Chapter 5 He Has Two Faces

Jiang Yang’s brain short-circuited for a moment, not understanding what this handsome fish meant. The night was deep, preventing her from seeing Chi Mei’s blushing cheeks. She thought he didn’t like this one, and said generously: “If you don’t like this one, I have blood jade bracelets in my room, as well as cloisonné jade hairpins and double-ring jade pendants. You can choose whatever you like.”

Chi Mei lowered his head shyly, thinking that when others give tokens of love, they usually only give one, but she wanted to give him everything… She really likes me a lot: “…It’s too expensive. I quite like this one.”

“Mm, it’s good if you like it.” Jiang Yang said casually, “By the way, how are your injuries? Are they better after using the medicine?”

The merman touched the almost healed wound on his abdomen, thinking that she probably didn’t know about mermen’s self-healing abilities. But she was still the only human on this ship who cared about him. She was so different from other evil humans.

“It’s almost healed. Thank you for the medicine you gave me before.”

“It’s nothing.”

Their conversation woke up the two sailors guarding the door.

“Second Young Miss! Why are you here?” The sailors asked in confusion and surprise, stumbling to their feet, guiltily asking: “Do you have any instructions?”

Now that the sailors were awake, Jiang Yang lost interest in staying. She straightened her clothes and walked out, instructing: “Nothing, just take good care of him.”

The two sailors nodded hurriedly, bowing and seeing Jiang Yang off before finally letting out a sigh of relief: “That scared me to death. I thought the Second Young Miss was dissatisfied with us. How did we fall asleep just now?”

The other sailor covered her mouth: “Are you crazy? Forgot that this little beast can understand human speech? Let’s go outside to talk.”

The two ran to a corner and whispered: “I think the Second Young Miss is displeased with our slow progress, otherwise why would she come to inspect in the middle of the night? It’s bad luck that she caught us slacking off and dozing. If we don’t produce some results soon, the Second Young Miss will really get angry.”

The other person sighed dejectedly: “You think I don’t want to achieve something to gain merit and get promoted? The key is that the little beast doesn’t listen! The Second Young Miss said before that this merman was docile, obedient, and easy to tame. Easy to tame my ass! He’s like a mad dog! As soon as you get a little closer, he bares his sharp teeth, raises his tail, and swings it hard. This morning he almost chopped off my fingers.”

“Exactly! This little beast doesn’t let anyone get close. He goes crazy as soon as you approach. Only when the Second Young Miss is here can she control him and chat with him for a bit. Heh, as soon as the Second Young Miss leaves, it’s like his tongue is cut off, completely mute! We can’t beat him or scold him, how are we supposed to tame him?”

“What else can we do? We have to push on, at least show some results.”

“Should we do it tonight?”

After a quick discussion, they agreed: “Alright!”

They took out a box of small silver fish they had just caught from the sea and walked straight in, their faces full of fake smiles: “Little merman, you’re still awake so late?”

Chi Mei sat in the water with a cold expression. He was born with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, with a low distance between his eyebrows and eyes, giving a strong sense of coldness when not smiling, making people feel uneasy at the sight.

How rude, they don’t even know to knock when entering.

Unlike Jiang Yang, who would knock first when seeing him, giving him ample time to prepare. In comparison, Jiang Yang scored full points on details. Looking at the two women opposite, he found them increasingly unpleasant.

The two sailors kept a safe distance, taking out a small silver fish from the box and waving it in front of him like teasing a dog: “Are you hungry? Look, it’s a small silver fish, do you want to eat? If you want to eat, you have to listen to us.”

Chi Mei’s eyes were vigilant and cold. His pale skin in the moonlight was like a block of ice emitting cold air. He finally uttered his first words to someone other than Jiang Yang: “Get lost!”

As the prince of the merman race, he was used to eating and using only the best from the ocean. How dare they wave a palm-sized dead fish in front of him? They didn’t know what’s good for them. Even though he had shackles on his neck now, if they dared to come closer, he could easily take their lives.

But the two sailors didn’t think so. Their first reaction was that the merman finally had a response! Heaven has eyes, the dawn of victory was just ahead, wealth was beckoning to them.

One of the sailors whoosh—threw a small silver fish into the bucket, smiling and saying: “Eat up!”

Chi Mei: “……” Damn, humans are really annoying! The water in the bucket hadn’t been changed since the day he was caught, it was filthy. Now they even threw a dead fish in it. It’s dirty, dirty, dirty, dirtier than the polluted water in the sea trenches.

To make matters worse, the sailor beside him said smugly: “You performed very well today, this is a reward. In the future, you should communicate more with people.”

Chi Mei: So annoying, humans are not only cruel but also disgusting! Why can’t these people be like Jiang Yang?

Thinking of Jiang Yang, Chi Mei tightly gripped the white jade bracelet in his hand, trying hard not to get angry.

But the two sailors misunderstood, thinking he had taken the bait and become obedient. They had found a breakthrough and, emboldened, stepped forward to touch him…

That night, two shrill screams came from the merman training room.

Jiang Yang slept blissfully until the sun was high in the sky. Just as she finished washing up, there was a commotion of crying and wailing outside her door.

“What’s going on?” Jiang Yang asked.

Lan Qian brought someone in from outside. Jiang Yang saw it was one of the sailors she had ordered to train the merman. Upon seeing Jiang Yang, she fell to her knees with a thud, crying bitter tears, her neck wrapped in a thick layer of bandages.

After Lan Qian’s explanation, Jiang Yang finally understood that the handsome fish had gone berserk last night and injured two sailors.

“Fortunately, she dodged quickly and only got her neck scratched. If she had been a bit slower, the tail fin would have cut her throat, and her life would have been in danger,” Lan Qian said, pointing at her wound.

“What about the other person?” Jiang Yang asked.

“The other person was stabbed in the chest by the tail fin, but luckily it wasn’t a fatal wound. She just needs to rest for a while and can’t do heavy work.”

“Then let her rest well, no need to come out,” Jiang Yang said. “But why did that merman suddenly change his temperament?”

Lan Qian was indignant: “A beast is still a beast after all. I went to the training room specially this morning, and as soon as I got a little closer to that beast, he tried to hurt me. Now no one on the ship is willing to train this little beast anymore. In my opinion, we should just kill him and refine his oil.”

Jiang Yang frowned: “But why is he fine when I go?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Yang felt something holding onto her leg. She looked down to see the sailor who had been crying bitterly earlier. Because her neck was injured, her cry was muffled: “Second Young Miss, he’s only close to you. Why don’t… why don’t you go train him?”

“How dare you!” Lan Qian kicked the sailor away angrily. “What status does the Second Young Miss have? How dare you want the master to take such a risk, you dog!”

The sailor sobbed, holding her head: “Anyway, I don’t want to go anymore. Whoever goes to the training room is doomed.”

“You—” Lan Qian glared.

“Enough!” Jiang Yang stopped her. “What she says makes sense.”

Lan Qian hurriedly said: “Second Young Miss, you must not go. Who knows if that little beast will go crazy again? If you go to train him alone, he will definitely find a chance to kill you.”

Jiang Yang thought, if Lan Qian knew that not only did she spend time alone with the merman last night, but also listened to his private concert and rewarded him with a bracelet, she would probably be so anxious she’d jump up and down.

“Alright, I won’t go train him alone. You can come with me, can’t you?” Jiang Yang changed the subject, saying: “Go tell the kitchen to fry some shrimp chips.”

“Shrimp chips? Do you want to eat shrimp chips?” Lan Qian couldn’t follow the sudden change in topic, immediately forgetting about the previous matter.

“Mm.”

“Alright, Second Young Miss, please wait. I’ll go tell the kitchen right away.” Lan Qian ran off in a flash.

Note: every day: (.COM)

Actually, the shrimp chips were prepared for the handsome fish. Although Jiang Yang had never trained fish before, she had seen friends train dogs. They would give a treat for learning to sit, another treat for learning to shake hands, with excellent results. Training fish should be similar to training dogs, right? After all, they’re both animals, it should work to some extent.

The shrimp chips were made from the meat of giant lobsters just caught from the sea, fried with flour. Those lobsters were huge, as big as an arm. In her previous life, they would definitely have been something she couldn’t afford.

The kitchen was very fast. As soon as she said she wanted shrimp chips, Lan Qian returned with a plate of freshly made chips not long after: “Second Young Miss, I’m back. Here are the shrimp chips you wanted. Try them quickly, they’re still steaming hot, very fragrant and crispy.”

Jiang Yang tried one: “Not bad, they are quite crispy. He should like them.”

“Who?” Lan Qian asked curiously.

“Chi Mei, of course.”

“Chi Mei?” Lan Qian thought hard for a moment before remembering that this was the merman’s name. “That merman? You want this plate of shrimp chips for that little beast to eat? Second Young Miss, please reconsider. Aren’t you afraid that little beast will hurt you? I almost got hurt by him today. I still can’t forget his creepy eyes.”

“Lan Qian, do you know why he hit you?” Jiang Yang asked, carrying the plate of shrimp chips as she walked down the stairs.

“What other reason could there be? Does a little beast going berserk need a reason?”

Jiang Yang was speechless: “Calling him ‘little beast’ with every breath, who wouldn’t hit you?”

Lan Qian was at a loss for words. It seemed to make sense, but a beast is a beast, how could it be compared to humans?

At the door of the training room, Jiang Yang knocked twice as usual.

Lan Qian followed vigilantly behind Jiang Yang, in a stance ready to draw her sword and fight at any moment. This was just right for Jiang Yang to see the little beast’s true face. This morning, the way he looked at her was like he wanted to eat people, very frightening.

Lan Qian was full of confidence. As long as Jiang Yang saw that look, she would immediately give up the idea of taming him.

The door was pushed open, and Lan Qian’s confident expression immediately stiffened.

“Jiang Yang!” Smelling Jiang Yang’s scent, Chi Mei had long been lying at the edge of the bucket. The moment she pushed the door open, he happily called out her name. His gem-like bright eyes curved slightly, his smile clear, with a small dimple at the corner of his mouth, soft and fluffy like cotton candy. Where was the slightest bit of the cold and sharp appearance from this morning?

Lan Qian was shocked! What those two sailors said at the beginning was indeed true. This shameless fish really has two faces.