Two minutes ago—

Yu Bai really didn’t quite understand what Fu Linyuan meant when he showed him the room.

Chewing on the sweet milky candy, the little mermaid’s eyes were immediately drawn to the big pillow on the bed.

But by the time he walked over, picked up the pillow, and returned to the room’s doorway, Fu Linyuan was already gone.

The little mermaid stood in the corridor hugging the pillow, glancing left and right.

“…My boss?”

He called out hesitantly.

What answered him was silence.

Where had Fu Linyuan gone?

Instinctively, Yu Bai wanted to retrace the path they came from to look for him. However—

After taking two steps forward, he suddenly remembered something, and quickly turned back to the room…

The little mermaid rolled up the quilt on the bed and hugged it along with the pillow.

But after taking two steps like that, Yu Bai realized a problem.

Even when rolled up, the fluffy quilt was still rather big, and hugging it with the pillow blocked his view a little.

So the little mermaid fumbled around on the spot and finally managed to prop the quilt over his shoulder.

Just like that—hugging a pillow and carrying a blanket—he released a small stream of spiritual energy and began searching for Fu Linyuan.

Hmm… Not here… Not here either…

Ah, found him!

Locking onto the familiar spiritual wave, Yu Bai headed straight for the study.

Fu Linyuan was sitting behind his desk, doing something unknown.

“Why did you come over?”

It seemed like he was asking what Yu Bai wanted by coming to him.

Still with candy in his mouth, Yu Bai was a bit confused: …Weren’t you the one who said I should sleep with you?

“…Home?”

Because his mouth was full, the little mermaid’s speech was a bit muffled, sounding soft and tender, like a little hook gently tugging at the listener’s ear.

And Fu Linyuan seemed to understand.

The little sea creature had likely confused the meanings of “sleep” and “go home.”

“…There’s no bed here,” Fu Linyuan paused, “If you’re sleepy, you can go back to your room to sleep.”

He still needed to change the bandages before bed. Though the wound was nearly healed, infection was still a risk.

He looked far too delicate.

Like he could be blown away by a gust of wind.

That last sentence went completely over Yu Bai’s head.

Seeing that Fu Linyuan was still sitting behind the desk, Yu Bai remembered that when he had examined his spiritual sea, he had also rested in the chair—so he assumed that maybe Fu Linyuan just liked sleeping while sitting.

Not paying much attention to the details, Yu Bai carried his quilt to Fu Linyuan’s side, placed the pillow on the desk, and then began spreading the blanket on the floor beside him.

His movements were fluid and practiced, and it wasn’t until he had set up the pillow and was about to lie down that the Imperial Marshal snapped out of it.

He quickly grabbed Yu Bai, who was about to lie down on the carpet.

Sitting on the blanket, Yu Bai looked up instinctively when his arm was pulled.

Those sea-like eyes were filled with confusion, and his tone was equally innocent and puzzled: “Go home?”

Weren’t we going to sleep? Why are you stopping me now?

Fu Linyuan could tell from his expression that he hadn’t understood a word he said.

Rubbing his temple, the Imperial Marshal had no choice but to try using gestures to explain.

Only…

It didn’t go so well.

Fu Linyuan: “Home —not —sleep.”

Fu Linyuan: “Sleep— go— in the room.”

Yu Bai stared at him, bewildered.

Then, a sudden realization.

Oh—

Fu Linyuan wanted the blanket too.

So the little mermaid stood up again and, lifting the blanket he had just laid out, tried to drape it over Fu Linyuan.

Fu Linyuan: “…”

He had to raise his hand to stop the blanket that was about to smother his face and sighed, “You…”

But before he could finish, the study door was knocked on.

“Sir, dinner is ready…”

At this point, Huo Si paused.

Clearly, even its CPU hadn’t expected to one day process such a complex scene.

In the span of half a second, it compared what its visual sensors saw to countless stored scenarios in its system and still couldn’t come up with a logical explanation for why tonight’s guest was trying to cover the host’s face with a blanket in the study.

The study fell into a long silence.

Finally, Huo Si spoke again, sounding as doubtful as a flat mechanical voice could manage:

“…Are you two… planning to sleep together in the study tonight?”

Fu Linyuan: “…”

This was perhaps the first time in many years that the Imperial Marshal felt it might really be time to upgrade the old household robot that had served for so long.

In the dining room, for a while, the only sound was the occasional clinking of cutlery.

Yu Bai couldn’t quite understand why Fu Linyuan kept such a stern face.

Though his expression wasn’t much different from earlier, the little mermaid keenly sensed a subtle change in his mood.

He wasn’t yet very good at identifying emotions, but after thinking for a long time, he still felt the other party seemed… unhappy.

…Why was he angry?

Chewing on a chicken drumstick, Yu Bai couldn’t figure it out.

Sure, he ate his candy—but he also agreed to sleep with him, didn’t he?

And even shared the blanket! It was Fu Linyuan himself who didn’t want it.

So why was he upset?

Biting into the drumstick again, Yu Bai remained thoroughly puzzled.

Fu Linyuan, of course, wasn’t angry about not being able to sleep in the study.

After years on the battlefield, the Imperial Marshal’s gaze still carried a habitual sharpness when observing others.

Though the little mermaid ate quickly, he was very quiet while doing so.

His fair cheeks puffed slightly with each bite, making anyone watching want to pinch or rub them.

Only liked meat, didn’t like vegetables.

Retracting his gaze, Fu Linyuan picked up his cup and took a small sip of water.

…And wasn’t very good with cutlery.

Well then, etiquette classes will need to be scheduled too.

The little mermaid had no idea that within the span of one meal, his future lessons and assignments were already being mapped out.

…

After dinner, Yu Bai followed Fu Linyuan upstairs again.

Fu Linyuan knew that merfolk liked water, but even with a rushed renovation, the downstairs pool still wasn’t ready. So, no matter what, the little mermaid would have to make do in a bedroom tonight.

…First, teach him how to sleep on a bed.

Yu Bai obediently followed him back to the same room where he had picked up the pillow earlier.

Huo Si had already dutifully laid out fresh bedding and placed a clean pillow.

Gesturing to the tidy bed, Fu Linyuan said, “…This is the proper place to sleep.”

Yu Bai blinked, showing he didn’t understand.

“…” The Imperial Marshal thought for a moment and rephrased, “…Home?”

Xiao Hai tilted his head, then obediently sat down at the edge of the bed.

“…This is where home is.” Fu Linyuan pinched the bridge of his nose, then gestured. “Nowhere else is okay.”

Yu Bai nodded.

This time, he finally understood—Fu Linyuan wanted him to sleep here.

He should’ve just said that earlier.

Fu Linyuan wanted to say something more, but at that exact moment, Huo Si spoke up.

“Sir, you have a call from the palace. Would you like to answer it now?”

Fu Linyuan glanced down at the terminal on his wrist, paused, and then said to Huo Si, “Stay here and watch him.”

With that, he quickly left the room.

So now only Yu Bai and Huo Si were left, staring at each other.

After a full minute, it was Huo Si who spoke first.

“Mr. Yu, if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to let me know.”

The butler robot’s speech was the perfectly enunciated standard tone unique to robots, slightly different from human pronunciation.

Which made Yu Bai, who already couldn’t understand much, even more confused.

Perhaps his puzzlement was too obvious—Huo Si’s display flashed, changing to a warm orange smiling face.

＾ｖ＾

“It’s getting late—would you like to freshen up and rest?”

Out of that long sentence, Yu Bai only understood the word “wash.”

Hmm… Although he had already cleaned himself at the research facility and changed into fresh clothes, he hadn’t soaked his tail in water for quite a while.

Wash… that must mean a place with water, right?

Thinking that, the little mermaid nodded: “Wash.”

Upon receiving the command, Huo Si made a polite “please” gesture: “Then please follow me.”

Yu Bai followed the butler to the bathroom.

The little mermaid’s eyes were immediately drawn to the large white bathtub.

Huo Si: “Would you prefer a shower or…”

But then it saw the guest heading straight for the bathtub.

Following its programming, Huo Si politely asked, “Do you have any preference for the water temperature?”

Yu Bai: “Sleep… smell?”

Huo Si’s facial expression analysis system quickly concluded that the guest likely didn’t understand what it had said—but that didn’t stop it from cheerfully continuing, “I’ll prepare warm water for you.”

It stepped forward and connected to the bathroom’s smart system, directing the bathtub to begin filling.

Under the little mermaid’s fascinated gaze, the rising water released wisps of gentle steam—quite magical.

“Your clothes—” Huo Si said, pointing to the suit it was wearing, then to the rack on the left, “can be placed here.”

Then it pointed to the bathrobe hanging on the other side and mimicked a dressing motion: “Afterward, you can change into this.”

Oh—

Yu Bai suddenly understood.

The robot was saying that after soaking in water, he could wear this.

He nodded, smiling at Huo Si to show he understood.

Seeing his comprehension, Huo Si pointed to the door and formed its mechanical hands into a trumpet shape near its mouth: “I’ll wait for you out here. If you need anything, just call me.”

Huo Si had worked in the Marshal’s residence for many years and was part of the earliest batch of intelligent butler robots.

It didn’t yet have a waterproof casing, so it could only wait outside.

It’s just a bath, after all.

Huo Si’s system determined—

What could possibly go wrong?

A portion of his moonlight-like silver hair floated on the water’s surface, and the rising steam made his beautiful features appear a little hazy.

“Gulu gulu…”

Blowing out a small string of bubbles, Yu Bai felt like his entire fish body had suddenly become more energetic.

Even though, due to the size of the tub, part of his tail couldn’t fully stretch out and had to stay curled, the warmth of the water still revived his long-dried tail with a radiant glow.

His pale skin was flushed slightly pink by the steam, and gentle ripples spread across the water as his silver-white tail fin swayed softly.

The little mermaid closed his eyes in comfort and stretched lazily.

And just as he brought his hands back in, his soft pink-white fingertips accidentally brushed against a knob beside the bathtub.

“Gulu gulu gulu——!”

Suddenly, a series of bubbling sounds echoed through the previously quiet bathroom.

At the same time, Yu Bai keenly sensed the water beneath his tail suddenly begin to move.