The Mermaid and Her Keeper (GL) - Chapter 11

Zhao Shuqing didn’t know why her face was turning red. Lin Feng might look human, talk like a human, and even have a human name, but at the end of the day, she was still a mermaid. How could Zhao Shuqing possibly feel anything toward a mermaid?

Blushing, Zhao Shuqing wrung the water out of her clothes, feeling a headache coming on.

It was all Lin Feng’s fault. Why did she suddenly pounce on her? And why did she have to lift her shirt to lick her wound?

That was… way too suggestive, wasn’t it?

Still a little dazed by everything, Zhao Shuqing turned her head and saw Lin Feng sitting there, staring up at her curiously.

Zhao Shuqing: “…”

She sighed and walked over, squatting down to meet Lin Feng’s gaze. “We’ve run into a bit of a problem.”

Lin Feng blinked in confusion, then broke into a wide smile.

Zhao Shuqing sighed again and began gesturing with her hands, trying to explain the situation. “We—me and you—both of us, we need to go to the research institute. You remember that place, right? The aquarium. We need to get to the aquarium.”

Lin Feng’s eyes lit up. “Aquarium?”

“Yes, the aquarium,” Zhao Shuqing nodded firmly. “But right now we don’t have anything with us. Do you remember the backpack I brought when I got in the car?”

Lin Feng tilted her head.

“My bag,” Zhao Shuqing patted her back, even gave a little bounce to demonstrate. “Bag. My backpack.”

Lin Feng suddenly understood, nodded, and pointed toward the water. Before Zhao Shuqing could say anything, she dove in. About 30 or 40 seconds later, she resurfaced carrying the soaking wet backpack in her mouth.

Zhao Shuqing hurried to take it from her and opened it, only to find everything inside had been soaked—laptop, clothes, notebooks. Everything was wet. Fortunately, her IDs and documents were still intact. The laptop, though… probably fried.

“It’s fine. As long as I have my documents.” Zhao Shuqing breathed a sigh of relief. At least she still had the important stuff. Once they got out of the forest, she could find someone with a phone and call for help.

By now, night had fully fallen. It was so dark she could barely see anything around her. Zhao Shuqing dug into her bag and pulled out a lighter. With a soft click, a small flame flickered to life.

Luckily, the lighter was windproof and waterproof—it still worked.

Now she could finally relax. She had her documents, her lighter, and Lin Feng was still with her. Even though they were stuck on some remote little riverbank, things weren’t too bad. Lin Feng had healed her wounds. Once daylight came, they could walk out of the forest and get help.

“We’ll rest here for tonight,” Zhao Shuqing said to Lin Feng. “It’s not safe to travel at night. We’ll sleep for now and look for a way out tomorrow.”

Lin Feng blinked, then walked over to a fish lying on the ground—still breathing, mouth open, eyes glazed over. She picked it up and “swam” back over, pressing the fish against Zhao Shuqing’s lips.

“Eat…”

Zhao Shuqing couldn’t help but laugh at Lin Feng’s clumsy pronunciation. She took the fish from her and said, “It’s not that I don’t want to eat—it’s just that I don’t eat raw fish. Let me handle it first.”

She stood up and started heading to the riverbank. Lin Feng quickly followed behind.

“You don’t need to follow me. I’m okay now,” Zhao Shuqing said with a smile. “I just need to prep the fish.”

Lin Feng didn’t understand what she said, but she was still worried, so she stuck close, like a little clingy shadow.

Zhao Shuqing sighed and chuckled. “Fine, follow me if you want. First I need to find some stuff and get a fire going.”

Using the faint light from the lighter, Zhao Shuqing gathered some dry firewood and found a clean branch. She was just fretting over how to gut the fish when Lin Feng seemed to notice and held out her hand, revealing her sharp claws.

Zhao Shuqing’s eyes lit up. She grabbed Lin Feng’s hand and used her claws to gut the fish.

Lin Feng curiously leaned over Zhao Shuqing’s shoulder, watching intently as she sliced open the soft belly of the fish, pulled out the guts, and washed them in the river. Lin Feng didn’t really understand what was happening, but she watched with great focus, barely even blinking.

Once the fish was cleaned, Zhao Shuqing skewered it and set it over the fire.

“This fish is huge,” she said while tossing more sticks into the fire. She glanced down at Lin Feng, who was lying on her lap staring into the flames, looking bored. “The ecosystem here must be amazing. The water’s clean, the fish are fat, and you hardly need to do anything.”

But that also meant they were far from civilization.

The thought made Zhao Shuqing sigh.

“I wonder if my senior sister’s freaking out after realizing we got kidnapped.” She gently patted Lin Feng’s hair and whispered, “Thank goodness you’re still here.”

Sensing that Zhao Shuqing was talking to her, Lin Feng obediently looked up.

Zhao Shuqing smiled. “Lin Feng?”

Lin Feng tilted her head. “Mm?”

Zhao Shuqing called her again, “Lin Feng.”

Lin Feng blinked, confused about why Zhao Shuqing kept calling her, but still leaned in, puzzled. “Mm?”

“Nothing,” Zhao Shuqing said, wrapping her arms around the girl in front of her, taking in the faint scent of sea salt that lingered on her. It smelled nice.

Lin Feng flinched slightly in surprise but relaxed once she realized Zhao Shuqing was just hugging her. Still, her brows furrowed. After hesitating for a while, she slowly wrapped her arms around Zhao Shuqing’s waist, mimicking the embrace.

Zhao Shuqing chuckled, and Lin Feng could feel the vibration in her chest. She looked up at her in confusion.

Under the soft glow of moonlight and firelight, Zhao Shuqing’s smile was gentle and serene. Lin Feng reached out and touched the corner of her eye.

“Hm?”

Zhao Shuqing raised her eyebrows, still smiling, and hugged Lin Feng’s waist tighter. “What’s wrong with my eyes?”

Lin Feng blinked, pulled her hand back, and stared at her quietly.

Zhao Shuqing was about to say something when she smelled something burning. She quickly let go of Lin Feng and rushed over to check on the fish. Thankfully, only the head was charred.

“Phew, still edible.” Zhao Shuqing picked off a piece to taste.

The wild fish was firm and had a natural sweetness to it. Even without salt, it wasn’t bad. Zhao Shuqing licked her fingers and noticed Lin Feng sneaking glances at her.

She tore off the tail and waved her over. “Come on, let’s eat.”

Lin Feng didn’t understand the words, but she could tell Zhao Shuqing wanted to share the fish with her. After hesitating a bit, she shuffled closer.

“Careful, it’s hot,” Zhao Shuqing said, placing the half-fish on a clean leaf and resting it on Lin Feng’s “legs.”

Lin Feng picked it up, examining it from all angles. She was used to eating raw fish, and had never seen one cooked before. It was still warm to the touch.

Seeing her hesitate, Zhao Shuqing smiled and took the fish back. She blew on a small piece to cool it down, then gently pressed it to Lin Feng’s lips. “Eat.”

“Eat?” Lin Feng recognized the word, looking uncertainly between her and the fish.

It was clear she was really conflicted about eating this hot, unfamiliar food. She looked so torn that Zhao Shuqing had to demonstrate again. After she blew on another piece and popped it in her mouth, Lin Feng finally copied her, opening her mouth to take the piece.

It was a little hot at first, but she got used to it quickly. Her eyes lit up as she chewed the roasted fish. Without being prompted, she started eating on her own, even blowing on it like Zhao Shuqing had shown her.

After dinner, Zhao Shuqing laid out her wet clothes and bag to dry, weighing them down with rocks so they wouldn’t get blown away.

That night, she was still on edge as she tried to sleep. She worried about bugs, snakes, and even the possibility that someone might jump out of the woods again to take her and Lin Feng back to the airport.

She didn’t know how long it took or what time it was, but eventually, Zhao Shuqing fell asleep with her arm as a pillow.

The next morning, birdsong and sunlight woke her up.

She scratched at the mosquito bites on her arm, sat up groggily, and looked around in a daze.

“Lin Feng?”

Zhao Shuqing didn’t see her anywhere, but she wasn’t too worried. Lin Feng had plenty of chances to leave before, but she always chose to stay. It wasn’t likely she’d suddenly take off now.

Still, after searching for a while and not finding her, Zhao Shuqing decided to get everything packed and cleaned up while waiting for her to come back.

Her clothes were dry, the backpack was wrinkled but usable, and she couldn’t leave the broken laptop behind—its data was still intact. Her thesis and research reports were on there; she’d need to get it repaired.

Once everything was packed, the sky had fully brightened. The morning sun climbed lazily into the sky. Zhao Shuqing estimated it was around 5 a.m.

“Lin Feng! Where are you?”

She called out toward the water, and after a moment, a ripple appeared on the surface. Lin Feng emerged, swimming over with a fish in her mouth.

Zhao Shuqing’s eyes crinkled as she smiled and took the fish from her. “This one’s even bigger than yesterday’s. Lin Feng, you’re amazing.”

Lin Feng didn’t understand the words, but she could feel that Zhao Shuqing was praising her.

“Amazing?” Lin Feng tilted her head.

“Yes, amazing.” Zhao Shuqing gave her a big thumbs-up, then pulled her along to clean and cook the fish.

Watching Lin Feng eat more than half the fish on her own, Zhao Shuqing leaned her chin on her hand and laughed. “You really love fish, huh? Don’t you ever get tired of eating them?”

She remembered how she got sick of fish after just two months on the research vessel, but Lin Feng had probably eaten them her whole life—and still ate like she was enjoying every bite.

Lin Feng glanced over, confused.

“It’s nothing,” Zhao Shuqing said with a smile. “It’s time for us to go.”

“Go?”

“Yeah, we need to get out of this forest.”

She patted Lin Feng’s head and looked down at her not-so-convenient “legs.” “It’ll be hard for you to move through the woods, so I’ll carry you, okay?”