Chapter 5

Zhang Jingzhu’s parking spot was very hidden.

She was afraid of exposing her whereabouts during the rescue of the merman, and if the people who captured the merman noticed and came to her door, it wouldn’t be safe. Luckily, there was only one seafood processing factory nearby, and the entrance had surveillance cameras. She parked her car outside the monitoring range using the navigation system in her car.

This was considered a wilderness, sparsely populated, and she wasn’t worried about being discovered.

Zhang Jingzhu originally thought she would leave the merman in the grass first and then drive over to pick him up, but before she could say anything, she lowered her head and saw Cheng Shui’nan discreetly hooking her pant leg.

He noticed Zhang Jingzhu’s gaze, quickly retracted his hand, stared at the pant leg he had soiled, showing an embarrassed expression, slowly raised his eyes, mumbled an apology, and then lowered his head again.

Just now, Zhang Jingzhu heard Brother Huang and the others talking about the merman, and learned some information about him.

He had been locked in the warehouse for ten years, and they wanted to get merman tears from him.

What use were merman tears?

Zhang Jingzhu had no interest in merman tears. What troubled her was “ten years ago”.

Mermen were born to belong to the sea, but the warehouse not only had no water source, but was even piled with boxes of stinking rotten fish and shrimp. The airtight warehouse only had a small window, the air was stuffy, and Cheng Shui’nan had survived in such a bad environment for ten years.

What made Zhang Jingzhu feel incredible was that Cheng Shui’nan had experienced the greatest malice of humans, but he only showed a frightened expression when he first saw her. The bite on her wrist today was clearly insignificant compared to the bite on Zhang Zheng.

She had seen many animals that had been abused by humans, and their instinctive reaction when faced with kindness was fear and distrust. They often took a long time to get along with humans before they could overcome their hostility towards them.

But Cheng Shui’nan’s dependence and trust came too quickly.

Zhang Jingzhu looked into Cheng Shui’nan’s clean, soft eyes, like clear springs.

She sighed imperceptibly, thinking that he was really too naive. He looked like a child who didn’t know anything about the world.

He didn’t seem to think about what would happen if she was a bad person at all? He didn’t hesitate for a moment when she said she would take him home, and he readily agreed, as if he was afraid she would change her mind.

Zhang Jingzhu felt fortunate again. Luckily, Cheng Shui’nan met her.

Zhang Jingzhu squatted down, her face was stained with mud that fell from the warehouse, her cheeks were stained in a funny way, but her eyes were bright enough to rival the stars in the night sky. She asked Cheng Shui’nan: “My car is parked a long way from here, it takes about ten minutes to walk. Do you want to wait here for me to drive over and pick you up, or do you want to walk with me?”

If they walked together, Cheng Shui’nan would need Zhang Jingzhu to pull him forward by the hand, and the process would inevitably touch the rubble.

Zhang Jingzhu didn’t want to exacerbate his wounds in this way, but he looked very timid, his eyes would stick to her when she wasn’t paying attention, as if he was afraid she would suddenly abandon him.

Cheng Shui’nan’s answer surprised Zhang Jingzhu slightly: “I, I’ll…wait…here.”

Cheng Shui’nan’s good right hand unconsciously clenched the sleeve that was tied around his waist and abdomen. He lowered his head hard, and from Zhang Jingzhu’s perspective, he could see his long, curved eyelashes fluttering like a butterfly’s wings. His blinking frequency gradually increased, and soon, those bright black eyes were filled with tears, swirling in his eye sockets.

Cheng Shui’nan belatedly realized that he seemed to have caused trouble for Zhang Jingzhu. She had just asked casually, but to him, it was like a heavenly voice. He didn’t hesitate for a moment to want to go home with her. She must be feeling troubled because of this…

A merman who was useless.

She was just trying to help him out of the warehouse where he was imprisoned, but he naively wanted to follow her back to her home.

She wanted to leave him here and then leave herself, right?

Cheng Shui’nan thought sadly.

Zhang Jingzhu couldn’t help but reach out and ruffle his hair. Cheng Shui’nan instinctively dodged, realizing it was her, and showing an apologetic expression. Zhang Jingzhu didn’t mind, she clenched her wet palm, stood up and said: “Then you wait here, don’t move around, I’ll be back soon.”

Zhang Jingzhu didn’t know why he was suddenly sad. She just wanted to drive the car over quickly, so she started jogging.

Cheng Shui’nan stared blankly at her back. The cold night wind blew across his face, lifting the merman’s curly hair. The black strands of hair fluttered in the wind, but his heart slowly sank with Zhang Jingzhu’s receding back, until it sank into boundless emptiness and darkness.

It was as if countless blades were hidden in his wounds. As time passed, they all surged up. He untied the coat wrapped around his fish tail, hugged it in his arms, and buried half of his face in it. The strong scent of iris enveloped him. He felt as if he had returned to a familiar place from his childhood, a scent that brought him peace and warmth.

The roar of a car suddenly came.

Cheng Shui’nan opened his eyes wide, looking at Zhang Jingzhu in the driver’s seat in disbelief. She smiled at him, and he felt the blades in his wounds suddenly shift, stabbing towards his heart, gently, without making him uneasy or painful. It was a strange palpitation.

Cheng Shui’nan lowered his eyes, his lips curled up slightly.

Zhang Jingzhu had come to pick him up and take him home.

She hadn’t abandoned him.

The advantage of the SUV was evident. The interior space was much wider than a sedan.

Cheng Shui’nan’s body was seriously injured. Although he had one good right hand, it was because of his left hand. His right hand injury would be enough to take half his life for an ordinary person.

It took Zhang Jingzhu a lot of effort to carry Cheng Shui’nan into the back seat.

She sat in the driver’s seat, turned her head and looked at him: “Bear with it for a while. There’s food in the car, you can take whatever you want. I don’t have any medicine now. I’ll find a pharmacy to buy some medicine first, and then we’ll go home.”

Cheng Shui’nan’s fish tail was very large, and it was all wounds. Zhang Jingzhu didn’t dare to bend it, so she used a pillow to cushion the back seat, letting Cheng Shui’nan rest his head on the pillow, his tail was on the seat for most of it, and the rest naturally fell below. She adjusted the front seat forward, leaving a lot of space in the back.

Cheng Shui’nan lay on his back, his fair cheeks flushed.

He smelled that the air in the car was instantly replaced by a strong fishy smell. Perhaps because Zhang Jingzhu was in a hurry, her speed was very fast, and there was some bumping when she encountered uneven ground. At this time, he suddenly realized that his wound was bleeding. Not only that, the clean leather seat was stained with mud, and the bow-shaped pillow behind his head was not spared.

Cheng Shui’nan was very embarrassed. He blinked, but still decided to tell her about soiling the seat, even though she might be angry and abandon him.

“…Zhang Jingzhu.”

“Hmm, what’s wrong?”

Zhang Jingzhu’s gentle voice made his eyes suddenly moist. The words that were about to come out of his mouth suddenly became: “Sorry, I, I soiled your, seat, but…my, wound will heal soon, no need, for medicine, I can heal myself, I’m fine, I’ll, clean the car…”

Cheng Shui’nan looked at her anxiously.

Zhang Jingzhu didn’t mind the car problem, she noticed something else: “You can heal yourself?”

Cheng Shui’nan quickly replied: “Hmm…hmm, minor injuries don’t take, a day to heal, serious ones take a day. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine tomorrow. I can, help you, I, can do anything.”

His urgent tone was as if he was afraid that Zhang Jingzhu would abandon him. Yes, he said he had no home. If Zhang Jingzhu couldn’t take him home, where could he go? A merman as naive, even a little silly, as him would probably be caught again soon.

Zhang Jingzhu suddenly felt a surge of protectiveness towards him.

She originally wanted to rescue him and then send him back home, but now, she wanted to change her mind. He had no home, where else could he go?

Zhang Jingzhu saw Cheng Shui’nan in the rearview mirror.

She didn’t know when, but his eyes were always filled with clear, watery, moist gaze, like a naive and innocent little animal that had strayed into a bustling city. Everything he saw was confusing, and only by following her closely, could he rely on her as his only support and trust.

Zhang Jingzhu said: “It will be a long time, close your eyes and rest for a while.”

Cheng Shui’nan obediently closed his eyes.

Zhang Jingzhu saw him curled up slightly, turned on the warm air, and touched the hideous wound. Her heart skipped a beat. He said his body had the ability to heal itself, but from the moment she saw him, his body was always covered in wounds, fresh, hideous wounds.

They were so cruel.

Zhang Jingzhu’s guilt and self-blame for the fire had completely disappeared, and turned into a strong hatred. Those people died in the fire, they were really let off easy.

Zhang Jingzhu gritted her teeth, she really wanted to inflict the torture they had inflicted on the merman on them!

But fortunately, Cheng Shui’nan escaped.

It was very late, the shops on the city streets were already closed at night, Zhang Jingzhu didn’t find any pharmacies, so she could only take the merman home first. She kept a blanket in her car, and wrapped Cheng Shui’nan from head to toe.

“Bear with it, hold on, we’ll be home soon.”

The underground garage and elevator of the residential area had surveillance cameras. She couldn’t drag Cheng Shui’nan around like she did in the wild, so she could only make him stand on his fish tail. This would tear open his wound, but there was no other way.

Finally, she managed to help the merman back home. As she closed the door, Zhang Jingzhu took a few deep breaths, and her tense nerves finally relaxed.

Cheng Shui’nan leaned against Zhang Jingzhu nervously, his wide eyes scanning the surroundings. The cold sweat on his pale forehead couldn’t erase the joy in his eyes. His nerves ached, but the emotions he felt were the joy of surviving a disaster and the unknown confusion. Fortunately…

He carefully touched Zhang Jingzhu’s ankle with his fin. Her warm body temperature eased his unease.

Cheng Shui’nan slowly exhaled, lowered his eyes, and let Zhang Jingzhu half-drag, half-carry him to the bathroom.