TBWE Chapter 16

Jealousy

 

Going back on one’s word?

 

Chu Li hadn’t expected this reason.

 

She suddenly remembered when she was discharged from the hospital after losing her sight and had just moved to the villa. At that time, Xi Chu was still wearing Huo Xiu’s skin, and one night, he told her a bedtime story.

 

——“Many years ago, I encountered a lost child in the forest…”

 

That child who broke their promise—was it her?

 

But Xi Chu was a deity worshipped by the main Chu family. She had never been to the main family, nor had she gotten lost in a forest as a child.

 

Chu Li recalled Aunt Chen’s words again.

 

——“Making a promise creates a karmic bond, and where there’s cause, there will be consequence.”

 

Various speculations swirled in her mind.

 

She asked, “Have I met you before?”

 

The hands massaging her shoulders slid downward, gliding over soft curves, stopping at a position half an inch below her heart.

 

There was a dark red mark the size of a knuckle, like a birthmark. Through her thin nightgown, Xi Chu slowly caressed that small patch of skin.

 

“Li Li, that’s not important.”

 

Being forgotten by someone means being unimportant.

 

****

 

Life seemed to return to how it was before.

 

Xi Chu continued to take meticulous care of her, moving most of his work to handle at the new residence. He was very concerned about what Chu Li had said about “bankruptcy” and didn’t want that to actually happen.

 

Chu Li completely lost her freedom.

 

Whatever she did, it had to be within Xi Chu’s line of sight.

 

If before she had been a kite with the string in his hand, now it was as if he was gripping the entire kite.

 

Life was like a stagnant pool of water with no visible bottom.

 

Chu Li was listless all day, losing interest in everything, easily becoming tired and weak. Even when she slept, she was plagued by nightmares. Her body would also occasionally experience sharp pains, like menstrual cramps, coming in waves.

 

After several days of rain in Hai City, sunny weather finally arrived.

 

Today’s lunch was tomato and shrimp pasta, paired with a glass of fresh orange juice and a small dish of candied cherry tomatoes.

 

All were sour and appetizing dishes, and the portions weren’t large.

 

Each dish was exquisitely delicious, but unfortunately Chu Li had a poor appetite.

 

She ate very slowly, feeling her stomach was full after just a few bites, but still forced herself to eat most of it.

 

Otherwise, the monster across from her would feed her by hand.

 

A few days ago when her appetite was poor, she had only taken two bites at dinner before putting down her chopsticks. The monster directly held her in his arms and fed her bite by bite until she absolutely couldn’t eat anymore.

 

The memory made her feel nauseous.

 

The meal was very quiet. Previously Xi Chu would still talk to her, but after getting no responses at all, he gradually stopped talking too.

 

After eating, Chu Li left and listlessly curled up on the living room sofa, casually turning on a popular drama to give the deathly quiet house a bit of life.

 

As soon as she left, Xi Chu stopped eating as well. Consuming human food was completely useless to him.

 

So he collected the dishes into the kitchen, rolled up his sleeves, and began washing dishes.

 

He couldn’t distinguish tastes, but he could observe Chu Li’s subtle reactions while eating to optimize the recipes. He believed his cooking skills had now reached first-class human standards.

 

Originally, washing dishes could be completed using tentacles.

 

They were nimble and numerous, most suitable for these mindless, time-wasting household chores.

 

Xi Chu had done this before, and Chu Li had seen it.

 

Thick and thin black tentacles filled the kitchen, working in an orderly division of labor, their surfaces covered with eerie blue patterns.

 

That entire day, she ate nothing. As soon as food was brought before her, she would start vomiting.

 

Xi Chu had to replace all the kitchenware and dishes in the kitchen and promised never to use tentacles for household chores again.

 

The sound of running water splashed as he placed the last plate in the dish rack, suddenly remembering something and sighing.

 

“How troublesome.”

 

****

 

After eating, Chu Li’s blood sugar rose. The male and female leads were arguing on screen, and she drowsily leaned against a cushion.

 

“Li Li, take your medicine.”

 

Cold pale fingers pinched a small sealed bag containing six pills and capsules of different colors.

 

This looked like the medicine Dr. Chen had prescribed before. After confirming that she wasn’t having a relapse of split personality disorder but was actually seeing ghosts, she had stopped taking it.

 

Chu Li didn’t take it, her face full of suspicion. “I’m not sick.”

 

Xi Chu poured the medicine into his palm, holding a cup of warm water as he explained, “This isn’t the previous medicine. I told Dr. Chen about your recent condition, and she prescribed some vitamins and supplements. Starting today, once daily.”

 

Chu Li silently opened her phone and sought confirmation from Dr. Chen through social media.

 

He didn’t rush her, sitting beside Chu Li and waiting for the reply with her.

 

Soon, new messages popped up in the chat window.

 

Dr. Chen confirmed this and reminded her to take them on time. If she still felt unwell, she should come to the hospital for a follow-up examination.

 

Chu Li glanced at the colorful pills—pink, orange, red—grabbed them all and threw them into her mouth.

 

Sour, astringent, and sweet flavors exploded like little bombs on her tongue.

 

One of them tasted very strange, slightly fishy and slightly sweet. When she had taken medicine for mild schizophrenia before, there seemed to be one pill with a similar taste.

 

Chu Li frowned and used most of the cup of water to suppress this nauseating taste.

 

Her drowsiness completely disappeared. The TV drama wasn’t interesting enough either, so she pressed the remote control irritably, switching from one program to another.

 

“Li Li, take a look. Which set of plans do you prefer?”

 

A phone screen was placed in front of her eyes, occupying her entire field of vision. The words “Engagement Planning” unexpectedly squeezed into her sight, making Chu Li dizzy and disoriented.

 

As fingers swiped, one planning case image after another appeared.

 

All were brand new, recently created design drafts.

 

Everything that Chu Li and Huo Xiu had previously decided on had been completely discarded.

 

Engagement.

 

This monster wanted to get engaged to her like a human would.

 

After engagement, what then? What else did it want to do? Marriage? Children? Growing old together?

 

Chu Li fell into enormous panic. Those case images twisted and drilled into her mind. She swung her arm forcefully, and the phone crashed heavily to the ground.

 

Crack! Spider web cracks appeared on the screen.

 

Xi Chu asked puzzledly, “What’s wrong? Don’t you like any of them?”

 

“Don’t like them.”

 

“What style does Li Li prefer? I’ll have the studio create new proposals.”

 

“Don’t like them.” Her face was pale, desperately suppressing her emotions, her body trembling. “No matter how many they create, I won’t like them.”

 

Xi Chu adjusted his new gold-rimmed glasses and said gently, “I understand. Li Li doesn’t like me, so no matter what proposals are created, you won’t be satisfied, right?”

 

The gentle tone was like a great fire, igniting her suppressed emotions.

 

Chu Li suddenly looked up, her eyes like two bright flames fueled by disgust. “I will never get engaged to you.”

 

The air instantly distorted, shadows writhing wildly throughout the room. Xi Chu’s expression remained calm. “Who do you want to get engaged to?”

 

“Huo Xiu, right? Too bad, not even his corpse remains.”

 

This statement was so absurd and ridiculous that Chu Li actually laughed.

 

A short, slightly mocking laugh.

 

Anger clouded Xi Chu’s reason. To him, it seemed like acknowledgment.

 

The emotion called jealousy was like wildly surging lava, flowing through every part of his body. Even the hidden tentacles became restless and agitated.

 

Chu Li’s words echoed over and over in his ears.

 

Xi Chu’s gaze became increasingly dark and unclear.

 

Possess her, devour her, make her completely saturated with His scent, inside and out.

 

Until she could never leave again.

 

“Whether it’s you or anyone else, I don’t want any of—”

 

Cold tentacles wrapped around Chu Li’s waist, roughly yanking her forward, cutting off her words abruptly. A large palm gripped the back of her neck as Xi Chu calmly removed his glasses.

 

The gold-rimmed glasses fell onto the coffee table, then bounced and clattered to the floor.

 

A burning hot kiss instantly pressed down.