The Mermaid and Her Keeper (GL) - Chapter 60

On Lin Feng’s first day at work, a large crowd had already gathered outside the aquarium.

Zhao Shuqing and Wen Xiaoying stood by the second-floor window of the aquarium, looking down at the dense sea of people. There had to be at least tens of thousands.

“Oh my god,” Wen Xiaoying said excitedly, watching the ticket entrance from afar. “I’ve worked at the aquarium for so many years, but I’ve never seen this many people. Are they all here to see Lin Feng?”

Zhao Shuqing looked at the crowd and nodded slightly.

Most likely, yes.

That morning, Lin Feng had gotten up and talked to Nemo, probably reminding him to stick close in the aquarium and not get lost. After all, with so many clownfish in the aquarium, she wouldn’t be able to tell which one was Nemo.

Zhao Shuqing only raised her eyebrows at that and didn’t say anything.

She found it strangely cute that Lin Feng was seriously talking to a clownfish.

When Lin Feng arrived at the aquarium, the director personally came to greet her. Lin Feng sat in her wheelchair, looking around at the familiar exhibits and sea creatures, her eyes slightly narrowed as if deep in thought.

The director thought she was worried the orca might attack her, so he reassured both Zhao Shuqing and Lin Feng that the orca wouldn’t come out of its enclosure today, letting her feel safe.

Luckily, Lin Feng felt much more at ease once she was in the water. She hadn’t forgotten the little clownfish Nemo she brought along and swam with him.

Right after opening, the number of visitors broke ten thousand. Everyone had come to see Lin Feng, heading straight to the spots where the mermaid often went.

Seeing so many people through the glass surprised Lin Feng, but she quickly relaxed. To her, unfamiliar humans were no different from little animals—a group of small creatures watching. They didn’t cause her any stress.

It was Nemo’s first time at the aquarium, and he kept swimming around Lin Feng.

Soon, a large group of fish gathered around her. Lin Feng glanced back calmly and then began to swim through the vast water. Her light-colored long hair floated in the water, and her huge, colorful tail fin was beautiful and wide. The fish, big and small, formed a line behind her, swimming along with her movements.

The audience was amazed. Many pulled out their phones to take pictures and videos.

Lin Feng led all the aquarium’s fish in swimming, looking like a beautiful and sacred painting.

Zhao Shuqing stood in the monitoring room watching the scene. Because of the huge crowd, security was a bit short-staffed. Although some temporary guards were arranged, seeing the dense crowd of visitors still made Zhao Shuqing feel uneasy.

“There are too many people,” Zhao Shuqing said. “How did so many come?”

The security captain smiled and said, “The first day will definitely be busy. It will calm down in the next few days.”

Zhao Shuqing thought about it but still wasn’t completely at ease. Although the large crowd wouldn’t affect Lin Feng in the water, she had a feeling of unease and wanted to patrol herself.

She put down her work, put on her uniform, clipped on her ID badge, and decided to go check things out.

Just around the corner from the work area was the glass hall packed with people. Three or four rows of visitors had formed a tight wall near the glass.

Zhao Shuqing immediately spotted Lin Feng swimming inside.

Unlike the view from the monitors, Lin Feng looked even more beautiful standing by the glass.

Against the blue background, she swam around with a group of fish. Nemo, the most spoiled one, was allowed by Lin Feng to swim right beside her. The little clownfish seemed tired and had nestled halfway into Lin Feng’s long hair, like it had a VIP seat.

Zhao Shuqing looked on enviously. That clownfish was way too spoiled.

She had washed Lin Feng’s smooth hair every day but rarely got such close affection herself, while that stinky fish got all the attention.

Lin Feng seemed to notice Zhao Shuqing’s gaze. She turned her head, saw her standing at the corner, flicked her tail, and swam over. The crowd near the glass screamed excitedly, pressing their hands on the glass to get close to her.

But Lin Feng’s eyes were only on Zhao Shuqing.

Her blue eyes looked curious as she pressed against the glass and blew a bubble. Zhao Shuqing smiled at her and waved, signaling her to have fun on her own.

Because Lin Feng suddenly got close, most people raised their hands to touch the glass near her. Lin Feng got startled, lowered her head, and looked confused at the expectant crowd.

A tall girl was standing right in front of Lin Feng. She raised her hand high and pressed it against the glass, matching Lin Feng’s hand.

Lin Feng blinked and quickly pulled her hand back, turning to look at Zhao Shuqing.

Zhao Shuqing, as patient as ever, smiled softly and started preparing to patrol.

Lin Feng wondered if Zhao Shuqing would get upset about her touching another girl’s hand.

But Zhao Shuqing didn’t seem to react at all. She just walked away.

Seeing Zhao Shuqing walk in another direction, Lin Feng left behind the large group of fish following her and swam through the glass after Zhao Shuqing.

The crowd saw Lin Feng move and quickly followed, running after her too.

Zhao Shuqing turned and saw Lin Feng approaching with a group of people behind her.

Zhao Shuqing thought to herself, “Swimming with fish in the water and now running with people on land?”

Lin Feng reached Zhao Shuqing and tapped the glass, pressing her face against it. Her nose and forehead left an imprint on the glass.

Someone noticed Zhao Shuqing wearing the aquarium uniform and immediately recognized her as the person exposed in that video.

“Ah, isn’t that Lin Feng’s caretaker?”

Someone in the crowd shouted, “Lin Feng’s coming to find her!”

Zhao Shuqing glanced over, wanting to explain she wasn’t really a ‘caretaker,’ but then thought it wasn’t necessary. After all, she did take care of Lin Feng’s food and drink and even gave up half her bed for her.

People liked Lin Feng, so naturally they had a good impression of her ‘caretaker,’ especially after seeing Lin Feng press against the glass looking at Zhao Shuqing. Excited, they took out their phones to start recording.

Zhao Shuqing, uncomfortable being watched by so many people for the first time, looked at Lin Feng and tapped the glass with her index finger, giving her a look.

She was signaling Lin Feng to go have fun on her own.

Lin Feng understood and smiled happily, but she still didn’t want to leave Zhao Shuqing’s side. Wherever Zhao Shuqing went, Lin Feng followed like a sticky little shadow that she just couldn’t shake off.

Zhao Shuqing had no choice but to pretend to be annoyed. Only then did Lin Feng reluctantly look back at her several times before wagging her tail and swimming away.

But as Lin Feng swam off, many people started gathering around Zhao Shuqing.

“The trainer seems really close with Lin Feng. Why aren’t you playing with her?”

“Miss Trainer, what does Lin Feng usually eat?”

“Can I add you on WeChat? Or do you have Weibo or Douyin? I want to see more of Lin Feng.”

Zhao Shuqing answered these questions straightforwardly.

“It’s work time now. I can’t play with her.”

“Lin Feng likes milk tea and hotpot.”

“No, I don’t add people.”

After shaking off these troublesome visitors, Zhao Shuqing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as she planned to take a quick walk around before returning to the office, she noticed a little girl squatting not far away. The girl wore denim overalls and had her hair tied in a ponytail.

The little girl looked about four or five years old and was holding a new mermaid doll the aquarium had just released—made to look like Lin Feng. It fit perfectly in the girl’s arms.

At first, Zhao Shuqing thought she was just a normal visitor, but she soon noticed the girl had been squatting in the same spot for a long time, staring at something behind the glass—and there was no adult around her.

Kids today are precious. Usually, a whole family would be needed to have one child. How could they let her come alone to the aquarium to see the mermaid?

Zhao Shuqing suspected the girl might have gotten separated from her parents.

“Hey, little one,” Zhao Shuqing called softly as she walked over, bending down to the girl’s level. “Are you alone? Where are your parents?”

The girl didn’t respond at all. Her eyes were fixed straight on the rocks behind the glass. Zhao Shuqing turned her head and saw a small fish floating belly-up for some unknown reason.

It looked like it was dead.

Even though the fish in the aquarium had plenty to eat and drink, they could still be bullied and pushed out by their own kind. Tiny fish like this one, no bigger than a thumb, often died easily—nothing unusual.

“That little fish went to be reborn,” Zhao Shuqing said gently to the girl, trying to comfort her. “Don’t worry about it. Maybe next life it can be a whale and won’t get bullied by other fish.”

Normally, after saying this, even a shy child would react—maybe nod or look sad. But this girl didn’t react at all. She didn’t just stare blankly—her eyes actually seemed to shine, looking straight at the dead fish.

Zhao Shuqing wondered if she was imagining things, but it seemed like the little girl was swallowing her saliva, as if she really wanted to eat the fish.

Frowning, Zhao Shuqing squatted down to meet her eyes and asked gently, “What’s your name? Where are your parents?”

These two questions seemed to get a reaction. The girl turned her head and stared at Zhao Shuqing with black eyes that didn’t blink once. She gave a stiff smile that made Zhao Shuqing’s heart skip a beat because it looked very strange.

Humans blink to relieve eye dryness and tiredness, keeping the eyes moist after long periods of staring.

But this little girl seemed not to blink much at all. Her smile was stiff, like a puppet.

“My name is Yao Jiajia,” the girl said slowly and clearly. “I have two moms. They came with me to see the mermaid today.”

“Then… where are your moms now?”

The girl stared at Zhao Shuqing for a long time, thinking hard. Finally, she smiled and said, “They disappeared.”

Zhao Shuqing understood—this child was lost.

It’s easy to handle lost kids in the aquarium since the indoor facilities have good announcements. Zhao Shuqing planned to take the girl to the broadcast room to wait and then find her moms.

But before she could suggest that, the girl turned her head back to the dead fish and swallowed her saliva again.

Zhao Shuqing frowned and asked, “What are you looking at?”

“Fish,” the girl said, pointing at the dead fish, then turned to Zhao Shuqing and asked, “It’s dead, can I eat it?”

“…Dead fish can’t be eaten.”

“It’s okay,” the girl’s eyes shone brightly like they were glowing. She stretched her mouth into a smile and said, “Dead fish tastes best.”