Chapter 8 Paper Man 08 Liking Paper Man is not really a strange thing...
It’s not that you’re an anomaly if you like paper people.
But most of the other people’s “cyber husbands” are just talk, only you are serious.
But fortunately, because of the existence of these people, although your behavior is niche, people will not think that there is something wrong with your brain.
For example, now, the waiter can ask you with a smile on his face whether you need two sets of tableware and take photos.
You look around and indeed, ninety-nine percent of the people dining in this restaurant are young couples, and your boyfriend is seated at the table opposite you.
You declined the two sets of tableware, since Mars didn't need to eat, but accepted the offer to take photos.
This is your first date, so it's something worth remembering.
You excitedly picked up the picture frame opposite you, held it in front of your chest, and made a heart shape with your fingers.
The waiter held a Polaroid camera and pointed it at you: "Smile."
You smiled, then watched as the smile disappeared from the waiter's face.
When you see the "I saw a ghost" look on his face and the constant rubbing of his eyes, you know something is wrong.
“Ahem…” You lowered your voice, almost whispering, “Mars, don’t laugh.”
The waiter finally took the photo and shakily handed you the photo paper.
When you see the waiter holding his head and muttering to himself that he might be sick from staying up late and that he needs to go to the hospital for a check-up, you really want to say something, but in the end you don't open your mouth.
"Mars!"
“Wow, I was wrong.”
"I'll definitely pay attention next time!"
“Sigh,” you sighed, looking down at the Polaroid camera.
Sure enough, a real paper-thin boyfriend is not as easy to deal with as a fake one, and will still cause trouble.
Fortunately, the waiter just thought he was dazzled, otherwise you would have created some urban ghost rumors for the store.
After finally finishing your meal, you hurriedly picked up the picture frame and fled from this place of trouble.
In addition to dining together, the next date activity is going to the cinema to watch a movie together.
This is a very safe thing to do. After all, the cinema is pitch black and no one will pay attention to you. You only need to buy one ticket. It can be said to be a cost-effective and hassle-free date activity.
On a weekday afternoon, there were few people in the cinema and the place was very empty. You specially bought a seat at the back, mainly for its seclusion and convenience for you to chat with Mars.
However……
"Beautiful lady, are you coming to the movies alone?"
"Me too, what a coincidence! Can you add me in touch?"
You have heard that some people will specifically book a seat next to a single person in the cinema, trying to have a "romantic encounter", but you thought it was a joke, but it actually happened to you.
You glanced at the other person and replied coldly: "Don't add the contact information, I have a boyfriend."
The man sat down awkwardly, but clearly didn't believe it. "You're in a relationship, yet you're watching a movie alone? I just want to make friends. If you don't want to join me, forget it. You're acting like no one would care about you. You're just being too sentimental."
You are not a coward. You took a deep breath and were about to fight back when you heard a scream from the side.
The man was tied up with tentacles with eyeballs and couldn't move. He seemed to have fainted from fear.
“…”
You look at the audience standing up and looking back, then point to the man slumped in the seat next to you and say, "He looks like he's fainted from being frightened by a snake."
Okay, now it's not just one person screaming.
I didn't end up seeing the movie.
The person in charge of the cinema apologized to you repeatedly, not only refunded you the money for the movie ticket, but also gave you a bunch of discount coupons, trying to shut you up.
But what he didn't know was... you were the one who caused this. You just replied with a guilty conscience:
"I'm fine. I wasn't scared. Um... I won't tell anyone."
You finally finished your work and started your journey home with the picture frame in your arms.
As you reach home, a tentacle pops out of the frame and tugs at your sleeve.
"Did I cause you any trouble?"
You looked at the small black words appearing on the drawing paper and Mas's depressed expression, and shook your head quickly.
"No, I thought it was too simple. I don't blame you. You also want to protect me."
If Mars was a human, it would be normal for him to argue with others in order to protect her, but he... is a paper man, and a tentacle monster, so it is a bit scary for him to argue with others.
You comforted him, "Just be more careful next time. People are very fragile and can't stand being scared like that."
The tentacles cling affectionately to the side of your neck.
"But you're not afraid of me."
"You've never been afraid of me"
"Well... I'm pretty brave, and besides, you're actually pretty cute."
If those people saw Mars's original form, that black glutinous rice ball, no one would think He was scary.
The little monster must have been shy because of your praise. He didn't respond for a long time. He just said, "You are cute too. I'm going to cook," and ran away in a panic.
You shook your head helplessly and went back into the study. This time, instead of drawing on the digital tablet, you took out a drawing board that you hadn't used for a long time.
Even though you hadn't drawn on real paper in a while, muscle memory allowed you to finish the painting smoothly.
The cinema was empty, with only the screen glowing. There was clearly no one in the seats, but there were two cups of milk tea and a bucket of popcorn.
This is the theater you went to today.
The acrylic paint dries quickly, you hang the painting on the wall, and start painting the second one.
The center of the picture is a dining table with several exquisite dishes on it. These are the dishes you finished eating alone at noon.
By the time Mars appears again, you have already drawn several more paintings. These are the places you had planned to visit with Mars.
You haven't been there, but countless people have shared photos of the beautiful scenery on the Internet. You use these images to copy them one by one on the drawing paper.
"?"
The little monster wrote a big question mark on the drawing paper.
You put away your paintbrush and smiled with satisfaction: "I've finished my work and am ready to take a short vacation."
If you have enough time, it is not impossible to enter the world of the painting and stay there for a while. Anyway, you usually stay at home, and it is common to stay at home for ten days or half a month. Just tell your family and friends to avoid them thinking you are missing.
"...You want to come in?"
"What? Are you unhappy?" You pretended to be dissatisfied and pinched the tentacle in mid-air.
"That's definitely not it."
The man shook his head repeatedly, and the tentacles also dangled like seaweed on the seabed.
"Will it cause you trouble?"
Obviously, after the monster actually stayed in the human world for some time, it had a deeper understanding of humans and knew that the sudden disappearance of a person would cause trouble.
"Of course not."
As soon as you finished speaking, you were rolled up by tentacles and pulled into the painting. Before your feet even touched the ground, you were embraced in an extremely warm embrace.
“Hmm…”
After being surprised for a moment, you raised your hand and placed it on the man's back, patting him gently twice as if you were coaxing a child.
"I miss you so much."
The little monster whispers in your ear.
You were embarrassed, pressing your face against Mas's clothes, and whispered back, "Can't we see it every day?"
Don't think she doesn't know that even when she is sleeping, Mars's little eyes will stare at her intently.
"That's still a little different..."
Mas doesn't have a large vocabulary and doesn't know how to express what he wants to describe in words.
He thought for a long time before speaking: "You outside seem fake, but you here seem real."
Okay, it turns out she is just a paper man to him too.
With that said, their XPs became inexplicably the same.
"You're much better at speaking now."
“I’m practicing.”
"No wonder, when did you practice it?"
"When you were asleep..."
After hugging each other for a while, you were brought back to reality by your rumbling stomach. Only then did you remember that you left in such a hurry that you didn't even have time to eat the food that Mas made.
The food in the painting won’t spoil, but it’s hard to say about it outside.
“It’s okay, you can bring it in,” Mars said, pulling you in a certain direction.
You come to the dining table you drew. In addition to the dishes you drew, there are three unfamiliar steaming dishes.
"Eat it."
Mars was sitting across from you at the dining table. This time he didn't appear in the form of a painting, which made you feel a little uncomfortable. Even your eating posture became a little unnatural, becoming particularly ladylike.
“Isn’t what I cooked delicious?”
A look of worry appeared on Mas's face.
"Ahem..." You choked suddenly and waved your hands quickly: "No, why would you say that?"
"You usually eat with big mouthfuls," Mars said as he began to imitate him.
You looked at the man who was about to bury his head in the bowl, and couldn't help but feel a little angry: "How could I do that!"
"Huh? It's always been..."
Before Mars could finish his words, he found a piece of fried chicken in front of his mouth.
You stared at him: "Eat quickly, weren't you curious about the taste of this at lunch?"
"oh."
Mars blinked twice and obediently ate the fried chicken nuggets with the chopsticks you extended to him.
Watching him devour the fried chicken nuggets in one gulp with an expressionless face, you curiously asked, "What does it taste like? Do you think it's delicious?"
“…”
Looking at your expectant eyes, Mas felt a little distressed, but in the end he chose to tell the truth.
“It has no taste.”
You are a little confused: "Can't you taste it? Then how do you cook?"
Mas's cooking is quite delicious.
“You have a digital scale at home, a recipe on your bookshelf, and you follow the recipe exactly.”
You are a little speechless.
It’s not that you bought those recipes and followed them, but none of the dishes turned out edible, so they just gathered dust.
You had secretly cursed the other person's recipe for being so poor, but you never expected that the reason for the failure was all your fault.
Guilty, you skipped the topic and continued, "So you only have the senses of smell and touch, but not taste and smell?"
"That doesn't seem to be the case..."
Mars didn't know why he looked a little unnatural, and his eyes began to wander.
You were a little confused and just waited for the next part in confusion. Then you saw a monster looking at you hesitantly and said:
"You have a smell, you smell nice and sweet."
The enthusiasm spread rapidly from bottom to top.
“Is… is that so?” you asked, stumbling.
"Yes." Mars nodded, his eyes fell on your face, and then he closed his eyes with great difficulty: "I don't know why, I always want to bite you."
"...Don't get me wrong!" Mars seemed to realize that he had said the wrong thing and immediately waved his hand, "I don't want to eat you! I don't need food."
You were instantly amused: "I know, do you want to try it?"
Mas was stunned: "...Huh?"
You stood up from your seat and walked over to sit down next to the man on the seat opposite you, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking up into his eyes.
The thick eyelashes flutter like butterfly wings, and the line of sight slowly moves downward, and what comes into view is the upturned nose and moist rosy lips, every part of which hits your aesthetic heart.
As the saying goes, beauty is a feast for the eyes.
Just looking at this face makes you feel full, but strangely enough… you seem a little hungry.
You have never been in love before. If you were facing a real man, you would not be able to do such a bold thing. But when you are facing Mars, you seem to have lost the so-called sense of shame and completely follow the truest desires in your heart.
With a bit of curiosity, you gradually approached him.
Mars had no intention of dodging, but just stared at you blankly, with a bit of confusion and puzzlement in his eyes, and then suddenly showed surprise.
His lips are as soft as you imagine, like unsweetened gummy candy, chewy and soft, with a texture similar to his tentacles.
Perhaps, his human form is a mimic of his original form?
You didn't kiss him, but just kept close for a while before raising your head contentedly, while a certain monster's brain had obviously crashed, his eyes were blank, and he stood there motionless like a puppet.
"What do I smell like?" You asked, staring at Mars curiously.
Mars finally came back to his senses. He didn't answer your question, but just stared at you eagerly like a hungry puppy who suddenly saw a meat bone.
"Can we do it again?"
“Idiot.” You helplessly hugged his neck and pressed against him again.
But this time it’s not your one-man show.
Mars seemed to really treat you as some delicious little dessert. Your lips were pushed open by the monster's flexible tongue, and then your mouth was occupied by a strange soft object, which carefully circled around the tip of your tongue, as if tasting it carefully.
If the previous kind of close kiss only made your heart beat faster, this extremely entangled kiss made you feel dizzy and even your arms felt weak. If Mars's hand hadn't supported your waist, you would have slipped down.
I don’t know how long it was before Mas reluctantly let you go.
"Sweet." He looked at you and answered with great certainty, "This is probably what humans call sweet."
"I can again..."
"No." You immediately interrupted Mas before he finished speaking.
Just kidding, the monster has no idea how to stop when enough is enough. If you don't refuse, he will probably keep kissing you endlessly.
You raised your hands and fanned your cheeks, trying to dispel the heat, but it was obviously useless.
I originally thought that it was probably just a spiritual relationship, but... now it seems that it is no different from a normal relationship.
"Okay." Mars lowered his head somewhat disappointedly, his tone very low.
“…” You were silent for a moment before you opened your mouth and promised, “We’ll kiss tomorrow.”
Sure enough, after hearing this, the little monster suddenly became happy and his eyes brightened.
"Okay, what time will you arrive tomorrow?"
You raised your hand and knocked the little monster on the forehead: "Don't worry about it. If you keep worrying about it, I will cancel this activity."
“No~” Mas grabbed your hand and shook it back and forth, “You can’t cancel…”
I don't know where he learned it from, but he is so good at acting coquettishly, and with that perfect face that is extremely lethal, you can hardly resist him.
You were defeated repeatedly and quickly started to divert Mars' attention and asked him to take you to the homemade cinema. Although there were no movies broadcast on the screen in the picture, fortunately you had downloaded other movies on your tablet in advance, so you could still watch movies with Mars.
You rest your head on Mars' shoulder, looking at the tablet held up by two tentacles, while another tentacle feeds popcorn to your mouth.
You watched as Mars smiled and pinched his cheek.
The little monster turned his head confusedly: "Huh?"
"nothing."
Yes, who says you can’t fall in love if you’re in a different dimension?
-end
The author has something to say:
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The next one is The Mermaid, which is shorter. I’m not sure about the length of each unit, but it won’t be too long anyway.
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