The Pet I Picked Up Wants to Be My Partner

[Check out my new novel, "The Dragon King Insists I Raise Him." The blurb is at the end]

Zhou Zhou has been running into all sorts of strange things lately.

First, his new neighbor moved in with a face just like the protagonist in the manga he drew.

Then he started sensing a faint gaze sweeping over him from time to time.

And at night, when he slept, he always felt something wrapped around him, like thin, long grass ropes binding him so tightly he couldn't move.

Zhou Zhou, realizing he might have encountered a ghost and growing furious at its harassment: You creepy thing, you'd better hope you never fall into my hands.

Later, after the ghost problem is solved, Zhou Zhou unexpectedly catches a little octopus in his house.

It's the kind that feels springy and turns pink when you touch it.

Zhou Zhou: "!?"

With Zhou Zhou's indulgence, the little octopus successfully moves in. It excels at everything: cooking three meals a day, cleaning, and organizing belongings.

It's just that every time it finishes a chore, the little octopus comes over to beg Zhou Zhou for a kiss.

After being kissed, it even turns into a cooked takoyaki.

Zhou Zhou: Kind of cute.

Later, Zhou Zhou discovers that the little octopus is actually his neighbor, and also the ghost that had been harassing him...

Zhou Zhou narrows his eyes. "You're in trouble."

Qi Yuanchen is a highly dangerous observation subject, marked with a red alert. Even the slightest anomaly can keep the human authorities holding meeting after meeting.

He once raised a human, but the human was too delicate. Unable to bear watching that flower wither in his hands, he chose to send him back to human society.

He silently watched his human grow up, but little by little, he was no longer satisfied with hiding in the shadows. He wanted to get a little closer, to be by his side...

That very day, Qi Yuanchen packed his things and moved into the apartment across from Zhou Zhou's.

After that, Qi Yuanchen hid in the bedroom, carefully controlling a tentacle clone to take advantage of Zhou Zhou.

Humans feared his true form, but that was all right. He would get closer, little by little.

Qi Yuanchen instinctively learned to push his luck. When he realized Zhou Zhou liked the clone even more, he wondered whether to change into another body to approach the little guy. But the little guy said he liked his current appearance best.

How vexing for a "person."

Bonus scene:

Every hundred years, the monsters of the abyss enter a nesting period. He dragged his heavy body far away, with only one thought in his mind: he mustn't scare his human.

He couldn't hurt the other, and he couldn't let the other see what he looked like now.

But his human walked toward him against the light and raised a hand to give him...

A smack on the head.

Zhou Zhou gave him a cold glare. "Try running away again. I dare you."

After his relationship with Qi Yuanchen changes, Zhou Zhou has trouble adjusting. His dislike of talking to people only gets worse, but he doesn't want to upset his boyfriend.

Zhou Zhou picks up the chibi octopus on the bed, rubs its round head, and whispers to it, "I like you so much."

Across the way, the gloomy aura surrounding Qi Yuanchen instantly clears. A blush spreads to his ears, and his long-fingered hand curls slightly.

The octopus lifts its head and plants a wet kiss on Zhou Zhou's cheek.

'I like you too.'

To put it more seriously:

A kind attitude is how you slowly boil a frog.

Giving them everything they want is waiting for prey to walk into a carefully woven spiderweb.

He comes from the abyss. He is everywhere.

Shh, he's watching you.

* The top isn't human and is hopelessly love-struck, with a way of thinking unlike normal people.

* The bottom dislikes talking to people, but is a little dark on the inside.

* Happy ending, both are each other's first. Basically, a sweet little story.

* Also known as A Dog-Training Guide (not really).

* Comments enabled

Coming next: "The Dragon King Insists I Raise Him"

After working himself into the hospital, Tao Qingguan decides to use up all his saved leave and take a proper break.

As luck would have it, his grandfather in the countryside has to go away for a while and doesn't want the ancestral home left empty, so he asks Tao Qingguan if he'd like to stay there. Tao Qingguan agrees and brings his luggage to the countryside, ready for a happy holiday.

Country life is great in every way except that the neighbors are too enthusiastic. They bring things to his house every day, not only for him but also food for the fish inside. No matter how much Tao Qingguan tries to refuse, it's no use.

Tao Qingguan can't see anything special about the fish. Maybe it's just unusually friendly. He's tried scaring it off many times, but it still comes right up to him.

Its tail swishes, it looks pretty nice, and best of all, it isn't noisy. It's just right as a pet.

Tao Qingguan spends a pleasant stretch of time in the countryside with his pet fish. When his vacation ends, he packs his things and returns to the city, throwing himself into his busy work. He feels more than a little reluctant to leave.

One day, he comes home after a full day of work and collapses onto his bed, exhausted. Then someone pounds on the door as if they're about to tear it down.

Tao Qingguan gets up, seething with resentment, and opens the door. When he sees who's outside, he freezes.

In the narrow stairwell, his grandfather looks heartbroken, with four or five burly men standing behind him.

Grandpa Tao lets out a long sigh and says, exasperated, "You're the only one in the Tao family without the talent to summon rain. Why did the Dragon King have to take a liking to you? Pack your things. You're coming with me."

Tao Qingguan: "!?"

Yan Jiu is the new Dragon King. According to regulations introduced after the founding of the country, he needs to choose a human contractor to maintain the balance between the two sides.

But almost all the candidates provided by the human government are elderly, wrinkled old people. The few younger ones don't catch his eye either.

Just as Yan Jiu is about to resign himself to it, a handsome young man with a great figure appears. Not only is he good-looking, he also has a pleasant voice, and he keeps wandering around in front of Yan Jiu every day.

Apart from the fact that he likes to bother Yan Jiu for no reason, often wanders around without a shirt, sometimes teases him with his fingers, and occasionally tries to act like his dad, he's pretty great.

Yan Jiu was only half-heartedly coming out to find some fun, but now he doesn't have to look for fun. He's become the entertainment.

Yan Jiu: )

But the regulations prevent him from dealing with the young man. The day for choosing a contractor is fast approaching, and Yan Jiu waits for people from the Special Administration Bureau to come and finalize the candidate. Then the young man suddenly leaves, and the Bureau tells him that the man isn't even on the list.

How can Yan Jiu accept that? He's been putting up with this for over a month, and now he's being told that the man was only passing through!?

The Dragon King refuses to cooperate, throwing the entire Special Administration Bureau into chaos. The higher-ups lose handfuls of hair.

Grandpa Tao, the one who caused all this, steps forward with a bitter smile. After much soul-searching, he sells out his precious grandson.

* The top has only just become the Dragon King, but he's been alive for a very long time.

* The bottom has no talent, but he has a dragon. He can even bring the dead back to life.

Theme: Everyone has a lovable side.