Chapter 36
Xia Yi was in a panic.
He didn’t know how to explain.
“I… I…”
He had been frightened just now, his mind a complete mess. When Ouyang asked him, he didn’t know how to answer. Should he say his abilities had disappeared? If Ouyang knew his abilities were goneāthat he could no longer identify Starstones or use mental power…
Xia Yiās lips were pale.
When he encountered sharks in the past, he would freeze in fear and forget to run. It was always his brother who bumped him and urgently told him to flee before he would move. His reactions had always been slow.
This time was the same. He was too scared. After realizing he had lost his ability, he suddenly panicked, didn’t know what to do, and even forgot to run away.
Would Ouyang be like his brother and treat him well without asking for anything in return?
Xia Yi suddenly felt afraid.
Would Ouyang abandon him because of this?
“Ouyang…” Xia Yi carefully tried to pull Ouyang’s sleeve, but his hand was slapped away.
Keda couldn’t bear seeing Xia Yi questioned like this by the Boss. It wasn’t Xia Yi’s fault. “Boss, Xia Yi was just too scared.”
Ouyang continued to stare at Xia Yi. “Speak for yourself.”
Seeing Ouyang treating him so coldly, Xia Yi thought Ouyang really minded that he had been kissed by someone else. He felt both anxious and aggrieved.
Ouyang had liked him so much for the past half-month, smiling at him and cooking him potato soup. Why had he suddenly changed?
He cried and shouted loudly, “It was you who didn’t come to protect me! It’s clearly your fault! Xia Yi did nothing wrong! Nothing wrong!”
Ouyang Xiaoliās eyes grew cold.
It seemed the little merman still didn’t understand his point. He needed to let the little merman know that in the future, when encountering such things, he shouldn’t be so scared that he forgets to run or fight back. Resistance might win a chance at survival.
He couldn’t protect him every moment.
Xia Yiās tears fell in grievance. “It was Keda who said that only by being the sister-in-law could I eat well and dress well, and Ouyang would protect me forever!”
“You didn’t protect me!”
“I don’t want to sleep with you anymore!”
The air around them suddenly went silent. At the entrance of the alley, Tang Si and Xiao Mo felt a bit awkward, feeling as if they had heard something they shouldn’t have.
They couldn’t help but clear their throats.
“Xiao Mo, the weather seems nice today. Shall we stroll around?”
“Ah, haha, yes, quite nice.”
The two walked away with their arms around each other’s shoulders, muttering, seemingly discussing what to eat later. In reality, their eyes kept darting intentionally or unintentionally toward the alley…
Xia Yi pursed his lips stubbornly and said nothing.
Ouyang Xiaoli felt a momentary ringing in his ears. For a long while, he suspected he was hearing thingsāthat it was an illusion.
His hearing gradually returned to normal.
Ouyang Xiaoliās gaze was terrifying.
He articulated word by word, “What did you say?”
Keda felt like he had caused a disaster. He had never seen the Boss look like this.
He summoned his courage to step forward. “Boss, actually, this matter was my…”
“Get lost.”
Keda knew the Boss was truly angry. He sighed inwardly, regretting his actions deeply. He couldn’t help but lightly slap his own mouth!
Blame yourself for blindly misleading people!
He had no choice but to turn and leave the alley, dragging the third wheel, Hu Lao’er, along with him like a dead dog.
Keda knew the Boss had a sense of propriety. Even if he was angry, he wouldn’t beat Xia Yi. That was why he could leave the alley with peace of mind.
He hoped Xia Yi would be obedient.
Ouyang Xiaoli stared into Xia Yiās clear eyes and asked very softly, “So you slept with me just to get me to protect you?”
Xia Yi was in a fit of anger.
He puffed out his cheeks and nodded vigorously.
Ouyang Xiaoli stumbled slightly, taking a few steps back, looking somewhat lost. He slowly lowered his head and fell silent.
“Just… for this?”
Ouyang Xiaoliās voice was slightly hoarse.
Xia Yi stopped talking.
Ouyang Xiaoli didn’t say another word. He turned and left the alley.
Xia Yi stood there in a daze.
Keda walked up to him and wiped his tears with heartache. “It’s okay.”
Xia Yiās eyes were red.
He didn’t know what he had done wrong.
The reason he wanted to be the sister-in-law was so Ouyang would protect him. Ouyang was the person who treated him best besides his brother, and he was the strongest man in the Underground City. He liked sleeping with Ouyang.
He was happy being with Ouyang.
His brother used to return to the sea every month, but this time he hadn’t returned for half a year. Xia Yi was very worried; otherwise, he wouldn’t have swum from the deep sea to the shallow waters, where he happened to be caught by Ouyang.
He wanted to find his brother as soon as possible.
But in this moment, Xia Yi suddenly felt panicked and uneasy. Ouyangās expression just now had been cold, and the way he looked at him was like looking at a stranger.
Would he not want him anymore?
He had made Ouyang angry.
Ouyang didn’t lack a merman like him. There were plenty of merfolk in the Underground City who liked Ouyang. He, Xia Yi, just had a different tail.
He could be replaced.
Xia Yi slowly squatted down, hugged his knees tightly, and sobbed. He was very sad. The thought of Ouyang not wanting him made his heart hurt so much he could hardly breathe. He cried until he was out of breath…
Keda stepped forward and hugged him.
“Brother… wuwu…” Xia Yi cried until he was dizzy and his consciousness blurred.
Keda paused.
Confusion flashed in his eyes.
Was Xia Yi calling the Boss? Calling him “Brother” between lovers was common; it was usually a way for the weaker party to act spoiled toward the stronger one.
Keda sighed. Xia Yi was so cute; how could the Boss bear to make him sad?
He gently patted Xia Yiās back and comforted him softly, “It’s okay now. The Boss was just worried about you. He was afraid you’d get hurt.”
Xia Yi looked up with teary eyes. “Really?”
Keda nodded quickly. “Of course!”
Xia Yi rubbed his red and swollen eyes, slowly stopping his crying. He followed Keda out of the alley; there were few people outside now.
He walked slowly with his head down.
Keda turned back and smiled. “Just wait and see. By the time we get home, the Boss will definitely have potato soup ready and waiting for you.”
“He loves you too much to stay mad.”
Xia Yi broke into a smile through his tears. He touched his nose a bit shyly, feeling less sad, and obediently followed behind Keda.
Keda breathed a sigh of relief.
But he never expected that he would guess the beginning but not the ending. The Boss had indeed cooked potato soup, but it wasn’t for Xia Yi. Instead, he served it to the beautiful, aloof boy on the sofa. The boy’s legs were bare, draped with a familiar black jacketāthe Boss’s jacket!
Keda hurriedly questioned the Boss with his eyes.
Ouyang Xiaoli glanced faintly at Xia Yi, clearly having no intention of explaining.
Keda instantly became anxious.
What was going on? Just an afternoon apart, and where did the Boss get this merman?! This merman didn’t look like he was from the Underground City.
Keda glared at the boy.
What kind of seductive tramp was this? The usually cold-hearted Boss actually brought him home directly. Keda grew vigilant!
If he wants to be the sister-in-law, he’ll have to step over Keda’s dead body. Otherwise, keep dreaming.
In Keda’s heart, the only sister-in-law was Xia Yi. Anyone trying to drive a wedge between the Boss and Xia Yi was Keda’s enemy! He would absolutely not stand by and watch!
Keda thought angrily.
The red-tailed merman on the sofa clearly didn’t know what was good for him. His expression was very impatient. When the man handed him a bowl of potato soup, he knocked it to the floor in disgust, his eyes full of arrogance and prejudice.
Looking high and mighty.
“Who wants this filthy food!”
The red-tailed merman scoffed with disdain.
In the Silver Sea Empire, he was the center of attention, adored and courted by many suitors. Ouyang Xiaoli cooking potato soup for him actually made him secretly smug. See, this is my charm. Even in the Underground City, men fight to please me. His pleasure reached its peak especially when he saw the little merman at the door staring at the man with red, aggrieved eyes!
He disdained stealing another merman’s man, but if a man insisted on liking him and pleasing him, that was something he couldn’t control.
Being beautiful wasn’t his fault.
Xia Yi stared blankly at Ouyang. He thought Ouyang would say indifferent words like “Only potatoes, eat it or starve” as he had to him in the beginning, but Ouyang didn’t…
Ouyang just asked in a flat tone, “Then what do you want to eat?”
The red-tailed merman snorted disdainfully.
Xia Yi slowly lowered his head. His mind went blank for a moment, and he stood there with his head bowed, silent.
Kedaās heart ached for him.
He glared fiercely at the Boss, then turned to Xia Yi and said, “Xia Yi, sleep at my house tonight. The air here is disgusting!”
Saying this, he went to hold Xia Yi’s hand, only to find Xia Yi’s palm was ice-cold.
Keda was shocked. “Why is it so cold?”
Xia Yi seemed to have lost his soul, hanging his head without speaking.
So what his brother said before was true. Humans liked merfolk only to continue their lineage. So, it didn’t matter to Ouyang if he was gone. There were so many merfolk in the Underground City who liked Ouyang, and this beautiful red-tailed merman before him could obviously bear good-looking babies for Ouyang too.
Why did he think only he could do it?
Xia Yiās eyelids drooped. He slowly reached out to take Keda’s hand. Keda’s hand was dry and warm. “Keda-gege, I want to go to your house.”
His voice was as small as a kitten’s.
Keda was stunned.
He nodded repeatedly.
For the first time in his life, he wanted to beat the Boss up. This was simply eating from the bowl while looking at the pot. What was so good about that red-tailed merman? Was he better looking than Xia Yi?!
The Boss was such a scumbag!
When Ouyang Xiaoli heard Xia Yi say he was going to Keda’s house, he didn’t think much of it. He thought the little merman was still throwing a tantrum, unaware of why he himself was angry.
Watching Xia Yiās back gradually disappear, Ouyang Xiaoli stared at the doorway in a trance. Just as he took two steps forward, the automatic door slowly closed.
Blocking his line of sight.
Ouyang Xiaoli hadn’t intentionally done anything misleading to hurt Xia Yi. He brought the red-tailed merman back because the other party was a noble of the Silver Sea Empire, and his identity was not simple.
He had been infiltrating the Silver Sea Empire for years.
Currently, he had only cracked the fourth level of the secret laboratory.
There were eight levels in total.
He planned to go to the Silver Sea Empire tomorrow to secretly investigate the red-tailed merman’s identity. Actually, he didn’t need to investigate; Ouyang Xiaoli already had a guess in mind. After all, having mixed in the Silver Sea Empire for years, he had a rough understanding of the figures among the nobility.
The red-tailed merman was very likely a merman named Suo Er, the son of a noble.
This noble elder, Suo Er’s father, happened to be the designer of the secret laboratory.
It took no effort at all.
Fate was helping him this time.
But Ouyang Xiaoliās mind was in turmoil right now. He didn’t even know why Xia Yi and Keda had suddenly left. Did he do something excessive just now?
This bowl of potato soup was originally made for Xia Yi. But after making it, he remembered that perhaps Xia Yi didn’t love potato soup; he only swallowed it reluctantly because the Underground City only had potatoes.
Just like with him. Because he was the Boss of the Underground City and had enough power to protect him, Xia Yi clung to him, naively saying he would have babies for him. Ouyang Xiaoli felt gloomy.
The Underground City only had potatoes and nutrient solution; Xia Yi eating potato soup didn’t necessarily mean he liked it.
The strongest man in the Underground City was him; Xia Yi being with him to seek asylum and acting spoiled didn’t necessarily mean he liked him.
It was the same logic.
Because there was no other choice.
That was what Ouyang Xiaoli thought.
He handed the potato soup to the red-tailed merman without thinking much in that moment.
And Xia Yi and Keda had no way of knowing that the reason Ouyang Xiaoli gave the jacket to the red-tailed merman was that he felt covering up was better than being naked.
Not covering up would cause even more misunderstanding.
When he asked the merman what he wanted to eat, there was a faint sarcasm in his tone, but perhaps only Ouyang Xiaoli himself could hear that sarcasm. The others only believed what they saw with their eyes.
Ouyang Xiaoli pursed his lips tightly.
So where exactly did he go wrong?
Xia Yi didn’t like him; being with him was just for safety. He had admitted it himself.
Ouyang Xiaoli slowly closed his eyes.
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