Chapter 267: The Little Mermaid, Once Hated by All, Becomes the Group’s Darling (12)

Chapter 267: The Little Mermaid, Once Hated by All, Becomes the Group's Darling (12)

Above the ice, Song Chuyi’s long lashes fluttered faintly as he glanced over at Xu Ru and the others.

“Do you guys notice the ice is melting?” he asked.

Hearing this, the group quickly inspected the ice surface. The once solid and cold ice now had droplets of water forming on it, and when you touched it, your whole palm got wet.

The ice was indeed starting to melt.

Realizing this, everyone turned their gaze to Song Chuyi.

“We need to evacuate,” Xu Ru spoke calmly and firmly.

Song Chuyi responded softly with a “Yeah.”

“Where are we heading?” he asked.

Xu Ru pointed to the southeast. “There’s an ice island that way. We can head there.”

“When they dropped me here, I checked. The entire area is covered in ice, except for that ice island.”

“If all the ice here melts, that ice island will probably be the last to melt.”

While Xu Ru spoke, she wondered whether the melting ice was the production team’s doing or a natural phenomenon.

If it was the production team, then the survival challenge, only a third of the way through, would get even tougher.

If it was a natural phenomenon, then things might be worse than they thought.

She wasn’t sure if the production team had done anything about it.

Though she thought this, Xu Ru knew deep down that, knowing how the production team operates, they’d probably love to see them die out here.

If something really went wrong, they likely wouldn’t go out of their way to rescue them.

They’d all signed waivers before joining the show, after all.

While thinking this, Xu Ru and the others began packing their belongings.

Meanwhile, Song Chuyi was moving the little fish.

By the time they were almost done packing, the ice was melting faster.

Walking on it had become slippery, and if you sat down, your pants would get soaked fast.

Even the sturdy ice hut now had water dripping down its sides.

Song Chuyi propped himself up by the edge of a small hole, squinting his eyes.

“The ice is suddenly melting… Is Qing Yuan about to break through the ice?” he wondered.

As he pondered, a tiny dragon scale shot out of the hole.

With a soft *plop*, it landed on Song Chuyi’s hand.

"Huh?" He murmured softly, picking up the dragon scale.

The dark green dragon scale shimmered with a dark, almost black light under the sun, sending chills down one's spine at a mere glance.

The dragon scale still held a faint warmth, as if it had just been freshly plucked.

Song Chuyi carefully tucked the dragon scale close to his chest, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Thanks," he said softly.

Xu Ru called out from nearby, "We should get going."

Song Chuyi nodded and followed the others, leaving the area.

The ice was melting much faster than they had anticipated.

Not long after they stepped onto the ice island, the once-thick ice layer had already thinned considerably.

The ice cracked, breaking apart and drifting on the seawater.

Gazing out, the expanse seemed endless.

Song Chuyi sat at the edge of the ice island, his fish tail dipping into the icy seawater.

Xu Ru approached from behind and handed him a steaming cup of water.

"Here, drink this," she said.

Song Chuyi accepted the cup with a nod of thanks.

Xu Ru shook her head slightly and settled down beside him.

"I wonder what the production team has in mind," she mused.

The ice was melting far too quickly, making her dismiss the notion that the production team had planned it.

It could only mean this was a natural phenomenon—one that might very well trap them here.

"Are we going to die here?" she whispered.

"No," Song Chuyi said firmly, his voice steady beside her.

"Someone will come for us," Song Chuyi said, taking a sip of the hot water, a faint smile in his eyes.

He gazed at the rapidly melting ice, a smile tugging at his lips.

It seemed he would soon come face-to-face with his antagonist.

————

Back at the Song family villa in Jing City.

Song Yuanqing and Song Huai sat on one side, while across from them lounged a seductive woman with a crimson fish tail, leaning against a bespectacled man.

Her small hand roamed restlessly over the man's chest, eliciting a helpless smile from him.

Sitting to the right of the two was a handsome man with a golden fishtail, cradling a woman with delicate features in his arms.

The man's fishtail playfully brushed against the woman's calf, but she kicked it away.

Song Yuanqing: ...

Song Huai: ...

The two brothers exchanged glances, their eyes reflecting helplessness.

The woman with the red fishtail was their biological mother, and the man with the golden fishtail was their biological father.

Both of these mermaids were of royal lineage, making them purebred mermaids.

Forced by family pressure to marry, the two purebred mermaids each provided their genetic material to the hospital for in vitro fertilization.

They were the result of that process.

Having never experienced familial affection since childhood, their family bonds were extremely weak.

A few years ago, their biological father suddenly brought Song Chuyi back, claiming Song Chuyi was his child.

Upon learning this, Song Yuanqing felt nothing and had his subordinates handle the situation.

Later, he was too busy with work to pay attention to the rumors circulating outside.

It wasn't until two days ago that he found out rumors were spreading that Song Chuyi was the child of a mistress.

Although Song Chuyi was indeed not the biological child of him and Song Huai's parents, still...

Song Yuanqing glanced at the alluring mermaid on the left, rubbing his temples.

His biological mother had also taken up with a human man.

Their marriage had long been a sham, and if it weren't for the pressure from the mermaid clan, these two might have divorced long ago.

At first, neither of the two brothers cared much about this matter.

But these past two days, Song Yuanqing was bothered by the thought of how his wonderful younger brother was being called the child of a mistress.

Rarely wanting to take on the responsibility of an elder brother, he used his authority to summon the two irresponsible parents back.

Song Yuanqing rubbed his temples, took a deep breath, and said, "Since you haven't been living together for a long time, file for divorce today."

"Oh," Jing Yao raised an eyebrow, "My dear son, aren't you afraid of the pressure from those old-timers?"

Despite Song Yuanqing being the current head of the family, those old-timers from the mermaid clan were always keeping an eye on them.

Song Yuanqing frowned, "If they want to cause trouble, they can come to me."

Jing Yao had always known that her two sons had distant family ties, and though she didn't mind much, her eldest son's attitude this time was unexpected.

"You called us here in such a hurry just for this?"

She then looked at the man with the golden fishtail across from her, "I say, Song, don't you have anything to say?"

Song Ye, busy comforting his beloved in his arms, waved his hand, "It doesn't matter to me."

Jing Yao shrugged, leaning against her partner, letting out a lazy yawn.

"Since you can withstand the pressure from the elders, Song Dog and I will go through the procedures."

She's always been a free spirit; that human certificate could never hold her back.

Song Yuanqing nodded in satisfaction, even though he would later face those rigid and stubborn mermaid elders. But the thought of his younger brother standing openly in front of everyone made him feel it was all worth it.

Just as Song Yuanqing relaxed, Song Huai beside him suddenly shouted, "The underlings are in danger!"

His shout immediately drew everyone's attention to Song Huai.