Becoming the Keeper of an Alluring Merfolk - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Favoritism

◎Put Your Pants On◎

When Song Xiu pushed the door open, carrying the meal tray, Shui Se was sitting on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs. Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating her long pink hair, making her look extraordinarily beautiful, like a painting come to life.

“I’m back,” Song Xiu placed the tray on the small coffee table in front of the sofa. “I got an extra portion from the cafeteria. I hope it suits your taste.”

Shui Se immediately came closer with curiosity, her nose practically touching the meal box as she smelled the aroma.

Song Xiu helped open the lid. Shui Se instantly poked the rice excitedly, sniffed the scent of braised pork like a kitten, and after licking a drop of sauce, her eyes instantly shone like stars: “So fragrant! Much better than the fish they feed us at the institute!”

Song Xiu couldn’t help but laugh out loud. How could she be so cute? “What do they usually feed you? Is it the same as the Sirens?”

Shui Se frowned slightly, concentrating on the memory: “Raw fish, seaweed, rarely abalone and sea urchin as extras. The Sirens like it, but if the food is always the same, I’d rather starve.”

As she finished speaking, she reached out to grab the braised pork with her bare hands, but Song Xiu stopped her in time: “Wait, you have to use chopsticks. You absolutely cannot grab it with your hands like you do with fish.”

Shui Se didn’t understand what Song Xiu meant, looking utterly confused at the chopsticks handed to her. She took them hesitantly, tried to maneuver them a few times, but ended up scattering rice everywhere. She could only pout aggrievedly: “Strange, this is so difficult. How do I get the food?”

“It’s okay. I’ll teach you. You’ll learn slowly.” Song Xiu sat beside her, holding her hand to demonstrate the correct grip. Shui Se’s hand was smaller and softer than expected, with slender, cool fingers and significantly fewer lines than a human’s.

“Like this… and then like this…”

Shui Se tried to learn seriously but gave up after a few attempts. She blinked her moist, clear eyes at Song Xiu, whether out of genuine innocence or deliberate temptation: “Will you feed me?”

Song Xiu’s heart skipped a beat. The pair of light brown eyes were glistening, carrying a childlike innocence and expectation that was inherently irresistible.

“Okay.”

She picked up a piece of braised pork and brought it to Shui Se’s mouth. The Merman eagerly took a bite, closing her eyes happily.

“Delicious!” Shui Se mumbled, her cheeks puffed out like a little hamster. “Human food is too tasty!”

Song Xiu couldn’t help but feed her a bite of green vegetables: “Eat slowly, don’t choke.”

Suddenly, she stopped, as if remembering something: “Wait, are you sure this won’t upset your stomach? Can Merfolk really eat human food?”

Shui Se shook her head, seizing the opportunity to sneak a bite from Song Xiu’s bowl: “That food is for animals. I’m a Merfolk, a sentient being just like humans. We can eat the same food.”

Song Xiu nodded thoughtfully, continuing to feed her. Shui Se ate with great relish, occasionally licking the sauce from the corner of her mouth.

After eating, Shui Se leaned back against Song Xiu’s shoulder contentedly: “I’m so full~ Do humans eat such delicious things every day?”

Song Xiu gently brushed the hair from her face, “I’ll bring you some every day from now on.”

“Really?” Shui Se suddenly sat up, her eyes full of joy. “You promise?!”

“I promise!”

Shui Se happily jumped into her arms. Her pink hair brushed against Song Xiu’s cheek, carrying a faint fragrance. Song Xiu instinctively wrapped her arms around her waist. Even though she knew this might not be right—a keeper and a Merfolk shouldn’t interact this way—she genuinely couldn’t control herself. Shui Se was simply too wonderful. Her innocence was real, completely untainted by the regulations of human society.

“Shui Se, let me comb your hair. It will be prettier and more comfortable.” Song Xiu whispered, trying to distract herself. She told herself that these were all things a keeper should do; this particular Merfolk was just smarter, which was why she was being special to her.

“Okay, Keeper.” Shui Se immediately turned around obediently. Song Xiu put away the dishes, found a comb, and carefully started to brush the cascading pink hair. The strands were much finer and silkier than human hair, gleaming with a pearly luster in the sunlight.

“Does it hurt?” Song Xiu softened her movements.

“No, it doesn’t hurt.” Shui Se closed her eyes comfortably. “Under the sea, Xiao Hen often helped me with my hair. She was very careful and gentle.”

However… her voice and mood suddenly dropped noticeably when she mentioned the name.

Sensing this, Song Xiu paused and asked curiously: “Is Xiao Hen your friend?”

“Mhm, my best friend. The strange thing is, Jian Xu said Xiao Hen doesn’t exist and that I made her up. But I clearly remember Xiao Hen came in with me. It was definitely Jian Xu and her people who captured her… Never mind. I’ll tell you about these things later.”

Perhaps it was still a lack of trust; Shui Se deliberately concealed some things.

“If you don’t want to tell me now, then tell me later,” Song Xiu reassured her gently.

“Mhm. And please don’t tell Jian Xu what I’ve told you, okay?”

“Okay, I won’t tell her. Then, do you want to join the afternoon activity?”

“What activity?”

“I’m going to organize the Sirens to watch a movie and cartoons. I want to gauge the level of their intelligence and thought processes.”

“Them… Honestly, since I can’t communicate with them, I don’t know much either. But they certainly have intelligence. As for how high… it’s really hard to say.”

After Song Xiu finished combing Shui Se’s hair, Shui Se took off the shorts and transformed back into her fish tail. Song Xiu carried her to the Merfolk Hall.

The Sirens were still aggressively thrashing their tails, constantly slapping the water’s surface.

Song Xiu placed Shui Se on the side of the bank, then picked up the whistle around her neck and blew it twice. The Sirens, busy tearing at the cage, didn’t bother to pay attention to her.

Song Xiu shrugged helplessly and projected a sci-fi movie onto the large screen using her phone. This kind of movie would be too dull for children and hard to watch for a long time. She wanted to see if the Sirens would be interested.

Shui Se watched from the start, finding it neither good nor bad.

The Sirens only focused when the visuals were stimulating. Most of the time, they seemed distracted. One very young Siren, who looked like a human child of seven or eight, even fell asleep out of boredom.

Noticing this, Shui Se moved above the small Siren and deliberately tapped the isolation net above her.

“Little one, no sleeping! You need to take Song Xiu’s experiment seriously.”

The little Siren, woken up by the noise, swam to the net and chattered incomprehensibly. Shui Se couldn’t understand, and when she reached her hand in, she was almost bitten by the Siren’s sharp teeth. She scurried back to Song Xiu’s side shamefacedly.

“Hehe, she’s too fierce,” Shui Se’s ear fins pressed close to her hair, clearly a bit embarrassed.

“Open your mouth and let me see if your teeth are sharp,” Song Xiu squatted beside her and asked.

Shui Se was confused. She shook her head and refused to open her mouth, even pouting intentionally as she spoke: “So what if they are sharp?”

“Then they’re the same as the Sirens’?”

Only then did Shui Se open her mouth. Her teeth were indeed much sharper than a human’s, but they weren’t the complete shark-like teeth of the Sirens.

Because her teeth were different from Song Xiu’s, Shui Se was quite concerned. As soon as the activity ended and they returned to the bathroom, she transformed her legs and examined them repeatedly in the mirror.

“Are my teeth very ugly?”

“Of course not. They’re very cute. Come on, put your pants on.”

“I don’t want to! They’re uncomfortable.”

“You still have to wear them, even if they’re uncomfortable.”

No matter what, Shui Se wouldn’t cooperate: “The jacket covers everything. Utility shorts are just not comfortable.”

“I give up. Let me see if I can get anything delivered here.” Since the island was isolated and some distance from the shore, Song Xiu was worried that anything she bought might not be delivered.

Song Xiu messaged Jian Xu on WeChat. Jian Xu said ordering was possible, but items were only flown in once every half-month. It was best to buy everything in advance, pack it together at the transit warehouse, and have it shipped over at once.

The next air delivery was scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Song Xiu gave her phone to Shui Se and let her choose. They would check out after she had picked everything she needed.

Surprisingly, Shui Se had excellent taste, choosing comfortable, light-colored fabrics that suited her well. The prices weren’t expensive either, and Song Xiu paid without hesitation.

Song Xiu asked Shui Se whether she wanted to sleep in the bed or the bathtub that night. She felt the bathtub was uncomfortable—cold and hard—but she was not a Merfolk, and for Shui Se, the bed was the strange thing; she wasn’t used to it.

“The bathtub is very comfortable! It’s slippery. In the ocean or on the shore, we sleep on reefs or large seashells.”

Song Xiu still frowned unconvinced. Even though she was reluctant, she found a sheet and spread it over the surface of the bathtub. Shui Se actually didn’t need water when she transformed her legs.

Because she was so excited about the little dresses, Shui Se didn’t sleep well all night. When Song Xiu opened her eyes in the morning, she found Shui Se squatting by the bed, looking at her expectantly.

“How much longer?”

“It will be soon. They should arrive this afternoon.”

“Thank you, Song Xiu.”

“You’re welcome. I’m your keeper; it’s what I should do to be good to you.”

“Then will you be just as good to those Sirens?”

“Of course, if they need it. But right now, it will probably take a few more years to fully understand their needs.”

Shui Se naturally understood what Song Xiu meant. Everyone wants to be favored, and she was certainly no exception.