Chapter 12

As the day of Zhang Jingshu’s return to work arrived, she found herself feeling a bit different.

She had never taken such a long leave before. Living alone, she usually found staying at home rather dull and would rather spend her time at the company. However, Cheng Shuinan’s presence had brought a new atmosphere to her home.

Waking up no longer meant facing an empty house. There was now someone to respond when she spoke. She had even set up a small table in the bathroom, determined to help the merman broaden his knowledge by watching several movies and TV dramas together.

Thinking back on the past few days of leave, Zhang Jingshu couldn’t help but smile.

After finishing breakfast, she changed out of her comfortable loungewear. The weather was gradually getting colder, and with winter just a few days away, she donned a camel-colored coat and black boots. Her beauty carried a natural air of coolness, but when she smiled, the coldness melted away.

Grabbing her bag, she instructed, “I won’t be coming home for lunch. I’ve left food on the shelf in the bathroom—take whatever you want.”

A special storage rack had been set up in the bathroom just for Cheng Shuinan, filled with coarse salt, gauze, antiseptic, ready-to-eat food, and even some toys that Zhang Jingshu had recently bought. Among them were a little yellow duck for kids, a rubber ball, and a mix of other random items.

Cheng Shuinan tossed aside the rubber ball in his hand and gripped the edge of the bathtub.

“Okay, I got it.”

Zhang Jingshu turned to leave.

Just as she reached for the door, she suddenly heard a soft “splat” sound, like water splashing onto the floor, followed by the sound of wet feet bouncing on the ground.

She turned back to see Cheng Shuinan nervously following her out of the bathroom. His fish tail was tensed as he tried to stabilize himself. He held onto the corner of the bathroom wall, cautiously poking his head out. His dark, glistening eyes were fixed on her.

His slightly flushed lips were pressed into his mouth.

Zhang Jingshu sighed helplessly, but an unfamiliar warmth surged in her chest.

Her gaze met Cheng Shuinan’s reluctant one, and for a moment, the crisp, clean air carried a faint hint of the ocean. It was as if an invisible thread extended from him, tying them together.

The feeling was strange yet wonderful.

For the first time, there was someone who would feel reluctant to see her leave home.

For the first time, there was someone waiting for her to return.

Suddenly, she had a bond with someone.

She walked back, bent down, and examined his tail. “Doesn’t it hurt?”

Cheng Shuinan let out a breath of relief. Emboldened, he gave a little hop closer to her, sending crystal-clear water droplets sliding off his scales and pooling onto the floor.

“Nope! It’s completely healed!” he said proudly.

There wasn’t even a scar left on his tail. Just days ago, it had been raw and exposed, but now, new scales had grown over the wound. The glossy black scales looked like an armor of protection.

Zhang Jingshu suddenly noticed something.

Just below his waistline, there was a section of scales that looked different from the rest. They were duller in color, twice the size of the others, and disrupted the smooth curve of his tail, forming a subtle, raised ridge.

It was barely noticeable at a glance.

Her cheeks instantly burned. She straightened her posture, forcing herself to remain composed as she glanced at Cheng Shuinan’s youthful and beautiful face.

“I’ll be back tonight. You don’t have to follow me out,” she said quickly before turning away, her steps slightly rushed.

Cheng Shuinan clung to the wall, watching her with reluctance.

Just as she opened the door, she added, “I left the tablet at home. If you get bored, you can watch something to pass the time. I’ll bring you a phone tonight so you can contact me if anything happens.”

Cheng Shuinan’s face lit up with a smile.

“Zhang Jingshu, I’ll wait for you to come back.”

“…Alright.”

At first, Zhang Jingshu had assumed Cheng Shuinan’s scars had been so gruesome that she hadn’t even considered his gender, treating him as a pitiful mermaid in need of rescue. But now…

She had tended to his wounds so many times. It was impossible that she hadn’t noticed.

That part of him… had suddenly matured.

…What the hell am I thinking?!

Sitting in her car, Zhang Jingshu covered her face, speechless.

She sat quietly for a while, inhaling the thick scent of citrus from the car’s air freshener. After just a few minutes inside, the fragrance had already clung to her coat, masking the faint, lingering scent of the ocean.

Pushing aside her embarrassment, she started the car.

It was the same SUV she had used before. She had taken it to the car wash, making sure it was spotless. To cover up any traces of blood on the seats, she had even gone to the seafood market and bought crates of freshly slaughtered fish, placing them in the backseat.

The interior had resembled a crime scene so much that the car wash worker had been visibly shaken. Upon learning that the mess was from seafood, he had given her an odd look—like he couldn’t believe someone so well-dressed would be so careless.

A beautiful woman, but so messy? Who puts dirty fish crates in their car? That’s just ruining a perfectly good vehicle!

When she arrived at the office, chaos was everywhere.

Ever since the controversy over the “Luminous Sea” broke out, many customers were demanding refunds. The receptionist had been answering phone calls nonstop, and the office was filled with complaints.

Zhang Jingshu remained unfazed. She sat at her desk, turned on her computer, and checked the company’s website for customer comments.

User 1: Guys, the pearls from Lianzhu Company definitely come from the Luminous Sea! That water has soaked corpses! Are you really going to wear that on your body? So creepy!

User 2: Okay, but… I kinda feel bad for Lianzhu Company.

User 3: Feel bad? Don’t be ridiculous! Ever since they bought the Luminous Sea, the water quality has been terrible. Fish and shrimp corpses keep floating up. Who knows what they’ve been doing in there?! Sure, their pearls are pretty, but at the cost of the entire sea?

User 4: A few years ago, their pearls were actually better. I remember they once released two pink pearl necklaces—those pearls were stunning! They were translucent white with a soft pink hue and glowed at night! But now, their quality has gone downhill…

User 5: Off-topic, but doesn’t anyone find it weird how so many corpses ended up in the Luminous Sea? I saw unedited photos—there were dozens. And after all this time, they still haven’t identified them. It’s like these people just appeared out of nowhere.

User 6: Pics or it didn’t happen.

User 7: Yeah, we need proof.]Zhang Jingshu’s brows furrowed.

Could those bodies be the merfolk who had failed to produce pearl tears—just as Huang and his men had mentioned?

But no… A merfolk’s skeletal structure was different from a human’s. If their bodies had been discovered, people would have noticed.

Something wasn’t right.

Feeling restless, she hired an army of internet trolls to flood Cheng Qingyuan’s social media with negative comments. Then, she picked up a gift box and headed to his office.

Later that evening, just as she was about to head home with the phone she had bought for Cheng Shuinan, her mother called.

“Jingshu, I’m busy right now, and no one’s available to pick up your sister from school. Can you go get her? Also, stay for dinner, I haven’t seen you in a while.”