Chapter 31
Upon waking up, Li Jia heard the ending of the story and couldn't help but sigh repeatedly.
"It turns out that true love is not just about romantic love."
"Family affection and friendship are both forms of love, but people still think of love in too simplistic a way."
"The one who kisses the mermaid isn't necessarily a prince; it could also be her witch sister."
"..."
Li Jia rambled on and on, and Hera beckoned her to come to the table for breakfast.
It was her favorite curry mashed potatoes and Greek omelet.
Seeing that the boss hadn't eaten, Li Jia started eating on her own.
She stole a glance at Hera.
The boss calmly looked out the window at the scenery, the sea breeze blowing her hair, her golden hair dazzling and eye-catching.
Li Jia muttered to herself once again: What a monster!
Even the food tasted better; its beauty was truly worthy of the name "appetizing."
After Li Jia finished eating and drinking, Hera pinched the soft flesh under her arm, as this area felt the best.
Li Jia was too lazy to resist, so she let her have her way. Everyone has their quirks.
"Now that the fate issue is resolved, when are we going home?"
Li Jia felt sleepy again. She started to miss the hot springs, Winslow, Doreen, and her big bed and blankets in the deep palace.
"In a few days, Qili has invited us to visit Deep Sea Landu as a thank you. Don't you want to go?"
The word "home" made Hera's brow tremble slightly, and her eyes filled with an irrepressible tenderness.
She said she wanted to go home.
Their home.
"think!"
When Li Jia heard about the travel programs that interested her, even the sleepiest bit of sleepiness vanished.
Located deep in the center of the Nastia Strait, the entire sea city is built on a huge underwater canyon. In the gaps between the buildings, phosphorescent algae surge in the undercurrents, making the whole sea city a luminous dream city.
Kiri is a mermaid, Eria is a witch, Hera is a goddess, and only Li Jia is a mortal. Therefore, Kiri gave Li Jia two water-repelling beads. Each water-repelling bead can keep her moving freely underwater for three days.
Li Jia swallowed a water-repelling bead. The pale blue bead melted in her mouth, colorless and tasteless. She felt that the tip of her nose had the same water-repelling ability as a fish fin.
Hera took her hand and followed Kiri into the deep sea.
It was somewhat like an underwater world, and Li Jia was dazzled by what she saw. The architecture of the mermaid tribe blended seamlessly with nature.
Palaces, towns, and streets are all constructed from translucent coral skeletons, shell fragments, and blue crystal minerals unique to the deep sea. The building outlines are smooth like the swaying of a fish tail, and the domes and arches present beautiful curves. They can also withstand the high pressure of the deep sea, making them both beautiful and practical.
Li Jia's gaze was drawn to the halo above the central palace of Lan Du, which resembled an interface for releasing light. Seeing Li Jia's curiosity, Qi Li explained, "This is a light vortex, the source of light for the entire Lan Du. It was there when I was born; it's located at the mouth of a hydrothermal vent on the seabed."
"What would happen if the lights went out there?" Li Jia asked.
“It will never go dark. This is the light that illuminates the entire Landu. If it goes out, the entire Landu will be plunged into darkness and panic. Without the vortex of light, the children of Landu will stop growing.”
"Our ancestor sacrificed himself before his death, and the center of the vortex contains an endless supply of mermaid wax cores, protecting us," Kiri said with a smile, her eyes filled with admiration as she spoke of her ancestor.
Li Jia nodded, but her gaze was soon drawn to the other creatures in Lan Du.
Beside her, giant sea anemones spread out like umbrellas, with colorful little fish resting among their tentacles. Spiral conch shells piled up to form an uneven path, where occasionally a family of octopuses would lie and pretend to be dead.
It was so interesting. Li Jia reached out and touched them, and they didn't get angry. Most of them even interacted with her and responded to her touch.
There are also some sea creatures that get angry or shy, but most of them are not aggressive. If they don't want to be touched by her, they will run away and disappear on their own.
The streets of the town are a playground for little mermaids, who chase after schools of fluorescent fish, their laughter turning into strings of bubbles—cute and childlike.
Dolphins are natural messengers, sea turtles carry goods through the streets, and even fierce sharks have been tamed to become "living walls" guarding Landu.
The residents of the deep-sea Landu live in harmony with marine life, protecting each other.
"This is how humans and animals should be."
Li Jia took Rahra's hand and pointed to the clownfish swimming around them.
“Humans have initiative and complex thinking abilities, enabling them to proactively transform the world and create systematic civilizations, while animals do not.” Hera squeezed the back of her hand and said earnestly, “You are just like it.”
Hera was referring to the clownfish when she said "it".
Li Jia was a little angry. This wasn't to say that she was simple-minded and all brawn and no brains, but she knew that Hera meant no harm; she just liked to tease her.
Then let's fight fire with fire.
Why couldn't she tease her a little? A mischievous thought suddenly popped into her head.
Li Jia thought for a few seconds and pulled her hand out of Hera's palm: "Yes, I am just like it. His Majesty is not satisfied. You can replace me as your servant and find a smart person to be your servant."
Unlike usual, she didn't argue with herself or throw a tantrum.
Hera suddenly fell silent. Was she really angry?
What should she say? What should she do?
The two people stood together, looking at each other, speechless.
A while later.
Li Jia initially felt awkward. Why was she arguing with a childish person?
Do you expect a high and mighty god to apologize to you?
Thinking of Hera's humble and apologetic demeanor, Li Jia burst out laughing. No, she couldn't imagine it.
How could a high-class beauty like her be willing to be her dog?
This is so ridiculous, the more I think about it, the funnier it gets.
Hera's carefully crafted words were interrupted by her laughter, and her soothing gesture paused: "Why are you laughing?"
She must be angry right now. Why would she laugh when she's angry? Is she sick?
Seeing the woman's furrowed brows, Li Jia knew she was overthinking things again.
Li Jia: "Because I think His Majesty is cute."
"Cute?"
What does "萌" mean? She always likes to use words that I don't understand.
"Meng means cute, and I think Your Majesty is very cute."
Li Jia's mood instantly improved. She had already said that she was not illiterate, and she also had knowledge that Hera did not know that she could tell her.
"Then you're cute too."
Hera touched the soft flesh under her arm again, which became their secret signal; they would touch it when they were in a good mood and when they were in a bad mood.
Li Jia felt that there must be a child living inside the boss's heart, but the pressure of her priesthood forced her to become a rule-abiding adult.
"No matter how cute I am, I'm not as cute as His Majesty."
Hera: "..."
The golden-haired god coughed twice solemnly. It was unreasonable for a god to be called cute.
Seeing Hera's almost robotic expression, Li Jia was secretly delighted. This meant she had successfully teased her. Hera would only remain silent when she couldn't win an argument with her and had no other choice but to suffer in silence.
"Not angry?"
Hera asked in a low voice.
"Don't be angry, why would His Majesty and I be angry?" Li Jia didn't want to tease her anymore, so she snuggled into her arms and poked the flesh under her arm.
Ugh, Hera's skin is so firm, without an ounce of fat, let alone any flabby arms.
"sorry……"
Li Jia thought she had misheard. The three words were quick and urgent, like a gust of wind that swept past her ears without any echo.
Li Jia actually heard what she was saying, but she pretended not to hear it.
"What?"
"What did you just say, Your Majesty?"
Li Jia narrowed her eyes and a provocative smile appeared on her lips as she looked at Hera and asked, bewildered.
Hera turned her head away, pretending to look at the distant sea view, but secretly glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, noticing a faint blush rising on the skin of her neck.
Seeing that the boss ignored her, Li Jia didn't say anything more and decided to stop there.
The world is vast, but when it comes to external matters, the boss's reputation is paramount.
Kiri led them into Landu and gave them a key to the Landu Palace. Hera helped Kiri, and the chief of the mermaids thanked them. The key allowed them free access to the mermaid palace, and they were honored guests of the mermaids.
Li Jia chose a sea-view room adorned with wind chimes and seashells. Drawing back the curtains revealed a distant sea view, and the entire room resonated with the crisp sound of wind chimes carried on the sea breeze, making one feel drowsy.
Even the bed is shaped like a seashell, and the large seashell is big enough to accommodate two or three people.
However, Li Jia felt that this room had a slightly perverse sense of humor. The ceiling was a full mirror, and when Li Jia lay flat on the bed, she could see her own round face.
Li Jia lay sprawled on the bed, and Hera took off her shoes and sprawled next to her.
As the saying goes, "One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black." Spending a lot of time with her, Hera also became as lazy as her.
There's nothing wrong with being paralyzed. Life is only 30,000 days long. The progress of society is driven by a small group of elites. The rest of us, like her, are just fuel for the times, being pushed along by the times.
She remembered that during the 100-day countdown rally for the senior year, every student in the class would express their lofty aspirations.
Some students said they wanted to become lawyers to advocate for justice for ordinary people.
Some students said they wanted to become scientists and contribute to the country.
Some people say they want to be doctors and heal the sick.
...Anyway, everyone's ideals are grand and lofty.
When it was Li Jia's turn, she picked up the chalk and slapped a few words on the blackboard: Survive.
There was an uproar below; how could anyone have such a ridiculous ideal?
Li Jia only cares about whether she has money every day, whether she has enough to eat and wear, and whether she can avoid encountering stupid bosses and clients.
I've found a good boss now.
She wanted to work for her for the rest of her life.
After sleeping for a while, Li Jia reached out and tugged at the blond hair beside her. The person sleeping on their side immediately turned over: "Hungry?"
Li Jia mumbled sleepily, "Yeah, I'm hungry."
"Get up, change your clothes, and I'll take you to eat something delicious."
"good."
Li Jia obediently got up and washed her face, then found a dress in the bathroom. It was the clothing of the Lan Du mermaids, with a modern Dunhuang style.
The dress is made of a layer of natural "scale gauze" as thin as a cicada's wing. These scales are not hard, but are woven from a special substance secreted by mermaid scales, and are translucent light blue, with each scale having a soft, pearly luster.
The sheer dress clung to her skin, reaching down to her ankles, outlining Li Jia's delicate collarbones and slender neck and shoulders.
A belt made of coral branches and pearls of varying sizes was tied around her waist, scattered like starlight. The belt did not restrict her movement, but rather cleverly outlined the curves of Li Jia's waist.
Li Jia really liked the dress and even styled her hair in a bun.
He then followed Hera out the door.
The deep sea is inhabited by mermaids and sea creatures, and they are already used to gods, so Hera did not help Li Jia hide her appearance.
Once she stepped outside, she realized something was amiss. Why was her gauze dress so long? The other mermaids only had their upper bodies covered, and it was made like a bikini, covering their nipples—very sexy.
Compared to them, my outfit looks incredibly conservative, like a small fry compared to theirs.
Li Jia gave Hera a resentful look, and she instantly understood what she was thinking.
Hera: "You don't have a fish tail, so if it's too short, you'll catch a cold."
Li Jia: "..."
The underwater world is full of seawater, which is naturally cool, so there's no such thing as catching a cold.
Considering that it was specially customized for her, Li Jia decided to forgive this arrogant, eccentric, and hypocritical woman.
Today is her first day at Deepsea Land, so when did she prepare her clothes?
It is impossible to verify.
Li Jia was in a good mood because she had new clothes to wear, so she let Hera lead her around the underwater world.
The tourist attractions and local customs in every place are essentially the same, just with different names. The food, drinks, entertainment, and vendors are all the same, no matter which world you're in; it's just a matter of prices.
Tourism, in essence, means leaving your own home to visit someone else's home.
Li Jia only has a few hobbies:
Eat delicious food, drink delicious drinks, play fun games, and then lie down.
The local cuisine in Landu is mainly seafood, and Li Jia ate a lot of delicious food.
Shrimp paste, braised sea cucumber, salt and pepper squid rings, steamed hairy crab, spicy and sour jellyfish head, grilled scallops...
Li Jia's burps all tasted like seafood. She secretly sighed that it was a good thing she didn't have to live here long-term, otherwise she would have high uric acid and gout sooner or later.
The boss doesn't eat it; he just likes watching her eat.
...
When drinking water, one should not forget the well-digger; when traveling, one should bring back some local specialties. Li Jia still pays attention to social etiquette.
Li Jia will not forget Doreen Winslow and the two people who stayed behind, as well as Lina, Artemis and the three animal teachers.
She met, got to know, and fell in love with the people of this world, forming bonds with them.
Li Jia is a person who hates trouble. In modern society, she has few relatives and friends, no family, no friends, and no lover. She is also unwilling to make new friends. She is cold-hearted at heart.
Most human interactions are superficial, or rather, interactions are easiest only at a relatively superficial level.
Once things become complicated, people become a labyrinth between each other, and suffer countless pains.
Li Jia was unwilling to endure the pain.
Since arriving here, she has received so many things she had never had before.
Li Jia suddenly realized that it takes more courage to seize happiness than to endure pain.
Now, she can't bear to let go of either the good or the bad.
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