Chapter 79: Transformation

Chapter 79: Metamorphosis

"Proof?" Jiang Xun frowned slightly. "Who said you couldn't live on land? Or rather, who thinks you lack the ability to live on land?"

"I thought you were just trying something new on a whim..."

"It *is* an attempt!" Liu Hai tilted his head. "I want to try working and earning money on my own!"

Jiang Xun finally realized, belatedly, that today was probably not a calm day for Liu Hai.

He took a deep breath and asked, "...Did someone say something?"

"Mmm." Liu Hai looked resolute. "We pinky-promised! I can't betray that person!"

"Oh?" Jiang Xun mused. "Is it someone with a three-character name?"

Liu Hai's eyes darted upward guiltily. "N-no idea."

"Alright, let's not dwell on that three-character person for now." Jiang Xun lowered his gaze and pinched Liu Hai's cheek, feeling a throbbing ache in his head from staying awake too long. "Can you tell me why you suddenly went looking for a job? I thought you just wanted to experience working, or perhaps you found the previous filming interesting..."

"Want to lie down and talk?" Liu Hai suddenly interrupted, suggesting. "You look really tired."

"Speaking of which, you went straight to a meeting after watching the movie yesterday, didn't you?"

"How many hours has it been since you last slept?"

He looked a little worried. "Humans can't function without proper sleep!"

Jiang Xun shook his head. "No, I haven't heard your explanation yet..."

Liu Hai had already skipped over and dragged a soft cushion, patting it. "Lie here! It's fine, I'll tell you, but you look exhausted. If you fall asleep while talking, that's okay—we can pick this up tomorrow."

Jiang Xun hesitated. "I... don't like leaving unresolved problems for tomorrow."

"Why?" Liu Hai frowned in confusion. "The problems won't run away tomorrow."

"Don't know." Jiang Xun still lay down as suggested, turning to face Liu Hai. In a low voice, he said, "I just feel like... only after doing everything I can today will I feel like the day is complete."

"Mmm, I don't get it." Liu Hai also lay beside him, tilting his head. "For me, as long as I'm fed today, everything else can wait."

"It's fine, don't worry too much. Just know that I'll still be here tomorrow."

Liu Hai grinned at him. "Let me think how to put it..."

"Well, Jian Yu said something about you taking my papers."

"And then, for some reasons I can't quite explain, I found out that you seem to be working hard to... send me back to the sea."

He frowned, a little troubled. "I know Jiang Xun probably has good intentions, wanting me to return to a place I'm more familiar with, but actually, I..."

"No." Jiang Xun took hold of his wrist. "I'm not planning to make you leave."

Perhaps because he was lying sideways—a rare posture for him—his gaze was gentler than usual, his voice softer. "...Those documents were just to get you an ID. Since it wasn't certain yet, I didn't want to tell you in advance, in case you got excited for nothing."

"ID?" Liu Hai tilted his head in confusion.

"You just brought it up too." Jiang Xun blinked. Though the matter wasn't fully explained, he could already feel sleepiness gradually creeping in.

Normally, he would fight to stay awake, but perhaps Liu Hai's words had calmed his anxious mood considerably.

His voice grew drowsy. "You don't have a bank account, so Jian Yu gave you cash."

"To open a bank account, you need an ID—something all humans have."

"I want Liu Hai to be able to live in this society just like humans do."

"So I asked the boss to negotiate with the authorities to make an exception and issue you an ID..."

"It shouldn't be too difficult, but to make it happen, we still need to create some opportunities. Anyway, that's the boss's job. I just had to provide your information."

Jiang Xun slowly closed his eyes, mumbling, "Mmm, I really want you to stay—in the lab, by my side."

"But I don't want you to be dependent on the lab to live."

"I want you to *choose* to be here, not to have no choice but to stay..."

"That ID is something humans are born with. Once you have it too, it'll be like... you have the same rights as humans in this society."

"Though, the information on it will be hard to change later, so the boss wanted me to confirm... what to put for 'Species.'"

Liu Hai blinked slowly, watching him, and whispered, "Oh, I see."

That really was a tricky question.

Jiang Xun was probably too exhausted to keep his eyes open. He reached out, feeling around for Liu Hai's head, and Liu Hai obligingly ducked his head into his hand, letting him pat him.

Jiang Xun said softly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you misunderstand... I didn't want to upset you..."

"No, no." Liu Hai opened his eyes. "I wasn't upset."

He paused, then admitted quietly, "Well... maybe a little."

"But more than being upset, I thought about how to handle it first."

"If Jiang Xun wanted to send me back to the ocean, what could I do?"

He grinned, gazing at Jiang Xun's profile. "First, I had to find a way to live on land! So I wanted to try working and see if I could earn money."

Liu Hai propped his head up. "Xiao Jin said if you don't work, you won't have food. I eat a lot, so to support myself, I'd need to earn a lot."

"I asked Jian Yu, and she said I'd have no problem supporting myself!"

He said proudly, chest puffed out, "So, problem solved!"

Jiang Xun gave a sleepy grunt of confusion. "Mmm?"

Liu Hai declared triumphantly, "I can work! I can make it on land!"

"So even if Jiang Xun tries to send me back to the ocean, I can just swim right back and find you again!"

"At first, I was a little sad that Jiang Xun would even consider separating from me, but..."

Liu Hai flicked his tail lightly, cheerfully. "Turns out it was just a misunderstanding!"

"Jiang Xun must still care about me!"

"Earlier, when I was chatting with Xiao Jin, she said she could never picture what Jiang Xun would be like when he liked someone. But now, she thinks you're the type who, if you love someone, would make sure they have health insurance and retirement—a worrywart kind of partner."

"So by that logic, Jiang Xun must *really* care about me, right?"

Jiang Xun didn't answer. He closed his eyes as if he were already asleep.

Liu Hai paused for a moment, then gave his cheek an uncertain poke. "Asleep? Really?"

"You're not faking it, are you, Jiang Xun?" he asked, suspicious.

After studying his face for a while, Liu Hai also lay down, shutting his eyes with satisfaction. "Never mind, I can ask tomorrow."

He still had questions though, like how he still didn't quite understand what "human" rights were, and he still hadn't decided what to fill in for the "species" line on his ID...

Of course, he still wanted to be a seal, but after playing mermaid for so long, he'd gradually gotten used to being treated as one.

Wait, if he was supposed to have human rights, wouldn't it be better to just let him be human?

Liu Hai grew drowsy as he pondered.

The ever-optimistic Seal King yawned and thought, *I'll figure it out later. After all, we won't be separated tomorrow.*

...

The next day, when Xiao Jin arrived at work, she saw Dr. Jiang Xun—still wearing yesterday's coat—asleep inside Liu Hai's aquatic habitat.

"Tch." Xiao Jin crossed her arms helplessly. "Seriously, boss, at least take a shower before sleeping..."

"Watch out or you'll roll into the water..."

She opened the tank door and saw a pair of pale legs peeking out from under a haphazardly draped blanket.

Xiao Jin's mind went blank for a moment.

She rubbed her eyes uncertainly. Under the blanket were two pairs of legs—four in total. One pair, still dressed, clearly belonged to her hardworking boss, who'd pulled an all-nighter and crashed without even washing up. But the other bare set... whose were they?

Xiao Jin stammered as she called for help. "Liu Hai? Liu Hai, are you there? Tell me what happened last night!"

The bare legs stretched slightly, rolling out from under the blanket. Xiao Jin shrieked, turned, and ran screaming from the room, yelling, "There's a naked man! Help! There's a completely naked man in Liu Hai's room!"

"What?!" A Yu, who had just entered the office, jumped in alarm and snatched up the nearest roomba as a shield before charging in. "Who's in there?!"

Propped up on one elbow, a drowsy Liu Hai yawned, rubbed his eyes, and turned his head in confusion. "What naked man?"

A Yu also froze.

Xiao Jin nervously peeked in with half her head. "Did you catch him? Should I call security?"

"I-it's..." A Yu stammered uncertainly, "That's just Liu Hai."

Xiao Jin quickly stuck her head in. "What?!"

Once she got a clear look at the person sitting on the floor, she sighed in relief, grabbed another blanket from the ground, and wrapped Liu Hai in it, saying matter-of-factly, "Oh, I thought I saw a man's butt. Oh it's just Liu Hai? Never mind then..."

A Yu snapped out of his daze and asked uncertainly, "It's fine?"

"Mm..." Xiao Jin suddenly realized something. "Ah."

She screamed even louder. "Wait! Holy— Liu Hai! You've got legs!"

"Legs?" Liu Hai looked down, baffled. "What are you talking about? I'm not an octopus, why would I have... Aah!"

He screamed too. "I grew legs!"

He tried to move but, all tangled in the blanket by Xiao Jin, ended up rolling straight into the water.

With a loud *splash*, water went everywhere.

"Liu Hai!" Xiao Jin hastily kicked off her shoes. "Do you remember how to swim? I'll save you!"

"Calm down!" A Yu tried to hold her back. "He's already floating!"

Amid the chaos, Jiang Xun—who'd somehow slept through the commotion—finally opened his eyes again. He asked bleary-eyed, "Why... are you all in my room?"

Author's Note:

Xiao Jin: Boss, you're awake? We've got a situation!