The Merman I Picked Up Is Too Delicious - Chapter 22

Luo Qingyan ultimately popped the bubble before her.

“Are you alright?” the merman’s voice came through.

Hearing his voice, Luo Qingyan felt an unexpected sense of reassurance in her heart, gradually calming down. The faint urgency in his tone showed he was worried about her, whether it was romantic feelings or not, he cared at least.

So, perhaps it was somewhat unfair, but the world was full of unfairness.

No need to overthink it!

Luo Qingyan quickly cheered herself up, changed into clean clothes, and returned to the bathroom.

“My clothes got wet, so I changed.” Seeing the merman, the earlier shyness resurfaced in Luo Qingyan’s mind, lingering stubbornly.

“I’m sorry, I scared you and caused you trouble.” The merman’s face showed clear remorse.

“It’s fine! I’m just glad you’re okay. It’s partly my fault for not explaining clearly, I almost choked on a pearl once before.”

“Did someone help press the pearl out for you too?”

Luo Qingyan was struck by shyness again, shifting her arm slightly. “I only almost choked, not like you who actually did.”

“Oh.” The merman nodded, then smiled gently. “Thank you. Luckily, you were here.”

“You’re welcome. Consider it another good deed on my record! I saved you again!” Luo Qingyan placed a hand on her hip, looking somewhat proud. “Hey, I’m curious, do mermaids have respiratory systems too? So, your upper body is like a human’s?”

“Mm, pretty much. That’s why we can only breathe above water.”

“Is the lower body completely like a fish’s?”

“No, neither the upper nor lower body is exactly like humans or fish. You could say they’re similar, but more like a fusion. Mermaids are unique beings.”

“Right, right, unique beings! After all, you have many abilities humans’ envy, purifying the environment, communicating through bubbles, being incredibly beautiful, even having ways to deal with cancer! In some aspects, it’s like you’re on a whole different level compared to humans… Ah, with such a gap, could you really fall in love with a human?”

The sudden question made the merman pause briefly. He didn’t avoid it: “Well, there are precedents.”

“Precedents? Tell me about them!”

“I don’t really know the details, but there definitely are.”

“Alright.” Luo Qingyan suddenly felt they should maintain some distance today. “I just remembered I have something to do. I’ll order takeout from nearby for your dinner, and I’ll head back after it arrives.”

The merman’s gaze, which had been somewhat evasive, immediately fixed on Luo Qingyan. He seemed to want to say something but hesitated, finally pausing before saying, “Okay.”

“Any food you’d like to try? You’ve been browsing online for a few days now, have you seen any delicious-looking dishes?”

“I… whatever’s nearby and convenient is fine. I’m willing to try anything.”

“Alright, I’ll go pick your dinner first and clean up here after ordering.” With that, Luo Qingyan left.

…

Everything afterward passed quickly.

Ordering takeout, tidying the bathroom, receiving the delivery, leaving, and finally returning to her grandmother’s house.

Of course, Luo Qingyan didn’t actually have anything to do, she just wanted to keep some distance from the merman for now. But by the time she got home, it was nearly dinnertime anyway. No need to sit around overthinking, that was just fine.

This time, she didn’t order takeout or eat out. Instead, she made dinner herself.

The dinner was simple, just some fried noodles. While cooking, it suddenly occurred to her that she had only ever made breakfast for Little Merman.

Eating takeout every day wasn’t good. In the past, due to her busy work schedule and irregular mealtimes, relying on takeout had been unavoidable.

Yet, diet is incredibly important. People need to eat to live, and the quality of what they eat affects their health.

She remembered a senior executive at her previous company who was very particular about food. That person had said that eating should be one of life’s greatest pleasures. In childhood and old age, certain limitations might restrict one’s diet, so during other stages of life, one should eat well. That person always ate on time and never settled for mediocre meals, even if it meant earning a little less.

Indeed, eating should be a joyful experience. Every time she watched Little Merman eat, she felt a deep sense of satisfaction, how wonderful it is to eat, how wonderful it is to be alive.

Truth be told, her cooking skills weren’t bad. Learning to make more complex dishes wasn’t out of the question.

Once she moved there, she would start learning to cook!

Wait! why wait? She could start tomorrow! She had the time and energy now, there was no need to delay any longer.

Time waits for no one. No more waiting. She couldn’t afford to wait any longer!

That evening, after returning from a walk with Chestnut, she immediately began researching recipes. She decided to go grocery shopping first thing in the morning and make her own lunch the next day.

She browsed through recipe apps for a while and finally settled on starting with something simple: chicken curry rice.

She spent so much time before bed reading about different cooking methods and tips for selecting ingredients that she ended up dreaming about buying groceries and making chicken curry rice. Though the dream was fragmented and chaotic, it felt surprisingly real. In the end, she even received praise from Little Merman.

The dream ended with the praise, and Luo Qingyan woke up to it.

The sound of rain came from outside the window, it was a gloomy, rainy day.

But that was fine. Overcast, drizzly days were perfect for staying indoors. Outside was cold and damp, while inside was clean and warm. That contrast made it especially cozy.

But before she could enjoy the coziness, she had to venture out into the wind and rain.

No, not just once, but twice!

Since she wanted to bring Chestnut along but couldn’t bear to leave him at the supermarket’s pet-check area, she decided to drop him off at the new home first and then go shopping alone. There was a large supermarket near the new place, making it convenient to buy groceries.

After breakfast, she set off immediately.

A little over twenty minutes later, she arrived at her destination.

“Chestnut!”

Even though the puppy and the little merman had only known each other for a few days and had been apart for just one day, their reunion felt like a grand, long-awaited event. Both were incredibly excited. Chestnut dashed straight to the bathtub in the bathroom, leaping and pawing at the edge frantically, while Little Merman leaned out, petting and hugging the puppy.

Luo Qingyan leaned against the bathroom doorframe, wanting to say something but feeling she shouldn’t interrupt the puppy and the merman’s reunion. She waited patiently for a moment before speaking up, “Do you two like each other so much that I feel like the Queen Mother of the West, drawing the Milky Way to separate the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl? I feel so superfluous, am I interrupting you two?”

Little Merman was scratching Chestnut’s neck, and the puppy was clearly enjoying it. He glanced up at Luo Qingyan and said to Chestnut, “Chestnut, is she jealous?”

“Hey! Is that how you use ‘being jealous’?” Luo Qingyan crossed her arms. “Have you been picking up bad habits online? Don’t just learn everything, please maintain your mermaid’s pure qualities. Hah! Looks like I really should enable parental controls for you.”

“Because you said you felt like you were interrupting me and Chestnut! When you feel unnecessary and dissatisfied about it, isn’t that being jealous?”

“The way you put it… I can’t tell if you’re seriously explaining or just joking.” Luo Qingyan chuckled. “Ah, honestly, I suspect you can communicate with small animals. You two better not gossip about me behind my back.”

“Can’t humans communicate with puppies too?”

“You know I don’t mean ordinary communication, like how you can talk to fish.” Luo Qingyan straightened up. “With that retort, I have reason to suspect you’ve already been bad-mouthing me behind my back.”

“You’re so good, why would we say anything bad about you?” The little merman said with utter sincerity, not a trace of sarcasm in his tone.

Luo Qingyan suppressed a smile and shook her head. “Never mind, never mind. You two play. I’m going out to buy ingredients. I’ll cook at home for lunch today, we’re having curry chicken rice!”

“Okay.” The little merman watched Luo Qingyan’s retreating figure, first responding to her words, then hurriedly adding, “My communication with Chestnut really is similar to how humans do it. Some humans are even better than me!”

“Got it!” Luo Qingyan didn’t stop walking, raising her hand to wave without looking back, the smile on her lips deepening.

…

On a rainy day, Luo Qingyan made a quick trip to the store and back.

After buying ingredients from the supermarket, she immediately started cooking.

Curry chicken rice wasn’t difficult. Once all the ingredients were prepped, they went into the pot to simmer slowly. The longer the curry cooked, the richer the flavor became.

After finishing up in the kitchen, Luo Qingyan went to check on the situation in the bathroom.

The little merman and Chestnut were playing with a ball, the boy threw it, Chestnut fetched it, over and over, neither ever tiring of it. Both were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

“Aww, my Chestnut is so well-behaved, sharing affection equally.” Luo Qingyan walked into the bathroom, approached them, and crouched down to pet Chestnut.

The little merman’s attention was also drawn to Luo Qingyan. He suddenly noticed something and leaned forward slightly. “Why are your eyes so red?”

Luo Qingyan instinctively raised her hand to touch her eyes but quickly caught herself. “Oh, it’s the onions. They irritated my eyes when I was cutting them.”

“Onions irritate your eyes?” The little merman tilted his head in confusion.

“Onions contain a substance that stimulates the eyes. Tearing up is actually a kind of defense mechanism for humans.” Luo Qingyan suddenly grew curious. She turned to leave. “Let me look up the specific reason on my phone.”

“Then can’t you just not use onions?” The little merman’s tone held a faint note of reluctance.

“Curry chicken rice tastes better with onions.” Luo Qingyan paused in her departure. “Since we’re cooking, of course we should make it delicious!”

“How do you make curry chicken rice? You were in the kitchen for so long, is it hard?”

“Not hard. Are you interested?”

“Mhm.” The little merman nodded.

“Then I’ll tell you.” Luo Qingyan turned and walked towards the low chair. “First, dice the chicken and marinate it with cooking wine, soy sauce, pepper, starch, and other seasonings. Then cut the onion, potato, and carrot into chunks and set them aside. Next, heat oil in a pan, add the chicken, and stir-fry until golden brown and fragrant. Remove and set aside. Continue by stir-frying the onion, potato, and carrot in the same pan. Once they become fragrant, add water and curry, then return the chicken to the pan. Finally, let it simmer slowly.”

“So, you started tearing up when you were cutting the onion earlier?” the little merman blinked. “How long does the tearing last? Does it hurt?”

Luo Qingyan hadn’t expected the little merman to focus on this detail and chuckled lightly. “It’s a bit uncomfortable, but it’s bearable. The tearing stops shortly after you finish cutting the onion.”

“Can’t you keep the onion away from your eyes while cutting it?”

“That’s a good idea, but it’s not easy to do in practice. Hey, do mermaids tear up from onions?”

“I don’t know. We could try.”

“Really? There’s another onion in the kitchen. I’ll go get it.”

“Mm! I want to try!”

A minute later, Luo Qingyan handed the onion to the little merman and stepped back several paces, instructing him from a distance on how to peel it.

It happened too quickly. Luo Qingyan was too far away to intervene in time, and then he saw the little merman’s eyes turn red as he began to cry.

The little merman looked up at Luo Qingyan, his eyes red and tears streaming down his cheeks. As they fell, they turned into pure white pearls, scattering and bouncing across the floor.

A sight that would move anyone to pity.

“Hey! Put the onion down quickly!” Luo Qingyan hurriedly set down the chestnuts and rushed to take the onion from the little merman’s hand, placing it on a nearby cabinet. “Why did you just keep holding the onion? You already knew onions make mermaids cry.”

“I forgot.” Even after the onion was taken away, the little merman couldn’t stop crying immediately. “It’s… really uncomfortable…”

“It’s okay. Now we know mermaids cry because of onions!” The little merman smiled through his tears. “And you were uncomfortable and cried too, all for the sake of cooking!”

Luo Qingyan burst out laughing, his heart aching yet warmed. “The two of us, childish as it may seem, it’s actually quite… quite amusing. Ah! Curiosity is a good thing! And these pearls are so valuable! Mermaids really are treasures from head to tail. We mustn’t let any bad people find out. Look how beautiful these pearls are, and they’re worth a fortune!”

“Then I’ll give them to you.” The little merman bent down to pick up the pearls from the floor. “Is it too few? I can cry some more!”

Luo Qingyan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “That’s enough, that’s enough. Crying isn’t a good thing!”

The little merman held out the pearls he had gathered and offered them to Luo Qingyan. “But tears can be happy tears too!”

“Are you happy now?” Luo Qingyan asked rhetorically, since the little merman had just said the onion made him very uncomfortable.

“Happy! It was fun, and the pearls are valuable!” The little merman smiled with reddened eyes, his expression utterly sincere.