A Short Story Collection with Non-Human Protagonists - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: The Invitation to the Banquet

Tata tilted His head slightly, finding the perfect angle to make their lips fit together without a single gap. Then, Tata pried open Zheng Xinyan’s lips and found her tongue.

Oh, this woman was as unyielding as steel, yet her tongue was as sweet and soft as clouds or a soufflé. Tata teased her tongue greedily, like licking a maltose ball coated in honey. The detective tried to retreat, but there simply wasn’t enough space in her mouth to dodge. Tata chased after her, exploring wantonly, pressing His tongue against the back of hers, grinding and turning.

This had to be the warmest and softest place in the world.

Zheng Xinyan made muffled sounds while struggling; her teeth suddenly snapped shut, attempting to bite through the tip of Tata’s tongue. Get out, she was probably saying. Tata pretended not to hear. He wouldn’t truly feel pain from a human bite… He just hoped to make this human a little happier.

A human life is so short—merely a few moments stitched together. A woman like her should let go of those meaningless defenses and obsessions to experience every joyful instant. She deserved every moment of happiness.

For instance, right now, Tata’s consciousness had returned to the primordial tides of the universe, traveling lightly and joyfully through rose-colored nebulae. White dwarfs expanded in silence; purple bellflowers bloomed on rainy days. He could be a bird, or a sleeping orca.

Tata’s mouth was busy, and His tentacles were not idle either. Tentacles are tongues, they are arms, they are a black mist saturated with moisture. They are liquid, solid, body; occasionally they scatter like gas. The tentacles moved viscously and slowly across the human skin, keenly collecting every one of her slightest tremors. Ring-like protrusions grew on the tentacles, soaked in the woman’s body heat, brushing through the gaps of her fingers, the webbing of her hand, every single finger…

The detective instinctively clenched her fists, but she could grasp nothing but thick tentacles. The air grew more and more humid—perhaps a faucet in the bathroom had been left running. Or, perhaps, it was somewhere else. Everyone knew the answer.

The woman’s limbs writhed, her brow furrowed as if the kissing was painful. Oh, Tata knew she wasn’t actually in pain; she was just unaccustomed to such pleasure. The solution was more kissing, and more kissing!

Tata felt He should be a bit rougher, leaving a few marks on the detective. He wanted those annoying humans to know she had been inscribed with a noble name. Where would be the best place? The neck was too cliché, the collarbone too hidden…

In the moment Tata relaxed, the woman seized the chance to break free from the tentacles’ restraint. She jerked her knee up, slamming it hard into His belly, attempting to end this overly deep kiss. But her sneak attack failed. The tentacles relocked around her ankles and dragged her legs back.

Oh, He almost forgot—her legs. The detective’s legs were plump and strong. The gracilis, rectus femoris, and vastus lateralis formed a pleasing muscle group… but to the tentacles, they were just a handful. Tata lowered His head again, taking her earlobe into His mouth.

“…Shay is being a bad girl.” He issued a low, ambiguous warning. Bad girls always have to receive extra punishment.

He extended two more tentacles to steady the fragile little bed so the neighbors wouldn’t be disturbed by the noise. Tata was truly being gentle.

By the time Tata finally retracted His tentacles, He was kicked half a meter away by Zheng Xinyan. (Mainly because the room was too small, otherwise He could have flown several meters further.) If glares could kill, Tata would have been hacked into ten thousand pieces.

“Next time… only ten seconds… five seconds.” Zheng Xinyan panted out these words, turned into the bathroom, and slammed the door.

Five seconds was obviously not going to cut it! Though she looked furious now, it wasn’t a big deal. Tata had plenty of ways to turn her into dessert and sugar water. The teenage girl sat on the table by the window, swinging her legs and humming a song, reminiscing about the sensation of the woman on His lips. So sweet.

Just then, the sound of the water in the bathroom stopped. A dripping wet woman wrapped in a bath towel rushed out and grabbed Tata by the neck. Water droplets fell from her hair, sliding into the cleavage of her chest. That beautiful face leaned in, very, very close—

Then, a softness on His lips.

Oh, Tata stared at her blankly, a surge of ecstasy rising in His heart. Zheng Xinyan had actually initiated a kiss! He really was charming; a single kiss was enough to make the detective fall for Him! If she was willing, they could certainly take things further, beyond just a relationship of exchanging interests…

Tata was about to joyfully kiss back when, the next second, he heard the woman’s cold voice.

“Come with me to the interrogation. I need to confirm if there is truly no connection between Prasert Thongsawat and Thanyalin Kasatong.”

“Wait, weren’t you going to sle—” Before Tata could finish, he was kicked back into the box by the detective.

…Oh, Zheng Xinyan, forget about that damn case!

Forced to accept the woman’s “down payment,” Tata had to fulfill her wish. He slipped out of the box in the interrogation room, reading the past from the suspects’ skin. Their lives were worlds apart, but they did have a subtle intersection. Both had experienced suffering. The shop owner had lost his fiancée right before their wedding; the actress had lost a sister from a blended family.

And, they both knew the same person.

Tata and Zheng Xinyan stared at each other in the small stall of the women’s restroom. Tata sighed. “How about you kiss me again? Half a kiss is fine.” He wanted a little extra compensation. That kiss just now was too short.

The next moment, the black barrel of a Glock 19 was pressed against His forehead. “If you dare to back out, I’ll cut off your tentacles one by one and go to Patpong Night Market to sell octopus sashimi.” The detective’s gaze was sharper than a dagger.

Tata good, Zheng Xinyan bad. Tata pouted and angrily spoke the truth.

“…They both know Sunisa Songchan.” The woman in the red dress who had approached Zheng Xinyan at “The Abyss.”

“But I’m not giving you the business card back! Unless…” Tata found another chance to wedge in a demand for payment.

Zheng Xinyan ignored Him completely. She holstered her gun, pulled out her phone, and began typing numbers. …This very, very bad cop had memorized the phone number on the card with just one glance. That’s cheating!

“Hello, Ma’am.” The call connected, and Zheng Xinyan’s greeting tone was slightly stiff. “We met once at a nightclub; you gave me your card…”

“Oh, it’s you! You finally called, I’ve been waiting.” The woman on the other end sounded incredibly sweet.

Wake up, Zheng Xinyan, only traps are that sweet.

“Ms. Songchan, if you’re free in the next few days, could we meet?” Zheng Xinyan asked. It seemed she didn’t plan to approach Sunisa as a police officer yet. Even though Tata knew she was doing this for the case, He felt a faint flicker of annoyance. The detective shouldn’t meet any humans besides criminals and corpses! Never!

“Of course. Just call me Sunisa,” Sunisa Songchan agreed readily. “I’m hosting a banquet at my home tomorrow night. Would you do me the honor of attending? I just happen to be in need of a female companion.”

Companion! No!

Zheng Xinyan barely hesitated. “Okay.”

“Wait a moment, I’ll send you the invitation. By the way, what’s your name?”

“Shay.”

NO!!

“Great, see you tomorrow, Shay. I look forward to meeting you.”

Zheng Xinyan hung up. Just as she was about to open the stall door, she turned back to Tata. “Can you accompany me to buy clothes? For free.”

“NO!!” Tata was already fuming.

Zheng Xinyan looked thoughtful. “Then I’ll ask Anan…”

“I’LL GO!!” Tata changed His tune while still fuming. What was the saying… the wise adapt to the circumstances.

Zheng Xinyan took Him to a large mall near the police station. She tried on several evening gowns, and every one looked stunning. The fabric flowed over her like water, outlining her perfect curves.

“Wow, Sis, your figure is amazing!” Every time the detective changed, the shop assistant let out a sincere exclamation.

Don’t look, don’t look! Tata really wanted to cover the girl’s eyes.

“Which one do you think is better?” Zheng Xinyan asked Tata.

“Try this one.” Tata picked a pure black gown from the rack, adorned with thousands of crystals like shattered stardust.

“That dress is a bit tricky to put on. I’ll help you!” The assistant volunteered.

“No need,” Tata said with a smile, unhurriedly and without any impure thoughts. “I’ll help her.”

Before taking off the previous peacock-green dress, Zheng Xinyan glared at Him in the mirror. “Turn around.”

“We’re both girls, it’s fine!” Tata argued logically.

Zheng Xinyan repeated coldly, “Turn around.”

Fine. He didn’t want to watch a beautiful woman change anyway. Tata thought with a clear conscience while standing at attention facing the curtain. After all, He saw her every day; He even lived with her.

“Turn back.”

The detective issued a new command. Tata obediently turned around. Zheng Xinyan held the half-worn dress in place—its back was entirely open, connected only by a few ribbons, perfectly revealing the heart-shaped hickey Tata had carefully designed on her shoulder blade.

Oh, excellent. Tata was very satisfied. He raised His hands, tightening the ribbons one by one and tying them into small bows. He was a bit clumsy; His fingers kept touching the surrounding skin, which was smoother and firmer than silk. It wasn’t intentional, of course—He just wasn’t used to a human body.

After much effort, Tata finally finished dressing the detective. “So beautiful,” He praised while looking at her in the mirror, His palm resting lightly on her hip bone. “You are more beautiful than the primordial chaos before the Big Bang.”

Oh, a human hip bone must have been born specifically to serve as a resting place for someone’s palm. The detective delivered a back-elbow strike, landing it solidly against His ribs. “Get out.”

The next evening, Zheng Xinyan put on that galaxy-like dress, bearing the crimson signature she hadn’t even discovered. She sat before the vanity, surrounded by cosmetics, looking a bit lost. The detective, who usually went bare-faced, was clearly unskilled at makeup.

“Let me help you.” The helpful Tata took the eyeliner from her.

“Is there a fee for makeup too?” she asked suspiciously.

“No, this is a complimentary service.” Oh, He had never provided a free service to anyone before.

Tata leaned in close. Close enough to see His own reflection in her eyes and the ridges on her iris—like volcanoes and craters. “Don’t move.”

Tata gently held her chin, one tentacle reaching under the chair to lock her nervously swinging ankle. He pressed the eyeliner to the base of her lashes and began to trace. The eyeshadow was a matte cool brown; He added a touch of shimmer with His pinky. The lip color was a delicate, velvet dark red.

As He meticulously drew her face, Tata felt a vague worry in the midsummer heat of Bangkok. Heatwaves, noise, and cicadas were a mess, just like His thoughts.

What to do, what to do.

It seemed He had truly fallen in love.