Becoming the Keeper of an Alluring Merfolk - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Then Kiss Me

The two were at loggerheads, and the air seemed completely frozen. Jian Xu forcefully suppressed her temper; she admitted that Xiao Hen had behaved very well these past few days and was much to her liking.

She could be temporarily lenient.

When she pulled Little Coco out of Xiao Hen’s arms, Xiao Hen’s eyes were full of reluctance—a look she had only seen before when her fake egg was taken away.

This time, Jian Xu planned to inject Little Coco with a shot of cardiotonic to forcefully wake her, otherwise, it would be difficult to report to the Director if the coma continued.

The thick needle plunged into her arm. Little Coco gasped and struggled dramatically; partly because it genuinely hurt, and partly because she was afraid her performance wouldn’t be good enough, rendering their efforts useless.

Xiao Hen anxiously slapped the glass: “Jian Xu, push it slowly, she’s in a lot of pain, please… be gentle…”

Jian Xu pretended not to hear, continuing her work. It didn’t matter if she woke up or not, and the pain was irrelevant; otherwise, this fish would always be the one who struggled the most.

Little Coco hesitated about whether to escalate the situation. After the needle was pulled out, she pretended to be uncomfortable and rolled directly onto the floor while Jian Xu was turning to dispose of the syringe.

Her hair was scattered across her face, and the unpressed needle hole was spurting blood. It was a picture of complete distress.

Jian Xu’s first reaction was not to pick Little Coco up, but to look at Xiao Hen in the fish tank.

Disappointment filled her amber eyes.

When Jian Xu returned after sending the conscious Little Coco back to the Jiao-person section, the Director came with her to see Xiao Hen.

“Director, I want to go back to the Jiao-person section. Please let me go back.”

“Why the sudden change? Why don’t you want to be with Jian Xu anymore? What about your pseudo-spawning period?”

“Jian Xu has never comforted me, whether here or anywhere else. I might as well go back now.”

“Jian Xu, what do you think?” The Director turned to ask Jian Xu.

“Director, don’t listen to her. She’s just having a tantrum with me, she’s only saying that out of anger.”

“I see. I’ll head back then. Coax her properly. She is a Jiao-person after all, don’t always be harsh with her.”

“Understood, Director, goodbye.”

As soon as the Director left, Jian Xu’s expression changed instantly. She walked to the fish tank and gripped Xiao Hen’s chin: “You want to leave me just because of that little Coco?”

“Yes.”

“Transform your legs.”

“No.”

“Didn’t you want me to touch and comfort you? Transform your legs like last time. There’s no way I’ll touch you in this state.”

“This is my true form. If you don’t like me, then drive me away. Jiao-people are social creatures; truthfully, I don’t like it here at all.”

Jian Xu’s fingers tightened slightly, her nails nearly digging into Xiao Hen’s skin. Her eyes were as cold as ice, but a sudden, mocking smile appeared on her lips.

“You don’t like it here?” She slowly leaned down, her breath hot against Xiao Hen’s ear, her voice extremely low. “Then where do you like? The Jiao-person section? Squeezing in with Shui Se and the others?”

Her fingers slid down, gripping Xiao Hen’s throat. The pressure wasn’t heavy, but it was enough to make her unable to break free.

Xiao Hen’s fish tail thrashed uneasily in the water, splashing tiny drops. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but she stubbornly held her head high, refusing to show weakness.

“At least they won’t force me to be what you like.”

“Don’t forget, you chose me.” Jian Xu’s eyes darkened, and she suddenly released her grip. She took a step back, looking down at Xiao Hen, her tone terrifyingly calm.

“Fine. Since you want to go back so badly, I’ll grant your wish.” She turned to the laboratory control panel and pressed a few buttons. The water level in the fish tank began to slowly drop. “However, don’t expect me to be soft-hearted like I was when you ran away last time.”

Xiao Hen’s fish tail was gradually exposed to the air. As time ticked by, the scales began to dry out from dehydration. She instinctively curled up, but Jian Xu merely watched with cold indifference, showing no intention of helping her.

“Didn’t you say this is your true form?” Jian Xu sneered softly. “Then go back like this.”

Xiao Hen’s fish tail rested weakly on the bottom of the tank, her breathing becoming rapid. A Jiao-person’s fish tail suffers extreme discomfort when out of water for too long. Her health was already poor, even worse than Little Coco’s, yet Jian Xu seemed determined to teach her a lesson.

Xiao Hen struggled to prop herself up, her fingertips trembling, a painful gasp escaping her throat. Her vision began to blur, but she stared fiercely at Jian Xu, uttering her last desperate words: “You… truly… never cared about me…”

Jian Xu’s fingers curled slightly at her side, as if a spot in her heart was faintly aching, but her expression remained ice-cold.

Even when the Director, who hadn’t left, called Song Xiu and Shui Se and opened the laboratory door with the highest clearance, Jian Xu remained unmoved.

“Jian Xu! Are you crazy?!” Song Xiu rushed in and shoved Jian Xu aside. Shui Se took the opportunity to climb into the fish tank, her hands trembling as she helped Xiao Hen: “Xiao Hen! Are you okay?!”

Xiao Hen couldn’t speak, only shaking her head weakly. Shui Se spun around, glaring at Jian Xu: “If anything happens to her, I will never forgive you!”

Jian Xu stood still, watching Shui Se and Song Xiu frantically carry Xiao Hen out, re-wetting her and wrapping her tail with a damp towel. Her chest felt strangely heavy, yet she simply looked away coldly.

“Suit yourself,” she turned towards the door, her tone indifferent. “Take her away. Don’t let me see you all again.”

Only after the laboratory door was completely closed did Jian Xu slowly clench her fists, her nails digging deeply into her palms.

She stared at her slightly trembling fingers and suddenly laughed.

She actually didn’t want them to take Xiao Hen away at all.

The Director patted her shoulder: “Why don’t you transfer out? I can arrange it with a word.”

“You watched me grow up, and I’m grateful for your kindness, but I… don’t want to leave yet…”

“That’s fine, but what you did was indeed wrong. Take some time apart, see what happens then.”

“Next pseudo-spawning period, she will definitely come crawling back to me.”

Before the Director left, Jian Xu asked her for surveillance access to the Jiao-person section. Back in her dormitory, she couldn’t rest or sleep, secretly watching Xiao Hen, who had returned to the Jiao-person section, on her phone.

She had to admit, Song Xiu was much gentler as a feeder than she was. She could see that Xiao Hen was incredibly flattered.

Just opening a few sea urchins and giving her two small jellyfish was enough to make her ecstatic. Most of the remaining time was spent pressing foreheads with Shui Se and Little Coco, as if they had endless things to talk about.

It seemed she didn’t miss her at all since leaving.

Jian Xu’s finger hovered over the monitor screen. In the frame, Song Xiu was gently combing Xiao Hen’s blue long hair. The Jiao-person comfortably narrowed her eyes, her tail fin swaying rhythmically in the water—a relaxed posture she had never shown in the lab.

Snap, Jian Xu turned off the phone. She fell back onto the bed, covering her reddened eyes with her forearm.

Days later, late at night, a surveillance alarm suddenly blared. Jian Xu woke up with a start. She opened her phone; on the screen, Xiao Hen was painfully curled up at the bottom of the pool. Her pseudo-spawning period had arrived early.

Jian Xu didn’t even have time to put on her work uniform. The institute corridor was empty at night, only her footsteps echoing, but she abruptly stopped at the Jiao-person section door.

Inside the glass door, Shui Se, the others, and another researcher had already appeared by the pool. They were squatting down, gently stroking the forehead and cheeks of Xiao Hen, who had been placed on an inflatable raft and was curled up.

Little Coco was pressed close to Xiao Hen, holding her trembling fingertips with her small hand.

Unable to enter, Jian Xu watched as the new researcher prepared a medical fluid and how, under their care, Xiao Hen gradually calmed down.

Finally, she turned and returned to her dormitory.

She sat on the bed, her nails digging deeply into her palm. She stared intensely at the unfamiliar researcher on the surveillance screen.

The Director said her name was Chen Mengwei. She grew up in a coastal city, the child of a fisherman, and had been conscious of protecting the marine ecosystem since childhood, completing double degrees in veterinary science and biological research in university.

It could be said that no one was more suitable for this place than she was.

This new woman was gently supporting Xiao Hen’s back of the neck, slowly injecting the medicine into her body, her movements as soft as if handling some fragile treasure.

What Jian Xu found even more unbearable was that Xiao Hen actually leaned her head against Chen Mengwei’s shoulder. That posture of dependence should have belonged only to her.

Her phone was almost crushed in her grip.

The next morning, the Jiao-person section door was slammed open. Jian Xu walked in with a cold face, holding a transfer order.

“Researcher Chen, another institute needs you.” She slapped the document onto the table, her gaze sweeping over Chen Mengwei, who was using a spoon to feed Xiao Hen nutrient solution.

Chen Mengwei looked up in surprise, completely incredulous: “But I just arrived…”

“This has the institute’s stamp on it.” Jian Xu’s finger tapped the bottom right corner of the document. “Any problem?”

Xiao Hen knew Jian Xu was deliberately causing trouble. Her tail slapped the water agitatedly, and her amber eyes were filled with fury.

This farce was interrupted in time by Song Xiu, who arrived with a cart to feed: “Jian Xu, this is not a conference room, nor is it a place to argue. Mengwei is excellent, and your transfer order is completely against the rules. You wouldn’t want me to write a report to the higher-ups, would you?”

Jian Xu naturally didn’t want to implicate the Director: “Fine, let’s pretend I didn’t say anything just now.”

She turned to leave, brushing past Shui Se, who was waiting for Song Xiu in the corridor.

“Jian Xu, wait a moment.”

“Speak.”

“After a Jiao-person has that scale plucked, the fact that they are destined to only recognize one mate for life is unchangeable.”

Jian Xu thought Shui Se was about to accept Xiao Hen’s fate, but Shui Se suddenly changed her tone: “But I believe Xiao Hen will be the exception.”

Shui Se gave her a challenging, sweet smile, then skipped happily into the Jiao-person section and rushed into Song Xiu’s arms.

“I want to eat sea urchin too.” Shui Se rubbed her head against Song Xiu’s chest, whining playfully.

“Why the sudden change of heart? Didn’t you say you only love cooked food?” Song Xiu affectionately stroked her smooth hair.

“It’s not because I want to eat it, it’s because…”

“I opened it myself?”

“Mhm!”

“Fine, I’ll prepare it for you right now. This morning’s first sea urchin, for my wife Shui Se. Then kiss me.”

Shui Se awkwardly and shyly rubbed her lips against Song Xiu’s mouth.

In the pool, Xiao Hen quickly covered the excited Little Coco’s eyes, her heart filled with uncontrollable envy.

She could never bring herself to act so spoiled toward Jian Xu. Even now, she couldn’t completely let go of Jian Xu.

It was all because of that scale. The present her was completely unable to control her most primal desires.

Of course, she also knew that this was her own choice, and all her current suffering was self-inflicted.