Chapter 9: The Proper Person and the Proper Fish

At dinnertime, Lan Qian brought in the meal. Because Jiang Yang had recently grown tired of seafood, the kitchen had specially prepared a refreshing and crisp salad using the few remaining vegetables on the ship.

“This dish is really good. After eating stir-fries for so long, this dish tastes the best. Reward!” Jiang Yang said after finishing.

Lan Qian, serving behind Jiang Yang, looked at her with an indescribable expression. It was because of Jiang Yang’s casual remark that Lan Qian realized, when did Jiang Yang start to dislike seafood? It was precisely when that merman was brought on board.

Thinking back to how that merman had smugly said Jiang Yang had “fallen in love at first sight” with him, Lan Qian couldn’t help but suspect that Jiang Yang was deliberately avoiding seafood and switching to vegetables to please that merman.

Mermen are essentially fish, of the same lineage as fish. Jiang Yang probably feared the merman would find her too cruel and develop a sense of aversion.

This wasn’t a great lover, but rather a great fool.

Lan Qian shook her head and sighed, “Yes.”

Jiang Yang felt Lan Qian was acting strange today and asked, “What’s wrong with you today? Unhappy?”

Lan Qian immediately forced a smile, “Not at all, master. I’m very happy.”

She absolutely couldn’t let the second young miss know that she had discovered her being rejected – no, her love confession being refused. It was too miserable, not even qualifying to be dumped.

Jiang Yang was completely unaware of how her image had deteriorated in Lan Qian’s mind, and continued eating happily.

Lan Qian suddenly remembered the request of the scheming merman below the helm room and asked, “Second young miss, that merman said he wanted the peacock feather in the blue-white glazed phoenix-headed vase in the council hall.”

“Oh, then give it to him.” Jiang Yang said indifferently. It was just a few peacock feathers, worth how much?

Too indulgent towards that fish.

Lan Qian clenched her fist and asked again, “He also wants to move the eight-panel screen.”

“Alright, move it to my room.” Jiang Yang focused on eating.

Lan Qian took a deep breath and continued, “That merman, because of your favor, is becoming increasingly unruly. He demands the best for everything he eats and uses, even better than your meals. It’s simply outrageous.”

“Well, he’s a deep-sea fish. The fish they eat in the sea are certainly better than what we eat, so it’s normal for him to have higher standards.”

“……” Lan Qian’s chest hurt with anger. Second young miss, this isn’t how you pursue a man. You need to balance kindness and authority. Being too indulgent will only make him push his luck. Look at yourself now, even dogs would shake their heads.

But what could be done? She was in too deep.

Lan Qian had never so desperately hoped to reach Nalong Country quickly, to find a few exceptional dark-skinned beauties to bring back and wake Jiang Yang up.

She came to the merman’s room with a gloomy face, directing the sailors to move away the eight-panel screen.

Chi Mei leaned leisurely and comfortably against the inner wall of the water barrel. The light and tough merman silk draped over his body, vaguely outlining his strong and powerful upper body. His wet, ink-black long hair fell down his chest, the ends spreading on the water surface like stretched and eerie seaweed. A peacock feather danced between his slender, fair fingers, brushing past his delicate yet profound brows and eyes. Like a victorious general, he looked provocatively at Lan Qian: “How about that? I told you Ayang would listen to me.”

Lan Qian didn’t speak, thinking, wait until we reach Nalong Country, your good days will be over. Then she would personally strip off his scales and cut off his flesh.

“Hurry up and move the things away. Stop dawdling, the second young miss is waiting,” Lan Qian urged impatiently.

“Wait, where are you taking this screen?” Chi Mei suddenly changed his leisurely and smug attitude, asking nervously.

Lan Qian sneered, “Naturally to the second young miss, to be placed in her room.”

Chi Mei’s expression suddenly tightened as he looked at the eight beauties on the screen, each with their own charm. His attitude suddenly reversed: “I don’t want to give up this screen anymore.”

Lan Qian frowned, “Are you sick!”

But she still followed his wishes and put the screen back in its original place. For no other reason than that he was now the apple of the second young miss’s eye.

After everyone left, Chi Mei stared at the eight beauties on the screen, examining each one carefully. His lips were tightly pressed, his gaze like a precise instrument not missing any detail of the people in the painting. A crystal-clear water droplet trembled on the tip of his bangs, about to fall, landing on his thick eyelashes, like transparent glass reflecting his rich, deep pupils.

Finally, his tense expression relaxed slightly, the taut muscles in his hands loosened. Looking at the people in the painting as if they were defeated opponents, he shook the peacock feather in his hand proudly: “…None of them are as good-looking as me.”

At sunset, Jiang Yang came.

The colors of the sunset at sea change with the weather. Today it was a dreamlike orange-purple. The beautiful fish-man lazily sprawled on the edge of the water barrel, his fish tail drooping limply outside the barrel. Under the thin merman silk, his waist and abdominal muscles were faintly visible, a line of contours extending all the way to where his tailbone connected with his fish tail.

The setting sun’s light fell on his body, like the not-so-proper atmosphere lights of a nightclub. The ambiance was amorous, and even the fish became a bit improper. Jiang Yang couldn’t help but steal a few glances, then a few more. Hmm, what a nice butt!

“Ayang!” Chi Mei turned his head, looking at her with delight, his fish tail wagging wildly like a dog’s tail, splashing water everywhere. For a moment, Jiang Yang doubted whether she was keeping a fish or a husky.

In any case, the improper atmosphere was gone in a second. What romantic charm? It was just a silly sea-dog fish.

“Ayang, you’re here! Did you come to see me?” The black pupils, tinted by the sunset, were vivid and bright. The clouds outside the window seemed to be burning.

“Mm.” Jiang Yang smiled slightly and replied, “How about you? Have you gotten used to moving here?”

Chi Mei nodded, his dimples gentle and innocent: “Very good, very comfortable. I like it here very much.”

After moving to the helm room, Jiang Yang found an excuse to remove the iron collar that had been locking Chi Mei’s neck. Although she couldn’t give him complete freedom, at least he could move freely here, which was much better than in the merman training room.

Moreover, according to the sailors guarding outside, where he lived now wasn’t far from where Jiang Yang lived. Jiang Yang lived just a few floors above him. Arranging it so close intentionally, wasn’t that because she was concerned about him?

Actually, except for not being able to roam freely in the sea, his current life was not much different from his previous life at the bottom of the sea.

Whenever he thought of everything Jiang Yang had done for him, Chi Mei felt grateful and warm.

“Second young miss, this servant has come to change the water,” two sailors knocked on the door and said.

Jiang Yang nodded, “Come in.”

Changing water was a troublesome task. The barrel containing Chi Mei was very large. To change all the water, they needed to first temporarily place him in a slightly smaller barrel, then several people together had to carry the seawater out of the large barrel bucket by bucket, and then fill it with new seawater bucket by bucket.

The two sailors together carried in the small barrel half-filled with water, letting the beautiful fish-man jump in by himself. But today, whether these two water-changing sailors were new or what, they placed it a bit too far. When the beautiful fish-man jumped in, not only did he splash water all over her, he also fell onto her.

Jiang Yang instinctively supported him, her hand naturally encircling his waist. Hmm, not just a nice butt, but a good waist too.

Indeed, the muscles of swimmers are particularly firm and taut, like a bow drawn to its limit, the solid and powerful waist and abdomen without an ounce of excess fat. It’s said that mermen can swim very fast, so their explosive power must be very strong.

The thin merman silk was almost nonexistent. The merman’s body temperature was slightly cool, while Jiang Yang’s palm was slightly warm. The fusion of cold and heat created a strange tingling sensation. Jiang Yang clearly felt the beautiful fish-man in her arms take a sharp breath, his eyelashes moist, fine beads of sweat appearing on the tip of his nose, the dimple of his waist sensitively contracting under her palm.

Jiang Yang steadied him and said gently, “Be more careful next time.”

“……Mm.” The beautiful fish-man lowered his head, but a patch of snow-white skin on the back of his neck instantly turned crimson, as if steamed by water vapor.

The sailors quickly changed the water and left wordlessly. As soon as they exited the helm room, they couldn’t help but rub their shoulders and complain: “This is not raising a beast, it’s like enshrining an ancestor.”

The sun had completely sunk, and the sea surface fell into darkness. Jiang Yang lit a lamp. The illumination range of ancient lamps was limited, so she moved it next to the beautiful fish-man. The lamplight illuminated the beautiful fish-man’s face, half immersed in darkness, half in light. His thick long eyelashes seemed like light-coated wings, soft and gentle.

“Didn’t you often sing late at night before? Why haven’t I heard you sing these past couple of days?” Jiang Yang asked.

Chi Mei’s expression changed rapidly. Since that day when he had transmitted signals to his clan members, he had quickly received a reply. They were on their way, but couldn’t determine the exact location. They needed him to respond every night to find the right direction.

But…… Chi Mei glanced at Jiang Yang, his eyelashes trembling lightly: “My throat has been sore these past few days, so I didn’t feel like singing.”

“Oh.” Jiang Yang couldn’t hide her disappointment. “Alright then, your throat is important.”

Chi Mei tugged at her sleeve, his eyes moist and bright: “Do you want to hear me sing?”

Jiang Yang didn’t want to force him: “Another day.”

“Actually, I can sing softly for you.” Chi Mei smiled shyly, pressing his lips together. Even his singing voice attracted her so much.

The beautiful fish-man sang softly, his voice not as far-reaching and lingering as before, more like a gentle Wu dialect, singing in low tones. His slightly husky voice was like a light feather tickling and teasing her heart.

Jiang Yang habitually tapped her fingers on the edge of the water barrel, immersed in the music.

After finishing the song, the beautiful fish-man looked at her with watery eyes.

Jiang Yang felt he was like a shy little wife, no, a delicate husband. She wanted to pinch him, but remembering the beautiful fish-man’s intense reaction last time, Jiang Yang suppressed her sinful hand. She was a proper person after all, never teasing innocent fish.

However, a reward was necessary for such good singing. She instinctively patted her body, but unfortunately, she hadn’t brought anything with her this time.

“Ayang, what are you looking for?” Chi Mei couldn’t help asking when he saw Jiang Yang lowering her head and searching her body.

“Looking for something to give you,” Jiang Yang answered reflexively.

Chi Mei’s fingertips trembled slightly, suddenly blushing: “You don’t need to give me anything. I’m willing to sing for you.”