The Mermaid and Her Keeper (GL) - Chapter 44

Gu Yao was a quirky girl full of strange and creative ideas. The moment she noticed that Lin Feng had never tried bubble tea before, she immediately ordered delivery—one cup of mango pomelo sago for Lin Feng and a grape milkshake for herself.

If Zhao Shuqing had any flaws, it was that she was just too academic and lacked fun. She wasn’t interested in anything, could spend three days and nights writing a thesis, and was perfectly content eating plain buns and pickled vegetables.

How was that kind of life even enjoyable?

As Gu Yao sipped her drink, she commented, “She just doesn’t have a girlfriend. If she had one, she wouldn’t live such a boring life.”

Lin Feng held the bright golden mango pomelo sago in her hands and imitated Gu Yao by taking a sip.

Huh?

So sweet.

Her eyes lit up immediately, and she hugged the cup tightly, drinking half of it in one go. Gu Yao stared in disbelief and quickly said, “You’re supposed to sip bubble tea, not drink it like water—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Lin Feng had already emptied the cup.

“It’s delicious!” Lin Feng said excitedly.

Gu Yao looked down at her own barely touched drink, then at Lin Feng’s empty cup, and hesitantly asked, “Should I order you two more?”

Lin Feng nodded happily.

Gu Yao ordered two more bubble teas in different flavors. Lin Feng was overjoyed. This time, she didn’t gulp them down but learned from Gu Yao, sipping slowly and chatting with her in between.

Gu Yao found Lin Feng really entertaining and started playing match-3 games with her. Occasionally, they switched to other games as well.

By the time Lin Feng had finished all three drinks, she suddenly realized Zhao Shuqing had been gone for quite a while. She looked up at the tightly shut bedroom door, frowned, and turned to Gu Yao to ask, “Where’s Zhao Shuqing?”

“She’s probably playing with the cat,” Gu Yao said, using the same excuse as before. “You know how much she loves cats.”

Lin Feng thought about it and found that explanation somewhat convincing. Still, she couldn’t shake her unease. Though she tried to focus on the game, her mind kept wandering. Every now and then, she’d ask Gu Yao again, “Where’s Zhao Shuqing?”

Gu Yao was getting nervous. Finally, she stood up and said, “I’ll go check on her. You wait here.”

Lin Feng hugged her tablet and nodded. Even when the game’s countdown ended, she didn’t notice—her eyes kept drifting to the door.

Soon, Gu Yao came back with something in her hands.

“Shuqing’s still playing with the cat. She said you should just relax at home, and she’ll come over soon,” Gu Yao said, sitting down next to Lin Feng. She pulled out a bikini from behind her back and said, “I noticed you’ve been wearing the same clothes for a while. I bought this a while ago but never wore it. It looks like it’d really suit you. Want to try it on?”

Lin Feng looked at the bikini in Gu Yao’s hands. The top was shaped like seashells, decorated with pearls and little starfish. It was quite pretty—but right now, she didn’t care about that at all.

She shook her head, her brows furrowing. “Where’s Zhao Shuqing?”

Gu Yao mumbled something, desperately trying to change the topic, but Lin Feng wasn’t interested in anything else. She kept staring at the door and repeating the same question: “Where’s Zhao Shuqing?”

“She… she had to step out for something,” Gu Yao finally said, running out of excuses. “She’ll be back soon.”

“She went out?” Lin Feng asked. “Where did she go?”

“She went to the hospital to visit her professor,” Gu Yao said, and then as if remembering something, added, “Have you ever met Shuqing’s professor?”

Lin Feng shook her head.

Gu Yao was relieved to have found something that piqued Lin Feng’s interest. She sat beside her, searching for Shen Qingming on her phone. “Professor Shen is a big name in marine science. He was the first person in the country to ever see a mermaid in person. Look, here—this is him.”

She held up her phone to show Lin Feng Shen Qingming’s online profile.

Shen Qingming, a leading figure in marine biology, specialized not only in the study of mermaids but also in various marine species and deep-sea environments.

When Lin Feng saw his picture, her eyes widened.

Alongside recent photos, there was one of him in his forties—and the most famous one: the “Back of the Mermaid.”

In the photo, taken at sea, you could faintly make out the silhouette of someone with light-colored hair and the flash of a blue tail just as they were diving into the water.

That was… that human?

Something suddenly clicked in Lin Feng’s mind. She grabbed Gu Yao’s phone, as if trying to dive into it, and urgently demanded, “Where is Zhao Shuqing?!”

Gu Yao jumped in shock.

Previously, Lin Feng had always acted sweet and obedient—a beautiful mermaid who loved playing in water and snacking, like an adorable little creature. But now, all of that was gone. Gu Yao watched her with her heart pounding in fear.

Is this why Zhao Shuqing warned me?

Lin Feng looked up at Gu Yao. Gu Yao instinctively wanted to run, but her phone was still in Lin Feng’s hand. Trembling, she said, “She… she went to the hospital.”

“Hospital?” Lin Feng frowned. She remembered the hospital—it was where she had just come from. As soon as she thought of it, she put the phone down and tried to get off the bed. But the moment her tail touched the floor, the pain made her face go pale. She froze, staring blankly at her injured tail.

Gu Yao carefully took her phone back. The phone case had been crushed by Lin Feng, but thankfully, the phone itself was still fine. She let out a sigh of relief.

Good thing it’s okay… I just bought it for the New Year.

Seeing Lin Feng staring silently at her injured tail, Gu Yao started to feel sorry for her. She softened her voice and said gently, “Shuqing just went to the hospital to visit her professor. She’ll be back soon. You don’t have to be in such a rush.”

Lin Feng shook her head. That man was a liar. She couldn’t let Zhao Shuqing be alone with him.

She looked down at her tail and, after a moment of hesitation, decided to stand up.

Gu Yao watched in shock as she climbed off the bed, using her tail to support her body as she headed toward the door. The wounds that had just started healing tore open again one by one, and red bl00d seeped through the bandages. Just watching it made Gu Yao feel pain.

“W-wait!”

Gu Yao couldn’t bear it anymore. She called out to Lin Feng and quickly unfolded the wheelchair beside her. Resigned, she said, “Don’t walk by yourself. I’ll take you there.”

Lin Feng turned to look at her. After thinking it over—her tail really did hurt a lot—she obediently sat down.

Gu Yao pushed her toward the door. It wasn’t until Lin Feng started shouting “Tail! Tail!” that Gu Yao remembered to throw a blanket over her legs. When Lin Feng noticed they weren’t heading in the right direction, she looked back at Gu Yao, confused. Gu Yao had to explain that the place they’d gone before was an animal hospital. Shen Qingming was a human—so they needed to go to a human hospital.

Lin Feng frowned slightly in thought. Being human is so complicated.

At that moment, Zhao Shuqing was already in the hospital room. She had been sitting there for a while. Since Shen Qingming was still sleeping, she didn’t want to disturb him.

He was in a private room at the end of the hallway, so it was especially quiet.

Before long, Shen Qingming slowly opened his eyes and saw Zhao Shuqing sitting nearby.

“Oh? It’s you,” he said. “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Zhao Shuqing smiled and helped him sit up, placing a pillow behind his back. “You looked like you were sleeping soundly, so I didn’t want to wake you.”

Shen Qingming leaned back and smiled. “I didn’t get any rest last night. Xu Tang just left, and I must’ve fallen asleep right after.” He looked at her. “Did you eat yet?”

“I did.” Zhao Shuqing smiled. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’m a grown woman—I can take care of myself.”

Shen Qingming chuckled. He looked at her and slowly said, “Your thesis is really well done. You covered all the bases. Are you… planning to publish it?”

“Huh?” Zhao Shuqing looked at him, puzzled. “Isn’t publishing the whole point of writing a thesis?”

“But this is the first academic paper on mermaids,” he said. “Once you publish it, everyone will see it. They’ll use it as the foundation for future research. It might lead to all sorts of new studies about mermaids.”

Zhao Shuqing replied, “Isn’t that exactly why we publish papers? So that others can learn from them and use them as references?”

Shen Qingming’s pupils trembled slightly. After a long pause, he asked, “But what if… what if all your information is wrong? What if mermaids aren’t what you think they are? Then all your effort would have been wasted.”

Zhao Shuqing tilted her head in confusion. “Professor, why are you saying that all of a sudden? How could the data be wrong?”

Shen Qingming’s dry lips trembled. He clenched the bedsheet so tightly it almost tore.

“I was just speaking hypothetically,” he forced a smile. “It’s just that your paper is the first of its kind in the world. Future researchers will base their work on it, so I wanted you to think it through carefully.”

Zhao Shuqing nodded. “You’re right. I’ll double-check my data when I get the chance. But I’ve already reviewed it multiple times before organizing it—I don’t think there will be any major errors.”

Shen Qingming turned his head and closed his eyes in pain.

He knew the whole world was watching this paper. Once it was published, everyone would believe mermaids were just mermaids—humanoid creatures with fish tails. That they were powerful in the water but weak on land.

That their tails made walking difficult. That they needed water when on land.

That they were animals. That they were fish.

That they posed no threat to humans.

But… was that really the truth?

If Zhao Shuqing published this thesis, would it become the biggest scientific lie of the century?

Shen Qingming didn’t dare to imagine it. He was already in his sixties—he didn’t have many years left. He wouldn’t live to see how the future played out between mermaids and humans.

But Zhao Shuqing was still young. She had a long life ahead of her. If one day the world found out the truth, and she became humanity’s scapegoat, would she be able to bear it?

The thought tormented him.

He didn’t know what to do.

“What if…”

His voice trembled as he asked her, “What if your entire research direction was wrong from the start? What if, after spending your whole life on it, all you end up with is the wrong answer—can you really accept that?”

Zhao Shuqing paused, staring at her professor. She didn’t understand why he was acting so strange today.

But after thinking it through, she nodded calmly and said, “I can accept that.”