The Mermaid and Her Keeper (GL) - Chapter 54

“Ow, ow…”

Lin Feng rolled around on the bed in pain after being hit on the nose by a tablet. Zhao Shuqing panicked and quickly ran over, bending down to check on her. “Are you okay? Where did it hit?”

Lin Feng pointed to her nose and whimpered, “It hurts.”

Zhao Shuqing took a closer look. It wasn’t anything serious—just a little red from the impact. It didn’t seem like a big deal.

“Why are you so jumpy?” Zhao Shuqing asked suspiciously. “Are you feeling guilty about something?”

Lin Feng looked up at her, confused. With her current understanding of Mandarin, she couldn’t quite grasp what “feeling guilty” meant.

Never mind.

Zhao Shuqing gently touched the spot on Lin Feng’s nose that had turned red, thinking it wasn’t worth stressing over. It was probably just a few misplaced trinkets anyway. Maybe she had forgotten where she put them.

Lin Feng’s nose felt warm under Zhao Shuqing’s touch. She leaned closer, resting her head on Zhao Shuqing’s shoulder, and complained softly, “It hurts…”

Zhao Shuqing held her close, inhaling the faint sea-salt scent on her. “Next time, I’ll get you a stand for it. That way, it won’t fall on your head again, okay?”

Lin Feng hugged Zhao Shuqing’s waist and rubbed against her affectionately. “Okay~”

As the two cuddled on the bed, Lin Feng nuzzled Zhao Shuqing’s cheek, clearly angling for a kiss. The sweet intimacy they’d shared on the riverside the previous night had left Lin Feng wanting more.

“Zhao Shuqing…”

Lin Feng’s voice was soft, her lips brushing against Zhao Shuqing’s earlobe in a way that made both of them feel warm and tingly.

Zhao Shuqing, unable to resist the teasing, tightened her arms around Lin Feng’s waist, pinning her down. She leaned down and captured Lin Feng’s lips. Lin Feng, delighted, wrapped her arms around Zhao Shuqing’s shoulders and eagerly offered her soft tongue.

They kissed on the bed for a while. Lin Feng felt light-headed, her tail wrapping around Zhao Shuqing’s leg, brushing against her. Unnoticed, the scales on her tail subtly opened.

But just then, Zhao Shuqing heard a noise outside the door. She propped herself up and said, “Hold on.”

Lin Feng used her tail to nudge Zhao Shuqing and tilted her head. Before she could speak, they heard the sound of a door opening next door.

Gu Yao was back.

Lin Feng didn’t want to care about it. She reached out and pulled Zhao Shuqing back for another kiss, even slipping her hand under Zhao Shuqing’s shirt to caress her waist.

Zhao Shuqing, ticklish, broke out in goosebumps at Lin Feng’s touch. She grabbed Lin Feng’s hand and bit her, earning a retaliatory swat from Lin Feng’s tail.

Messing around in broad daylight didn’t seem appropriate. After the kiss, Zhao Shuqing let her go and sat on the edge of the bed, tidying her clothes. “I’m going to check on Gu Yao. You stay here and behave. I’ll come back later to make dinner.”

Lin Feng wasn’t happy. Like a clingy snake, she latched onto Zhao Shuqing’s waist and whined, “Don’t go.”

Zhao Shuqing sighed.

You little troublemaker.

She turned back and stroked Lin Feng’s head. Seeing her blushing cheeks, Zhao Shuqing couldn’t resist leaning down to plant a light kiss on her. “We’ll continue later tonight, okay?”

Lin Feng thought seriously for a moment, then nodded. “Tonight is fine too.”

Zhao Shuqing patted her head and went to find Gu Yao.

Gu Yao’s door wasn’t locked, and Zhao Shuqing pushed it open to find the apartment in complete disarray. It looked like a thief had ransacked the place. Clothes were strewn everywhere, and Gu Yao stood in front of a full-length mirror, holding up a blue floral dress. When she noticed Zhao Shuqing, she turned and asked, “How does this look?”

Zhao Shuqing glanced at it and said, “It looks nice, but won’t you be cold?”

Though it was still late summer, the nights were chilly. Zhao Shuqing worried that a thin dress like that wouldn’t provide enough warmth against the night breeze.

“As long as it looks good. I’ll just bring a jacket,” Gu Yao said, turning back to the mirror to admire herself. She had clearly decided this was the outfit for today.

“Why are you suddenly dressing up?” Zhao Shuqing teased as she leaned against the doorframe. “Are you going on a date?”

Gu Yao glanced at her with a playful smile. “How did you guess?”

Zhao Shuqing froze. “Wait, you’re actually going on a date? With who?”

Yesterday, Gu Yao had been crying over her love at first sight with Xu Tang. And now she was going on a date?

This woman was unbelievable.

She dropped her first love just like that?

Gu Yao noticed Zhao Shuqing’s shocked expression and rolled her eyes. “What are you thinking? It’s with your senior sister.”

Zhao Shuqing was even more surprised. She stepped into the room. “Seriously? You and my senior sister… What’s going on between you two? Are you actually dating? No way.”

Blushing, Gu Yao said, “It’s not like that. This afternoon, after I reported to her about work, she asked me out to dinner as a thank-you for treating her last time. I didn’t refuse, so I came back to get ready.”

Zhao Shuqing was puzzled. “But yesterday, you were saying you wanted to keep your distance from her. Why did you still report to her today?”

Feeling awkward, Gu Yao explained, “I told the team leader as soon as I got to the lab, but he said no one else could do it, so I had to suck it up and go.”

Zhao Shuqing let out an “oh” and looked at Gu Yao, who was brimming with excitement, feeling that something seemed a little off.

From what Zhao Shuqing knew, Xu Tang was an extremely meticulous and serious person. Apart from work-related matters, she had little interest in anything else. If not for Zhao Shuqing shamelessly using her status as Xu Tang’s junior to interact with her, Xu Tang probably wouldn’t have engaged much at all. In fact, despite returning from overseas for a while now, Xu Tang had rarely reached out to Zhao Shuqing herself.

Gu Yao saying Xu Tang had invited her out made Zhao Shuqing feel a little suspicious, though she couldn’t pinpoint why. After all, Xu Tang’s reasoning for the invitation was straightforward: repaying her with a meal. There wasn’t anything inherently strange about it.

Still, Zhao Shuqing couldn’t shake the odd feeling.

Meanwhile, Gu Yao was busy preparing for her date with evident excitement. Normally, Gu Yao was a beautiful young woman, though most of the time in the lab, she only wore her white coat. However, she had plenty of fashionable outfits at home and was now trying on various dresses to pair with matching shoes.

Zhao Shuqing offered a few suggestions. Gu Yao tried on some options and eventually settled on an outfit—a dress paired with a pearl-strap crossbody bag, the kind that was so small it could barely fit a phone and keys, more decorative than functional.

“How does this look?” Gu Yao asked, spinning around in front of Zhao Shuqing.

Zhao Shuqing scrutinized her outfit and nodded. “Fresh and pretty. My senior will definitely like it.”

Gu Yao beamed, deciding to take a quick shower and then do her makeup.◇

Zhao Shuqing stopped her for a moment. “Gu Yao, what time is your date with my senior? Are you sure you have time for a shower now?”

“It’s at 7 PM. She has to attend a meeting after work, so she told me to wait for her at the grilled fish restaurant. She might be a little late,” Gu Yao explained before turning back. “Why? What’s with the sudden question?”

“Nothing, just curious,” Zhao Shuqing replied with a smile. “Well, have fun on your date with my senior. I’ll head home now.”

“Wait a second,” Gu Yao said, running back over with a grin. “Shuqing, this is my first date. I’m a bit nervous. Could you come with me tonight?”

“Me?” Zhao Shuqing pointed at herself, puzzled. “Why would I go? That’d be awkward for me. I’ll pass. Lin Feng still needs me at home.”

“You don’t have to come in. Just wait with me until Xu Tang gets there,” Gu Yao pleaded. “I’ll treat you and Lin Feng to grilled fish afterward. Deal?”

Grilled fish?

Zhao Shuqing thought about it. Lin Feng hadn’t tried grilled fish before, and she herself was curious to see what her senior would be like on a date.

“Alright,” Zhao Shuqing agreed. “I’ll wait with you until she arrives. Once she’s there, I’ll leave. I remember that place offers takeout, so I’ll grab some grilled fish for Lin Feng on my way back. She’s been into spicy food lately.”

Gu Yao snapped her fingers. “Deal.”

After agreeing on a time, Zhao Shuqing returned home and told Lin Feng about her plan to go out. She had expected Lin Feng to be happy about the free grilled fish, but instead, Lin Feng’s expression was surprisingly reserved.

Lin Feng sat on the bed, calmly looking at her before saying slowly, “She’s being deceived.”

“What?” Zhao Shuqing blinked.

Lin Feng gave her a deep look.

Deep down, Lin Feng knew Xu Tang wasn’t a good person. How could a mermaid possibly be interested in a human? Gu Yao liked Xu Tang because she didn’t know Xu Tang was a mermaid. But Xu Tang knew she was a mermaid—there was no way she’d truly want to be with Gu Yao.

Lin Feng didn’t know exactly what Xu Tang was planning, but she was sure it wasn’t anything good.

Gu Yao was a good person, and Lin Feng didn’t want to see her get hurt.

“Gu Yao and Xu Tang shouldn’t be together,” Lin Feng said seriously to Zhao Shuqing. “You should talk to her.”

Zhao Shuqing smiled wryly. “How am I supposed to talk someone out of their feelings?”

Lin Feng opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say next.

Zhao Shuqing gently pinched Lin Feng’s cheek, leaning in to plant a kiss. “Don’t worry. Even if Gu Yao starts dating, she won’t stop being nice to you. Besides, you’ll always have me.”

After a moment of hesitation, Lin Feng nodded slightly.

She watched Zhao Shuqing change her clothes and leave. Before going, Zhao Shuqing reminded her not to mess with the gas or electricity, and Gu Yao, dressed to the nines, came in to greet Lin Feng cheerfully before leaving with Zhao Shuqing.

Lin Feng gave Gu Yao a sympathetic glance before curling up on the bed, feeling listless.

What should she do? Zhao Shuqing had only been gone a little while, and Lin Feng already missed her.

After lounging around in the blankets for what felt like forever, Lin Feng got up and sat by the desk. She tapped on the fish tank to wake up the clownfish nestled in the sea anemone.

“Nemo, do you think I should tell Gu Yao?” Lin Feng propped her chin on her arm, lightly tapping the tank’s glass with her finger. Her brows furrowed as she murmured, “She’s been so good to me. I don’t want her to end up getting eaten. That’d be too tragic.”

Lin Feng couldn’t bear to imagine Gu Yao being devoured, like that recorder named Fang Wen she’d heard about.

If Gu Yao got eaten, and the mermaid who ate her gained Gu Yao’s memories and emotions, would that still be Gu Yao—or just a strange fish?

The thought left Lin Feng feeling uneasy.

While she wrestled with her thoughts, she suddenly heard footsteps in the hallway.

Sitting up straight, Lin Feng turned to face the closed door.

The faint light beneath the door dimmed as the footsteps stopped outside, blocking the gap.