Chapter 90: Got spanked

Chapter 90: Ended Up Getting Spanked

The ocean floor was bottomless, and the deeper one went, the colder it got.

Zhi Zhi used to live in a lake, where even on sunless days, the water had never been this cold.

The further she swam downward, the heavier her body felt, and her mind grew increasingly hazy.

Before her was an endless darkness. Zhi Zhi flapped her tail weakly, then suddenly stopped her descent.

The small silver fish leading the way noticed her pause and returned to her side. Its silver tail, too, seemed dull under the heavy darkness.

"Please, save us!"

The creatures of the ocean had been suppressed for so long that they had stopped hoping of ever seeing light again.

It wasn’t until the small silver fish—who had just awakened consciousness and hadn’t yet been dragged into the terrifying abyss by the dark force in the depths—detected a strange presence on the shore.

Warm and powerful.

Pushed toward the shallows by the elders’ combined efforts, the small silver fish pleaded for help, only to realize the owner of that presence couldn’t hear its voice.

It circled helplessly around little dumpling’s feet, trying to catch her attention.

Fortunately, the humans noticed its strange behavior, and the owner of that presence finally heard the pleas from the deep.

Zhi Zhi flicked her tail and pointed her small fin toward the bottomless abyss. "What’s down there?"

"I don’t know. By the time I awakened, the elders in the depths were already trapped. I couldn’t get close, but they’ve been waiting for someone to help them."

The ocean held limitless power.

Unlike the land, where excessive human development had wiped out many creatures before they could even awaken consciousness, the sea still housed ancient beings—some perhaps millions of years old, yet unknown to the world.

Now, someone had discovered their existence and was stealing their power.

Someone was up to no good.

"I’m too small. If my mama were here, she’d know what to do... and my papa..."

Even in her natural form, small koi radiated loneliness.

Papa still didn’t know about mama, and he didn’t even recognize Zhi Zhi.

But after just a moment of sadness, small koi brightened and looked at the small silver fish. "Hmph! Tomorrow, Zhi Zhi will go to the shore with papa to find the villains. Don’t be scared—Zhi Zhi will do her best to save you all!"

After just a month in the human world, little dumpling’s speech had become much more fluent.

Back with her mama, in the lake, she had still been a child.

Her brother had also told her that if she ever faced danger, she should tell him immediately.

Tomorrow, she would ask her brother to pulverize the villains so they could never come back!

With her mind made up, Zhi Zhi bid farewell to the small silver fish. But she didn’t know the way back—the ocean was utter darkness, and even the moonlight couldn’t penetrate the water.

Guided by instinct, she slowly swam back the way she came.

Just as small koi thought she was nearing the island, she suddenly slammed into something solid in the darkness.

Stunned, she backed away, now much closer to the surface.

Faint moonlight pierced the water, revealing the massive shape before her.

A... a shark!

Small koi had a particularly vivid memory of such a giant beast.

On the plane to the Maldives, her second brother had shown her a documentary on his tablet.

Sharks were enormous—hundreds, even thousands of Zhi Zhis couldn’t compare to just one of their heads.

And sharks had rows of jagged teeth. If she got swallowed whole, she’d never see papa, mama, or her brothers again!

Help!

Small koi had never imagined she’d encounter a shark in her fishy life.

Especially when the shark slowly turned toward her, baring its jagged teeth.

Papa!

Frantically flapping her tiny tail, small koi swore she had never swam this fast—not even during the lake swimming competition.

Her tail blurred as she raced away, eyes squeezed shut, silently muttering the incantation her mama had taught her.

*Wahhh, when I get back to mama, I’ll never slack off on my training again!*

Luckily, small koi’s luck was on her side. By the time she reached the shallow waters near the resort island, she turned back to find nothing behind her.

The shark—still mindless—hadn’t pursued her.

Her tiny fins patted her belly as she swallowed her heart back down from her throat.

Unlike the freezing depths, the shallows were still warm from the day’s sun.

The comforting warmth of the water finally calmed her.

Shifting back into little dumpling, she tiptoed barefoot across the soft sand toward the villa, her wet clothes stuck to her.

Once again, she regretted dozing off when mama had taught her teleportation.

With a pout, she scurried to the front door, too focused on sneaking in unnoticed to realize Fu Cheng was standing on the second-floor balcony, leaning against the railing with a glass of red wine, gazing at the endless sea.

Then he heard rustling below.

Looking down, he saw his daughter—who’d said goodnight an hour ago—soaking wet, sneaking back inside.

The villa’s entrance had a wooden walkway elevated slightly above the ground.

From the balcony, he watched as she gripped the edge of the walkway, grunting with effort as she tried to climb up.

...Even though the stairs were right behind her.

"Zhi Zhi, what are you doing?"

Just as little dumpling was about to succeed, the sudden voice from above made her slip.

*Splat!* The soaked little dumpling tumbled onto the soft sand below, now covered head to toe in sand.

The one responsible for all this, Fu Cheng quickly put down his wine glass and rushed downstairs without even throwing on a robe.

Everyone in the villa had already returned to their rooms to sleep.

Only the nightlight was left on downstairs. The moment Fu Cheng dashed out, he saw his daughter, her head barely peeking above the walkway, lips trembling, eyes brimming with tears, reaching out for a hug.

"Daddy, up-pee!"

When he was raising his boys, forget hugging—Fu Cheng would’ve tossed them straight into the sea to wash up before letting them back on shore.

But his daughter was different.

Fu Cheng bent down and scooped the grubby little one into his arms, gently wiping the sand off her face with tender motions.

"Wasn’t Zhi Zhi asleep? Why did you sneak downstairs, hmm?"

From finishing dinner and getting in two more chess games with Elder Song, to washing up and zoning out on the balcony, barely fifteen minutes had passed.

Yet in just fifteen minutes, how had his well-behaved daughter managed to sneak downstairs and return soaked to the skin and covered in sand?

Tugging gently at her tear-streaked cheeks, Fu Cheng frowned, careful not to raise his voice and scare her.

"Did you not have enough fun during the day? Did Zhi Zhi go looking for that little fish?"

Fu Cheng still remembered the little silver fish that had circled around his daughter earlier. Even when he carried her away from the shallows, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

But for her to sneak off to the beach alone while everyone was resting—that was too dangerous.

He could never scold her. His daughter was too well-behaved, just too kind-hearted, especially toward little fish.

But a spanking...?

Fu Cheng recalled the times he’d used a belt on his mischievous younger son when he was acting up.

But his little girl. A belt...?

A soft *smack* echoed in the quiet night, broken only by the sound of waves lapping the shore. A light swat landed on her bottom.

The little one widened her eyes in disbelief, tiny hands covering her bottom.

"Why the big eyes? Hasn’t Daddy told you at home that Zhi Zhi can’t run off alone? What if you got lost or something happened? Daddy and your brothers would all worry."

Fu Cheng instantly regretted it under his daughter’s accusing stare.

Ever since she came into his life, he’d wanted to be a doting father, a complete pushover for his little girl.

Yet the moment got away from him—he hadn’t held back and had ended up giving his daughter a light tap on the bottom.

It didn’t even hurt, but of course, his daughter wouldn’t be happy about it. She might not be hurt, but that bottom lip quiver? That would haunt him.