Chapter 81: Foot Soak

Chapter 81: Foot Bath

It was only after fully transforming into human form that Liu Hai realized he was still woefully lacking in common sense.

...Back when he was half-human, half-seal, he’d thought he was the most human-savvy seal in the world.

But now, it seemed humans were truly profound.

In the company bathroom, Liu Hai, wrapped in a bath towel, balanced his feet on the edge of a foot bath. He turned to A Yu for confirmation again: "Do I really have to put my feet in? Won’t they get cooked?"

"Mmm-hmm," A Yu hummed, closing his eyes comfortably. "You practiced walking a lot today; your legs must be exhausted."

"A good soak will make them feel much better."

Liu Hai hesitantly reached out to test the water temperature. "But it’s so hot..."

"A little hot is good!" A Yu opened his eyes again. "Be brave, they won’t cook! The water temperature I set is already for beginners."

Liu Hai scrunched up his face, hugged one leg with both hands, and nervously inched it closer to the steaming water.

"Ahhh—!" Liu Hai tensed his entire body, but unfortunately, it was in resistance.

"No!" Liu Hai fell backward. "I can’t put my legs in water this hot!"

"Even though they’re legs, they’re still part of my body!"

A Yu was equal parts amused and exasperated. "What do you mean, ‘even though they’re legs’...? Legs are important too!"

"But I’ve never had them before." Liu Hai hugged his legs and looked up gloomily. "I finally got legs—shouldn’t I treat them well? Don’t put them in such hot water."

"I say..." Jiang Xun walked into the bathroom. "What exactly are you two doing in here? The other employees heard strange noises and are too embarrassed to use the bathroom now."

"Jiang Xun! Come soak your feet too!" Liu Hai greeted him cheerfully, then tilted his head innocently. "Strange noises? Who made them?"

A Yu shot him a complicated look. "Seems like you have no self-awareness."

Liu Hai blurted out, "It wasn’t me, was it?!"

"But I was just normally... YOWCH—!"

Jiang Xun grabbed Liu Hai’s calf and mercilessly tried to push it into the water. Liu Hai panicked, kicking and flailing in desperate resistance. "No, no! It’s still too hot!"

"Help!!"

"First, you have to try." Jiang Xun didn’t let go. "You can’t say no before even putting your leg in..."

"Huh? Why’s the bathroom so lively today?" Feng Yan walked in completely naked. "Did your lab have some kind of battle too?"

He took one look around inside and his expression instantly turned odd. "Huh?"

Jiang Xun silently pressed a hand to his forehead. "Did you not see the ‘Do Not Enter’ sign at the door?"

"I saw it," Feng Yan said with a shrug. "But you guys are in here too?"

"...Because we’re the ones who put it there," A Yu said awkwardly. "Most people would get the message and not come in, right?"

"Huh?" Feng Yan shrugged. "But if you just put up one sign and think that’ll stop everyone, doesn’t that mean it’s not actually off-limits?"

Jiang Xun: "...Sir, do you seriously not know what ‘rules’ are?"

Feng Yan spread his hands. "Sir, do you not know I’ve never followed rules?"

Liu Hai was still trying to yank his leg free from Jiang Xun’s grip when he turned to greet Feng Yan. "Here to shower, Feng Yan?"

"Yep." Feng Yan nodded, still oblivious. "Had fieldwork today—got all sweaty..."

"Wait!" Liu Hai pointed at Feng Yan in shock. "Why isn’t he wearing clothes?! Not even underwear!"

"Huh?" Feng Yan looked down at himself, puzzled. "Because this is the men’s bathroom? Taking clothes off is normal here."

"You guys are the weird ones for wearing towels in the bathroom. And why is Liu Hai even here? Doesn’t he have that big pool to bathe in?"

A Yu tightened his towel awkwardly. "We’re here to soak our feet..."

"You came to the bathroom just to soak feet?" Feng Yan scoffed as he walked closer. "Then what about Liu Hai? Soaking his tail?"

Liu Hai said matter-of-factly, "I’m soaking my feet too."

"You’re soaking feet?" Feng Yan was still laughing. "You have feet...?"

Then he saw the calf Jiang Xun was holding and froze mid-step. "...You actually do?"

"Impressive, right?" Liu Hai beamed with pride. "Look, I've got feet!"

"How does that work?" Feng Yan moved closer in amazement, and reached out to sling an arm over Jiang Xun’s shoulder. Jiang Xun sidestepped without expression and reminded him, "Could you cover up a little...?"

"Why?" Feng Yan looked confused. "What’s with all the secrecy? We’re all men here."

Then he suddenly turned to Liu Hai. "Hey, Liu Hai, did you grow a..."

"AHHH—!" A Yu leapt up, nearly tripping over the foot bath, but successfully cut Feng Yan off with sheer volume. "Dr. Feng Yan, wanna join us for a foot soak? Great way to relax after work!"

Feng Yan: "..."

A Yu manhandled him to sit next to Liu Hai, finally regaining his ability to form coherent sentences. "We’re teaching Liu Hai to get used to wearing clothes! Now that he has legs, he’s pretty much fully human—he needs to learn basic social norms."

"We had a hard time convincing him to wear clothes in public. If you keep parading around naked like this, Dr. Feng Yan... it’ll undermine Liu Hai’s human socialization!"

"Ah..." Feng Yan sighed. "Honestly, forcing a wild animal who used to live freely under the open sky to understand humans’ hang-ups about nudity is already asking too much. Personally, I think letting him go naked wouldn’t be a big deal."

Jiang Xun stared him down. "Not a big deal?"

"Hmm." Feng Yan studied him. "No, actually... I think I get where you’re coming from."

"With how he looks, giving everyone a free show feels like a waste."

"Fine, then."

For some reason, Feng Yan adopted a parental tone, reluctantly conceding, "For the sake of Liu Hai’s social education, I’ll cover up."

"But you still have to teach him about human anatomy, right?"

Liu Hai asked eagerly. "What anatomy?"

"Listen up, Liu Hai. When humans reproduce, they need to—" Feng Yan began gesturing, but A Yu quickly tossed a towel over him and stuffed an apple into his mouth.

A Yu let out a long breath. "Please don’t mess with our teaching, Dr. Feng Yan."

Jiang Xun said with a sigh to Feng Yan. "...Just take a shower and leave."

"Letting you stay here would be a bad influence on the child."

Feng Yan took a loud crunching bite of his apple and mumbled, "But this is basic education, isn’t it? How is it corrupting? Don’t be such a prude, Dr. Jiang Xun. You’re still young, right?"

"I’m not saying he shouldn’t understand these things," Jiang Xun narrowed his eyes disapprovingly. "I’m saying you shouldn’t teach him so casually."

"Oh—" Feng Yan smirked playfully. "True, true. After all, our dear Dr. Jiang Xun is a very serious person."

"Alright, I’ll go shower over there."

He said regretfully, "Come to think of it, my desk is buried in paperwork. I don’t have time to leisurely soak here."

"Remember to take breaks," Liu Hai said with concern. "Work and rest should be balanced!"

"Haha, got it." Feng Yan ruffled his hair. "Don’t worry, I’m not like your workaholic Dr. Jiang Xun. I’m all about taking it easy."

"Keep it up, Liu Hai. Once you learn to walk, I’ll take you to a marathon."

"Oh…" Liu Hai was about to agree when A Yu hastily interrupted, "Don’t just say yes to everything!"

"Hahaha!" Feng Yan laughed as he walked away.

"Phew." A Yu finally relaxed after he left. "For some reason, when Dr. Feng Yan’s here, there’s this strange tension."

"It’s like he might say something shocking at any moment…"

"Outrageous?" Liu Hai asked curiously. "Like about reproduction?"

"Ah—" A Yu waved his hands frantically. "Liu Hai! Don’t—"

"Come on, A Yu, what’s the big deal?" Liu Hai grinned smugly. "Do you think I’m some little kid? I’ve known about this stuff for a while."

"Huh?" A Yu gaped at him. "What do you know?"

"About reproduction, obviously," Liu Hai said proudly. "And I’m well aware that humans and I can’t reproduce together."

"Like with Jiang Xun—we couldn’t have little mer…"

He stumbled slightly but corrected himself, "Little mermaids, nor little humans."

Jiang Xun slowly looked up. "With… me?"

Liu Hai met his gaze and blinked. "Just hypothetical!"

"Don’t be so uptight, Jiang Xun!"

"I’m not stingy…" Jiang Xun averted his eyes, his ears slightly red, and deliberately shoved Liu Hai’s foot deeper into the foot-soaking bucket.

Liu Hai instantly let out a yelp, "Ahhh—!"

Jiang Xun asked calmly, "Is it hot?"

"Huh?" Liu Hai paused, then realized. "Oh! Wait… it’s actually fine!"

"Of course not," Jiang Xun sighed, releasing his ankle. "You think I’d make it scalding hot? If you’d taken any longer, it would’ve turned cold."

"You have practice tomorrow, so your legs should relax properly today."

He hesitated before adding, "But don’t push yourself. If your legs are too sore tomorrow, you can take a day off."

"No!" Liu Hai refused firmly. "I want to learn to walk quickly!"

Jiang Xun looked at him. "Why?"

"Hmm." Liu Hai pondered. "Lots of reasons. For example…"

"If I can’t even control my own body, wouldn’t that make me look dumb?"

Jiang Xun chuckled. "And?"

"And…" Liu Hai tilted his head. "It’ll be easier to run away!"

"Oh, and I can stand at eye level when talking to everyone instead of always looking up!"

"And no more wheelchair!"

Counting on his fingers, Liu Hai got more excited. "See? Human legs are actually great!"

Jiang Xun smiled faintly. "...Alright."

"But remember what you said before—don’t overwork yourself. Rest properly."

"Don’t worry." Liu Hai puffed out his chest proudly. "I won’t overdo it."

"Oh, and one more thing!"

As if suddenly remembering, he added, "When I used to sneak into your office to watch you work, I had to stretch my tail just to get a glimpse. Now, I can just stand up, right?"

Jiang Xun: "..."

Author’s Note:

A Yu: You two carry on. Act like I’m not here. I’ll make myself scarce.