The little mermaid’s skin was like the finest mutton-fat jade— cool to the touch, fair, and smooth.

A warm palm pressed rhythmically against his calf, slowly kneading and loosening the tense muscles bit by bit.

Yu Bai’s body temperature was naturally on the lower side, but after prolonged contact, his cool skin had gradually picked up a warmth that didn’t originally belong to him.

The massage, with just the right amount of pressure, turned the once painful area pleasantly warm. The little mermaid narrowed his eyes in comfort and let out a small yawn.

…So comfortable, and a little sleepy again.

The mental energy he had spent earlier comforting Fu Linyuan still hadn’t fully recovered— he needed rest.

His long, curled eyelashes drooped lower and lower as he drifted into a daze.

Hmm… humans didn’t seem to like getting water everywhere. Just now, Fu Linyuan had looked a little angry again.

…Was he still mad?

He wanted to say sorry, to explain that he didn’t mean to— he really didn’t know why Huo Si had suddenly stopped moving.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember how to say “sorry” in the human language.

Fu Linyuan had definitely taught him before.

Yawning again, Yu Bai’s thoughts became increasingly sluggish.

Learning is really hard…

“……”

A soft, milky voice seemed to murmur something.

“…Hm?”

Fu Linyuan didn’t catch it.

He instinctively lowered his head— then suddenly froze.

That fluffy little head had slowly leaned against his shoulder.

He could feel the slender body rise and fall gently with each breath, and the hand that had been clutching his shirt had gradually loosened its grip.

The little mermaid had fallen asleep again.

His peaceful sleeping face was completely unguarded, even showing a trace of unhidden dependence.

Like some kind of small animal, he curled up beside him with complete trust, drawing warmth from him.

The man froze for a few seconds, his slightly lowered lashes concealing all emotion from his pitch-black eyes, leaving no hint of what he was thinking.

Then he let go of the calf that had been warmed in his palm, gently stood up, and laid the boy properly on the bed.

Pulling up the blanket, Fu Linyuan stood by the bed, his gaze falling on that long silver hair.

Some vague, distant, and unfamiliar fragments of memory flashed quickly through his mind. But just as he tried to grasp those pieces, a familiar sharp pain suddenly spread from his temple.

It was the sign of another incoming mental storm.

Lowering his gaze, the man tucked in the little mermaid and then quietly left the room.

In the second half of the night, Yu Bai didn’t dream again and slept soundly until morning.

He was awakened by sunlight slipping through a gap in the curtains.

Rubbing his slightly messy hair, the little mermaid rubbed his eyes and climbed off the bed barefoot, going downstairs.

Guided by the fluctuations in mental energy, he easily found Fu Linyuan in the living room on the first floor.

The latter seemed to be working. When he heard him coming downstairs, he only glanced at him before turning his eyes back to the smart terminal.

Seeing he was busy, the little mermaid didn’t say anything either, obediently sitting on the sofa nearby and continuing to doze like a chick pecking at rice.

“…I’ve looked over the list. There’s no issue.” The Imperial Marshal’s tone was as cold as ever. “Approval granted. The maintenance department can begin dispatching materials.”

“Any updates on A-001?”

“What’s the earliest the mecha maintenance can be completed?”

“…Is that so?”

Even though the Marshal hadn’t said anything particularly harsh, the head of the mecha maintenance department on the other end of the communication was breaking out in a cold sweat from the faint displeasure in his tone.

Who didn’t know the Marshal had a violent temper and ruthless methods?

Rumor had it that he especially disliked subordinates who couldn’t meet deadlines… What if he lost his job over this…

Luckily, the Marshal seemed to have other matters to deal with today and didn’t press further about the maintenance delays.

He only lightly emphasized the need to repair his mecha as soon as possible before cutting off the communication.

The head of the maintenance department set down the terminal and finally let out a sigh of relief.

Amitābha, it’s not like they were deliberately stalling.

It’s just that when A-001 was delivered, the damage was truly too severe. Aside from the engine, which was still intact, the rest was a wreck.

It was hard to imagine what kind of brutal battle the most advanced and precise mecha in the entire Empire had gone through to end up like that.

And how the pilot had managed to steer such a nearly collapsing machine back onto the starship safely.

What incredible mental power and control that must have taken!

He wondered… was the Marshal injured?

Thinking of this, the head of the department patted his head and forced himself to dismiss any unnecessary thoughts.

This year’s patrol had been suddenly moved up. They had to make sure A-001 was restored perfectly before the Marshal’s departure.

Back on the other end of the communication, Fu Linyuan closed the smart terminal and looked over at Yu Bai, who was about to doze off again on the sofa: “Awake?”

The little mermaid jolted and opened his eyes. His response still had a sleepy, nasal tone: “…Hm?”

As he responded, he was still sporting the messy “chicken nest” hair from just crawling out of bed, looking even more adorably dazed.

Fu Linyuan stared at the tousled silver hair for two seconds, then said, “Come here.”

Yu Bai had already learned what those two words meant, so he obediently stood up from the sofa and walked over to Fu Linyuan.

After sitting beside him, he finally noticed the table near Fu Linyuan’s side and another chair were piled with packages.

Seeing him approach, Fu Linyuan opened the nearest and smallest package, spilling out several…

Brightly colored, various styles of hair ties.

Then the Imperial Marshal, expressionless, gestured at the little mermaid: “Pick one?”

Yu Bai didn’t understand what “pick” meant, but from Fu Linyuan’s gesture, he figured he was supposed to take one of the small circles on the table.

This thing— Fu Linyuan had given it to him in his previous life too… What was it for again?

Oh, it seemed like something humans used to tie their hair together.

Yu Bai didn’t really understand why humans did this, but from what he’d observed in the lab before, it seemed that letting long hair hang loose was inconvenient, so they tied it up.

But the little mermaid didn’t really like the feeling of having his hair tied.

If he tied it for too long, his scalp would start to hurt.

Thinking of this, a bit of undisguised dislike appeared on the little mermaid’s face. He reached out and gently pushed all the hair ties further away from himself.

Fu Linyuan: …

Didn’t like any of them?

He had bought the highest-rated, best-selling styles from the store.

…Could it be that a mermaid’s aesthetics were just very different from humans’?

Just as Fu Linyuan was pondering how to explain to Yu Bai that tying up his hair would make daily life easier, he saw the latter suddenly become interested in something on the table.

That fair little hand reached into the middle of the pile of hair ties…

And picked up a small pair of scissors that had come as a free gift.

Apparently, many humans would cut their hair short just to avoid tying it up.

Yu Bai was actually very afraid of pain. Cutting hair didn’t hurt; tying it up did. So he chose to cut it.

The small tool in his hand seemed to be just the thing used to cut things.

One hand clumsily opened the scissors, and the other grabbed a strand of hair beside his face, ready to cut it off without hesitation.

Fu Linyuan: …?

He reached out and stopped the little mermaid’s hand just before the scissors could cut, his tone, for once, carrying a hint of inexplicable emotion: “…What are you doing?”

Yu Bai blinked and mimed the action of cutting his hair.

Fu Linyuan: “Cutting your hair?”

Yu Bai understood what “hair” meant. He guessed the word before it must mean “cut,” and the one after meant “hair.”

So he nodded.

“…Why?”

Yu Bai: Because tying my hair hurts.

But he couldn’t figure out how to express such a complex idea with gestures.

After pondering hard for a moment, the little mermaid’s eyes lit up.

He let go of his own hair, reached out, and before Fu Linyuan could react, gently tugged the short strands of hair by his ear, then smiled at him.

Only then did the Marshal get it: …Oh, he wants the same hairstyle as me.

Seeing that Fu Linyuan seemed to understand, Yu Bai picked up his own hair again, ready to do it himself— self-reliance brings abundance.

But once again, Fu Linyuan stopped him.

Fu Linyuan didn’t understand why he was so determined to cut his own hair, but thinking of those crooked characters and how clumsy he was when getting dressed…

The little mermaid’s hands-on abilities… left much to be desired.

So there was no way he’d let him cut his own hair.

Letting out a silent sigh, Fu Linyuan said, “Wait a bit. I’ll take you out to get a haircut later.”

Yu Bai didn’t understand, but he did get that the other person wanted him to wait.

So he obediently put down the scissors.

Then Fu Linyuan picked up a palm-sized small device from beside him.

He pressed a button on one end, and a red line lit up on the other.

Fu Linyuan tested the mini measuring device to make sure the scale wasn’t off, then gestured for Yu Bai to come closer.

“Come here.”

Yu Bai didn’t know what he was trying to do but still obediently leaned in.

When warm fingertips lifted his silver hair, they lightly grazed the tip of his ear fin.

Mermaids’ ear fins were extremely sensitive— Yu Bai shivered and couldn’t help but shrink his neck and pull away a little.

“Don’t move.” The notoriously cold and unfeeling Imperial Marshal was unusually patient at this moment. “It’ll be quick.”

The disguise device he had given Yu Bai before had kept falling off due to sizing issues, so he took the measurement tool, planning to send the data to the lab so they could custom-make a few correctly sized ones.

Yu Bai didn’t understand what was going on, but he knew what “don’t move” meant.

So even though his ear fins felt strange, he obediently stayed still and didn’t dodge again.

One second… two seconds…

The warmth of the fingertip pressing on the small patch of skin behind his ear was distinct. The more Yu Bai tried to ignore it, the more he noticed the heat.

…So strange.

A little ticklish, and a little numb.

Just being touched like this made his cheeks feel like they were starting to burn.

A faint blush crept up the slender neck to the tips of his ears.

…Is it done yet?

What is Fu Linyuan doing?

Just as Yu Bai was finally about to pull away again, the hand that had been making him flustered finally moved away.

“All done.”

After recording the measurements, Fu Linyuan set the device aside.

Before the little mermaid could react, the Imperial Marshal gave a soft cough and said more seriously, “Next, we need to test how many characters you recognize.”

Yu Bai: …?