Chapter 12 The one who should be awake is you; she's already gone...

When Xiao Jiang returned home, he looked as disheveled as if he had just been pulled from the river. Before Jiang Liuyun came back, he took a bath, changed into dry clothes, changed the water for the merman, and put him back in the tub.

Perhaps the bathwater was a bit cold, because Xiao Jiang sneezed, not too loudly, in front of the merman. Sure enough, when he looked up, he saw the merman's furrowed brows.

Xiao Jiang smiled apologetically, but she was a little tired and couldn't say anything more. All she wanted to do was sleep for a while.

Soon, only her calm breathing remained in the room.

The merman looked at the small, thin figure on the bed.

She had her back to him, curling her body into a small ball, so he couldn't see her expression.

He knew that humans were very weak and had short lifespans; sometimes even minor injuries or illnesses could cost them their lives.

Is it because you got caught in the rain that you feel unwell?

The bathtub wasn't far from her bed; she could reach it with her hand. But the merman simply stared motionlessly at the person on the bed, watching her body rise and fall slightly.

She's still alive...

She's no ordinary person; she won't die so easily. That's what the merman thought, but his gaze remained fixed on her, as if she would die the next second if he didn't keep a close eye on her.

Xiao Jiang has always been very strong. Getting caught in the rain in July is nothing to her. In fact, the rain can even relieve her occasional fever. She just feels a little sleepy.

She slept soundly and even had a dream. In her dream, Jiang Liuyun prepared a sumptuous meal, and just as she rolled up her sleeves, ready to get to work, the food and Jiang Liuyun vanished, leaving her with only her empty stomach.

She turned over in her sleep, facing outwards, directly towards the bathtub.

The sky was dim, and the wind and rain continued to rage outside. Merfolk's senses far surpassed those of humans, and even in the darkest of circumstances, he could still see the distinct blush on her face. He knew that some humans could die from fever.

He hesitated for a moment before reaching out his hand, and only after the water on his hand had almost dried did he gently place his palm on her forehead.

A continuous stream of heat emanated from his hands, a temperature that made the merman feel almost scalded.

How could it have burned like this?

Although his body temperature was low, he knew that a normal human body temperature should not be like this.

Perhaps it was the merman's hands that were cool enough to make her feel comfortable, he could clearly sense that she liked it very much, and she even rubbed her forehead against his palm.

Xiao Jiang woke up hungry. In her dream, the lack of food made her very angry, but in an instant, she found herself in water. The cool water made her mind exceptionally clear. Swimming around in the water, she felt extremely comfortable. Eventually, she got too tired, and in her dream, she heard her stomach rumbling.

When she opened her eyes, the room was already lit with dim yellow lights. Jiang Liuyun was cooking in the kitchen, and occasionally a faint aroma wafted in, stimulating her appetite.

Xiao Jiang was in a daze and thought he was dreaming. It took him a while to realize that this was not a dream.

I slept so comfortably.

On the other side of the bed, Xiao Hai was in the bathtub with his eyes closed.

Xiao Hai was probably asleep by now. Xiao Jiang tiptoed out of the room, not wanting to disturb him.

After she left, the merman in the bathtub opened his eyes, his palms, hidden in the water, were bright red.

In the kitchen, Jiang Liuyun had almost finished preparing the meal and was thinking it was about time to wake Xiao Jiang. When he returned, he found her sleeping in her room again, probably having skipped school again. Oh well, the weather wasn't good today anyway, so he let her be. With that merman around, she must be quite happy these days. Just now, he had only tried to cover Xiao Jiang's belly, and as soon as he reached out, he felt the merman's sharp gaze, as if he would be torn to shreds without hesitation if he dared to touch her.

Jiang Liuyun chuckled. Her daughter got along terribly with the children in the village, but she got along very well with this mermaid.

After tidying everything up, Jiang Liuyun prepared to call Xiao Jiang. Turning around, he saw a messy white-haired boy who had come in at some point and was already eating by the table.

"Did you wash your hands before eating?" Although it was a reprimand, the person speaking had a slight smile in their eyes.

I don't know how many times I've told her, but she still can't remember. Jiang Liuyun shook his head helplessly, and with a look of exasperation, he carried Xiao Jiang to the water vat, scooped up some water, and made her wash her hands.

Xiao Jiang quickly stuffed a green bean into his mouth, pulled up his sleeves, and obediently stretched out his hands, revealing two thin, white, but empty wrists. He was still chewing with relish, completely unaware that Jiang Liuyun's expression had changed.

Jiang Liuyun asked, "Where's the bracelet on your wrist?"

The usually gentle voice turned stern.

Xiao Jiang then realized that something was very wrong. She had never dared to tell her father that the bracelet was missing, for fear of making him angry and sad. Now he had found out first. It was all her fault for being too careless.

"It's lost."

Jiang Liuyun pressed on, her tone growing urgent, "When was it lost? Where was it lost?"

Xiao Jiang gave a rough estimate of the time, but she had no idea where she had lost it, as the mountain was so vast. Later, when she went up the mountain, she searched very carefully in all the places she might have lost it, but she couldn't find it.

Jiang Liuyun was annoyed by her nonchalant attitude. "Why didn't you say anything after it's been missing for so long? If I hadn't found out, how long did you plan to keep it a secret?"

"Do you know that this was made by your mother herself? It's the only thing she left you!" Jiang Liuyun said angrily, taking a deep breath before continuing, "How could you lose it so easily? All your mother's hard work has been wasted."

“It’s lost, it’s lost. I didn’t ask her to give it to me!” Xiao Jiang had never been scolded like this by Jiang Liuyun before, and for a moment he stubbornly refused to back down.

Jiang Liuyun was even more furious upon hearing this, her chest heaving violently. "How...how could you say such a thing, and you still don't know how to repent?"

"Don't you have even a shred of affection for your mother?"

"No," Xiao Jiang said, sticking out his neck.

She had never even seen her in person, and couldn't even imagine what she looked like, so where would she get any feelings? On the contrary, because of her absence, she had been ridiculed by countless people as a wild child, a monster, an adopted child... If she could, she would even hate her.

Jiang Liuyun pressed his temples, slamming his hand on the chopping board in anger. "How could you be so...unfilial! Kneel down! You won't be eating tonight. Think it over before you eat."

Xiao Jiang remained silent, her fingertips digging into her flesh. The emotions that had been building up in her chest over the years had reached a breaking point; all it took was a spark to explode. And today, what had descended was not just a spark, but a raging inferno.

"You're always like this. Even though she's gone, you still revolve around her. You're the one who needs to wake up. She's gone, and she's not coming back!"

"Smack!"

A crisp slap landed on Xiao Jiang's face.

Jiang Liuyun stared at his hands, his mind reeling. What had he just done? He knew perfectly well that she was a stubborn girl… He was so angry he'd lost his temper.

Xiao Jiang looked at Jiang Liuyun in disbelief, tears welling in her eyes, and gritted her teeth, saying, "You don't like me at all, you only like the children she gave birth to."

He only cared about that person's possessions, not her as a person, just as he could only see the lost bracelet and not her clothes that she had changed into after being soaked in the rain.

Jiang Liuyun bent down, wanting to touch her face, "I'm sorry, Father just..."

But Xiao Jiang wouldn't listen to any explanations. She dodged his hand, quickly fled from his side, and rushed back to her room, slamming the door shut.

Jiang Liuyun looked at the food laid out on the table, a bitter feeling welling up inside him. Her last words… she must have harbored resentment for a long time. He couldn't imagine what she must have felt to make a child say such a thing to her father. He felt overwhelming shame and didn't even have the courage to knock on her door.

A door separated the father and daughter.

Jiang Liuyun slumped down at the table, while Xiao Jiang leaned against the door, covering his eyes and silently weeping.

That person isn't in this house, but her shadow is everywhere. Every item related to her is carefully preserved by Jiang Liuyun: the decorations on the desk are hers, the wind chimes under the eaves are hers, the flowers and plants in the yard are hers… She's not here, yet she's omnipresent, like a shadow hanging over this house. Jiang Liuyun lives her life clinging to memories, forgetting that she has a daughter who needs to live a life of mundane chores.

Xiao Jiang learned to live alone at a young age: cooking alone, eating alone, going to school alone, fighting off those who insulted her alone, going up the mountain alone… While she did all this, her father was engrossed in divination, praying to find that person's whereabouts through the divination results. Whenever the divination showed any movement, he would often stay in the temple for days on end. When news of that person appeared, everything else became secondary, including himself and their daughter.

Xiao Jiang understood everything, but when this fact was presented to her again, she couldn't help but feel sad.

There were no lights on in her room. The merman watched from afar as the figure slumped behind the door. She shrouded herself in darkness, curled up in a corner, sobbing softly like an abandoned, fragile cub, her head bowed, occasionally letting out a faint whimper. He found it hard to reconcile this image with her usual carefree, playful, and radiant self—she had always been so dazzling.

The merman didn't miss the commotion outside; he heard everything that had just happened, including the man slapping her.

In that instant, a surge of intense anger welled up within him, and by the time he realized it, his sharp fingernails had already carved deep dents into the barrel wall.

He looked at his hands, somewhat bewildered—if he hadn't lost all his spiritual power, these hands would probably have pierced that man's heart and crushed it without hesitation.

Why do we need to do this?

He was merely a tiny human being to whom he could temporarily rely. He tried to convince himself not to get involved in the conflicts between humans, struggling to suppress the strange urge to attack within him.

But she came back, back to their room.

Even though she sat behind the door, far away from him, and very lonely.

The merman suddenly had a thought—if only he had a pair of legs.

With legs, it can decide where to go, such as walking to her side, instead of just waiting for her to come to it like it does now.

However, he is still in his adolescence and has a long time before differentiation. Even when his spiritual power was not damaged, he did not have real legs or gender. Now that his spiritual power is completely lost, he cannot even conjure up a pair of legs.

The merman couldn't help but feel regret.

When he finally takes human form, will she still be there? Human lifespan is so short, so short that in the long river of life of merfolk, they can only be a fragment.

A little while later, someone knocked urgently on the Jiang family's courtyard gate.

Jiang Liuyun's footsteps sounded; he went to meet the people outside.

Despite being extremely anxious, the person deliberately lowered their voice.

Xiao Jiang was inside the room, some distance away. Even with his exceptional hearing, he could only make out some indistinct words: "The rain is too heavy..."

"Many people are still inside..."

"There's really no other way..."

Xiao Jiang stopped crying. She listened quietly for a while, but when she wanted to hear more, there was no sound outside.

She opened the door, and the dim candlelight illuminated the empty room. The food on the table was untouched, and the rain was still falling outside. Jiang Liuyun had already left.