Becoming the Keeper of an Alluring Merfolk - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Shui Se Gets Spicy Food and Cries

Shui Se suddenly waved at Song Xiu, her pink ear fins gently fluttering: “Song Xiu, could you come here for a moment?”

Song Xiu approached, puzzled. As soon as she crouched by the bathtub, Shui Se suddenly leaned forward and gently pressed her forehead against hers.

The cool sensation of the merman’s skin made Song Xiu instantly hold her breath. She could clearly see Shui Se’s long eyelashes and smell that faint fragrance.

“Th-this is?” Song Xiu stammered, her ear tips burning red.

“The Merman way of saying thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. Even though my mouth is clumsy, I know very clearly how good you’ve been to me.”

Song Xiu, her breathing suddenly rapid, stood up awkwardly, her heart pounding as if it would burst from her chest: “You’re welcome. The vending machine has been restocked. I’m going to buy some snacks.”

She practically fled, rushing toward the vending machine at the end of the corridor.

Chips, chocolate, jelly, cola… and a few packets of Missing Teeth and Konjac Jelly. After buying them, she stuffed them all into the dormitory’s storage cabinet.

Late at night, Song Xiu was awakened by a rustling sound.

She groggily opened her eyes and, in the moonlight, saw Shui Se stealthily peering into the storage cabinet, clutching a red-packaged snack.

“Shui Se?”

“Ah!” Shui Se flinched in fright. The snack bag was ripped open with a sizzle, and she hurriedly stuffed something into her mouth.

“Pfft—Cough, cough, cough!!”

Shui Se’s entire face instantly turned red, her ear fins flared, and she darted towards the bathroom. Song Xiu quickly turned on the light, only to see a few scattered pearls on the floor and a torn-open packet of Que Ya Chi.

“Oh my gosh, how did you manage to find the spiciest one? My fault, I forgot to warn you.”

She quickly put on her slippers and ran to the bathroom, where she found Shui Se clinging to the edge of the bathtub, eyes watering and tongue sticking out: “It hurts so much… my mouth is on fire…”

The pearls under her eyes were dropping like broken strings of beads. “How do you humans… eat things like this…”

Song Xiu was both exasperated and amused. She quickly ran to the vending machine for milk and ice cream. When she returned, Shui Se had already cried a pool of pearls and was soaking listlessly in the water.

“Open up.” Song Xiu offered the ice cream.

Shui Se cautiously licked it, and her eyes instantly lit up: “Cold!” She eagerly snatched the ice cream and devoured it in a few mouthfuls.

“Eat slowly. Here’s milk.” Song Xiu twisted the cap off the bottle. “Milk works best when you’re eating something spicy.”

Shui Se gulped down more than half the bottle, finally letting out a long sigh of relief: “I’m alive again… Human food is truly terrifying.” After recovering, she looked pitifully at the packaging on the floor: “Actually, it’s quite addictive.”

Song Xiu finally couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Shui Se’s ear fins pressed against her hair in shame: “I can’t read, so I didn’t know it was spicy. In the ocean, there’s nothing like this kind of food, except for electric eels that can make you tingly.”

Song Xiu was thoroughly amused, her heart completely softened. She reached out and ruffled the top of Shui Se’s head: “How about I teach you to read tomorrow?”

Shui Se agreed to learn, but what she was really thinking was that as long as she could read, she could find clues about Xiao Hen in the research institute.

The next morning, Shui Se uncharacteristically asked to return to the pool. Cradling her watermelon beach ball, she excitedly swam toward the little mermaid that Song Xiu had just released into the open section.

“Let’s play together!” She tossed the ball over.

The little mermaid tilted her head to look at it, then suddenly bit the ball.

“Pffft!”

The deflated ball floated on the water like a piece of seaweed. Shui Se’s ear fins trembled with anger: “How could you do that? You’re not good at all! I’m not playing with you anymore.”

The little mermaid bared her teeth at her, showing two rows of sharp teeth. Shui Se was so angry she was about to swim away, but suddenly heard a blurry syllable: “Wait…”

Shui Se’s ear fins instantly perked up: “What did you say?”

“Wait…” The little mermaid repeated, the pronunciation awkward but clear.

“Song Xiu, she can talk!!”

When Song Xiu rushed over, the little mermaid was clumsily mimicking Shui Se’s mouth shape.

“Wait… for… me…”

Song Xiu was so excited her hands were shaking. She crouched by the pool, carefully guiding: “Do you want Shui Se to wait for you?”

The little mermaid stopped speaking, instead slapping the water surface in frustration.

Shui Se misunderstood: “She probably needs something to grind her teeth on. We merfolk used shells when we were little. She’ll definitely like it.”

Song Xiu quickly found a clamshell, but the little mermaid swatted it away with a thwack. All afternoon, they tried various methods, but the little mermaid grew more and more agitated, splashing water all over Song Xiu with her tail.

In the evening, the little mermaid was once again locked back in her cage. Back in the dorm, Song Xiu stared blankly at the surveillance screen projected from her wristband. In the image, the little mermaid was curled up in a corner, constantly hitting the isolation net with her head.

She knew it was definitely the cage. The confined space would only make the mermaid more frantic.

In the dead of night, Song Xiu made a bold decision. She unplugged the monitoring cables and quietly opened the little mermaid’s isolation net.

She might not find a proper excuse for the director regarding the adult mermaid, but she hoped this little mermaid could grow up healthy.

The little mermaid’s ears perked up in alarm, and she slowly swam to the exit.

“Come out. We’ll try it tonight. If you behave well, I’ll let you out again later.”

Jian Xu, who arrived for her morning patrol, was utterly dismayed to see the little mermaid swimming freely.

“Song Xiu! How did she get out?”

Song Xiu feigned panic and rushed over: “The monitor malfunctioned last night. I didn’t notice.”

In the pool, the little mermaid was quietly floating on the surface. Seeing them approach, she even actively swam closer, showing a clumsy, non-aggressive smile.

No baring of teeth, no hitting. She was like a different fish.

“This is impossible…” Jian Xu’s face was pale.

The little mermaid was clearly dissatisfied with Jian Xu’s reaction and bared her teeth again, but this time Song Xiu quickly distracted her with the ball, interrupting the action just in time.

“Don’t bite, okay? Or Shui Se won’t play with you anymore.”

The little mermaid lightly nodded.

After Jian Xu left, muttering to herself, Song Xiu specifically put on a cartoon for the mermaids and the late-arriving Shui Se.

Shui Se and the adult mermaid found it a bit boring, but the little mermaid watched intently. When the episode reached the part about learning to write one’s name, she suddenly became excited.

“Want…”

“Want what?” Shui Se and Song Xiu asked simultaneously.

The little mermaid pointed to the screen again, where the little protagonist was learning how to write her own name.

“Do you want to have your own name?” Song Xiu asked.

The little mermaid nodded.

This stumped Song Xiu. Choosing a name was too difficult.

“Shui Se, do you have any suggestions?”

“Just call her Shui… Shui Guo (Fruit).”

Song Xiu laughed: “That’s too casual. Also, why are you taking advantage of her, making her have your last name?”

“Because she bit a hole in my beach ball.” Shui Se lifted her chin haughtily, then turned to the little mermaid: “Do you like this name?”

The little mermaid shook her head: “No, weird…”

Shui Se, having lost face, sat sulkily by the edge of the pool, ignoring the little mermaid, occasionally splashing water with her tail, deliberately aiming for Song Xiu and the little mermaid.

Song Xiu, noticing this, quickly comforted the little mermaid: “The name Shui Guo is indeed strange. It’s okay, we’ll choose slowly.”

“Then call her Xiao Ye Guo (Little Coconut Fruit)!” Shui Se once again casually pointed to a coconut fruit commercial that suddenly popped up after the cartoon ended.

She hadn’t actually meant for her to be called that. It was pure petulance. Surprisingly, this time the little mermaid didn’t say it was weird; instead, she nodded in agreement.