Becoming the Keeper of an Alluring Merfolk - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Song Xiu Applies Body Lotion for Her Wife

Perhaps due to transforming her legs for too long recently, combined with the approaching autumn, Shui Se felt that her skin was strange and had a taut feeling.

“Song Xiu, my skin is weird, it’s uncomfortable,” Shui Se, sitting on the bed in the dormitory, complained to Song Xiu, who had just gotten off work.

Song Xiu knew exactly what was happening the moment she touched her. She knelt down, gently lifted Shui Se’s skirt, and slowly and carefully felt her thighs and calves.

“The air humidity has dropped recently, and your skin is a bit dry. Applying some body lotion will fix it.”

“Body lotion?”

“Mhm. Do you like milk-scented, or should I get peach-scented?”

“Peach-scented first, please. Thank you, Song Xiu.”

“Just remember to reward me with a kiss.”

Song Xiu retrieved a bottle of pink peach body lotion from the drawer and squeezed a bit into her palm, rubbing it to warm it up.

“Lie down.” She gently patted the bed, signaling Shui Se to lie face down.

Shui Se obediently lay down, burying her face in the pillow, exposing only a section of her pale neck. When Song Xiu’s palm touched her calf, her body visibly flinched; human body temperature was a bit too warm for a Jiao-person.

“Is it too cool?” Song Xiu lightened her touch, rubbing the lotion in with circular motions of her fingertips.

“Mmm…” Shui Se’s ear fins trembled slightly, her voice muffled by the pillow. “Both cool and warm.”

Song Xiu chuckled, continuing to apply the lotion up her slender ankle.

When her fingers slid past the back of her knee, Shui Se suddenly let out a soft “Ah,” her body unconsciously tensing. This was the most sensitive spot after transforming her legs.

“Should I apply it here too?” Song Xiu deliberately brushed the spot with her fingertip.

Shui Se’s waist violently twitched, her ear fins flapped fully open, and her entire face was buried in the pillow, revealing only a pair of bright red ear tips: “Yes…”

Song Xiu laughed and squeezed out more body lotion, slowly massaging it in with circular motions. Shui Se’s breathing noticeably quickened, her fingertips instinctively clutching the bedsheet.

“Relax.” Song Xiu leaned down and placed a kiss on the back of her neck. “Almost done.”

The sweet scent of peach lingered between the two. After finishing her legs, Song Xiu gently patted Shui Se’s waist: “Wife, flip over. The front of your thighs and abdomen haven’t been done yet.”

Shui Se suddenly curled up, burying her face in the pillow, refusing to move: “The front… I’ll do myself…”

Song Xiu raised an eyebrow and directly scooped her into her arms. Shui Se’s face was redder than a peach, and her damp eyes darted away, unwilling to look at her.

“Why so shy?” Song Xiu squeezed her hot ear fin. “What part of you haven’t I seen?”

“Song Xiu!” Shui Se reached out, embarrassed and annoyed, to cover her mouth, but Song Xiu caught her wrist and pinned her to the bed.

Song Xiu’s kiss landed on her collarbone: “Be good, let me check… does the skin lower down also need lotion?”

The autumn wind began to pick up outside the window. Inside the room, the sweet, cloying scent of peach lingered, mixed with a few sounds of the Jiao-person’s muffled whimpers after her skirt was tossed onto the floor.

When Shui Se woke up again, Song Xiu had already gotten out of bed. She was still curled up under the blanket from the sudden exhaustion of the previous night. She poked Song Xiu’s waist with her foot and accused her in a soft voice: “Song Xiu, you’re so naughty… I’ll apply it myself next time.”

Song Xiu, who was buttoning her shirt, turned back, grabbed her ankle, and raised an eyebrow: “Really? Are you sure?”

Shui Se wrapped the blanket tightly around herself, revealing only her dewy eyes, and nodded firmly: “Mhm!”

Song Xiu chuckled, leaned down, and pecked her on the lips: “Alright, then you can do it yourself tonight.”

Shui Se blinked innocently, feeling that her smile looked a bit dangerous.

As soon as Song Xiu arrived at the Jiao-person section, she sensed that the atmosphere was off.

Jian Xu, who usually wore a cold face and claimed that Jiao-people and merfolk were annoying, was standing by the pool today, whispering something to Zheng Zheng.

Even stranger, Xiao Hen was watching them intently from a short distance away.

Song Xiu walked closer, faintly hearing Jian Xu’s voice: “Okay, I’ll bring it to you next time.”

Zheng Zheng nodded furiously, her gray-black gradient fins flapping excitedly: “Thank you. You’re so kind to me, unlike Song Xiu and the others.”

Song Xiu was genuinely surprised by this but pretended not to notice anything and continued with her morning cleaning routine.

In the evening, taking advantage of Song Xiu’s absence, Jian Xu secretly brought squid ink and food from the canteen into the Jiao-person section.

Zheng Zheng, who had been awake the whole time, was exceptionally delighted and immediately transformed her legs and climbed onto the shore. Jian Xu handed her her white lab coat.

Zheng Zheng put it on and sat by the pool, swinging her legs and eating the food she had always wanted.

“Should we apply the squid ink to dye my hair now?” Zheng Zheng asked Jian Xu gently and expectantly. Her hair fading to gray had been very annoying to her recently. “Or should we wait a bit…”

“Wait a little longer, you eat first.” Jian Xu was actually waiting for Xiao Hen to wake up. She was enduring her nausea to stage this scene specifically for Xiao Hen. If Xiao Hen didn’t see it and didn’t get jealous, she wouldn’t have bothered coming.

Xiao Hen had actually been awake for a while.

She was submerged underwater, watching the irritating scene on the shore through the water’s surface. Jian Xu was sitting by the pool, and Zheng Zheng was wearing her white lab coat. The coat even had Jian Xu’s name tag pinned to it, which shone coldly under the lights.

Zheng Zheng deliberately swung her legs. Her gray-black fish tail had transformed into long legs. She picked up a piece of meat and playfully offered it to Jian Xu’s mouth: “You eat some too~”

Jian Xu frowned but still opened her mouth to accept it. Her peripheral vision constantly scanned the water’s surface, yet she still didn’t see the figure she was hoping for.

“My hair…” Zheng Zheng lifted her gray-white hair, pouting with a hint of grievance. “The color has faded so much lately.”

Just as ripples began to appear in the water near Xiao Hen’s spot, Jian Xu snapped back to attention and picked up the prepared squid ink. The moment her ink-stained finger touched Zheng Zheng’s hair tip, there was a sudden splash behind her.

Xiao Hen burst out of the water, her soaking long hair plastered to her pale face. Her eyes were locked on Jian Xu, her chest heaving violently: “Is this fun?”

Jian Xu’s hand froze mid-air, her heart suddenly racing. But before she could speak, Zheng Zheng interjected: “Xiao Hen, why are you being so mean? Jian Xu is just helping me dye my hair.”

Xiao Hen forced a helpless smile: “Fine, you two carry on.”

She was about to dive back into the water.

Jian Xu abruptly stood up: “Wait!”

But it was too late. Xiao Hen’s figure vanished into the deep end, leaving only widening ripples.

Zheng Zheng smugly curled her lips, about to say something, but Jian Xu suddenly walked out without looking back.

Zheng Zheng panicked, chasing after her barefoot, trying to grab Jian Xu’s hand: “Why?”

Jian Xu shook off Zheng Zheng’s hand and strode away. She pulled out her phone; on the surveillance screen, Xiao Hen was curled up in the darkest corner of the pool.

Jian Xu felt a pang of discomfort. She pressed the communication button: “Xi Hen, come up.”

The figure underwater remained motionless.

“I’ll count to three.” Jian Xu’s voice came through the surveillance speaker. “One…”

Xiao Hen’s tail moved slightly.

“Two…”

The figure at the bottom of the pool began to slowly rise. It was simply too late; she really didn’t want Jian Xu to wake up the merfolk, especially Little Coco.

Still in her pseudo-spawning period, her maternal instincts were incredibly strong. She had practically adopted the clever, cute, and naughty Little Coco, who always stayed by her side, as her own baby.

Jian Xu, however, thought Xiao Hen was giving in. She returned to the Jiao-person section, walked past the waiting Zheng Zheng, jumped into the pool, and scooped Xiao Hen out.

“I knew it. You still can’t bear to leave me. You still listen to me.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Take you back to the underground laboratory.”

Xiao Hen shook her head, refuting in a low voice: “I don’t want to go there. There’s nothing good about it. At least here, I can see the sun and the moon through the skylight. The windows there only have endless darkness.”

“Then what did you mean just now? And why aren’t you fighting back now?”

“I don’t want to wake up Little Coco.”

“Why do you care about her so much? How many times have you even met her? What is wrong with you?”

“Put me down.” She wiggled the tip of her tail.

Jian Xu was still persistent; she had genuinely missed holding her after so long: “Since you don’t want to go back to the lab, how about I take you to my dormitory? Just like Song Xiu is keeping Shui Se? Aren’t you envious?”

Hearing this, Xiao Hen was truly tempted. She really wanted to be treated with gentleness and care by the other party, but she was afraid Jian Xu would hurt her even more deeply.

“Can you promise… not to be playing a trick on me? Can you promise to be gentle and polite to my friends?”

Jian Xu froze.

“If you can’t, I can’t go anywhere with you.”

Meanwhile, Song Xiu had just finished applying body lotion for Shui Se. The two were snuggled up in bed watching a movie when a frantic knocking sounded at the door.

“At this hour, who could it be?” Song Xiu wondered, putting on her jacket to open the door.

Outside, Jian Xu stood, holding a dripping wet Xiao Hen. She was uncharacteristically looking down, with a hint of shyness in her eyes: “Sorry to bother you. I’m here to apologize.”

Song Xiu and Shui Se, who had sprung up from the bed, both widened their eyes. Jian Xu was actually apologizing?!

Song Xiu stepped aside to let Jian Xu in.

Xiao Hen was gently placed on the sofa. Jian Xu stood awkwardly to the side, unconsciously rubbing her sleeve cuff: “I’m sorry about the past.”

Shui Se quickly fetched a towel to dry Xiao Hen’s hair. Song Xiu raised an eyebrow, unable to believe her ears: “What did you say?”

Jian Xu took a deep breath: “My attitude towards you all before was my fault.” Her gaze swept past Shui Se before quickly looking away. “Especially towards Little Coco and the others.”

Xiao Hen, who was being fed an orange lollipop by Shui Se, looked up in surprise, not expecting Jian Xu to actually keep her promise.

Song Xiu gave an awkward smile, knowing there must be a story behind this.

A peculiar silence descended upon the room.

Suddenly, Xiao Hen chuckled softly and tugged on Jian Xu’s sleeve: “It’s alright. Everyone is just shocked.”

Jian Xu’s ear tips were slightly red. She gave a forced, calm “Mhm.”

Song Xiu finally couldn’t hold back her laughter: “In light of your sincerity, we can temporarily resolve some of the misunderstandings. But in the future, if you are still rough with Xiao Hen and Little Coco, we will fight you all the way.”

Jian Xu, for once, didn’t retort and simply nodded in agreement.

Song Xiu noticed that Xiao Hen, who had just transformed her legs, actually had the same symptoms as Shui Se. She retrieved the milk-scented body lotion from the drawer, and after getting Shui Se’s permission, put it into Jian Xu’s hand.

Jian Xu’s eyes lit up. Before she could speak, Xiao Hen on the sofa refused with a blush: “No, no need!”

“You must.” Jian Xu picked up Xiao Hen with one arm. “This is a good time to learn how to apply it.”

Before the door closed, Song Xiu heard Xiao Hen’s embarrassed and annoyed protest: “Jian Xu! Put me down.”

Shui Se snuggled into Song Xiu’s arms, feeling a strange mix of emotions: “Has the situation gone off track?”

Song Xiu kissed her ear fin: “Don’t worry. Let’s observe first. You have to give people a chance. If this doesn’t work, then Jian Xu is simply not worthy of Xiao Hen’s affection. If she corrects her behavior well enough to allow Xiao Hen to pass her pseudo-spawning period without suffering, that would be a good thing. Now… shall we continue the movie? Or go to sleep right now?”