Chapter 87: I Love Slacking Off
Due to a certain leader’s repeated defeats, Tao Ning had accumulated quite a few small pearls, making a rustling sound as she walked.
When people asked about the sound, Tao Ning would proudly announce: “These are pearls the Mermaid gave me. She gives me so many every day.”
Only 520, knowing the truth, thought: […]
By putting herself in the line of fire and becoming a target for the Mermaid, of course there would be many pearls.
If the Mermaid knew you were making up stories, she’d be so angry her scales would explode.
But they didn’t know, and expressed envy at Tao Ning’s good fortune: “Really? I also want to receive pearls from the Mermaid.”
Tao Ning smiled and nodded: “It’s true, but the Mermaid doesn’t give pearls easily.”
520 silently added: Of course, you’re the only one she consistently misses. The competitive Mermaid is now completely focused on you.
An He said regretfully, “That’s true. You’re taking care of her personally, so you’ve gained her trust.”
Thus, everyone on the ship knew that Zang Yuzhu had gained the Mermaid’s trust, and the Mermaid frequently gave her pearls.
Those who had wanted to see her become a laughingstock were dumbfounded. Unexpectedly, Zang Yuzhu, who was incompetent at everything else, was actually good at raising fish.
It was said that the Mermaid engaged in friendly exchanges with Zang Yuzhu every day.
Occasionally bumping into them, Song Man couldn’t help but say to Gu Yuan, “You shouldn’t have let her study in the Command Department. With her affinity for Mermaids, it wouldn’t be difficult for her to enter the Research Institute.”
Gu Yuan: “…” Who knew this would happen?
Meanwhile, Callista was excitedly devising new tactics. She swam along the edge of the pool, only her eyes visible above the water.
Her bright blue eyes reflected the busy figure pacing back and forth.
Callista, undeterred by her repeated failures, found even greater amusement in them.
She had thought the journey to find her people would be boring, but unexpectedly, there was a human to play with her.
Based on Mermaid age, Callista, at just over a hundred years old, was barely an adult, very young, and at an age full of playful energy.
In the past, under the sea, she had to maintain the demeanor of a leader, earning the respect of her subjects. She never played around and had to be dignified and composed.
Now, with someone to play with, it instantly captured all her attention.
Thinking this, Callista stealthily prepared to surface.
With a splash, her upper body emerged, a pearl flicked from her fingertips.
The person cutting fruit didn’t even turn around, reaching out to catch the incoming pearl and skillfully putting it into her pocket.
Callista: “…”
Tao Ning turned around.
Callista sullenly sank back down, only her eyes remaining above the water, blowing bubbles.
Tao Ning: “…” Holding back laughter was quite difficult.
To avoid completely offending the proud leader, Tao Ning held back, walked over, and placed the prepared fruit platter in front of her.
Colorful and diverse, regardless of the taste, the presentation was impeccable.
Tao Ning said, “You can start eating. Put aside anything you don’t like, and I’ll clean it up.”
Whether Callista understood or not, Tao Ning never gave up on establishing communication with her.
Mermaids were wary and proud, responding only to gentle approaches, unwilling to even speak to those they disliked, even preferring death to interaction.
This was also why Callista was particularly tolerant of Tao Ning. Her subjects would bring her offerings in heaps, often with bites taken out by other fish, or partially rotten.
Unlike this human, who only selected the best for her and arranged them beautifully.
Also, because the decorative silver fork looked pretty, Callista learned to use it to eat fruit, a socialization achievement that shocked the Research Institute.
So socialization training could be this simple?
Tao Ning was unaware of the feat she had accomplished in the eyes of the Research Institute. She sat cross-legged, browsing the Starnet on her smart device while observing the Mermaid eating.
Mealtime was a truce between them—a truce unilaterally declared by Callista.
The scene had a strange harmony, especially with both individuals being exceptionally beautiful. The observer, sometimes switching to the surveillance feed, would often think she was watching a movie.
Callista realized that pearl attacks were no longer effective against this cunning human, so she decided to change tactics.
Tao Ning soon noticed that the Mermaid no longer ambushed her with pearls when she passed by. She had switched to water attacks.
Tao Ning, arriving dry every day and occasionally leaving with wet pants: “…”
520 sometimes couldn’t understand what these two stubborn individuals were trying to do.
It wouldn’t hurt to let the Mermaid splash her, would it?
But Tao Ning refused, dodging every splash. 520 gave up, thinking these two deserved each other.
The observer occasionally monitoring the Mermaid’s living conditions also thought: “…”
This is so frustrating to watch.
A stubborn keeper caring for a stubborn Mermaid, neither able to communicate effectively, yet having countless silent battles.
The Mermaid, with her superior physical strength, was being trained to be even more cunning, learning various tricks and pranks.
The observer was already imagining what kind of Mermaid they would be facing when the ship arrived at the Research Institute, the thought making her scalp tingle.
Fortunately, Tao Ning’s approach, in the eyes of the Research Institute, effectively maintained the Mermaid’s vitality. They didn’t stop her and even approved, gradually reducing the monitoring of the Mermaid’s daily life.
Finally, Callista realized that water attacks were also ineffective against Tao Ning, so she abandoned that tactic.
She started thinking of other methods, having long forgotten about the forehead flick, now only remembering that she had to win.
Tao Ning quickly noticed the change in strategy, thinking that the little Mermaid was quite resourceful.
Soon, Tao Ning discovered the Mermaid’s new tactic.
As she was passing by, the Mermaid suddenly grabbed her pants leg, then her ankle, her red lips curving into a triumphant smile as she pulled.
Tao Ning glanced at the hand on her ankle, then her center of gravity shifted, and she fell into the water.
Amidst 520’s panicked cries of “Eh, eh, eh, be careful!”, a splash echoed as the water sprayed the shore.
Callista, with a smug smile, retreated to the deeper part of the pool, looking up to see a figure falling backwards into the water, arms outstretched, her tied-up hair coming loose.
The figure seemed to float in mid-air, not struggling at all.
After watching for a few moments, Callista felt something was wrong. Why was this human just sinking instead of swimming up?
Realizing something was amiss, Callista swam over, her tail fin shimmering with dreamy colors in the water.
She approached the figure, whose eyes were tightly closed, sinking deeper and deeper, as if asleep, her expression peaceful, undisturbed by the flowing water.
The figure sank quickly, lying quietly on the bottom, landing on Callista’s bed of shells, like a sleeping beauty of the sea.
She seemed to fit quite well on her bed… Wait! That wasn’t the point!
Why wasn’t this cunning human opening her eyes!
The pondering Mermaid’s expression became serious as she considered a possibility.
Callista: “…” No way, I heard some humans can’t swim.
Could this be one of those humans who can’t swim?
Truly afraid of the human dying on her bed, Callista spread her arms and swam over, her long hair billowing in the water as she gently landed beside the bed.
She reached out a webbed claw to touch the person on the shell bed, but noticed her nails were a bit long, so she retracted them slightly.
After observing, she retracted them a bit more, until they wouldn’t cause any scratches, then gently placed her hand on the human’s shoulder and shook her.
To Callista, humans were incredibly fragile, as easily torn as seawater.
However, the other party didn’t react at all, sleeping peacefully.
Seeing that no amount of teasing elicited a response, Callista finally panicked, swimming around the shell bed in a fluster.
Suddenly remembering that humans couldn’t stay in water for too long, she quickly carried the person upwards, thinking that pushing her ashore might help.
Grabbing the human’s shoulders with both hands, she felt this position wasn’t very effective, so she switched to one arm around the shoulder and the other around the waist, flicking her tail to quickly approach the surface.
Pushing the person onto the surface with all her might, Callista felt her tail working hard. After placing her on the shore, she felt the position was awkward, so she flipped the person over.
With a plop, Tao Ning was now face up, a few strands of hair clinging to her cheek, giving her a strangely vulnerable appearance.
Then what? What should she do next?
Callista pondered over the face for a few seconds. Was this human’s face this pale before falling into the water?
Racking her brains, the Mermaid couldn’t remember, so she assumed the human had always been this pale.
Still no reaction after being brought ashore. Callista recalled a scene she had witnessed before coming ashore, where a person fell into the deep sea and was thrown back to the shore by a wave from her tail. She didn’t allow trash in her territory.
After that person was rescued, many two-legged creatures surrounded him, chattering in words she didn’t understand. Then one of them pressed on his stomach, making the person lying on the beach spit out a lot of water. The hand pressing on his stomach continued, then they leaned down and kissed him.
Then the person woke up and was carried away by a group of two-legged creatures.
Her deep, contemplative gaze fell on Tao Ning. Callista couldn’t let this human die just like that.
She touched Tao Ning’s stomach, finding it very flat, unlike the scene she had witnessed before.
The Mermaid had no first-aid knowledge, simply assuming she could skip a step and proceed to the next.
She carefully positioned the person on the shore like she had seen before, observing for a few moments, feeling it was about right.
Then what?
Her gaze slowly lowered, her blue eyes landing on the slightly pursed, pale lips. From Callista’s perspective, they were quite beautiful, just too pale.
Would she die if left unattended?
Placing her hands on the shore, her ice-blue tail emerged from the water. Before Callista could finish thinking, her body acted before her mind, and she sat on the shore.
Looking down, her dazzling ice-blue tail rested in the water, the thin, gauze-like fin rippling. The Mermaid, with her platinum blonde hair, stared intently at the person lying on the shore.
Leaning down, Callista thought: This is part of the plan to find my people. After all, it would be troublesome if this human actually died by my pool.
She didn’t understand human laws, but if anyone harmed her people, she would pursue them to the ends of the earth for revenge.
Callista was about to bite her tongue and feed the human her blood, which would prevent her from fearing the sea upon waking up.
This was an innate ability of Mermaids, now bestowed upon this human.
Her cool lips touched the other’s. Compared to a Mermaid, a creature of the sea, human lips were much warmer.
Callista gently rubbed her lips against the other’s, afraid that using her hands to open the human’s mouth would dislocate her jaw. After a moment of silence, she used her tongue to pry open Tao Ning’s lips.
This time she succeeded. The tightly closed lips parted slightly. The next hurdle was the teeth.
But whether the teeth opened or not didn’t matter anymore. Callista was about to bite her tongue and transfer her blood.
Suddenly, a warm hand gripped the back of her neck, pressing their lips even closer.
Callista’s eyes widened slightly. The person, whose eyes were still closed, used her tongue to pry open Callista’s lips in return.
Like a bold bandit, she barged in, meticulously searching every corner before leaving, satisfied.
The Mermaid, who had rescued the human, thought she had saved a shy sleeping beauty, but this sleeping beauty wasn’t shy at all, instead taking advantage of the Mermaid.
Tao Ning opened her eyes slightly, meeting the ocean-like blue eyes. After taking a deep breath, she regained her strength.
Chuckling softly, Tao Ning said, “That’s not how you do CPR. But neither is this.”
Callista: “…”
She sat up in shock, her blue eyes reflecting the other person’s face. She clearly saw the other’s lips, slightly swollen and red.
Perhaps hers were too, but Callista avoided Tao Ning’s eyes, instinctively looking away.
She quickly remembered what she wanted to say, almost forgetting everything when she met the other’s newly opened eyes.
Callista: “You’re alright? When did you wake up? You tricked me?”
Tao Ning: “…”
520, having witnessed the heavily censored scene: [Oh dear. ]
On the other side of the monitor, the observer, holding a coffee mug, said to her colleague, “It’s about time. Let’s check on the Mermaid.”
“I’ve prepared today’s record, let’s begin.”
Switching to the feed, the Mermaid’s scolding clearly came through the audio monitor.
The two were stunned: “…” They couldn’t believe their ears.
The Mermaid’s naturally gifted voice made even her scolding sound like singing, melodious and captivating.
How could they tell it was scolding?
Because the Mermaid’s tone was urgent, her brows furrowed, clearly indicating anger.
The observer behind the monitor: “…”
Honestly, in all her years, the amount of Mermaid speech recordings she heard today surpassed the total she had heard before by several times.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, hearing a Mermaid curse.
Thinking this, the observer and her colleague exchanged glances, looking at the soaking wet person in the pool with admiration.
It had to be this person, born with the talent to infuriate others.
On the other side of the screen, Tao Ning endured the scolding quietly.
Actually, Mermaids didn’t know how to curse. Callista was someone who preferred actions to words. She was simply accusing Tao Ning of deceiving her, and she had truly been frightened.
Tao Ning listened quietly, offering no rebuttal. After she finished, Tao Ning asked, “What’s your name?”
Callista subconsciously answered with her name, then realized what she had just heard, looking at Tao Ning with surprise.
Just now, this human seemed to have spoken Mermaid language.
Tao Ning, supporting herself with her hands, slowly sat up, smiling slightly: “I just choked on some water. I didn’t wake up late on purpose. I’m still recovering from a serious injury, and my physical condition isn’t very good. I was accidentally knocked unconscious by the water, it wasn’t intentional.”
These words were all in Mermaid language, occasionally a bit halting, with a few incorrect word choices, but undoubtedly Mermaid language.
Unlike the clumsy and unpleasant imitations of other humans, this Mermaid language was near perfect.
Not only Callista, but 520, which had been diligently recording Mermaid language, could finally understand it, and couldn’t help but make a disrespectful comment.
520 said faintly: [Although the screen is full of mosaics, if you weren’t intentional, who was?]
Taking advantage of Callista not being able to hear 520, Tao Ning said to the Mermaid in front of her, “Your name is Callista. It’s a beautiful name. In exchange, I’ll tell you how to pronounce my name in Mermaid language.”
Callista blinked in confusion: “No, you’ve always been able to speak Mermaid language?”
Tao Ning: “No, I just learned it.”
Callista: “Where did you learn it from?”
After a moment of silence, Tao Ning said, “From you.”
Callista: “…”
She had to admit, this human’s appearance did meet her aesthetic standards.
But in some aspects, this human also knew exactly how to annoy her.
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