Chapter 24: Debut

Chapter 24: Making an Entrance

A Yu quietly settled down.

For some reason, Jiang Xun’s gaze had become quite intense, and he gave Liu Hai a subtle, meaningful look.

Liu Hai, bewildered, glanced down at his phone screen, then held the image up higher for them to see. “Oh, this!”

Jiang Xun frowned, and A Yu leaned in closer. “Is this… Miss Fengling’s winning outfit from the Mermaid Star finals?”

“Mhm!” Liu Hai nodded eagerly, straining to lift his fluffy tail fin. “I want a tail like this too! One with glittering, shimmering scales!”

Seeing no reaction, Liu Hai tried to persuade him. “Look, she—she wears a fake tail on TV too. Can’t I have one as well?” He moved closer to Jiang Xun, giving him puppy-dog eyes. “Please?”

Jiang Xun: “…”

In just a few days, Liu Hai seemed to have learned that this look of his was devastatingly effective—enough to get whatever he wanted with ease.

Jiang Xun murmured, “So it’s a tail you want…”

He didn’t even realize he had unconsciously exhaled in relief.

A Yu cleared his throat. “Miss Fengling’s tail was acquired by a private collector at a charity auction. It’s likely impossible to get it for you now.”

“And honestly, the size wouldn’t fit anyway. Your tail’s too plump to squeeze into…”

Liu Hai protested, “Hey!”

“If it doesn’t have to be an exact replica, we could easily find one.” A Yu glanced at Jiang Xun for confirmation. “Boss, should we get him a mermaid tail?”

Jiang Xun sat down in front of Liu Hai, reaching out to stroke his water-slicked, exceptionally soft tail. “But why do you want one?”

“Well…” Liu Hai hesitated, a hint of guilt in his voice. “Humans wear wigs, don’t they? I—I just want to try on a beautiful tail. What’s wrong with that?”

“A beautiful tail.” Jiang Xun mused, poking Liu Hai’s tail. “But your tail is already beautiful.”

“Is it?” Liu Hai swished his tail proudly. “I think so too! But…”

He slumped down, tapping the mermaid tail in the photo. “This isn’t quite what people imagine a mermaid tail looks like, is it?”

Jiang Xun pondered for a moment. “You’re not… worried that people won’t like you, are you?”

Liu Hai sank deeper into the water, only his eyes peeking out as he remained silent.

“If Xiao Jin were here, she’d probably say something dramatic like, ‘How could anyone in the world not like our Liu Hai?’” Jiang Xun gently stroked his head. Liu Hai narrowed his eyes into slits, letting him rub his head obediently. “But I’m not very good at comforting people.”

“Honestly, no matter how perfect you are, there will always be people who don’t like you.”

“You don’t have to change for them. Just be yourself, with a clear conscience.”

Liu Hai: “A clear conscience?”

Jiang Xun smiled and nodded. “Mhm.”

Liu Hai: “…”

But his conscience wasn’t clear at all! He wasn’t even a real mermaid!

A flicker of amusement crossed Jiang Xun’s eyes as he deliberately said, “Sometimes, honesty might be the simplest way to break through a difficult situation.”

Liu Hai peeked up at him guiltily. “You…”

Jiang Xun chuckled softly. “Just stay as you are. I’ve got the rest covered.”

Liu Hai whispered, “You’ve got it covered?”

“It’s not the first time, is it?” Jiang Xun said, as if it were the most natural thing. “I’ll just tell them that mermaids come in different varieties…”

His fingers sank into the fluffy fur of Liu Hai’s tail. “Why your tail is fluffy, why it doesn’t have scales, why you can’t sing…”

“Leave the explanations to me.”

Liu Hai: “…”

A Yu crouched down to look at Liu Hai. “Funny, after hearing the Boss’s words, you seem even more burdened.”

“It’s okay. People sometimes lie too.”

Liu Hai looked up, alert. “Wh-what lies? I don’t understand.”

“Mhm.” A Yu nodded slightly. “What the Boss means is, you can choose the right moment yourself. He’ll give you the initiative to decide the timing, so there’s no need to rush now.”

“Going on TV isn’t a big deal. He’ll handle it.”

Liu Hai watched them leave, then leaned back into the water, closing his eyes to feel the currents again.

A moment later, he resurfaced with a sigh. “No good… I still can’t transform.”

“Did my powers vanish after coming to this world?”

He sulked, rolling around in the water.

Though Liu Hai had little experience in human society and lacked much common sense, he knew one fundamental rule of yokai: their true identity must never be revealed to humans.

Under normal circumstances, he should have transformed into human form and lived among them.

But his current physical state was an unexpected problem; his half-human, half-fluffy-tailed appearance was clearly not human at first glance.

So he had to improvise, choosing a similar species to lie about.

Claiming to be a mermaid was more plausible than telling them he was a yokai, right?

It was just basic yokai common sense.

Especially now, with his powers gone, he had no choice but to seek their help and mooch off them for food and shelter.

Once he regained his powers, he would definitely find a way to repay their kindness!

But why did they seem so… in control of everything?

It must be an illusion. Definitely an illusion.

Liu Hai closed his eyes.

Worrying about it now was useless. He would just have to wait until his powers returned, then fully repay their kindness.

Fortunately, I’m an easygoing seal with a big heart, otherwise I might not be able to sleep tonight.

Liu Hai proudly swished his tail fin, deciding to take a short nap.

…

Early the next morning, the TV station’s transport van had already arrived outside the company building. Jiang Xun came to wake Liu Hai.

Looking at the drowsy Liu Hai, who didn’t seem fully awake yet, he wore a pensive expression: “Has he been sleeping too long?”

According to research, seals only need two hours of sleep a day in the sea, but on land, they require over ten hours of sleep.

But no matter how you looked at it, this lazy little guy seemed to be sleeping way too much.

Jiang Xun lightly tapped his pen against the documents in his hand: “Could I have guessed wrong? Not a seal?”

Liu Hai sat up groggily from the tank: “Who called me?”

Jiang Xun: “…”

Or maybe he was right after all.

Liu Hai widened his eyes, now fully alert, and glanced around pointedly, trying to cover his tracks: “Oh, I think I heard someone calling my name.”

“Mhm.” Jiang Xun humored him, pretending not to notice anything.

In the wild, animals usually rely on sleep to recover energy and repair their immune systems—especially after injuries. Without medical treatment, sleep is their only healing method.

Could it be…

Even though Liu Hai ate and slept well, was his body actually still in a vulnerable state?

Jiang Xun recalled the door he had pushed open with two slaps and the pirate who flew across the habitat tank, his doubts growing slightly.

“What’s wrong?” Liu Hai poked him. “Why are you zoning out?”

“I was thinking,” Jiang Xun snapped back to attention and smiled at him, “you really are full of mysteries.”

Liu Hai touched his tail and handed him a few clumps of fur: “All I have are fur clumps.”

Jiang Xun gave a wry chuckle: “Let’s get in the car. Xiao Jin will ride along with you—I need to go over the script with the director and host.”

He patted Liu Hai’s head. “See you in a bit.”

“Okay!” Liu Hai agreed cheerfully.

“Liu Hai—” Xiao Jin leaned over with a grin, handing him a rubber duck. “Play with this in the water. I’ll ride with you.”

“Don’t worry,” Liu Hai nodded at her. “If anything happens, I’ll protect you.”

“Aww!” Xiao Jin clasped her hands to her face. “Then we’re counting on you, Liu Hai!”

She glanced at A Yu and lowered her voice. “I heard Miss Fengling is at the TV station today. Don’t you think A Yu seems a little distracted?”

Liu Hai looked back at him and answered honestly: “Not really.”

“He’s faking it, definitely faking it.” Xiao Jin put her hands on her hips. “If Huan Hai were next to me, I wouldn’t be able to stay calm either.”

“I wonder if we’ll get to see the celebrity—”

Liu Hai asked curiously, “Do you like her too, Xiao Jin?”

“Not exactly,” Xiao Jin rubbed her chin. “But I don’t dislike good-looking people, and seeing celebrities is like being part of the excitement—I love that kind of excitement.”

Liu Hai nodded as if he understood.

…

“Welcome, everyone, to *Chatting with Dang Dang*!” The host grinned. “I’m your old friend Dang Dang! Today, we have a very special guest—take a look! The public face of Siren Biotech, the incredibly handsome and talented Dr. Jiang Xun!”

“I heard Dr. Jiang Xun never does interviews—we’re the first! What an honor.”

Jiang Xun took the stage first, nodding slightly in greeting.

Liu Hai waited backstage, floating in the water tank—he didn't actually need to stay in the tank, but everyone assumed mermaids belonged in water, so he played along, communicating through the tank.

It was almost time to go on stage, but this program was a last-minute arrangement, with many segments unrehearsed. The props manager anxiously gestured at the tank, muttering to himself: “Should we add more seaweed?”

The stage director quickly waved his hands. “No, no, don’t—if he gets tangled, he won’t be able to swim later!”

“But surrounded by seaweed, it’d feel more like a deep-sea mermaid, right?” the props manager mumbled. “Or maybe sprinkle some gold flakes? Or glitter strips—it’d look amazing under the lights!”

“That’s true…” The stage director was tempted but quickly shook his head. “No! We have to keep it simple this time! The simpler the setup, the less chance of mistakes with animal acts. If we pull this off, that’s already a win! Don’t overcomplicate it!”

“Ahh,” the props manager scratched his head. “I just think with such great material, it’s a shame not to go all out…”

The stage director muttered: “You’re telling me.”

Liu Hai suddenly emerged from the tank with a splash, asking, “What’s wrong? Need help?”

“Ahhh!” The two men clutched each other in fright.

Liu Hai blinked innocently.

“Oh right, he can talk,” the props manager said, looking at the stage director.

“And understand us,” the stage director added, looking back.

The props manager tentatively asked, “So… should we do it?”

Liu Hai nodded firmly. “Do it!”

The two men whipped around in shock: “Huh?”

After quickly explaining the idea, the props manager nervously looked at Liu Hai. “Can you do it?”

Liu Hai pumped his fist. “No problem!”

“Don’t worry!”

Since he was borrowing the mermaid’s name, he couldn’t let mermaids down!

“Alright!” The stage director got fired up and keyed his walkie-talkie. “Tell the host—we’re adding a surprise mermaid act!”

Author’s Note:

Liu Hai: I’ve got this! I’ll make it dazzling!

Can’t wait! Posting this chapter now—the rest will be up after 9 PM! [Throws confetti]