Keda glances at the merman and whispers to the boss, “That’s a golden merman, are we really going to sell him to the Silver Sea Empire?”
“Such a pity.”
Tang Si, rowing the boat, overhears their conversation and speaks up, “Boss, I think Keda has a point.”
He continues, “A golden merman will fetch a good price, but I still think it’s a loss. Why don’t you just keep him, Boss? There are plenty of black mermen in the Underground City who are interested in you, but you don’t like them. Surely, you’ll like this golden merman?”
Ouyang Xiaoli remains silent.
Zuo Yinwan, who has been silent until now, becomes anxious, and she immediately says, “No!”
She tries to remain calm, “You can’t make such a decision so easily. Ouyang may not like this golden merman.”
“Ouyang, what do you think?”
Zuo Yinwan anxiously looks at Ouyang Xiaoli.
Xiao Mo watches the scene unfold and casually remarks, “I think it’s pretty good. If the boss marries a golden merman, our Underground City will be more prestigious than the Silver Sea Empire.”
After all, the Silver Sea Empire doesn’t have golden mermen.
Zuo Yinwan glares at him. Seeing everyone encouraging Ouyang to marry the golden merman, she feels a sense of panic and unease.
She looks at Ouyang. Ouyang’s gaze occasionally falls on the golden merman’s tail. His arms are casually crossed over his chest, his eyes deep.
“Let’s keep him for a while,” Ouyang Xiaoli lazily says under everyone’s expectant gazes.
The small boat slowly sails on the sea. The sky is dark and oppressive, misty, and the direction is unclear. Tang Si steadily rows, the gentle sound of water parting on either side of the boat.
Xiao Mo and Keda whisper.
Keda’s excitement and curiosity remain, and he occasionally glances at Xia Yi.
Xia Yi secretly observes them, then glances at the man casually leaning against the bow.
The man has a blade of dogtail grass in his mouth, staring at the sea, lost in thought, one leg bent, his posture relaxed.
He had vaguely heard them mention “Silver Sea Empire,” “Underground City,” “merman”…
This is similar to the interstellar record novel he found on the shore yesterday. It only has the first volume, not the second.
The male lead in the book is named Song Chengbing, a general in the Silver Sea Empire. The Silver Sea Empire and the Underground City have no contact; the Silver Sea Empire represents advanced civilization, and the Underground City represents lower civilization.
The Underground City is divided into four bases, and Ouyang Xiaoli is the boss of one of them. As the villain, he repeatedly uses covert methods to reach the surface, spying on the Empire’s classified code signals. His goal is to replace the Silver Sea Empire with the Underground City. He is ambitious and believes that the people of the Underground City should not live underground.
The male lead is named Xia Ni, a rare golden merman with a cold and aloof personality.
Xia Ni has a twin brother, also a golden merman, with the same name as Xia Yi.
However, this merman in the book is a vicious cannon fodder villain, with zero intelligence, only good looks. After being provoked, he competes with his brother for the male lead, fails miserably, gets enraged, and tries to seduce the villainous boss of the Underground City, ultimately getting slapped to death by the villain!
Xia Yi: “…”
He found it strange that this record novel contains his brother’s and his names, and that he is portrayed as a vicious villain.
The only ones in the sea who know him and his brother are sharks, and the Underground City and Silver Sea Empire depicted in the book are also unfamiliar.
Xia Yi is very confused and bewildered.
He cautiously glances at the man at the bow and feels the surrounding atmosphere grow colder.
He instinctively hugs himself.
The people just called the man “Boss” and “Ouyang,” and if he remembers correctly, this man is the big villain who killed him!
Xia Yi’s gaze shifts, and he makes unexpected eye contact with the only woman on the boat.
Zuo Yinwan’s cold gaze falls upon him, her eyes like vicious snakes.
Xia Yi quickly averts his gaze.
Zuo Yinwan lets out a cold laugh.
The small boat continues to gently rock. After some time, Xia Yi feels sleepy, and blurry fragments flash through his mind.
They are all about his brother.
A shark attack; his brother bravely fights the shark, urging the dazed Xia Yi to run.
Xia Yi throws a tantrum, and Xia Ni patiently reasons with him, telling him that there are many bad people in the world and not to trust strangers.
“Xiao Yi, don’t go ashore, there are many bad people there. Brother will be back soon, Xiao Yi, don’t be afraid.”
A voice echoes from the depths of his mind.
…
Xia Yi sits slumped on the deck, feeling unwell. Suddenly, he feels a faint burning sensation in his tail…
He slowly opens his eyes.
The next second, his golden tail transforms into a pair of slender and beautiful human legs.
A cry of surprise comes from Keda on the boat; even Tang Si, rowing, is stunned, forgetting to row, everyone staring at the beautiful legs.
Xia Yi anxiously retracts his legs!
A large black coat suddenly covers his legs, smelling faintly of grass. Xia Yi quietly raises his head.
The man half-kneels in front of him, carefully covering his legs. From this angle, Xia Yi can clearly see the man’s high nose bridge, thin lips, and handsome facial features… The man looks up, his eyes as dark and deep as a pool.
Xia Yi quickly averts his gaze.
“Don’t be afraid,” Ouyang Xiaoli’s gaze falls on the merman’s beautiful red lips. “A merman’s tail will temporarily disappear when they leave the water, and will reappear upon contact with water again.”
This merman is a natural one and must have always lived in the deep sea, never having been ashore. Ouyang Xiaoli explains the matter of his tail.
Xia Yi looks away, ignoring him.
“What’s your name?” Ouyang Xiaoli sits down next to the merman.
Xia Yi still doesn’t speak. After a long time, hearing no more from the man beside him, he cautiously peeks at him.
He makes eye contact with the man’s mischievous eyes.
Xia Yi’s heart thumps.
After a long time, a soft, sweet voice sounds.
“…Xia Yi.”
Ouyang Xiaoli is stunned.
“Xia Yi? So your name is Xia Yi!” Keda has been silently observing; hearing the merman’s soft voice, he’s completely charmed.
He excitedly sits next to Xia Yi, his eyes full of curiosity, “I thought you couldn’t understand us! You can understand us! Are you really a natural merman?”
Xia Yi looks at him questioningly.
“I mean…” Keda thinks for a moment, changing his approach, “Have you always lived in the sea?”
Xia Yi nods.
“Do you have a partner?” Keda slyly rubs his hands.
If not, the boss has a great chance! He has been with the boss for so many years, always hoping the boss will have a merman!
He will definitely try to bring them together!
Xia Yi warily stares at Keda, remaining silent. His brother had told him that if a human asks if you have a partner, it means they want you to have children, and that person is bad.
Keda doesn’t get the answer he wants and becomes anxious, about to ask again when he is frozen by the boss’s icy glare.
Keda is extremely frustrated.
Boss, I’m more anxious than you! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
The thought of the golden merman being sold to the Silver Sea Empire and marrying a noble makes him uneasy; it would be much better if he married the boss!
Keda sighs heavily.
Ouyang Xiaoli stares at the wet deck for a long time, lost in thought.
He suddenly stands up, walks to Tang Si, and takes the oar, “I’ll row. At your turtle speed, we won’t arrive until tomorrow.”
Tang Si: “…”
What’s wrong with the boss?
He remembers that the boss was quite leisurely on the way there, asking him to row steadily.
The boss never rushes; when leaving the Underground City, he even casually threw the obsidian to Keda, who was closest.
He radiated an aura of, “You guys sell the obsidian, I’ll play along the way.”
“Don’t ask,” seemingly aware of Tang Si’s question, Ouyang Xiaoli says without turning back, “…It’s none of your business.”
Tang Si: “…”
The boss starts rowing; the others on the boat have nothing to do for the moment, so they all look at the merman, their eyes curious and amazed.
Xia Yi feels very uncomfortable.
Fortunately, Ouyang Xiaoli’s rowing skill is several times better than Tang Si’s. Not only is he steady, but he’s also fast. The journey, which should have taken until the next morning, is completed by dawn. The shore is quiet at this time.
Ouyang Xiaoli throws down the oar.
He returns, wearing heavy, black Martin boots.
Xia Yi is extremely sleepy; he dozes off, his head tilted, when he suddenly hears footsteps. He immediately opens his eyes!
The black Martin boots stop in front of him.
The fishing net that bound him is carefully removed by a hand with distinct knuckles.
Before Xia Yi can raise his head, a strong arm passes under his knees, gently lifting him.
Xia Yi gasps.
Instinctively hugging the man’s neck.
The large black coat is still over him; the man tucks it around him.
Ouyang Xiaoli walks ashore calmly; he knows that a newly transformed merman is not used to walking on two legs, so he carries him.
Zuo Yinwan follows, her eyes full of jealousy.
Only Keda is excited, almost beaming, cheerfully following behind, occasionally giggling.
Ouyang Xiaoli stops, turns, and looks down at Keda, “If you fart again, I’ll throw you into the sea to feed the sharks.”
Keda: “…”
He puts on a bitter face. The boss says his laughter sounds like a fart; that’s too much!
Tang Si and Xiao Mo can’t help but laugh out loud. Keda turns around and glares at them, then quickly catches up with the boss!
Zuo Yinwan clenches her fists secretly.
She has a strong feeling that this golden merman will steal Ouyang away, even though Ouyang hasn’t accepted Keda’s suggestion yet.
But he’s a natural golden merman!
Who can resist the temptation?
Ouyang Xiaoli ignores the others behind him, gently lowering his head to look at the merman in his arms. If he isn’t mistaken, when he mentioned sharks, the merman trembled slightly, seemingly afraid.
Author’s Note: Ouyang Xiaoli: A little anxious. I don’t know if my wife has a partner…
