That night, Shu Tang closed her eyes and lay in bed, waiting for the mermaid to arrive.
She pretended to be asleep, but perhaps because she had been waiting for too long, Shu Tang was on the verge of falling asleep.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of dripping water.
It was the sound of water dripping from the long hair of someone who had been out in the rain for a long time.
Shu Tang instantly perked up.
Then, she heard footsteps approaching and instinctively held her breath. She felt someone watching her in the darkness, but strangely, this gaze did not make her feel frightened.
She adjusted her breathing, trying not to let him realize she was still awake.
Shu Tang quietly listened to “his” movements, curious about what “he” intended to do.
Soon, Shu Tang felt the chilly air of the rainy night outside. Her bed shook slightly, as if some large monster had used its tail to encircle her and the bed together. Even if the other did nothing, there was a strong oppressive feeling. The small space suddenly felt even more cramped, as if even the air had become scarce.
At this distance, Shu Tang could almost hear the other’s breathing.
Cold, regular, steady.
However, nothing else happened; all returned to silence as if the monster, drenched in the heavy rain and in this dark rainy night, had found her only to come close and encircle her.
In fact, that was exactly the case. Just like the past two days, the mermaid merely encircled Shu Tang and her bed.
The mermaid’s destructive power was very significant; a slight misstep could crush her bed or other furniture.
“His” last time on Shu Tang’s bed frame had left a deep imprint, but this time “he” was much more careful, even the occasional flicking of his tail became gentle.
Because she did not reject “his” kindness, the monster slowly restrained its restlessness, learning to retract its claws and teeth, and quietly lay down beside her to sleep.
Tonight was supposed to be the same. However, Shu Tang’s feigned breathing was hardly sophisticated in front of a predator skilled in hunting. No sooner had the mermaid closed its eyes than it immediately opened its pitch-black eyes and stared at Shu Tang.
In the past, “he” would always leave before she woke up, but this was the first time Shu Tang woke up halfway through.
The mermaid could easily see through her disguise and capture her.
Yet, the fierce monster remained silent for a moment:
Like all fragile creatures, she was afraid of the mermaid’s approach, which is why she had worn protective gear yesterday.
Although the confused and dismayed mermaid had angrily warned her yesterday, “he” did not want to scare her away.
The monster stared at her for a long time.
“He” stood up without making a sound, silently hiding himself in the darkness.
…
The pretending-to-sleep Shu Tang was internally conflicted, uncertain whether to wake up now—
Shu Tang finally understood how the traces on the floor and curtains were made.
She only knew he brought her fish, but did not realize he would stay by her bed all night.
Shu Tang was not afraid, in fact, it was quite simple: For the amnesiac mermaid, the outside world was completely unfamiliar, “he” could not understand modern civilization, finding the only person he recognized and falling asleep next to her was not hard to comprehend.
Shu Tang: “He” was so large, and her dorm so small, perhaps “he” had to sit while sleeping? The floor was particularly cold.
Shu Tang also did not know why the mermaid did not wake her.
Logically, today’s discovery should have fainted her from shock, but actually, Shu Tang’s feelings were complicated.
She did not find the mermaid particularly frightening.
Rather, it was like discovering a large cat that sneaks next to humans to sleep on rainy days.
Thinking of the past two nights, “he” had slept on the floor, Shu Tang sighed.
Shu Tang thought, she had a key to the duty office, which had recently been emptied due to electrical maintenance, equipped with bedding, certainly better than spending a cold night next to her.
Thus, Shu Tang opened her eyes, intending to wake up the mermaid and take him to sleep in the duty office.
However, after sitting up, she found her bedside empty.
Shu Tang: ? Where’s my fish?
She got up and turned on the light, the floor of the dorm was damp, but Shu Tang saw no one.
Shu Tang asked into the air, “Are you there?”
There was no response.
Shu Tang thought for a moment, put on her coat, and walked toward the door, indeed seeing a long trail of water on the floor.
She followed the water trail and stopped at a corner.
—She knew he was hiding there.
Suddenly, Shu Tang realized that the mermaid probably didn’t want her to know.
Although she didn’t know why, after some thought, Shu Tang decided to kindly not expose the fact that the “little kitty” had secretly come to sleep beside her.
—After all, if she confronted him about it, the mermaid would likely leave and never return.
Shu Tang did not want to drive “him” away, especially since it was raining heavily outside, and it was very cold. Walking back to Zone 1 in this weather would be too miserable.
She turned around and went back to her dormitory.
On the other side of the wall at the corner, the tall mermaid pressed his pale lips together, hiding expressionlessly in the dark.
Shu Tang’s footsteps gradually neared, but for some reason, they did not continue forward. Instead, after a while, the footsteps gradually receded.
Throughout this, the mermaid did not make a sound, like a statue abandoned in a dark corner.
It was not until the lights in the nearby corridor went out and a long time had passed that the mermaid stiffly moved.
…
After returning, Shu Tang found an umbrella and placed it at the door. Thinking it over, she rummaged through her cupboard and took out an old quilt she had used before and placed it on the carpet.
Shu Tang turned to look at Su Yin, who was still deeply asleep, oblivious to everything. She didn’t know about this matter, but now that she knew the mermaid might appear by her bed at night, she thought it best to find a way to move out so as not to scare her roommate.
—After all, the little blue rose really was quite large.
Thinking this, she turned off the light and lay back down.
Sure enough, after a long while, Shu Tang heard sounds by her bed again.
In a drowsy haze, Shu Tang thought: This must be the little kitty!
Shu Tang had initially planned to wait for the mermaid to fall asleep before getting up to check on him, but she was so sleepy that she dozed off to the sound of the rain outside, comforted by the pleasant scent of the mermaid beside her.
The tall mermaid silently enclosed her small bed, expressionlessly watching Shu Tang’s sleeping face.
—Apart from hiding, the naturally fierce mermaid did not know how to approach her or make her feel less afraid.
He was like a dragon, helpless with his fragile treasure.
But perhaps it was because the touch of the mermaid’s tail on the ground no longer felt icy cold that he slowly noticed that the small doormat in the corner where “he” was located had been replaced with a perfectly sized large carpet, which now also had a blanket on it, instantly transforming it into a “little nest.”
The mermaid slowly tilted his head, sensing her own scent on it: warm, dry, and very pleasant.
The mermaid didn’t know the blanket was meant for covering; he just found that placing his tail on it felt just right.
“He” tested the softness with his tail; it was a bit soft, very much like the touch of Shu Tang next to him in the mermaid’s den that night, sleeping against him.
“He” flicked his tail, liking this new “nest” very much.
In the darkness, the fierce monster suddenly turned its head stiffly, belatedly realizing: this was her way of reciprocating.
The mermaid slowly approached Shu Tang, emitting a pleased sound, wanting to rub her with his tail, but unable to control his strength properly, he hesitated for a moment and instead rubbed her blanket.
Indeed, the mermaid had also noticed the apples and pills on Shu Tang’s table, but he didn’t understand what they were and simply ignored these items along with Shu Tang’s bed and table.
The night rain drizzled, and the mermaid closed his eyes.
…
In the morning, before leaving, the mermaid, as usual, left a fresh tuna, but “he” didn’t find a bowl on the table.
Shu Tang had placed the bowl in the corner by the door.
Beside the bowl was a small note with a little arrow pointing at a blue umbrella that matched the color of the mermaid’s tail.
The mermaid slowly tilted his head.
Perhaps fearing that “he” wouldn’t know how to use the umbrella, Shu Tang drew a simple diagram.
With soft silver-white hair hanging down, slender fingers somewhat clumsily grasped the blue umbrella.
Although the mermaid was very careful, he still left a handprint on the umbrella handle, but at least he did not crush the ribs of the umbrella, which was carefully opened.
Obviously, the just-awakened mermaid could not understand that this was an object made by humans to block the rain, but he knew it was a “gift.”
—She had given a gift to the monster in the darkness.
—She had accepted the monster’s kindness and responded to “him,” and now there was no turning back.
…
This morning, as tense as the past two days, the people in Zone 01 faced the same anxiety.
Over these two days, the result of urgent discussions between Chen Sheng and the director was: to temporarily seal off the Cape Sanatorium.
They did not know what 001 intended to do, and if they rashly did something to provoke him, what if he left the Cape Sanatorium? Outside was the entire city of South Island; once 001 left, all was unimaginable.
No one knew better than Chen Sheng, who had been a secretary next to a founding figure for many years, just how lethal “his” capabilities were.
After being anxious for two days, they realized that things were not as bad as imagined:
Every day, the mermaid would leave at midnight, but still returned at dawn, showing no intention of leaving the Cape Sanatorium.
Despite this, Chen Sheng and the director remained on edge every morning, only able to relax when Subject No. 001 returned to the restricted area.
Fortunately, the tense people finally saw a tall figure in the surveillance, appearing in Zone 01.
The mermaid came back on time as usual.
But everyone noticed—
The mermaid now held a blue umbrella.
When entering the lobby and riding the elevator, the mermaid held the umbrella open.
In fact, this appearance was even more startling than usual, especially the indoor use of an umbrella, which was extremely odd and more akin to something a rain-night butcher would do.
The mermaid continued to hold the umbrella all the way back to its den, placing the gift for “him” above its cage.
—Shu Tang had only taught “him” how to open an umbrella, not how to close one.
The mermaid had seen Shu Tang use this object before, as she had held the umbrella over “his” head the first time they met.
However, the mermaid did not understand the purpose of the umbrella:
On the way back just now, it rained heavily.
The mermaid held the umbrella forward, so the dripping rainwater flowed along the edge of the umbrella, pouring all over its head.