Becoming the Keeper of an Alluring Merfolk - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Song Xiu’s Period

Because her period had arrived, Song Xiu took a day off. Generally, the first day was too painful for her to get out of bed, but the following days weren’t as bad.

Song Xiu remained curled up in bed well into the night, barely having climbed out of it. She had taken painkillers, but they didn’t seem very effective, leaving her to drift in and out of a blurry sleep.

In the midst of her semi-sleep, she suddenly felt something cool gently poking her face.

“Shui Se… stop bothering me… I don’t feel well…” she mumbled vaguely, rolling over.

“Cheep cheep.”

The strange sound made Song Xiu abruptly turn over and open her eyes.

Over a dozen pairs of glowing eyes were staring straight at her in the darkness, which was quite startling.

She sat up in shock, her back hitting the headboard. In the moonlight, a dozen merfolk were gathered around her bed—apparently, they had all come.

Scales of various colors glimmered in the dark. The smallest one, Xiao Ye Guo, was stretching out a wet finger to poke her cheek again.

“How… how did you get out?!” Song Xiu’s voice trembled. If Jian Xu saw this, she would definitely be constantly harping on her about it.

Xiao Ye Guo pointed to a damp streak under the door, and Song Xiu realized then that a winding path of water extended from the bathroom across the floor.

“Shui Se?!”

“I’m here.” A pink head emerged from the pile of merfolk. She was clutching Song Xiu’s key card, her ear fins twitching guiltily: “Xiao Ye Guo said she wanted to see you… so I… I just…”

Song Xiu pressed her hand to her forehead, exasperated and amused: “So you broke everyone out of jail?”

“They were very worried about you. After all, we didn’t know what was wrong with you, why you suddenly felt so unwell.” Shui Se carefully moved to the edge of the bed, placing a cool hand on Song Xiu’s hot forehead. “And, you smell of blood, but there’s no obvious wound.”

Song Xiu then remembered the merfolk’s keen sense of smell, and her face instantly flushed: “This is a normal physiological phenomenon for humans.”

The merfolk tilted their heads in confusion. Xiao Ye Guo even managed to dig out a packet of brown sugar from somewhere.

“T-The television said…” she stammered, gesturing awkwardly, “This… is good…”

Song Xiu was stunned and utterly charmed. She glanced at the coins by the door. Xiao Ye Guo must have used that money to buy it from the vending machine. She was truly young and her mind was sharp; she learned things incredibly fast. Song Xiu had never expected Xiao Ye Guo to remember life tips from the television and use them to care for her. Her affection for the child was not misplaced.

Shui Se, who had transformed her tail into legs and was wearing a skirt, seized the opportunity to burrow under the covers: “Can I stay with you?”

“Yes, of course. Whatever you want, I’ll agree.”

After confirming that Song Xiu was indeed fine, the other merfolk were led back by Xiao Ye Guo. They couldn’t transform their legs and couldn’t be out of the water for too long.

Song Xiu watched their various methods of moving with a mixture of confusion and amusement: some slid along the walls, some hopped, and some sat on the floor and slid backward.

“Xiao Ye Guo, remember to close the door.”

“Mhm!”

Xiao Ye Guo the little rascal agreed readily, but before leaving, she couldn’t resist sneaking away with Shui Se’s handheld electronic pet game console. Such a novel item was far more appealing than the television.

Song Xiu and Shui Se snuggled together. Whether it was her imagination or not, Song Xiu genuinely felt her body was less uncomfortable.

When Shui Se woke up again, sunlight was already streaming into the dormitory. The first thing she did upon waking was to look for her game console.

“Song Xiu, where’s my little hamster? I can’t find it anywhere!”

Song Xiu was making brown sugar water at the stove and turned her head: “Wasn’t it here last night?”

“It’s gone!” Shui Se’s ear fins twitched anxiously. She paced around the room barefoot. “I definitely put it right here!”

In the Merman Enclosure.

Xiao Ye Guo blew a bubble and placed the game console inside it, hiding underwater to play. On the screen, the electronic hamster was happily running on its wheel.

Song Xiu jogged to the pool side, trying to keep up with the sulking merman.

Shui Se made a beautiful dive into the water and swam to Xiao Ye Guo, holding out her hand: “Give it back to me.”

Xiao Ye Guo hid the game console behind her back and shook her head repeatedly.

“That’s mine!” Shui Se’s ear fins were flushed with anger. “You little bad fish!”

Xiao Ye Guo pouted tearfully, then suddenly held the game console up to Shui Se. On the screen, the electronic hamster was plump and was munching on virtual sunflower seeds.

“Raised… well…” Xiao Ye Guo stammered. “Give… to older sister… not steal… is helping… you take care of Xiu… I take care of it…”

Shui Se was stunned. It turned out Xiao Ye Guo hadn’t wanted to steal her game console; she just wanted to help her take care of her electronic pet.

Song Xiu crouched by the pool, watching Shui Se’s expression change from anger to surprise, and finally to a gentle smile.

“Silly,” Shui Se gently rubbed Xiao Ye Guo’s damp, dark green hair. “If you want to play, you can just ask me. You can’t take other people’s things without permission.”

She tucked the game console back into Xiao Ye Guo’s hands: “Come, let me teach you how to play.”

The afternoon sun streamed through the glass skylight onto the water, bathing the two, one large and one small. Shui Se patiently taught Xiao Ye Guo how to feed the pet and how to clean the cage. Xiao Ye Guo learned earnestly.

Song Xiu squatted on the bank, watching Shui Se’s gentle profile. She suddenly realized that this temperamental merman also had such a delicate side.

Shui Se suddenly turned around and beckoned to her.

“I think I’ll give this game console to Xiao Ye Guo.”

“Are you sure you can bear to part with it?”

“It’s a little hard to let go… but she clearly likes it more.”

“Ding! This month’s subsidy has arrived.”

Song Xiu looked at her wristband. This subsidy was specifically for buying things for the merfolk and Shui Se.

“How about I buy you a real hamster? But you have to take good care of it, just like I take care of you. Can you do that, Shui Se?”

“Really?” Shui Se’s beautiful eyes instantly lit up, and her ear fins twitched happily.

She excitedly scooped up a handful of water and gently blew several rainbow-colored bubbles toward Song Xiu.

Shui Se’s tail slapped the water, splashing water around.

Song Xiu reached out and popped a bubble, feeling a slight coolness on her fingertip: “That happy, huh? Then it’s settled. You have to take good care of it, okay?”

The days of waiting for the transport aircraft became exceptionally long. Shui Se would ask several times a day, “When is the hamster arriving?” She even secretly used Song Xiu’s phone to check the logistics information, enduring the agony of waiting.

“It’s still three days away.” Shui Se sprawled on the windowsill, her pink long hair draped over her shoulders, her ear fins drooping listlessly. “Why is it so slow…”

Song Xiu couldn’t help but rub the top of her head: “Don’t rush, it will be here soon.”

Shui Se turned and hugged Song Xiu’s waist, looking up to coo, “But that’s a real little hamster! The kind that moves and makes sounds! I really want to see it.”

Finally, on a sunny morning, the transport aircraft brought the long-awaited package. The pilot personally delivered it, having taken care of the hamster the entire way to ensure it was comfortable.

“Thank you, Pilot Lin.”

Song Xiu took it and quickly brought it back to the dorm.

“It’s here, it’s here!” Shui Se grabbed the box and squatted on the floor, tearing open the cardboard impatiently. A beige hamster was curled up in the sawdust, its black-bean eyes looking around timidly.

“It’s so small.” Shui Se held her breath and cautiously extended a finger. The little hamster sniffed, then suddenly rubbed against it, its soft fur brushing over her fingertip.

“It likes me!” Shui Se cried out in surprise, her ear fins turning pink with excitement.

Song Xiu handed over the prepared cage: “Give it a name.”

Shui Se tilted her head in thought: “How about Xiao Mi (Little Millet)? Like its color.”

From that day on, Shui Se’s life completely revolved around Xiao Mi. She learned from Song Xiu to meticulously record the hamster’s eating habits, cleaning the cage, and feeding it water and snacks daily.

“Song Xiu, look!” Shui Se excitedly held up the running wheel. “Xiao Mi can play on this now!”

The little hamster ran incredibly fast on the wheel. Shui Se watched intently by the cage, not even responding when Song Xiu called her for a meal.

In the dead of night, Song Xiu lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. The sounds of Shui Se’s playful giggles with Xiao Mi came from the bathroom. She suddenly felt a strange sense of loss.

“Am I… jealous of a hamster?” She was startled by her own thought.

Shui Se walked into the bedroom, holding the cage, her face still wearing an undiminished smile: “Song Xiu, Xiao Mi today…”

Her words abruptly stopped. She keenly sensed the shift in the atmosphere: “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Song Xiu shook her head: “I’m fine, just a little tired.”

Shui Se put down the cage and gently sat on the edge of the bed, her cool fingers touching Song Xiu’s forehead: “I’ll go make you some brown sugar water…”

“No need.” Song Xiu held her hand. “Just sit with me for a while.”

Shui Se obediently lay down, leaning sideways against Song Xiu’s shoulder as usual. Xiao Mi rustled and frantically stuffed food into its cheeks inside the cage.

Shui Se suddenly whispered, “Even with Xiao Mi, you are still the most important person to me.”

Song Xiu’s heart skipped a beat: “Shui Se, what did you say? Can you repeat that?”