The Mermaid and Her Keeper (GL) - Chapter 23

Zhao Shuqing didn’t dare waste any time. She got out of the car, quickly picked up Lin Feng, and shoved her into the vehicle before driving off, afraid that if they stayed any longer, the group of foreign agents would spot them.

Lin Feng sat in the passenger seat, curiously looking around the car’s interior. Zhao Shuqing was driving fast and aggressively, but she still reminded her, “Put on your seatbelt.”

Lin Feng hugged her big tail, looking confused.

Zhao Shuqing slapped her forehead, realizing she had forgotten that Lin Feng had never worn a seatbelt before. She glanced around, then hit the gas, driving straight into a nearby thicket, crushing the low bushes under the wheels. After driving a bit on a small path, she stopped.

She looked around—the place was dark and dense, perfect for hiding for a while.

Leaning back in her seat, Zhao Shuqing let out a sigh of relief. Although it wasn’t time to relax yet, not having her phone on her made her feel safer. She glanced over at Lin Feng, who was uncomfortable sitting in the passenger seat because her huge tail took up so much space, and couldn’t help but smile.

Lin Feng saw her smile and looked up, puzzled.

“Come here, Lin Feng.” Zhao Shuqing leaned over, pulling her closer, and whispered, “I’ll teach you how to use this.”

Lin Feng pressed tightly against the seatback because Zhao Shuqing was so close. Her bright eyes focused on her as Zhao Shuqing pulled out a black strap. When Zhao Shuqing bent down, some stray strands of her hair slipped down, brushing Lin Feng’s neck and chest.

It tickled.

But she wasn’t sure exactly where.

After pulling out the seatbelt, Zhao Shuqing lifted her eyes to Lin Feng and said, “You have to wear this when you get in the car. It’s not safe otherwise. Pull this out, then take this buckle—can you feel this part here?”

As she spoke, Zhao Shuqing held Lin Feng’s hand and moved closer. “Here, put it in.”

With a soft “click,” Lin Feng felt her palm tingle slightly as the narrow strap locked around her.

She looked up at Zhao Shuqing, who smiled and explained, “That’s it. Got it?”

Lin Feng’s long fin-ears twitched a little. She lowered her head and saw Zhao Shuqing’s fair, pretty fingers resting beside her. They were so close, she could smell the faint scent of dust and sweat on her.

It wasn’t unpleasant.

Actually, it smelled nice.

Lin Feng was a bit stunned but nodded. When she looked up again, she bumped into Zhao Shuqing’s smiling face. Zhao Shuqing slowly lifted her hand and wiped some dust off Lin Feng’s cheek, softly whispering, “Zhao Shuqing…”

“Hmm?” Zhao Shuqing asked quietly.

Lin Feng glanced at her tail. Although the SUV had decent space, her tail was so big that even curled up, it pressed against the seat and felt uncomfortable. She moved her tail slightly and said, “Tail.”

Zhao Shuqing thought Lin Feng was really smart. When she first found her, she couldn’t even understand human language. Now, less than a month later, she not only understood but could say one or two words clearly.

She had learned to say “pain” before, and now she could say “tail.”

Maybe soon, they could communicate smoothly.

“What about your tail?” Zhao Shuqing looked at the beautiful tail, now covered in mud from running earlier. The once bright blue tail was gray and dirty, and the cloth strips wrapped around it were tangled and filthy.

Lin Feng didn’t know how to explain how she felt, so she frowned and pressed her tail and back hard against the seat, making soft “mm mm” sounds to show her struggle.

Zhao Shuqing understood—Lin Feng found the passenger seat cramped.

She laughed and gently pressed Lin Feng’s tail. “I get it. I’ll adjust the seat for you.”

After adjusting the passenger seat to the maximum space, Lin Feng’s tail could finally move a bit. Zhao Shuqing then poured a bottle of water over the big tail before getting ready to drive off.

The river dolphin really did attract that group away.

Zhao Shuqing drove carefully and noticed many tire marks on the ground, all heading in the same direction as if something had drawn them there. Feeling reassured, she hit the gas and boldly drove onto the main road at the village entrance, continuing forward.

Without her phone, Zhao Shuqing couldn’t contact Xu Tang, but she remembered Xu Tang said to wait at the highway toll station, so she didn’t hesitate and drove straight there.

This car didn’t have an automatic light system, so even though it was risky, Zhao Shuqing didn’t turn on the lights and drove mostly in the dark. Fortunately, the road was almost empty, so she didn’t encounter anyone else.

After more than twenty minutes, Zhao Shuqing saw bright lights ahead—the toll station was well-lit, surrounded by dozens of police cars, and she could faintly make out the research institute’s logo on some vehicles.

They were her people.

Zhao Shuqing breathed a sigh of relief and quickly turned on the headlights.

Xu Tang was pacing anxiously. It had been half an hour since Zhao Shuqing called her, and she was worried about her safety. She thought about waiting a few more minutes before sending people out.

Just then, headlights appeared in the distance, and a black SUV came into view.

“A car!” someone shouted. “Is that Zhao Shuqing’s car?”

Everyone got excited. Xu Tang stepped forward and saw the SUV speeding toward them, stopping abruptly in front of her.

“Senior sister!”

Zhao Shuqing jumped out and ran to Xu Tang, hugging her tightly, eyes red as she cried, “I almost thought I wouldn’t make it back.”

Xu Tang was stunned for a moment, then wrapped her arms around Zhao Shuqing’s waist, finally relaxing. She smiled softly, “I’m so glad you’re okay. Let’s go back now.”

“Okay.” Zhao Shuqing nodded, letting go of Xu Tang, then turned to see Lin Feng leaning against the car window, frowning slightly as she watched them hug. For some reason, Zhao Shuqing suddenly felt like she was caught in the act.

Just her imagination, she thought quietly.

Xu Tang followed her gaze and saw Lin Feng inside the window, but Lin Feng’s eyes were fixed on Zhao Shuqing and didn’t notice Xu Tang looking.

Remembering her mission, Zhao Shuqing quickly opened the car door, unbuckled Lin Feng’s seatbelt, and bent down to lift her out.

As soon as Lin Feng appeared, all eyes were drawn to her long, beautiful fish tail. Everyone knew this was the mermaid they had brought back.

For the first time, Lin Feng felt all eyes on her. She instinctively hid behind Zhao Shuqing. No matter how hard she tried to stay out of sight, her tail was just too eye-catching. Even though it was covered in mud, its brilliant colors couldn’t be hidden.

“Oh my god, it’s a mermaid.”

Whispers started to spread through the crowd. Zhao Shuqing heard people murmuring, “Is this what a mermaid really looks like? So beautiful.”

“Even prettier than on TV. That tail is stunning—like a diamond.”

“I have to secretly take a photo and show my friends…”

Though the voices were hushed, Zhao Shuqing and Xu Tang could hear them clearly. Zhao Shuqing frowned and told the people nearby, “Sorry, no photos allowed here.”

But Xu Tang smiled and said, “It’s okay. They’ve all worked hard. Let them take pictures. Since Lin Feng is still with us, sooner or later she’ll meet the public.”

Zhao Shuqing opened her mouth but saw the crowd already starting to sneak photos. Though she was unhappy, she still followed Xu Tang’s plan to take Lin Feng back.

They couldn’t stay here long. Xu Tang arranged a fairly large van for Lin Feng. Zhao Shuqing remembered she had to return the car to Liang Yue and explained this to the others before they got in.

But as they got into separate vehicles, a small problem came up.

It wasn’t anything serious—Lin Feng simply refused to get into the van provided by the research institute.

Lin Feng shook off two researchers trying to pull her in, even knocking one to the ground. The others panicked, thinking Lin Feng was losing control and might attack humans.

Zhao Shuqing, just stepping into the van, quickly stopped and ran over to Lin Feng.

“Zhao Shuqing.”

Lin Feng looked at her as she ran over, her voice full of hurt and sadness. Her gem-like blue eyes stared at her, asking silently, Have you abandoned me?

Zhao Shuqing quickly apologized to the other colleagues and comforted Lin Feng, “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ll get in the van with you, okay?”

Xu Tang frowned and said, “No, you’ve already had one incident. You can’t stay together this time.”

At Xu Tang’s words, Lin Feng trembled all over, avoiding her gaze and clutching Zhao Shuqing’s pinky finger tightly, clearly afraid of her.

But Zhao Shuqing said to Lin Feng, “It’s fine. I’ll have a few more people follow me. I’m her caretaker; she’s closest to me. I’ll stay with her.”

Xu Tang looked Lin Feng up and down, eyes lingering on her dirty tail. She seemed to be thinking something and hesitated for three minutes before saying, “Alright, but bring others with you. More people means more safety.”

Zhao Shuqing smiled and nodded in agreement.

When Lin Feng moved with her big tail, it was like a snake slithering. Zhao Shuqing frowned slightly seeing her scraping her scales on the cement floor, then bent down and picked her up. Together with the others, they got into the van.

Inside the van was a large water tank. Lin Feng’s eyes lit up when she saw it.

After days of crawling on the ground, her whole body was dry and dirty. Finally seeing the water tank, she didn’t need Zhao Shuqing to tell her—she scrambled over herself. With a splash, she jumped in and swam two laps with her beautiful tail.

Zhao Shuqing smiled watching her relax like that.

The group didn’t stop once, escorted by police cars, heading straight to the research institute in the capital.

But the car wasn’t a plane. Even driving at 150 km/h, it would take two or three days to arrive.

Zhao Shuqing slept in the van for a while, then watched the road all day the next day. They finally stopped to rest at a service area in the evening.

Xu Tang arranged a room for Zhao Shuqing, and everyone else was settled too. Lin Feng stayed in the van with someone watching her 24/7.

Now that they’d come this far, hopefully nothing else would go wrong.

The hotel at the service area wasn’t fancy but was comfortable. The single room had everything, even a large bathtub.

Zhao Shuqing didn’t have the mood to soak in a bath. She just took a quick shower and went straight to bed. They still had to drive all day tomorrow and should reach the city by afternoon.

After days of traveling, Zhao Shuqing finally slept on a bed and fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

In the middle of the night,

Zhao Shuqing vaguely heard a sound—like water flowing. When she slowly opened her eyes, she could barely make out someone lying beside her bed…