Chapter 21 Spit it out!

"However... this place is also very good."

The little merman's words can be interpreted in many ways.

It could be that the ocean is beautiful, and the land is beautiful too; it could be that he misses his hometown and the sea, but staying here isn't so bad; it could be that he has discovered the beauty of this place and has something on his mind, etc.

Luo Qingyan was naturally pleased to hear this. After all, she had saved the little merman, so she deserved some credit. If the other party felt that the reason this place was so nice was largely due to her, that would be even better; she needed that feeling.

She never shied away from expressing this, so she immediately asked in a lighthearted tone, "Why is it good? If you have romantic feelings for me, you should just tell me directly. I'll be... happier, and our relationship can progress faster. After all, true love isn't easy!"

The little male merman's hands stopped waving in the water, and his body seemed to stiffen.

The little merman relaxed a bit: "Okay."

"You've taken all the toys apart. You can play on the iPad by yourself later. I need to go return the rental car." Luo Qingyan stood up. "Dinner will depend on when I get back. If it's convenient, I'll pack up any good food I see outside. If not, I'll just order takeout. Let's try to eat dinner early tonight. First, I need to video chat with Grandma and Auntie tonight; they've been especially worried about me lately. Second, after feeding Chestnut, we can take it out for a walk. I haven't spent much time with it these past two days; I feel bad for it."

"Can't Chestnut come this way?" The little merman tilted his head back even higher.

"Do you miss Chestnut?" Luo Qingyan stopped in her tracks. "It does like you a lot. But it's used to staying over there. It has a lot of stuff, and it's not easy to move it over. Besides, Grandma will be back this weekend, and moving it around would be too much of a hassle for the puppy."

"Oh..." The little merman's eyes showed disappointment. He thought for a moment, "Then, does that mean I won't be able to see Chestnut anymore?"

"It's not that serious." Luo Qingyan chuckled. "No need to make it seem like a farewell. It's only a twenty-minute drive between the two places. Although it's inconvenient for Chestnut to stay here, it can come and play! Or, I'll bring it over to play tomorrow?"

"OK!"

"Your affection for Chestnut is absolutely genuine, from the bottom of your heart, and impossible to hide!" Luo Qingyan crossed her arms over her chest. "Why can't I feel the same way about you? It seems like humans and mermaids can both develop love for their pets, like each other, and have genuine and lasting feelings. Why is it so difficult between humans or between humans and mermaids? As time goes by, not only do feelings fade, but hatred may even develop. It's truly amazing."

“Mermaids are different.” The little male merman’s tone was very firm. Noticing the change in Luo Qingyan’s expression, he added, “At least mermaids’ true love is different. Perhaps it’s because human social relationships are too complicated and ever-changing, so… so what is expressed is also complicated.”

"Perhaps..." Luo Qingyan shrugged. "Society is indeed too complex, driven by self-interest and human nature. Sigh... There are so many things to do in this society. For example, I have to return the car now, otherwise I'll have to pay a delay fee. Alright, chat over, I'm going out, bye!"

"Okay, be careful on the road." The little merman waved gently.

-

Returning the car went smoothly, and it was only a little past three o'clock when I finished everything.

Luo Qingyan took a taxi home. When she arrived at the entrance of the community, several children walked past her, laughing and talking. Her eyes were drawn to them, and she noticed that each of them was holding a cup of milk tea.

Milk tea! Milk tea that can lift your spirits!

We haven't let our little merman try milk tea yet!

Last time she made herbal tea for her little merman, things didn't go well because of an unexpected incident, and they parted on bad terms. She didn't have a chance to ask him if he liked it. However, she remembered that he seemed to enjoy it, so he must like tea. He likes both desserts and tea, so milk tea is a safe bet.

There happens to be a bubble tea shop near my apartment complex, so I figured I might as well go today.

-

Half an hour later, Luo Qingyan returned home carrying two cups of milk tea.

-

"Xiaomei, I bought milk tea! Pearl milk tea!" Luo Qingyan walked into the bathroom and waved the bag in her hand at the little male merman. "Milk tea is just fresh milk and tea mixed together, with some chewy toppings."

The little male merman was looking towards the door early in the morning, and when he saw Luo Qingyan return, his eyes lit up with a smile.

“I bought two flavors. This time you have to choose the one you’re interested in. Let me introduce them to you.” Luo Qingyan sat down on the low chair, opened the bag, and took out the milk tea to show the little merman.

"This cup is black tea with fresh milk, and besides the pearls, there's also cheese foam and Oreo crumbs. The black tea has a relatively mild taste, sweet and lingering. The pearls aren't from the sea; they're the round, black things inside, made from tapioca flour, which are very chewy. The other black powdery bits are Oreo crumbs, made by crushing Oreo cookies. The cheese foam is the white layer on top, a creamy layer made with cheese, milk, and other ingredients, with a rich and smooth texture."

"This cup is black tea with milk, roasted brown sugar pearls, and milk foam. Compared to fresh milk, the milk has a richer flavor and a slightly salty taste. The roasted brown sugar pearls are a bit firmer and chewier than regular pearls, and they are sweet inside when you bite into them. The milk foam is lighter than cheese milk foam and melts in your mouth."

Which one would you like to try?

The little merman listened attentively to Luo Qingyan's introduction, but looking at the two cups of milk tea, he still hesitated: "Which one do you think I'll like?"

"You've thrown the question back to me again?" Luo Qingyan smiled helplessly. "Then let me introduce it again. Well... to use stereotypes, one cup is more for children, and the other is more for adults."

The little merman smiled and said, "Then I'll drink the kids' flavor."

“Okay.” Luo Qingyan was especially happy that the little male merman made his choice. She handed him a cup of milk tea and then taught him how to drink it with a straw.

The little merman held the milk tea, took a few sips, his eyes lit up, and then he started chewing, his eyes growing brighter and brighter: "Delicious, tasty, fun!"

“You really are like a child,” Luo Qingyan suddenly exclaimed. “In no derogatory sense, it’s the kind of appearance that hasn’t been disciplined by society, innocent, cute, and kind, which is wonderful.”

"You're great too."

...

The two returned to their usual routine of eating, drinking, chatting, and laughing together, and those days were very comfortable.

-

The little male merman always does things slowly and methodically, including drinking milk tea. Luo Qingyan finished his milk tea first, and then went to another bathroom to use the toilet.

The little merman continued drinking his milk tea alone in the bathtub. When he finished the tea, only a few tapioca pearls remained. He thought the pearls were delicious and wanted to eat them all, but unfortunately, without water, the sticky pearls were difficult to suck up; he had to use some effort.

However, with this effort, the pearl rushed into the respiratory tract.

Luo Qingyan had just returned when she entered the room to find a milk tea cup overturned on the floor and the little merman coughing violently at the edge of the bathtub. She immediately realized that the little merman might have choked on a tapioca pearl, as she had done so before and almost got herself into trouble. She rushed over to help.

"Is it stuck in your throat by a pearl? You need to spit it out!" Luo Qingyan first patted the little male merman's back, but after a while it didn't work, she quickly helped him up a bit, then hugged him from behind and used the Heimlich maneuver to help him expel the foreign object.

Luo Qingyan wasn't sure if it would work, since mermaids and humans are structurally different. She held the little male merman tightly and pressed down on his abdomen several times. Thankfully, the pearl fell out of the little male merman's mouth.

So tiring! Carrying a mermaid is exhausting. I never knew eight-pack abs could come with such a heavy weight. That magnificent fish tail must be even heavier. Luckily, the little male merman was able to get the pearl yesterday, otherwise she probably wouldn't have been able to move him.

"Are you alright?" The little merman, who had stopped coughing, looked at Luo Qingyan with a worried expression.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." Luo Qingyan slowly raised her hand and waved it. It was too cold sitting on the ground. A lot of water had spilled from the bathtub when she rescued the little male merman. After recovering, she braced herself on the ground and prepared to stand up.

Suddenly, she realized that her clothes were wet and her skin was showing through. She was immediately terrified, turned her back, scrambled to her feet, and hurriedly walked out without saying a word.

"What's wrong?" The little merman's worried voice was left behind.

The flustered figure rushed back to his room, half-closed the door, quickly grabbed a bath towel to put on, and then, instead of immediately looking for a change of clothes, sat on the sofa chair by the window to calm himself down.

She is neither a shy person nor a conservative dresser.

Her figure is considered good by current societal standards, and she enjoys wearing all sorts of beautiful clothes, many of which are sexy. S City, a melting pot of people from all over the world, is highly tolerant; people are used to dressing freely and have no sense of shame, only a pursuit of beauty.

But just now...

She had to admit that she was shy.

Although she knew the little merman was used to not wearing clothes and wouldn't care about such things—his calm demeanor confirmed that he indeed thought like a merman, treating people as ordinary animals and lacking any concept of sensuality related to the body and clothing—she still minded and couldn't convince herself otherwise.

Actually, it's just that my outer clothes are a little wet and see-through. I'd be much wetter at a summer music festival with water spray, and my swimsuits at the swimming pool and the beach would be much more revealing...

Moreover, the little merman's gaze can be described as as innocent as that of chestnut.

Sigh, I understand the道理 (principles/reasoning), but...

She doesn't want to be shy, and there's no need for her to be shy.

Why am I still shy?

The answer is obvious.

She seems to have really fallen for him.

No! It's just a fleeting impulse! It's perfectly normal to feel a flutter in your heart occasionally, such as brushing past a handsome guy in a crowd, making eye contact with a handsome guy under fireworks, or going to buy coffee when you're exhausted and the barista is handsome, etc. You might feel a flutter in your heart at any of these times.

The little merman's face is practically perfect; anyone would be captivated by it! Who doesn't like a handsome guy?

Yes, that's all, just that, don't overthink it.

She wrapped the bath towel around herself tightly.

Suddenly, a bubble squeezed through the slightly ajar door and floated in front of her.

This was, of course, the little male merman's bubble, but at this moment, she wanted to avoid it. Even if it wasn't the little male merman himself in front of her, but just a bubble, she still wanted to avoid it.

True love and a vow are the hope for survival, and striving towards that goal is one thing, but truly falling in love is another. Because she knows that the chances of actually achieving that best outcome are extremely slim.

Humans can hardly understand the true love of mermaids, but mermaids know about humans.

That's unfair.

The bubble is right in front of her. Even if she doesn't pop it, if the little merman really wants to talk to her, the bubble will pop on its own, right?

What to do? Deliberately avoiding a bubble seems too...

It seems there's no way to avoid it.

Unexpectedly, as time passed, the bubble did not burst on its own and remained in front of her, as if patiently waiting.

Did the little merman sense her emotions?

Is it that boundary-conscious?

A fish can have such a strong sense of boundaries!

Oh no, I'm even more excited now.