One evening, an unwelcome friend visited Jiang Chen’s family. He Ze, a female young mermaid, was from Jiang Chen’s friend’s family. In her childhood, she used to cling to Jiang Qingyue, but due to the pressure of being a female mermaid in the Jiang tribe, she often got rejected by Jiang Qingyue, who had many chores to do.
He Ze felt quite aggrieved.
Since she was excellent in various aspects, Jiang Chen treated her like a prospective daughter-in-law. Even after being expelled from the tribe along with Jiang Chen’s family, He Ze still often brought fish to Jiang Chen’s family. Although Jiang Chen also gave her some meat and fur from the animals, mermaids did not value these things much. He Ze believed that Jiang Chen’s family had become almost human because they had brought a human child, and their conditions were much worse than her family’s.
In her eyes, Jiang Qingyue should be friends with her. Why did he always stick to the human child?
So, when Jiang Chen suggested, “Why don’t you play together?” He Ze followed Ren Shuhan and Jiang Qingyue gloomily, swimming beside him, occasionally poking Jiang Qingyue’s tail.
“I also want to hug Qingqing,” she said pitifully, “Can you let me hug him for a while?”
However, Jiang Qingyue did not let go of Ren Shuhan, being cautious. “You don’t have legs. I don’t need you to hug him in the water.”
Ren Shuhan then held Jiang Qingyue and moved away from the creek.
He Ze: “……QAQ!”
However, after two years, Ren Shuhan changed.
His voice began to deepen, the Adam’s apple became more prominent, and his muscles became more defined. Once, when He Ze hadn’t visited Jiang Chen’s family for a long time, she happened to come over and was astonished to find that Ren Shuhan was now half a head taller than her.
In the Jiang tribe, female young mermaids were always a bit larger than their male counterparts. Growing up, they would be slightly taller than male mermaids. Besides, He Ze was older than Ren Shuhan and Jiang Qingyue. Originally, when standing on the shore with her tail raised, she was used to looking down at them. Now, she found that she wasn’t taller than Ren Shuhan when she jumped on the shore.
Ren Shuhan just watched her jumping with her fish tail, shaking his head with a smile. He Ze couldn’t help but blush.
Suddenly, she understood why Jiang Qingyue liked humans.
Beautiful appearances might be common among mermaids, but Ren Shuhan’s special temperament made him appear calm, gentle, and nonchalant. His handsome features gave off a sharp impression. The combination of these distinct qualities created a visually striking effect.
“We… we’re leaving,” Jiang Qingyue immediately became alert. He patted Ren Shuhan’s shoulder and said, “Today, we’re going to the mountains, not playing in the water.”
So, Ren Shuhan carried him away, leaving He Ze with only her tall and straight back.
Jiang Qingyue was still twisting in Ren Shuhan’s arms, with his upper body hanging down on his back. He tilted his head, using his long, black hair and arm to cover Ren Shuhan’s back muscles, not giving He Ze a chance to see anything.
He Ze: “……”
Qingqing, you’ve changed! Back then, you were so cute, even when you were impatient, you wouldn’t act so obvious about it. But mermaids have always been bold, and He Ze finally understood. She had changed her mind, no matter what Jiang Qingyue thought. She caught up and asked, “Hanhan, do you like any other mermaid?”
Ren Shuhan blushed and his heart raced, but he didn’t answer. He quickened his pace up the mountain.
Since then, Ren Shuhan became more cautious about avoiding other mermaids.
He was afraid of being asked again and didn’t know how to respond.
Since childhood, he liked Jiang Qingyue, but Zheng Zhilai had deliberately talked to him about this, hoping he would interact more with other mermaids. He didn’t want Ren Shuhan to confuse familial love with other emotions. Besides, mermaids were different; they valued loyalty and once a partner was confirmed, it would never change.
“You need to understand, your future is in the interstellar galaxy, and there are many possibilities,” Zheng Zhilai said. “But Qingqing’s home is only here, in this ocean.”
If Ren Shuhan were still young, he would definitely blurt out that he would stay here with Jiang Qingyue forever. But now he had many other things to think of.
In the interstellar alliance, those who tried to murder him were still at large. On the other side of the sea, according to the system, his parents had explored nearly half of the planet. Although they didn’t know he was here, they would arrive soon.
From Ren Shuhan’s perspective, he couldn’t let Jiang Chen’s family live in seclusion in the mountains forever.
Even though he wanted to hide Jiang Qingyue in the cave by the hot spring, where only he could see, he wanted to take him to see the world outside that he remembered – colorful, novel, and interesting. His little mermaid would surely show a surprised and happy expression.
He felt that he could probably never get tired of that expression for the rest of his life.
So, before confessing, Ren Shuhan had to find a way to make Jiang Chen and Zheng Zhilai trust him.
“I haven’t seen Qingqing and Shuhan for a long time. These are for you.”
Now, He Ze was watching them with wide eyes, devoutly presenting the small dried fish she had saved for a long time. Tentatively, she asked, “I’ll be going to the deep sea in a few days. Which one of you, um, who… can wait for me to come back?”
This was the way all the heads of nearby tribes expressed love.
They would go to the deep sea to find a special kind of pearl, a local specialty that could glow in the dark. They would offer it to their beloved to prove their ability to venture into the deep sea.
Of course, there could be dangers, but female mermaids from the Hu family were generally stronger than female mermaids from the Jiang family. They usually presented two luminous pearls, while Jiang’s only had one. However, in Jiang Chen’s family, there were already two, gifts she had given to Zheng Zhilai. It was no wonder they attracted jealousy.
But Zheng Zhilai had taught Ren Shuhan, “Don’t do dangerous things to prove something. Your safety is the best gift for someone who loves you. When Jiang Chen went out to sea without telling me, I ignored her for several months when she returned.”
Ren Shuhan agreed on the surface, but being a teenager, he still yearned for a successful future and to take Jiang Qingyue on an interstellar journey.
“If you two don’t want to be separated,” He Ze said again, “I can find two pearls like Jiang Chen’s for you!”
Jiang Chen smacked the back of her head. “What nonsense! You can only choose one!”
“I know, but neither of them agrees.”
He Ze scratched her head in distress.
She had just come of age not long ago, and there were quite a few male mermaids in the tribe who displayed their fish tails to her. However, she found that none of them compared to the two from Jiang Chen’s family. So, she decided to give it a try. What if the two of them had quarreled recently?
After all, once you agree, you can’t go back.
In the future, once they do the deed, the partner of a mermaid will be influenced by a magical substance, an information hormone that binds them for a lifetime. Ren Shuhan had read a lot of the system’s designated materials over the years, and to be honest, he was looking forward to it.
Jiang Qingyue was about to come of age.
At that time, Jiang Qingyue’s fish tail would transform into legs, which would surely be beautiful. Every time Ren Shuhan thought about it, he quickly diverted his attention to avoid embarrassment in public.
“Don’t say anything yet,” Jiang Chen said. “Now that you’ve grown up, how can you not choose a partner?”
Jiang Chen believed that no matter which offspring from her family ended up being chosen, being with He Ze would be a good choice.
As for the feelings between the two offspring…
She had also figured it out a bit, but who told them not to confess?
Zheng Zhilai and Jiang Chen had discussed it. Zheng Zhilai felt that Ren Shuhan was not an ordinary person. He was afraid that Qingqing would be wronged in the future, but Jiang Chen only said, “But love is a matter of the heart. Who can interfere?”
When Jiang Chen pursued Zheng Zhilai back then, her rivals were relatively weak. Mainly because the other family’s female mermaids had elders to stop them.
They all said that what Zheng Zhilai learned and taught was useless – activities like weaving nets and farming were average, impractical. Even if they were good-looking, they weren’t suitable matches. So, the other female mermaids were hesitant.
Jiang Chen was very fortunate that she could pursue love without any worries. So, she was willing to help the two offspring.
“Stop talking about it,” Jiang Qingyue poked at his food, saying to He Ze, “I won’t agree anyway. I’ve said it several times.”
“Me too.”
Ren Shuhan quietly helped Jiang Qingyue with the food and pushed He Ze’s small dried fish back.
“I’m not giving up,” He Ze held onto the small dried fish and refused to take it back. “If you two don’t find a partner for a day, I won’t give up for a day!”
“Then I won’t find one all the time. Will you not give up all the time?” Jiang Qingyue glanced at Ren Shuhan, feeling that he couldn’t delay any longer. He needed to quickly win him over. To mislead He Ze for two days, he should try to win his love as soon as possible.
Jiang Qingyue had planned it for a long time. He wanted to secretly go to the deep sea.
His physique wasn’t inferior to his mother’s, and he would definitely find the proposal pearl, move his “brother”, and then have him accept himself. He would stay with him forever.
“You’re also talking nonsense now,” Jiang Chen still thought of Jiang Qingyue as a little mermaid, scolding him. “How can you not find a partner forever? Ask your brother if everyone has to find a partner when they grow up?”
Ren Shuhan touched his nose. “Actually, not all humans need to find partners. If Qingqing doesn’t find one, I won’t find one either. It’s good to accompany him.”
“…You two!” Jiang Chen laughed at them, teasing, “Then why don’t you become partners?”
Zheng Zhilai quickly persuaded, “Hey, this kind of thing can’t be said casually, they are still young, can’t be rushed.”
He Ze watched as Jiang Qingyue’s face turned red and said anxiously, “Qingqing, really? Do you want to marry Shuhan?”
Jiang Qingyue quickly finished the food, turned around, and jumped into the pool in front of the house, blushing and running away.
He Ze quickly looked at Ren Shuhan. “Shuhan, you…”
“I’ll go find him.” Ren Shuhan turned and left, running towards the mountain.
Oh my, this is the first time we’re getting a “love rival” that isn’t the braind*ad original protag! I find her cute, but she has 0 chance lol
