The Mermaid and Her Keeper (GL) - Chapter 59
Zhao Shuqing looked at her curiously and tilted her head. “One hundred yuan? What do you want one hundred yuan for?”
Lin Feng looked at her seriously. “I can’t say.”
Zhao Shuqing raised her eyebrows and reached out to pinch Lin Feng’s soft flesh. “You’ve been keeping more and more little secrets from me lately. Now you’re hiding things?”
Lin Feng was startled and lightly slapped Zhao Shuqing’s hand, grumbling, “That tickles.”
“I won’t stop if it doesn’t tickle,” Zhao Shuqing smiled and curved her eyes, then held out both hands. “Let me see what secret you’re hiding this time. You even want money? Tell me, did you find something you want to buy and plan to give it to me?”
“How did you know?” Lin Feng looked surprised, then covered her mouth and said seriously, “Don’t say random things. I have my own plans.”
Zhao Shuqing rubbed Lin Feng’s cheek. The more she looked at her, the more she liked her. With no one else in the room, she leaned in and kissed her cheek, smiling. “Alright, let’s take a shower first. On the way back, I’ll buy you some milk tea.”
“Okay.” Lin Feng sat up straight and let Zhao Shuqing wash her hair.
“Still want Yangzhi Ganlu?”
“Hmm, let’s switch to chocolate.”
After returning from the hospital, Lin Feng went straight to play with Nemo while holding her hot cocoa. By her request, she insisted that whenever they went to the aquarium, they had to bring the clownfish along. Otherwise, she wouldn’t agree.
Zhao Shuqing sent all the requests to Wen Xiaoying, only changing the ‘salary’ to three thousand yuan. She guessed Lin Feng must want to buy a lot of things and planned to ask for more pocket money.
Wen Xiaoying reported back to the higher-ups, who quickly agreed and even doubled the salary. They decided to give Lin Feng six thousand yuan a month as pocket money.
Also, if Lin Feng didn’t want to stay in the aquarium’s room, she could come home with Zhao Shuqing after work.
Except for lacking social benefits, Lin Feng was more like an aquarium staff member than a fish.
Lin Feng was stunned when she heard the six thousand yuan salary. Her hands trembled with excitement as she started planning how to spend it.
“Buy a bigger tank for Nemo, and maybe get him a wife,” Lin Feng counted on her fingers. “I also want to treat you to hotpot and milk tea.”
“Alright, alright,” Zhao Shuqing laughed, holding her phone. “I’ll reply to Xiaoying now. In a few days, you can start working.”
Lin Feng nodded heavily.
News about mermaid Lin Feng returning to the aquarium quickly became a hot topic. The aquarium’s official social media posted detailed information. Once the news came out, tickets sold out within ten minutes. Even tickets for the whole following week were sold out. The aquarium added thousands more tickets overnight, which were snatched up in two minutes.
Netizens bragged about getting tickets, while those who didn’t were desperately hunting for scalpers. It was insanely popular.
Zhao Shuqing looked at how enthusiastic everyone was about Lin Feng and turned to see Lin Feng curled up on the balcony holding the fish tank. She was speaking to Nemo in a language Zhao Shuqing couldn’t understand, soothing the clownfish and telling it not to be afraid—that at the aquarium, she would protect it.
Nemo blew a bubble, seeming to agree.
“Meow—”
At that moment, Lin Feng heard a cat’s meow. Holding Nemo, she turned and saw Guazi standing on the opposite balcony.
One cat, two fish, six eyes locked.
Lin Feng’s breath caught, and she stiffened, clutching the tank like she had seen a fierce beast.
The dorm balconies were fully enclosed, so Guazi couldn’t come over easily, but the cat was anxious, scratching at the wall and meowing at Lin Feng, its eyes glowing green.
“Zhao, Zhao Shuqing—”
Lin Feng’s legs weakened with fear, and she shouted inside, “Help!”
Zhao Shuqing rushed over. Following Lin Feng’s pointing, she saw Guazi next door. The cat meowed again at its owner and frantically scratched at the wall.
What was going on?
Zhao Shuqing glanced at the orange cat and comforted Lin Feng, “It can’t get over here. You stay home and be good. I’ll check next door.”
Lin Feng nervously held Nemo, watching Zhao Shuqing leave her alone in the room.
Once sure the door was securely closed, Zhao Shuqing went next door and knocked on the door. “Gu Yao, are you home?”
No response.
She knocked a few more times. Guazi heard the noise and stopped scratching, now standing by the door meowing anxiously through it. Zhao Shuqing knew the electronic lock code, so without hesitation, she opened the door. Guazi immediately dashed out, rubbing against Zhao Shuqing’s legs nonstop.
“What’s wrong?” Zhao Shuqing bent down, picked up the cat, and petted its little head. “Are you feeling unwell?”
Guazi rubbed against her face, meowing.
Zhao Shuqing found this strange and decided to look around Gu Yao’s place.
The single dorm room wasn’t large. Zhao Shuqing immediately saw Guazi’s empty food bowl. The chubby cat must be hungry. It jumped down from her arms, sat in front of the bowl, meowing and pawing at it.
Was it hungry?
Zhao Shuqing quickly poured some cat food for the chubby cat, who devoured it as if starving. In less than a minute, it had eaten half the bowl, only slowing down to chew carefully near the end.
Watching its sturdy back and tiger-like appetite, Zhao Shuqing thought she really needed to find a way to help this little truck lose some weight.
After eating, Guazi started licking its paws and wasn’t as enthusiastic toward Zhao Shuqing as before. It stopped meowing too—probably it was just so hungry earlier that it scratched the balcony wall.
Zhao Shuqing called Gu Yao, but she didn’t answer. Curious, she left a message, then refilled Guazi’s food and water. Once she was sure everything was fine, she comforted the cat a little and left the room.
Lin Feng was really worried. Hearing the door open, she ran over quickly and was relieved to see Zhao Shuqing was unharmed.
“Thank goodness,” Lin Feng said. “I thought you’d been eaten.”
Zhao Shuqing laughed and patted Lin Feng’s head. “Do I look like cat food to you?”
Whether she looked like cat food or not, she definitely smelled like fish food.
Lin Feng sniffed her and frowned. “Go take a shower.”
Zhao Shuqing: “…”
She got rejected.
After showering, Zhao Shuqing heard some noise at the door. She told Lin Feng to stay put and went to check.
When she opened the door, Gu Yao was there, still wearing the same clothes from yesterday. Zhao Shuqing glanced at her and asked, “Why didn’t you answer my calls?”
“Huh?” Gu Yao looked confused. “I didn’t get them… my phone just died.”
Zhao Shuqing sized her up.
These past few days, the genome project was less busy, so Gu Yao had gotten lucky with two days off. Yesterday morning, she’d excitedly asked Zhao Shuqing to help pick out clothes because she wanted to go shopping. And now she was still wearing the same outfit today.
Plus, Guazi had been meowing loudly at home from hunger, so Zhao Shuqing suspected Gu Yao hadn’t come home last night.
“You didn’t come home last night, did you?” Zhao Shuqing asked. “Guazi was starving, meowing non-stop. I had to add some cat food.”
Gu Yao looked guilty. “Sorry, I had to work late last night and forgot to feed him. He must have been so hungry.”
Zhao Shuqing said, “It’s okay. Missing a couple of meals isn’t a big deal. Besides, he’s my cat anyway. If Lin Feng wasn’t afraid of cats, I’d have taken him in myself.”
“Then… I’ll get an automatic feeder for him,” Gu Yao said. “It has a camera and can control how much he eats. The vet said he really needs to lose weight.”
“I’ll buy the feeder,” Zhao Shuqing smiled. “That’s on me.”
Gu Yao couldn’t argue and agreed. As she opened the door, Guazi strolled out, rubbed against Gu Yao’s legs, and gave her a disapproving look—as if scolding her for staying out all night and starving him all day.
Zhao Shuqing watched Gu Yao crouch down and comfort the chubby cat, but her eyes drifted to Gu Yao’s collarbone.
Gu Yao wore a T-shirt and shorts, showing off her slim waist and long legs. The T-shirt’s neckline was a little low, and Zhao Shuqing caught a glimpse of a fresh hickey there.
Hmm?
Hmm??
Zhao Shuqing’s eyes widened a bit. Was Gu Yao and Xu Tang’s relationship moving too fast?
It had only been a little over half a month since the last work report.
Gu Yao didn’t notice Zhao Shuqing staring. She bent down to pick up the orange cat and smiled at Zhao Shuqing. “I saw the aquarium posted that Lin Feng is going back. Is that true?”
Zhao Shuqing nodded with mixed feelings.
Gu Yao got excited. “Great! I’ll order takeout, and we can celebrate properly.”
Zhao Shuqing hesitated a moment, then nodded. “Okay, go change and take a shower first. We’ll eat together tonight.”
Gu Yao nodded and went inside.
Watching the closed door, Zhao Shuqing stood in the hallway, hesitating. Something didn’t feel right.
Was this moving way too fast?
Gu Yao was easy to understand—she liked Xu Tang and was happy to be with her. They had a fiery chemistry.
But Xu Tang shouldn’t be that interested in Gu Yao, right? Less than a month and already Gu Yao was staying out all night. Zhao Shuqing worried Xu Tang might be a player, cheating Gu Yao’s body and heart.
If that happened, Zhao Shuqing felt she’d be stuck in an awkward position.
At dinner, Gu Yao ordered takeout, and Zhao Shuqing grabbed drinks from the fridge and cooked a couple of dishes.
Gu Yao’s eyes lit up when she heard Lin Feng was bringing Nemo to work and getting a monthly salary of six thousand yuan. She curiously asked, “Lin Feng, what are you going to do with the money? Anything you want to buy?”
Lin Feng munched on lemon chicken claws silently but glanced around Zhao Shuqing. Gu Yao understood everything right away.
“Got it,” Gu Yao said, pouring her a Sprite. “If you don’t understand something, just ask me. I promise to give you some good advice.”
Zhao Shuqing turned around, confused. “What do you understand? I don’t get it. What does Lin Feng want the money for?”
Gu Yao waved her off. “That’s a secret between me and Lin Feng. You wouldn’t understand.”
Lin Feng grinned proudly at Zhao Shuqing. “You don’t understand.”
Zhao Shuqing glanced at them both and shook her head helplessly. “Say what you want, or don’t say it at all.”