Chapter 45

Shen Qingming thought he had misheard her. He looked at her in confusion. “What?”

Zhao Shuqing explained, “Many scientists spend their entire lives proving a flawed theory wrong, but that doesn’t mean their work was pointless. At the very least, for the sake of the future, they’ve shown others the dead end to avoid. So when you ask if I can accept it, Teacher, the answer is yes—I can.”

She continued calmly, “Plenty of research still yields no results even today, but humanity keeps pushing forward. Take smallpox or tuberculosis thousands of years ago—people died from them until relentless efforts by others led to the treatments we have now.”

Shen Qingming’s eyes widened. He stared in stunned silence at the woman seated by his hospital bed.

“If the direction of mermaid research was wrong from the start, that’s fine,” Zhao Shuqing said. “Maybe someone will prove my conclusions wrong someday, and that wouldn’t be a big deal either. Humanity only advances by making mistakes and proving them wrong, one after another.”

Shen Qingming fell silent—a silence so profound it was deafening.

He had never imagined that Zhao Shuqing would accept it so calmly.

Indeed, humanity only progressed by disproving the theories of those who came before.

His heart stirred.

For the future of humanity, he resolved to tell her the truth.

Shen Qingming opened his mouth, his voice trembling as he said to Zhao Shuqing, “Actually, after the mermaid comes ashore…”

Knock knock knock—

At that moment, a knock came from the door. Aunt Liu stood there, watching the two of them inside. Her gaze locked firmly on Shen Qingming, though she addressed Zhao Shuqing. “Shuqing, someone outside is looking for you. She says she’s your neighbor and she’s pushing a wheelchair.”

Zhao Shuqing jumped to her feet at once. “What? Where are they?”

Had Gu Yao really brought Lin Feng to find her?

Aunt Liu replied, “Right in the hallway.”

Zhao Shuqing turned to Shen Qingming. “Sorry, Teacher. I need to step out for a bit.”

Before Shen Qingming could respond, he watched helplessly as Zhao Shuqing left the room. Aunt Liu remained inside, and suddenly, after five or six years of her caring for him, her gaze struck him as profoundly off today.

“Teacher Shen.” Aunt Liu approached the bed and tucked in his blanket. Her dark eyes met his calmly as she said, “Have you forgotten what you promised Xu Tang this morning? How could you try to tell Zhao Shuqing in secret?”

Shen Qingming stared at her in shock. “You—you’re…”

Aunt Liu wore her usual kindly smile as she spoke to the man in the bed. “Looks like you need more rest. In the meantime, I won’t let anyone else visit you.”

Shen Qingming understood now. He had been under surveillance all along.

Zhao Shuqing hurried out of the room and spotted Gu Yao pushing the wheelchair toward her. Lin Feng’s face was etched with anxiety as she gazed at Zhao Shuqing. The moment she emerged from the room, Lin Feng stood up from the wheelchair and threw herself straight into her arms.

“Zhao Shuqing,” Lin Feng said, looking up at her. “Can’t see him.”

Zhao Shuqing gazed at her, baffled. “Can’t see who?”

Lin Feng collapsed onto the floor. Her blue fish tail slipped out from under the blanket. Gu Yao quickly crouched down to cover it, apologizing profusely to Zhao Shuqing. “Sorry about this, Shuqing. I couldn’t fool her anymore. If I didn’t bring her, she was ready to search the whole world for you.”

Zhao Shuqing understood Lin Feng’s personality all too well—she was the type who had to see someone if she wanted to. She couldn’t entirely blame Gu Yao.

“It’s fine.” Zhao Shuqing wrapped her up in the blanket and lifted her from the floor. “That’s just how she is. You’ve had a rough time too.”

She settled Lin Feng back into the wheelchair. Lin Feng touched Zhao Shuqing’s face worriedly and whispered, “Bad person. Can’t see.”

Zhao Shuqing asked, puzzled, “Why do you say that? Who’s the bad person?”

Lin Feng bit her lip and shook her head, refusing to say. She just clutched Zhao Shuqing’s hand and repeated, “Home. Zhao Shuqing, let’s go home.”

Gu Yao found it odd too. She said to Zhao Shuqing, “What’s gotten into Lin Feng? She’s been fussing nonstop since earlier. Has she done this before?”

It hadn’t happened before, but Zhao Shuqing couldn’t decipher what Lin Feng was trying to convey. In any case, they couldn’t stay in the hospital any longer. When Lin Feng had flashed her tail just now, several young nurses had seen it, and they were gathered nearby, watching curiously.

Zhao Shuqing was about to go back and say goodbye to her teacher when Aunt Liu emerged from the room. She told Zhao Shuqing, “Shuqing, Teacher Shen says he’s tired and needs rest. He asked me to see you all out.”

“Is Teacher not feeling well?” Zhao Shuqing asked, concerned.

“He’s fine. He’s just getting on in years and ill—he needs the rest,” Aunt Liu said with a smile. Her eyes settled on Lin Feng as she asked, “And this is…?”

Lin Feng froze upon seeing Aunt Liu. She caught the scent of her own kind…

Lin Feng gripped Zhao Shuqing’s hand tightly and whispered, “Home.”

With no other choice, Zhao Shuqing thought for a moment before telling Aunt Liu, “If Teacher needs rest, we’ll head out then. Take good care of him. I’ll visit again when I have time.”

Aunt Liu smiled warmly. “Alright. Let me walk you out.”

Zhao Shuqing replied, “No need. Go take care of Teacher. We’re leaving.”

With the crowd still light, Zhao Shuqing pushed the wheelchair and led Lin Feng and Gu Yao out of the hospital. Aunt Liu stood at the room’s doorway for a long while, watching them go. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and called Xu Tang.

Xu Tang had just finished her work and returned to her office when she received Aunt Liu’s call.

Over the phone, Aunt Liu reported Zhao Shuqing’s visit to the hospital—and Lin Feng’s as well.

“Oh?” Xu Tang was surprised. She leaned back in her chair, propping her head on her hand. In the dim room, only the desk lamp glowed. She asked, “Did Lin Feng see Shen Qingming?”

“No,” came the reply from the other end.

Xu Tang pondered for a moment, then chuckled. “It wouldn’t matter if she had. Sooner or later, she’s going to find out anyway.”

Aunt Liu asked, “What now?”

“Take good care of Teacher for now,” Xu Tang said. “He’s old—it’s understandable if his hospital stay drags on. Once his ‘illness’ clears up, just process his medical retirement directly.”

After hanging up, Xu Tang leaned back in her chair and stared at the dark ceiling.

“Why?”

She murmured softly to herself, “Why do humans always go back on their word?”

Shen Qingming owed his achievements to no small help from Xu Tang and her people. For twenty years, the mermaid clan had propped him up to the pinnacle of oceanography—all so he would help fulfill their plan.

Yet when the moment came, he wanted to reveal the truth to Zhao Shuqing.

Xu Tang couldn’t fathom it. Why were human hearts so complicated? It was supposed to be a simple exchange, yet variables kept cropping up.

She muttered helplessly, “That old guy’s unreliable. Looks like I’ll have to scout for someone new…”

When Zhao Shuqing got home, Gu Yao headed off to handle her own matters. She glanced at Lin Feng in the wheelchair, walked over, and crouched down.

“Let me see your tail.” Zhao Shuqing lifted the blanket and said to her.

Lin Feng hesitated for a long moment before tugging the blanket aside to reveal her tail. She said softly, “Hurts.”

Zhao Shuqing sighed helplessly at the bloodied fish tail. “The wound’s split open again. How could it not hurt?”

She looked up reproachfully. “Don’t you remember you just got out of the hospital? Are you that eager to go back? Do you think hospital stays are free?”

Lin Feng kept her head down, scolded into submission. All her earlier fire was gone, leaving her looking like a guilty little wife.

Zhao Shuqing wasn’t truly angry. She lifted Lin Feng onto the bed and fetched the new medical kit she’d bought—now more complete than anything in a clinic. She could handle simple wounds herself.

“Good thing the wound didn’t tear too badly,” Zhao Shuqing said as she removed her disposable gloves and rebandaged it. “It just bled a bit, reopening what had started to heal. You’ll need to reapply the medicine.”

Hearing that all she needed was more ointment, Lin Feng brightened with a smile. Zhao Shuqing’s temper flared; she raised her hand and delivered a sharp smack to Lin Feng’s backside.

“You think that’s funny?” Zhao Shuqing fumed. “Should I treat you like a pet and lock you in a crate next time we go out?”

“No!” Lin Feng sat up at once, grabbing Zhao Shuqing’s hand. “No crate.”

“Scared now?” Zhao Shuqing pinched Lin Feng’s chin, forcing her to meet her eyes. “Dare to do it again?”

Lin Feng looked up, compelled. Her blue eyes fixed on Zhao Shuqing, her own eyes reddening with grievance. “Won’t…”

Zhao Shuqing had only meant to give her a scolding. After all, she couldn’t stay by Lin Feng’s side every second. What if she had to take a long trip someday? Lin Feng couldn’t just swim across the Pacific to find her, right?

But as she held Lin Feng’s chin, her heart inexplicably softened.

Never mind. What was the point of quibbling with a fish? She didn’t understand these things anyway.

Zhao Shuqing rubbed Lin Feng’s soft cheek and sighed. She pulled her into an embrace and explained, “I shouldn’t have gone out without you either, mostly because I was worried about triggering your stress response. But you’re not a child—you need to learn to stay by yourself sometimes, right?”

Lin Feng nestled in her arms, lowering her gaze as if reluctant to agree.

Zhao Shuqing added, “Once your wound heals, you’ll have to return to the water. You can’t keep living in the dormitory with me like this, can you?”

Lin Feng shook her head. “Not going back to the water.”

Zhao Shuqing glanced at the person in her arms. Lin Feng said she wouldn’t return to the water—who would believe that?

“You said ‘bad person’ at the hospital,” Zhao Shuqing recalled suddenly, asking softly, “What bad person?”

Lin Feng hesitated, then shook her head. “Can’t say.”

Zhao Shuqing was baffled. “Not even to me?”

Lin Feng nodded.

Just not to you.

If Zhao Shuqing learned her teacher was a human traitor, it would probably devastate her. Lin Feng decided to hold off for now—cross that bridge later.

“Fine, then.”

Fortunately, Zhao Shuqing wasn’t one to pry relentlessly. If Lin Feng wouldn’t say, she wouldn’t push.

She looked down at the person in her arms. “The sun’s not set yet. Want to take a bath?”

Lin Feng perked up at the word “bath” and nodded vigorously. Zhao Shuqing laughed and scooped her up, carrying her to the bathtub on the balcony.

She added some hot water to the tub and sat nearby, watching Lin Feng splash playfully. For now, this felt pretty good.

If only it could stay like this forever.