Mermaid Science Popularization Time (Part 1)
Yunhe was still in a daze until all the irrelevant people left on their own.
Across from her, the refined-looking Shen Huai'an slowly forked a piece of steak and put it into his mouth, his posture so elegant and approachable.
Yunhe: "..."
Shen Huai'an: "?"
A silence that wasn't too hard to bear.
"You..." After searching for a while, she finally found a topic that didn't seem too awkward or abrupt: "Aren't you eating fish?"
"Who told you that mermaids only eat fish?"
Despite having the face of a conventionally handsome man (though it wasn't real), Shen Huai'an had absolutely no "idol baggage." He chewed on his beef while chuckling indistinctly. Yun He couldn't help but roll her eyes at him: "You weren't like this before, were you?"
"What?" Shen Huai'an finally swallowed, his narrow eyes narrowing as if he found her question ridiculous: "What was I like before, and what am I like now?"
Yunhe pondered for a long time.
Yes. The old Shen Huai'an… to be honest, aside from going to his research group to freeload, she didn't seem to have any real interaction with him. Shen Huai'an, who used to be the "chief researcher," had extremely strong professional skills, and correspondingly, a rather "unique" temperament—
It's not that he's aloof or difficult to approach, but rather...
For some reason, Yunhe suddenly remembered the newcomer he had scolded to tears a few days ago, and involuntarily shivered.
"You used to be quite annoying."
She shoveled a mouthful of rice into her mouth with a listless shovel and teased him, "All you have is a pretty face, and it's all fake."
Shen Huai'an burst out laughing.
However, he didn't retaliate. In fact, one could say he didn't care about her rather impolite comment.
"So," Yunhe coughed lightly, leaning closer and lowering his voice, "they let you go?"
She found it funny herself before asking the question. But to her surprise, Shen Huai'an nodded seriously: "I guess so."
"Holy crap?!" Yunhe was startled, almost grabbing him by the collar to find out what was going on. "No way, they..." Realizing they were in a public place, he quickly coughed and lowered his voice again. "They just let you go like that?"
He then followed up with, "So, what will you do in the future—"
"You don't need to be a lab animal anymore."
Shen Huai'an smiled slightly. This was clearly good news, but he didn't seem really happy. His smile was faint, like a mask painted on his face: "However, we can't leave this place for the time being."
At this point, he glanced at the woman opposite him, who looked somewhat nervous, and smiled, saying, "Don't worry."
Don't worry? If we're not buddies, what are you telling me to trust...?
Yunhe thought to herself. However, she was already starting to feel a little guilty.
To be fair, she did wish for his freedom, complete freedom. But once he was truly "free," he would leave immediately!
She dared not think any further.
So she decided to change the subject and continue the conversation: "Well, Chief Chen... Chief Chen."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Huai'an laughed out loud. He shook his head with a light laugh, saying with a hint of helplessness, "I'm no longer the chief, Yunhe."
That's strange. Back when they were lab animals, he never corrected her when she called him "Chief Shen"; now he's taking it so seriously?
If you're going to be serious, then be serious. Who's afraid of who?
"Then what should I call you?" Yunhe, with a mischievous glint in his eye, started to argue: "Celesis?"
Before Shen Huai'an could react, she burst out laughing: "My God, how can your real name be so... so Mary Sue-ish!"
To her surprise, the fish in question nodded in complete agreement: "Indeed."
Yunhe: "..."
Shen Huai'an picked up a piece of steak for her—of course, he used serving chopsticks to maintain good hygiene: "The entire mermaid clan is so fussy, you'll get used to it."
Yunhe: "..."
Not a buddy? How come I never noticed you had such a dry sense of humor before?
"Chief Chen... Chief Chen."
Before the two of them had even finished their meal, Ai Qiqi and her group, who had initially been very perceptive and collectively avoided each other, quietly slipped back at some point: "Um, um..."
We would like to invite you to our social gathering!
Unable to bear Aiqiqi's stammering, the outspoken Elsa spoke first. Shen Huai'an smiled slightly, turning his head to look at the group, meeting the bright, expectant eyes of these young people:
"oh?"
Elsa blushed under his gaze, and said shyly, "Um, well, it's just that Director Li and the others... finally agreed to let us have a proper get-together with you, is that alright...?"
By the time she said the last three words, this "Silver Scale Faction fan site admin" was almost in tears. Fortunately, Shen Huai'an was a chivalrous person after all, and immediately nodded readily: "Okay. When?"
"Tomorrow! Tomorrow night!"
Someone immediately chimed in, "Right here in the teahouse! Tomorrow's New Year's Day, so let's celebrate together!"
Amidst a cacophony of jeers, Shen Huai'an coughed lightly and smiled:
"Just so you know, I won't be showing you my tail when the time comes."
"So what! We're not treating Teacher Shen like a monkey!" "Exactly!"
...
Right now, in a place that the clouds and they couldn't see or possibly see, Xiao Lin sat in his circular office.
A thick photo album was unfolded before Xiao Lin. In the album, a young man in his early twenties, over fifty years ago, smiled broadly, standing arm-in-arm with his colleagues, flashing bright white teeth at the camera. In the row of girls in front of him, a young woman dressed in coarse cloth, resembling a fisherman, was also smiling happily, even raising her hand to the camera and making a "cheese" gesture—
"Amiya."
Xiao Lin gently stroked the girl's face with his age-spotted fingers, and said with a sigh, "More than fifty years have passed, and I have, after all, grown old."
——————————
At the social gathering.
In order to "welcome" Shen Huai'an's "return", these fearless young people even decorated the tea room into a simple yet lively meeting place.
Shen Huai'an arrived on time. Although the extraordinary security personnel who had "escorted" him didn't go inside, they still "dutifully" stood guard outside the venue, as if afraid he might take the opportunity to escape (wasn't that the case?). However, as soon as he entered, everyone immediately stood up, and then…
"Waaaaaaah!"
Ai Qiqi was the first to go crazy. He clung to Shen Huai'an like a wild koala, wanting to lick him all over: "Chief Shen, you, you, you, you really are a mermaid, right!"
Actually, it wasn't just him; everyone present here had known for a month. But knowing something yourself is one thing, and having the person involved admit it is another entirely.
"Um."
"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!! A live mermaid!!!! Aaaaaaahh ...
While Ai Qiqi was still wailing meaninglessly, Song Fei, the good student and bookworm, had already timidly raised his hand and asked, "Um, Teacher Shen...you, you, you really are Yin Lin?"
“Yes.” Shen Huai’an smiled and readily agreed.
The ensuing social gathering turned into a veritable science popularization event—
Elsa asked curiously, "S2 is a golden-scaled mermaid, so what is your relationship with it?"
Shen Huai'an said calmly, "It has nothing to do with us. The Golden Scale Mermaids are currently the most evolved group among mermaids, and their numbers are quite large."
Elsa was even more puzzled: "Since there are quite a few, how come almost all of the ones we humans have been able to catch so far are black-scaled, brown-scaled, and gray-scaled?"
"I know that."
Yun whispered something, and everyone's eyes turned to her. Despite her social anxiety, she forced herself to continue:
"Because, because... apart from the golden-scaled ones and the extinct... well, the silver-scaled ones, almost all mermaids live in shallow seas and rivers and lakes, and they don't have the ability to communicate verbally. The highest level of intelligence they have is no more than that of a grey parrot..."
"What the cloud researcher said is true."
This time, it was Shen Huai'an who took the initiative to pick up where she left off. He took a sip of the coffee beside him before slowly launching into his explanation:
"The simplest explanation is that although all mermaids belong to the family Hominidae within the superfamily Aquatic Hemimorpha, there are vast differences between different species within the same family—just like the difference between chimpanzees and humans, which also belong to the Hominidae family. Humans diverged from chimpanzees seven or eight million years ago and embarked on completely different evolutionary paths. Similarly, the golden-scaled merfolk and other mermaid groups also diverged millions of years ago."
He further added, "Or you can understand it as the golden scales being 'humans' under the family Merfolk, while other species can only be considered chimpanzees or orangutans."
"What about Silver Scales?"
A straightforward researcher blurted out a question without thinking. As a result, everyone looked at him reproachfully, and the man scratched his head sheepishly.
"Good question."
Shen Huai'an smiled slightly, seemingly unconcerned that the other party was digging deep into his throat: "Silver scales are indeed the last branch to 'separate' from golden scales, and also the branch genetically closest to golden scales. But..."
He paused meaningfully for a few seconds before saying, "However, unlike other species that differentiated due to natural selection, the silver scales actively chose an 'evolutionary' path that was completely different from that of the golden scales, ultimately leading to their extinction."
For a moment, everyone fell silent.
"...I'm sorry, Chief Shen..."
Finally, the one who started it all—the one who asked the question without thinking—apologized first: "I asked a rather impolite question. Please accept my condolences..."
"It's alright." Shen Huai'an was quite easy to talk to, and even encouraged him, saying, "If there's anything else you want to ask, you can ask it all at once."
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