Chapter 14: Choosing to Believe
Sailuo clutched his head in pain. His golden fish tail beat anxiously against the sand, splashing fine spray. He spat out a few words intermittently, like shells washed by seawater, piecing together his memories bit by bit.
“Love… her… Lily…”
“Lily?” Gu Yunsheng caught the keyword and asked tentatively, “The nurse who gave you the suppressor injection?”
Sailuo raised his head, a glimmer of light flashing in his aqua-blue eyes. He nodded vigorously, emitting “woo-woo” sounds from his throat, like a response, but also like a painful whimper.
He tried hard to open his mouth, but could only produce a few simple syllables mixed with strange, melodious notes. “Lily… so… love…”
Hearing it was that nurse, Gu Yunsheng instantly flared up. “What bullshit love! Does that nurse look like she loves you? She is using you! Are you still not clear-headed even now?”
“No! It’s not like that!” Sailuo retorted excitedly, but due to difficulty speaking, he could only emit a few slurred syllables.
He struggled to explain, his golden fish tail beating anxiously on the sand, kicking up fine dust.
“Lily… she… had no bad intentions…” Sailuo said intermittently. “She… helped me… a lot…”
Seeing Sailuo in pain, Gu Yunsheng suppressed his anger and asked patiently, “How did she help you? Be clear.”
He paused, as if remembering something, and continued, “Also, I heard the hospital people say you had already escaped? Why did you come back during your susceptible period? Throwing yourself into the net?”
Gu Yunsheng was very puzzled about this, frowning in bewilderment.
Hearing Gu Yunsheng’s question, Sailuo’s golden fish tail kicked up sand as he curled up in pain, as if this question poked at a deep wound in his heart.
“Don’t worry, take your time.” Seeing this, Gu Yunsheng softened his tone and comforted him gently. “You are safe now. You can tell me anything. Since I could rescue you, I can help you analyze the source of the problem.”
Sailuo tried hard to calm his emotions and said brokenly, “Lily… she helped me escape… but…”
“But what?” Gu Yunsheng pressed. He vaguely felt that a merman wouldn’t return to a place where he was hurt, even during a susceptible period attack.
Sure enough, the next second, a trace of fear flashed in Sailuo’s eyes, and he said with a trembling voice, “Today they installed something on me… very painful…”
“Something?” Gu Yunsheng’s heart tightened, remembering he seemed to have heard something similar somewhere. “What did they install on you?”
Sailuo panted nervously and said intermittently, “A… metal chip, stuck tightly in my neck…” He paused in pain, his golden fish tail trembling violently. “They said… this way… I can’t… escape…”
Gu Yunsheng sucked in a breath of cold air, unable to imagine that pain, and cursed angrily, “These bastards!”
Gu Yunsheng suddenly remembered his brother Lu Jinghuan once chatting with him about how some special groups would be forcibly fitted with a device to restrict their movement and track their location.
“I went through so much trouble to get you out…” Gu Yunsheng raked his hair irritably, pacing back and forth. “Could this damn thing still be tracking us?”
He stopped abruptly, looked down at the curled-up Sailuo, his tone full of anxiety. “Then… then isn’t it only a matter of time before they find us here?”
Sailuo looked up in terror, his aqua-blue eyes full of bewilderment and helplessness. He opened his mouth but couldn’t make a sound, only shaking his head helplessly, the glaring red mark on his neck becoming more obvious.
“Sailuo, don’t be afraid… don’t be afraid…” Gu Yunsheng hurriedly squatted down and pulled Sailuo’s head into his arms, gently stroking his trembling back over and over. “I’m thinking of a way, there will definitely be a way, don’t be afraid…”
He looked at the glaring redness on Sailuo’s neck, his heart throbbing with pain, his voice trembling. “Do you trust me? Sailuo…”
Sailuo shrank back, his eyes flickering with doubt, uneasiness, and a trace of imperceptible hope…
“It’s too dangerous for you like this,” Gu Yunsheng cupped his face, his gaze firm but his tone incredibly gentle. “Trust me, Sailuo. Let me help you take this thing out, okay? Then you can return to the sea and be free…”
“But… Lily… Lily said she would escape from the hospital and come find me…” Sailuo’s eyes filled with tears, his voice choked with worry and reluctance for Lily.
“Don’t mention her to me. Sailuo, you are still too naive, too trusting of humans~” Gu Yunsheng frowned, a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone. “If she really cared about you, why would she treat you like that in the operating room just now?”
Gu Yunsheng thought again, I am also a human, and was momentarily at a loss for words. He softened his tone, “I mean to say, there are good humans and bad humans, understand? Telling you too much now, you won’t understand either.”
“Anyway, let’s talk about Lily later. I’ll perform a minor surgery first to take that thing out. You go back to the sea to heal properly, and we’ll talk about the rest later, okay?”
“But… but I promised Lily I would be with her…” Big tears rolled down Sailuo’s face. He tried desperately to hold back his cries but couldn’t help sobbing.
“Idiot! She harmed you like this, and you’re still thinking about her!” Seeing Sailuo like this, Gu Yunsheng felt even angrier, and his tone became tough.
“But…” Sailuo didn’t fully understand what Gu Yunsheng said. He wanted to say something but was forcibly interrupted.
“No buts, listen to me!” Gu Yunsheng interrupted Sailuo without room for discussion.
He lowered his head, his gaze sweeping over Sailuo’s trembling fish tail. Then he reached into his pocket, the rough fabric rubbing against his fingertips with a slight rustling sound.
He pulled out a scalpel, a roll of gauze, a bottle of alcohol, and a lighter.
The cold touch of metal reassured him a little.
Gu Yunsheng smiled self-mockingly, recalling the scene of rummaging through boxes in the storage room before he left.
At that time, he just habitually wanted to bring more things, not expecting them to come in handy now.
He secretly rejoiced; fortunately, he had this habit. Otherwise, where would he find surgical tools on this vast sea?
“Alright, Sailuo, do you trust me?” Gu Yunsheng’s voice was as gentle as seawater caressing a reef. Sailuo blinked, teardrops still hanging on his long eyelashes. He looked at the human in front of him, his gaze sweeping over the scalpel and gauze in Gu Yunsheng’s hands, his heart trembling slightly.
These things reminded him of those people in white coats in the hospital—their cold instruments, blinding lights, and the slanderous, insulting words of those medical freaks all terrified him.
However, this human’s eyes were different from theirs. There was no fierceness, no greed, not even a trace of malice. Instead, they were full of worry and tenderness, just like… the way Lily looked at him.
Unconsciously, he superimposed Gu Yunsheng and Lily’s figures, a trace of sweetness rising in his heart, only to be immediately broken by a strong contradiction.
No, wait, how can I confuse Gu Yunsheng with Lily?
The Lily in his consciousness was so gentle and kind, while this human named Gu Yunsheng, although seemingly caring about him, always had a hint of toughness and unquestionability in his tone.
Sailuo’s heart was in a mess. One moment he thought of Lily’s meticulous care, the next he remembered Gu Yunsheng’s firm eyes and undeniable tone just now.
Are all humans like this? Gentle as water one second, domineering the next?
He shook his head vigorously, trying to break free from his chaotic thoughts.
No, I can’t think nonsense anymore. I have to figure out, of these two humans, who is good and who is bad?
Or, did they both approach me with a purpose?
As a merman, accustomed to simplicity and kindness, how could he understand the complexity and fickleness of the human world?
“What are you still thinking about? There’s no time!” Seeing Sailuo not responding for a long time, Gu Yunsheng burned with anxiety, his tone becoming urgent.
“I must take that thing out of you before they find this place!” He paused, his tone becoming stern.
“Do you want them to catch you and take you back?” Hearing this, Sailuo trembled all over, a trace of fear flashing in his eyes.
“They will chop off your fish tail and drain your blood…” Gu Yunsheng raised his voice, deliberately saying that if he were caught again, he would definitely lose his life.
“Ah…” A sharp scream echoed over the sea, cutting through the originally quiet atmosphere like a sharp blade.
“Sailuo? What’s wrong?” Gu Yunsheng’s heart sank. He realized he had been too reckless and hadn’t considered that Sailuo’s emotions might collapse.
A deep regret welled up in his heart.
He reached out wanting to touch Sailuo, but worried his action would aggravate the other’s pain, so he could only stop helplessly in mid-air.
Sailuo turned a deaf ear to Gu Yunsheng’s call, as if trapped in a terrible nightmare. Terrible images kept flashing in his mind: cold scalpels, blinding lights, those people in white coats, looking at him with cold eyes like he was an experiment… “Let me go, I beg you…” He begged helplessly, his voice trembling and broken, heartbreaking to hear.
“Don’t be afraid, Sailuo. It’s okay, it’s okay…” A gentle voice rang in his ear, and those hands gently stroked his hair.
“No! Don’t! Don’t touch me!” Sailuo suddenly opened his eyes and pushed away the person in front of him in terror, only to find that standing before him was not Lily, but the human named Gu Yunsheng.
“Sailuo… what’s wrong…” Gu Yunsheng’s voice trembled, his heart feeling tightly gripped, regret gnawing at his reason like a poisonous snake.
Sailuo looked at him blankly. His usually lively eyes were now empty and dull, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, stinging Gu Yunsheng’s eyes.
“Look at me! Sailuo! I beg you, look at me!” Gu Yunsheng grabbed Sailuo’s shoulders, forcing him to make eye contact. “Don’t be afraid, I will save you, trust me…”
Gu Yunsheng’s voice was terribly hoarse, carrying a trace of pleading, a trace of despair.
“Don’t move, Sailuo. I will save you, it will be over soon…” Gu Yunsheng’s trembling fingertips touched the somewhat swollen area on Sailuo’s neck—right there, a metal device was deeply embedded in his flesh.
Disinfect, make the cut. Gu Yunsheng’s movements were resolute yet careful, completing the minor surgery right there by the sea.
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