Becoming the Keeper of an Alluring Merfolk - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Xiao Hen Stabs Jian Xu with Scissors

◎The Alluring Clan Leader Tests Song Xiu◎

That night, Song Xiu noticed that the vending machine in the dormitory hallway had been restocked with many items. Remembering that she had forgotten to get milk tea for Shui Se during their outing, she decided to make her a cup from scratch using tea leaves, brown sugar, and milk.

As she carried a pot of freshly made milk tea out of the cafeteria, she knew something was seriously wrong.

The fog, which they had constantly dreaded, had not only enveloped the entire institute but was also seeping in through the ventilation system. It spread rapidly, like some living entity.

“Oh no! Shui Se!”

She sprinted back to the dormitory. Unable to see clearly, she ran headfirst into a damp, warm embrace at the corner.

“What’s the rush? Run slower.”

A woman’s slightly hoarse voice startled Song Xiu, causing her to retreat backward as she looked up.

The woman before her had pale skin, dark red hair that fell to her ankles, and injured, black-and-red gradient ear fins adorned with pearl chains. Her eyes and lips were a chilling red, almost as if blood was dripping from them.

“You… you must be Shui Se’s Clan Leader, right?”

“Uh-huh. You carry her scent. Are you close?” The woman’s speech was slow but not gentle; instead, it carried a dangerous, threatening undertone.

“We are partners.” Even though Song Xiu knew the answer would displease her, she chose not to conceal the truth.

“Partners? Has Xiao Hen’s experience not taught her enough of a lesson? How dare she fall in love with a human? She has truly disappointed my expectations for her.”

“Did you come here to take her away?”

“Not want to take her away, but must take her away. My clan is not somewhere you can just come and go as you please. If I don’t bring her back, how will the Jiao-people in the clan view me, their Clan Leader? Xiao Hen and Zheng Zheng are one thing; one plucked her own scale, and the other was banished by me. But Shui Se, I must bring her back.”

Song Xiu lowered her eyes: “Clan Leader, why don’t we sit down and talk properly? If you force her to leave, she will surely resent you.”

“Don’t call me Clan Leader. Call me Zhu Hong.” Zhu Hong shook the pearl chains on her ear fins, grabbed Song Xiu’s shirt hem, and instantly pulled her through the wall into the room.

Shui Se was lying on the bed, engrossed in playing “Ball Blast” on Song Xiu’s tablet. It wasn’t until the familiar sound of the pearl chains rang beside her that she abruptly sat up.

“Sister Clan Leader…”

“Why the panic? Do you not want to see me?”

“No, I just, I just…” Shui Se was so nervous she couldn’t articulate her thoughts.

“Come home. We all miss you.” Zhu Hong let go of Song Xiu, walked over, and pressed her forehead against Shui Se’s. “Especially me, your sister.”

Shui Se shook her head, guilty, and refused. Zhu Hong grabbed her face, her nails digging into her flesh, leaving marks: “Disobedient?”

Seeing Shui Se’s eyes redden with fear, Song Xiu’s hand instantly shot out, clamping down on Zhu Hong’s wrist until her hand was thoroughly away from Shui Se.

“Sister Zhu Hong, please talk without touching.”

Zhu Hong blinked, realizing something, then stood up straight, shaking off Song Xiu’s grip on her wrist: “Where is Xiao Hen? I want to see her now.”

Song Xiu coolly pointed vaguely in the wrong direction.

Before leaving, Zhu Hong specifically warned her in her ear: “As long as I can find you two, I will take Shui Se away at any time.”

With that, Zhu Hong phased through the wall and left. The sound of her pearl chains grew distant until it disappeared. The fog, however, remained surrounding the institute.

Inside the room, Song Xiu picked up the trembling Shui Se, patiently comforting her: “Don’t be afraid, wife. Since she said that, we’ll go somewhere she can never find us.”

Shui Se, who was on the verge of tears, nodded weakly.

Song Xiu quickly packed a few things and was about to take Shui Se to the speedboat to leave the island for the mainland. Just as the two stepped out of the dormitory, Xiao Hen’s scream finally stopped them.

As a feeder, Song Xiu couldn’t equate herself with Jian Xu; the word ‘selfish’ had no place in her heart.

“Wife, should we go check on Xiao Hen? She sounds like she’s in pain.”

Shui Se pouted and hooked her arms around Song Xiu’s neck, her voice soft: “No, let’s escape now. If the Clan Leader catches us, it’ll be trouble.”

Song Xiu frowned, feeling that something was amiss. Shui Se usually valued Xiao Hen more than herself.

“Shui Se?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Where’s Xiao Mi? Did we forget to bring him?”

“What Xiao Mi?”

Song Xiu curled her lips playfully: “A cat. A cream-colored cat.”

“A cat? Oh, right! We forgot him. Isn’t he right here?”

Before she finished speaking, a meow instantly came from behind the door.

Song Xiu burst out laughing, broke free from Shui Se’s embrace, and ran straight towards the platform outside the institute. The moment she jumped off, she suddenly woke up.

The sun was just rising outside the window. Everything in the dormitory was as usual. Xiao Mi was sound asleep on his back in his cage, using a hamster biscuit as a pillow. Shui Se was sleeping soundly, leaning against her shoulder.

Song Xiu kissed Shui Se’s soft cheek, tucked her in, and got out of bed. She thought she had just had a nightmare until she changed into her work uniform and saw the pot of milk tea in the entryway.

In the dream, she had placed it in this exact spot after entering the door.

Her fingers trembled slightly. If none of it had been drunk, perhaps it wasn’t a dream, because this was illogical.

She opened the pot. It was almost full, the brown sugar settled at the bottom, giving off a sweet, sticky aroma.

Shui Se was awakened by her movements, rubbing her eyes groggily: “Isn’t it Mengwei’s shift this morning? Why are you up so early…”

Before she could finish, her ear fins suddenly flared. She froze in place: “Why do I smell like the Clan Leader? Has she been here? If she came, why didn’t she take me?”

“Wife, do you remember me making milk tea last night?”

“No… I remember playing with your tablet last night, and then… then I fell asleep without waiting for you.”

Shui Se rubbed her cheek pitifully: “My cheek hurts strangely. That’s weird.”

Song Xiu immediately formed her own conclusion: “Zhu Hong must have used the fog to confuse you and specifically created a ‘dream’ for me.”

Shui Se tilted her head, got out of bed barefoot, and hugged Song Xiu, rubbing her head against Song Xiu’s neck: “What happened in the ‘dream’?”

Song Xiu hugged Shui Se, lifting her so she was standing on Song Xiu’s feet: “In the dream, you said Xiao Mi was a cat and told me to escape regardless of Xiao Hen.”

“Ah! How is that possible!”

“That’s why I knew it couldn’t be real. It looks like…”

“It was a test!”

“A test?”

“Clan Leader sister wanted to know if you were sincere about me. If you were afraid of her and wouldn’t be responsible for me or were unkind to Jiao-people, she would definitely have taken me away. Since I wasn’t taken, it proves you passed her test.”

Hearing Shui Se’s explanation, Song Xiu finally relaxed, and felt fortunate that she had remained rational. She just wondered what was happening with Jian Xu and Xiao Hen.

Song Xiu helped Shui Se put on her shoes, and the two walked together to Jian Xu’s dormitory door.

It was still early. Jian Xu should still be asleep, but Song Xiu knocked several times with no answer. They waited for over ten minutes. It was almost time for clock-in, and still no movement inside.

Song Xiu tentatively pressed the door handle.

The door opened.

The scene inside shocked both Shui Se and Song Xiu simultaneously.

Xiao Hen was huddled in the corner of the room, holding the scissors Jian Xu used to cut fish for her.

Jian Xu was lying on the bed, barely breathing, a pool of blood beneath her. If Song Xiu hadn’t entered the room in time, Jian Xu would surely have died from excessive blood loss.

“Xiao Hen, what’s wrong?” While Song Xiu contacted the infirmary and the Director, Shui Se walked straight towards Xiao Hen, whose eyes were filled with terror in the corner.

“Why did you hurt Jian Xu with the scissors?”

Xiao Hen shook her head.

“Xiao Hen? Do you still recognize me?”

Xiao Hen nodded, then shook her head.

Shui Se tried to press her forehead against Xiao Hen’s, but Xiao Hen instinctively backed away.

Shui Se was even more confused. No Jiao-person could forget this ritual. Unless she truly had amnesia.

“Did Clan Leader sister erase your memory?”

Shui Se calmed down and carefully smelled Xiao Hen’s scent. There was indeed the Clan Leader’s aura present.

Song Xiu finished her call and walked over. Upon learning it was memory erasure, she wanted Shui Se to check if Xiao Hen’s scale had regrown. Still, afraid that Xiao Hen might have a sudden stress reaction and hurt Shui Se, she could only temporarily soothe the situation and wait for the Director to arrive.

The Director arrived quickly. On the way, she had already notified Pilot Lin to rush over with the helicopter. After all, the infirmary was not equipped for major surgery, and she certainly didn’t want Jian Xu to die at the hands of this Jiao-person, Xiao Hen. If the authorities sent people for a detailed investigation, it would be much more embarrassing than just a dead researcher. The punishment would also be much heavier, possibly leading to court proceedings.

“Song Xiu, externally, we will say that Jian Xu fell accidentally. Since it happened in the middle of the night, no one discovered it in time.”

“Y-yes, Director, I understand.” Song Xiu was also momentarily stunned, answering blankly, afraid to imagine what had happened last night.

Chen Mengwei, who arrived slightly later, followed the Director’s instructions. She tranquilized Xiao Hen, took the scissors, and placed her back in the underground laboratory.

Fearing that the authorities would come to inspect after hearing the news of Jian Xu’s injury, the institute immediately resumed all previously halted work.

Fortunately, Song Xiu no longer had to worry about live fish. Unfortunately, Jian Xu was injured, and Xiao Hen had amnesia.

Because Chen Mengwei had to look after Xiao Hen, Song Xiu still worked a full day. She sat by the pool, asking the focused Zheng Zheng: “Did you see Zhu Hong last night?”

“She doesn’t like me. Why would she come to find me?”

“Why did she drive you away?”

“She doesn’t think I’m beautiful.”

“Just because of that?”

“Mhm. Jiao-people care about beauty more than you think. Just because Shui Se is pre…” Zheng Zheng didn’t finish the two words because she didn’t want to admit Shui Se was prettier than her.

Song Xiu was absent-minded when she returned to the dormitory after work. She didn’t eat dinner and sat by the bed in a daze for a long time.

Shui Se was heartbroken. She snuggled into Song Xiu’s arms, comforting her by rubbing her cheek: “Song Xiu, I know you’re worried about them. There will surely be a solution.”

“The Director said she absolutely won’t allow Jian Xu to return. If Chen Mengwei can solve Xiao Hen’s pseudo-spawning problem, we’ll find a suitable time to release her back into the ocean. Otherwise, she’ll have to be permanently confined to the underground laboratory.”

“It’s all my fault. I should have kept a closer eye on Xiao Hen then. I shouldn’t have let her deliberately approach the human research vessel. Then she wouldn’t have met Jian Xu, wouldn’t have fallen for her, and wouldn’t have insisted on plucking her scale…”