Becoming the Keeper of an Alluring Merfolk - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Wife is Angry and Won’t Kiss

◎Don’t worry, my nails are always trimmed, it won’t hurt◎

Song Xiu thought her life with Shui Se would stabilize now. After all, Xiao Hen showed no intention of leaving, and Shui Se would never abandon her companion to return to the clan.

However, strange things began to happen more frequently around the institute. First, the institute’s usually punctual fishing boat repeatedly deviated from its course. Several times, it didn’t return until late afternoon, satellite communication was impossible, and the crew members themselves didn’t know how long they had been lost in the fog.

Following this, numerous seabirds began attacking researchers entering and leaving the institute without cause. The more white lab coats a person wore, the more fiercely they were attacked.

When the Director learned of this, she immediately called an emergency meeting, warning all personnel that these incidents were most likely the doing of some underwater creatures. All seafaring activities, whether surface observation, fishing, or diving, were to be temporarily halted. Fortunately, the cold storage still held thousands of pounds of frozen fish, enough for the Jiao-person section for a while.

Not being able to eat live fish was not a big deal for Shui Se and Zheng Zheng, as they were relatively non-conforming. But for Xiao Hen and the merfolk, it was life-threatening. Forcing them to eat stale frozen fish was like making humans eat rice that had been frozen for months.

Xiao Hen’s health was already poor, and after eating frozen fish for several days, she was clearly sick again. She wasn’t used to human food, and she was now so thin that her ribs were clearly visible.

Upon learning this, Shui Se was even more desperate to go fishing than Jian Xu. Since the troublemakers were either merfolk or Jiao-people, she wasn’t afraid.

Song Xiu absolutely couldn’t allow it. What if they were Shui Se’s clan members, and they took her away as soon as she entered the water? She had no choice but to apply to the Director to allow her to catch some fish in the nearby waters.

“If I recall correctly, you can barely swim, can you?” In the office, the Director frowned at the feeder, looking quite speechless. She didn’t think Song Xiu could handle it.

As a child raised inland, Song Xiu was naturally a poor swimmer. The depth of the Jiao-person pool was already her limit.

To get the Director’s consent, she could only threaten her to the best of her ability: “Director, every Jiao-person in the institute is recorded, and Xiao Hen is a key subject. If she dies while in your care, how will you, at your age, handle it? You’re about to retire. If you’re demoted, you’ll lose several thousand from your pension and receive a disciplinary action, won’t you?”

“Sigh… You’re a handful, child. You can go to sea, but only under the pretense that you are acting without authorization, disregarding orders, and going secretly. It has nothing to do with me.”

“Don’t worry, I understand.”

“Fine, go. But you must prioritize safety. The ocean waves themselves are probably more dangerous now than encountering a shark was before.”

Song Xiu nodded repeatedly. When she went to the warehouse to get communication equipment, Chen Mengwei was waiting for her at the door.

“Why are you here?”

Chen Mengwei smiled and replied: “I heard you were going to sea. I’m coming with you. I’ve been following my family to collect sea urchins and sea cucumbers since I was a child. It would be a shame not to take me.”

“Haha, actually, you’re worried about Xiao Hen, aren’t you?”

“Mhm. Jian Xu can’t take care of her at all. She hasn’t even considered going out to sea at a time like this. I really don’t know what Xiao Hen sees in her.”

The two changed into their diving suits, gathered the communication gear and fishing equipment, and headed down to the harbor to board a speedboat.

Because the waves were too strong, Chen Mengwei, who was a better swimmer, did most of the diving, and Song Xiu was on the speedboat for support. Every few dozen minutes, Chen Mengwei brought up a net full of sea urchins and mixed fish.

“That’s enough, Mengwei. The autumn seawater is too cold. Staying in it too long is bad for your health.”

“Alright, let’s head back. I don’t have the strength to dive anymore; there are too many undercurrents.”

Song Xiu drove the speedboat on the way back, while Chen Mengwei, exhausted, rested in the back. It wasn’t until she looked back that she saw a sudden, dense fog behind them.

“Song Xiu! It’s getting foggy!”

“Is it normally this easy for fog to appear on the sea surface?” Song Xiu glanced back and accelerated the throttle.

“It usually doesn’t at this time when the sun is about to set. This fog is truly strange. It seems to be chasing us.”

Fortunately, they hadn’t traveled far. The fog didn’t catch up, and they safely returned to the institute shortly after.

When Song Xiu delivered one of the nets of fish to Jian Xu’s dormitory, she specifically emphasized that Chen Mengwei had dived down to catch them for Xiao Hen.

“Then thank her for me.” Jian Xu’s gritted-teeth reply wasn’t even finished before she reached out to close the door.

Song Xiu quickly braced the door with her hand: “I’ve already thanked her. If Xiao Hen can’t eat all of it, don’t forget to keep it in the lab for her. Also, I need to record Xiao Hen’s condition today, or Shui Se won’t be at ease.”

“I will send you a video.”

“It won’t hurt to take a quick look.”

“I said I will send it to you!” Jian Xu suddenly raised her voice, angrily pushing her out and slamming the door shut with a bang.

Song Xiu, who was pushed out, was speechless, wondering what Jian Xu was up to. Or did Chen Mengwei’s action hit a nerve with her, making her so flustered and angry?

She found it amusing. Truly, the person she couldn’t deal with was now being dealt with by others.

She and Chen Mengwei distributed the remaining sea urchins and fish to the merfolk. Having not seen live food for days, they devoured it frantically. However, there wasn’t enough, and the water surface was filled with the waves they created and sharp, harsh cries.

Song Xiu, squatting by the pool, grew more worried. She still had to figure out the source of the fog and resolve it. Otherwise, all her previous efforts would be for naught, and everything would return to the state it was in when she first arrived: volatile merfolk, a worrying Xiao Hen, and an anxious Shui Se.

Little Coco sadly approached Song Xiu: “Sister Song Xiu, won’t we ever get fresh fish again?”

Song Xiu stroked her head: “The fog situation is the main difficulty. Could this be the work of the merfolk?”

“It’s hard to say. The main thing is I haven’t seen it with my own eyes. Why don’t you take me with you next time? I can communicate with both groups anyway. Plus, I haven’t been in the sea for a long time, and I want to eat until I’m full.”

Back in the dormitory, Song Xiu told Shui Se about Little Coco’s idea while changing clothes.

“Then I want to go too.” Shui Se knelt on the bed, pleading with Song Xiu, who was changing into pajamas.

“But I’m worried you’ll be taken away.”

“You think these incidents were caused by my clan?”

Song Xiu was momentarily tongue-tied. She slowly approached the bed, her palm stroking Shui Se’s cheek: “Just in case.”

“Even if my clan leader sister wanted me to go, I wouldn’t leave. If you don’t trust me, Song Xiu, then pluck my scale. That way, I’ll never be able to leave.”

“Shui Se… I won’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”

“Lack of trust also makes me uncomfortable.”

“Wife, I don’t distrust you. It’s just that my ability is limited, so I can only do my best to protect you and avoid any possibility of us separating.”

Song Xiu leaned in for a kiss, but the still-angry Shui Se turned her head away. This made Song Xiu unhappy, and she forcefully grabbed her face and kissed her with unusual intensity.

“Still upset?” Song Xiu asked, leaning close to Shui Se’s ear fin. “Tell me, how do you want me to coax you?”

Shui Se bit her lip, took Song Xiu’s hand, and placed it on her exposed thigh: “Didn’t you say you haven’t experienced it with my legs transformed yet?”

Song Xiu smiled, touching her forehead against her wife’s: “So you’re the one coaxing me, my wife is so good.”

As long as her wife was willing, Song Xiu was never one to be reserved. Without a word, she knelt on the bed, positioned herself, and gently touched her. She buried her face low, at the spot just below her wife’s collarbone.

“You smell so good~”

Shui Se’s cool hands gripped Song Xiu’s waist: “Be gentle.”

“Don’t worry, wife. My nails are always trimmed. I’ll make sure not to hurt you.”