Chapter 35: Open Day

Chapter 35: Open Day

On the day of the Eco-Park's public opening.

The park had prepared a small cart for Liu Hai to move around easily. Jiang Xun, for once, shed his researcher's white coat, donning a "Mermaid Caretaker" badge to serve as a day-long attendant.

"Just as we discussed," Jian Yu said with a smile, patting Liu Hai's head. "The event has a set program, and you two will appear as random surprises, so there's no need to feel pressured."

"While everyone is eager to see Liu Hai, given his current popularity, assigning you a fixed spot might cause everyone to congregate in one area. So, we'll have to trouble Liu Hai to do a bit more moving around."

"Just follow the route: spend a little time in each exhibit, interpret what the animals are saying, and your mission will be perfectly accomplished."

Liu Hai lay on the cart, flicking his tail fin. "Don't worry, I won't get tired. After all, I'm not walking myself; Jiang Xun is pushing me."

Jian Yu nodded in agreement. "True. Then we'll have to trouble Dr. Jiang Xun."

"There's no rush. You can take your time strolling along."

"Got it!" Liu Hai responded enthusiastically.

Jiang Xun examined the "Caretaker" badge in his hand with a touch of novelty. After securely fastening it to his chest, he slowly nodded. "Mm, an easy job."

Jian Yu offered a slightly mischievous smile. "The hardest part will probably be Dr. Jiang Xun having to keep a smile on his face when dealing with children."

Jiang Xun: "..."

Liu Hai propped himself up. "No problem, Jiang Xun!"

"Mm." Jiang Xun managed a faint smile. "I'll do my best to keep smiling..."

"I'll do the smiling for you!" Liu Hai declared loyally. "Jiang Xun is gentle even without smiling, so it's fine!"

Jiang Xun: "..."

"Oh—" Jian Yu couldn't help but let out a muffled chuckle. "I always thought Dr. Jiang Xun might be spoiling Liu Hai too much."

"But now it seems Liu Hai is also looking out for the doctor."

"Hehe." Liu Hai grinned proudly, gripping the cart's handles. "We're really good friends!"

"Ahem." Jiang Xun's lips curved into a barely perceptible smile. "The park's open. Let's go."

"Understood." Jian Yu chuckled softly. "I'll be on standby where visitors can't see me. If anything unexpected happens, you can call me anytime."

As the cart began to move, Liu Hai turned back to wave at her. "Remember to find a shady spot!"

Jian Yu nodded with a smile.

Liu Hai turned back, tugging at Jiang Xun's sleeve. "Jiang Xun, give me the map! I'll navigate!"

To facilitate their movement, Jian Yu had provided them with an Eco-Park map, marking a recommended route, though they could, of course, adapt as needed.

Liu Hai eagerly unfolded the map. Jiang Xun didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm but couldn't help but point out, "It's upside down."

"Huh?" Liu Hai, puzzled, flipped the paper over.

"Not front to back," Jiang Xun said, reaching over to help him adjust it. "It's top to bottom."

"Oh—" Liu Hai's eyes widened in sudden understanding. "That explains it! I thought, 'How can I still not recognize a single character after studying for so long?'... Now it's right!"

Jiang Xun asked, amused, "So, can you read it now?"

Liu Hai paused, then looked up, embarrassed. "Hehe, seems I still can't read it even when it's right-side up."

Jiang Xun couldn't help but laugh aloud. "Not a single word?"

"Don't rush me!" Liu Hai buried his face in the map, feeling a little guilty. "Let me look more carefully. Maybe..."

"This one." Jiang Xun pointed to the nearest place name. "Do you recognize it?"

Liu Hai's eyes lit up. "Ah! I know that character!"

"Water... *dong-dong*..."

He thoughtfully stroked his chin. "Water-something hall... Could it be! The Jellyfish Hall!"

"Clever." Jiang Xun patted his head. "Did you guess?"

"Mm!" Liu Hai pointed seriously at the map's cover. "I remember last time we went to the Penguin Hall, and it seems all these places are called 'Hall.' An animal starting with 'water'—I took a guess!"

He beamed proudly. "Guessed it on the first try, impressive, right?"

"Mm, very impressive. But I have another question." Jiang Xun cooperatively steered the cart around a bend. The staff passage was separate from the regular visitor path, so they didn't have to worry about bumping into other tourists and could take their time strolling.

Liu Hai asked curiously, "What?"

Jiang Xun pointed to the title of the Jellyfish Hall in the distance. "Can you understand jellyfish?"

"Or rather... do jellyfish think?"

Liu Hai froze. "Huh?"

Jiang Xun seemed to be deep in thought. "I mean, jellyfish don't possess a brain structure in the conventional sense. So, do they truly have what we traditionally consider the ability to think?"

"While some jellyfish hunt through touch or bioluminescent signals, this seems more like simple neural network feedback. They react instinctively to stimuli, much like a human knee-jerk reflex—just a simple stimulus and response. There doesn't seem to be... any thinking involved."

"So, I'm actually very curious if you can truly translate their language. Perhaps today we can unravel some interesting mysteries."

Liu Hai's eyes widened slightly, and he remained as still as a statue.

Jiang Xun, in good spirits, poked his cheek. "Liu Hai?"

The Great Seal King seemed to have momentarily lost his ability to think as well.

Snapping back to reality, he scratched his head in confusion. "Jellyfish don't make sounds, and they don't have brains, but..."

"I can still tell what they're saying, I guess?"

"It's just... not very specific."

Jiang Xun asked curiously, "What kind of specific?"

"For example..." Liu Hai looked up at Jiang Xun. "Because Jiang Xun can speak and has a brain, I know you're happy right now about being able to make new observations, and you're also a little excited because you mischievously put me on the spot."

Jiang Xun: "..."

He didn't deny it.

"But if Jiang Xun were a jellyfish," Liu Hai imagined, "then I'd probably only feel that Jiang Xun is a little happy, a little excited."

"It's that kind of lack of specificity, understand?"

"Roughly... yes." Jiang Xun wore a thoughtful expression. Most researchers preferred descriptive language, but Liu Hai was different; his words were imaginative, sometimes requiring a bit of imagination to grasp.

Just as Jiang Xun himself found it hard to imagine what he'd be like as a jellyfish.

But what Jiang Xun found even more incredible was that this vague, irrational way of expressing things actually struck him as quite interesting.

The staff at the Jellyfish Hall invited them into the exhibit. Like ordinary visitors, they quietly chatted while admiring the peculiar jellyfish swaying slowly in cylindrical tanks.

Soon, someone noticed them. A boy yelled, "Balloon-tailed merman!"

Liu Hai snapped his head up, alarmed. "What?!"

"How rude!" a little girl beside him retorted loudly. "How can you say that? He just has a slightly plump tail!"

Liu Hai: "..."

Under the staff's guidance, everyone gathered around Liu Hai but maintained a respectful distance.

Most of the visitors on the open day, apart from a few media personnel and curious young people, were parents with children.

"Liu Hai! Liu Hai!" Despite it being their first meeting, many children called out to him warmly, bouncing as they asked, "What are the jellyfish saying?"

Liu Hai stared intently at the jellyfish in the tank. Whether it was accustomed to being watched or not, surrounded by so many people, it continued to drift lazily, seemingly unaware.

Liu Hai turned back. "It's not saying anything."

The children: "Huh?"

Liu Hai pointed at the jellyfish. "It's zoning out."

The children looked equally bewildered. "Huh?"

A staff member chuckled, stepping in to smooth things over. "Well, Liu Hai, do you have any other facts about jellyfish you can share?"

"This spaced-out jellyfish," Liu Hai said seriously, pointing at it, "cannot be eaten."

One child interjected, "Because it's spaced out?"

"Of course not!" Liu Hai declared righteously. "Spaced-out fish are delicious! And easy to catch."

"This one can't be eaten because it's poisonous! If you eat it, your mouth will go numb, and then you'll die!"

He enthusiastically gestured to the children. "But I don't know if you humans can eat it. For us sea—"

Jiang Xun smiled, covering his mouth. "Sea?"

Liu Hai's tongue stumbled. "F-for us merfolk, it's inedible."

He shot a guilty glance at Jiang Xun.

He felt as if something was... off.

But Jiang Xun's expression remained perfectly calm.

Suddenly, Jiang Xun smiled and spoke. "What's wrong? Are you asking for my opinion?"

"Huh?" Liu Hai stared at him blankly.

Jiang Xun pointed to the excited children holding cameras. "The children are asking if they can take a photo with the merman."

"Oh!" Liu Hai snapped back to reality. "No problem! But we still have other places to go, so taking individual photos might take too long. Let's all take a big group photo together!"

The Jellyfish Hall concluded successfully, and Liu Hai was quite excited. "Where to next?"

"To see sharks." Jiang Xun led him to the Shark Hall.

Above the underwater tunnel, where visitors walked, sharks prowled and swam.

Jiang Xun pointed at a small shark lingering near the tunnel's ceiling, asking, "Can you understand what it's saying?"

"He says..." Liu Hai looked up at the shark. "Itchy itchy itchy, tummy itchy itchy itchy, can't scratch itchy itchy itchy..."

Jiang Xun: "..."

"Wait for me." Liu Hai propped himself up, catching the shark's attention. Then he patted his own belly, pressed against a protruding part of the wall, and wiggled up and down, left and right.

With the help of the kind-hearted seal expert, a shark learned how to scratch an itch.

It rubbed itself contentedly up and down, left and right, then excitedly spun in a circle and swam away.

Liu Hai turned back. "He says thank you."

Jiang Xun: "Quite... polite."

The next stop was the Dolphin Hall.

A group of dolphins played with humans by the water's edge, creating a warm and harmonious scene.

Liu Hai's gaze deepened. "They're saying..."

He hesitated, then pulled Jiang Xun's hand to cover his own mouth.

Jiang Xun: "?"

Liu Hai nodded as if it were perfectly normal. "I think I already know what shouldn't be said in front of humans. What they're saying probably falls into that category."

Jiang Xun: "...What kind of 'shouldn't'?"

Liu Hai: "Probably the 'public indecency' kind."

"Alright," Jiang Xun sighed, nudging him to move quickly. "Let's hurry to the next exhibit."

Liu Hai opened the map. "Next up is..."

He held the map up for Jiang Xun to read.

Jiang Xun: "Coral Reef Hall."

Liu Hai blinked in disbelief. "Huh?"

"Do I have to translate this too? Isn't that a bit much to ask of me?"

Author's Note:

Liu Hai (musing): Do merfolk even do this? he wondered.