The Mermaid and Her Keeper (GL) - Chapter 31

Lin Feng was swimming freely in the water. She liked it here. When she looked back and saw Zhao Shuqing still waiting at the same spot, she was in a good mood and happily swam two circles around her before continuing toward the deep water area.

Zhao Shuqing wanted to remind her of something, but she couldn’t speak underwater. Lin Feng didn’t understand sign language either, so she had no choice but to hurriedly flap her flippers and follow along.

But Lin Feng was very fast. On land, it didn’t feel like much, but once in the water, that big tail of hers was powerful. A single flick was like lightning — with a ‘whoosh,’ she shot off far ahead.

Not to mention Zhao Shuqing’s two legs, even eight legs probably couldn’t catch her.

Lin Feng was having fun, but when she looked back, she couldn’t see Zhao Shuqing anywhere. However, underwater, she could sense where Zhao was. Just as she was about to swim back to find her, she felt a huge creature approaching.

Turning around, Lin Feng saw the massive figure right in front of her.

A black-and-white killer whale was staring at the little “mermaid.” Lin Feng was big in the water, but next to the killer whale, she looked tiny — probably even smaller than the whale’s nostril.

The killer whale blew a small ripple of water and hovered quietly in the water.

Lin Feng listened carefully for a while, her brow slowly furrowing. Finally, she narrowed her eyes and flicked her tail, rushing toward the whale.

By the time Zhao Shuqing caught up, she saw Lin Feng fighting the aquarium’s only killer whale. She was so scared she nearly lost her breath. In the end, she swam up and called other staff to separate Lin Feng and the killer whale.

Later, Zhao Shuqing asked Lin Feng why she fought with the killer whale.

Lin Feng, sitting in the pool, panted for a long time before finally finding some words to say, “It insulted me.”

Zhao Shuqing: “?”

This was the first time she’d heard that a killer whale could insult someone.

But thinking they were all ocean creatures, maybe that killer whale really said something rude. She sighed and asked, “What did it say to you?”

Lin Feng puffed out her cheeks, angry like a pufferfish, and used a mix of words and gestures for a long time before Zhao Shuqing finally understood.

This killer whale had been rescued by the aquarium a few years ago. Back then, it was still a young whale and was injured, unable to return to the wild, so it stayed at the aquarium. It had never seen a mermaid before, and today was its first time.

When they first met, the killer whale looked down on Lin Feng, calling her a “tiny little thing,” flashy like a show-off, unlike its huge size that could bully anyone.

Normally, the killer whale was the boss in the aquarium — every fish feared it. But Lin Feng wouldn’t put up with it. As soon as she heard the insults, she rushed up and beat the whale hard, nearly giving it a concussion and almost sending it to the hospital.

Zhao Shuqing sighed and apologized to the killer whale’s keeper. Fortunately, they didn’t press charges.

She thought Lin Feng just wasn’t used to the environment yet and that was why she got along poorly with her “colleagues.” Once she adjusted, they would surely get along peacefully.

But in the following days, these kinds of incidents happened quite often.

Records showed:

Day 1: Lin Feng beat up the killer whale.

Day 2: Lin Feng beat up the great white shark.

Day 3: Lin Feng beat up the Pacific striped dolphin.

Day 4: Lin Feng beat up a giant octopus.

On the fifth day… well, on the fifth day Lin Feng didn’t beat anyone, but she did eat a rare scarlet fish.

Zhao Shuqing still remembered clearly. She was in her office organizing research papers when the scarlet fish’s keeper burst in crying, accusing Lin Feng of cruelty. Between sobs, she said, “That scarlet fish is a national second-class protected species! How could she just eat it like that?”

A national treasure eating a national treasure — how should this be judged?

So, Zhao Shuqing locked Lin Feng up, planning to give her a serious “interrogation.”

“Why did you eat a coworker?” Zhao Shuqing asked, looking at Lin Feng sitting by the pool, clearly frustrated. “I could understand if you beat up your coworkers a couple of days ago, since you always win anyway, but do I need you to eat or to drink? Why eat the scarlet fish?”

Lin Feng thought for a long moment, then finally said three words: “Tastes bad.”

Zhao Shuqing gasped, “I’m asking for an apology, not your opinion on how it tastes!”

She paced around angrily, then said, “For the next few days, no swimming for you. You’re staying in the pool for a whole week.”

Lin Feng looked up in disbelief. “Zhao Shuqing? You’re locking me up?”

Zhao Shuqing met her shocked gaze and said firmly, “That’s right, I’m locking you up. If I don’t, you’ll keep eating your coworkers.”

With that, Zhao Shuqing ignored Lin Feng, no matter how much she stared with disbelief. She was determined not to soften.

Lin Feng isn’t human. She grew up in the ocean and doesn’t understand human rules yet, but that doesn’t mean Zhao Shuqing has to spoil her.

Win a fight, go to jail; lose, go to the hospital.

Zhao Shuqing had to make Lin Feng understand she can’t just beat or eat anyone she wants just because she’s strong.

Lin Feng watched Zhao Shuqing leave the pool area with misty blue eyes. She stared sadly at the door for a long time, realizing Zhao Shuqing really didn’t plan to let her out, and then hung her head in sorrow.

Actually, Lin Feng wanted to get along with her coworkers.

But the aquarium isn’t the Pacific Ocean. It’s a limited space, basically an ecosystem where creatures like orcas and sharks are at the top of the food chain. As the “newcomer,” Lin Feng naturally had to deal with their “attention.”

Lin Feng wasn’t exactly easy-going either—if someone insulted her, she’d talk back; if bullied, she’d fight back.

As for the scarlet fish today, Lin Feng had seen it strangled to death by a squid. She tried to save it but was seen through the glass by the fish’s keeper, who immediately assumed Lin Feng ate it and ran to complain to Zhao Shuqing.

Zhao Shuqing didn’t hesitate to scold Lin Feng first, so naturally, Lin Feng wasn’t happy.

Since they all thought she ate the scarlet fish, she might as well admit it—it wasn’t a big deal.

But seeing the locked iron gate made Lin Feng’s nose sting.

What a bad woman.

She didn’t believe her at all.

Humans really aren’t good people.

Feeling down, Lin Feng flicked her tail and dove into the water. Detention or not, starving her was a loss for humans, not for her mermaid self.

After locking Lin Feng up, Zhao Shuqing returned to her office. As Lin Feng’s keeper, she had a small private office at the aquarium.

The office wasn’t big—about ten square meters. It had a desk, two chairs, a sofa, a coffee table, and a filing cabinet—basically all it contained.

Zhao Shuqing rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration. She messaged the scarlet fish’s keeper in their work group to apologize, then explained that Lin Feng was on a week-long detention and that she would properly teach her.

The scarlet fish’s keeper calmed down after that. After all, they were coworkers, and Lin Feng was a mermaid.

Thinking about it, fish eating fish wasn’t unusual, so there was no need to get truly angry.

After chatting with her, Zhao Shuqing sighed deeply, opened her computer, and started working on her paper.

She’d been writing a research paper on mermaids for almost half a month and had a rough draft ready.

In a few days, after adding more data samples, she could show it to Professor Shen.

If her advisor had no objections, she would publish the world’s first paper on mermaids.

Thinking of this, Zhao Shuqing rolled up her sleeves and prepared to work hard.

Maybe because she was so focused, she suddenly realized it was completely dark outside—it was already 7 p.m., and the whole office was dim except for the glowing computer screen.

She rubbed her tired eyes and got up to turn on the light.

Oh no.

She blinked, realizing she forgot to prepare dinner for Lin Feng.

Detention or not, she couldn’t let her mermaid starve.

Zhao Shuqing quickly grabbed her phone and coat and headed to the small cafeteria to buy Lin Feng some steamed fish.

Unfortunately, she arrived too late. There was no steamed fish or even a single fish tail left.

Frustrated, she checked the food delivery app and ordered a bowl of fish slice congee for Lin Feng.

Carrying the delivery, Zhao Shuqing remembered Lin Feng’s picky nature. She stopped by her office drawer, took out a pack of candy, and made sure it was Lin Feng’s favorite peach-flavored sweets before heading to the pool.

The aquarium was quiet at night. Rows of large and small pools housed many marine creatures. Passing those cage-like gates, Zhao Shuqing felt like she was walking through a prison.

Though the sea creatures weren’t short of food or water, they were still trapped without freedom.

Zhao Shuqing wondered if Lin Feng might one day resent her and lock her forever in this small space.

Shaking her head, she pushed the strange thought away. She swiped her ID card at the last gate.

Lin Feng heard the sound, swam over, and surfaced with only her eyes visible. Seeing it was Zhao Shuqing, she blew a bubble and turned away.

Zhao Shuqing switched on the light and cleared her throat softly. “Dinner’s here, Lin Feng.”

Lin Feng faced away and ignored her.

Zhao Shuqing sat by the pool, opened the congee lid, and smelled the delicious fish. Stirring it with a spoon, she said, “This is really tasty. I order it often. Don’t you get hungry if you don’t eat at night?”

Lin Feng twitched her ears but still didn’t respond.

Zhao Shuqing tore open the candy wrapper with a ‘crack’ and said, “And here’s your favorite fruit candy. Won’t you try some?”

At the mention of candy, Lin Feng hesitated a little. She slightly turned her head, but seeing Zhao Shuqing’s annoying face, she grunted and shook her head, turning her back again.

The pool wasn’t big. Even if Lin Feng ignored her, she couldn’t swim away. Zhao Shuqing coaxed her a little, but seeing Lin Feng really didn’t want to engage, she reluctantly put the food down.

“Since you don’t want to see me, I won’t bother you anymore.”

Zhao Shuqing stood up and said, “I left the food here. Eat if you’re hungry.”

Lin Feng was slightly stunned to hear that. When she heard the door close, she suddenly turned around—seeing the shore empty.

Zhao Shuqing really left?

Angrily, Lin Feng flicked her tail and climbed ashore. She looked at the food and candy and got even madder. This woman came to apologize but acted so self-righteous, and when she tried to coax her, she didn’t do it well.

The angrier she got, the more she wanted to kick the door on her way out, but just as her hand touched the doorknob, she heard a click.

The door actually opened?