Chapter 35
#Fake Mermaid Expert#
#You Can Always Trust the Mermaid Language Streamer#
#Want to Debunk the Masked Streamer? Prepare to be Debunked by the Entire Starnet#
Topics related to the livestream dominated the trending list, causing a sensation on the StarNet.
Netizens flocked to the “Mermaid Expert’s” account, analyzing his videos, and reaching a conclusion:
It was all scripted and edited.
The Mermaid Expert, unable to withstand the online onslaught, issued a public apology and deleted his account.
“He was a fraud!”
Qi Xuan watched the expert’s apology video, punching the air in frustration.
“Manager Qi.”
The Qi Corporation’s CEO Assistant entered the office: “Punching the air won’t stop the video from playing. If you need to vent, you can punch your external optical brain.”
“I don’t need your sarcasm!”
Qi Xuan clutched his precious external optical brain and calmed himself: “At least the fake expert is attracting most of the flak, I won’t be attacked too badly.”
“Don’t worry,” the CEO Assistant said with disdain. “It’ll shift to you soon enough.”
Qi Xuan couldn’t believe his ears: “How dare you speak to me like that? I’m a project manager at Qi Corporation!”
“I know, Qi Corporation’s biggest liability.”
“You!” Qi Xuan slammed his hand on the table, about to curse, when he noticed a new trending topic—
#Qi Corporation Water Ball, Toxic#
“?”
Qi Xuan was speechless, staring at the trending topic.
Wen Corporation was holding a new product launch today.
At the launch, all reporters received a copy of the Qi Corporation water ball’s quality inspection report.
The Qi Corporation had added a substance to the water ball material to attract mermaids, which was also why it had become the “most popular mermaid toy.”
And that substance was a slow-acting poison, prolonged exposure could damage a mermaid’s bodily functions.
As soon as the news broke, the water ball was taken off the market.
Coincidentally, Wen Corporation’s new product was also a toy—the floating water ball.
Customers who had previously purchased water balls angrily threw them away, cursing their bad luck, and switched to buying floating water balls.
Wen Corporation hadn’t spent a single star coin on advertising, and their new toy’s sales broke records.
“Wen Corporation… deliberately targeting Qi Corporation at their product launch?”
Qi Xuan felt dizzy, gripping the table for support, almost fainting:
“Such ruthless business tactics!”
“CEO Qi said you, as the project manager, are solely responsible. Record an apology video, explaining that you added the toxic substance without the company’s knowledge.”
The CEO Assistant sent a script to Qi Xuan’s optical brain: “Just read this.”
His external optical brain, detecting his soaring blood pressure, flashed a red warning light. Qi Xuan’s eyes were bloodshot:
“How can my family throw me under the bus to save the company? I’ll be crucified online!”
The CEO Assistant shrugged, turning to leave: “I’m just the messenger, don’t take it out on me. Record the video and send it over as soon as possible.”
Qi Xuan was left alone in the office, utterly defeated.
“It’s over, everything’s over…”
Qi Xuan hadn’t expected to be “backstabbed” by the masked streamer and then crushed by Wen Corporation.
“Why is everyone targeting me?”
Qi Xuan burst into tears: “Could Wen Ming and that streamer be working together…?”
“Awoo?” You’re back.
Late at night, MuMu heard the door open and sleepily crawled towards the padded wall.
It wanted to jump into the scooter, but its tail was still in sleep mode, lacking strength.
It didn’t jump high enough, its hands gripping the scooter, its tail dangling in mid-air:
“Awoo, awoo!” I’m going to fall!
It heard Wen Ming’s approaching footsteps and timed its fall perfectly.
Landing precisely in Wen Ming’s arms.
Wen Ming carried it back to the mermaid pool and patted its back gently: “It’s still dark outside, go back to sleep.”
With the launch of the floating water ball and the Qi Corporation’s product safety issues, Wen Ming had been working overtime until midnight.
“Growl…” What’s wrong with your company, making you work so late!
How outrageous!
MuMu’s eyes were barely open, its grumbling like sleep-talking.
Wen Ming was about to lull it back to sleep…
“Why is your hair clip crooked?”
“!” MuMu shuddered.
The seashell hair clip was indeed askew, and Wen Ming took it off, his gaze meeting MuMu’s wide eyes.
“Not sleepy anymore?”
MuMu, feeling like it would be exposed if their eyes met for another second, buried its face in his chest.
After transforming back into a mermaid, MuMu could wear the ear stud correctly, but it couldn’t remember the position of the hair clip and had just clipped it on randomly.
“Woo.” Human hands are so dexterous, good at braiding, unlike my clumsy claws.
MuMu purred contentedly:
You’re so good at everything, you’ll definitely find a company that appreciates you, and then you won’t have to work overtime or go on business trips…
Wen Ming listened intently for a moment, then placed the seashell hair clip in MuMu’s hand:
“Don’t worry, I’m not taking your favorite seashell.”
MuMu clipped the hair clip onto the edge of the pool with a snap: “Hmph!”
Humans are even better at misunderstanding mermaids!
MuMu grabbed Wen Ming’s hand, placed it on the padded wall, and scratched at his palm: “Awoo!”
Wen Ming understood this time: “Yes, I’m not leaving.”
MuMu sank into the pool, circling the artificial rock, its hands constantly searching the bottom, as if looking for something important.
“Splash!”
MuMu surfaced, holding a seashell in its hands, showing it to Wen Ming:
“Awoo!” Look, this is the seashell I like!
When decorating the mermaid pool with ocean-themed ornaments, Wen Ming had scattered a layer of seashells on the bottom.
“Awoo, awoo!” This one is the prettiest!
MuMu’s expression was animated as it showed off the seashell to Wen Ming.
Although the seashell wasn’t large, its pattern was intricate, its edges smooth, and most uniquely, it had a streak of blue!
Isn’t it pretty?
Even without understanding mermaid language, Wen Ming could tell from MuMu’s sparkling eyes that it was using all its vocabulary to praise the seashell.
Wen Ming looked at MuMu’s face and replied at the right moment: “Yes, it’s beautiful.”
MuMu’s eyes crinkled into crescents, and it placed the seashell in Wen Ming’s hand:
Then it’s yours!
Wen Ming froze, looking down at the seashell in his hand.
“Woo, woo.” This really is the prettiest one.
MuMu, thinking he didn’t want it, nudged his finger with its nose:
Take it!
Wen Ming was overwhelmed by its cuteness.
He wanted to pat the little mermaid’s head, thanking it for giving him its favorite seashell.
‘That kind of contact isn’t enough, you need closer contact!’
Assistant Xu’s mermaid care advice was always sound.
Wen Ming’s hand, about to touch MuMu’s hair, changed direction, moving to the back of its head.
Then he leaned down and kissed the little mermaid’s forehead…
MuMu: !
So soft!
Its eyes widened in surprise, then softened as it felt the gentle touch on its forehead, closing its eyes contentedly.
Before it could fully savor the moment, the unexpected contact ended.
Wen Ming pulled back, his hand closing around the seashell: “Thank you, MuMu.”
MuMu’s tail swished in the water, dissatisfied: “Growl.” That’s all the thanks I get?
It grabbed Wen Ming’s hand, preventing him from turning around, “awooing” at him, then dove into the water.
MuMu searched through the remaining seashells, picked another one, and placed it beside Wen Ming’s hand.
“Awoo!” Here, my second favorite seashell!
The little mermaid leaned forward, its wet eyes full of anticipation, hinting at Wen Ming:
Kiss me again!
There were countless seashells at the bottom of the pool, which meant countless kisses for Master!
Wen Ming’s palm, holding the seashell, became slightly sweaty, and he averted his gaze: “It’s not an exchange for seashells.”
“Awoo?” Then what do you want in exchange?
“That’s called a good night kiss, only before bedtime.”
Wen Ming continued to pat its back gently: “Go to sleep, and there will be another good night kiss tomorrow.”
MuMu sighed dejectedly, resting its head on the padded wall:
“Awoo.” Okay, good night.
Wen Ming dimmed the night light, and only after hearing MuMu’s breathing even out did he leave the mermaid room.
He returned to his room and opened a small box.
The box, made of energy stone, was crystal clear and incredibly durable, even a mech’s full force couldn’t break it.
Powerful nobles in the interstellar world often commissioned such boxes to store their most precious treasures.
The energy stone box in Wen Ming’s house had been empty for a long time.
Now, it contained a small collection of trinkets:
The metal piece MuMu had mistaken for star currency when he bought it from the fishmonger;
The largest, roundest freeze-dried shrimp MuMu had saved for him;
The rhinestone cufflink MuMu had been so fond of…
If an interstellar thief were lucky enough to sneak into Wen Ming’s room and somehow manage to open the box,
The thief, thinking they had hit the jackpot, would be enraged after seeing its contents:
Is this family crazy! Storing worthless junk in an energy stone box, are they messing with me!?
Of course, the thief wouldn’t understand that this was a “treasure chest” for a little mermaid.
Wen Ming placed MuMu’s favorite seashell inside.
“Streamer, my mermaid has a ‘food stash.'”
The connected user said with a worried frown: “It always saves a few pieces of fish food and hides them. I can’t break it of this habit.”
“Maybe it’s just a little hobby,” the masked streamer guessed. “Just hiding a few things, does it really need correcting?”
“The problem is it’s stuffing the fish food into the drain, it’s been clogged several times already.”
[I thought hiding things was cute, but this is just another form of demolition. /Crying laughing/]
[Why the drain?]
[Besides the drain, there’s only the water inlet, this mermaid is the nemesis of water circulation systems.]
The connected user pointed the camera at the mermaid, a thin mermaid huddled motionless at the bottom of the pool:
“Streamer, can you translate why it’s hiding food?”
“It’s not saying anything, I can’t help.” The masked streamer suggested, “Why don’t you feed it and I’ll see what happens?”
“Okay.” The connected user poured a bowl of fish food and placed it by the edge of the pool.
The mermaid at the bottom instantly perked up, darted to the surface, and buried its head in the bowl, eating ravenously.
[The way it’s eating, I’m afraid it’ll swallow the bowl too. /Gasping/]
[It’s eating so enthusiastically, the bowl is almost empty, can it really be saving any fish food?]
The mermaid licked up the last few pieces of fish food longingly, held them preciously, and swam to the drain, stuffing them inside.
It wasn’t done yet, muttering something at the drain, a string of bubbles surfacing.
The connected user sighed: “See, it does this every time.”
The masked streamer listened to the rhythm of the popping bubbles, his expression changing subtly: “Feed it another bowl.”
“Huh?” The connected user hesitated. “Okay.”
The mermaid’s eyes widened in disbelief as it saw the second bowl of fish food, its claws trembling as it hugged the bowl, tears welling up in its eyes.
[Why is it reacting like that?]
[When my mermaid eats, it looks at me like it’s saying “Today’s offering is acceptable.” This one looks so pathetic.]
[I have a bold theory, could it be that it’s always hungry?]
“How could it be hungry!?” The connected user retorted. “I feed it regularly every day.”
Masked streamer: “How many meals?”
“One bowl.”
[You genius, look how thin the mermaid is!]
[Even without the masked streamer, any normal mermaid owner could see the problem. /Wiping sweat/]
[An adult mermaid needs at least two bowls a day, plus snacks. Buy a ‘Mermaid Care Manual’ and learn something!]
The connected user froze: “I… I’m sorry, it was my feeding method that was wrong.”
“When the mermaid was hiding the fish food, it said its family is too poor, so it needs to save some food in case they can’t afford to feed it anymore.”
The masked streamer translated, then said worriedly: “You should take your mermaid for a checkup, long-term starvation is very harmful to its health.”
“I’ll go right after the connection.” The connected user was ashamed. “It was hiding food because it thought we were poor…”
MuMu felt a pang of envy.
That mermaid only thought its family was poor, while MuMu’s family was actually poor.
After the livestream, MuMu hid its clothes and mask as usual.
The top half of the artificial rock in the mermaid pool was above water, and MuMu hid its things in one of the caves.
This hiding spot wasn’t very secure.
So MuMu broke off a piece of the artificial rock to block the cave and placed some other items in a nearby smaller cave to create a decoy.
Multiple hiding spots!
Estimating Wen Ming’s off-work time, MuMu watched a melodrama while waiting for him to come home.
‘Are you the one harassing my fiancée?’
‘I’m her boyfriend.’
‘Heh, you’ve only been dating for a while, our families arranged our engagement long ago, I’m her rightful fiancé, you’re the interloper.’
‘You’re the interloper, my relationship with her is beyond anyone’s interference!’
“Tsk, tsk…” What a dramatic scene!
MuMu sighed, munching on seaweed crisps.
The plot of the drama was so complicated. The male and female leads finally confessed their feelings for each other, only for a third person to appear.
“Woo.” Thankfully, it’s just Master and me at home, we can live peacefully…
What if a “third person” appeared?
MuMu looked at the seaweed crisps in its hand hesitantly:
It’s okay even if there’s a “third person,” right?
Once it earned enough star coins and bought a high-grade mermaid for soothing, wouldn’t their family become “three”?
MuMu relaxed, floating on the water:
“Da…” It’s okay, it’s okay.
“Beep beep!”
The home butler suddenly received a call, and Wen Ming’s voice came from the speakers:
“MuMu, clean up the things by the pool.”
MuMu gathered the scattered snack bags: “Awoo?” Why?
“Another mermaid will be living in the mermaid pool with you.”
“…!?”
MuMu’s mouth turned downwards, and the snacks in its arms fell to the floor.
It’s okay—da—
((◎д◎))?! Words I never thought I’d hear from ML…
Thank you for the update!!