Chapter 41: Huan Hai

Chapter 41: Illusory Sea

Illusory Sea tried to vaguely brush it off, but to his surprise, Glimmering Sea suddenly reached out and gripped his shoulder, saying earnestly, "I'm a merman, and you are too."

Illusory Sea froze.

Glimmering Sea tilted his head. "A-Yu showed me your photo. You had a huge tail in it." He placed a serious hand on Illusory Sea's shoulder. "You haven't forgotten you're a merman, have you?"

Little Gold interjected, amused, "Glimmering Sea, his tail is actually..."

"I..." Illusory Sea stammered, "I'm not."

"Not?" Glimmering Sea scratched his chin, genuinely puzzled. "But lots of people call you a merman. Some even say you're the 'Merman Prince.'"

Of course, that title still couldn't compare to the fame of "Seal King," but the King was currently lying low, temporarily operating under a merman identity.

Illusory Sea seemed to recall something, his mouth opening slightly before he pressed his lips tight, his expression complicated.

The agent turned back from outside, handing Illusory Sea his phone. "Here, got the shot." He grumbled, "You never post anyway, so why just take up storage?"

Only after speaking did he notice the slightly odd atmosphere at the table. Glancing at Illusory Sea, who looked oddly spaced out, he quickly added, "This kid didn't say anything wrong, did he?"

"Sorry about that—he's not great with words. Please bear with him. Dinner's on us! Had enough? Want to order more?"

He seemed used to this routine, smoothly smoothing things over with practiced apologies and a friendly smile.

Glimmering Sea was still munching away. "Nah, he didn't say anything weird. We were just talking about mermaids."

The agent tensed instantly. "Ah..." He gave Illusory Sea a warning look, lowering his voice. "You didn't let anything slip, did you?"

Illusory Sea was zoning out, only snapping back to attention after being called twice. "Huh? No, I don't think so."

The agent stole a glance at Jiang Xun and the others, figuring it was time to pull Illusory Sea away.

Pulled upright, Illusory Sea didn't turn to leave. Instead, he stared at Glimmering Sea. "Um... can I talk to you again? About mermaids."

The agent startled. "Huh?"

Was this foolish boy going to be stubborn and expose someone's identity?

He frantically eye-signaled. "Ahem, uh, we can't just chat anytime. You've got a schedule, and—"

Illusory Sea scowled. "I'm not working right now. What schedule?"

He slumped back down as if he'd given up. "If that person earlier was trying to snap a pic of me, they probably just wanted to capture how pathetic I look now."

Glimmering Sea couldn't help but sigh. "Wow... what happened to you? How'd you get like this?"

He glanced at Jiang Xun, as if seeking his opinion.

Jiang Xun's expression was complicated. Finally, he sighed in resignation. "Your call."

"Great!" Glimmering Sea beamed, inviting him. "Come find me tomorrow to hang out! We're tidying up today, so we can't host guests yet."

"Everyone's working tomorrow, so I'll be home alone with nothing to do. Perfect time to hang out!"

"Oh, right—wanna stay over and—"

Jiang Xun shut him down firmly. "Absolutely not."

"Oh." Glimmering Sea looked at him regretfully. "Fine, no staying over then."

After setting a time to meet the next day, they said goodbye to Illusory Sea and his agent.

"I think I just witnessed Glimmering Sea's warp-speed friend-making skills," Little Gold mused, propping her chin on her hand. "And it was the other guy who initiated it! Ugh, when's a hot guy gonna chase me like that?"

Glimmering Sea puffed up proudly, hands on hips. "Impressive, right?"

"Very," Jiang Xun agreed, smiling at him. "Glimmering Sea wanted to let him stay the night?"

"Because he looks like he needs a good cry-hug," Glimmering Sea explained. "I could lend him the stuffed animals in my room. He might not have any at home."

Jiang Xun: "..."

A-Yu frowned thoughtfully. "But is this really a good idea? Should someone stay home with him tomorrow?"

"It's not that I distrust Illusory Sea, but leaving Glimmering Sea alone with someone he barely knows makes me a bit uneasy."

"Don't worry about me," Glimmering Sea said between crunches. "If anything, Illusory Sea seems like the one who needs worrying over."

He warned the others, "Overthink it, and you'll reek of stress like him."

Little Gold couldn't help sniffing herself. "How does Glimmering Sea pick up such complex scents? I can't smell anything except my milk body wash."

"Ah." A-Yu suddenly looked up.

Little Gold hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"

A-Yu scratched his head. "I think I forgot to bring my body wash."

Jiang Xun sighed. "We'll hit the store later."

"Don't worry. The house has surveillance, and..."

He smiled. "If anyone really thinks this place is defenseless and tries something, a team of black-clad figures might just rappel from the ceiling to haul them away in cuffs."

Little Gold and A-Yu exchanged glances.

Jiang Xun waved a hand. "Just kidding."

Little Gold muttered, "Sounds dead serious."

A-Yu: "...Feels entirely plausible."

Glimmering Sea blinked. "Rappel from the ceiling?"

"Don't think about it," Jiang Xun said, ruffling Glimmering Sea's hair. "Let's go. I'll take you to the store."

...

The next day, the agent brought Illusory Sea to visit.

At Illusory Sea's insistence, the agent also left, until finally it was just the two of them.

"I bought snacks!" Glimmering Sea was already in the pool, cheerfully calling to his new guest. "Come on in!"

"No wonder you said I should bring swimwear." Illusory Sea was a little surprised but still went along and got in the pool, his brow relaxing slightly. "Hmm... being here actually does help me relax a bit."

Glimmering Sea shoved a jelly at him. "Want some?"

Illusory Sea instinctively refused. "No... these are actually super high-calorie."

Glimmering Sea looked puzzled. "Calories?"

"Ah." Illusory Sea realized. "Never mind, you wouldn't get it."

After hesitating, he took the jelly from Glimmering Sea’s hand. "What the heck, I'll treat myself."

"Ha." After finishing the jelly, Illusory Sea leaned back against the pool edge and muttered, "Wait, jelly tastes this good?"

Glimmering Sea nodded in agreement. "It's delicious, right?"

"Humans are incredible, putting so much effort into what they eat..."

Illusory Sea couldn’t help but chuckle.

After a pause, he asked Glimmering Sea, "Did you do that TV recording recently?"

"Yeah." Glimmering Sea produced a bag of chips. "Did you watch it?"

"Mhm." Illusory Sea scratched his head. "Actually, that interview slot was originally mine, but because of the tsunami, my flight got delayed, so they called you in last-minute."

"And then..."

He absentmindedly rubbed the drink can in his hand. "Logically, they were supposed to reschedule, but I still haven't recorded it yet."

Glimmering Sea blinked, not quite understanding. "Why?"

"I've been thinking about the reason too." Illusory Sea muttered, his mood sinking. "Other work hasn't been going smoothly either. My agent says it's just a normal slump."

"But I still have all these jumbled thoughts."

"I can't really talk to him about this, but it's fine with you since you wouldn't understand—you can just let me vent."

Glimmering Sea narrowed his eyes. "Hey, don't sell me short! I know a lot!"

Illusory Sea chuckled softly. "Have you seen photos of me from my Merman Star days?"

"If you have, you'd know I didn't speak very clearly back then, so I played up the cool, distant image. But things like that can't stay hidden forever—the truth came out eventually."

"At first, I was scared stiff, thinking everyone would dislike me. But instead, they loved it, calling it 'gap moe' or whatever."

"Then, I took language classes and worked hard to correct my pronunciation. Even though I still mess up when I'm flustered, normally, it's hardly noticeable now."

Illusory Sea sighed gloomily. "I thought people would like me even more, but instead, a lot of them said I got boring, that I wasn't as cute as before..."

"Wasn't I just improving myself?"

He suddenly looked at Glimmering Sea, as if expecting him to say something.

Glimmering Sea opened his mouth. "Hic."

Illusory Sea: "..."

He didn’t seem to need Glimmering Sea’s input anyway and continued, "I don't really get it."

"I feel like I'm at a crossroads—every time I make a choice, some fans drop me... If this keeps up, I'll wind up alone again, won't I?"

"But what do they even like? What made them like me to begin with? I'm starting to understand less and less."

Glimmering Sea asked uncertainly, "Are there only people leaving? No new ones coming?"

"Without exposure or gigs, how would new people come?" Illusory Sea sighed. "Besides, the way I am now, it's hard for anyone to like me anyway."

"What kind of person should I be?"

Glimmering Sea mimicked the way interviewers asked questions. "Then, is there someone you look up to?"

"Hmm—" Illusory Sea scratched his chin. "Honestly, not really at first."

"Because I never planned to get into this industry. I just joined the Merman Star audition on a whim just because of my looks."

"But now..."

He hesitated. "Do you know Miss Fengling? She was in the same Merman Star season as me."

"Oh—" Glimmering Sea suddenly understood. "I've met her."

"Miss Fengling is different from me." Illusory Sea lowered his head. "She's got her act together."

"She can firmly reject jobs she doesn't want and go after what she does. I... don't have that kind of direction."

"Oh, so that's why A-Yu likes her too." Glimmering Sea rubbed his chin. "But Miss Fengling has her own worries too."

"Really?" Illusory Sea didn't seem very confident. "Sometimes I think maybe I'm just slower than most people..."

Glimmering Sea: "Pfft."

"Hey!" Illusory Sea scowled. "Not funny!"

"Ah, relax." Glimmering Sea empathized. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm a bit slow too, but that's because everyone around me has a doctorate, so I just seem a little dumb by comparison, right?"

He confidently analyzed, "If I hung out with morons, I'd probably seem pretty smart!"

Illusory Sea stared at him blankly. "Where do you get that confidence?"

"Born with it." Glimmering Sea proudly shook his head. "I'm still learning human common sense, so half of what you say flies right past me. But I think you're way too tough on yourself."

Illusory Sea was taken aback. "What?"

Glimmering Sea propped his head up. "You've still got fans, don't you?"

"Can't be that they all have terrible taste, can it?"

"You worked hard to respond to their love, didn't you? But now you've wound up putting yourself down. That won't do."

Glimmering Sea adopted a mentor-like tone. "Remember, you're a beloved merman idol!"

"Merman..." Illusory Sea repeated quietly. "Back at that smoked grandma restaurant, you reminded me not to forget I'm a merman..."

He looked up. "Were you trying to remind me not to forget how I felt when I auditioned for Merman Star? Not to forget where I came from?"

"Over the years, I might have... deliberately avoided many things from the past to prevent being seen as someone who just lives off past achievements. Perhaps... I should look back?"

He muttered to himself, "Maybe this is my special bond with mermaids—everything started with mermaids!"

"Oh, not like that," Glimmering Sea said honestly. "That was just the literal meaning."