Chapter 37
Ouyang Xiaoli turned around and looked coldly at the red-tailed merman. “You are merely a bargaining chip in a deal with your father. If you want to starve yourself to death or resist in other extreme ways, you’re the only one who will suffer.”
The steam from the potato soup on the floor gradually dissipated. The man lowered his eyes, glanced at it, and crouched down to clean it up. Even though the man was extraordinarily handsome and built, the red-tailed merman remained furious.
“I am a noble of the Silver Sea Empire! How dare you treat me like this?!”
Ouyang Xiaoli let out a cold sneer.
He couldn’t be bothered to waste more words on this arrogant merman. After cleaning up the soup stain, he went into the basement. A moment later, he returned with a cold iron chain in his hand.
Ouyang Xiaoli wasn’t gentle as he wrapped it around the merman, then locked him in the basement.
“The audacity!”
“I absolutely won’t let you get away with this!”
The red-tailed merman was practically mad with rage. No one had ever dared to treat him this way. In the Silver Sea Empire, he was the center of attention, the one everyone pampered. His father had said he could marry a prince in the future, or at the very least a general. Even with numerous pursuers, he had always remained dismissive.
…Was this man sick in the head?!
On the other side of town, Xia Yi sat in a daze on the sofa at Keda’s house. Keda didn’t dare disturb him, afraid of making him sadder.
Xia Yi rubbed the bridge of his nose. Thinking of the scene that had just occurred, his nose felt a little sour. It turned out Ouyang wasn’t only good to him; Ouyang could be gentle to other merfolk too.
Back in the ocean, he had been carefree. Aside from the occasional shark attack, he had his brother, so he never felt lonely. Sometimes he would go ashore to sunbathe on the rocks by the beach. But ever since his brother left, he felt bored, which was why he thought of finding him.
Later, he had Ouyang, and he had Keda.
Xia Yi hadn’t felt lonely since then.
Only now did he realize that not everyone would stay with him. Even his brother forgot him after finding a lover. Ouyang would have other little merfolk, and Brother Keda…
Xia Yi’s eyes grew moist, the corners turning red as he sniffled.
Seeing Ouyang treat him differently compared to the other merman reminded him of those dark, lightless days. He felt ridiculous.
Keda couldn’t bear it and rubbed the little merman’s hair twice. Suddenly, he heard small stones hitting the window. This was common in the Underground City, but ever since he started following the Boss, no one dared to throw stones at his window. Keda furrowed his brows and stomped heavily toward the window.
He was going to curse them out so badly their own mother wouldn’t recognize them!
Pushing the window open and looking down, he saw the slave who followed the little merman every day. Keda twitched his mouth; this guy really could find them anywhere. Displeased, he slammed the window shut.
He had thought it was the Boss. He thought the Boss had come to coax the little merman back home.
Xiao Ya had been a little happy seeing the window open and was just about to speak when Keda slammed it shut the next second. Xiao Ya gritted his teeth in anger, cursing inwardly.
He had also heard about the little merman running into Hu Lao’er. The incident had spread throughout the entire Underground City. Rumor had it that the East Zone Boss’s little merman was molested by Hu Lao’er, and while Hu Lao’er got beaten badly, the East Zone Boss seemed to have discarded the little merman. Now, the other merfolk in the Underground City had hope.
Xiao Ya had overheard this while hiding in a corner, listening to a black merman speak. That black merman was acting high and mighty; despite having ordinary looks, he was surprisingly confident.
Xiao Ya secretly spat on the ground twice.
He had wanted to comfort the little fish, but he didn’t even get to see his face.
As the saying goes, get up where you fall. Not only did Xia Yi not run away, but he also returned to Ouyang’s home the very next day.
Ouyang Xiaoli showed no extra reaction.
Xia Yi gently tugged at the hem of the man’s clothes, stealing glances at the corners of the room. Not seeing where the beautiful merman had gone, he asked.
Ouyang Xiaoli paused but ignored him.
Not long after he walked into the kitchen, the little merman came over and hugged his waist, saying muffledly, “Ouyang, don’t like him, okay? Xia Yi will be good from now on and won’t make Ouyang angry.”
Ouyang Xiaoli turned around.
His eyes were cold.
He pinched Xia Yi’s chin, squeezing Xia Yi’s lips into a pout. It looked quite funny, but the atmosphere fell unexpectedly silent.
“Don’t do things that cause misunderstandings anymore.” He forcibly pried Xia Yi’s hands away, staring into his eyes. “…You don’t like me, so I won’t do things you don’t like.”
“I do like you!”
Xia Yi explained urgently.
“You don’t know what like is.” Ouyang Xiaoli smiled self-deprecatingly. “You said it yourself yesterday: you just want me to protect you. Don’t worry, I’ll send you away in a while.”
“I’m not leaving!”
Xia Yi said stubbornly.
Ouyang Xiaoli forcibly removed Xia Yi’s hands, his face utterly indifferent. Without even looking at Xia Yi, he put on his jacket and left.
For the next few days, Xia Yi pitifully tried to please the man, but the man remained extremely cold and did intimate things with him no more.
Xia Yi slept in the bed.
Ouyang Xiaoli slept on the sofa.
The line was drawn clearly between them. They were like a separated little couple. A while ago, they were so sweet they wanted to eat meals in bed, making even dogs sick with envy. Now? One was bowing and scraping, pleasing the other shamelessly, while the other left early and returned late, deliberately avoiding even seeing him.
It was indifference to the extreme.
Xia Yi would shamelessly strip naked to seduce the man, and would even deliberately walk in to pee while the man was using the bathroom…
He even boldly tried to touch, but his wrist was firmly gripped by the man, like catching the naughty hand of a mischievous child.
Xia Yi completely panicked.
One day, he finally exploded. With red eyes, he threw himself onto the man sitting on the sofa and viciously bit the man’s ear!
Ouyang Xiaoli groaned in pain.
Xia Yi’s tears fell like large beans as he let go of the man’s ear.
He couldn’t help shouting, “Are you going on a date with that pretty merman again? You’re not allowed to go! You are Xia Yi’s alone, you aren’t allowed to sleep with other merfolk! Xia Yi is scared. If Xia Yi did something wrong, Ouyang can spank Xia Yi’s butt, Ouyang can do anything…”
“Xia Yi will definitely be good from now on.”
“Wuwuwu… Ouyang, don’t like anyone else, okay? Xia Yi will be very obedient; Xia Yi will have many little babies for you.”
“Okay?”
Xia Yi leaned in carefully.
He wanted to kiss the man’s lips to please him because the man used to love kissing him. But just as he was about to make contact, the man turned his head away, his expression unchanging from start to finish.
Xia Yi stared blankly at the man.
Sitting on the man’s lap, he was at a loss. The next second, the man gently pushed him away.
Ouyang Xiaoli said indifferently, “Don’t do things like this anymore.”
Xia Yi’s eyes were red. “Why?”
“Are you afraid that pretty merman will misunderstand us?” Xia Yi sniffled.
“No.”
“It doesn’t matter, I don’t mind sleeping with you and having babies along with him… I-I can learn from him.”
Xia Yi’s tears fell.
As long as he could stay by Ouyang’s side, he was satisfied. He really didn’t mind, and he wouldn’t be jealous because Ouyang favored another merman.
He really liked Ouyang.
Ouyang Xiaoli sighed. For the first time in days, he rubbed Xia Yi’s head. “I’m not dating that merman, I won’t sleep with him, and I certainly won’t let him have babies for me.”
“Stop letting your imagination run wild.”
The emotions Xia Yi had been holding back for a long time finally collapsed at these words. He threw himself into the man’s arms and wailed.
“Ouyang…”
“I like you…”
Ouyang Xiaoli assumed Keda had taught Xia Yi to say this sentence too. He remained silent for a long time, letting Xia Yi hug his waist.
He patted Xia Yi’s back.
Waiting for the person in his arms to calm down.
Xia Yi finally cried enough.
He wiped his tears embarrassedly.
He looked up and whispered to the man, “Then are you still angry with me?”
Ouyang Xiaoli said, “I’m not angry.”
Xia Yi looked confused.
He didn’t quite understand Ouyang’s meaning.
Seeing that Xia Yi had stopped crying, Ouyang Xiaoli took two steps back to maintain distance and said, “I’m not angry at you. I asked you that question that day because I was worried about you, that’s all.”
Xia Yi looked at the man blankly.
He didn’t understand why Ouyang was suddenly standing so far away, his tone so polite, as if deliberately drawing a line between them.
Why was it like this?
Ouyang Xiaoli’s tone was calm. “I’ll have someone send you away in a while.”
Xia Yi went cold all over. In that moment, he finally realized that Ouyang really didn’t want him anymore, just because he had been kissed on the cheek by someone else.
Ouyang thought he was dirty.
For the next few days, Xia Yi became quiet. He no longer went out of his way to do things to please Ouyang; he just sat silently.
Keda was incredibly distressed.
But also helpless.
Watching Ouyang leave, Zuo Yinwan slowly walked to the door. Lacking access rights, the facial recognition issued a warning after three attempts.
Xia Yi’s guarded voice rang out.
“Who is it?”
“Do you want to know where Ouyang hid that red-tailed merman?” Zuo Yinwan asked with a tempting tone.
Xia Yi recognized Zuo Yinwan’s voice and knew she was a member of Ouyang’s team.
So he let down his guard and asked timidly, “You know?”
“Of course.” Zuo Yinwan raised an eyebrow, deliberately speaking in a breezy tone. “Every member of our team knows, including Keda, but he won’t tell you because Ouyang instructed him not to.”
Xia Yi asked softly, “Is Ouyang already with that merman?”
“Pretty much,” Zuo Yinwan smiled seductively as she watched the fish take the bait. “That merman has a stubborn personality and a hot body. He’s not easy to conquer, and men happen to have a desire to conquer. Ouyang won’t admit it to anyone until he’s succeeded.”
“Your personality is so soft; Ouyang was probably just with you for a taste of something fresh.”
“After all, you are a golden merman.”
Xia Yi hung his head and didn’t speak.
“If you don’t believe me, go to the Starstone Market at this time tomorrow. You don’t need to go inside, just hide behind the wall at the entrance…”
“You’ll understand then.”
“By the way, Ouyang probably didn’t tell you, right? A few days ago, he, Tang Si, and the others activated the starship and made a jump to a blue planet. We were lucky this time; that planet has traces of water and life, just like Ancient Earth from tens of thousands of years ago. It’s very suitable for human habitation. Ouyang named the planet db-762. I believe we’ll be immigrating before long.”
“The reason Ouyang didn’t tell you is that you aren’t in his migration plan.”
“Truly pitiful.” Zuo Yinwan deliberately looked at the merman before her with pity.
Xia Yi’s face turned pale.
His body couldn’t stop trembling.
The next day, after confirming Ouyang had left, Xia Yi opened the door and went out. Keda had taken him to the Starstone Market last time, so he remembered the way.
There were fewer people on the street than usual; everyone had probably gone to the Starstone Market to watch the excitement.
Xia Yi walked silently with his head down.
Before long, he reached the entrance of the Starstone Market and nimble hid behind the wall. The wall made him space out for a moment. He remembered kissing Ouyang here last time—Ouyang had kissed him urgently, his hands wandering, his breathing heavy.
Xia Yi’s eyes gradually turned red.
Just when Xia Yi was about to fall asleep from waiting, a familiar voice finally came from behind the wall. Xia Yi’s eyes lit up instantly!
It was Ouyang’s voice!
At first, Ouyang and Tang Si were chatting about the starship’s energy. Since they hadn’t used Xia Yi’s ability recently, very few jades had been unlocked.
Ouyang Xiaoli said faintly, “Three years is all. It’s not a very long time.”
Tang Si felt it was a pity. “It’s not a question of whether it’s three years or not. Before, we didn’t think three years was long, but Boss, after you got the treasure, didn’t we taste the sweetness…”
“But there’s no helping it. Who told the treasure to get lost? By the way, Boss, do you really not remember where the treasure was lost? Should we look again…”
Tang Si was still a bit unwilling.
Ouyang Xiaoli lowered his eyes and said, “I don’t remember.”
At this moment, Zuo Yinwan took out some jade stones she had extracted from her waist and glanced intentionally or unintentionally behind the wall.
She spoke with a hesitant tone, “Ouyang, are you… really decided on selling it?”
“Hm?” Ouyang Xiaoli looked at her.
He glanced at the jade in Zuo Yinwan’s hand, thinking she was talking about those stones, and said casually, “If you want to sell, then sell.”
Zuo Yinwan was pleasantly surprised. “You’ll listen to me?”
“Mhm.”
Ouyang Xiaoli felt baffled.
Zuo Yinwan had done some things a while ago that caused her relationship with the team to deteriorate badly. After punishing her, Ouyang Xiaoli found out that Zuo Yinwan seemed to have been in contact with the Silver Sea Empire behind the scenes. To investigate, he pretended to forgive her. Zuo Yinwan was ecstatic, secretly thinking that, sure enough, Ouyang’s interest in that little merman was just a novelty.
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