Chapter 55: Small Jellyfish

Chapter 55 Little Jellyfish

Just like spotting a single rose on the way home, I thought you'd like it, so I brought it back for you.

Gifts can be long-planned or spur-of-the-moment impulses.

The tiny, translucent golden conch glimmered faintly beneath silver hair, its intricate spirals complementing the golden shoulder epaulets on the black military uniform.

Deng Xi held up his own, tilting his face slightly to reveal the ear beneath his golden hair. "Little Mute, help me put it on."

Si Jisheng took the small, shining silver conch from Deng Xi, dipping his head slightly as he carefully attached the earring to Deng Xi's earlobe.

The sensation of wearing an earring was new, and Deng Xi kept reaching up to touch it, making sure it was still there.

Si Jisheng’s fingertips curled slightly. "Know how to use it?"

Deng Xi blinked, shaking his head honestly. His eyes crinkled with a smile. "Little Mute, teach me."

Si Jisheng reached out, his fingertips brushing Deng Xi's earlobe.

The sensitive earlobe was gently pinched, the rough gun calluses amplifying the touch. Si Jisheng watched as Deng Xi's earlobe gradually turned pink, a faint smile dancing in his eyes.

They were so close that their breaths mingled. Deng Xi, for some reason, felt his face warm, his sticky breath escaping his nose and brushing against the man's pale neck.

Deng Xi fanned himself, mumbling nasally, "It's *so* hot."

Si Jisheng paused, then murmured in a low, questioning hum, "Hot?"

Deng Xi's blue eyes wide in confusion. "Little Mute, aren't you hot?"

Si Jisheng shook his head slightly. "Pay attention."

He pressed the tip of the conch earring, his thumb grazing the pink earlobe as he explained seriously, "Press once—start recording. Press again—save it."

But Deng Xi only caught bits, growing inexplicably warmer. He whispered, "Got it."

First this, then that—easy. He remembered!

With a nod, Si Jisheng withdrew his hand. "I also have a gift I want to give you."

Deng Xi's bright eyes widened with excitement. "What?! What gift?!"

Si Jisheng stood, retrieved a damp wooden box from the airship, and placed it on the table. "Open it."

The reddish-brown box had no lock. Deng Xi lifted the lid to find a shell the size of his palm inside, its pearly surface still wet with seawater. His eyes sparkled. "This is the second shell you gave me."

The first was his sleeping shell.

Si Jisheng said, "Not a shell."

Deng Xi blinked in confusion.

"Keep opening."

The pearly shell was like a mysterious gift box. Deng Xi carefully pried it open to reveal its treasure.

Soft tentacles suddenly wrapped around his fingers—damp and pulsing with a faint glow with each breath.

Deng Xi blinked hard, wondering if he was hallucinating. He glanced frantically between Si Jisheng and the tiny creature in the shell before finally breaking into a smile.

Overjoyed but voice shaky with joy, he murmured, "It's a small jellyfish."

Then, softer, "It's my small jellyfish."

The small jellyfish seemed to understand, more tentacles curling around his fingers as if silently saying:

*I found you.*

Deng Xi's lashes fluttered, his blue eyes glistening. He greeted it happily, "Long time no see."

He tapped the small jellyfish's head gently.

It wobbled clumsily at the touch, its translucent body swaying, yet it clung even tighter to Deng Xi's finger.

It seemed to ask worriedly:

*Where did you go? That silly whale and I waited for you so, so long.*

Deng Xi's eyes reddened slightly. He hurriedly explained, "I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to abandon you. I just didn’t have time to tell you."

The small jellyfish blinked softly, its glow gentle.

*It's okay. As long as you're safe.*

Deng Xi couldn’t help but smile.

"Since it was a primitive planet without coordinates, it took a long time to locate them. My apologies," Si Jisheng said quietly.

The day after Deng Xi decided to stay, Si Jisheng had ordered the military to dispatch a search team, tracking their progress daily. Fortunately, the blue whale had kept the small jellyfish close and waited in the same spot, never venturing to other waters.

Using thermal scans for a thorough search, they eventually succeeded.

But—

"I showed them your photo and asked if they’d be willing to leave the ocean. They understood—they’re remarkably intelligent."

The big whale had flicked its fin, calmly revealing the shell on its back. In the end, it was the small jellyfish inside that willingly approached the military personnel.

Si Jisheng hadn’t forced them, arranging their immediate return to the capital. Today, the carefully preserved wooden box had reached him.

Deng Xi realized something. "The big whale stayed in the ocean?"

Si Jisheng reassured him, "Don’t be sad."

Deng Xi smiled. "I’m not sad. Because I was the one who brought the small jellyfish home—it only has me now." He added softly, "But the big whale is different. It has its own kind."

"If it left the ocean, I’d be happy."

"If it stayed, I’d be happy too, because I know it doesn’t have to worry about me anymore."

Letting go of the small jellyfish, Deng Xi suddenly turned and hugged Si Jisheng tightly. "Thank you for the gift, Little Mute. I love it."

Eyes crinkling, he whispered, "I forgive you for not being a bad puppy."

A liar wouldn’t remember every single promise. But every word he’d ever said, Little Mute remembered.

He had a big shell to sleep in, endless food every day, and new ocean friends.

He’d reunited with his small jellyfish and learned how the big whale was doing.

The Little Mute did it all.

That's incredible.

So can you keep it up?

Stop hurting yourself for humans' sake.

Noticing the Little Mute’s slightly stiffened body and the hand on his shoulder seemingly trying to push him away, Deng Xi burrowed even tighter. He whispered softly, "I feel a little hot, but you're so cool to the touch. Can I hold you for a while?"

"Besides us, only the small jellyfish saw."

No one else will misunderstand.

The merman’s naturally low body temperature gradually adjusted to match the little mermaid’s. After a moment, Si Jisheng suddenly murmured, "It is a bit hot."

Yet he still held Deng Xi in return, drawing warmth from him.

Like two wounded animals licking each other’s wounds.

Deng Xi touched the golden conch shell right in front of him, his fingertips inevitably brushing against the silver hair covering his ear. He said earnestly, "I’ll take good care of the small jellyfish."

"So will the Little Mute also cherish the gift I gave you?"

With every word Deng Xi spoke, his warm breath softly brushed against him. Si Jisheng tilted his face slightly—not away, but toward Deng Xi.

Their noses nearly brushed against each other.

The intimacy was far beyond ordinary friendship.

Deng Xi’s breathing grew even hotter, his heartbeat suddenly racing. As the Little Mute parted his lips to speak, Deng Xi stared at those thin lips, as if transported back to that dim treatment room, pinned beneath the silver merman on that motionless afternoon.

His pulse skyrocketed.

Si Jisheng asked, "How do you want me to cherish it?"

Dazed, Deng Xi replied, "Listen to it every day. Don’t forget. Even if there are no new recordings, listen to the old ones."

He emphasized again, "Every single day, you must listen to the songs I sing."

Si Jisheng agreed, "Alright."

Deng Xi couldn’t help but smile, his eyes curving. Once distracted, he realized his heartbeat had slowed—but the thrumming still echoed in his eardrums.

Perking his ears, he listened carefully before finally realizing the true source of the heartbeat: the chest pressed tightly against his own.

He said dazedly, "Little Mute’s heart is beating so fast."

Si Jisheng didn’t deny it, letting out a low hum through his nose. "Sorry, I can’t control it."

Deng Xi was overwhelmed by the heat. "Is it because it’s too hot?"

Then letting go should help, right?

Just as Deng Xi started to pull away, a large hand pressed him back down. A deep, husky voice sounded by his ear—the tone as calm and indifferent as usual, yet somehow different.

Si Jisheng countered, "Didn’t you say you wanted to hold me?"

Author's Note:

Finally made a move.