The Mermaid and Her Keeper (GL) - Chapter 7

Zhao Shuqing hadn’t expected Lin Feng to suddenly lean in for a kiss, and her eyes went wide with shock.

But then she realized that Lin Feng wasn’t kissing her—she had stuck out her pink tongue and was gently licking the wound on Zhao Shuqing’s arm.

The mermaid’s body temperature was very low, and when her tongue touched the skin, it felt cold and slightly stinging. Zhao Shuqing floated at the water’s surface, trying to bear the discomfort, and watched Lin Feng carefully tend to her wound.

Then something amazing happened.

Wherever Lin Feng’s tongue touched, the wound began to turn pale, and within just two seconds, it completely healed.

Zhao Shuqing stared in disbelief at her arm, checking again and again. The wound was indeed gone—only a faint white mark remained, as if she’d never been hurt at all.

“That’s incredible, Lin Feng,” Zhao Shuqing said excitedly to the mermaid in front of her. “You’re like a miracle.”

Lin Feng saw the wound had healed, then remembered she was still mad at Zhao Shuqing. Without saying anything, she turned and swam away, acting as if healing the injury was no big deal.

Zhao Shuqing didn’t have time to stop her—she was still caught up in the shock of what had just happened.

After getting out of the water, Zhao Shuqing didn’t waste a second. She held up her arm so a colleague could take a quick sample, didn’t even bother changing clothes, and ran to find Xu Tang. She happened to arrive just as a team meeting ended. Xu Tang was chatting in German with a researcher in his forties, but when she saw Zhao Shuqing rushing over, she waved her away with a nod.

Zhao Shuqing ran up, still full of energy, and held out her arm to Xu Tang. “Senior, Lin Feng just licked me!”

Xu Tang frowned slightly at the sudden outburst and said, “Don’t just stand here in the hallway. Come with me to my room.”

Zhao Shuqing cheerfully agreed, not noticing Sun Chengzhou stepping out of the meeting room behind her.

Sun Chengzhou stared at Zhao Shuqing’s back with resentment burning in his eyes. He felt deeply bitter.

Why?

They were both marine researchers. So what if Zhao Shuqing was the team leader’s junior from the same lab? Why did she get full control over taking care of the mermaid?

And now, she’d even discovered the mermaid’s healing ability. He didn’t even want to imagine how much more they could learn with better equipment once they returned to land.

By then, Zhao Shuqing would become the face of all things related to mermaids. Her name would always be brought up whenever people talked about them.

And him? He wouldn’t even be good enough to carry her bags.

No.

There was no way he could let Zhao Shuqing win so easily.

Sun Chengzhou bit his fingernail as he watched Zhao Shuqing and Xu Tang disappear down the hallway. He muttered to himself, “If I can’t have it, I won’t let you have it either.”

Unlike the excited Zhao Shuqing, Xu Tang was calm. Once they were in the room, she grabbed a towel and sat Zhao Shuqing down in a chair. As Zhao Shuqing babbled on about what had happened, Xu Tang started drying her hair.

After hearing the full story, Xu Tang’s face remained unchanged. “That’s it?”

Zhao Shuqing blinked. “That’s it.”

“And that was worth running around soaking wet like you fell into the ocean?” Xu Tang said with a helpless smile. “You’re a grown woman. How are you still acting like a kid? Can’t you take care of yourself?”

Zhao Shuqing grinned and wiped her hair with the towel. “I couldn’t help it—I was just too excited!”

“There’ll be plenty more discoveries to make once we’re back on land,” Xu Tang said. “If you react like this every time, I really might need to find someone else.”

“No, don’t!” Zhao Shuqing panicked and quickly said, “Lin Feng only trusts me right now. She doesn’t like other people the way she likes me!”

Xu Tang raised an eyebrow. “But aren’t you two on bad terms lately? I heard she ignored you all day today.”

Zhao Shuqing replied quickly, “Don’t listen to gossip. We’re totally fine.”

Xu Tang didn’t call out the lie but just smiled.

“All right,” she said. “Take a shower here before heading back. I can already smell the fishiness on you.”

Zhao Shuqing sniffed herself in surprise. “Really? I don’t smell anything.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Xu Tang said. “Just go wash up before you catch a cold.”

Zhao Shuqing thought to herself that catching a cold in over 30°C heat near the equator sounded unlikely, but still obediently took the pajamas Xu Tang handed her and went into the bathroom.

Xu Tang’s cabin was much bigger than the regular researchers’ rooms—probably two or three times the size. It had a wardrobe, a single bed, a private bathroom, and even a small desk against the wall.

Usually, Zhao Shuqing had to share the public showers with her coworkers, waiting in line for her turn. Only two or three people could use the showers at once, and there was no gender separation—male researchers showered during the day, and females after 6 p.m.

Some people found it too troublesome and only bathed every few days.

Xu Tang’s private bathroom was a luxury.

As the hot water ran over her, Zhao Shuqing let out a satisfied sigh. No doubt about it—being the captain came with much better perks.

The shower space was small—she could barely turn around—but it was still far better than what she was used to. When you were on a ship, you couldn’t be too picky.

While showering, Zhao Shuqing couldn’t help glancing at her arm. The white mark from the wound was now completely gone, even though only about twenty minutes had passed. If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed there had ever been a wound there.

It had been a shallow cut, maybe two or three centimeters long. Now, it was like it never existed.

How deep must the wounds on Lin Feng’s tail have been, then, for them to still be so visible?

Thinking about it made Zhao Shuqing feel a heavy weight in her chest. She remembered those blue eyes and felt an even stronger desire to understand her—

That beautiful mermaid with no name and no past.

At night, the ship was quiet except for the steady rhythm of the sea breeze and the engine.

Zhao Shuqing had enjoyed a hot, relaxing shower. Back in her room, she spent some time writing her research notes, recording everything she’d discovered over the past two days. She planned to organize it all properly once they returned to land.

She was sure she’d be among the first to publish a paper on mermaids.

Under the white lights in her small cabin, Zhao Shuqing sat on her bed with a notebook in hand. She jotted things down, tapping her pen against her head from time to time while thinking things through.

Before she knew it, it was the middle of the night. She yawned widely, stretched, and put her notebook and pen aside on the small fold-out desk attached to the wall.

Each researcher had their own cabin, but space was extremely limited. Her room could barely fit a narrow single bed, a wall-mounted closet, and that tiny desk. That was it.

Tough conditions, to say the least.

Feeling sleepy, Zhao Shuqing turned off the light and crawled under the covers.

The dark cabin rocked gently with the waves. The sea seemed rougher tonight, and Zhao Shuqing felt a bit dizzy as she lay in bed.

Just as she was about to drift off, she thought she heard faint voices out in the hallway.

Who was that?

Who’d be wandering the ship and talking in the middle of the night?

Before Zhao Shuqing could clearly hear the voice, it gradually faded away—and in the next moment, she drifted off to sleep.

In her dream, Zhao Shuqing was floating on a clear blue sea, with the blazing sun shining down from above.

She remembered that the human body is denser than seawater, so when someone falls into the sea, they sink first. After they drown, bacteria inside the body start to ferment, creating gas that acts like a balloon, slowly lifting the body back to the surface.

Depending on the sea and region, it usually takes one to three hours for a body to float up.

So when Zhao Shuqing opened her eyes and saw herself floating on the sea, her first thought was that she was already dead.

At this moment, she was like a drifting corpse carried by the waves, yet she felt strangely at peace.

She could hear the sound of the waves, faint and far away, and the warm sunlight on her body felt comforting.

Just then, she heard a soft, melodic voice. It sounded like a talented female singer performing an ethereal tune on stage—but the “singer” wasn’t singing lyrics, only a beautiful melody.

Who would be singing in the middle of the ocean?

Zhao Shuqing opened her eyes. To her surprise, she could still move her arms and legs, and she was able to swim.

Looking around, she spotted what looked like a small island in the distance. On the beach, there were several figures, and the haunting melody was coming from them.

Zhao Shuqing squinted, trying to see them more clearly, but she couldn’t make out their faces. Still, something told her—they weren’t human.

They were mermaids.

There were more than ten mermaids sitting on the beach, singing with their mesmerizing voices, catching Zhao Shuqing’s attention. One of them, with a graceful figure and long hair flowing down her back, even reached out a hand toward her, as if inviting her over.

This was…

Just like the legend: mermaids used their enchanting songs to lure passing sailors. Once the sailors were completely entranced, the mermaids would drag them into their lairs—and eat them.

Zhao Shuqing narrowed her eyes slightly. She wanted to get closer, to see what the mermaids really looked like.

But just as she was about to swim over, someone grabbed her arm from behind. She turned around—and met a pair of beautiful blue eyes.

Lin Feng had appeared behind her. He held her arm tightly, frowning and shaking his head.

“Don’t go over there.”

His lips moved gently as he spoke in a calm, cool voice: “Stay away from the mermaids…”

Zhao Shuqing suddenly opened her eyes and realized she wasn’t in the ocean at all. She was lying in bed.

“Stay away from the mermaids…”

She could still remember Lin Feng’s words from her dream. With a bitter smile, she covered her face. What a ridiculous dream, she thought.

But just as she was thinking back on the dream, she heard a commotion in the hallway outside her cabin.

She glanced at the light outside—it was just before dawn, still very early.

“Quick! Go tell the captain—someone’s dead!”

“How could something like this happen so suddenly?”

“Who knows? I even saw him last night. He said he heard someone singing and went up to the deck.”

“Ridiculous! Who could be singing in the middle of the ocean?”