The Merman I Picked Up Is Too Delicious - Chapter 20

“You didn’t miss me after just one night apart, did you?”

“Maybe…”

Luo Qingyan never expected such a conversation to occur between her and the little merman in their current situation. She didn’t think he was flirting back at her, but rather sensed genuine sincerity in his words, which left her unsure how to respond.

If she continued joking, his sincerity would feel disregarded. But if she responded earnestly, what could she even say?

“The food delivery should be here. I’ll go get it,” Luo Qingyan said as she stood up.

Actually, she had left a note in her delivery order asking the delivery person not to knock and just leave the food at the door. She was worried that if the food arrived before she could answer, the doorbell might startle the little merman at home. But now she couldn’t be bothered to fuss over it since she was home anyway.

As long as she didn’t encounter any peculiar individuals, it would be fine.

When she opened the door, the delivery person handed her the order and hurried off without any unusual behavior. Probably because lunch rush orders were piling up, and they were too busy to notice the note.

After retrieving the delivery, Luo Qingyan returned to the bathroom with her usual composure.

“We’ll open the package later. Let’s have lunch first!” She placed the delivery boxes on the cabinet by the wall, then picked up the small tabletop to set over the bathtub. “We’re having pizza today, Margherita and ham.”

“I know pizza,” the little merman said eagerly. “A big round piece divided into slices to share.”

“Exactly.” After setting up the table, Luo Qingyan first placed a box of pizza on it and opened it. “This is Italian style. We’ll try American style next time.”

“Okay.” The little merman’s gaze fixed on the pizza, carefully examining every topping. “It smells amazing!”

“This is Margherita, a super classic Italian pizza. The combination of tomatoes, cheese, and basil creates a unique aroma. Here, try it.”

“Mmm.” The little merman took the pizza and bit into it. Surprised to find the cheese stretching into strings, he quickly opened his mouth wider to catch the melting cheese strands. Bite after bite, he ate with an unusual haste, as if it were his first time experiencing such excitement while eating.

“Cheese pulling is one of pizza’s signature features.” Luo Qingyan watched his adorable reaction while picking up a slice for herself.

Finally managing to eat a proper bite, the little merman beamed with delight, then savored it carefully: “The refreshing tangy juice flows through the rich savory flavors, combined with the crispy crust, it’s so delicious!”

“Mmm, it really is tasty.” Luo Qingyan swallowed her bite, equally satisfied. As she prepared to take a second bite, she suddenly paused. “I’ve been eating too much high-calorie food lately. Carbs overload, I must have gained weight.”

“You look unhappy,” the little merman observed, staring at Luo Qingyan. “Aren’t you happy eating delicious food?”

“I’m happy while eating, but the downside is gaining weight afterward. That part isn’t fun!”

“You don’t like gaining weight?”

“Of course not! Gaining weight makes you look less attractive, and you can’t fit into many pretty clothes.”

“But you’re very slim, and you’re beautiful. You’d still be beautiful even if you gained weight.”

“Don’t flatter me like that, your sweet talk is making me unable to hold back my laughter.” Luo Qingyan couldn’t suppress her grinning face. “You’ve never seen me when I’m chubby, yet you say such things so casually! That’s not how you give sincere compliments.”

“I’m serious,” the little merman said with sincere earnestness. “The standards of beauty and plainness you speak of are all constructs of human society, and these criteria are constantly changing. For instance, in the past, small feet were considered beautiful for women; during the Tang Dynasty, plumpness was admired; and in the Wei and Jin periods, men favored a delicate, refined beauty. Even now, in some tribes, long necks and large earlobes are seen as attractive. And humans naturally have different skin tones, yet they often pursue colors different from their own. It’s truly fickle, don’t let yourself be painfully confined by external frameworks.”

“Hmm, you’re right. That’s the logic of it, but humans live within this society, and it’s hard not to be influenced by the outside world. Rising above worldly concerns is a state of mind, and those who can achieve it are as rare as phoenix feathers.”

“Just understanding this already puts you in a much better place than those who don’t!”

“Yeah.” Luo Qingyan nodded, then almost shook her head. “But being too overweight can lead to illness and poor health.”

“Being too thin can also cause illness and isn’t healthy either.”

Luo Qingyan chuckled. “Right, right, right. Ah! Everyone has their own opinions, just follow your heart and strive to be as comfortable and happy as possible! Hey, are there any chubby mermaids? Mermaids swim in the sea all day, exercising their entire bodies, it must be hard to get fat, right?”

A smile spread across the little merman’s lips. “Haven’t you ever seen a plump fish? Humans like to eat plump, delicious fish, don’t they?”

“I think I have,” Luo Qingyan recalled images of chubby fish she’d seen online. “But those are usually ornamental fish, overfed by humans. Their tanks are too small, they can’t move around much, and they have no natural predators.”

“There are plump fish in the sea too, they like to eat but don’t like to move, so they get fat. But being fat doesn’t matter; at least they don’t have appearance anxiety like humans do.”

“You even know the term ‘appearance anxiety’!” Luo Qingyan looked at the little merman’s handsome face and well-defined muscles, not holding back her praise. “Even if you came to the human world, you wouldn’t have appearance anxiety. From head to toe, you fit most humans’ aesthetic standards. Like they say in TV dramas, even your hair is beautiful. Hey, is it because mermaids are in the sea all day that their hair is so smooth? If you stayed on land for a while, would your hair quality worsen?”

“Well…”

“And you’ve been eating high-calorie foods lately but only staying in the bathtub without swimming, are you going to gain weight?”

“Well…” The little merman frowned slightly, then suddenly broke into a smile. “Would you think I’d be less attractive if I got fat?”

Luo Qingyan found this question quite interesting. She studied the little merman’s face carefully. “If you got fat, you’d probably look really cute.”

“Why is ‘cute’ for when you’re fat and ‘beautiful’ for when you’re thin? Although both are complimentary, they’re different. Can’t being fat be beautiful and being thin be cute?”

When it came to health, she herself was no longer healthy and should focus on enjoying the moment. But such thoughts weren’t suitable to bring up in such a warm atmosphere. She felt a pang of sadness but quickly masked it by continuing to eat pizza. “Let’s eat the pizza! It won’t taste as good when it’s cold.”

“Mm.” The little merman caught on but, since Luo Qingyan didn’t want to dwell on it, he didn’t either, quietly lowering his head to eat the pizza.

…

After lunch, they started unpacking the deliveries. Luo Qingyan had bought things she thought the little merman would like.

Life should be lived happily!

“I was afraid you’d get bored in the water, so I bought you some little toys.” Luo Qingyan opened the first package and pulled out a small yellow object. “Look! A rubber duck!”

The little merman stared at the rubber duck, blinking, his face filled with confusion as he didn’t know what expression to make.

“Oh, this is a bath toy.” Luo Qingyan said while tearing open the transparent packaging, then placed the rubber duck into the bathtub. “It can float and swim on the water. Isn’t it cute?”

The little merman froze for a moment before nodding vigorously. “Yes, cute.”

“Hmm…” Luo Qingyan felt like the little merman wasn’t particularly enthusiastic. She picked up the rubber duck from the water and squeezed it. “It can also make a sound.”

The rubber duck suddenly squeaked, causing the little merman’s body to tremble slightly.

“Uh, if you don’t like the rubber duck, there are others.” Luo Qingyan placed the rubber duck back in the bathtub, giving it a little push to make it drift away, then continued pulling things out of the delivery box. “There’s also a little frog, a little dinosaur, a little turtle, a little dolphin, a little hippo, a little tiger, a little unicorn, a little crab, a little seal, a little clownfish, a little… little elephant.”

The toys, still in their packaging, were lined up one by one along the edge of the bathtub, colorful and adorable.

The little merman stared at the long row of toys, his eyes struggling to take them all in.

“Don’t you like any of them?” Luo Qingyan observed the little merman’s expression. “Hey, don’t think they’re childish! You said that beauty and ugliness are concepts imposed by human society, so thinking toys are childish is also a bias. No matter how old you are, you can play with toys as long as it makes you happy!”

“Yes, as long as it makes you happy.” The little merman’s eyes curved into a smile. “I like them. They’re very cute. It’s just that I’ve never seen them before, so… I was curious and took a longer look. Heh, some of these little animals can’t survive in water, you know.”

“Ha! But everyone needs to take a bath, or everyone can play in water!” Luo Qingyan grinned. “Putting all of them in the bathtub at once might be too noisy. Pick a few to open first, and we can open the others in a few days.”

“Okay.” The little merman carefully examined the toys lined up along the bathtub, looking at each one without any hint of carelessness.

“And there’s something different from these little animals!” Luo Qingyan opened another package and took out a small paper bag. Inside was a blue ball. “I originally wanted to buy an aromatherapy lamp, but I remembered how you always like to air out the room longer after meals to get rid of the smell. I figured you might be too sensitive to scents for aromatherapy. So, I bought bath bombs instead.”

“Bath bombs?” The little merman looked at the small ball in Luo Qingyan’s hand and noticed that besides blue, it also had yellow, red, green, purple, and fine glitter, colorful and very beautiful.

“It’s similar to putting petals in the water during a bath. It’s fragrant, pretty, and can moisturize your skin.” Luo Qingyan explained. “Bath bombs directly extract various essential oils and blend them together. They’re easy to store, and you can just drop one into the water when you want to use it. Do you have any allergies? Things you can’t touch? I’ll check the ingredient list.”

“Things I can’t touch, if humans can touch it, I probably can too!”

“That’s good! By the way, after putting the bath bomb in the water, it will change color and have some shiny particles. If your purification ability can’t remove these, we can just change the water.”

“Okay.”

Luo Qingyan then dropped the bath bomb into the bathtub.

The moment it hit the water, the bath bomb immediately began fizzing and bubbling, spreading a sea-like blue hue. At this point, it didn’t look particularly beautiful, just transparent water tinted with color.

Soon, the small ball completely dissolved in the water, as if a palette of paints had been overturned. Various colors floated on the surface, dazzling and vibrant, like a galaxy.

“So beautiful, like a painting,” the little merman said with a smile in his eyes, gently swishing his tail.

“This isn’t the final effect yet. Move around a bit more.” Seeing how much the little merman liked it, Luo Qingyan felt delighted. “Swish your tail and hands to spread the colors on the surface.”

“Okay.” The little merman obediently followed Luo Qingyan’s instructions. His tail moved gently, as it was large and the bathtub small, so he mostly used his hands to stir and disperse the colors on the water’s surface. As he moved, the colors gradually faded, revealing a shimmering, crystalline blue beneath, dreamlike and enchanting.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Luo Qingyan caught the spark of wonder in the little merman’s eyes.

“Yes, very beautiful.” The little merman lowered his gaze to the water, his long eyelashes fluttering slightly. “It’s like the starry sky, and also… the sea.”

Luo Qingyan suddenly sensed another emotion from him. After a moment’s thought, she decided there was no need to avoid such feelings. She shrugged slightly and asked, “Are you missing home?”

The little merman looked up. “Yes.”

“Then get better quickly. Once you’ve recovered, you can return to the ocean.” Luo Qingyan’s tone was gentle. “This small bathtub is nothing compared to the vast sea. The ocean must be incredibly beautiful, right? Especially for a merman, even the entire land can’t compare to the sea.”

“The sea is indeed very beautiful, and I miss it dearly.” The little merman’s hands swayed softly in the water. “But… this place is nice too.”