The Love-Hate and Grudges Between Me and the Mermaid - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

A house can be bought again if it’s gone, but a person is truly gone once they are lost.

Bu Yan suddenly thought of this for some reason as she watched waves of ambulances rush into the hospital, with hundreds upon thousands of scarred, unrecognizably burned patients being wheeled into the emergency room.

From nurses, doctors, and passersby, she learned that just half an hour ago, a fire had broken out in a residential building in the west of the city. There was a wind at the time, and the fire spread rapidly along the trash-filled streets, eventually triggering an explosion at an abandoned chemical plant.

“They truly deserved it!” But Yan heard someone behind her say resentfully. “The people there didn’t believe in the Alien God. See? This is His punishment!”

“May the Alien God grant me eternal life,” the person finished, then hurriedly lowered their head and began to mutter prayers, as if afraid of causing offense.

In this setting, Bu Yan thought of herself. Before entering the hospital, her own home had exploded because she didn’t believe in the Alien God.

“Ian,” she called out to the blue-haired girl skipping ahead of her. “What happened while I was unconscious?”

“Nothing happened at all, Sister~” Ian skipped back a few steps and hooked her arm around Bu Yan’s. “But someone claiming to be a home insurance agent came by. Her name was Yao Shu.”

But Yan had no impression of this person, nor was she in the original host’s memories.

“What was she here for?”

“She mentioned something about compensation…” Halfway through her sentence, Ian’s internal alarm went off, and she emphasized repeatedly: “It’s not us paying them; it’s them paying us!”

“I know,” Bu Yan patted Ian’s hair, soothing her softly. “Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you.”

“I’m not afraid,” Ian insisted stubbornly, continuing in a small voice, “She said back then that the compensation could be eight figures, but she only came once. I don’t know what happened after that.”

“Mhm,” Bu Yan withdrew her hand and pinched Ian’s slightly flushed cheek. “Let’s not worry about that for now. Let’s go eat.”

Having said that, she held the medicine and medical records in one hand and took Ian’s hand with the other, hooking her middle finger with Ian’s index finger. She asked, “How about BBQ? Or hot pot? If you don’t want either of those, how about a buffet?”

Ian didn’t eat meat, but she wanted it so badly. She wanted to use this chance to trick the other into accompanying her to eat meat.

“Okay~ I’m fine with anything.”

Perhaps because Bu Yan had recovered and been discharged safely, Ian was genuinely happy from the bottom of her heart. She didn’t pay close attention to Bu Yan’s words and replied casually.

Her eyes curved into crescents, her smile bright and wide. She lifted her eyelids to meet Bu Yan’s eyes, then her gaze drifted down to rest on those tempting pink lips. Her innocent look gradually became predatory.

As Ian watched, she couldn’t help but stand on her tiptoes and plant a kiss, silencing whatever nonsense Bu Yan was about to say next. “Sister, you’re so good. I like you.”

The confession came so unexpectedly that Bu Yan’s brain froze for a moment. A second later, her face turned red at a visible speed.

Ian’s smile deepened. She moved closer, pressing her ear against the chest—right over the heart where she could clearly hear a violent thumping.

That’s it. This time it’s right!

Her wife’s reaction was exactly like what the internet said! Kissing really could make a heart race, blood surge, and cheeks flush.

This was Ian’s first attempt at a kiss. She licked the corner of her mouth, unsatisfied. Just as she was about to go in for another round, she was pushed away by Bu Yan.

“In broad daylight…” Realizing what Ian had done, Bu Yan hurriedly covered her mouth. Because she had been kissed by a woman, her shyness even tinged the corners of her eyes with crimson.

But because she couldn’t bear to see the disappointment in Ian’s eyes, she could only whisper, “Can we wait until we get home to… okay?”

“Wait until we get home?” The internet hadn’t mentioned humans would become like this after a kiss. Driven by curiosity, Ian continued with a beaming smile, “Sister, you have to be clear. If you don’t say it, how will I know?”

At this moment, Ian was like a teacher. Even though Bu Yan was half a head taller, she looked like a naughty, underachieving student in front of her unable to express herself clearly, using ambiguous meanings and lacking logic.

She enticed her, guiding her to say the words she wanted to hear. Like a demon from the abyss.

“Ki—”

Their actions drew the attention of many people. Those watching them had expressions that shifted rapidly and unpredictably. That one word almost made Bu Yan cry from shame.

This was truly… unreasonable! How could she be bullied like this by a young girl!

Bu Yan wailed in her heart, but she actually enjoyed it a little. Previously, she had felt Ian was too weak and obedient, easily bullied. Through this incident, was she seeing Ian’s hidden “ruthless” side? Amidst her relief, she also felt a sense of being deceived.

“Ian,” Bu Yan gathered her emotions and asked seriously, “Would you ever lie to me?”

“Hmm?”

“Sister, why would you say that?” Sensing the human’s romantic shyness fading, Ian withdrew her gaze. Ignoring Bu Yan’s sharp, scrutinizing look, she played dumb and acted innocent, trying to snuggle against Bu Yan.

“Sister, don’t look at me like that. I’m scared. Please don’t… don’t… throw me away…”

“I won’t leave you.” But Yan’s heart softened quickly. She looked down, meeting Ian’s eyes, which had turned red at some point.

“Really?” Ian blinked. Bu Yan blinked back, her consciousness wavering for a moment.

“Sister, can you tell me now why you asked that?”

Ian successfully manipulated Bu Yan’s brain, exploring her memories to find the moment that had caused suspicion.

“Because…”

“Alright, no need to say it, Sister. I know everything now, hee-hee.” Ian swiftly deleted this segment of memory. Consequently, the first thing Bu Yan did upon “waking up” was ask Ian what she wanted to eat.

Ian maintained her position snuggled against Bu Yan’s chest, upholding her image of a weak, pitiful “white lotus” flower, acting cute and spoiled. “I don’t eat meat, Sister, so let’s go back to that vegetarian restaurant from last time. I really liked the sea grapes there…”

“Okay.” Bu Yan booked a table and left, holding Ian’s hand.

Unbeknownst to them, after they left, the other people in the entire hospital finally began to move. Their brains and limbs seemed as if they had just been reconnected and weren’t yet adjusted; they walked slowly, raised their hands, and spoke with a lag… Only after several seconds did they return to normal speed. Their time had resumed.

…

The vegetarian restaurant wasn’t exactly close to the hospital, but it wasn’t far either. However, the impact of this fire was too large; not only ambulances, but even police cars and some taxis had been mobilized to rescue patients.

The traffic was severe. A thirty-minute trip took them a full hour.

By the time they finished eating, evening had arrived. Bu Yan began thinking about where they would stay tonight. The previous house had been left by the original host’s parents and was now burned down. As far as she knew, the host had no other real estate, and her company didn’t provide housing.

Truly nowhere to go.

Buy a house now?

She felt it wasn’t worth it. A new house would only be lived in for a month at most; after that month, she didn’t even know if she’d be alive.

But…

If she meant if she took out a loan to buy a house, and a month later the apocalypse began and the world fell into chaos, would anyone still be chasing her for mortgage payments?

Fantasizing further, if she didn’t die and luckily survived the apocalypse, she would have essentially “freeloaded” a whole house.

Thinking of this, Bu Yan felt it was worth it and decisively started looking for a house on her phone. It didn’t need to be luxurious, just a standalone house with a yard, a basement, and a garage. Ideally, it would be fully furnished so they could move in as soon as they paid.

But Yan searched and searched, finally finding a satisfactory one: a two-story small villa. It looked similar to the previous house on the outside, though the area was a bit smaller. The down payment was 300,000.

But the basement was huge—three times the area of the house which really won Bu Yan over. After moving in, she could buy materials to renovate it: make it waterproof, fireproof, ventilated, and hidden…

She would prepare food, water, and a whole series of supplies to use it as a shelter when the apocalypse arrived.

She contacted a real estate agent. To have a place to stay tonight, she immediately made an appointment for a time and place, rushing there with the money and Ian.

Time is money, and money is time. Opportunity knocks but once. If she missed this one, it was gone.

Upholding the philosophy of “grab it when you see it,” Bu Yan quickly met up with the agent.

“Ms. Bu,” the agent said as soon as they met, impatiently pulling out a contract. “Sign here, and this house is yours.”

A finger with black nail polish tapped the bottom right corner.

But Yan scanned the contract quickly. After asking a few routine questions, she picked up a pen to sign.

“Um… Sister, should we consider this a bit more?” Ian subconsciously felt she shouldn’t meddle, but the other party’s intentions were too obvious; it was hard to pretend she didn’t notice.

Besides, the aura of darkness and despicableness on this person was very strong. Bu Yan wouldn’t get a shred of benefit from her.

Seeing that Bu Yan ignored her, Ian secretly pinched her own arm hard. The pain was unbearable, and she let out a small, animal-like whimper.

But Yan’s attention was immediately drawn away. “What’s wrong?”

“I was bitten by so many bugs.” Ian wiped her tears and extended her arm, showing the red marks on her skin to Bu Yan pitifully. “Sister, let’s go buy medicine first, okay… it really hurts.”

“Wait a few minutes. I’ll sign the papers, and then we’ll go. Ian doesn’t want to be homeless tonight, right?” But Yan’s attitude was firm as she picked up the pen again.

She didn’t want to be homeless, but she wanted Bu Yan to be cheated even less.

Ian bit her lip hard, drawing a small cut. She specifically waited until the pinkish blood stained her lips before pulling on Bu Yan’s sleeve. “Sister, I really feel unwell…”

But Yan had just written one stroke. Hearing Ian’s delicate, aggrieved voice, she subconsciously turned her head. “It’s that serious? You’re even bleeding?”

She frowned, but didn’t forget her goal of buying the house. She pulled a tissue from her pocket, pressed it against Ian’s mouth, and brushed her off. “Hold it yourself for now. I’ll take you to the hospital as soon as I sign this.”

Ian: “…”

Humans are truly crazy, rushing to be cheated.

“Sister, she’s a liar!” Out of options, Ian used her trump card. She stood on a chair and pointed at the agent, announcing loudly, “Can you wake up? Don’t just believe anyone!”

“How am I ‘just’ believing anyone?!” Perhaps it was because the weather was abnormal today, the air was unsettling, there had been a fire, and she had seen too many patients hanging by a thread. Her mood had been affected and she had become irritable. The usually harmonious pair entered their first argument.

“She’s a liar!”

“I just want a house, what’s wrong with that!”

“She’s a liar!”

“Why are you stopping me!”

“She’s a liar!”

“You want to deprive me of even this small wish? I shouldn’t have married you in the first place!”

Ian: “…”

Couldn’t win the argument, got checkmated, and hurt her own feelings in the process.

“Sister, wake up.”

Bu Yan stood even taller than Ian, pointing at her nose and shouting in a voice even louder than before: “I AM WAKE!”

Ian: “…”

Human nature is fundamentally evil, hypocritical, and selfish. This saying was indeed correct.

Ian couldn’t be bothered to argue with Bu Yan anymore. She snatched the pen and calmly dialed the police. She couldn’t handle this, but the police could, right? The internet said that deceiving others for illegal profit was punishable by five years in prison.

“Give me the pen!”

“Heh, not giving it to you, silly child.”

Ian flashed a sweet smile.

They had met in a remote cafe. The area was sparsely populated; they hadn’t seen many people on the way from the city center. Even now, there was only one barista left in the shop besides them.

The barista looked like they had been destroyed by work and an unscrupulous boss—bloodshot eyes with deep dark circles. Seeing them causing such a scene, the barista only weakly called out, “You have to pay for anything you break,” and couldn’t say another word, not even bothering to move.

The agent rested her head on her hand. Not only did she not try to mediate the argument or use professional knowledge to convince Ian that she wasn’t a liar, but she also leaned back lazily in her chair, sipping coffee and enjoying the quarrel. It was as if their fight had nothing to do with her. She was merely a spectator forced into the scene.

Driven by her internal obsession, seeing that Ian was refusing to return the pen, Bu Yan swung her arms and rushed at Ian in a strange posture.

No matter how slow she was, Ian realized something was wrong. After skillfully dodging Bu Yan’s strike, Ian circled behind her and delivered a blow.

Regardless of everything, she’d just knock her out first to prevent any more trouble.

“Sister, I didn’t mean to knock you out, it’s just that you really wouldn’t listen to reason.” Even now, Ian didn’t forget to maintain her pure image, crouching beside Bu Yan and covering her face while pretending to wail.

After the act, it was time to deal with the other person. To her surprise, the moment she stood up, that person also swayed and fainted.

Ian blinked and looked toward the barista.

Good, that person fainted too.

The police hadn’t arrived yet. Feeling bored, Ian dragged the three bodies and lined them up in a row, tapping their heads as she counted: “One, two, three… three, two, one…”

“One, two, three…”

No one spoke. Time became incredibly long, as if one second wanted to stretch into five.

The aroma of coffee filled the air. Ian thought that since the police weren’t here yet, she might as well enjoy herself. She had been too busy arguing with Bu Yan to take a single sip of the coffee she ordered.

She liked sweets. Coffee was bitter. Even with extra sugar and milk, it was still bitter. Ian took one sip and couldn’t help but spit it out, running to the water dispenser to drink several cups of water to wash away the bitterness at the back of her throat.

This is so boring. Life without Bu Yan is simply unlivable!

Ian secretly decided that in future arguments, she wouldn’t knock Bu Yan out—she would faint first. She couldn’t let herself be the only one bored!

After staring blankly at the three bodies on the ground for a while, Ian thought for a moment and decisively straightened her body, squeezing herself between Bu Yan and the agent.

In that case, let’s all lie on the floor together. As long as I’m here, the liar won’t get away! And lying like this can protect my wife while letting me know exactly when she wakes up.

Ian thought of everything except how much a row of four people lying together at night, especially in a remote place, would terrify a passerby.

At the entrance of the cafe, a woman leaned against the wall, her whole body trembling. “He-hello? Police? I… I want to report a crime. There are four corpses in XX Cafe…”