Chapter 10

Before Zhang Jingzhu returned, Cheng Shuinan was already waiting by the bathtub.

When the sound of the door opening echoed, he wished his gaze could pierce through the bathroom door. He listened intently as Zhang Jingzhu’s footsteps slowly approached the kitchen. He anxiously and eagerly swayed his fishtail. If Zhang Jingzhu hadn’t repeatedly warned him not to leave the bathtub until his body was fully healed, he would have already jumped out to greet her.

He waited for a long, long time. Then, Cheng Shuinan heard a knock on the door.

His raised spine instantly wilted like wild grass battered by a gale, shrinking into the water.

…Someone was visiting her.

Cheng Shuinan patiently waited.

The water flowed over his upper body, while his fishtail rose high and then fell, splashing water that he skillfully caught with his tail before it could hit the surface and make a sound. He played around with the water droplets for a while, then resumed his previous position, leaning against the edge of the bathtub, his eyes fixed on the living room just beyond the door.

Vaguely, snippets of conversation drifted into the bathroom.

Cheng Shuinan’s bright eyes widened.

His knowledge of the human world was limited. His few years of childhood had left little trace in his memory, replaced by the chains that bound him and the pain inflicted on his body.

The information he had gathered so far left him feeling clueless, like a blank sheet of paper.

Therefore, when he heard the words “pearl necklace,” “Lianzhu Company,” and the slightly affectionate “Uncle Cheng,” his entire body tensed. His tail, which had been swaying leisurely in the water, seemed to freeze, and the ripples gradually calmed.

Zhang Jingzhu had entered Lianzhu through her father’s connections. Calling Mr. Cheng “Uncle Cheng” was just a polite term in the business world. Even if there was no business relationship, it was basic courtesy for strangers to address each other as “uncle” or “aunt” when they met.

However, Cheng Shuinan’s brain couldn’t grasp the intricacies.

He only knew that he might have been deceived.

He thought that leaving the warehouse was escaping a fiery pit, but he had never truly escaped. She had brought him home, was it also because of the pearl tears? But he had already told her clearly that his tears wouldn’t turn into pearls. What would she do next?

Would she send him back if she didn’t achieve her goal, or would she kill him and throw him into the Night Glow Sea…?

Zhang Jingzhu entered the bathroom and didn’t see Cheng Shuinan. The strange feeling intensified. Usually, whenever she entered the bathroom, she would bump into Cheng Shuinan’s wet, dependent, and affectionate gaze. But the bathroom now felt cold and quiet. The water in the bathtub rippled gently, tiny bubbles slowly rising and floating upwards. His long, curly black hair swayed slightly with the water flow.

Only when Zhang Jingzhu approached did she realize that Cheng Shuinan was submerged below the surface. His spine was arched, his large fishtail held in his arms. His entire “fish” was curled up in a ball, his white shoulders facing her. It seemed like he hadn’t heard her come in, but his ear fins were slightly spread.

She knew that this action was equivalent to a human pricking up their ears to listen carefully.

Zhang Jingzhu squatted by the bathtub, staring at his skin, which was as smooth as a peeled egg. The scars that had once been there had completely disappeared, as if they had never existed. Her thoughts drifted.

His wounds had healed almost completely, but the bathtub installed in the bathroom was the largest they could fit in the available space. He could lie down in it, but any movement other than lying or sitting was limited.

Like now, his fishtail had grown a bit thicker after healing, and his chest and back were much stronger. He was curled up inside, his fishtail tightly pressed against the bathtub wall, and his back was similarly pressed against the wall. He looked cramped and pitiable, and there was a sense of visual tightness and constriction.

He seemed to have grown suddenly, like a teenager who shoots up during puberty.

Cheng Shuinan’s eyes and body had a youthful awkwardness. He couldn’t be very old. If Zhang Jingzhu wanted to keep him, would the bathtub be big enough when he reached adulthood?

The best solution would be to let him return to the sea.

She couldn’t abandon a path that rightfully belonged to him because of her momentary soft heart and the dependence and affection in his eyes. He didn’t know anything, had never seen the sea, but she knew clearly that neither his merman nature nor his appearance was suitable for survival in the human world.

Zhang Jingzhu made up her mind.

But before letting him return to the sea, she felt she should take on the responsibility of educating him. After he had fully recovered, she would teach him about humans, so that he wouldn’t easily trust others. Most importantly, he also had to learn how to hunt.

No rush. He still looked young. She had plenty of time to prepare.

Cheng Shuinan stared at Zhang Jingzhu with tearful eyes. His gaze pulled her back to reality.

Her brow furrowed slightly, filled with confusion.

He was still facing her with his back, probably because she was squatting beside him and not saying anything. He couldn’t wait any longer and turned his head, his eyes wide, filled with emotions that made Zhang Jingzhu stunned.

He seemed to be saying ,

Zhang Jingzhu, you deceitful, faithless, wife-abandoning, heartless man!

Zhang Jingzhu’s eyes widened too. She instinctively grabbed the edge of the bathtub, opened her mouth to speak, but her throat felt choked. Then, a light chuckle escaped her lips. She rubbed her eyes and asked him helplessly, “…What’s wrong?”

Cheng Shuinan pursed his lips, his eyes seemed to be clouded with mist. He strained his neck backwards, finding the movement uncomfortable. The water splashed noisily. He suddenly flipped over, emerging from the water, his cold and serious face meeting Zhang Jingzhu’s shocked expression. His fishtail straightened slightly, and he stared down at her for a few seconds before suddenly sitting back down, his gaze now level.

“Zhang Jingzhu… you are,” his eyes held an emotion completely opposite to his facial expression, like the despair and helplessness of being betrayed by someone he trusted most, yet still clinging to a glimmer of hope, yearning for a nonexistent possibility. He said slowly, “Did you deliberately save me? But I told you, my tears won’t turn into pearls… You won’t achieve your goal…”

What was he talking about?

Zhang Jingzhu was confused.

Then, she considered a possibility.

“Did you hear my conversation with Zhang Ning?”

Cheng Shuinan sadly nodded. The hope in his eyes vanished like moonlight obscured by dark clouds. Large tears welled up in his eyes, stubbornly refusing to fall. He abruptly turned his head, and a crystal-clear tear rolled down his cheek.

As he said, it didn’t turn into a pearl.

Zhang Jingzhu laughed as she watched him, thinking, “He’s still so young, he cries at the drop of a hat. His head is pretty sensitive, he’s overthinking things based on just a few words from me…”

“Sigh! I’m not good at comforting children, but it’s easier if I imagine him as a poor little animal.”

Zhang Jingzhu reached into her pocket. She had a habit of keeping tissues in her pocket. She pulled out a clean tissue with an orange scent.

She squatted down in front of him and gently pressed the tissue against his cheek, wiping away the tear trail.

Through the barrier of the tissue, her fingertips suddenly felt the temperature of his face, cool and slippery, like the sensation of his fishtail. It was strangely smooth and sticky.

Her fingertips unconsciously rubbed against it.

Cheng Shuinan kept his head down and didn’t speak. He just trembled slightly when her hand pressed against his face, but he didn’t resist. The emotions in his eyes intensified.

Zhang Jingzhu gently refuted him, “You’re wrong. You’re lumping me in with those people based on just a few words. That makes me angry.”

Cheng Shuinan suddenly raised his eyes, his gaze shining brightly.

He probably didn’t notice himself, but his fishtail, submerged beneath the surface, silently rose. His wide, soft fins swayed like joyful fish, creating ripples on the calm surface of the water.

Zhang Jingzhu curiously asked, “What were you thinking?”

Cheng Shuinan surfaced, his voice gentle yet tinged with apology, “…I heard you talking about pearl necklaces and calling him ‘boss.'”

Zhang Jingzhu looked into his eyes and asked, “Cheng Shuinan, do you… remember the name of the person who hurt your mother and you?”

How could Cheng Shuinan forget that person? He would never forget.

“Cheng Qingyuan.”

Zhang Jingzhu was stunned.

Sure enough, some things were just that coincidental.