Chapter 63: You Are Also a Mermaid

Chapter 63: You're a Mermaid Too

Liu Hai asked in confusion, "What's an adult book?"

"Adult... I mean, *Imperial Uncle*!" Xiao Jin stammered, blurting out things on the spot. "It's, uh, the emperor's uncle in ancient feudal civilizations!"

A Yu closed his eyes.

Liu Hai squinted suspiciously at Xiao Jin. "Really? You're not treating me like an idiot, are you?"

Xiao Jin averted her gaze. "Of course not. Right now, I feel like the idiot myself."

To stop them from spouting more nonsense, Jiang Xun patted Liu Hai's head and ended the topic. "Never mind. Just something you don’t need to know yet."

But Liu Hai’s curiosity was already awakened. "Why not?"

Jiang Xun finally spoke up. "Because it’ll corrupt kids."

"Wait!" Xiao Jin suddenly said with a serious expression. "Now that I think about it, Liu Hai has a tail. Human p*rn wouldn’t even apply to him, right?"

A Yu’s eyes glazed over with despair. "...Are you really going to keep talking about this?"

Xiao Jin tried to steer the conversation seriously. "I’m discussing this from a scientific perspective! Speaking of which, Liu Hai’s organs should be located..."

All three instinctively glanced at Liu Hai’s tail...

"Eep!" Liu Hai hugged his tail tightly. "Your eyes are so weird!"

"Exactly! What are you looking at?!" Xiao Jin came to her senses and quickly pulled the other two to turn away. "We have to respect Liu Hai’s privacy!"

"Especially you, boss. You absolutely cannot look."

Jiang Xun: "?"

The next day, everyone packed up and headed back.

By now, Liu Hai had grown comfortable in the ocean, so during the return trip, just like when they visited Kong Tela before, he often went into the water to swim about.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one could see him underwater, he reverted to his natural form, playing in the water—sometimes touching shells passing by, sometimes catching small fish, and eventually deciding to pick some kelp as presents for the others.

Liu Hai thought his actions were completely unnoticed, but at that moment, the three observing him through the underwater detector went silent.

Xiao Jin was the first to break it. "...Did you guys see that? Our Liu Hai just... transformed."

Jiang Xun: "Mm, saw it."

A Yu: "Mm, saw it."

Xiao Jin let out a relieved sigh and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. "Scared me to death. I thought I was hallucinating from post-holiday blues."

"When boss first mentioned mythical creatures, I thought it was unbelievable. Never expected to see it with my own eyes like this..."

A Yu pondered aloud, "If he can easily change between two forms, could he also fully transform into a human?"

"Ah!" Xiao Jin’s eyes widened in shock. "Really?!"

"But Liu Hai’s never done that before! Maybe he needs some kind of catalyst?"

Following her intuition, she continued, "Last time he suddenly turned into a seal, it was pretty abrupt too... Maybe he *can* do it, but just hasn’t tried yet?"

A Yu muttered, "It’s not like the Little Mermaid’s story, where she had to make a deal with a sea witch to get legs, right?"

Xiao Jin rested her chin in her hand and smirked at him. "Ohhh—who knew you were such a romantic, A Yu?"

Jiang Xun chuckled. "If that’s the case, then he must’ve already made a deal with a witch once, right? The price Liu Hai had to pay..."

A Yu: "...Hard to imagine."

Xiao Jin: "Maybe he met a kind-hearted witch."

Jiang Xun shook his head with a smile. "Let’s not give it away later. Pretend we didn’t see anything."

The two nodded solemnly. "Got it!"

Meanwhile, the clueless Seal King continued swimming leisurely.

Liu Hai floated in the water with his eyes lidded. Compared to the northern seas, the water here was much warmer—comfortable enough to make a seal get complacent and lounge contentedly.

Ah, but it feels so nice.

Lately, he’d been feeling his strength gradually returning, at least enough to switch between his full seal form and his half-human, half-seal state.

But whenever he tried to change further, he’d get stuck.

He wasn’t sure if his transformation counted as a success or not.

Still...

Liu Hai flipped over in the water, keeping his eyes half-closed. It didn’t really matter. Even like this, he was happy just spending time with everyone!

"Liu Hai—"

Through the water, someone on the boat was calling him.

"Lunch is ready—"

The boat sounded its horn, reminding him to come aboard for lunch.

Liu Hai immediately brightened up, gave his tail a flick, and swiftly swam out in an agile movement impossible on land, breaking the surface.

"Ah."

Liu Hai and Xiao Jin made eye contact.

A Yu quickly covered Xiao Jin’s mouth before she could speak and pointedly said, "Oh? There’s a seal here too? Where’s our Liu Hai? Why isn’t he back for lunch yet?"

Liu Hai: "..."

Crap. Forgot to change back.

He hurriedly dove underwater, transformed back, and resurfaced. "I’m back!"

This time, no problem!

The other two also breathed sighs of relief.

Xiao Jin clapped for him. "Impressive! Come on up, lunch is ready!"

"We're about to dock soon, so maybe stay out of the water for now?"

She handed Liu Hai a towel, and he dried his own hair obediently, replying, "Okay!"

"Haha," Xiao Jin watched as Liu Hai shook his hair. "Too bad this isn't the company's main ship—there's no drying area onboard. Remember to dry your fur in the shower room! Ah, if you need help, I..."

Jiang Xun pushed the door open. "Is Liu Hai back? Let me help you dry your hair first."

"Ah—" Liu Hai flopped onto the floor. "But I want to eat first."

Jiang Xun sighed. "You'll get sick."

"It's fine!" Liu Hai insisted. "I can eat it all in one bite!"

Jiang Xun chuckled. "No need to be that rushed. Take your time."

"How's the water here? Compared to the north, it should be much warmer. If it's too uncomfortable, you can stay on the ship more."

"No problem." Liu Hai bounced after Jiang Xun. "The water here is really nice too—swimming's no problem at all!"

"That's good." Jiang Xun relaxed. "If you can adjust to the water here, we can take you to the beaches near HQ more often."

"Though, since the climate is milder, there are usually more tourists there than in the north..."

Jiang Xun had said it as a downside, but Liu Hai's eyes lit up.

Jiang Xun: "..."

Almost forgot—he loves crowds.

"Beaches!" Liu Hai cheered. "I've heard about them! They say warm beaches aren't covered in snow or ice, but in yellow sand!"

Jiang Xun was surprised. "You know about that?"

"Yeah, I saw an artificial beach at Feng Yan's once." Liu Hai nodded slightly. "But even before that, I heard humans who came here talk about it. They said the sand sticks to you, and if I rolled around in it, I'd turn into a 'donkey roll'..."

"That's weird. Why would I turn into a donkey?"

Liu Hai frowned in confusion. "Shouldn't it be at least a 'seal roll'?"

Jiang Xun smiled. "...Really? Not a 'mermaid roll'?"

Liu Hai: "..."

"Alright." Jiang Xun pretended not to notice, patting his still-damp hair. "Come get dried properly. Once you're done, you can go eat."

...

Around 2 p.m., Liu Hai's group arrived at the HQ harbor.

Just like the first time they'd arrived, Jian Yu was waiting to greet them.

"Welcome back." Jian Yu smiled. "Be careful—though we didn't make any special announcements this time, Liu Hai's movements are public now. There's quite a crowd here to see you."

"If you'd rather not, we can take a detour..."

Liu Hai tilted his head. "Why wouldn't I want to see them?"

"Alright then." Jian Yu's eyes twinkled with amusement. "Let's meet your fans first."

"Okay!" Liu Hai bounced out to greet everyone before finally waving goodbye and getting into the car.

Jian Yu sat elegantly in the vehicle, some papers beside her. It seemed she'd been busy with work while Liu Hai was greeting the crowd.

Seeing Liu Hai return, she smiled warmly. "It's wonderful to see you so full of energy, Liu Hai. How was the trip to the north?"

"Great!" Liu Hai said simply. "Cold, but vast."

"Is that so?" Jian Yu rubbed her shoulders. "I sometimes think about vacationing somewhere quiet and empty too."

"Maybe next time."

Her smile was gentle. "But I figured you'd had a good time. Before you even arrived, I received a lengthy thank-you from Mr. Laurence."

"Unfortunately, the relaxing vacation is over. We'll be pretty busy from now on."

Liu Hai cocked his head in confusion. "Why?"

"Did you forget? When we participated in that show earlier, we also ran that contest." Jian Yu leafed through the documents in her hands. "The results are in now, and after distributing the prizes, the 'mermaid' theme will work perfectly with our next project."

She smiled, both excited and a little tired. "It's time for the yearly event again."

Liu Hai looked even more puzzled. "That one?"

A Yu perked up. "It's that, isn't it!"

"Ah, that..." Xiao Jin feigned sudden understanding, whispering to A Yu, "Which one?"

A Yu shot her a look. "The Mermaid Star competition!"

"Ah!" This time, Xiao Jin actually remembered. "That's right! Wow, back then, A Yu and I even watched it together. It was really moving..."

She came back to the present. "But why does this concern us?"

"Since we started the #ThisCouldBeAMermaidToo trend, this year's Mermaid Star selection criteria will be much more relaxed than usual." Jian Yu propped her chin in her hand. "Apparently, there are already some pretty... unusual entries among the applicants."

"Oh, right—we also need Liu Hai to shoot a promo video for the audition call. It's the boss's idea."

"Liu Hai, interested?"

She handed him a sheet of paper. "The lines were personally written by the boss for you."

"Let me see!" Liu Hai lifted his chin. "I know more words now!"

He read aloud, "I am a mermaid. You are a mermaid. He is also a mermaid."

"On this battlefield where we decide who the true mermaid is, hold onto your belief that you are a mermaid—and push through!"

Xiao Jin clapped for him. "Amazing, Liu Hai! Not one mistake!"

Liu Hai: "..."

Somehow, it felt like the boss was making fun of him.

Author's note:

The Boss: [sunglasses emoji]