Chapter 28: Business Trip

Chapter 28: Business Trip

Jiang Xun punched Feng Yan on the head: "Stop spouting nonsense."

"Ah." The bird head got stuck in the costume. Feng Yan reached up, feeling the empty space above his neck. "My head's gone!"

"Little Mermaid, help me find the culprit."

Liu Hai stared in shock at the culprit, Jiang Xun: "Y-you… you took his head?!"

He guiltily averted his gaze. "I don’t know! I didn’t see the culprit!"

Feng Yan leaned closer: "Really?"

The headless giant bird exuded an astonishing pressure.

Liu Hai nervously took a step back.

Feng Yan murmured ominously: "My death was so tragic..."

"Stop scaring him!" Jiang Xun couldn’t take it anymore and dragged him toward the door. "Can’t you just take that outfit off?"

"No." Feng Yan clung to the doorframe. "Just like a tokusatsu actor must never remove their suit in front of children, I absolutely cannot take this off in front of a little animal!"

Jiang Xun frowned deeply: "He’s not just any little animal; he understands the situation!"

What was Jian Yu thinking, sending a guy like this to help?!

"Really?" Feng Yan pointed a wing at Liu Hai. "Look at that dazed expression on his face."

Jiang Xun turned to look and found Liu Hai seemingly completely frozen.

Seizing the opportunity, Feng Yan broke free and covered Liu Hai with a wing: "Go on, I’ve got him covered!"

Jiang Xun: "...I find that hard to believe."

"Come on, do you think I have nothing better to do?" Feng Yan spread his other wing. "I went through all this trouble, leaving my adorable little ones at home, just to look after this little mermaid for you. Aren’t you going to thank your big bro? What an attitude!"

Jiang Xun sighed deeply.

Liu Hai finally came to: "Wait, Jiang Xun, are you going out?"

"Yeah." Jiang Xun crouched down and sighed softly. "I have a business trip."

"For the next few days, I’ve asked this..."

He hesitated, unsure how to introduce Feng Yan.

Feng Yan cut in: "Your friendly neighborhood seagull big brother."

Jiang Xun said flatly: "...Dr. Feng Yan."

"Just asked him to stay here."

Feng Yan: "At least say 'take care of him'?"

Jiang Xun "tsk"ed: "We’ll see who takes care of whom."

Feng Yan: "Did you just 'tsk' me?"

"Don’t worry." Liu Hai bounced forward and tugged at Jiang Xun’s sleeve. "I’ll take good care of our new friend."

"Come back soon, and stay safe."

Feng Yan silently stared at Liu Hai for a moment before suddenly patting Jiang Xun’s shoulder with his wing: "Alright, I concede."

Jiang Xun: "...What?"

Feng Yan covered his eyes with his wing: "My little darlings don’t even talk! Ugh, why is he so attached to you? It’s infuriating!"

Liu Hai tried to comfort him: "Need a translator? I can help."

Feng Yan instantly perked up, his gaze, even through the costume, radiating eagerness as it fell on Liu Hai.

"Don’t take him outside..." Jiang Xun paused. "Actually, never mind. If it’s just to your lab, it’s fine."

He pulled Feng Yan out of the room. "Outside. Now."

"Hey—" Feng Yan was reluctant. He used a wing to close the door and tried to remove his headpiece. "Give me a hand, I think my head’s really stuck."

Jiang Xun: "..."

Xiao Jin came barreling in: "Boss! I didn’t see anyone at the entrance... Oh, here you are."

"Perfect timing!" Feng Yan turned toward her. "Friend, help me out—my head’s stuck."

Xiao Jin bit back a laugh: "Wow, talk about seeing it to believe it... I’ll help!"

After a struggle akin to a tug-of-war, Feng Yan finally managed to pull off the seagull head, revealing a somewhat disheveled but sharply defined and remarkably handsome face.

He raised an eyebrow at the stunned Xiao Jin: "Thanks."

Xiao Jin: "..."

Juggling the seagull head, Feng Yan turned to Jiang Xun: "I get the situation now. He shows no stress around me, so I can take this on."

"But you’re just going out for a bit—why call someone over? Is there something else going on?"

Jiang Xun sighed: "Not sure yet, but someone from that TV station tried to pull a fast one before."

"Anyway, just make sure he’s safe these next few days. I’ll be back as soon as possible."

"You can put studying aside for a bit. He’s not picky; he can eat a lot of things that shouldn’t even be on an animal’s diet. If he asks for anything, try to accommodate him. I’ll reimburse everything when I get back."

"Relax, our lab isn’t exactly short on money." Feng Yan grinned. "My adorable little ones aren’t picky either—they can share meals."

Jiang Xun remained expressionless: "That’s not comforting."

"I’m not leaving until tonight. You can come back later."

"Not even letting me spend a little more time with him?" Feng Yan pouted. "So stingy."

"Once you’re gone, I’ll trash-talk you to him."

"Fine, I’ve got an idea anyway. I’ll come back later."

Jiang Xun: "..."

Hearing Feng Yan say "I’ve got an idea" actually gave him a sudden pang of dread.

Jiang Xun sighed and looked at Xiao Jin in surprise: "What's wrong with you?"

"Boss," Xiao Jin said, stunned. "He’s... ridiculously handsome."

She blurted out, "He does *this* with a face like that?"

She couldn’t reconcile the "Seagull Courtship Dance" from Feng Yan’s channel with his strikingly handsome face.

Jiang Xun: "..."

About three hours later, Feng Yan, along with A Yu and Liu Hai, went to the harbor to see Jiang Xun and Xiao Jin off as they boarded the ship.

Jiang Xun looked at Feng Yan, who was once again wearing the seagull costume, with a complicated expression: "Dr. Feng Yan, at a time like this, can’t you dress a little more... human?"

"Of course not." Feng Yan said matter-of-factly. "This is outdoors. If I don’t stand out, Liu Hai will be the only mermaid drawing attention. I’m just taking some heat off him."

Jiang Xun squeezed his eyes shut, ignoring Feng Yan beside him, and crouched down to say goodbye to Liu Hai.

"You already know how to use a phone. If anything happens, you can call me directly." Jiang Xun paused. "Or leave a message. Sometimes the signal at sea is bad, but I’ll reply as soon as I see it."

"Tell him what you want to eat. If it’s not enough or not tasty, just say so. It’s his responsibility to take good care of you."

"A Yu will stay with you. Don’t be afraid."

"Mm-hmm," Liu Hai nodded obediently and reached out to pat Jiang Xun’s head. "I’m not scared, but don’t miss me too much, okay?"

Xiao Jin teared up: "Waaah, Liu Hai! It’s so hard—how can we not miss you?"

She also crouched down. "Me next!"

Liu Hai ruffled both their heads with his hands: "You’re such grown-ups now! Finish your work and come back to play with me!"

Feng Yan wobbled trying to squat but failed. Even as the ship sailed away, he was still struggling to squat properly by the side.

Liu Hai couldn’t help tilting his head: "What are you doing?"

Feng Yan maintained a horse-stance pose: "My turn for head pats."

Liu Hai cooperated: "Then squat down."

"I’m trying to squat," Feng Yan grunted, tugging at his costume. "But the butt part seems too big—I can’t squat properly."

Liu Hai blinked. "...A Yu?"

A Yu, who seemed a bit distracted, snapped back to attention: "What’s wrong?"

Liu Hai asked uncertainly: "Is ‘Doctor’ *really* a title for very smart people?"

He was starting to have some doubts.

Feng Yan leaned in: "No offense, but I *am* a genius."

Liu Hai patted him comfortingly: "Okay, you *do* smell less salty and bitter."

...

The first day after Jiang Xun left the lab.

The door opened silently as Feng Yan, in full seagull regalia, sneaked in with A Yu toward the ecological tank.

Liu Hai was sprawled at the tank’s edge, hugging a round plushie, his body rising and falling slightly as he slept.

A Yu couldn’t help but speak up: "Are we *really* doing this?"

"Shh—" Feng Yan lowered his voice. "Don’t wake him up!"

He took out a notebook and jotted down—*Zero vigilance when asleep.*

Then, Feng Yan gestured for A Yu to hand him something.

A Yu hesitated, then sighed and handed it over.

"Mmrph," Liu Hai mumbled sleepily before slowly waking up and yawning.

Then—*boop*—a giant bird head loomed over him.

Feng Yan greeted him: "You’re awake."

Liu Hai stared at him blankly.

Feng Yan’s voice was full of amusement: "Congratulations, Liu Hai. You’re a father now."

Liu Hai managed a groggy: "Hah?"

Feng Yan motioned for him to look down.

Still half-asleep, Liu Hai lowered his head—then widened his eyes in shock: "Huh?!"

The plushie he had been hugging last night had somehow been replaced with an egg the size of a bowl.

"Aaaand it’s a healthy egg!" Feng Yan patted Liu Hai’s head approvingly. "You’ll have to take good care of it."

Liu Hai’s brain short-circuited. He clutched the egg motionlessly, like a statue.

A Yu finally spoke up: "Uh—"

"Shh!" Feng Yan turned to him.

"Hold up—this isn’t *mine*, is it?!" Liu Hai seemed to finally snap out of it. He held up the egg, looking horrified. "This smells delicious... I-I can’t possibly—"

Feng Yan whispered: "*That’s* your first thought?"

"This is normal for marine life, you know. Some species *snack* on their newborns—survival strategy!"

Liu Hai froze again.

A Yu facepalmed: "Wake up, Liu Hai! You’re male, and a mammal—you don’t lay eggs!"

Liu Hai gasped: "Ohhh, *duh*!"

"Ha ha ha!" Feng Yan bonked Liu Hai with a wing. "Took you *that long* to figure it out! I was running out of lies!"

Liu Hai clenched his fists: "What?! Are you messing with me? How could you?!"

Feng Yan beamed, unrepentant: "Ah... sorry, but I study animal behavior. These little experiments are fun and great for observing habits. Very interesting."

Liu Hai squinted at him: "Wait—you do this to your own darlings too?"

"Of course!" Feng Yan grinned, warming to the topic. "For a while, whenever I entered the lab, they’d launch missiles at me—"

Liu Hai asked in confusion, "Missiles?"

Feng Yan smiled, "It's poop."

Liu Hai: "..."

Well, he kinda had it coming.

A Yu gave him a weird look, "So, Dr. Feng Yan, is this outfit of yours also..."

Feng Yan gave a thumbs-up with his wing, "Yep, bulletproof too!"

A Yu: "..."

"But we made up afterward." Feng Yan laughed cheerfully, "I proved that seagulls have good memories and their own love and hate. Their tiny brains can still process slightly complex emotions like love and hate."

"Pretty interesting research, right?"

Liu Hai sighed while holding the egg, "Alright, at least you're happy."

"Oh right, I promised your guardian I’d send him a video every day." Feng Yan raised his phone, pointed the camera at himself and Liu Hai, and cheered, hugging Liu Hai, "Hey Jiang Xun, your little mermaid doesn't want you anymore—"

Liu Hai: "What?"

Feng Yan: "Aaand sent!"

Author's note:

Jiang Xun: What was Jian Yu thinking, letting Feng Yan watch Liu Hai!

Jian Yu: Someone this dumb means no harm.

Feng Yan: Quack?