Chapter 25
Xiao Yue rushed into the mermaid room, as if entering another world.
Bright curtains, a soft blanket, and a beautiful mermaid resting its chin on the edge of the pool, greeting her with a smile.
This cozy atmosphere didn’t seem like Uncle Wen’s house at all…
Xiao Yue ran to the mermaid pool. The calm and gentle energy particles around MuMu eased her fear.
“MuMu!”
“Awoo!”
The little girl, hugging her balloon, looked as adorable as a New Year painting, and MuMu happily spread its fins.
The home butler also entered the mermaid room, standing guard beside them: “Beep beep, please be careful.”
MuMu quickly retracted its fins, most of its body submerged in the water.
A mermaid could be dangerous to a small child.
“Awoo, awoo.” Just stay there, don’t come closer.
Xiao Yue didn’t even notice the home butler, staring at MuMu, her little mind racing—
She searched her memory for that familiar face.
MuMu’s smile faded, a sense of foreboding washing over it:
“Gasp…” Oh no, I met Xiao Yue on the day I went out as a human.
“MuMu, did you help me open my snack bag?”
As soon as Xiao Yue said it, she shook her head: “No, that was a big brother, but MuMu…”
MuMu looked at her calmly, its gaze gentle but devoid of emotion.
Its blue eyes lacked the depth of the ocean, instead evoking a sense of a gentle breeze rustling through leaves.
Clear and natural.
Xiao Yue couldn’t connect MuMu to a human, repeating firmly:
“MuMu is a mermaid!”
“Phew—” MuMu slumped against the pool wall in relief.
“But why do they look so much alike?” Xiao Yue muttered. “Are MuMu and that big brother twins?”
“Awoo, awoo, awoo…”
MuMu pointed at the balloon in Xiao Yue’s arms and howled excitedly.
This successfully diverted her attention: “Do you want to play with the balloon?”
MuMu, like a dog waiting for a frisbee, swam to the center of the pool and let out an expectant “awoo”…
The mermaid’s continuous cries caught Wen Ming and Xiao Jun’s attention.
They paused their conversation and went to the mermaid room, just in time to see Xiao Yue batting the balloon towards the pool.
Xiao Jun chuckled: “Xiao Yue, mermaids don’t play with your toys…?”
As the balloon floated down, MuMu leaped up and butted it with its forehead.
The balloon slowly floated back to Xiao Yue.
The little girl jumped up and down happily: “MuMu is so amazing!”
“Awoo!”
“No way…” Xiao Jun rubbed his eyes. “It actually recognizes that as a toy? And learned how to play with it on the first try? Which should I be more shocked about!?”
Toys were the most difficult mermaid product to develop.
Even if a new toy was invented, mermaids might not play with it; and even if they were interested, they might not know how to play.
For example, the red mermaid at Qi Xuan’s house, after training, could circle a water ball. In terms of intelligence, it ranked among the higher level of high-grade mermaids.
But a mermaid like MuMu, mastering the balloon on its first try…
Unheard of.
“Wow, your mermaid must have gone to university!”
Xiao Jun exclaimed, looking at Wen Ming, then was startled by his nonchalant expression: “Don’t do that, it makes me feel stupid.”
“MuMu! Do it again!”
Xiao Yue batted the balloon towards MuMu, and MuMu leaped and flipped, its tail curling and uncurling, hitting the balloon accurately.
“It’s even developing advanced techniques…” Xiao Jun’s face was numb with shock.
Xiao Yue and MuMu continued to play with the balloon, their skills becoming more and more impressive.
Xiao Jun’s initial exclamations gradually turned into silent astonishment.
Wen Ming raised an eyebrow, as if asking: Why aren’t you surprised anymore?
Xiao Jun gave a weak smile: “Your mermaid has desensitized me to shock.”
Wen Ming leaned against the doorway, careful not to let his energy disturb the play in the mermaid room:
“MuMu is highly intelligent, and it likes to roll around in the water, so it’s good at these things.”
“A highly intelligent low-grade mermaid… that’s incredibly rare.” Xiao Jun marveled. “Is that why you bought it in the first place?”
“No particular reason.”
Wen Ming’s dark eyes stared into space: “It flew out of the light, and I knew then that it would be my mermaid.”
“What!?” Xiao Jun burst out laughing. “You’ve learned to joke around, haha!”
Wen Ming didn’t reply, his gaze softening as he watched the happy little mermaid in the pool.
“Well, at least focusing your emotions on a mermaid is better than before.”
Xiao Jun noticed Wen Ming’s expression and sighed: “Before you got MuMu, you were so apathetic, I was really afraid you’d choose to end your life without any attachments!
Now it’s better, as long as MuMu needs you, you’ll keep living, right?”
Xiao Jun clapped Wen Ming on the shoulder: “I understand, just like me with my daughter, there’s nothing wrong with being devoted to MuMu.”
Wen Ming found the comparison strangely jarring.
He sidestepped, and Xiao Jun’s hand missed his shoulder…
Xiao Jun stumbled, then suddenly threw a punch at Wen Ming.
The fist headed straight for Wen Ming’s face, but he dodged, the fist barely grazing his hair.
Xiao Jun chuckled awkwardly: “I’ll consider that your win.”
“You’ve gotten slower.”
“It’s normal to get slower!” Xiao Jun looked at him like he was a monster. “You’ve been off the battlefield for years, how do you maintain your skills?”
“Training room.”
“My training room is gathering dust.” Xiao Jun’s tone was complex. “So disciplined even after work, don’t you have any leisure activities?”
“Such as?”
“Such as watching livestreams! There’s this mermaid language streamer recently, incredibly amazing!”
The little mermaid, usually a hundred percent accurate with the balloon, suddenly missed…
The balloon landed awkwardly on the water, and Xiao Yue tilted her head: “MuMu, it’s okay, everyone makes mistakes.”
MuMu picked up the balloon, wiped it on the small blanket, and handed it to Xiao Yue, hinting frantically:
“Woo…” Look, it’s getting late, shouldn’t your dad go home?
“I know.” Xiao Yue patted the balloon. “Let’s keep playing!”
“…”
Are you two determined to expose me today?
MuMu wanted to cry, continuing to play while listening intently for any sounds from the doorway—
‘Just a small gift, very cheap!’
Xiao Jun was actually replaying the masked streamer’s video!
MuMu became even more anxious. It caught the balloon, swam to the edge of the pool, and blatantly eavesdropped…
“The comments all say he’s handsome, but I think this mysterious streamer is at least forty, he’s deliberately making his voice sound younger!”
MuMu: …
What kind of eyesight is that!?
Xiao Jun’s tone was certain: “Absolutely, he probably even has kids.”
Wen Ming said in surprise: “Do you know him?”
“No, look at the mask he’s wearing.” Xiao Jun explained. “It’s a souvenir from a parent-child event. Xiao Yue got one too.”
He became even more excited: “Isn’t it a coincidence? It’s the same pattern as Xiao Yue’s, twin blue moons!”
“Pop!”
The balloon burst.
Xiao Jun rushed into the mermaid room: “Xiao Yue, are you okay?”
Xiao Yue covered her ears: “Waaah, MuMu got scared!”
The little mermaid was also startled, shaking the deflated balloon skin: “Woo.” I’m sorry, I broke your toy…
“Open your hand.” Wen Ming held its hand, checking for injuries.
He didn’t find any injuries, but its palms were sweaty.
Mermaids spend most of their time in water and only sweat profusely when experiencing intense emotions, such as when they’re feeling guilty…
Wen Ming patted MuMu’s head gently: “Were you scared?”
“.” MuMu timidly withdrew its hand, swam to the other side of the pool, and started sharpening its nails against the wall, its back to them.
“So well-behaved, immediately sharpening its claws after accidentally popping the balloon.” Xiao Jun praised. “It’s still not safe to let mermaids play with human toys.”
Xiao Yue said regretfully: “What a pity, MuMu clearly wanted to play more…”
MuMu sharpened its claws faster: “Growl…” Just go already, I’m sweating from playing.
Wen Ming mistook its growls for reluctance to part with the balloon…
The next day, there was a new addition to Wen Corporation’s toy development proposals.
“Floating water balls?”
Assistant Xu browsed the proposal Wen Ming had sent him. “Admiral, the Qi Corporation just released water balls, if we make similar toys, wouldn’t that cause consumer fatigue?”
“So we’ll focus on a different aspect.” Wen Ming said concisely. “The Qi Corporation’s water balls emphasize play for the mermaid, while our floating water balls will focus on interaction.”
Assistant Xu was instantly enlightened.
Mermaid owners didn’t prioritize interaction with their mermaids. They needed toys to keep their mermaids occupied and out of trouble.
But the appearance of the mermaid language streamer had subtly changed this need.
Mermaid behavior: Illogical → Logical
Mermaid’s attitude towards its owner: Randomly aggressive → Wants its owner’s attention
The masked streamer had overturned interstellar humans’ understanding of mermaids.
Releasing an interactive toy now was perfect timing.
“This will work…”
Assistant Xu’s admiration for Wen Ming reached new heights.
As expected of the winner of the Interstellar Entrepreneurship Gold Award, his grasp of the market was impeccable!
“This design is brilliant!”
Assistant Xu, understanding the deeper meaning, praised profusely: “If developed well, the floating water balls could lead the market trend!”
His flattery seemed to hit a wall of cold wind.
Wen Ming remained unmoved: “Call a meeting.”
“Understood!”
The increased workload didn’t dampen Assistant Xu’s excitement.
He looked at Wen Ming with reverence: “Admiral, may I ask, how did you come up with the floating water ball idea?”
Assistant Xu desperately wanted this “business genius” to write a book titled “How to Cultivate Business Acumen.”
Was it talent? Extensive networking? Or perhaps guidance from a mentor?
A strange thought suddenly occurred to Assistant Xu, and he stammered:
“Could it be… your mermaid likes playing with them?”
“Yes.”
Mermaid connections are better than human connections.
Saying that his image of a business idol was shattered would be an exaggeration, but Assistant Xu felt a sense of desolation.
He realized that his boss didn’t care about how many digits the company earned, only whether his mermaid liked the products the company made.
It wasn’t so much Wen Ming’s company as it was his mermaid’s.
But the most incredible thing was that the mermaid always had a positive impact at crucial moments…
Assistant Xu was bewildered: “Where can I find such a magical mermaid?”
“In the light.”
“Haha, you’re joking, Admiral.”
Wen Ming’s eyelashes fluttered.
When the aquarium had shattered, a light brighter than the stars had flashed, and the little mermaid had appeared from within that light.
“Admiral, the meeting room is ready…”
“Beep beep!”
Suddenly, Wen Ming’s optical brain flashed an alarm from the home butler:
‘Emergency! MuMu’s vital signs are fluctuating drastically…’
