Becoming the Keeper of an Alluring Merfolk - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Shui Se Drops Little Pearls

The moment the cargo plane landed on the institute’s helipad, Shui Se was glued to the window, watching eagerly, her pearly ear fins trembling slightly with excitement.

“They’re here! They’re here!” she cried, pulling on Song Xiu’s sleeve like a child anticipating a gift.

“Wait patiently, I’ll go get them,” Song Xiu affectionately ruffled Shui Se’s hair, put on her jacket, and headed out.

As she approached the delivery area, Jian Xu was inside, taking inventory.

Jian Xu, of course, noticed Song Xiu’s large pile of packages. She raised an eyebrow with ill intent, her words dripping with sarcasm: “Are you planning to clutter up your dorm? You can’t even wear dresses to work, right? You didn’t buy all of this for that fish, did you?”

Song Xiu didn’t rush to answer. She merely smiled and sorted through her packages. She genuinely didn’t understand why Jian Xu held such hostility toward the Merfolk. However, she wasn’t a pushover. Even if it weren’t for Shui Se, she felt obliged to retort when faced with such an attitude. She couldn’t let Jian Xu get under her skin; losing her temper meant losing the battle.

“Researcher Jian, correction, it’s a Merfolk (Jiaoren). It’s just a basic responsibility of a keeper. I think we should maintain a harmonious working relationship. Please refrain from using that tone and expression next time.”

“Oh,” Jian Xu replied perfunctorily. She squatted down and casually flipped through another one of Song Xiu’s packages, which had the description of a light pink strapless nightgown. She squinted, giving Song Xiu a meaningful look, still wearing that same expression: “You’re raising a Merfolk, not a girlfriend. There’s no need for this.”

Song Xiu retrieved the package without expression, “Since the higher-ups assigned me as a keeper, I naturally have my own method of care. We aren’t even in the same department, so there’s no need to question me, is there?”

Jian Xu shook her head, a faint, cold smile hanging on her lips. She leaned closer to Song Xiu’s ear, her voice extremely low: “No matter what you think of me, I have to warn you. Don’t develop feelings for an animal. They are very dangerous. They might eat you when you least expect it.”

“Thank you for the reminder, Researcher Jian.”

Back at the dorm, Shui Se eagerly tore open the packages. She shook out one of the dresses and held it up against herself: “Doesn’t it look shiny and pretty?”

Song Xiu answered gently, “It does. Do you want to try it on?”

Shui Se immediately took off her utility jacket and, in an odd motion, slipped into the dress. The hem fell just above her knees, revealing her slender, pale calves. She twirled in front of the mirror.

Song Xiu stood up to adjust the hem: “The one you picked really suits you.”

Shui Se suddenly hugged her joyfully, pressing her cold cheek against Song Xiu’s neck: “You’re so good to me.”

Song Xiu froze, her hands unsure where to rest.

“Take your time trying them on. I’ll go clean the bathroom.”

The faucet ran, and Song Xiu stared blankly at the rising water level. Jian Xu’s warning echoed in her ears: “Don’t develop feelings for an animal.”

But was Shui Se really an animal? She could talk, think, and anticipate new clothes like a human.

Shui Se’s voice drifted from the doorway, “The water is overflowing.”

Song Xiu snapped out of it, quickly turning off the faucet. As she turned, she saw Shui Se leaning against the doorframe. The sunlight through the dress outlined her slender silhouette. For a moment, Song Xiu felt a sudden illusion that the being standing there wasn’t a Merfolk, but just a human girl.

“I’m hungry,” Shui Se tilted her head. “Can I still have yesterday’s braised pork today?”

Song Xiu nodded, trying hard to suppress the strange stir in her heart: “Maybe Coca-Cola chicken wings. I’ll go to the cafeteria to get it for you later.”

In the evening, Song Xiu went alone to the Merfolk Hall for a routine check. In the empty hall, the Sirens were quietly floating in the water, completely unlike their usual restlessness.

“Are they sick, or has the so-called mating period passed? Or is it related to the fragmented moon?”

Song Xiu checked the calendar on her wristband. The holographic projection showed today should have been a full moon. But the moon outside remained fragmented; the asteroid collision had permanently changed the lunar phase.

She recorded the Sirens’ abnormal state, an image of Jian Xu’s warning eyes flashing through her mind.

When she returned to the dorm, Shui Se was curled up in the bathtub, her pink hair wetly stuck to her pale cheeks. Hearing the door open, she only briefly lifted her eyes, her ear fins drooping listlessly.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” Song Xiu crouched by the tub, testing the water temperature and the temperature of her forehead. As a novice keeper, she was genuinely afraid of a sudden illness.

Shui Se shook her head pitifully, reaching out to grab Song Xiu’s wrist and gently shaking it, like a spoiled request: “Please… your phone… let me play with it…”

Song Xiu gently pulled her hand back, explaining softly: “The director messaged me, strictly forbidding electronic devices for you all. Especially you.”

Tears instantly welled up in Shui Se’s eyes. Her lips trembled: “Just for a little while! You’re stingy.”

Song Xiu shook her head helplessly. The next second, Shui Se burst into tears. Large, round pearls rolled from the corners of her eyes, clattering against the bottom of the tub.

Song Xiu fumbled to catch the pearls, “I’ll find you something else.”

However, these pearls weren’t real gems; only the outer layer was hard. If squeezed hard, the inside was just ordinary tears.

She rushed into the institute’s storage room and rummaged through a dusty corner, finding an old-model blue pet game console. She put in batteries, and it still worked. The familiar electronic sound upon startup took her back to her own childhood.

Returning, Song Xiu handed the console to Shui Se: “Here, it’s more fun than a phone. You can raise an electronic hamster.”

Shui Se’s tears instantly stopped.

She pressed the buttons curiously, watching the colorful pixel hamster run around the screen, her eyes shining astonishingly: “Does it get hungry? What should I feed it?”

“Feed it sunflower seeds here. Its cheeks will puff up.” Song Xiu pointed to the button, smiling involuntarily. The Merfolk watched intently, completely captivated by the cute little hamster.

Shui Se quickly became engrossed in the game, ignoring the dinner Song Xiu brought until late at night. Only then did she reluctantly put down the console: “Song Xiu, I think something’s wrong with me.”

“What is it?”

Shui Se pointed to the fragmented moon outside the window, “The moon affects the sea, and it affects me too.”

Song Xiu wanted to press for details, but Shui Se hugged the console and fell asleep.

Song Xiu got out of bed and gently took the console from her arms. The little hamster inside was also sleeping.

“What is this? A pet’s pet?”

But she didn’t want to call Shui Se a pet. She hadn’t found the right word to describe her yet.

“Goodnight, Shui Se. Goodnight, little hamster.”

Because Song Xiu had to write a daily care report, the higher-ups naturally learned about the unusual behavior of Shui Se and the Sirens over the past few days.

Under the director’s urging, Jian Xu, as a semi-veterinarian, reluctantly squatted by the pool, moving her hand through the water.

“Song Xiu, what do you think about adding some antibiotics? That’s how they raise fish in a pond.”

“I don’t think so. Shui Se said it’s because of the moon. They should be mostly fine once the supposed full moon period passes tomorrow or the day after. I guess they’ll slowly adjust in a few months.”

“She is indeed… smart.”

“Why are you so hostile towards Shui Se?” Song Xiu used scissors to cut a ribbonfish for the little Siren lying on the inflatable raft so she could eat.

Jian Xu didn’t answer immediately, staring blankly at the water for a long time.

The little Siren was too lethargic to fuss. Song Xiu thought that because she was young, she might still have a chance to learn to speak, so she considered letting her out alone for a trial. As for the results, currently…

It seemed quite good.

Song Xiu cautiously offered a piece to the little Siren.

The little Siren sniffed it carefully, seemingly disdaining the metallic smell of the scissors.

“Just eat, little ancestor. How will you swallow such a long piece if I don’t cut it?”

The little Siren bared her teeth but eventually ate several pieces obediently. Her tail was much more colorful and complicated than Shui Se’s, with various patchy colors. Sometimes, a few scales would fall off.

Although Jian Xu said these scales were useless, Song Xiu collected them all. As a keeper, she couldn’t be careless about these things. Since she took the job, she had to treat them genuinely.

Song Xiu worried that Shui Se lacked nutrition. After work, she brought her a few live fish in a small blue bucket. However, Shui Se seemed to have gotten used to human food and showed no interest in the raw fish.

“I don’t want to eat it…” Shui Se pouted.

“Okay, okay, you don’t have to eat it.”

Song Xiu was helpless, yet indulgent. Since she didn’t want to eat it, she wouldn’t force her.

Somehow, the news of Shui Se eating staff meals reached the director’s ears. Song Xiu was scolded yet again. Because the conversation was on speaker in the room, Shui Se heard all the reprimands. She didn’t want Song Xiu to be in trouble.

“How about I just eat fish then…” Shui Se clung to the edge of the tub, flicking her tail as she spoke to Song Xiu, who was leaning against the door.

“I’ll figure out a way to solve this.”