, which caused Zhang Yu to instinctively apply even more pressure.

It wasn't just the wrists, either...

His eyes unconsciously drifted downward, pausing briefly at the human’s waist before moving lower, stopping at the distinct curve that even the loose fabric couldn’t hide.

He remembered this area bore the most marks—not only from the tight grip but also numerous bruises shaped like suction cups left by his own tentacles.

Recalling the firm yet smooth sensation under his touch, the sea-dweller felt a strange warmth rise within him.

He clenched and unclenched his fingers, the tentacles hidden beneath his skin twisting involuntarily. The air felt dry, irritating his gills, making him long for seawater.

But thinking of the vast ocean, it no longer felt quite right—too open, too lonely.

What he craved was warmer, wetter, tighter...

His gaze dropped again without thought, like a predator entranced. He took a step forward but abruptly stopped, sharply turned his head, and fled.

Only after creating some distance did Zhang Yu halt, pressing a hand to his rapidly beating hearts.

That was close—too close. He nearly shed this human disguise and dragged He Xu away.

Though he didn’t understand why, Zhang Yu instinctively knew he couldn’t reveal his identity to He Xu now. This same intuition had saved him from sharks many times when he was still weak, and he trusted it.

Once the unease subsided, Zhang Yu cast a glance toward the distant figure who was still shooting hoops. He understood the implication of “滚”—it was a directive to leave and not linger here.

But he really didn’t want to leave...

After deep contemplation, a bioluminescent glow lit up in the sea-dweller’s mind.

Got it!

...

The bright red numbers continued to tick down until the countdown ended. He Xu threw the last ball with force, not bothering to check the final score before walking away.

Shooting, fighting, battling...

One after another, the suppressed anger seemed to fade along with his physical exhaustion.

He Xu removed his gloves, breathing heavily through clenched teeth.

Sweat stung his eyes as it dripped from his temples. Instinctively, he grabbed the hem of his shirt to wipe his face but paused mid-motion, as if recalling something, his expression darkening once more.

That damned monster! The marks on his body still hadn’t faded!

He slammed the punching bag hard, then stormed off, jaw tight.

Grabbing a bottle of water from the counter, he twisted it open one-handed and took several gulps. From the corner of his eye, a familiar silhouette flickered at the edge of his vision.

His pace slowed when he spotted the curly-haired boy sitting on the couch with hands on knees, perched like a nervous seabird, feigning innocence. He Xu fell silent for a moment.

"...Why are you still here?" he asked through gritted teeth.