TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 23

Downstairs, Housekeeper He opened and closed his mouth several times, too shocked to get a full sentence out.

Chi Yanxing took a deep breath and waved him away, then pointed toward the door. Only then did the housekeeper leave silently.

Yu Su stood on a slightly lower stair, head level with Chi Yanxing’s chest. The pearls were still falling with sharp little clinks, but Yu Su made no more sound.

“…Yu Su,” Chi Yanxing finally spoke. “Stop crying.”

Yu Su gripped the nearby railing tightly but said nothing.

Chi Yanxing couldn’t see his expression with his head down and didn’t dare provoke him further.

“I’ll carry you back to your room, okay?”

At those words, Yu Su finally looked up. His lips were red and bitten deep. Chi Yanxing could no longer hold back — he raised a hand, pinched Yu Su’s chin gently, and said in a low voice, “Don’t bite. Let go.”

Yu Su paused and did let go slightly. Chi Yanxing had barely relaxed when a sharp pain shot through his hand.

The angry merman had turned his head and bit him hard. The moment those once-tidy teeth touched warm skin, they turned razor-sharp — blood appeared almost immediately.

Chi Yanxing, however, didn’t flinch or speak. He just stared into Yu Su’s eyes and let him vent.

After a few seconds, he asked calmly, “Feel any better?”

Yu Su’s expression was cold and nearly blank, but it carried a fierce edge Chi Yanxing had never seen before.

In that moment, he truly realized that the merman he’d brought back wasn’t weak at all. On the contrary — he’d grown up in a competitive, predatory environment. He was a natural-born hunter.

Beneath that innocent appearance was the cold-blooded savagery unique to his species, hidden until now only because no one had touched his bottom line.

Chi Yanxing sighed internally. He hadn’t even realized that his reaction was far from normal — any other person would’ve been shocked like Housekeeper He. But he had accepted it all far too quickly.

Yu Su didn’t let go. Chi Yanxing had to step down a flight of stairs, one hand being bitten, the other lifting Yu Su like a child into his arms.

The merman’s elegant nose wrinkled slightly, and his throat moved — a dangerous sign of aggression.

Chi Yanxing ignored it and walked straight up the spiral stairs to the third floor.

As he pushed open the bedroom door, Yu Su’s strength suddenly gave out. He let go of the bite, and blood flowed down from his chin to his collar.

Chi Yanxing finally freed his bitten hand, and without a word, gently laid Yu Su on the bed in a familiar position.

Then the Alpha sat down on a low stool by the bed. After a long silence, he finally spoke.

“That large pearl you saw — in my memory, I found it on the beach. Other than that, I have no recollection of it,” Chi Yanxing said slowly. “The reason I’ve kept it on the bookshelf all these years is because I always felt it was tied to something important. But I could never remember what.”

Yu Su’s lashes trembled slightly.

Chi Yanheng continued, “I don’t know what message you got from that pearl. But to me, it was just an ordinary bead. I wanted to figure out its secret, but could never find a way.”

Yu Su suddenly looked up at him. “Have you seen a merman before?”

Chi Yanxing: “…No. At least, not that I can remember.”

Yu Su said, “You’ve never seen a merman, yet you have something that belongs to one. How am I supposed to believe you, Chi Yanxing? Don’t tell me you’ve lost your memory too?”

Chi Yanheng fell silent for a long time before finally asking, “You’re saying… that pearl is from a merman?”

“Yes!” Yu Su propped himself up with one hand and pulled a small pearl from his pocket. “This one — the one pitifully shoved to the side — this is mine! The one on your bookshelf, displayed high and mighty, that one belongs to someone else! You already made a promise to another merman, but you still brought me back from the beach! If I hadn’t figured it out myself, I’d still be living as someone else’s substitute!”

Chi Yanxing raised his eyes and stared intently at Yu Su.

He looked at this angry merman, but could only understand a fraction of what he said.

“A pearl… a merman’s pearl… Then why do I remember picking it up?” he asked slowly. “You mentioned a promise — but if I really made such a promise, why have I only been to the beach twice in thirteen years?”

Yu Su took a breath. “How could you forget? Merfolk are elusive. No matter the gender, they’re all breathtakingly beautiful. Anyone who’s ever seen one would remember it for life. How could you forget? And those companion pearls — they only come off for their true partner. How could you have picked it up?”

Chi Yanxing’s brow furrowed deeply, his voice low: “I don’t know either. If you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t even know I might’ve met a merman before.”

Hearing this, Yu Su stared at him for a long moment before slowly curling his fingers around the small pearl.

He finally realized something didn’t quite add up. The human’s expression didn’t seem like he was lying. That left only one possibility—

He had truly forgotten.

He had forgotten that a mermaid once made a promise with him, and even after taking the token of that promise, he never returned for more than ten years.

For a moment, Yu Su didn’t know whether to pity that mermaid—or himself.

“How many more bites do you think it’ll take to cure you?” Yu Su suddenly asked quietly.

Chi Yanxing looked up sharply. “What do you mean?”

“I’m going home. The human world isn’t fun at all,” Yu Su tightened his grip on the small pearl in his hand. “I’m going back to the sea. That’s where I belong—”

“No.”

The word came out too suddenly, too forcefully, cutting Yu Su off mid-sentence.

When Yu Su bit him earlier, Chi Yanxing didn’t react. When questioned, he tried to respond gently. But now, his eyes darkened so sharply it felt as if, should Yu Su utter one more word about leaving, the man would completely lose control.

“…If I can’t go, then what? Are you planning to keep a fish by your side? Even if you want to, I don’t want to be kept by you anymore. Chi Yanxing, what you should do is go back to the seaside and see if you can find that mermaid you once met—not stubbornly hold onto another fish just to lie to yourself.”

Chi Yanxing said nothing, but suddenly stood up from the small stool. Yu Su’s line of sight was forced upward, catching only the man’s face cast in shadow, and his lips pressed tightly together.

Yu Su suddenly felt a wave of inexplicable anxiety.

“You—”

Before Yu Su could finish, he caught a familiar, soul-shaking scent.

Chi Yanxing’s pheromones.

He stared at the man in shock, seeing him raise a hand to his forehead.

The alpha’s pheromones had suddenly spiraled out of control—even though he had just bitten an omega earlier that afternoon.

On the edge of danger, Yu Su cautiously probed, “…Everything I said is true, Chi Yanxing. Even if you don’t want to face it, you still have to—!”

Before he could finish, the man suddenly bent down and clamped a hand over Yu Su’s mouth—his injured hand.

Yu Su had never seen the alpha look so savage. All his roiling emotions were swallowed by the sheer shock he felt in that moment.

Mouth covered, he couldn’t speak. His nose filled with the scent of deep-sea pheromones laced with blood.

Chi Yanxing… what was happening to him?

As if responding to Yu Su’s silent question, the man finally opened his mouth: “I. Don’t. Allow it.”

The alpha’s mind was clearly still fixated on the topic of Yu Su leaving.

Yu Su lifted his eyes to look at Chi Yanxing—and saw a deep, stormy navy blue swirling in the depths of his pupils.

“You’re the omega I’ve marked. Whether you’re fish or human, you’re mine, Yu Su. Even now, you still don’t seem to understand that.”

Yu Su’s throat moved slightly.

“You barged into my life headfirst. And now you’re so angry over a pearl whose owner you don’t even know, you’re ready to abandon everything. Yu Su, have all the meals I fed you been for nothing? Hmm?”

Chi Yanxing was clearly at his breaking point. Even Yu Su could feel the intense threat coming off him. And right now, Yu Su was in his human omega form—this unrestrained alpha pheromone was turning his brain to mush.

His nape began to heat up, the fresh bite mark there throbbing violently.

Chi Yanxing only pressed harder. Yu Su could even feel fresh blood seeping from the wound on his palm.

“!!!”

Was this man insane? Couldn’t he feel pain??

Yu Su didn’t have time to think. In a panic, he stuck out his tongue and gave the wound a quick lick, desperate to stop the bleeding—completely unaware that the man’s entire body suddenly stiffened.

Two seconds later, Chi Yanxing abruptly pulled his hand away. Yu Su’s tongue, stained with blood, hadn’t even retracted yet.

Then everything spiraled out of control.

The alpha, whose entire demeanor had shifted since Yu Su said he wanted to leave, suddenly lunged forward—and sealed Yu Su’s lips with a brutal kiss.

“Mm—!”

Chi. Yan. Xing!!!

He never should’ve shown that moment of concern!

Yu Su’s brows furrowed tightly, long lashes veiling his damp eyes. All he could see up close was the sharp line of the man’s nose as it brushed past his own.

Chi Yanxing kissed deeper and deeper. Yu Su instinctively tried to push him away, but his wrists were pinned down against the bed. The alpha, sensing the invitation, became even more unrestrained.

It was as if he was pouring out all the words he couldn’t say, or as if this was the only way to shut up the mouth that had driven him to the edge.

“Mm…” Yu Su managed to catch a breath. “Chi Yan—mm!”

Is this man seriously losing it??

No one knew how much time passed before the aggressive onslaught finally eased. The alpha began to kiss more gently, lightly brushing and probing—just like he would when nuzzling the omega’s gland.

Yu Su had long melted into the bed, too weak to speak.

Chi Yanxing raised his head slightly. His dark gaze bore down on Yu Su.

“Everyone around me comes and goes. They always leave with the simplest of reasons.”

“The fish I kept died one after another. I went from excited to indifferent. The only reason I kept keeping them was because I felt something was missing—until you came.”

Chi Yanxing released Yu Su’s wrist, gently rubbing the reddened skin where he’d been gripping.

“When you came, I finally felt whole again. You weren’t afraid of me. You weren’t afraid of my pheromones. Yu Su, even if you’re a mermaid, I can raise you well. You even learned to walk. By my side, you’ve never felt out of place—not for a second. We were born to be together. Neither of us can leave the other.”

Chi Yanxing had spoken for a long while, but Yu Su was still struggling to catch his breath. He felt like his soul had nearly left his body, and he couldn’t focus on a single word the man had said.

Chi Yanxing continued: “When I went to the office, you called me to come home. I rejected your request to live together, but let another creature stay under the same roof. You weren’t happy when you found out. When I took you out, you stuck to me the entire time. And now, this pearl. Yu Su, is anger the only thing in your heart? You’re angry enough to want to leave—but have you thought about why?”

Yu Su still couldn’t bring himself to speak.

“I’m your perfect match, your Alpha. Only I can make you feel desire and jealousy—and yet, you still don’t understand.” Chi Yanxing raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. “But that’s okay. I’ll teach you.”

Yu Su finally took a deep breath. Chi Yanxing knew that, judging from his personality, he was definitely gathering strength to strike back. But he stayed where he was—until:

“Chi Yanxing, are you even human? Can’t you be a little gentle? The moment you catch me, you just refuse to let go, huh?!”

“……”

“You won’t even give me a second to catch my breath! What, you think I don’t need my mouth to breathe just because we’re underwater?!”

“…………”

“And you twisted my wrist! You still haven’t paid me back for twisting it during the last marking—do you really think I’m easy to bully?!”

“………………”

Yu Su finally vented to his heart’s content and managed to pull the original topic back from his scrambled brain. “…You won’t let me go home? Fine. Then go fill up the pool. I’ll sleep there from now on. I’m done being an Omega. Let’s see how long you can keep your fish alive.”

Chi Yanxing was silent for a long time. He didn’t say yes or no—he simply turned to leave.

Yu Su lifted his head. “Hey, where are you going?”

Chi Yanxing replied in a muffled voice, “To fill the pool. To raise fish.”

Yu Su: “……”

The water in the pool gradually filled. Chi Yanxing stood silently at the poolside. Uncle He hesitated before speaking. “Sir, Mr. Yu… he…”

“He’s just a little angry.”

Judging from the situation, it wasn’t “a little”…

Uncle He gathered his courage. “Then… is Mr. Yu really… is he…”

“He’s a mermaid.” Chi Yanxing’s voice was deep and magnetic.

Now everything finally made sense—the water on the bathroom floor the night Yu Su first returned, the pearl in the kitchen left behind after their first marking, how he could command schools of fish, how he described mermaid cartoons as horror films, and how unusually clingy he’d become after that—

Chi Yanxing finally voiced his real thoughts in front of Uncle He. “So the reason he clings to me so much might be because my pheromones give him the deepest sense of safety—they smell like the deep sea.”

And not because of some perfect Alpha-Omega biological match.

Uncle He’s eyes were filled with sympathy.

“It’s okay, sir. As long as we’re genuinely good to Mr. Yu, one day, he’ll see who you really are.”

Chi Yanxing: “……”

The Alpha was quiet for a long while before finally saying, “He suspects that I made a promise to another mermaid a long time ago. That’s what he’s really mad about. But I have no way to explain it.”

Uncle He: “Huh? You’ve met another mermaid? And how did Mr. Yu find out??”

“He saw the pearl on the bookshelf. He instantly recognized it as something only mermaids have. And… I placed his little pearl next to the big one.”

Uncle He: “……”

Yeah… with Mr. Yu’s personality, he’d definitely be mad about that.

“Yu Su said mermaid companion pearls won’t leave their owners unless willingly. So—who gave me that pearl?”

Chi Yanxing was speaking to Uncle He, but his eyes weren’t looking at him. He clearly wasn’t expecting an answer.

And Uncle He stayed silent, just as expected.

A long while later, just as Chi Yanxing was about to turn and leave, Uncle He suddenly spoke.

“Sir… you should remember—the night before we left, you suddenly got up in the middle of the night and ran to the beach. If it weren’t for the patrolling bodyguards who found you…” Uncle He’s voice was heavy. “Anyway, your parents and I dragged you back. We asked you a bunch of questions, but you wouldn’t answer. You just kept mumbling about feeding the little fish.”

Chi Yanxing lowered his eyes. “Feeding… little fish?”

“Yes. The chairman and madam thought you were just sleep-talking, so they didn’t press. But I go in and out of the kitchen every day, and I noticed food was missing for several days.”

Back then, since they were by the sea, most of the food was freshly caught seafood. Uncle He cooked it up differently every day, so he remembered clearly.

As the pool continued to fill, Uncle He continued, “So after you said that just now, I got suspicious. After your father took you away, I went to the beach to look around. The private beach had clean, fine sand. It didn’t take long to find something in the shallow waters.”

Chi Yan Heng asked, “What was it?”

Uncle He slowly replied, “It was the missing food from the kitchen. But only the fish bones were left.”

Chi Yanxing’s body jolted.

“…You’re saying, when I was half-asleep and muttering about feeding the fish, I really had gone to the beach to feed something?”

“Yes… and very few fish can clean bones so thoroughly,” Uncle He said, voice tinged with memory. “So clean it didn’t seem like fish gnawed them—more like…”

Chi Yanxing finished his sentence: “More like a person ate them, right?”

Uncle He fell silent for a long time. Back then, the fact that the young master had run into the sea in the middle of the night was shocking enough. Madam had been frightened out of her mind. He hadn’t brought it up further, thinking everything was fine as long as the boy was safe.

But thinking back now—what kind of normal person would stand in the ocean and eat?

Unless… he was both man and fish. Only then could he eat in the ocean like a human would.

Chi Yanxing’s expression didn’t change.

But he knew—that was most likely the truth.

Yu Su might have been right all along. He really had seen a mermaid before. That pearl… might have been a gift of thanks for feeding them.

And yet he had no memory of it at all—like the memory had been forcibly erased.

Chi Yanxing turned and walked away. Uncle He, knowing how deep this obsession ran over the years, reminded him from behind:

“Sir, no matter what happened back then, you have to focus on who’s in front of you now.”

—

Chi Yanxing wasn’t blind to the present. His talk with Uncle He only cleared away some of the fog of the past. But what mattered most to him now—was everything between him and Yu Su.

Chi Yanxing vaguely felt that he was no longer obsessed with the strange events of his childhood like before. Whether he had truly let go, or whether it was for some other reason, even he wasn’t sure.

He just felt that nothing seemed as important as Yu Su.

While tending to the wounds on his hand in the bedroom, the sensation of a tongue brushing across them suddenly came back to him.

Soft, wet.

At first, it was just unbearable—then, it became utterly maddening.

The Alpha yanked the bandage tight in a snap.

Wen Bie truly was an authority when it came to physiological information—when a perfectly matched Alpha-Omega crossed the line, even the deepest self-control could be shattered in an instant.

That contract he had drafted looked cold and unfeeling on the surface, but every clause leaned toward protecting the vulnerable side, offering Yu Su maximum respect and safety. But the moment Yu Su’s identity was completely exposed, that agreement became entirely void.

The old restraints were no longer useful. He now needed a better framework to redefine their relationship.

Chi Yanxing gathered all his emotions and walked to the balcony, looking out at the water in the dim evening light.

Uncle He was busy in the courtyard, apparently cleaning up around the pool. When he saw Chi Yanxing, he bowed slightly in greeting. Chi Yanxing turned his head to glance at the neighboring balcony.

He could take care of a person. And fish—after all these years of experience—he could definitely take care of fish too.

Whatever Yu Su wanted, he could promise him. But leaving? That was the one thing he would never allow.

Chi Yanxing truly didn’t know anything about mermaids, but Yu Su had no time to regret having blown his cover.

“Can you believe a fish was more reckless than me? Chi Yanxing was just a kid back then and already dared to sneak to the shore to interact with a human. Wasn’t he afraid of being caught and taken away…? And he gave away his pearl! Something that important—meant to be gifted to a future partner—and he just gave it to a human, so casually…”

“And now Chi Yanxing doesn’t even remember.”

After getting “put in his place,” Yu Su had visibly calmed down. He started to think more deeply about the oddities.

“How could Chi Yanxing forget? Alphas are so smart, with excellent memories. There’s no way he’d forget such a unique memory—and he even took the token and left. That’s just not who he is…”

But he didn’t have time to think further about other fish, because Chi Yanxing came in to tell him the pool was ready—he could go in anytime…

“Play? I’m not getting in the water to play! Do you know how long I’ve been avoiding water to keep my identity hidden since I got here? That tiny bathtub barely fits my tail, and I’ve had to be super careful not to get found out…” Yu Su trailed off and suspiciously looked at Chi Yanxing. “Speaking of which… your ability to accept strange things is way better than mine… You’re almost as good at self-adjusting as I am.”

Chi Yanxing stared at Yu Su, ready at any time to act as his mobile support chair.

“You’re not curious? Not excited? Not—”

“Yu Su.”

“…What?”

“Are all mermaids as lively as you?”

Yu Su: “…”

Of course not! I’m the only one like this! If it were another fish, in this situation, they’d have slapped you across the face already, believe it or not?

He was just… just smaller in stature…

That’s why he didn’t argue with Chi Yanxing. Yu Su sneakily glanced at the bandages on Chi Yanxing’s hands. Yes, that’s it. Definitely not for any other ridiculous reason.

“If you won’t let me leave, fine. But at least put that pearl somewhere I won’t see it.”

“I’ve already put it away. You won’t see it again.” Chi Yanxing paused, then continued, “I talked with the housekeeper just now…”

Yu Su: “?”

“I may have really met a mermaid before. I even fed them for a while. That pearl most likely came from that time.”

Yu Su’s brow visibly lifted in anger. Chi Yanxing quickly added, “I’m telling you this so you don’t keep making assumptions or getting hung up on it. Besides, your kind has many abilities that humans don’t know about. Why would I forget just the mermaid part? I think you might already have a guess.”

That was Chi Yanxing’s conclusion after rational thought.

Yu Su’s raised brow shifted into a slight furrow.

“Only forget… the mermaid…”

[A’Su, if you accidentally run into a human, sing them a song—sing the hardest one I taught you. Just a few lines, and they’ll never remember your existence again.]

[But Father, can’t I play with humans?]

[Of course, my child. But only if they look at you without greed or fear.]

Yu Su suddenly understood. He looked at Chi Yanxing and asked, “Back when you were at the beach… did you ever hear a mermaid sing?”

Chi Yanxing stood at the bedside. “…Sing?”

Yu Su suddenly changed his mind. “Never mind. If you ran into an adult mermaid who meant for you to forget, how could you possibly remember hearing someone sing? The fact you made it home in one piece just means they let you go.”

Chi Yanxing truly didn’t remember. When he came to, all he had in his hand was a pearl, and the sea in front of him was calm and quiet, like nothing had ever happened there.

He only remembered standing by the sea for what felt like half the day, not knowing why he was even there. So he turned and went home, pearl in hand. But that night, he jolted awake from sleep and, like sleepwalking, got out of bed and went back to the beach to search, aimlessly.

Of course, he found nothing.

If Yu Su was right, then after meeting the young mermaid, he had probably encountered the mermaid’s parent—an adult, wary and indifferent. Simply wiping his memory had already been merciful.

Night fell, and the wind that blew through the day turned cool. Chi Yanxing reached into the pool to test the water temperature, then turned to the person beside him who was looking up at the moon and said:

“It’s ready.”

Yu Su gave a quiet “mm” in response. His voice had already returned to its usual calm:

“Chi Yanxing, why won’t you let me go back to the sea? Is it because you still need treatment?”

Chi Yanxing replied, “…No. Forget about that agreement.”

Yu Su turned to look at him. “What? You’re not doing your usual routine anymore?”

Chi Yanxing suddenly asked, “What did Wen Bie tell you?”

Yu Su shut his mouth tightly—absolutely refusing to betray his teammate.

Chi Yanxing didn’t press further. Instead, he said, “If I really agreed to let you go, you’d definitely be curled up under your blanket, secretly dropping pearls. Then Uncle He would have to help clean them up so you don’t roll over and hurt yourself in your sleep.”

Yu Su: “…”

“What nonsense?! I’d be so happy I wouldn’t even know which way was north!”

Chi Yanxing looked at him under the moonlight. “Stubborn mouth.”

Yu Su gritted his teeth. “You’re calling me stubborn? Don’t you know better than anyone just how soft my mouth can be?”

Other than his teeth being a bit hard, his mouth was soft everywhere!

Chi Yanxing paused, his gaze deepening. This merman-turned-Omega was oblivious in some ways, yet sharp as thorns in others.

His temperament was so direct, most people wouldn’t be able to handle it. But thankfully, Chi Yanxing was used to it by now.

“Yu Su.”

“What!” Yu Su huffed, puffing up in anger.

Chi Yanxing didn’t push again. He turned his gaze toward the pool. “Aren’t you going in? Weren’t you saying you wanted to sleep at the bottom?”

As expected, Yu Su exploded. “You, you, you—turn around! Don’t look at me!”

Chi Yanxing replied, “Why can’t I look? This is my private villa. Don’t worry, the whole place is mine. I won’t let anyone find out about you. But at the very least, you have to let me understand your true condition.”

Yu Su faltered slightly—somehow, that kind of rich-man declaration sounded oddly familiar.

The night breeze blew in his face. He looked at Chi Yanxing, then muttered, “Don’t be scared then. If you scream, don’t blame me if my tail slips out of control—”

“I’m not afraid of you. If I can accept you’re a merman, I can accept what you really look like.”

Chi Yanxing was slowly figuring out another way to get along with Yu Su.

Only then did Yu Su relax a bit. He stood up, took a deep breath, and thinking there was no point hiding anymore, he didn’t hesitate. Right in front of Chi Yanxing, he leapt into the pool with a splash.

At that moment, Chi Yanxing almost reached out to grab him—but fortunately, he restrained himself, silently repeating in his heart three times: This is a mermaid.

A few bubbles rose to the surface. After Yu Su went under, everything went quiet again.

Chi Yanxing rubbed his fingertips together, appearing calm as he waited.

One minute passed.

Two minutes.

The man impatiently glanced at his watch. Five minutes had passed, and Yu Su still hadn’t come up.

He leaned forward, squinting into the pool, but in the dark of night, he couldn’t see clearly.

“Yu Su?” Chi Yanxing called out cautiously.

No reply.

For a second, Chi Yanxing even began to doubt whether Yu Su was truly a merman. Just as he was about to jump in after him, a sound came not from the pool, but from the third-floor balcony.

Chi Yanxing looked up and saw his fish tank on the outer balcony suddenly bubbling wildly. The fish inside were flailing and slamming against the glass like mad, desperate to get out—but blocked by the transparent lid he had covered at night.

Back at the pool, the water began to ripple—Chi Yanxing caught something in his peripheral vision, but by the time he turned his head fully, the water had gone still again.

A strange tension tightened in his chest. Aside from those lost childhood memories, he had never seen a merman before—let alone one with whom he now shared such intimacy.

They’d been marked. They’d kissed. They had already stepped into that territory Chi Yanxing so badly wanted to explore.

Raising his voice, Chi Yanxing said, “Yu Su? If you can hear me, respond—or I’ll drain the pool right now.”

Some fish only behave when threatened. Sure enough, the moment the words left his mouth, a few bubbles rose up in front of him.

Then, along the edge of the tiled pool, a pale, slender hand appeared—its nails sharp and long.

If Chi Yanxing didn’t know Yu Su had gone in, he’d think he was seeing a ghost.

“Yu Su?”

The jade-like hand gripped the edge. It was filled with strength no ordinary Omega could possess. Yu Su must’ve done some mental prep underwater, because in the next moment, his head broke the surface with a whoosh.

His light golden hair clung wetly to his ears, and those sea-blue eyes glowed faintly in the dark. The merman moved his lips and muttered,

“It takes a process, okay? You think changing forms is that easy?”

Chi Yanxing’s eyes first landed on Yu Su’s face, but as he moved and spoke, Chi Yanxing’s gaze slowly drifted downward—and whatever he saw made his expression… difficult to describe.

He crouched down and pressed a finger to Yu Su’s lips.

“Open your mouth.”

“…What for?”

“I want to know if I was seeing things when I took you to that full fish banquet.”

Yu Su was speechless for a second. Then he gave Chi Yanxing a toothy, mischievous grin.

Perfect. The rice-grain-sized little teeth had indeed turned into rice-grain-sized sharp teeth.

“Well? Satisfied with what you see?”

Chi Yanxing: “…”

“Where did you even learn all this ridiculous nonsense?”

Yu Su replied proudly, “The company has a little internal forum, just for private venting. It’s full of AABBOO talk—I snuck in the other day. These kinds of titles? I’ve seen more than I can count!”

“…”

Chi Yanxing made a mental note—he was going to personally clean up that company’s overly hormonal atmosphere the moment he had time.

The water shimmered softly. The sound of fish slamming into the third-floor tank hadn’t stopped. Yu Su glanced up at it and muttered:

“Such uncultured little things.”

At first, Chi Yanxing thought Yu Su was cursing at him, but he quickly realized that Yu Su was just talking about those half-similar fish creatures.

The Alpha took the opportunity to glance down into the pool, trying to catch a glimpse of the thing he was most curious about.

It seemed… golden.

Yu Su caught his gaze and snapped, “Hey, hey, hey! What are you staring at?”

Chi Yanxing borrowed Yu Su’s own brand of honesty:

“Looking at your tail. I want to see if it’s beautiful.”

Yu Su sucked in a sharp breath.

Chi Yanxing had a bad feeling he’d said something wrong—that he might’ve just stirred up a hornet’s nest.

Sure enough, Yu Su slapped the pool tiles and raised his voice:

“The females who’ve chased after me line up from the southern seas all the way to the north, and you still dare question whether my tail is good-looking?”

Chi Yanxing narrowed his eyes slightly. “The females… who’ve chased you?”

Yu Su: “…”

Crap. He forgot this man had a tendency toward intense, possessive love.

“…Not like that. I mean, you just haven’t seen my tail before, that’s why you’d say something like that. Just wait!” Yu Su huffed before plunging back into the water. The villa’s pool wasn’t small, and Chi Yanxing instantly lost track of his direction.

Seeing Yu Su switch to his tail form didn’t feel all that great. Chi Yanxing didn’t like the idea that the other could disappear from sight at any time.

The Alpha quietly started thinking about how he could trick the fish out of the pool.

Meanwhile, the water around him began to shift gently, and a strange sound came from the pool floor—like something was about to break through the surface.

Chi Yanxing instinctively sharpened his gaze. Sure enough, the next second, a long, slender figure shot up from the water. The large tail connected at the waist whipped up and then crashed back down, flinging droplets everywhere under the moonlight.

Some of those drops splashed onto Chi Yanxing’s shoulder, and for a moment, his pupils locked onto that dazzling leap.

This ordinary pool had suddenly become something extraordinary—just because of that one fish.

Chi Yanxing watched Yu Su wipe the water from his face and call out from not far away:

“Well? Am I beautiful or not? Pretty or what?”

Chi Yanxing nodded, sincere:

“Very beautiful. Extremely pretty.”

The most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

Yu Su suddenly said, “Not to brag, but I’ve never seen a tail more symmetrical and good-looking than mine in the entire seabed. That little merman you met back then probably wasn’t even half as good-looking as me!”

Chi Yanxing couldn’t help a quiet laugh and replied, “You’re the best-looking… I think I even saw some white fin silk on your tail just now. Is that right?”

Yu Su’s expression turned guarded. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” Chi Yanxing said calmly. “Just curious. You know, there’s only one fish in my head—and that’s you.”

That response made Yu Su’s heart flutter with satisfaction. The frustration and hurt he’d been carrying since the afternoon finally began to ease. He lifted his chin proudly and said, “That’s called fin silk. It’s a prized courting trait for merfolk. Very rare. Bet you’ve never seen it before?”

“So, merfolk with fin silk are really sought-after under the sea, huh?”

“Of course. Like I said, the ones chasing me… uh, well, you get the idea. Figure it out yourself.” Yu Su caught himself before he said too much.

Chi Yanxing crooked a finger and—using that naturally smooth voice—started coaxing the merman:

“Little fish, come here. Don’t hang so far from the pool’s edge.”

Yu Su’s eyes shot wide open. “What did you just call me?”

The Alpha replied, “Aren’t you a merman? So I called you little fish. What’s wrong with that?”

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