Chapter 245: Adorable Little Mermaid – 2

Seeing how stubborn she was, Xie Hui simply sat down, intending to have a long talk with her.

“Why do you call yourself a little mermaid?”

“Because Dad calls me Little Mermaid.”

Although Yinyin remained hidden inside and refused to come out, she was willing to answer Xie Hui’s questions. For every sentence Xie Hui spoke, she would reply with one of her own. If there was something she truly didn’t understand, she would obediently say she didn’t know.

“But if you don’t come out and take a look now, how do you know I’m not your dad?”

“Don’t try to trick me into coming out. My dad lives at, lives at home. You just need to send me back along with my clam shell.”

Though her excessive persistence made Xie Hui feel a bit helpless, looking at it from another perspective, this firm attitude was actually quite good. At the very least, she wouldn’t be easily kidnapped by someone else.

“How are you so sure I’m not your dad?”

“The voice is different.”

After saying this, Yinyin curled up inside the clam shell and began to ignore him.

Xie Hui thought back carefully. Because the Original Host’s daily routine was completely flipped between day and night, combined with the fact that he never ate properly, his voice had been extremely raspy.

After resting for a bit, Xie Hui had bought some medicine. He hadn’t expected that because of this, the little mermaid wouldn’t recognize him.

“Maybe your dad just sounds like this now.”

The little mermaid, who had intended to stop responding to him, was so angry upon hearing this that she kicked the clam shell with her tail.

“Nonsense! My dad’s voice is way uglier than yours!”

It was clearly meant to be a disparaging comment, yet when it came out of her mouth, her tone carried a strange sense of pride.

Xie Hui coughed twice and intentionally lowered his voice, imitating the Original Host’s previous tone as he called out:

“Little Mermaid, come out and eat.”

“I thought you were a good person before, but I didn’t expect you to actually fake Dad’s voice to lie to me.”

No matter what Xie Hui said, Yinyin stayed huddled inside and refused to come out. Eventually, Xie Hui stopped rushing her and just waited silently.

Hidden inside, Yinyin struggled with herself for a long while before she really wanted to come out and look. She thought that if that person really refused to let her go, she would secretly use her tail to hop all the way back to find Dad!

A very soft sound rang out, quite noticeable in the quiet night.

Immediately after, Xie Hui saw the clam shell open a crack, and a soft light glowed from within.

A second later, the mermaid’s small head started poking out.

Yinyin carefully observed the surroundings. Only after confirming there was no one else in the water did she feel safe enough to swim out.

Just as she was about to familiarize herself with the environment, she poked her head out and saw the figure waiting there.

Scared, her body stiffened for a moment, and she instinctively wanted to run back.

“Yinyin?”

Fortunately, Xie Hui noticed in time and stood up. Once he stood, that exceptionally familiar silhouette diluted Yinyin’s sense of strangeness toward the voice. She suppressed her urge to flee and swam closer to take a careful look.

“Wow, is it really Dad? Why did your voice change?”

After saying this, Yinyin reached out her hands toward Xie Hui, and he picked her up.

Fortunately, the food mermaids ate was meant to be served at a lower temperature, so it didn’t matter that it had cooled down. He fed Yinyin some fruit puree. Watching her cheeks move as she chewed, Xie Hui restrained the urge to poke her.

Yinyin had slept for a very long time and was already starving. Once she was certain it was her father, she gradually relaxed, planning to wait until she finished eating before talking more.

At first, Xie Hui fed her, but later Yinyin seemed to find the feeding too slow. She took the spoon herself and began eating in large gulps.

Only after she was full did Yinyin think to ask her dad for the reason. When she first woke up and saw such a strange place, she thought she had gone to heaven.

After looking closely and realizing it wasn’t heaven, she started to get scared, wondering if some uncle had carried her away behind her dad’s back.

Xie Hui used a tissue to wipe her mouth clean. It wasn’t that he was being fastidious, but if it wasn’t cleaned promptly, it would easily cloud the water.

Moreover, in the Client’s memories, this little mermaid had actually been quite fond of cleanliness at the beginning.

It was only later, when the Client himself lost the will to live, that Yinyin started making do along with him.

“Dad, why did we move?”

“I didn’t like the old place anymore, Little Mermaid.”

That place had been a private asset arranged by the Federation^[1] when the Client was stationed at the border. There were too many houses, and leaving them idle was a waste. It was better to switch to one that was just as large but where Yinyin could be much more comfortable.

The little mermaid, who had been lying obediently on her father’s lap, suddenly raised her head upon hearing Xie Hui’s words. Frowning, she corrected him:

“Call me Yinyin.”

“Didn’t you say before that your name was Little Mermaid?”

“No, call me Yinyin.”

Seeing that she was about to get anxious, Xie Hui stopped teasing her and nodded in agreement.

“Alright, Yinyin.”

Finding out she hadn’t been taken by someone else and that this was her home, Yinyin gave her dad a perfunctory nuzzle before jumping into the water. She found a toy and dove right in.

Seeing Yinyin playing happily inside, Xie Hui sat there feeling somewhat relieved. Watching her jump and dive, he didn’t feel bored at all.

After a short while, when that familiar pain began to emerge in his head, Xie Hui stood up and waved to Yinyin, who was still immersed in her game of swimming through tunnels.

“Dad is a little sleepy. I’m going to go rest now, okay?”

Yinyin immediately swam to Xie Hui’s side. Only after saying goodnight did she watch him leave.

Xie Hui washed and disinfected Yinyin’s utensils before returning to the bedroom. As soon as he lay down, he couldn’t help but knit his brows tightly. The pain was so intense his body was even trembling.

In the beginning, the Client had been one of the brightest stars in the Federation and was highly valued within his family. After arriving at the border, he had achieved countless merits.

To be abandoned by his family after suffering such a setback, combined with this relentless, day-and-night pain, had transformed the once high-spirited man into a cold, world-weary shell.

Xie Hui had only known about these events through the Client’s memories before.

But now that he was experiencing it personally, this pain made him feel, for a moment, that he might not be able to endure it.

Pain spread from his head to his limbs, making even breathing a struggle. Cold sweat soon soaked through his clothes, and the agony became so intense that Xie Hui blacked out.

Even unconscious, the torment continued. Less than three minutes later, he was forced awake by the sheer stinging sensation.

This cycle repeated over and over for an unknown amount of time until Xie Hui finally managed to close his eyes for good.

Once he fell asleep this time, Xie Hui felt much more comfortable. His entire body felt as if it were soaking in warm water, allowing him to rest properly for the night.

The next day, when Xie Hui opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was a faint, strange scent. When he lifted the quilt to get up and prepare breakfast for Yinyin, he spotted two red fish scales lying next to the blanket.

Recalling how the pain had abruptly ceased the previous night and looking at these shed scales, Xie Hui walked outside.

This new home was much larger than the previous one, making it a bit difficult to find the little mermaid. It was only on his second search that Xie Hui spotted a flash of red hidden beneath a lotus leaf.

“Yinyin?”

A bubble floated to the surface of the water, but she showed no intention of coming up to speak with him.

“Did Daddy do something wrong? Why won’t Yinyin talk to me?”

The little mermaid hiding there immediately floated up in a panic upon hearing this. She leaned against the edge and looked up at Xie Hui, denying his words.

“No, I want to talk to you. It was just too hot just now, and I wanted to sleep.”

Xie Hui reached out to pick her up, but Yinyin suddenly jerked back to avoid him. She guiltily hid her hands behind her back, hanging her head and mumbling.

“Daddy, the weather is so hot today. I want to stay in the water.”

“Come here.”

Xie Hui’s expression cooled as he beckoned her. Seeing his stern face, Yinyin felt a bit frightened. After a moment’s thought, she obediently swam over.

“Daddy…”

Xie Hui picked her up and inspected her carefully, only to find that several of her scales had indeed fallen off.

At that moment, his memories of last night returned. Because his head had hurt so much, he hadn’t bothered to cover himself with anything, simply collapsing onto the bed and closing his eyes.

He had originally thought it was convenient that Yinyin could swim into every room in this new house, but now he inexplicably felt that it might not be such a good thing after all.

“Doesn’t it hurt when your scales fall off?”

“No.”

Yinyin shook her head. It really didn’t hurt anymore.

“It doesn’t matter if I don’t cover up when I sleep at night.”

“No, you must cover up.”

Xie Hui made the simple statement, and the silly little fish immediately confessed everything she had done.

“Alright, then Daddy will definitely remember to pull up the quilt before going to sleep from now on.”

“Mhm!”

Yinyin nodded. Xie Hui noticed her hair was a bit messy, so he removed her hair tie and redid it. Even with a new hairstyle, Yinyin looked beautiful.

“Go play for a while. I’ll go prepare some food for you first.”

When she was with the Client, Yinyin only got a meal every three or four days. Xie Hui had searched for information online and knew that was an unhealthy lifestyle, so he wanted to start changing things now to make her life healthy.

“Okay.”

Left to her own devices, Yinyin blew bubbles out of boredom. She gave a chirp of agreement and splashed a bit of water with her tail.

Once Xie Hui finished cooking, ensuring the meal was well-balanced and tasty, he brought it to Yinyin.

After she finished eating, he noticed a hint of exhaustion on her face and took her to her resting area.

“Daddy, if you need anything, remember to call me.”

“I will.”

Xie Hui watched her quiet, sleeping form for a while. Thinking about the remaining balance in his account, he felt that finding a job was an urgent matter.

He didn’t mind for himself, but he couldn’t let Yinyin eat the same things he did once her supplies ran out, even if the little mermaid might not mind at all.

Anything related to mermaids was expensive. Without some family wealth, one simply couldn’t afford to raise one.

In the living room, Xie Hui pondered for a long time. Finally, he took out the Original Host’s optical computer^[2] and searched for a contact.