The Mermaid and Her Keeper (GL) - Chapter 41

Zhao Shuqing and Gu Yao were still tidying up the balcony when they suddenly heard a loud scream from the bedroom, right after Gu Yao had just asked how many days Lin Feng was planning to stay.

The two immediately turned around and saw Lin Feng curled up in the corner clutching a blanket, and in front of her was a familiar-looking yellow figure.

“Guazi?”

Gu Yao’s eyes widened in shock. “I forgot to close the bedroom door!”

Right then, the chubby cat had one paw placed on Lin Feng’s tail. Zhao Shuqing rushed over in a flash and, amid Lin Feng’s screams, grabbed the fat cat by the scruff and tossed it to Gu Yao.

Gu Yao caught the cat in her arms and nearly choked from the impact.

“So heavy.”

Why is this cat so heavy?

As soon as Lin Feng saw Zhao Shuqing arrive, she threw aside the blanket and dove into her arms, crying, “There’s a cat!”

Zhao Shuqing hugged her tightly and gently patted her back, comforting her, “It’s gone, the cat’s gone. It’s okay now.”

Lin Feng was terrified. She had never seen such a scary creature before. Her eyes were red from crying, and she clung to Zhao Shuqing’s clothes, sobbing uncontrollably.

Gu Yao came in from the balcony still holding the cat. Guazi, seeing Lin Feng, began struggling to pounce toward her. Lin Feng screamed again in fright, so Gu Yao quickly restrained the strong, chubby cat and curiously asked Zhao Shuqing, “Lin Feng’s afraid of cats?”

Zhao Shuqing was gently soothing the trembling Lin Feng. She gave a helpless nod and told Gu Yao, “You’d better take the cat back for now. She really can’t handle it.”

Gu Yao nodded and quickly carried the cat out. Guazi, unhappy about being taken farther from the “big fish,” let out a series of unwilling “meows” like a little leopard ready to pounce.

Once Gu Yao and the cat were gone, Zhao Shuqing wrapped her arms around Lin Feng’s waist and whispered, “They’re gone now. Open your eyes and take a look.”

Lin Feng sniffled and lifted her head. After confirming the room was cat-free, she pitifully wrapped her arms around Zhao Shuqing’s shoulders and cried, “I was scared…”

What is a cat, anyway?

How could it be even scarier than Xu Tang?

The moment that thing stared at her, Lin Feng felt like her life flashed before her eyes.

She was trembling all over, crying so hard that Zhao Shuqing had to comfort her for a long time—patting her shoulder, kissing her forehead—just to get her to stop.

Zhao Shuqing pulled out a wet wipe to dry Lin Feng’s tears. Seeing that she was sweating from all the crying, she finally remembered to turn on the air conditioning, lowering the temperature. Then she softly said, “Cats aren’t really that scary. It’s so small. You’re not even afraid when you go up against wild boars.”

Lin Feng replied through her sniffles, “It’s not the same.”

Cats were nothing like wild boars.

Cats weren’t like anything else.

Just thinking of that chubby, fierce-looking orange cat made her want to cry again. Zhao Shuqing gave a wry smile and pulled her close again, comforting her for a while before deciding to leave the cat with Gu Yao for the time being.

After calming her little mermaid down, Zhao Shuqing went outside to throw away the wet wipe and noticed that Gu Yao’s door was wide open.

Since the whole dorm building was filled with coworkers, theft wasn’t really a concern. They usually left their doors open while at home. Today was probably just a habit, and Guazi had slipped out by accident.

Standing at the doorway, Zhao Shuqing saw Gu Yao sitting in a chair feeding Guazi a cat treat. As she fed him, she mumbled something softly, like she was trying to coax him.

One person coaxing a cat, the other coaxing a fish.

Perfect. Clear division of labor.

Hearing a sound, Gu Yao looked up and raised an eyebrow. “I just heard Lin Feng crying. Is she feeling better now?”

“Much better,” Zhao Shuqing replied, walking into the room. Gu Yao’s place was laid out almost the same as hers, but it felt cozier—there was wallpaper, a carpet, and her bed was decked out in soft, girly pink bedding.

Gu Yao gave Guazi the last bit of the treat, then leaned back in her chair and laughed. “So Lin Feng’s scared of cats?”

Zhao Shuqing nodded.

“I always thought your mermaid wasn’t afraid of anything,” Gu Yao said. “Didn’t expect her to be scared of a cat.”

Zhao Shuqing gave a helpless chuckle. “Yeah, she’s never seen a cat before. The first time, she nearly had a heart attack. Didn’t expect the second time to be just as bad.”

Gu Yao laughed, hugging Guazi and saying to Zhao Shuqing, “Guess this is one of those ‘one thing restrains another’ situations.”

Zhao Shuqing thought that made sense.

“Well, since she’s scared, there’s no other choice. Guazi will just have to stay with me for now,” Gu Yao said, holding up the orange cat’s chubby bottom. “So, Zhao Boss, shouldn’t you be paying some food expenses?”

Of course—after all, the cat was hers, and Gu Yao was doing her a favor.

“Keep track of how much he eats and send me the total. I’ll pay you back,” Zhao Shuqing said, reaching out to pet the fat little cat’s head. Guazi looked up at her and let out a sweet, soft meow.

“He’s asking when you’re taking him home,” Gu Yao said.

Zhao Shuqing picked Guazi up from her arms and gave him a kiss. “Sorry, can’t take you back just yet. Stay with Auntie Gu Yao for now. I’ll bring you some canned food next time.”

Guazi meowed again, sounding like he agreed.

Zhao Shuqing really liked her little cat, giving him a few more kisses before reluctantly handing him back to Gu Yao.

She stepped out of Gu Yao’s place with a sigh.

When will I finally get to enjoy the best of both worlds—my fish and my cat together?

The sunset was beautiful, glowing golden-orange over the horizon. When Zhao Shuqing opened her door, she saw Lin Feng lying on the bed, hugging her pillow. The golden light from the setting sun spilled over the headboard, making the little mermaid shine like gold.

She didn’t seem to be sleeping well, her brows tightly furrowed.

Zhao Shuqing tiptoed over, turned the air conditioning up a little, and gently pulled the blanket over her.

She glanced at Lin Feng’s tail and figured she’d let her rest a bit longer—she could apply the medicine once she woke up.

When Zhao Shuqing turned on her laptop, she saw that Shen Qingming had left her a message saying he’d read her thesis. Overall, it was very good, but it still needed a few edits. He had marked all the areas needing changes and sent the updated file back to her.

While the file was downloading, Zhao Shuqing spaced out a little.

Shen Qingming was in his sixties now, set to retire in a couple of years. But he had a strong academic background, so he’d probably be rehired… No, that wasn’t it. What Zhao Shuqing really remembered was the moment he saw Lin Feng unconscious in the hospital room—how his cloudy eyes suddenly lit up, like he was seeing something he’d been waiting for.

Waiting?

Zhao Shuqing rested her chin on her hand and stared at Shen Qingming’s chat window. It wasn’t like it was his first time seeing a mermaid. He had actually been the first person to ever encounter a real mermaid, and the incident was even reported in the news back then. But his reaction that day wasn’t what you’d expect from someone seeing a mermaid again.

He had been shocked and panicked.

But at the same time, there was a strange sense of relief in his expression.

Very strange.

Zhao Shuqing couldn’t help but wonder—why did Professor Shen look like that? Was he hiding something from her?

Ding! The file finished downloading, snapping her back to reality.

Even if Shen Qingming was hiding something, it probably didn’t have anything to do with her. He was a teacher, and she was just a student. It’s not like she could barge into his house and interrogate him.

She shook her head, clicked open the compressed file, and quickly got immersed in revising her thesis, determined to finish the edits tonight and send it back.

By the time Zhao Shuqing finished, it was already late into the night. She sent the updated file back, not expecting Shen Qingming to still be awake—but he was. He even replied with an “OK” emoji.

Zhao Shuqing quickly messaged him, “It’s really late, Professor. Just look at it tomorrow.”

But Shen Qingming responded, “It’s fine. I’ll just check your edits.”

Since he insisted, she didn’t object. If he reviewed it tonight, then she could meet with Xu Tang tomorrow and move forward with publishing it.

“Mm… cat… cat…”

At that moment, Lin Feng, who had been sleeping, suddenly woke up. Her eyes were red as she sat up clutching her pillow, looking lost and scared. The moment she spotted Zhao Shuqing, she let out a little sob, ready to cry.

Zhao Shuqing walked over quickly. Lin Feng tossed aside the pillow and threw herself into Zhao Shuqing’s arms, hugging her tightly.

“I’m scared,” she said.

“Don’t be.” Zhao Shuqing gently comforted her, holding her close and whispering softly, “The cat isn’t coming back. You’re safe now. Don’t be afraid.”

Lin Feng nodded, then glanced out the window, realizing it was already dark.

“Are you hungry?” Zhao Shuqing asked.

Lin Feng turned her head and said, “Yeah.”

“How about some porridge? There’s still a bowl left in the fridge. I’ll heat it up for you, okay?”

“Okay.”

Seeing her agree, Zhao Shuqing smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead before getting up and heading to the small kitchen.

Lin Feng sat on the bed, dazed for a long moment. Then she touched her smooth forehead and slowly realized—Zhao Shuqing had just kissed her.

What was going on with her today?

She kissed her tail in the daytime, now her forehead at night.

Lin Feng remembered how, back when she kissed Zhao Shuqing in this very room, the girl reacted like a panicked squid, scrambling to get away.

She rubbed her forehead, cheeks flushed pink. Watching Zhao Shuqing dig through the fridge with her back turned, Lin Feng hugged her pillow and flopped back down on the bed.

If her tail weren’t injured, she really would’ve wagged it.

Zhao Shuqing heated up the porridge and added some fresh dried shrimp to simmer for a bit. When she finally brought it over, the shrimp and fish porridge smelled delicious. Lin Feng’s eyes lit up with hunger as she sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her expectantly.

Zhao Shuqing blew on each spoonful to cool it down before feeding it to her. Every now and then, she glanced at her laptop to check if her professor had replied.

But even by the time Lin Feng finished her porridge, Shen Qingming hadn’t sent another message.

Did it really take that long to check?

Zhao Shuqing cleared the dishes and washed them in the kitchen. Then she helped Lin Feng apply medicine to her tail. Seeing that the professor likely wasn’t going to reply tonight, she finally closed her laptop.

“It’s getting late, let’s go to bed,” Zhao Shuqing said. “Tonight I’ll sleep on the outside, you take the inside.”

The dorm bed wasn’t big—only about 1.5 meters wide. It’d be a little cramped with both of them, but it’d have to do for now. Tomorrow she’d see if there was a way to extend it.

Lin Feng rolled across the bed to the inner side. Zhao Shuqing climbed up and pulled the blanket over her.

Lin Feng lay there clutching the air conditioner blanket, staring at her. She blinked and softly called, “Zhao Shuqing.”

“Hm?” Zhao Shuqing tilted her head. “What is it?”

Lin Feng hesitated for a moment before asking, “Can you… kiss me?”

Zhao Shuqing: “…Huh?”