Chapter 18 His clothes were sparkly and very beautiful…

Will the little merman be discovered? Will the little merman be discovered? Will the little merman be discovered?

Luo Qingyan's hand holding the phone trembled slightly; the words on the screen seemed to be dancing. Terrified, she quickly unbuckled her seatbelt, got out of the car, and headed home.

Actually, if it were just that my cousin found a man dressed as a mermaid in her house, that would be fine. She could just say he was her boyfriend. It's just adult fun, nothing illegal.

No! Aunt Zhang just said there were rumors circulating yesterday, and now this happens again... She'll never be able to clear her name, and the little merman will be targeted by her family!

Sigh! The biggest concern right now is that the two sides shouldn't clash!

The little male merman has been trying very hard to hide his identity as a mermaid, not wanting anyone but her to know. However, his cousin is curious, and if she discovers something, it would be a real problem if things got unpleasant between them!

Confused and distraught, Luo Qingyan rushed into the courtyard. The door to the house inside was open. Just as she entered, her cousin hurriedly came down from the second floor.

"Sis, you scared us to death!" Tao Xingyou was holding her phone, probably on a call. "Thank goodness you're alright."

"I...I'm fine." Before figuring out what was going on inside, Luo Qingyan decided to observe her cousin's reaction. She glanced furtively towards the bathroom, but unfortunately, it was too far away to see what was happening there.

"My sister is fine, she's back." Tao Xingyou said into the phone. "Okay, okay, don't worry. I'll call my dad first, and we'll talk later."

"Why... such a big fuss?" Luo Qingyan asked cautiously.

"Sis, why can't we get through to your phone? Is it broken?" Tao Xingyou hung up the phone and looked at Luo Qingyan. "Grandma and Mom called you this morning, but they couldn't get through to your phone. They tried several times and couldn't get through. They were so worried. My mom asked me to come over and check on you, but no one was home. The neighbors didn't know anything about you either. My mom even asked my dad to go out and look for you!"

"Ah? I... my phone had a problem, it suddenly lost signal for no reason. I went to get it fixed, and I just saw your WeChat message, and I... sigh..." Luo Qingyan said whatever came to mind, it seemed that the little male merman's matter hadn't been exposed yet, so she just brushed it off for now, "I'm sorry to have worried you. I didn't expect it to turn out like this..." Her guilt was genuine.

"I'll call my dad first, so he doesn't go looking for me outside," Tao Xingyou said, picking up her phone again.

"Okay, I... I'll go wash my hands first." Feeling guilty, Luo Qingyan wanted to quickly check on the little male merman's condition.

If the bathroom door was open, and my cousin was busy looking for her, then hopefully she didn't specifically check inside the bathroom. But that's highly unlikely; if my cousin were looking for her at home, she would definitely check every room.

The bathroom door was indeed open, and inside...

Luo Qingyan had a bad feeling, and she quickened her pace.

I walked to the bathroom door and looked inside.

There was no sign of the little male merman!

He hurried inside and headed towards the bathroom.

The stool is still there, the small table is still there, the big blanket is still there, the clothes are still there, and the bathtub is full of water, but the little male merman is nowhere to be seen.

Where could he have gone? He couldn't have left, could he? But the little merman's body hasn't recovered yet!

She had clearly told him that if anyone else came to the house, he would cover his tail and wait for her to come back.

Is he really that unwilling? Does he dislike contact with humans? Is he afraid of revealing his identity?

Did he disappear, or did something happen to him?

"Chestnut, where is he? Where did he go?" Luo Qingyan asked anxiously, her face pale with panic.

Because Luo Qingyan didn't pet or hug Chestnut after returning home, Chestnut kept following her. Of course, Chestnut didn't understand her questions and just kept wagging its tail.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of something moving, and Luo Qingyan's gaze immediately turned to the moving object.

It's a bubble!

She reached out to the bubble, but hesitated for a moment before popping it. She took a deep breath and then popped the bubble with her finger.

"I'm in the pond in the yard," the little male merman's calm voice came from the air.

Luo Qingyan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She squatted down and patted Chestnut's head: "No wonder you weren't in a hurry. Did you know something? Why didn't you walk around the pond? Did he say something to you? You really listen to him."

Then, Luo Qingyan walked out of the restroom.

-

"How is Uncle doing?" Luo Qingyan returned to the living room and saw that Tao Xingyou had just hung up the phone. She looked apologetic. "I'm so sorry, I didn't expect to cause so much trouble."

“My dad went back to work, it’s nothing, he’s not busy lately. The problem is my mom and grandma.” Tao Xingyou smiled helplessly. “I told them that your phone might have run out of battery, and not to worry. But it’s such a coincidence, they heard about a case this morning of a woman living alone being robbed in her home. They originally called to remind you to be careful, but… sigh… they wish they could fly back right now!”

"What a coincidence." Luo Qingyan's lips curled into a helpless smile. "I'll video chat with them so they won't worry about home and not have enough fun. I'm sorry to trouble you and Uncle."

"It's nothing," Tao Xingyou waved her hand. "It actually feels really great to be out during work hours!"

"You've worked hard!" Luo Qingyan glanced at the clock on the cabinet. "It's almost twelve o'clock. Shall we have lunch together?"

"I can't eat anymore. I have to go to the South Gate area this afternoon. They just called and are urging me to hurry up. I'm glad you're okay, I'll head over early so I don't get back too late tonight."

"Okay, go ahead and get busy! But make sure you eat on time, don't go hungry, your health is the most important thing."

"Okay, I understand. I'm off now!"

"Okay, be careful on the road!"

"Okay, sis, you don't need to see me off. I can go out by myself."

"good."

-

Luo Qingyan stood by the living room window, watching Tao Xingyou walk out of the courtyard and close the door.

Then her gaze fell on the pond. She didn't go out immediately, pausing for several seconds. She was afraid that her cousin might suddenly come back, or that if she went out immediately, Chestnut would follow and happily bark a few times, making a noise that would attract her cousin, who hadn't gone far, back.

One second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds, five seconds… She silently counted in her mind, trying to stay calm. When she reached the tenth second, she felt it was enough, and quietly opened the door to go into the courtyard, heading straight for the pond.

"Xiaomei! Are you there?" she couldn't help but call out, trying to keep her voice down.

“I’m here.” The little male merman floated up from the water, only his head showing, his eyes bright. “She didn’t see me. I stayed underwater after entering the pond and didn’t let anyone else see me.”

“Your face…ears…” Luo Qingyan’s eyes widened instantly when he saw the little male merman. The side of his cheeks was shiny, and scales could be vaguely seen. His ears were slightly pointed, and the tips seemed to be transparent, like the ears of a dreamy elf.

"My body has recovered quite a bit, so I can show more of my merman features," the little male merman quickly explained. "Should I stay here or go back to the bathroom?"

"Back to the bathroom!" Luo Qingyan snapped out of her daze. She was about to get up to find a wheeled chair when she suddenly asked curiously, "How did you get to the pond all by yourself?"

"Pearl." The little merman smiled slightly. "My body has recovered a bit, so I can use the pearl for a while."

"Oh, I see." Luo Qingyan couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised. "Then you go back into the pearl, and I'll take the pearl back to the bathroom."

"I can't go back in now. I haven't fully recovered, so I need to wait a while before I can go back to Pearl."

"Oh, there's a cooldown period. Okay, wait a bit, I'll go get the blanket and the slide chair." Luo Qingyan said, immediately standing up and going back into the house to get the things.

"Okay." The little merman said and sank into the water.

-

Moving the little male merman back into the bathtub wasn't easy; the most troublesome part was getting him from the pond to the slide. The pond was on the ground, while the slide was at a certain height.

Luo Qingyan held a blanket, and the sled was right next to her. She looked at the little male merman who had surfaced from the water, and pondered with narrowed eyes: "How am I going to get you onto the chair? I... can't carry you, can I?"

"Just cover me up so no one else can see, I can get up by myself." The little male merman floated up a little more, his shoulders also above the water. "I'll sit on the edge of the pond first, and then sit on the chair."

"That's good!" Luo Qingyan beamed with joy and immediately unfolded the blanket in her hands, trying her best to wrap the little male merman around.

The little merman stretched out his hands to hold onto the edge of the pond, quickly pushed himself up, and sat down on the edge of the pond in one go. Then, he grabbed the armrest of the slide chair with one hand and supported himself on the seat with the other, using both hands and his body to exert force at the same time, and his whole body was lifted into the air for a moment before he sat steadily on the slide chair.

Luo Qingyan was focused on following the little male merman's movements, but she hadn't expected him to be so fast. She couldn't keep up and was worried about not being able to cover him properly, so she panicked for a moment. The moment the little male merman sat on the sliding chair, she spun too fast, lost her balance, and fell forward.

"Watch out!" The little male merman reacted very quickly. He had already settled down and immediately freed one hand to grab Luo Qingyan's arm to help Luo Qingyan steady his body.

When a person is unsteady, their normal reaction is not to fall. Luo Qingyan was no exception. When someone grabbed her, she naturally leaned towards that person.

With that, she fell into the little merman's arms. But her reaction was quick; she grabbed the armrest of the sled and managed to steady herself, preventing herself from falling completely into his embrace.

A large blanket covered the two of them, its pale yellow color radiating warmth like sunshine.

Luo Qingyan's fingers traced the little merman's fingers, their faces only centimeters apart. The little merman was clearly flustered and tried to back away, but behind him was the back of the sliding chair, leaving him nowhere to retreat.

In the past, Luo Qingyan scoffed at the strange physical contact scenes between the male and female leads in TV dramas. She found them childish, unnecessarily contrived, and not sweet at all, but rather awkward. However, at this moment, she had to admit that her heart was racing.

Some things can only be truly appreciated through personal experience. They can be so wondrous that they're almost unbelievable...

No! I can't let my heart keep beating this fast!

"The fish scales on your face are beautiful." Luo Qingyan smiled gently, then distanced herself from the little male merman, pulled the blanket off her head, and straightened up.

"Thank you for the compliment." The little merman lowered his eyes, his body still tense.

The little merman was really easy to tease. While adjusting the blanket to cover him up, Luo Qingyan tried to lighten the mood by asking, "You also have scales on your upper body, so is the aesthetic of mermen more inclined towards fish?"

With a new topic, the little male merman felt more at ease. He slightly raised his eyes and said, "It's not that I'm biased towards fish, is it? Don't you think the scales are beautiful? They're shiny and colorful. I remember that humans also like shiny things, right?"

Luo Qingyan stared at the little male merman's face for a moment, a smile appearing in her eyes: "Yes, very beautiful, more dazzling than gold and silver jewelry, like an ornament!"

“Yes, humans wear crowns, necklaces, rings, and earrings, and so on, all sparkly.” The little merman wrapped himself tightly in the blanket, leaving only his face exposed, and blinked. “Do you like gemstones? There are gemstones in the sea.”

"Are you going to give me gems?" Luo Qingyan grabbed the back of the slide chair, adjusted its direction, and then began to push the slide chair towards the house.

"Mm." The little merman nodded. "If you like it."

Luo Qingyan wanted to say that gemstones held no appeal for her at the moment, but she held back, not wanting to spoil the mood or ruin such a pleasant atmosphere. She tilted her head back and took a deep breath: "Let's talk about it later!"

"Hmm." The little merman's "hmm" was different from the previous one; the tone and emotion were different.

Luo Qingyan noticed the difference, but she didn't want to delve into it; she should continue to be happy. She gripped the back of the sliding chair tighter, then smiled and said, "Hey! Were you shy just now?"

"No."

"Are you so sure? I only said 'just now,' I didn't specify when. Are you using a denial to cover up your shyness?"

"Just now was just now, when else could it have been..." The little merman lowered his head slightly.

"real?"

"Anyway... it's not the kind of shyness that humans have."

"Oh, I see, it's the mermaid's shyness." Luo Qingyan's smile relaxed, and she chuckled. "Anyway, it's shyness, you don't need to explain, I understand."

The little merman lowered his head even further. He didn't respond immediately, and after a few seconds he slowly said, "Whatever you say goes."

The voice could be described as obedient, or it could be described as warm.