The Mermaid and Her Keeper (GL) - Chapter 14

The convenience store was very old, giving off a worn-out vibe like something from 20th-century North America.

The store sign was faded and moldy, the inside covered in spots of mildew. The iron hanging sign was rusty, and the windows were mostly covered with newspapers, but the air conditioning outside was still running, proving someone was inside.

After struggling for two days and a night, Zhao Shuqing finally found a sign of human life. She let out a long sigh and put Lin Feng down from her back.

Lin Feng’s tail touched the hot cement and got burned a little. Seeing this, Zhao Shuqing quickly took off her jacket from her bag and roughly wrapped it around Lin Feng’s tail while saying, “I’ll go ask for directions inside the store. You stay right here and wait for me.”

“Wait for you?”

“Yes, wait for me.” Zhao Shuqing was worried Lin Feng wouldn’t understand, so she put her backpack in Lin Feng’s arms. Then, not wanting her to stand foolishly in the middle of the road where people might notice her, she led her to a nearby shaded spot under a tree and pointed to the ground. “Wait for me here.”

“Here, wait for you,” Lin Feng repeated, nodding.

Seeing that Lin Feng understood, Zhao Shuqing gave her an “OK” sign, took out her ID and wallet, and stepped toward the convenience store.

At the door, Zhao Shuqing looked back cautiously and saw Lin Feng holding her backpack, standing still and watching her. She nodded slightly and pushed the door open.

A rush of cold air hit her, making her shiver with goosebumps.

“Welcome,” said a woman with a ponytail sitting behind the counter, dressed in a white short-sleeve shirt. She didn’t get up but kept watching the TV above her head. “Help yourself if you need anything.”

Zhao Shuqing glanced around. The shelves inside were rusty and old like outside. The edges of the counter were rounded from long use.

She definitely needed to restock some supplies.

The store wasn’t big and looked like it had been remodeled. There were only two shelves out front. Behind them was a door leading to a small back room with some daily necessities and a bed—probably where the woman lived.

Instant noodles, water, canned food.

Zhao Shuqing grabbed a bit of every food item. She was nearly starving. If it weren’t for modern morals, she might have just ripped open the packaging right there and eaten.

One shelf had food, the other daily items. On the wall, some things hung up, and surprisingly, the store even sold underwear and pajamas.

Underwear…

Zhao Shuqing thought of Lin Feng. Since boarding the ship, Lin Feng hadn’t worn any clothes. For these past two days, she’d been topless following her.

Lin Feng had long hair that naturally covered her full chest, but now that they were about to enter town, she couldn’t walk around bare-chested if they met people.

She had to buy her some clothes.

Zhao Shuqing wasn’t sure about sizes or styles of underwear, and guessed Lin Feng would be uncomfortable wearing a human bra at first. Better to start with loose pajamas.

With that in mind, she took a loose, size-free orange nightgown from the wall and went to the counter with the food items.

“…One body found at the scene. Vehicle wreckage was found more than 30 kilometers downstream,” the local news was playing on the TV. Zhao Shuqing glanced up and saw Xu Tang’s familiar face appear on the screen.

Xu Tang frowned, standing by a riverside. The camera shook slightly, but she spoke urgently: “The whereabouts of the mermaid and the researcher remain unknown. Local police have been notified. If anyone finds signs of them, please report immediately…”

Seeing Xu Tang’s familiar face made Zhao Shuqing feel like these past two days were from a different world.

“That’ll be 98.4 in total. Let’s call it 98,” the cashier said lazily, pulling out a crumpled plastic bag to pack Zhao Shuqing’s items.

Zhao Shuqing took out her bank card and asked, “Do you have a POS machine?”

The cashier blinked, looking at the card in her hand. “Sorry, no. Can you pay by scanning a QR code?”

“Sorry, my phone is broken and won’t turn on. I can only swipe my bank card,” Zhao Shuqing said naturally. “Or is there a bank nearby where I can withdraw some cash?”

“The nearest bank is pretty far—more than ten kilometers away with just an ATM,” the cashier shook her head helplessly. She took out her phone and asked, “Are you sure you want all this? Using a bank card?”

Zhao Shuqing nodded, “Yes.”

The cashier said, “I’ll send someone with a POS machine over, but it’s a 20% fee. Okay?”

Zhao Shuqing’s eyes widened. Twenty percent?!

Come on, she was using a debit card, not credit. Even for credit cards, 20% was way too high.

That meant spending 100 yuan would cost an extra 20 yuan.

“This is way too high,” Zhao Shuqing frowned. “In the city, the highest is 2%.”

The cashier smirked, looking at her with a playful expression. “City girl, huh? In the countryside, it’s always this high. Otherwise, who’d even bother using bank cards?”

Zhao Shuqing had no choice. She was broke now, so 20% it was. Better to have some cash on hand.

“If I withdraw more, can it be cheaper?” she asked, trying to haggle.

“Above 2,000, it’s 19%.”

“…” Stingy.

The cashier made a call, then told Zhao Shuqing, “Someone will be here soon. You can wait over there.”

Zhao Shuqing nodded, took a bottle of water and a sausage, and asked, “Can I eat this now?”

“No,” the cashier shook her head.

Zhao Shuqing thought for a moment. She wasn’t really hungry, but worried Lin Feng waiting outside might be anxious. Still, ten minutes wouldn’t hurt to wait.

Soon, she heard the roar of a motorcycle outside. A tall, dark-skinned woman with long hair, wearing shorts and a black tank top, came in. Hands on hips, she stood at the door and asked, “Who needs to swipe a card?”

“That one,” the cashier pointed at Zhao Shuqing.

The dark-skinned woman sized her up, then sauntered over and said, “You’re not from this town, right? What are you doing here?”

Zhao Shuqing looked at her calmly and smiled, “Do I need to prove my address just to swipe a card?”

“No, no,” the woman pulled a mobile POS machine from her waist bag, eyeing Zhao Shuqing playfully. “How much do you wanna swipe, pretty lady?”

Zhao Shuqing stayed calm, “Over 2,000, so 19%, right?”

The woman raised her eyebrows.

Zhao Shuqing said, “Then swipe 2,000.”

Not a yuan more.