Perhaps that less bitter coffee held some magical power.
After that morning, the mermaid quickly returned to normal.
The mermaid instinctively disliked his past as Zhu Yan and didn’t want to dwell on those memories, so those fragments, like fleeting glimpses in life, were quickly ignored by the mermaid.
Compared to “Zhu Yan”, this creature preferred being “Little Rose”.
When they huddled together watching TV, the mermaid’s tail would flick back and forth.
Shu Tang couldn’t help but turn to look at the mermaid several times, wondering: Is this completely back to normal?
She fiddled with the mermaid’s tail, and the mermaid looked at her and lifted its tail to pat her hand.
Shu Tang probably guessed what the mermaid remembered last night; she was indeed curious about the mermaid’s past, but noticed that Little Rose seemed not very pleased, so she swallowed her questions back.
Even among couples, it’s important to give each other space.
A few days ago, Shu Tang bought a book called “Couple’s Relationship Guide,” which emphasized this point, and she found it very convincing.
Now, even Shu Tang’s dreams at night followed this theme:
Last night, she dreamed of them growing old together, becoming an old lady and an old man, walking hand in hand under the sunset, her hair as white as the mermaid’s long hair.
Beside their bed, there were two sets of couple’s dental braces, and they would brush them together every morning.
Shu Tang thought this dream was incredibly romantic.
Thinking of the guide’s advice to share loving thoughts with your partner, she told the mermaid about the dream.
The mermaid, initially puzzled, then lifted her chin to check her teeth.
Such a creature could not comprehend the happiness shared through wearing dental braces, and told her a harsh reality: even if she lost all her teeth, “his” teeth would not fall out.
Strangely, Shu Tang understood.
A small flame of anger flickered in her eyes; she felt that the mermaid had insensitively ruined her romantic notion.
The mermaid hissed at her, telling her not to worry about being unable to chew when she loses all her teeth, as he had learned to cook porridge by then.
Shu Tang’s flame of anger grew stronger.
Interestingly, she might not always fully understand the mermaid’s intentions, but during their arguments, the transmission of their thoughts was incredibly accurate.
Thus, this very romantic topic quickly turned into a couple’s quarrel.
When it rained outside, they couldn’t go out to play in the hotel. They could only stay in the room watching TV, and when the rain stopped, they would walk on the streets, stepping in puddles and watching the reflections in the water.
Thus, Shu Tang maliciously stepped into the puddles, trying to splash the mermaid.
The mermaid didn’t take it to heart, just glanced at her nonchalantly, pulling her away from the puddle, pretending not to notice her pettiness.
—Only after they returned, regardless of her flailing, the tall mermaid still carried her to the bathroom.
The mermaid folded up her trouser legs and sat her on the edge of the bathtub.
Then he started running water.
Shu Tang noticed that the mermaid’s hands were really big; for example, she felt very petite in his hands. She felt the warmth of the mermaid’s fingers and instinctively wanted to retract her legs, but the mermaid’s strong hands did not let go, and he looked up and hissed at her, roughly meaning for her to behave.
So she quieted down, unable to stop staring at the mermaid’s profile.
As if feeling her gaze, the mermaid lifted his eyes and inquired, “Tang?”
She immediately withdrew her gaze.
Thus, the argument ended inexplicably.
Shu Tang believed that the old saying, “quarrel at the head of the bed and make up at the foot,” made a lot of sense.
At least for now, she was not angry at all.
**
As for the notion of her lover being terrifying, Shu Tang had no real sense of it.
Although she still went out wearing cat ears with the mermaid and attracted attention naturally when passersby looked on in horror, Shu Tang’s perception of the mermaid as a ghost story protagonist or a sinister deity remained suspended.
Because every day she touched the deity’s fishtail and braided its hair while watching TV.
The mermaid didn’t feel much, merely hissing in protest when braided into pigtails, never showing a fierce or terrifying side.
Gradually, a rumor spread in the hotel: every morning at breakfast, a female student was found with her neck twisted by a terrifying monster.
Upon hearing this, while the mermaid was massaging her neck—since she had neck pain after spending a night in its embrace—Shu Tang deemed it purely a rumor.
But soon, Shu Tang genuinely recognized some terrifying traits in the mermaid.
One night, after a check-up, she decided to conduct a psychic release session. In the quiet of the night, Shu Tang let loose a large chicken drumstick to search for the mermaid’s spirit.
At first, the drumstick didn’t recognize the mermaid’s spirit, but after much searching, it began to circle around it.
Usually, the mermaid pretended not to see the kitten.
But today, the drumstick extended a paw in shock and gestured, “Little Rose, how did you grow so big?”
Indeed, Shu Tang was astonished to find that the mermaid’s spirit had expanded to the size of half a city, resembling a sinister deity hovering over the city.
If it had been before, this monster would never have allowed her to see such a vast form of itself. Even today, the monster was cautious, worried that the kitten would be frightened like everyone else.
At that moment, the monster remained silent.
But in front of Shu Tang, it manifested a small blue rose with its spirit.
After discovering her lover’s true form, she began to swim dog-paddle style inside the mermaid’s spirit, trying to climb atop its head.
The monster noticed she was swimming tiredly, so it gave her a push.
Drumstick looked down at the city below, feeling a sense of superiority: “It’s really high up here.”
She said, “Little Rose, your spirit form looks really big.”
The monster continued its silence.
It seemed a bit somber.
But soon after she sighed that remark, she began to disperse her psychic energy.
The monster hesitated before poking her.
Drumstick immediately snapped at “him”—don’t mess around when she’s busy.
Thus, the colossal creature truly quieted down.
Shu Tang indeed felt that the current mermaid spirit form looked too daunting and frightening. However, every time she viewed things from the perspective of her spirit form, it felt like a dream, so she struggled to feel any realism.
Therefore, after waking up, she just continued to eat and sleep as usual.
Moreover, an important event was about to occur, causing Shu Tang to immediately put this aside in her mind.
The monster watched her for two days and noticed she suddenly became anxious, pacing restlessly around the house.
The monster approached to test her.
It turned out that Shu Tang was nervously checking the results of her qualification exam.
Shu Tang looked very panicked, her fingers tensely clutching the mermaid.
—Clearly, no monster is as terrifying as failing an exam.
The former only looks fierce, while the latter truly threatens one’s life.
Moreover, the hotel’s internet was poor, which made Shu Tang even more anxious.
Until Su Yin called, excitedly saying, “We both passed!”
Shu Tang then learned she had scored fifty points above the passing mark.
The monster then discovered she immediately relaxed, wasn’t fierce anymore, and even naturally leaned in to give “him” a kiss.
Shu Tang hummed a tune as she packed, “Shall we go home tomorrow?”
Thus, the monster replied, “Okay.”
—For some reason, they both had come to consider that sinister forbidden land as their little home. And in that moment of preparing to go home, both felt very relaxed.
The monster packed the suitcase, placed Shu Tang on top of it, and the two left the hotel.
Remembering that the mermaid had no communicator, they made a trip to the mall.
The person selling the communications was a male beta. He glanced over and saw one with cat ears and the other with fish ears, and even the silent, towering monster didn’t seem so terrifying anymore.
So, driven by curiosity, he asked, “How long have the two of you been together?”
Shu Tang replied, “We’ve been married for ten years.”
The monster paused.
The little liar was talking nonsense.
But the monster quite liked her nonsense, so for the first time, he amiably grunted an “mm-hmm.”
That was the third word the monster had learned.
—To respond to Shu Tang whenever she prattled on non-stop.
Because the subway was out of service, Old Wu followed them and, seeing that they were going back, immediately called to ask if they needed a ride.
Shu Tang declined.
She wanted to experience the joy of a campus romance.
So, Shu Tang rubbed her hands in anticipation before the shared bike: “Little Rose, get on, I’ll take you back.”
But obviously, Shu Tang had overlooked the beast’s size.
The mermaid watched as Shu Tang struggled to pedal the bike in place, unable to move it even a meter.
He reached out his hand—
And so, Shu Tang and the bike were both swept away.
Shu Tang: “…”