Chapter 149: I thought you wouldn't be coming back tonight. ...
Chaomu is also looking forward to the arrival of spring.
At her current pace, she was learning both physical and magical skills, and the pets she received were diverse and extremely powerful. Little Raccoon's career was flourishing, and by spring she should have become a perfect hexagonal warrior - if only her adoptive father and good brother could give her a skill book that increased charm.
But spring hadn't arrived yet; it was still winter. Chaomu would sneak into the trash can after Hagiwara went to bed, braving the cold wind to feel around along the way, then return to her home to see if her Mimi and the new fish were getting along.
Before going back, she quietly glanced at the messages and found that the last message was still sent by Mimi.
[From Mom's Favorite Kitten: I've already told Squalo the general situation. He's also somewhat understanding of your intentions and is willing to cooperate.]
From Mom's Favorite Kitten: I don't mean to pry into your privacy, but if possible, I'd like you to tell me... Is the gray avatar in the group chat also my "new companion"? If so, you can definitely let me teach them together, which will save time.
...Whether it's new or not is hard to say, but my companion is right...
Thinking of this, Chaomu felt a pang of guilt: After all, in Mimi's mind, he had always been the child of a single-cat family. Who knew that his mother had actually been raising an unknown animal before he was adopted... Looking at the group chat avatar, it seemed to be a black snake? She had never seen Shi'er in his animal form before, so she had no idea.
But Mimi doesn't seem angry, does she? That's right, although she can get jealous sometimes, most of the time she's a mature, sensible, and good cat with a great perspective!
Besides, he's the only cat in the house now, with a reptile and a fish...how can this not be a one-cat household? Mimi is still his mom's only kitten! Win!
Relying on this logic, Chaomu quickly managed to deal with his few remaining feelings of guilt. He happily returned home and poked his head out of the trash can in the living room: "Mimi—what are you... ahem, why do you smell like cigarettes?"
The balcony door was open, and when she poked her head out, she saw a man with long black hair standing sideways on the balcony. He rested his elbows on the railing, leaning against it, the flicker of fire between his fingertips the only bright spot in the darkness.
Moonlight slashed down from the right eaves, dividing the sculpture-like face into light and dark. His expression seemed to be a little melancholy in the night, but upon closer inspection, it seemed expressionless.
This seemed to be the first time that Chaomu saw Zhu Xingdai smoking at home - although she knew that he was definitely addicted to smoking and drinking coffee from the first day she raised Mimi and she smelled him like a coffee can being used as an ashtray, but Zhu Xingmi Mimi seemed to have always been very careful in this regard and had never let her smell the smell of cigarettes.
After a brief moment of unhappiness, the subtle guilt that she had just overcome in her heart surfaced again: Why did Mimi suddenly start smoking... It looked a bit strange that she was left alone on the empty balcony by the owner's neglect... What a weird husband.
The moment he heard her voice, the man almost immediately put out his cigarette: "You're back... Sorry."
He opened the doors and windows for ventilation, and turned on the air purifier before returning to her and taking off her scarf and hat. "You didn't reply to the message, and I thought you wouldn't be coming back tonight, so I smoked a cigarette... My bad."
This word "也" is very subtle.
The little flame of guilt was blown a little bigger by the wind. Chaomu coughed dryly and said nonchalantly: "Isn't Mr. Squalo still here? I have to come back to take a look..."
……wrong.
When she said this, the black-haired man in front of her stared at her expressionlessly. Realizing she had said something wrong, she quickly made up for it, "Of course the most important thing is to come back and see Mimi. You haven't seen Mommy for a day. Mimi, did you miss me? Come, come, give Mommy a hug..."
The cat ears on Mimi Moroboshi's head seemed to stand up straight, and her cold green eyes looked at her, as if to confirm her attitude. After half a second, she took a step forward. Before Chaomu could throw herself into his arms, she heard the sound of splashing water from the bedroom... and a penetrating man's voice.
"Hey—could you guys stop being so cheesy over there? I'm about to throw up." The mermaid being mentioned spoke frankly, "I don't have time to eavesdrop here, kid. You've called me here for so long, isn't it time to let me go back?"
Chaomu, whose head was already resting on the man's chest: "......"
"...I don't know if it's because of the mermaid's bonus, but I always feel that his voice is louder than before..." She grumbled and complained softly, but still buried her head in the man's chest and rubbed it twice, and then grabbed Mimi's head. "Mimi, you stay here to get rid of the smell. I'm going to go do my daily routine with Squalo."
Without waiting for his reply, she had already run off, as if she didn't think he would refuse or get upset about it.
Zhu Xingda looked at her back in silence, let out a breath, and finally returned to the balcony, waiting for the wind to blow away the smell of smoke on his body.
On rare occasions, when he didn't have to think about the organization, his father, or the future, he would sometimes think about her, himself, and what kind of definition of the relationship between him and her was in her heart - although they seemed to be very close, with physical contact just one step away, and their hearts were actually infinitely close... but they seemed to be very far apart, so close yet so far away.
The relationship between a pet and its owner is like a long-term role-playing game. He is forced to take it seriously but is immersed in it... and she? She always has a lot of fun.
She didn't even know his real name, nor did she care what he did in the organization - because she didn't need to know these things to control him, while he had to carefully consider and deal with everything about her.
If Chaomu could just collect a few more pets so that he could forget about her and regain his "freedom", then from a rational point of view, it would be a good thing for "Zhu Xing Dai"... but he instinctively resisted such a development.
The man's black hair fell to his waist, swaying slightly in the cold wind. He maintained the same posture as before, gazing into the distance and letting out an almost imperceptible sigh.
Although there was now another person, Squalo... or perhaps someone else, facing the same situation as him, Moroboshi knew that the worries he was currently pondering were different from those Squalo's.
Even more than Squalo, the unknown Black Snake made him feel even more uneasy. He was always a little worried that this inexplicable person would have a negative influence on Chaomu: Could the Black Snake be Bourbon? Or Scottish? After all, Chaomu had suddenly developed an interest in Scottish just two days ago... Or even gin?
No matter which one of them it was, Zhuxingda could not accept that there was such a "black snake" lurking around Chaomu.
Being caught in a whirlpool, he had no energy to think about the future and could only continue to think about the complicated current situation.
In fact, what Squalo is struggling with is also the "present".
"...What do you mean by asking me to cooperate with you... to comb my hair?" The silver-haired mermaid's eyebrows twitched, and resistance was written all over her face. "And brushing my scales... How could I possibly let you touch my tail..."
"It's just a daily mission, please cooperate." Chaomu held a small brush in his left hand and a comb in his right hand, and urged confidently, "Don't you want to go back to Varian? I'll let you go after you complete the mission - and the same goes for the pearls. As long as you can promise to hand in ten pearls every day, I won't ask too much of you."
Squalo's expression was unpredictable for a moment.
It must be said that after being left out for a whole night and being comforted by his "new colleague" Mr. Moroboshi, his resistance was not as strong as before... He just thought of it as having to deal with one more troublesome boss in exchange for a little improvement in martial arts.
As for the pearls... couldn't he just buy a box of them and hand them over regularly? As long as he didn't have to cry in front of her...
"...Okay, that's it." After repeated consideration, the mermaid finally agreed to her request, but was still a little reluctant. She stretched out her tail slowly, "You'd better not have any improper thoughts about my tail - do you hear me, kid?"
"What do you mean by thoughts you shouldn't have?" Chaomu was stunned for a moment, blinked, and comforted him, "Don't worry, I had a full meal tonight, so I probably won't be craving sweet and sour fish, grilled fish, or pickled fish..."
Squalo: “…………?”
He splashed water on her face and said, "Your list of dishes doesn't sound like you're not hungry. Hey—Shut up, little brat. If you say any more, I'll chop you up."
Chaomu wiped her face and shut up to prevent her work hours from being extended. After rubbing her fish tail, she still had to go and coax her breasts.
Unlike Mimi Moroboshi who is easy to deal with and cooperative, combing her hair is not a big deal. However, the first time a player brushes a mermaid's tail, the process is a complete chaos... fish and raccoons are jumping around.
The mermaid was lying in the bathtub, with its silvery-white tail sticking out of the water, and its scales covered with water droplets sparkling in the light.
Chaomu held his tail fin very carefully and started brushing from the side - this was the result of her struggle. She had just tried to start from the waist, but was interrupted by the embarrassed and angry Squalo in a second; she started brushing from the end of the tail, and as soon as she stretched out her hand, she was slapped in the face by the big tail.
All in all, the fin on the side is a more convenient "handle". The mermaid's reaction is slightly smaller when it is grabbed here, so she tried to start from here, carefully brushing the scales with a brush bit by bit.
It's not that she hadn't brushed fish tails before, but she had always used a toothbrush, and not for such a big fish, no, mermaid.
Ordinary small fish can be knocked unconscious on the chopping board, but she can't do that to Squalo... It's very troublesome.
Although he was troubled, Chaomu still felt that there was a subtle sense of stress relief in brushing scales for the mermaids, which was quite refreshing.
The silver scales were so close together that you could see the undulating gaps when you brushed against them. Sitting in front of the tub, she brushed and started picking at the gaps between the scales. The fishtail on her hand suddenly jumped up like it had received an electric shock and smacked her in the face.
"Don't touch me." Squalo's voice was filled with a hint of forbearance, his cheeks opening and closing slightly hurriedly. "Didn't you say it would be quick? You'd better hurry up..."
Every time he said this, Chaomu would say "oh, um, and sure" but after a few seconds she couldn't help but slap him again, and then she was slapped again - after several times, her face was left with red tail marks.
Fortunately, this process was not long. The mermaid's tail gradually relaxed as she moved, and the scales changed from being tightly erect to being slightly open and lying flat.
By the time the brush reached the end, the silver-haired mermaid's body had stretched out, her chin resting on the edge of the bathtub, and even the movement of slapping her was not as intense as at the beginning.
Chaomu was slapped in the face by him with his tail a few times, and it seemed that his reaction was much delayed than before. He slapped her like this, giving her a false sense of reserve, as if "I can't feel comfortable so I have to slap her"... It's also possible that Squalo simply wanted to slap her in the face with his tail.
She brushed his tail carefully, and after brushing it, she felt like she could sprinkle some barbecue sauce on it and turn it over... Oh no, she was actually feeling a little hungry while brushing it.
Why does her hands feel numb and hot the more she brushes? Is it because her hands are sore? That makes no sense, her energy bar is still full... Is she allergic? Is there such a thing in the game?
The confused player flipped through the system list, looked at the "Jiao Du" buff above his head, and fell into a brief silence.
...Huh? I did a daily quest, gave a mermaid a tail, and ended up poisoning myself? Is this true?
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The author has something to say: Beautiful card, take the time to sort it out.
I feel like life is all about being stuck... No, I won't be running around naked in the next book...! In the next book, I will definitely plan a perfect mainline upgrade mode, props, gameplay settings, and plot... Then I will easily follow the mainline and side quests and finish them on a daily basis (I'm dreaming about this tonight)
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