My Marriage Partner is a Crazy Mermaid - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Waiting in Vain

Luo Miao had drunk too much; yesterday at Wu Siyi’s place, she had been singing and dancing. Wu Siyi was so accustomed to it that she didn’t even want to take embarrassing photos of her anymore. Once Luo Miao fell asleep, Wu Siyi went to memorize her scripts.

By the time the two night owls opened their eyes, more than half the afternoon had passed. They ordered lunch, and during the meal, Wu Siyi helped her recall the important events—for instance, helping Meng Ke find her biological parents.

The two pooled their existing connections and picked a few candidates to start with. This matter was indeed troublesome; Meng Ke was twenty-one, and over two decades had passed since her birth. Due to geographical factors, Tan City had developed rapidly over the years, and its original appearance was long gone, let alone birth records. However, as long as a person existed, they would inevitably leave a trace, so the two didn’t lose heart.

As they discussed, time slipped away unnoticed. By the time they snapped out of it, it was already past 8:00 PM. Luo Miao looked at the group chat; it was quiet without a single message, which she found strange. Meng Ke spoke little and disliked chatting in groups; usually, if she appeared, something had happened. But when she didn’t appear at all, Luo Miao felt the situation was even bigger.

“What’s the status? Is Sister Ke still well?”

When Luo Miao sent the message, Meng Ke was sitting cross-legged in the middle of her bed. Quietly lying there was a handwritten business card with a line of elegant, flowing script. Aside from an address, there were no extra words.

It was hard for Meng Ke to describe how she felt—it was wonderful yet strange. She hadn’t packed her luggage yet, nor had she decided whether to go tomorrow. She just felt things were moving a bit fast.

Meng Ke had never forgotten the setting and plot regarding Xie Yuhan in the book. She was to marry the most dangerous person in the story—a person who acted ruthlessly, was decisive in slaughter, and was even somewhat unscrupulous. She had witnessed her methods.

Meng Ke’s birthday was in September, making her a textbook Scorpio. She held grudges and never went easy on those who bullied her. But right now, she had no power and no means. So, when Xie Yuhan struck at the Meng family—who were, to some extent, her enemies—she didn’t feel any discomfort. In fact, it felt great. It felt amazing!

Especially yesterday, when Xie Yuhan demanded benefits for her from the Meng family, she felt a sliver of secret joy mixed with a hint of excitement. There was also a hidden, barely perceptible touch of emotion that she didn’t even want to admit to herself.

Settling down, Meng Ke looked past the surface and discovered some fatal problems. Xie Yuhan had sent bodyguards to use heavy incentives to lure her abroad, a matter that hadn’t reached a conclusion yet; by a twist of fate, she had even set Xie Yuhan up. Under such circumstances, according to the setting of a Great Villain, the only reason she wasn’t being killed was the constraint of the law. Why would she suddenly take the initiative to bring up a marriage alliance? Meng Ke thought it over and felt something was wrong.

The original plot was still there. If Meng Ke did nothing, she might be quietly disposed of by the Xie family.

The ping of group messages broke her train of thought. Meng Ke unlocked her phone, looked at the messages, curled her lips, and replied: “Still alive.”

“You’re not right? So quiet today, what happened?”

“Xie Yuhan gave me an address and told me to move in.”

“??????”

“I only slept for one day, what’s going on?”

“Are there no steps like engagement, marriage, or a wedding? She’s letting you go over now?”

“She said she found it troublesome and wouldn’t hold a wedding. So I’m not sure what she wants me to do there right now.”

“Raising a canary.”

After sending that, Luo Miao felt it was inappropriate and immediately withdrew it. Beside her, Wu Siyi slapped her arm. “What’s wrong with you?”

Wu Siyi followed up with: “That’s a bit of a pity. I wanted to see how luxurious a wedding held by the number one family in Tan City would be.”

“My fault, my fault. My hand didn’t keep up with my brain,” Luo Miao apologized to Wu Siyi with a metaphorical “sliding kneel.” She was a hearty person but her flaw was being blunt; sometimes her words came out without thinking. However, Meng Ke didn’t mind.

The group fell into an eerie silence for a while. Meng Ke opened a private chat window: “I saw the message. I don’t mind that.”

Only then did Luo Miao ask in the group: “Then what are you going to do? Are you going over?”

“I’ll go. Since I’m here, I might as well settle in and take it one step at a time. I’ll go tomorrow to see Xie Yuhan’s attitude. If nothing is wrong, I want to find a job first.”

She calculated her current savings; she still lacked a sense of security. Consumption in Tan City wasn’t low, and the balance in her card would hit rock bottom at any moment.

“What kind of job are you looking for? Do you need my help? Do you want to come to my company?”

“No need. Neither of you can help with the job I’m looking for.”

One was in business, the other in entertainment; her major had absolutely nothing to do with those two fields.

The next day, a driver appeared punctually at the bottom of Meng Ke’s new home. After the conditions were settled with the Meng family, Xie Yuhan had left a bodyguard-cum-driver to take her home. Meng Ke enjoyed the “distinguished VIP service.” When the driver dropped her off, he made an appointment with her for the moving time the next day.

When the black Porsche stopped downstairs, Meng Ke glanced at it—it was punctual to the second. The bodyguard stepped forward, hoisted her suitcase with one hand, and tossed it into the trunk in one fluid motion. Meng Ke dazed for a second. The bodyguard moved around her to open the passenger door; she bent over and slid into the car, pulling the seatbelt to buckle up. The speed was so fast that Meng Ke felt a bit dazed.

The bodyguard-driver circled around, got into the car, placed his hands on the wheel, and started the engine without any extra movements or glances. For a second, Meng Ke felt a sense of respect for the profession of “bodyguard.”

The car had a faint scent of sea salt aromatherapy—fresh and elegant—though it didn’t smell as good as the scent on Xie Yuhan. After starting the car, the bodyguard-driver did nothing but drive.

After a long time, Meng Ke really couldn’t hold it back anymore.

“What kind of person is your boss?” Meng Ke asked casually.

“I’m sorry, work requirements dictate that I cannot answer that question.”

Meng Ke: “…”

“Your boss isn’t here right now…”

Bodyguard-driver: “Apologies.”

“Then what is the place we are going to?”

She had searched for this place before coming. Aside from the name “Yihai Villa,” there was no information at all. For information about a piece of real estate to be protected this well, she discovered another unknown, powerful side of the Xie family.

“You can ask our boss that question.”

“Will I be living there from now on?”

“Apologies, I am not sure.”

For the first time, Meng Ke felt that language could be so mechanical and cold; these words seemed to follow a pattern as if set by a program. After her failed attempt at probing, Meng Ke stopped looking for trouble and sat quietly in the passenger seat, occasionally looking out the window or at the road ahead, boredly twirling her hair.

The bodyguard-driver drove very steadily. Just as Meng Ke was about to fall asleep, they finally reached their destination: Yihai Villa. Getting out of the car, Meng Ke stretched.

There was only this one villa here, standing solitary, surrounded by a wall painted sky blue. The villa’s walls were pure white without a single blemish. Against the blue sky and white clouds, it really did have that “canary cage” feeling Luo Miao had mentioned. Opposite the villa was a stretch of sea—it wasn’t quite the open ocean, but an overflow from the North Sea area of Tan City. The water was pale blue with few waves, incomparable to the real sea.

The bodyguard-driver rang the doorbell. After a moment, a youngish woman wearing light gray clothes with the word “Xie” embroidered on them came out to greet them.

“Has the Madam arrived?” A warm look appeared on the woman’s face. “I thought I’d have to wait a bit longer.”

“Madam, please come in. I am the housekeeper and maid here; my name is Xiang Qinlan.”

Every person from the Xie family she had met was cold, like breathing robots. This woman was completely different, looking like she didn’t belong to the same “layer” as the others. For a moment, Meng Ke didn’t know how to respond.

The bodyguard walked ahead with the suitcase. Meng Ke studied the woman and smiled to appear polite. “Hello. You can just call me by my name, I’m Meng Ke.”

“How could I do that? Madam can call me whatever she likes, but we cannot lose our sense of propriety.”

The three of them entered the villa. The bodyguard-driver put down the luggage, greeted the woman, and left. Xiang Qinlan looked at Meng Ke, thought for a moment, and said, “Madam, I’ll show you around so you can recognize the path and take a rest. The trip must have been tiring.”

Meng Ke said okay.

Xiang Qinlan took the suitcase to the elevator door on the side and pressed the button. “Madam, the second floor has the bedrooms. There are three: one master bedroom and two guest rooms. Let’s go to the master bedroom to put the luggage away first.”

The elevator stopped on the second floor. Xiang Qinlan went straight to the master bedroom in the middle. While opening the door, she said, “Madam will live here from now on. The room code is a unified 3578. Don’t worry, Madam, we won’t enter without reason.”

Opening the door to the master bedroom, Meng Ke took a look. The decor was ultimate minimalism; aside from the essentials, there was nothing else. If the layout hadn’t looked so harmonious, Meng Ke would have suspected it was an untouched model room.

Xiang Qinlan took her around the other bedrooms. Just as they were about to go to the third floor, Meng Ke stopped her. “Auntie Xiang, Xie Yuhan… isn’t she coming?”

“Well…” Xiang Qinlan said, “The Young Lady didn’t say she was coming today, but she usually doesn’t announce her visits in advance anyway.”

“Do you have her phone number?”

“The Young Lady usually calls us on the landline; we have never contacted her proactively.”

“…”

It was clearly Xie Yuhan who told her to come, so why didn’t she show up herself? Meng Ke still wanted to see what her goal was. The road here had been winding and far from the city center.

Meng Ke asked again: “Then what if I want to go to the city?”

“Make a call and contact the driver.”

“Auntie, you should go rest. I’m a bit tired, I’ll go lie down for a while.”

Xiang Qinlan saw that she wasn’t in high spirits. “Then Madam should rest. I’ll go prepare lunch and call you when it’s ready.”

Meng Ke retreated to the master bedroom. It had been meticulously organized, with fresh sheets that smelled like clean laundry detergent. The suitcase stood in the middle of the room. Meng Ke didn’t move it; she leaned against the door. She actually wanted to see Xie Yuhan. She wanted to ask what her plans were. After the long drive, most of her enthusiasm had drained away. Now… when she wanted to find Xie Yuhan, she realized the two of them didn’t even have each other’s contact information.

The last bit of her interest vanished. Xie Yuhan had made a scene at the Meng house, defended her up and down, and even provided a driver. But after sending her here, she hadn’t said a word. Meng Ke couldn’t guess what Xie Yuhan was trying to do, and it was a bit annoying.

After being annoyed for a few minutes, she resignedly went to unpack her things and reported her status in the group chat. Meng Ke thought of several excuses for why Xie Yuhan didn’t come: busy with company matters, a sudden business trip, inconvenience with her legs, etc. She used these nonsensical reasons to coax herself for one day, two days, three days… a week.

She never saw Xie Yuhan.

Originally, Meng Ke had planned to talk to Xie Yuhan and then look for a job. Now it seemed unnecessary. She couldn’t stay here, being fed and clothed like a literal canary. A normal overbearing CEO’s canary would be fine, but being Xie Yuhan’s canary, she was afraid she wouldn’t even know how she died.

Meng Ke opened her computer and went straight to the second step of her plan: job hunting. She searched for information but was a bit disappointed; Tan City sat on the edge of the map and had no relevant jobs. The nearest city to her was Qingcheng. Meng Ke tried submitting a resume there.

In the evening, when Xiang Qinlan called her for dinner, her state seemed a bit off—she wasn’t as enthusiastic as usual. Meng Ke didn’t have the heart to ask her what was wrong. After going downstairs, she discovered that Xie Yuhan was right there in the middle of the living room.

Meng Ke was stunned for a moment, having completely not expected her to show up at this time. She stood there for two seconds to react, then, as if everything was normal, asked: “Auntie Xiang, what good food is there tonight?”

Ignoring the powerfully present Xie Yuhan, she sat down at the dining table, ready to start the meal.