Gu Yao felt like she understood every single word Xu Tang had said, but when they were strung together, it all turned into complete gibberish.
What on earth was the “Mermaid Dual-Female Plan”?
“What… what does that mean?” Gu Yao stared at Xu Tang in shock, voicing the question burning in her mind.
Xu Tang looked at her with a gentle tone. “Your professor will explain the details in a meeting later. As for the upcoming research, it’s classified for now. I can’t tell you more.”
She noticed Gu Yao’s stunned expression and reached out. “You’re recording the data, right? Let me see it.”
It took Gu Yao a couple of seconds to snap out of it. She hurriedly handed over the freshly noted file.
Perhaps by accident, Gu Yao felt Xu Tang’s fingers brush against her hand as she took the file. The touch was like a jolt of electricity, sending a tingle straight to her heart.
She yanked her hand back, her earlobes turning red. Clutching the fingers that had just touched Xu Tang, she kept her head down.
No one noticed Gu Yao’s odd reaction. The group leader enthusiastically shared their research progress with Xu Tang, who listened calmly. From the corner of her eye, Xu Tang glanced at Gu Yao, taking in her flushed ear tips and dark hair.
Fortunately, Xu Tang didn’t stay long. She seemed to have just come to deliver the message. Once her business was done, she left.
Gu Yao let out a stealthy sigh of relief once Xu Tang was gone. She grabbed her fish tank, said her goodbyes, and slipped away.
Gu Yao figured she must have misunderstood. Xu Tang had just accidentally brushed her hand—it was her own reaction that was over the top.
Yeah, definitely her reaction that was too much.
Still, Gu Yao felt a pang of sadness. She really liked Xu Tang, but Xu Tang had already turned her down. Gu Yao couldn’t keep chasing after her; that would be desperate. Better to be practical—the melon you force off the vine isn’t sweet. Life was about keeping your feet on the ground.
Gu Yao hugged the fish tank all the way back to her dormitory. As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she saw the door to Zhao Shuqing’s apartment open. Guessing that the two of them were back, she hurried over with the tank in her arms.
“Ta-da!”
Gu Yao hoisted the fish tank over her head and called into the room, “Look what I got for Lin Feng!”
Zhao Shuqing poked her head out from the kitchen. She glanced at the tank and frowned. “That fish tank’s way too small. Lin Feng couldn’t even sit in it.”
Gu Yao was speechless.
She eyed the tank, which was only a bit bigger than her head, and asked in bewilderment, “How did you think this fish tank was for Lin Feng to use?”
Zhao Shuqing looked shocked. “Isn’t it?”
Gu Yao trailed off. “…Whatever. Where’s Lin Feng? I want to introduce her to a little friend.”
Lin Feng poked her head out from the bathtub on the balcony. She smiled at Gu Yao. “Gu Yao.”
Gu Yao absolutely adored her. She rushed over with the fish tank and plopped down on a chair. “Look, I got you a little friend.”
Lin Feng peered into the tank on Gu Yao’s lap. Inside was a tiny fake mountain surrounded by a cluster of sea anemones. Moments later, a small yellow-and-black fish darted out from behind the rock, rubbing against the anemones as it swam back and forth.
“Fish,” Lin Feng said in surprise.
Grinning ear to ear, Gu Yao told her, “This is a clownfish. Her name’s Nemo. She’s your new best friend from now on. Can you understand her?”
Lin Feng took the tank from Gu Yao’s arms and studied it for a moment before saying, “She says she’s dizzy.”
Gu Yao’s eyes lit up. “Probably because I ran over here too fast and shook her up.”
Lin Feng nodded and looked at the clownfish again. “She says she hasn’t eaten all day.” Then she glanced up at Zhao Shuqing, who had wandered over at some point. “Do you have food at home?”
Zhao Shuqing examined the little fish—it looked just like the one from the cartoons. After a closer look, she asked, “What does she eat?”
Gu Yao quickly fished a packet of fish food from her bag. “The shop owner gave me this. Not sure if she’ll like it.”
Lin Feng sniffed it first, then sprinkled a pinch into the bathtub. The clownfish immediately flicked her tail and gobbled up every bit that hit the water.
Gu Yao propped her chin on her hand. “Looks like she has a good appetite.”
Lin Feng fed her another pinch. Nemo devoured it all. Full and content, she flicked her tail and hid in the anemones, apparently ready for a nap.
“So cute,” Gu Yao said, eyeing the fish enviously. She turned to Zhao Shuqing. “You’ll have to keep her here. If I took her home, Pumpkin would turn her into fish soup.”
Zhao Shuqing glanced from the clownfish to Lin Feng.
Lately, Lin Feng’s spirits had been low because of her injury. She spent her days either clinging to Zhao Shuqing or lounging in the bathtub to sunbathe. This was the first time in ages that Zhao Shuqing had seen genuine interest on her face.
It looked like a fish companion might do her some good.
“Thanks for Nemo,” Zhao Shuqing said with a smile. “Stay for dinner? I’ve already started cooking. The three of us can eat together.”
“Sure!” Gu Yao didn’t stand on ceremony. She stood up. “I’ll go feed my cat and take a quick shower first, then come back.”
“Sounds good,” Zhao Shuqing replied. “Dinner in about half an hour—don’t take too long.”
“No problem.”
That evening, with Gu Yao there, Zhao Shuqing whipped up three dishes and a seaweed egg drop soup. The air conditioner hummed away as the three of them ate their fill.
Gu Yao’s belly was stuffed round. She leaned back in her chair, patting it. “Shuqing, were your cooking skills always this good? I remember back then your food was awful. We had to order takeout every day and split it.”
“Because I never followed recipes properly,” Zhao Shuqing said. “I’d always improvise with random stuff, so it tasted terrible. But ever since I started taking care of Lin Feng, my skills have gotten better.”
Gu Yao gave her a thumbs-up. “Lin Feng’s better than a girlfriend.”
Zhao Shuqing froze for a second, then realized what she meant. Her ears turned red as she kicked Gu Yao under the table. “All you do is eat and drink for free. Go wash the dishes!”
Gu Yao wasn’t fazed by her flustered outburst. She gathered the bowls and headed to the kitchenette to scrub them.
Lin Feng sat beside Zhao Shuqing and rested a hand on her knee, leaning in close. “Girlfriend?”
What was a girlfriend?
Did Zhao Shuqing have one?
Zhao Shuqing’s face flushed beet red. She inwardly cursed Gu Yao’s big mouth but couldn’t say much in front of Lin Feng. Steeling herself, she said, “Nothing like that. She’s just joking around.”
Just a joke, then.
Lin Feng nodded and leaned in closer. She planted a soft kiss on Zhao Shuqing’s lips.
Zhao Shuqing went silent.
She whipped her head toward the kitchen in a panic. Gu Yao had her back to the room, scrubbing away with the faucet roaring and humming a tune. She probably hadn’t seen Lin Feng’s kiss.
Even so, Zhao Shuqing’s heart raced. She quickly pulled away and said sternly to Lin Feng, “You can’t kiss me when there are other people around.”
Lin Feng blinked. “What about when no one’s around?”
Then it would be fine, right?
Zhao Shuqing was exasperated. “Even alone… you have to ask first.”
“Oh.” Lin Feng committed it to memory and asked, “Can I kiss you now?”
Zhao Shuqing sighed. “…Just shut up.”
When Gu Yao emerged from the kitchen, she saw Lin Feng sitting there looking pitiful, her eyes drooping like she might cry any second. Zhao Shuqing had already folded up the table and was standing nearby.
“What happened?” Gu Yao sidled over curiously. “Did you upset Lin Feng?”
“No,” Zhao Shuqing denied flatly. “She does this all the time. Ignore her—she’ll perk up on her own in a bit.”
Gu Yao eyed her suspiciously but shrugged it off. It wasn’t her business anyway. Zhao Shuqing was Lin Feng’s researcher; she was just a neighbor. Better not get involved in their domestic squabbles.
Then something occurred to her. “Oh, by the way, your senior sister stopped by the lab this afternoon.”
Zhao Shuqing turned to her. “My senior sister?”
“Yeah.” Gu Yao nodded. “She worked out some deal with our professor about researching the Mermaid Dual-Female Plan. I have no idea what that means, but Group Leader Xu said it’s classified from here on out. Can’t tell us yet.”
Zhao Shuqing frowned. “What’s the Mermaid Dual-Female Plan? Is Senior Sister planning to breed mermaids using Lin Feng?”
Gu Yao shrugged. “Beats me. The Double Cisgender Plan is about combining two different eggs into a viable embryo. Never heard of using two eggs from the same person.”
That fell into genetics territory, which Zhao Shuqing wasn’t well-versed in.
Gu Yao gave an example. “There was this intersex person who tried self-fertilization once, but the embryo didn’t survive due to genetic issues. Double eggs from the same body are similar—success rate’s basically zero since they’re from the same genetic source.”
“Then why is Senior Sister researching the Mermaid Dual-Female Plan?” Zhao Shuqing wondered. “Is she planning to catch more mermaids?”
“I’m not sure.” Gu Yao shook her head. “Lin Feng can’t produce offspring alone unless we find another female mermaid.”
Another one?
Zhao Shuqing glanced at Lin Feng, who was now at the table playfully teasing the clownfish. That seemed the most likely explanation.
The thought of Lin Feng breeding with another mermaid made Zhao Shuqing’s chest tighten with an indescribable ache, like a breath caught and refusing to release.
Gu Yao’s phone rang with a call from the group leader, so she headed home first. Zhao Shuqing turned her attention back to Lin Feng—only to catch her staring. Lin Feng hadn’t hidden it once spotted; she straightened up and met her gaze.
“Can I kiss you?” Lin Feng asked.
Zhao Shuqing’s heart trembled. She forced herself to move slowly, walking over to loom above Lin Feng.
Lin Feng tilted her head up, her beautiful blue eyes fixed on Zhao Shuqing. “Can I kiss you?”
Zhao Shuqing felt like Lin Feng was torturing her.
“Do you… really want me to kiss you that badly?” Zhao Shuqing asked, puzzled.
Lin Feng looked at her candidly. “Yes.”
In Lin Feng’s understanding, humans expressed affection through kisses. She liked Zhao Shuqing, so she wanted to show it the same way.
She hoped Zhao Shuqing would understand.
She hoped Zhao Shuqing would like her back.
