Lin Feng swam freely through the water. She loved it here. Glancing back, she saw Zhao Shuqing still waiting in place, which lifted her spirits. She circled her twice before heading toward the deeper waters.
Zhao Shuqing wanted to warn her, but she couldn’t speak underwater. And Lin Feng wouldn’t understand sign language anyway. So she hurriedly kicked her flippers and followed.
But Lin Feng was fast. On land, it wasn’t obvious, but in the water, that massive tail came into its own. A casual flick propelled her forward like lightning—whoosh!—shooting her far ahead.
Not to mention Zhao Shuqing’s two legs—even eight legs probably couldn’t keep up.
Lin Feng was having a blast when she looked back and realized she couldn’t see Zhao Shuqing anymore. But she could sense her position underwater. Just as she was about to swim over, she felt a massive creature approaching.
Turning around, Lin Feng came face-to-face with the enormous figure.
A black-and-white orca was staring at this “little mermaid” in front of it. Lin Feng was no small fry in the water, but next to the orca, she looked tiny—smaller than its nostril.
The orca exhaled a small ripple of water and floated quietly in place.
Lin Feng listened carefully for a moment. Her brows slowly furrowed, and eventually, her eyes narrowed. With a flick of her tail, she charged straight at it.
By the time Zhao Shuqing caught up, she saw Lin Feng locked in combat with the oceanarium’s only orca. She nearly choked on her breath in fright. In the end, she swam up to alert the other staff, and only then did they manage to separate Lin Feng and the orca.
Afterward, Zhao Shuqing asked Lin Feng why she had picked a fight with the orca.
Lin Feng sat in the pool, hemming and hawing for ages before finally coming up with the words: “It insulted me.”
Zhao Shuqing: “?”
First time she’d heard of an orca trash-talking.
But considering they were both ocean creatures, maybe the orca really had said something rude. Zhao Shuqing sighed and asked, “What did it say?”
Lin Feng puffed out her cheeks, looking like a bloated pufferfish. With a mix of words and gestures, she explained to Zhao Shuqing at length until the researcher finally understood.
The orca had been rescued by the oceanarium a few years back. Back then, it was just a calf with injuries that prevented it from returning to the wild, so it stayed. It had never seen a mermaid before—today was its first.
The moment they met, the orca had mocked Lin Feng as a puny little thing, all flashy and no substance, a total weakling. It bragged about its massive size, how it could bully anyone it wanted.
In the oceanarium, the orca was top dog. Every fish feared it. But Lin Feng wasn’t one to take that lying down. The second it opened its mouth, she charged and beat the tar out of it—gave it a proper thrashing that left its head spinning and nearly landed it in intensive care.
Zhao Shuqing sighed and apologized to the orca’s keeper. Fortunately, the keeper let it slide.
Zhao Shuqing figured Lin Feng just wasn’t used to the place yet, which was why she was clashing with her “coworkers.” Once she settled in, they’d surely get along.
But over the next few days, incidents like this kept happening.
Here’s the record:
Day one: Lin Feng beat up the orca.
Day two: Lin Feng beat up the great white shark.
Day three: Lin Feng beat up the Pacific spotted dolphin.
Day four: Lin Feng beat up the giant octopus.
Day five… On the fifth day, Lin Feng didn’t beat anyone up. She just ate a rare rosy fish.
Zhao Shuqing still remembered it vividly. She was in her office organizing research papers when the rosy fish’s keeper burst in crying, accusing Lin Feng of her crime. Tears streaming down her face, she wailed, “That rosy fish is a nationally protected species—level two! How could she just eat it like that?”
National treasure devours national treasure. How do you even sentence that?
So Zhao Shuqing locked Lin Feng up, intending to give her a proper interrogation.
“Why eat your coworker?” Zhao Shuqing demanded, glaring at Lin Feng perched on the pool’s edge. “Beating them up the past few days was one thing—you won those fights anyway. But I wasn’t starving you! Why eat the rosy fish?”
Lin Feng stewed indignantly for a long while before spitting out three words: “It tasted bad.”
Zhao Shuqing sucked in a sharp breath. “I told you to apologize, not critique the flavor!”
Fuming, she paced in circles before telling Lin Feng, “You’re not going in the water for the next few days. Solitary confinement in the pool for a week.”
Lin Feng’s head snapped up, staring at her in disbelief. “Zhao Shuqing?”
You’re actually locking me up?
Zhao Shuqing met her shocked gaze and steeled herself. “That’s right. I’m locking you up. If I don’t, you’ll just keep eating your coworkers.”
With that, she turned to leave, ignoring Lin Feng’s incredulous stares. No matter how pitiful those eyes got, Zhao Shuqing wasn’t budging.
Lin Feng wasn’t human. She’d grown up in the ocean and didn’t know human rules yet. But that didn’t mean Zhao Shuqing had to indulge her.
Win a fight and go to jail. Lose one and end up hospitalized.
Zhao Shuqing had to make Lin Feng understand: she couldn’t just beat up or eat whoever she wanted, no matter how strong she was.
Lin Feng watched Zhao Shuqing leave the pool area. Mist filled her blue eyes as she stared at the door for a long time. Realizing Zhao Shuqing really meant it, she sadly lowered her head.
Truth be told, Lin Feng wanted to get along with her new coworkers.
But the oceanarium wasn’t like the vast Pacific. In this confined space, a food chain had already formed. Creatures like orcas and sharks sat at the top, and as the “newcomer,” Lin Feng naturally drew their attention—and aggression.
Lin Feng wasn’t exactly even-tempered. If insulted, she’d fire back. If bullied, she’d fight.
As for today’s rosy fish, Lin Feng had seen it strangled by a cuttlefish. She’d swum over to help, but the keeper spotted her through the glass and assumed she’d eaten it. She ran straight to Zhao Shuqing to complain.
Zhao Shuqing had scolded her without a word. Naturally, Lin Feng was upset.
Fine. If they all thought she’d eaten it, she’d own up. No big deal.
But staring at the locked iron gate, Lin Feng felt her nose tingle.
Bad woman.
She didn’t believe her at all.
Humans were no good.
Sulking, Lin Feng flicked her tail and dove into the pool. Solitary it was—if she starved, that was humanity’s loss, not hers as a mermaid.
After locking Lin Feng up, Zhao Shuqing returned to her office. As Lin Feng’s keeper, she had her own small space in the oceanarium.
It wasn’t big—just about a hundred square feet. A desk, two chairs, a sofa, a coffee table, and a filing cabinet. That was the whole setup.
Zhao Shuqing sat in her chair, pinching the bridge of her nose in headache. She found the rosy fish’s keeper in the work group chat, apologized, and assured her that Lin Feng was in solitary for a week and that she’d be properly disciplined.
Once the keeper calmed down, she relented. They were colleagues, after all, and Lin Feng was a mermaid.
Now that she thought about it, fish eating fish was natural. No need to get that upset.
After chatting it out, Zhao Shuqing sighed deeply and opened her computer to work on her paper.
She’d been writing the mermaid paper for nearly half a month and had a solid draft.
In a few days, once she fleshed out the data samples, she could show it to Professor Shen.
If her advisor approved, she could publish the world’s first academic paper on mermaids.
Energized by the thought, Zhao Shuqing rolled up her sleeves and dove into the work.
She got so absorbed that by the time she noticed, night had fallen completely. It was 7 p.m., the office dim except for the glowing screen.
Zhao Shuqing rubbed her sore eyes and flicked on the light.
Oh no.
She blinked. She’d forgotten Lin Feng’s dinner.
Solitary or not, she couldn’t starve her little mermaid miss. Zhao Shuqing grabbed her phone and jacket, heading to the cafeteria for some steamed fish.
Unfortunately, she was too late. No steamed fish—not even a fish tail in sight.
Helpless, she ordered takeout fish fillet porridge instead.
Carrying the bag, Zhao Shuqing remembered Lin Feng’s petty streak. She detoured to her drawer for a pack of candy, confirming it had her favorite peach flavor, then headed to the pool.
The oceanarium was quiet at night. Rows of pools housed various sea creatures behind “cage-like” gates. Walking past gave Zhao Shuqing the eerie feeling of strolling through a prison.
The animals had plenty of food and care, but no freedom.
Zhao Shuqing wondered: Would Lin Feng one day resent her, hating her for trapping her forever in this tiny world?
She shook her head to dispel the silly thought. Reaching the final gate, she swiped her ID card and entered. Lin Feng heard the noise and swam over, poking just her eyes above the water. Spotting Zhao Shuqing, she blew a bubble in a huff and swam away.
Zhao Shuqing turned on the light and cleared her throat softly. “Dinner time, Lin Feng.”
Lin Feng kept her back turned, ignoring her.
Zhao Shuqing approached with the porridge, sat by the pool, and opened it. She sniffed the aroma and stirred it with a spoon. “This is delicious. I used to order it all the time. Aren’t you hungry? You haven’t eaten.”
Lin Feng’s ear twitched, but she still ignored her.
Zhao Shuqing ripped open the candy packet with a crinkle. “And your favorite fruit candies. Want to try one?”
The mention of fruit candy tempted Lin Feng. She peeked over, but seeing Zhao Shuqing’s infuriating face soured her mood. She snorted, shook her head, and turned away.
The pool was small—Lin Feng couldn’t go far even if she ignored her. Zhao Shuqing coaxed a bit more, but seeing she was serious, sighed and set the snacks down.
“If you don’t want to see me, I won’t stick around and bother you.”
Zhao Shuqing stood. “Food’s here. Eat if you’re hungry.”
Lin Feng froze at her words. Only when she heard the door close did she whip around. The edge was empty.
Zhao Shuqing had really left?
Fuming, Lin Feng slapped her tail and hauled herself ashore. Glaring at the takeout and candy, she fumed. This woman comes to apologize acting all high and mighty, and her coaxing was half-hearted.
The angrier she got, the more she wanted to kick the door. But as her hand touched the handle, it clicked.
The door was open?
