The Mermaid and Her Keeper (GL) - Chapter 56

Lin Feng was slightly stunned when she heard Zhao Shuqing’s words, but she quickly nodded and accepted the reality.

From the moment Lin Feng came ashore, she already knew what she was going to face next.

Seeing Lin Feng’s downcast expression, Zhao Shuqing reached out, hugged her, and gently comforted her, “It’s okay, I’ll be with you. We’ll check out the lab together, and if you don’t like it, we can always come back.”

Lin Feng opened her arms and hugged her back, burying her face in Zhao Shuqing’s neck as she said in a muffled voice, “I don’t like anywhere except here.”

Zhao Shuqing felt warm inside at those words and hugged her tighter. Lin Feng sat in her arms, whining softly, and Zhao Shuqing lowered her head, kissing and soothing her. Lin Feng’s eyes glistened with tears, her whole gaze fixed on the person in front of her.

The joint laboratory was nearly ready. A few days later, Xu Tang sent word to Zhao Shuqing, asking her to bring Lin Feng to visit the lab to get familiar with the environment ahead of time.

When they left, Lin Feng reluctantly put on a hat and mask, wore a dress Zhao Shuqing had bought but barely used, and was covered with a blanket before Zhao Shuqing pushed her out the door.

The temperature rose again today, so Zhao Shuqing tried to keep to the shade along the roadside, worried that Lin Feng would feel uncomfortable in the sun.

But no matter how much care she showed, Lin Feng’s mood wasn’t good. Since last night, she had shown no interest in anything — not even kisses — and looked like a dried fish left out in the sun.

Zhao Shuqing looked at her with pity but didn’t have any solutions. She was just a regular researcher and couldn’t exactly run away with Lin Feng.

At least, not now…

Lin Feng noticed Zhao Shuqing’s mood and lifted her head slightly from under her hat to look at her. Their eyes met.

Zhao Shuqing forced a small smile and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“You don’t seem very happy,” Lin Feng said calmly with her blue eyes fixed on her. “Are you upset?”

“…”

Zhao Shuqing hesitated, then shook her head softly. She looked up and saw the office building not far away, and said to Lin Feng, “We’re almost there.”

The joint lab was huge, taking up nearly an entire floor.

The Mermaid Project was a key national initiative, so the funding was generous. The whole floor was divided into three sections: one for genomics experiments, one for marine research, and in between, an open area was built into an ecological pool.

This ecological pool was much larger than the one in the aquarium lab. Besides the usual artificial rocks, seaweed, and coral, it had a temperature control system keeping the water at a constant 27 degrees Celsius, adjustable at will. The humidity was also high, fully simulating the ocean climate. It was obviously designed specifically for Lin Feng.

Zhao Shuqing toured the ecological pool with the staff, while Lin Feng sat in her wheelchair, barely glancing at the pool with no interest.

“What’s wrong? Don’t like it?” Zhao Shuqing asked, splashing the water a little. “Isn’t this way bigger than your bathtub at home? Why do you look so uninterested?”

“I don’t like it,” Lin Feng leaned back against the chair, unhappy. “I want to go home.”

She clearly resisted staying here. The staff stayed nearby but kept their distance because Lin Feng didn’t like strangers.

Just as Lin Feng finished speaking, everyone turned around. Zhao Shuqing looked up and met Xu Tang’s eyes as she walked in.

“Senior sister,” Zhao Shuqing greeted, standing up by the pool.

Xu Tang nodded and came over, naturally placing her hand on Lin Feng’s wheelchair armrest, asking, “How was the tour? Are you satisfied with the lab? If you find anything missing, just say it. We can add it now.”

Lin Feng felt Xu Tang’s presence behind her and gripped her blanket tightly, her face darkening as if she wanted to bite her.

But she had to hold back.

Zhao Shuqing noticed Xu Tang’s hand on Lin Feng’s wheelchair and her expression slightly changed. She told Xu Tang, “Senior sister, please don’t touch Lin Feng. She doesn’t like you very much.”

Xu Tang glanced at Lin Feng in the wheelchair and tilted her head, “Really? After all this time, she still hates me?”

Lin Feng lifted her head and glared fiercely at her.

Knowing Lin Feng’s temper and fearing they might fight and cause injury, Zhao Shuqing quickly stepped forward and subtly separated them. She said to Xu Tang, “Senior sister, I actually have something to talk to you about.”

Xu Tang didn’t mind and followed Zhao Shuqing aside. Crossing her arms, she asked, “Go ahead, what is it?”

Zhao Shuqing glanced back at Lin Feng, who was staring fiercely as if trying to catch someone cheating, but because she was in a wheelchair, she could only glare with her eyes. This made Zhao Shuqing feel oddly guilty.

It was strange—like cheating in front of your wife.

Clearing her throat, Zhao Shuqing withdrew her gaze and said to Xu Tang, “I want to know about the upcoming work, especially concerning the mermaid stuff. You know, I don’t want her to suffer.”

Xu Tang looked at her coolly and after a moment’s thought said, “I understand your concerns. The plan is almost finalized. Your role will be to supervise Lin Feng to take her medicine on time.”

Zhao Shuqing asked, “What medicine?”

Xu Tang smiled, “Medicine to promote mermaid ovulation, of course.”

Xu Tang said, “Mermaids are different from humans. They can release over a hundred eggs at once. Normally, mermaids’ ovulation happens around March or April, but now it’s already September—well past their ovulation period. So, she needs to take medication to stimulate ovulation first. When the time is right, they’ll extract all those eggs in one go.”

Zhao Shuqing knew about mermaid biology, so she wasn’t unfamiliar with what Xu Tang was saying. But when she really heard that they were going to extract Lin Feng’s mermaid eggs, something just felt a bit off.

“Senior,” Zhao Shuqing suddenly asked, “before anyone ever caught a mermaid, where did all this information come from?”

Xu Tang was momentarily stunned by the question.

Zhao Shuqing looked at her. “I remember the professor once published a paper about mermaid ovulation. But now thinking about it, I don’t really understand—how did he even know?”

Shen Qingming had only seen mermaids from afar. After that, he dedicated himself to mermaid research and, in the following years, published an explosion of papers. Some people said it was all fantasy, but others believed him deeply, thinking he had added new records to the blank history of mermaids.

But how did Shen Qingming know such detailed information?

He never actually caught a mermaid.

Xu Tang’s eyes darkened. She stared at Zhao Shuqing for a long moment before asking, “What? You’re doubting the professor’s conclusions?”

Zhao Shuqing quickly waved her hand. “No, I’m just curious.” Then she seemed to think of something else and asked, “By the way, senior, is the professor still in the hospital? When will he get better?”

“I don’t know,” Xu Tang answered flatly. “I’ve been busy lately. I’ll visit him when I have time.”

Zhao Shuqing felt a bit stuck and realized her question might have been disrespectful to the professor. It was normal for Xu Tang to be annoyed.

But that question was like a crack in the wall, making Zhao Shuqing doubt: Shen Qingming never really saw a mermaid, so where did all this knowledge come from?

Before Zhao Shuqing could figure it out, Xu Tang called everyone together for a short meeting. They mainly assigned the upcoming work, and Zhao Shuqing’s main task, as a member of the marine team, was to supervise Lin Feng’s medication.

As for what medicine she was taking, that wouldn’t be revealed for a couple more days.

Pushing Lin Feng back home, Zhao Shuqing opened the door and asked, “What do you want to eat tonight?”

Lin Feng, already tired of her outfit as soon as she entered, immediately started taking it off and headed for the bathtub. Sitting inside while filling it with water, she said, “I want porridge.”

Lately, Lin Feng was eating more and even ordering dishes herself. Luckily, she was thoughtful enough to only order dishes Zhao Shuqing could cook.

Watching Lin Feng play while filling the tub, Zhao Shuqing went to the kitchen to prepare porridge. She started cooking and began handling some fish fillets in the fridge, carefully picking out bones when a knock sounded at the door.

Zhao Shuqing looked up, wiped her hands, and went to open it.

“Ta-da!”

Wen Xiaoying appeared at the door carrying a bag of groceries from the supermarket, excitedly saying, “Look what I brought for Lin Feng!”

Lin Feng peeked out from the bathtub, glanced at Wen Xiaoying, then quickly ducked back.

She wasn’t close to Wen Xiaoying yet.

Wen Xiaoying felt a little hurt by Lin Feng’s cold reaction. She didn’t understand why she and Gu Yao got along so well, but Lin Feng treated her like a stranger.

Zhao Shuqing took the bag and saw it was full of fish. She asked curiously, “Why did you buy so much fish?”

“It wasn’t me,” Wen Xiaoying replied, snapping back to herself. “The aquarium director bought it. He heard you took Lin Feng to visit the joint lab and asked me to bring some fish over. He wanted to check if Lin Feng’s injuries were healing and when she might come back to the aquarium.”

So that was the reason for her visit.

It seemed not only Xu Tang and her team but also the aquarium people were closely watching Lin Feng’s recovery.

Lin Feng had stayed at Zhao Shuqing’s home for a long time after being discharged from the hospital. Her tail was mostly healed now—she could run and jump around inside the house with no sign of injury.

It was probably news of Lin Feng going to the lab today that made the director impatient enough to send Wen Xiaoying to ask when she’d return.

“The aquarium?” Zhao Shuqing hadn’t fully processed it yet when Lin Feng peeked her head out from the balcony, holding the sliding door and looking at Wen Xiaoying. She asked, “Can I go back to the aquarium now?”

Wen Xiaoying’s eyes lit up, thrilled that Lin Feng spoke to her first. She hurried forward excitedly and said, “Of course! We’re all looking forward to your return.”

Lin Feng was eager too—after all, the aquarium tanks were much bigger than a bathtub, and there were all kinds of fish. She still remembered the day she was grounded, passing the corridor where a few dolphins spat water at her. She hadn’t fought back yet.

A gentleman takes revenge, even if it’s three months later.

This time, Lin Feng was going to take back everything that belonged to her.