Chapter 60

On Lin Feng’s first day at work, a large crowd had already gathered at the entrance to the oceanarium.

Zhao Shuqing and Wen Xiaoying stood by a second-floor window at the oceanarium, peering down at the sea of people below. There had to be tens of thousands of them at least.

“Oh my God,” Wen Xiaoying exclaimed excitedly to Zhao Shuqing as she gazed toward the distant ticket entrance. “I’ve worked at the oceanarium for so many years, but I’ve never seen this many people. Are they all here to see Lin Feng?”

Zhao Shuqing glanced at the crowd and gave a slight nod.

Most likely.

That very morning, Lin Feng had gotten out of bed and chatted with Nemo, probably instructing the little clownfish to stick close to her in the oceanarium and not get lost. Otherwise, with all the clownfish there, she might not be able to tell which one was hers.

Zhao Shuqing had merely raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

She found Lin Feng oddly adorable as she earnestly conversed with the clownfish.

When Lin Feng arrived at the oceanarium, even the curator came out personally to greet her. Seated in her wheelchair, Lin Feng looked around curiously at the familiar facilities and marine life, her eyes narrowing slightly as if lost in thought.

The curator assumed she was worried about the orca attacking her, so she reassured both Zhao Shuqing and Lin Feng that the orca absolutely wouldn’t be let out of its room today. They should rest easy.

Fortunately, once Lin Feng was in the water, she relaxed completely. She hadn’t forgotten the clownfish Nemo she’d brought along and led it with her into the depths.

The oceanarium had barely opened when the visitor count surpassed ten thousand. Everyone was there for Lin Feng, heading straight to the spots where the mermaid usually appeared.

Lin Feng was surprised to see so many people through the glass, but she quickly relaxed. In her eyes, these unfamiliar humans were no different from small animals—a bunch of little creatures watching her, nothing that could rattle her mentally.

It was Nemo’s first time in the oceanarium, and the clownfish kept circling around Lin Feng excitedly.

Before long, a huge school of fish had gathered around her. Lin Feng glanced back at them calmly, then began gliding through the vast aquarium. Her pale hair floated like silk in the water, and her enormous, colorful tail fin was both massive and breathtaking. The assorted fish, large and small, followed in orderly formation behind her, matching her every graceful movement.

The visitors were stunned. They whipped out their phones to snap photos, capturing the moment forever.

Lin Feng led all the oceanarium’s fish in a majestic swim, like a beautiful and sacred oil painting come to life.

From the monitoring room, Zhao Shuqing watched the scene unfold inside the tanks. The massive influx of visitors had stretched security thin, even with extra temporary staff brought in. Seeing the throngs of tourists still made her uneasy.

“There are too many people,” Zhao Shuqing said. “How did so many show up?”

The monitoring room captain smiled at her. “The first day is always the busiest. It’ll settle down in a few days.”

Zhao Shuqing pondered this but remained uneasy. Sure, the crowds couldn’t affect Lin Feng in the water, but she had a nagging sense of worry. She decided to patrol in person.

Setting aside her work, Zhao Shuqing donned her uniform, clipped on her badge, and headed out.

Rounding the corner from the staff area brought her to the packed Glass Hall, where three or four rows of people crowded the glass, blocking any view. Zhao Shuqing spotted Lin Feng swimming gracefully in the water at once.

She looked even more stunning up close than on the monitors. Against the deep blue backdrop, she darted about with her school of fish, Nemo—the most favored of them all—swimming right alongside, as if granted special permission. The little clownfish seemed tired from swimming and burrowed into Lin Feng’s flowing hair, peeking out with just half its body, like it had claimed a VIP seat.

Zhao Shuqing watched with a twinge of envy. That clownfish was spoiled rotten!

She washed Lin Feng’s hair every day to keep it silky soft, but she herself had barely gotten to touch it much, and now this stinky fish had stolen her spot.

Lin Feng seemed to sense Zhao Shuqing’s gaze. She whipped her head around, spotted her at the corner, flicked her tail, and swam over. The visitors near the glass squealed in delight, pressing their hands against it in hopes of getting closer.

But Lin Feng’s eyes were only on Zhao Shuqing.

Her blue eyes peered curiously through the glass, and she blew a bubble against it. Zhao Shuqing smiled at her and waved for her to keep playing.

Lin Feng’s sudden approach had everyone raising their hands to “high-five” her through the glass. Startled, Lin Feng glanced down at the eager crowd and hesitated. A tall girl standing right in front of her stretched her hand high, palm against the glass matching Lin Feng’s.

Lin Feng blinked, quickly pulled her hand back, and turned to look at Zhao Shuqing.

Zhao Shuqing remained good-natured, standing off to the side with a gentle smile, already preparing to continue her patrol.

Had she just high-fived another girl? Would Zhao Shuqing get mad?

But Zhao Shuqing showed no reaction at all. She just walked away?

Seeing Zhao Shuqing head in another direction, Lin Feng abandoned the school of fish trailing her and chased along behind the glass.

The crowd noticed Lin Feng moving and hurriedly followed. Zhao Shuqing turned around to find Lin Feng leading a mob straight toward her.

Zhao Shuqing: “…”

She ran with fish in the water—did she have to run with people on land too?

Lin Feng swam up to Zhao Shuqing and tapped on the glass. She pressed her face against it, squishing her nose and forehead into funny imprints.

Someone spotted Zhao Shuqing in her oceanarium uniform—the woman from that viral video.

“Hey, isn’t that Lin Feng’s keeper?”

Someone in the crowd shouted, “Lin Feng’s coming to find her!”

Zhao Shuqing glanced over, tempted to clarify that she wasn’t some “keeper,” but decided it wasn’t worth it. After all, she did handle Lin Feng’s food and drink—and even shared half her bed.

Since everyone adored Lin Feng, they took a liking to her “keeper” too, especially seeing the mermaid nuzzling up to Zhao Shuqing through the glass. They excitedly pulled out phones to record videos.

For the first time, Zhao Shuqing felt deeply uncomfortable surrounded by so many staring people. She shot Lin Feng a look and tapped the glass with her index finger, signaling her to go play.

Lin Feng got the message and grinned happily, but she still didn’t want to leave Zhao Shuqing’s side. Wherever Zhao Shuqing went, Lin Feng followed like a little sticky rice cake that couldn’t be shaken off.

With no other choice, Zhao Shuqing pretended to look stern. Only then did Lin Feng reluctantly swim away, glancing back every few tail-flicks.

But once Lin Feng left, the crowd turned their attention to Zhao Shuqing.

“Miss Keeper, you and Lin Feng seem so close! Why aren’t you playing with her?”

“Miss Keeper, what does Lin Feng usually eat?”

“Can I add you on WeChat? Or do you have a Weibo or Douyin? I want to see more of Lin Feng!”

Zhao Shuqing’s responses were straightforward.

“It’s working hours now. I can’t play with her.”

“Lin Feng likes milk tea and hot pot.”

“No, I don’t add people.”

After shaking off the troublesome tourists, Zhao Shuqing breathed a sigh of relief.

As she planned to make one more loop before heading back to the office, she noticed a little girl squatting not far away. The child, about four or five years old, wore denim overalls and sported a ponytail. She clutched the oceanarium’s new mermaid plush doll—modeled after Lin Feng—which looked perfect in her arms.

At first, Zhao Shuqing assumed she was just another visitor. But the girl stayed crouched in the same spot, staring intently at something behind the glass, with no adults around her.

Kids these days were precious; whole families doted on a single child. No way they’d let her wander the oceanarium alone.

Zhao Shuqing suspected she’d gotten separated from her parents.

“Little one,” she said, walking over and crouching down to the girl’s level. “Are you here by yourself? Where are your parents?”

The girl didn’t react. Her eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the rocks behind the glass wall. Zhao Shuqing followed her gaze and spotted a small fish floating belly-up.

It had clearly kicked the bucket.

The oceanarium’s fish had plenty of food and water, but they still faced bullying from their own kind. Tiny thumb-sized fish like this died easily—it wasn’t unusual.

“That little fish has gone off to its next life,” Zhao Shuqing said gently to comfort her. “Don’t worry about it. Maybe next time it’ll come back as a whale, so no other fish can bully it.”

Normally, that would’ve gotten some response from the child—even a shy kid would nod or look sad. But this girl showed nothing. No reaction at all. Worse, her eyes gleamed as she stared at the dead fish, as if…

Zhao Shuqing blinked. Had she imagined it? The girl seemed to swallow hard, looking like she wanted to eat the fish.

Frowning, Zhao Shuqing crouched to meet her eyes and asked softly, “What’s your name? Where are your parents?”

The questions finally got a reaction. The girl turned her head, her black pupils locking onto Zhao Shuqing without a blink. She forced a stiff smile that sent a chill down Zhao Shuqing’s spine—the expression was downright eerie.

Humans blink to soothe dry eyes from staring too long.

But this girl hardly blinked at all. Her smile was rigid, like a puppet’s.

“My name is Yao Jiajia,” the girl said, enunciating each word carefully. “I have two moms. They came with me to the oceanarium to see the mermaid today.”

“Then… where are your moms?”

The girl stared at Zhao Shuqing for a long moment, as if pondering deeply. Finally, she grinned. “They’re gone.”

Zhao Shuqing got it—the kid was lost.

Lost children at the oceanarium were easy to handle; the PA system was excellent. She planned to take the girl to the broadcast room to wait and page her moms. But before she could suggest it, the girl turned back to the dead fish and swallowed again, visibly hungry for it.

Zhao Shuqing’s brow furrowed. “What are you looking at?”

“Fish.” The girl pointed at the corpse, then turned to Zhao Shuqing. “It’s dead. Can I eat it?”

“…You can’t eat dead fish.”

“That’s okay.”

The girl’s eyes lit up like they were glowing. She tugged her lips into another creepy grin. “Fish like this are the tastiest.”