Letter from afar
Ever since that unexpected kiss under the sun and moon, the atmosphere in the Dragon Palace has become subtle.
Ao Ming regretted it almost immediately. Not the kiss, but his own abruptness. He was filled with anxiety and wanted countless times to find Qian Jin to explain, or rather... to express his feelings? But Qian Jin seemed to have suddenly learned the art of invisibility, and Ao Ming always felt that she was deliberately avoiding him.
On the first day, the maid said that Miss Qian Jin had gone to Mermaid Bay early in the morning to record the spiritual energy fluctuations of the Rainbow Tear Pearls under different lighting conditions. Ao Ming thought, "Hmm, important matters come first; she's always serious about what she does."
The next day, the maid said that Qian Jin had plunged into the Dragon Palace's library, claiming he wanted to consult ancient documents to corroborate the existence of emotions and spiritual energy. Ao Ming wandered around outside the library for a long time but couldn't find a chance to speak to him.
On the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day... Qian Jin was either busy checking the inventory accounts of the Rainbow Tear Pearls with Prime Minister Turtle, or pulling the musicians aside to discuss the effects of different musical notes on the emotions of the merfolk. He even began to personally teach a few literate merfolk to read and write, euphemistically calling it "improving employee quality and stimulating their inner emotional potential."
In short, she was very busy, so busy that she was practically running around, so busy that... she seemed to have completely forgotten what happened on the rocks that night.
Ao Ming's heart went from initial anticipation to doubt, then to trepidation, and finally to complete despair.
He had insomnia.
Lying on the magnificent yet cold dragon bed, he tossed and turned, his mind filled with the image of Qian Jin's wide, astonished eyes and her subsequent evasive gaze. She must have been angry, disgusted by his offense, and that's why she used this busyness to silently reject him and distance herself from him.
It's over.
Ao Ming thought in despair. He had scared her away. How could this stupid dragon have lost his temper!
On the seventh night, Ao Ming completely broke down. Carrying a jar of strong liquor that had been stored for who knows how many years, he walked dejectedly to a secluded coral garden in the Dragon Palace, sat on a cool white jade stool, and began to drown his sorrows in alcohol, facing the deep blue sea and the hazy glowing jellyfish above him.
The wine flowed into his sorrowful heart, turning into a thousand grievances. The more he thought about it, the more heartbroken he became, feeling that his sincere heart had been betrayed, and regretting his own recklessness. He hugged the wine jar, his handsome face etched with the words "life is meaningless," and even a suspicious glint of tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, mixed with the wine, making it impossible to tell whether they were tears or wine.
"She must hate me now..." he muttered to himself, his voice thick with emotion. "It's over... I can't even be friends with her anymore... Waaah..."
Just as Ao Ming was immersed in self-reproach and grief, a slender figure stealthily sneaked into the Coral Garden like a thief.
Qian Jin hadn't had a good time these past few days either. That night, Ao Ming's sudden kiss had stunned her like a thunderbolt. At first, she was shocked, then at a loss, and then a surge of unprecedented shyness swept over her, making her heart race, her cheeks burn, and she didn't dare to look Ao Ming in the eye.
She instinctively chose to avoid it, filling all her time with busyness, as if that would allow her to forget that warm kiss. But the more she tried to hide, the clearer the image became. Her mind was in turmoil, unable to describe the feeling—shyness, panic, and perhaps… a tiny, barely perceptible flutter of emotion that she forcefully ignored.
After seven days, she felt she couldn't hide any longer. Especially today, when she passed by, she seemed to hear the maids whispering that the Third Prince was in a very bad mood and seemed to be drunk... Her heart tightened, and she finally mustered up her courage and decided to "bump into" him to see what was going on.
Upon entering the garden, they saw Ao Ming sitting there all alone, holding a nearly empty wine jar, his back view desolate, exuding an aura of "I have been abandoned by the whole world".
Qian Jin felt a slight pang in her heart. She hesitated before approaching and whispered, "Ao...Ao Ming? You...why are you drinking so much here all by yourself?"
Ao Ming, still immersed in grief, groggily looked up at the sound. Through his hazy, drunken eyes, he saw Qian Jin seemingly standing in the moonlight, like a phantom. He blinked hard, only to find the phantom still there, even bearing a look of concern he couldn't understand…?
"Qian... Jin?" he murmured, thinking he was hallucinating from being drunk.
Looking at his pitiful appearance, Qian Jin felt both annoyed and amused, and also a little inexplicably soft-hearted: "It's me. Have you drunk yourself silly?"
It's real! It's not a hallucination!
Ao Ming's pent-up grievances burst forth like a flood. He abruptly put down the wine jar, almost staggered, and rushed over, grabbing Qian Jin's leg and burying his face in her skirt, and... burst into loud sobs!
"Qian Jin! Waaah... I'm sorry! I was wrong! I was bad that day! I was a jerk! I was frivolous! Please don't hate me! Please don't ignore me! Waaah..."
Qian Jin: "!!!"
She froze on the spot, completely bewildered by the sudden appearance of the "leg accessory" and her wailing, her cheeks flushed bright red! This was the Dragon Palace! Although it was secluded, people could still pass by!
"You, you get up! Get up now! What kind of behavior is this!" she whispered, frantically trying to lift him up.
But Ao Ming was quite drunk, and in his emotional state, he held her tightly, impossible to pull away. He looked up at her, his eyes brimming with tears and panic, and began to stammer out his love and apologies:
"I won't get up! I'll get up if you promise not to hide from me anymore! Qian Jin... I really... really like you... I've liked you a little since the first time we met when you hit me... and then... and then I liked you even more! I like the way your eyes light up when you look at money, I like the way you scheme when you plot against people, I like the way you're loyal, I even like the way you're stingy! I didn't mean to that night... I was just too happy... and couldn't help myself... Please don't be angry with me, okay? I won't do it again... no, I will dare to do it again... but not without your permission... I... sob... do you even like me a little bit?"
This string of direct and passionate words of love struck Qian Jin like a thunderbolt, leaving her dizzy and her heart pounding like a drum! Shame almost overwhelmed her! She wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into, or shut this drunken dragon's mouth!
"Shut up! Stop talking! Get up!" She was both embarrassed and anxious, frantically trying to cover his mouth, her ears turning so red they looked like they could bleed.
But Qian Jin was clearly unaware that the Dragon Palace's soundproofing had never been very good...
Not far away, behind a huge, colorful coral.
The Dragon King and Dragon Queen were sitting leisurely on a stone bench, with fragrant tea and snacks in front of them. The Dragon Queen took a sip of tea, and listening to the faint cries and Qian Jin's exasperated attempts to stop her from afar, she couldn't help but chuckle.
“Old man,” she said, covering her lips with a fan, her eyes and brows full of smiles, “your son’s character and demeanor are truly reminiscent of yours back then!”
The Dragon King was holding a pastry when he heard this. His old face turned red, and he coughed twice in a fake manner. He then put on a stern face and said, "Ahem! Stop talking nonsense! How could I, the Dragon King, be compared to this good-for-nothing brat back then?" Despite saying this, he did not move his position. He was obviously listening with great interest.
...
After initial exploration and adjustments, the reform plan for the Mermaid Tears has now fully entered the right track. With Qian Jin's continuous stream of new stories and Ao Ming's increasingly refined storytelling skills, the mermaids' emotions are stable, and the production and quality of the Rainbow Tears are astonishingly high.
The value and quantity of the Rainbow Tear Beads accumulated in this short period of time are comparable to the total order amount of the Dragon Palace over the past thousand years! In fact, due to their extremely high quality, they are highly sought-after items in the Heavenly Court and various immortal markets, with prices that are hard to come by.
Qian Jin, as the beneficiary promised by the Dragon King, suddenly became rich overnight, just as he had always dreamed.
How much money does she actually have now? Even she herself has lost count. The Dragon Palace's treasury has specially set aside a side hall for her to store those glittering spirit stones and various rare treasures sold for Rainbow Tears. Every time she walks in, she feels like she's dreaming.
Another unexpected benefit of the Mermaid Project is that, in order to continuously optimize the story and the way it is told, Qian Jin and Ao Ming would occasionally transform into mortals and set up a small stall in a corner of a bustling street in the human world.
Qian Jin was in charge of writing new stories, and Ao Ming would tell them on the spot.
Initially, it was just for practice and to collect the most authentic feedback, but unexpectedly, their combination of "handsome storyteller + mysterious female writer" became a hit!
Ao Ming is strikingly handsome and possesses a unique charisma, and his storytelling is incredibly captivating. Qian Jin's stories are even more original in subject matter and sincere in emotion, sometimes tender and poignant, sometimes passionate and stirring, always striking a chord with readers.
They quickly amassed a large and loyal audience, with every performance packed to capacity and thunderous applause. Their fame spread rapidly, with some even traveling from neighboring towns to listen to their stories. Consequently, the handwritten storybooks associated with them sold out in major bookstores.
The two were completely unprepared for their sudden and unexpected fame.
Among them, the most popular is a novel by Qian Jin called "Dragon Palace Son-in-Law: The Cold and Beautiful President's Caring Little Dragon". It has a unique imagination, a dramatic plot, and intense emotions. It is said that a small opera troupe has already started rehearsing it secretly, preparing to bring it to the stage.
When Qian Jin saw at the bookstall not only her own pirated books, but also a large number of fan fiction sequels and derivative stories written by readers, and even merchandise with images of Ao Ming as a storyteller and characters from the book, she was completely dumbfounded.
She tugged at Ao Ming's sleeve, who was equally dumbfounded, and murmured, "Ao Ming, would you say that... we were trying to save the merfolk as a side business, and ended up... getting rich, famous, and even popular?"
Ao Ming snapped out of his reverie, a smile playing on his lips, and nodded, saying, "Yes. Not only are we raking in the profits from the Rainbow Tears, but the royalties from this storybook... seem to be a considerable source of income as well." He added, mimicking Qian Jin's usual money-grubbing tone.
Qian Jin gazed at the dazzling array of "derivative works," then suddenly lowered her head, rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, and when she looked up again, her eyes were a little red, but her face was filled with an extremely satisfied yet dreamy smile, and her voice had a cute, tearful tone:
"Waaah... You really do need to have dreams... Look, it actually came true! Although... although it's completely different from what I initially imagined!"
She dreamed of opening a general store and getting rich, and of digging for treasure and becoming rich, but she never thought that what would ultimately make her financially free was writing storybooks and helping merfolk find new jobs!
Just as Qian Jin was basking in this unexpected happiness, a letter from afar arrived at the Dragon Palace and reached her hands.
The letter was written by Master Can.
While traveling, the old immortal passed through an extremely remote, almost isolated town. He happened to sense a faint yet strangely familiar power of the local deity's faith. That aura was very similar to the aura of one of Qian Jin's masters, whom she had once described to him.
He wasn't sure, but fearing he might have missed something, he immediately sent a message back, telling Qian Jin to go and check it out.
This news instantly ignited the long-buried expectations in Qian Jin's heart.
Finding out where her masters had gone was one of her most important purposes in leaving the God of Wealth's Palace and traveling through the Three Realms. After so many years of silence, now there was finally a glimmer of hope!
Her hands trembled with excitement. "Ao Ming! Ao Ming! Elder Shen has sent a letter! He says he may have found my master!" Her eyes shone brightly, and her voice trembled slightly with excitement.
Upon hearing this, Ao Ming immediately became serious: "Really? Where?"
"They said it's in a place called 'Deer Cry Town'! Let's hurry and find Elder Shen to ask him for details!" Qian Jin was extremely anxious and pulled Ao Ming to leave.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com