My Marriage Partner is a Crazy Mermaid - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Mission

Meng Ke’s fingers flew across the keyboard as she began searching for other miscellaneous information, mostly gossip from high-society circles.

The information was chaotic: a marriage alliance between the Dong and Li families, which group chairman had an illegitimate child, which socialite wife was having an affair. To summarize it in four words: This circle is a mess.

However, there was very little gossip regarding the Meng and Xie families—so little it was almost non-existent. Public opinion wasn’t unfavorable toward either family, which suggested the marriage alliance wasn’t that urgent. She had promised to return to the Meng family; were they really in such a hurry?

“What’s the Xie family’s attitude toward the alliance?”

Meng Ke was curious. Would someone like Xie Yuhan obediently follow orders to enter a marriage alliance?

“I don’t know. It’s actually quite strange—the Xie family hasn’t reacted at all, as if they’ve tacitly accepted it.” Luo Miao, gnawing on the rim of her teacup, was also full of questions. “Do you think that’s why your stepmother is so anxious? She’s stuck between a rock and a hard place, to marry or not to marry.”

If they went through with it, the daughter she held in the palm of her hand would be married to a cripple. If they didn’t, who in Tan City would dare offend the Xie family? Did they have a death wish?

“Perhaps.” Meng Ke closed her laptop. “But what makes them think I’m willing to marry?”

Thinking of the original host’s experiences, Meng Ke felt anger flare straight to her head.

Through a twist of fate, she had become the fake daughter while the real heiress wandered the streets, eventually ending up in an orphanage and only being found at age sixteen. After Meng Yingxue returned, she opposed Meng Ke at every turn, blaming her for the sixteen years of suffering she had endured.

Because of their guilt, the Meng couple turned a blind eye, indulging Meng Yingxue’s bottomless bullying. They even swapped out Meng Ke’s university admission notice when she was eighteen, sending her to a low-tier college abroad and ignoring her for three years.

After living the life of a wealthy young miss for over a decade, she had fallen from the clouds in an instant. She not only had to endure the disparity in her lifestyle and the coldness of those once close to her but also the physical grind of survival.

Now, they hypocritically wanted her to be a scapegoat. Even if Xie Yuhan were a perfect lover, she wouldn’t let Meng Yingxue have her way. She would take back everything she had lost and make Meng Yingxue experience the same pain she once felt.

“Is there a way to force the marriage between the two of them?”

“Hey, hey, hey! Absolutely not!” Luo Miao hurried to stop her. “Get that thought out of your head. Xie Yuhan is incredibly sharp. If she finds out, there’ll be hell to pay. I wouldn’t dare test my future against her.”

“Is it really that exaggerated?” Meng Ke thought she was making a fuss over nothing. It wasn’t like she hadn’t met Xie Yuhan. She was a bit cold, sure, but not to that extent.

At that time, Meng Ke didn’t know that she had seen Xie Yuhan at her absolute weakest. It was understandable for her to speak this way; having just returned to the country, she hadn’t witnessed Xie Yuhan’s terrifying side, so her words lacked gravity.

Luo Miao’s gaze fell on her. Meng Ke’s fox-like eyes were darting around, and an imperceptible smile played at the corners of her mouth. Looking at that expression, Luo Miao thought: We’re doomed!

Without a word, Luo Miao slammed her teacup onto the table, propped her elbows up, and stared intensely at her. “Whatever rotten idea you’re cooking up, I advise you to stop immediately.”

“I’m not joking with you. Xie Yuhan is not someone to be trifled with. The Lu family is the best example.”

Back then, the top-tier Lu family in Tan City wasn’t willing to let the woman-led Xie family walk all over them. The head of the Lu family was arrogant and a bully, yet he only managed to hold out for a year.

“I’m on my own. Why not try?” Meng Ke used her index finger to push Luo Miao back. “Don’t get so close to me.”

Meng Ke curled her lips, getting more excited the more she thought about it. She relaxed against the back of her chair and spread her hands. “Even if I fail, what of it? Behind me is the Meng family!”

Luo Miao: “…”

With that level of pride, an outsider would think the Meng family was her pillar of support. Xie Yuhan was nothing; Meng Ke was the real Living Yama.

“So, what do you plan to do?” Luo Miao became curious as well. After all, Xie Yuhan had occupied the position of “Big Sister” of Tan City for a long time. What could Meng Ke possibly do?

“Let Siyi help,” Meng Ke said. “The Meng family doesn’t want the alliance right now, and the Xie family is waiting and watching. Let’s make this fire burn even more fiercely. That way, both families will have to react.”

“It’s the perfect chance to see what they’re both up to.”

At this, Meng Ke thought of something amusing and beckoned Luo Miao with her finger. “Come here. I thought of something even more fun. Have Siyi buy some internet water-army trolls and then ‘sell’ my contact information.”

Luo Miao’s jaw hit the floor. “I’ll just give you that company my brother gave me. Your heart is even blacker than mine, and I’m the capitalist.”

Across the long table, Meng Ke raised an eyebrow at Luo Miao, her hand resting on the laptop, her fingertips slightly cool.

“Then I’ll contact Siyi. She was complaining the other day that the film crew stopped shooting because of rain and she’s bored to death,” Luo Miao said. “Might as well find her something to do.”

Wu Siyi was a second-tier star—not quite top-tier, but well-known enough in the entertainment industry. She knew several media outlets with good reputations that she usually used for PR.

Luo Miao briefly explained the situation to Wu Siyi. Having spent a long time in the industry, Wu Siyi loved “eating melons” (gossip). she felt for Meng Ke’s past and looked down on the Meng family. Finding trouble for Meng Yingxue made her very happy!

The three of them discussed the plan for several hours. By the time they were ready to go home, their throats were parched. They drank two more cups of tea before Meng Ke bid Luo Miao goodbye and returned to the hotel.

Having just returned to Tan City, she had no permanent residence and could only stay in the hotel. Luo Miao offered her a place at her house, but Meng Ke wanted to stay long-term and preferred to rent her own apartment. Knowing she couldn’t be forced, Luo Miao let her be.

When Meng Ke returned to the hotel, she happened to run into a guest arguing with the front desk—or rather, a dispute. The “Azure” Hotel was a five-star establishment with top-tier service and security. People who stayed here were either rich or noble; why would there be a fight?

Exhausted from the day, Meng Ke wasn’t in the mood for gossip. As she hurried across the lobby, an urgent voice reached her ears.

“I just want to see the surveillance footage from the third-floor hallway to find my girlfriend’s necklace.”

“Apologies, sir. We cannot show you yesterday’s footage. Please tell us the value of your girlfriend’s necklace, and the hotel will compensate you.”

“I’m a VIP here, and I don’t want to make things hard for you. I just want to find it, I don’t need your compensation.”

“It’s just the hallway footage, not inside a room.”

“I am sorry, but our boss deleted yesterday’s footage. We truly cannot show it to you.”

The third floor housed the banquet halls. A large-scale banquet had been held there yesterday—someone’s daughter’s birthday party. It was normal for a guest to lose something in the hallway and want to check the cameras.

Meng Ke didn’t think much of it and pressed the elevator button. The numbers descended slowly, the silver-white doors opened, and she stepped inside.

Her phone chimed several times. She opened WeChat to see messages in the group; Wu Siyi was reporting the progress of the first task. Luo Miao had sent her private messages with the locations of several apartment complexes—high value-for-money, quiet environments, all chosen according to her preferences.

After reading the messages, the elevator doors opened. Meng Ke pulled out her room card, looking at her door, and suddenly remembered what had happened last night.

Xie Yuhan had been lying miserably at her doorstep. She had been too tired then to think much of it. As the current head of the Xie family, worth hundreds of billions, loved by many and hated by many more, she had been lying at her door in such a state.

Was she the one who deleted the footage?! This person’s methods were indeed…

The guests here were well-mannered; even if they saw her, they would have politely inquired or called an ambulance. No one would have mocked her.

Meng Ke didn’t dwell on it. She went inside to wash up, get into bed, and play on her phone—the pre-sleep trilogy.

Lying in bed, she scrolled through the trending news. There was nothing on Weibo regarding the Xie or Meng families. Instead, there was a report on a supernatural phenomenon: a team of natural science experts in a neighboring city had accidentally entered a deep-sea zone and spotted a mermaid.

Curious, Meng Ke clicked on the comments.

“How is that possible? Were you guys just so scared you hallucinated? Mermaids can’t exist.”

“Pictures or it didn’t happen. Don’t you guys bring cameras or recorders when you go out to sea?”

“Maybe it was a mirage? I heard there’s nothing in the deep sea, but mirages can form when the sun comes out.”

“A mirage is a reflection of reality. Whatever is reflected must exist, just in a different location.”

“Is it possible they just mistook a shark for one?!”

“Mermen/Sirens exist too. Did you hear any strange sounds?”

Most people were skeptical. Having experienced something as miraculous as transmigration, Meng Ke wasn’t too surprised. Did the book mention mermaids?

In her original world, Meng Ke’s specialty was related to nature. As global pollution worsened and species faced extinction, her mission was to follow her mentor to find endangered species and attempt to cultivate or breed them. Her final mission was to go near a tropical rainforest to find a type of ice-blue butterfly. Then the accident happened, and she transmigrated into the body of the Meng family’s adopted fake daughter. Once the Meng family’s matters were settled, she still wanted to return to her professional field.

“Did you find anything?”

Xie Yuhan sat in her wheelchair, a laptop resting on her knees. On the screen was a photo of Meng Ke. The information about her was brief.

“No other issues. She’s simply the daughter the Meng family sent abroad, though it seems the Mengs don’t acknowledge her.”

“Looking at her history, it’s actually quite pitiful.”

“So now…”

“Give her a sum of money and send her abroad. She can choose any country she wants.”

Not knowing what exactly had happened that night, Xie Yuhan was being very direct. Her long hair fell over her shoulders, her eyes sharp. She didn’t want to mention that night at all—she only wanted to resolve it as quickly as possible.

“Regarding the marriage alliance with the Meng family, are you certain you want to agree, Miss?”

Xie Yuhan frowned slightly. She couldn’t return to her mermaid form right now, and a marriage alliance was a better form of camouflage—it didn’t matter who it was.

“Yes,” Xie Yuhan said. “If she isn’t obedient, put her in my brother’s company or somewhere even further away. Just don’t let me see her.”

“Understood.”

Xie Yuhan closed the laptop and pressed the switch on her wheelchair. It slid forward slowly.

That girl had a very pleasant scent—a pure, natural fragrance rarely smelled on humans. If she didn’t suspect that the girl might have seen the scales on her body that night, Xie Yuhan would have liked to be friends with her.