The Mermaid and Her Keeper (GL) - Chapter 43

Zhao Shuqing let out a sigh and corrected her, “You can’t just go around calling people your wife.”

Lin Feng hugged her pillow and replied in a soft voice, “Only you.”

Zhao Shuqing gave her a headache-filled look and decided not to argue about that right now. The priority was to get her up for breakfast and apply medicine afterward.

She carried Lin Feng into the bathroom, where she’d already prepared a new toothbrush for her. Worried Lin Feng wouldn’t like the taste, she had even bought a kid’s toothpaste in peach flavor. She then showed Lin Feng how to brush her teeth. Thankfully, Lin Feng was smart enough to figure it out just by watching and quickly finished brushing and washing her face. After that, she went out to have breakfast.

Once they were done eating, Lin Feng tried to head straight for the bathtub, but Zhao Shuqing stopped her with a scolding. Left with no choice, Lin Feng sat on the bed with a pout, letting Zhao Shuqing apply medicine to her tail.

“Ugly,” Lin Feng grumbled unhappily.

Zhao Shuqing replied, “Yeah, it’s pretty ugly.”

Lin Feng’s eyes widened in disbelief. Her expression clearly said, That’s not what you said yesterday.

Zhao Shuqing pretended not to notice. After applying the medicine and wrapping up her tail again, she was about to leave when Lin Feng tugged at the hem of her shirt and looked up. “Kiss.”

Zhao Shuqing gazed at her for a long moment, then sighed.

Sigh.
There’s no need to argue with a fish.
She doesn’t know any better.

Telling herself that, Zhao Shuqing leaned down and kissed Lin Feng on the lips.

The moment she got the kiss she wanted, Lin Feng visibly brightened up. She smiled so hard her eyes curved, and she asked, “When can I take a bath?”

“Soon,” Zhao Shuqing said, gently rubbing the corner of her mouth. “I’ll fill the tub first and let the sun warm it up before you get in.”

As Zhao Shuqing filled the tub, Lin Feng clung to the edge, refusing to leave. In the end, Zhao Shuqing tossed in some rubber ducks and bath toys. Lin Feng lay outside the tub, watching them float up and down with fascination in her eyes.

When the tub was finally full, Lin Feng couldn’t wait for the sun to warm it up. She insisted on getting in right away. Zhao Shuqing gave in with a sigh and let her soak.

Sitting in the tub, basking in the sun and playing with rubber ducks, Lin Feng looked completely content. She kept chatting with Zhao Shuqing non-stop.

Such a little chatterbox.

Zhao Shuqing moved her laptop over and sat on a beanbag chair nearby, working on her thesis while keeping an eye on Lin Feng. Lin Feng, seeing how busy she was, played quietly by herself. The atmosphere was calm and peaceful.

By the time Zhao Shuqing finished editing her paper, it was already noon. She closed the laptop and looked over at Lin Feng, who was starting to doze off under the sunlight. She reached over to touch her tail.

Not hot. Good—she wasn’t overheated.

Lin Feng fluttered her eyelashes open and noticed Zhao Shuqing touching her tail. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Zhao Shuqing replied with a smile, pulling her hand back. “I thought maybe you got cooked under the sun, so I was checking if you were hot.”

Lin Feng gave her a sideways glance, then asked, “What’s for lunch?”

“Lunch is…”

Before Zhao Shuqing could finish, someone knocked on their dorm room door. A familiar voice called out from outside, “Open up! I brought food!”

Lin Feng perked up her ears and said, “Gu Yao.”

It was Gu Yao.

Zhao Shuqing opened the door to find Gu Yao standing there with a bunch of shopping bags. She gave Zhao Shuqing a disapproving look. “You sure took your time opening the door.”

Feeling wrongfully accused, Zhao Shuqing asked, “What did you buy? So much stuff?”

Gu Yao pushed her way in. “All delicious things!”

Then she spotted Lin Feng soaking in the tub on the balcony and called out to her, “Lin Feng, do you like hot pot?”

Lin Feng had her hands on the edge of the tub and tilted her head curiously. “Hot pot?”

For lunch, Gu Yao had gone to the supermarket and bought a bunch of ingredients. She also brought over an induction cooker from her room. The two women and one mermaid gathered around the table, watching the bubbling twin-flavor hot pot.

“Hot pot?” Lin Feng still didn’t get it. What exactly was hot pot?

While Zhao Shuqing added cleaned ingredients into the pot, Gu Yao explained to Lin Feng what hot pot was. Lin Feng furrowed her brows as she listened, kind of understanding but also still confused.

Thankfully, Gu Yao remembered Lin Feng couldn’t handle spicy food, so she had bought both a spicy red oil base and a mild mushroom broth.

“Cilantro, scallions, sesame oil, soy sauce… and a bit more sesame oil,” Gu Yao said as she mixed up a dipping sauce in a small bowl and placed it in front of Lin Feng. “This is a simple hot pot dipping sauce.”

Lin Feng watched her make another bowl for herself—this time using the red, spicy base instead of the pale mushroom broth.

It smelled strong, kind of sharp… but also really good.

Zhao Shuqing just mixed some sesame oil and green onions into her bowl. She could handle spice but wasn’t a huge fan. Especially after these past few days eating with Lin Feng, she’d basically stopped eating anything spicy. So now, looking at that fiery red broth, she felt a bit traumatized.

“Is this going to be too spicy?” Zhao Shuqing picked up a piece of meat roll, lowered her head, and took a bite.

“Not at all,” Gu Yao said as she twisted open a bottle of cola. “I eat this hot pot base all the time. It’s super flavorful but not spicy at all.”

Zhao Shuqing nodded. It really wasn’t too spicy.

Gu Yao looked over at Lin Feng, who was sitting at the edge of the bed and not eating, and poured her a glass of cola. Then she picked some vegetables from the mushroom broth pot and said, “Try these. Shuqing probably didn’t think to take you somewhere with good food. She lives like a monk, so it’s not like she’d know how to take care of you.”

Zhao Shuqing didn’t agree with that. “How do I live like a monk? I’ve made sure she eats and drinks what she should.”

Gu Yao looked at her with disdain. “There’s barely any food in your fridge. You don’t eat snacks, and you won’t even touch milk tea or soda.”

Zhao Shuqing replied, “Those things have no nutritional value.”

Gu Yao said, “Snacks are for happiness.”

Zhao Shuqing: “Nonsense.”

As the two bickered, they continued picking food for Lin Feng. Gu Yao even tried teaching her how to use chopsticks. But chopsticks were clearly too tricky for Lin Feng. Not only were they hard to handle, but she kept dropping them. The tiny pair of sticks had her so flustered she was sweating. In the end, Zhao Shuqing just gave her a spoon.

Lin Feng ate from her bowl while eyeing the hot pot, especially the spicy red oil broth that she hadn’t tried yet. She pointed at it with her spoon and quietly called Zhao Shuqing’s name.

Zhao Shuqing looked at her. “You want to try the spicy one?”

Lin Feng nodded.

Gu Yao perked up with curiosity. “What happens if she eats spicy food?”

Zhao Shuqing shook her head. “No idea. I’ve never given her anything spicy.”

Gu Yao: “Wanna try and see?”

Zhao Shuqing glanced at her.

Sure, let’s try.

Lin Feng happily got a piece of lamb roll cooked in the spicy pot. She popped it in her mouth right away. The two humans next to her watched her anxiously—Gu Yao even grabbed the cola, ready to pour it down her throat the moment she cried out.

One second.

Two seconds.

…

By five seconds, Lin Feng’s face had turned red, her eyes started tearing up, and she looked at Zhao Shuqing in shock and panic. “Spicy!”

Without hesitation, Gu Yao poured a glass of ice-cold cola and handed it over, while Zhao Shuqing also offered her a drink in perfect sync.

Lin Feng clung to Zhao Shuqing’s hand and chugged the cola in one go. It helped for maybe three seconds—then her eyes welled up again. “Still spicy…”

It took nearly half a bottle of cola before she finally felt better. Zhao Shuqing went to the fridge and got an ice cube for her to suck on, puffing up her cheeks like a chipmunk.

Gu Yao laughed gleefully. “So she really can’t handle spicy food, huh?”

Zhao Shuqing kicked her under the table.

Gu Yao yelped, “Hey! I’m not the only one who said to let her try it. Why are you only kicking me?”

Zhao Shuqing said, “Well, I can’t kick myself, can I?”

Gu Yao: “Nonsense.”

Even though Lin Feng was teary-eyed from the heat, she really liked the flavor of chili and still wanted more. In the end, Zhao Shuqing poured her a glass of plain warm water and lightly dipped the spicy food in it before letting her eat.

After the meal, Zhao Shuqing went to wash the dishes while Gu Yao sat next to Lin Feng with a tablet and started teaching her how to play games.

The sounds of matching tiles filled the room. When Zhao Shuqing came out wiping her hands, she saw something surprising—Lin Feng, who usually hated being touched by others, was sitting right next to Gu Yao, their shoulders almost touching. Lin Feng’s eyes were glowing with excitement as she watched the screen and didn’t seem to mind the close contact.

That was a good sign.

“Gu Yao,” Zhao Shuqing called her over.

Gu Yao handed the tablet to Lin Feng and walked over, puzzled. “What’s up?”

“I’m going with you to feed the cat.”

“…Huh?”

When the two of them got to Gu Yao’s apartment, they found Guazi sprawled out on the bed, belly up and fast asleep, showing off its fluffy white tummy. Zhao Shuqing bent down to look at it and gave it a gentle rub.

“Little thing’s sleeping like a rock,” she said, rubbing its soft belly.

Gu Yao sat in her chair, legs crossed, and asked, “Alright, spill it. You didn’t just ask me to come out here to feed the cat, did you?”

“I do have a favor to ask.” Zhao Shuqing turned around. “My professor was admitted to the hospital last night. I need to go visit him, but I don’t feel right leaving Lin Feng alone.”

“You want me to look after Lin Feng this afternoon?” Gu Yao tilted her head.

“Do you have time? If not this afternoon, evening is okay too,” Zhao Shuqing said. “She seems okay with you. Aside from me, she won’t let anyone else near her.”

Gu Yao grinned. “Wow, I’m that special?”

Zhao Shuqing raised her eyebrow. “So, are you in or not?”

“Of course I am. What’s there to say no to?” Gu Yao said cheerfully. “I’m off this afternoon anyway. I’ll stay with Lin Feng.”

Zhao Shuqing reminded her, “Her claws are really sharp, and she’s super strong—could take down a wild boar.” And a dozen armed foreign terrorists.

Gu Yao: “Whoa~”

Zhao Shuqing said seriously, “If she doesn’t let you touch her after I leave, don’t try. If she has a stress reaction, get out immediately and call me.”

Gu Yao rarely saw Zhao Shuqing this serious. She nodded solemnly. “Got it. I’ll protect my life.”

Once everything was explained, Zhao Shuqing worried Lin Feng might come looking for her, so she left directly from Gu Yao’s apartment. She took her phone and caught a ride to the hospital right from the building entrance.

Gu Yao went back to Zhao Shuqing’s place. Lin Feng looked up from the tablet and asked curiously, “Where’s Zhao Shuqing?”

“She… went to my place to feed the cat,” Gu Yao replied with a smile. She remembered Zhao Shuqing’s warning and kept a bit of distance from Lin Feng.

As soon as she heard about the cat, Lin Feng shivered instinctively.

That fierce, terrifying cat had left a deep impression on her. Just thinking about it scared her.

Gu Yao noticed she didn’t press further and figured her lie had worked. Smiling, she asked, “Lin Feng, do you want to try milk tea?”

Lin Feng looked at her curiously. “Milk tea?”