Chapter 8 Victim of Rumors

Chi Mei felt a bit embarrassed, his thick long lashes fluttering shyly over the ripples in his eyes. A man’s long hair was not to be casually touched.

But thinking back to how he had hurt Jiang Yang’s feelings by rejecting her courtship, he felt he owed her. Now it was just a light touch of his hair, so he indulged her. Besides, he didn’t mind, it felt quite comfortable.

The original merman taming room was dark and unventilated. Chi Mei also liked to splash his tail, getting water from the bucket everywhere. As soon as one walked in, they could feel the heavy dampness.

Despite Lan Qian’s dissuasion, Jiang Yang moved Chi Mei to the second floor conference hall of the wheelhouse, which had windows on the north and south, bright and airy.

Arriving in the brand new environment, Chi Mei curiously looked around. There was a huge nautical chart on the wall of the conference hall. Although Chi Mei could speak human language, he couldn’t read and found it uninteresting.

The conference table originally below the nautical chart had been moved away, leaving only a lonely small stool in the corner. On the stool was a celadon vase with a phoenix spout, with a peacock feather casually inserted as decoration.

“I want that!” Chi Mei pointed to the colorful peacock feather.

The several crew members who had just moved Chi Mei to the wheelhouse looked at each other. Although the peacock feather was not an expensive item, it was after all the master’s belonging. Without Jiang Yang present, they couldn’t make the decision.

Seeing the crew members not moving, Chi Mei slightly frowned. If they wouldn’t give it to him, forget it. He would go find Yang later. Yang would definitely give it to him.

But…

“Remove that screen.” Chi Mei lowered his eyes, displeased, pointing at the eight-panel screen used as a divider.

“This—” A crew member asked, “Is this screen not good?”

Chi Mei didn’t say anything, his voice muffled. The screen was nice-looking, but it depicted eight beautiful men. One had refined, gentle, and graceful features; one had slightly lifted eyes, like spring water and autumn waves; one had round apricot eyes, lively and vivid… In short, they were all strikingly handsome men of different styles.

Putting these men in his room was really troubling.

“Uh, wait a moment, we’ll ask the Second Miss.” The crew members withdrew, leaving Chi Mei alone staring at the eight beauties on the screen, the window lattice casting a shadow on his face.

The crew members came together to Jiang Yang’s door. Lan Qian stood guard outside and stopped them. “The Second Miss is busy. What business do you have?”

The crew members truthfully reported. Lan Qian, who already had a poor impression of Chi Mei, snorted. “Causing trouble.”

“Isn’t that right? You said the Second Miss went to all this trouble for this merman. How bothersome. And I see this little beast, spoiled by the Second Miss, has nearly forgotten his own status. He actually ordered us around like servants and was picky about food and drink. At noon when we fed him, he wouldn’t eat lobster, insisting on bluefin tuna, and only the belly meat, nothing else.” A crew member complained.

Lan Qian mocked, “A little beast, relying on the master’s indulgence, has forgotten his place. I’ll go have a word with him. Let’s go!”

Lan Qian kicked the door open. The fierce sun shone through the window lattice onto Chi Mei’s fishtail scales, each one seemingly emitting a glassy radiance.

Chi Mei smelled Lan Qian’s scent from afar and didn’t even bother giving her a glance. He hadn’t seen the sun in a long time and narrowed his eyes in pleasure, enjoying the sunbath.

“This eight-panel screen has always been in the council hall. It can’t be moved on a whim just because you don’t like it. Come, take those things away.” Lan Qian snorted and ordered people to remove the celadon phoenix vase and the peacock feather inside. He liked it, so she refused to give it to him. He disliked it, so she insisted on keeping it, to curb this little beast’s edge and let him know this wasn’t his home.

Chi Mei continued to ignore her, turning over to change position and continue sunbathing.

Lan Qian narrowed her eyes and paced to Chi Mei, blocking the fierce sunlight. “You’re not angry?”

This despicable fish had a fiery temper when he first arrived. How come he had no reaction today?

Chi Mei glanced at her lazily. “Not angry.”

“Why?”

Chi Mei lifted the corner of his eye, his demeanor alluring. “In a bit, I’ll tell Yang and she’ll give me the peacock feather and throw out the screen.”

Lan Qian thought: This despicable fish, he’s going to tattle after all.

Tattle then, she wasn’t afraid. She had served by Jiang Yang’s side since childhood. On this ship, she was closest to Jiang Yang. Their bond couldn’t be driven apart by a despicable fish.

“Fine, go ahead and tell the Second Miss. See if she listens to you or me.” Lan Qian gritted her teeth, her tone strangely like a man fighting for favor in the back courtyard.

Chi Mei shrugged nonchalantly, his fishtail at leisure. “I don’t even need to guess. Yang will definitely listen to me.”

Lan Qian’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “What do you mean? Why do you think the Second Miss will definitely listen to you?”

Chi Mei met Lan Qian’s aggressive gaze without fear, instead having the air of a favored, coquettish, cheap noble consort provoking others. “Because Yang likes me.”

Lan Qian’s expression changed, instantly stunned!!

What did she hear? Her master had taken a fancy to a fish? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

“You’re lying to me. You’re courting death!” Lan Qian angrily drew her sword.

Chi Mei was unafraid. “Why would I lie to you? Yang likes me, and it was love at first sight. On the deck, she saved me, told those crew members not to abuse me, made me delicious food, and now even gave me a big room. She never explicitly said she liked me, but everything she did showed that she likes me.”

With reason and logic, Lan Qian’s sword clattered to the ground.

“No, impossible. These are all your one-sided claims.” Lan Qian still clung to a thread of hope, stammering for excuses.

Until Chi Mei proudly took out the white jade bracelet Jiang Yang had gifted him. “Look, this is the token of her affection for me.”

Lan Qian collapsed to the ground, thoroughly convinced!

No wonder she hadn’t seen the bracelet Jiang Yang usually wore on her wrist that morning. She thought Jiang Yang had put it away because it was bothersome, but it turned out she had given it to this despicable fish.

“Only the three of us know about this, but don’t tell Yang.”

“Ah?”

Chi Mei lowered his gaze, the starry brilliance in his eyes dimming a bit. “I rejected her.”

“…Ah??”

“After all, humans and fish are different. We ultimately can’t be together. Because I rejected Yang, her heart is already hurt. Although she still treats me as well as ever, I know the pain in her heart. Don’t go reopening her wounds, take good care of her.”

“……Ah???”

Lan Qian was dumbfounded three times in a row, her worldview collapsing!

Her master had condescended to take a liking to a fish. This despicable fish, not knowing to be grateful and moved to tears, actually rejected Jiang Yang!

She was a complete mess. No wonder Jiang Yang had shut herself in her room right after leaving the merman taming room and specifically instructed not to be disturbed. She was nursing a broken heart, licking her wounds alone.

Lan Qian’s heart ached. She rushed out the door.

Returning to Jiang Yang’s tightly shut door, Lan Qian paced back and forth, thinking hard about how to comfort Jiang Yang.

After much thought, she decided to seek the experienced first mate on the ship.

“I have a friend who was dumped by a man. Before I set sail, she had been suffering from a broken heart, listlessly thinking of that man, having no appetite for food or drink. What do you think I should do to comfort and console my friend?”

The first mate was a rough woman who had been sailing for years and had rich relationship experience. Upon hearing this, she first laughed heartily. “Is this friend you’re talking about actually yourself?”

Lan Qian thought: It’s not me, I don’t have that, don’t make things up.

But for the sake of Jiang Yang’s reputation, she endured.

Lan Qian declared with righteous fortitude, “…That’s right, it’s me.”

The first mate threw an arm around Lan Qian, heavily patting her shoulder. “It’s just a man, what’s the big deal? Don’t tie yourself to one tree. Let me tell you, the best way to forget a man is to find a bunch of men. We’re about to reach Nalong Country. I’m telling you, the men of Nalong Country are all devilishly handsome. Their skin may not be as fair as the men of our country, but a dark-skinned pretty boy is still a pretty boy. They have delicate and soft bodies, and their pecs are huge. The feel is out of this world. To be honest, I’m keeping a little lover there myself.”

Lan Qian had a sudden epiphany. That’s right, where in the world are there no fragrant grasses?

Her Second Miss had always been a romantic since childhood, frequenting brothels and seducing those flowery courtesans to lose their minds and hearts, wanting to become her attendants. But the Second Miss never let them get close, not taking a single one into the household.

This time, she had fallen for that fish, certainly because… there were no men on the ship. Pent up for so long, even a tortoise would start looking refined and graceful.

Right! It must be so! When they reached Nalong Country, she would definitely get the Second Miss a dozen pretty boys. Black skin, white skin, it didn’t matter as long as they could serve the Second Miss well and make her forget about that fish.

Then, when the Second Miss had recovered from her heartbreak, she would definitely urge the Second Miss to slaughter that fish, helping her resolve this dark history.

Lan Qian confidently returned and continued standing guard outside Jiang Yang’s door. Hearing the low, suppressed sounds continuously coming from inside, Lan Qian shook her head and sighed. What a romantic.

Jiang Yang, the great romantic who had been inexplicably slandered, was completely unaware of external affairs, not knowing at all that her reputation had been ruined and she was currently in a state of social death.

She was happily writing at her desk, preparing to write a letter to Jiang Qingzhou to fiercely mock that beast in human clothing. The more she wrote, the more she wanted to laugh, but she couldn’t laugh too loudly, so she lay on the table laughing to the point of convulsions.

Angry Bird’s eyes were cold, as if looking at a fool.

Jiang Yang’s trembling hand wrote several letters. While writing, she realized it wouldn’t do. What if this letter fell into someone else’s hands? Forget it, it was better to mock her in person after returning.

Jiang Yang tore up the letter, soaking the fragments in water until they dissolved. She then hugged Angry Bird and lay on the bed sprawled out, her suppressed hysterical laughter nearly sounding like crying. “Angry Bird, your master is a scumbag woman. Hahaha, do you know how she used to teach me? To be upright, damn upright, upright to the point that now a bunch of fish roe are waiting to find their mother, a nest of fish babies. Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter.”

Lan Qian was crouched by the door, listening to the sounds inside, continuously shaking her head. Second Miss, you’ve fallen so deep.

Jiang Yang: She’s slandering me, she’s slandering me!

Also, the dark-skinned handsome men aren’t inky black, just a bit deeper skin tone. You can search on Weibo for specifics.

Thanks to the little angels who cast domineering votes or watered nutrient solutions for me during the period of 2022-06-11 23:38:00~2022-06-12 23:15:14~

Thanks to the little angels who watered nutrient solutions: kfk 60 bottles; Quiet Princess 24 bottles; Tooth Pulling Deer 5 bottles; Sisyphus 1 bottle;

Thank you all very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!