Chapter 73
The rain didn’t disrupt the gala. Guests activated their optical brain umbrellas and continued socializing.
MuMu, at the sheltered buffet area, shook its head, scattering water droplets.
“Don’t do that, you’re getting water on the food!” A Wen Corp employee rushed over.
“Oops, sorry, force of habit.” Its human hair was wet.
The employee handed it a towel: “Here.”
“Thanks!” The employee watched it curiously: “Masked streamer, you’re so knowledgeable about mermaids, that head shake, just like mine.”
Don’t humans shake their heads like that? MuMu blinked: “Occupational hazard.”
The employee was even more excited: “So cool!”
“Hee hee.” MuMu looked at the Wen Corp logo on his uniform. “Are all your company’s employees here?”
“Yes, everyone’s working overtime today. I’m in charge of desserts.”
“Do you know where Wen Ming is?”
“Him…” The employee scratched his head. “No one assigns him a specific area, he’s everywhere and nowhere.”
MuMu frowned, clutching the towel, its voice dejected: “He’s avoiding me.”
The employee’s eyes widened: “I knew those shipping threads were right!”
“?”
“Streamer, you can contact him, the cameras will definitely focus on you two.” The employee said eagerly: “The shippers need new content!”
MuMu fumbled in its pockets. Should have brought snacks, didn’t expect humans to beg for food too…
“I don’t want to contact him directly, he doesn’t know I’m looking for him.” It wrung out the towel.
“So that’s how it is…” The employee said reassuringly: “Knowing him, I’m sure he has feelings for you too. If you don’t want to make the first move, try testing him.”
MuMu, trusting the “relationship guru,” asked: “Testing?”
“Do you have any fears or traumas? Seeing you in distress, he might rush to your side!”
MuMu looked at the dessert table: “Anything with milk?”
“The dessert section is full of dairy!” The employee presented a slice of cake. “Whipped cream, how about this?”
MuMu sniffed it: “That’s the smell! I’ll pretend to eat it, and he’ll stop me?”
“If he sees you, it’ll work.”
The employee, confident, noticed some cream on MuMu’s mask: “You have some…”
Suddenly, an arm reached out from behind MuMu, pulling it back.
MuMu stumbled, its back pressing against a familiar chest. It swallowed the “Master” that almost escaped its lips, turning around, its eyes sparkling:
“What a coincidence, meeting you here!”
Wen Ming sensed its normal body temperature: “Are you feeling unwell?”
“No!” MuMu, as usual, became a chatterbox. “It’s so nice to be outside, I’ve been feeling sluggish from all the sleeping lately…”
The employee, witnessing this interaction, was overflowing with joy. WenMu is real!
Wen Ming nodded at the employee: “I’ll take over from here.”
The employee discreetly winked at MuMu as he left: This is your chance!
MuMu received the message: Understood, continuing the test! It opened its mouth wide, about to devour the cake.
Wen Ming, like he would with his greedy little mermaid, stopped it, holding its chin:
“Eating random things again?”
MuMu instantly became docile: “I won’t do it again, I promise.”
Wen Ming’s eyes narrowed. Was his little mermaid’s sweet “awoo” actually sarcasm?
MuMu, feeling guilty, mimicked its mermaid form, pouting and blowing bubbles. It knew Wen Ming couldn’t resist this.
As expected, Wen Ming sighed and took the cake: “Want dessert?”
MuMu’s ears perked up, and it nodded eagerly. It always knew how to manipulate Wen Ming.
Wen Ming wiped the cream from its mask and offered a dairy-free cake made with taro and coconut milk.
[Why the sudden camera change?]
[Two o’clock, dessert section, are those two…?]
[Holy crap, they’re together! So cute!]
[This camera angle is giving “secret lovers” vibes, the director is a genius.]
[Who can deny WenMu now? He’s feeding him cake!]
[The dessert section is the sweetest spot at the gala.]
“So delicious!”
MuMu took a bite, clinging to Wen Ming’s arm as he peeled the wrapper: “Faster! Faster!”
Wen Ming finished peeling, but MuMu pushed the cake towards him: “You eat.”
Wen Ming, used to nutrient solution, only took a small bite.
“Eat more! Don’t worry about the money, I’ll take care of you!”
MuMu, thinking he was being frugal, took out the envelope: “This is for you, have a good meal.”
Wen Ming glanced at the writing: “You wrote ‘meal’ wrong.”
“I’ll… practice, okay?” MuMu looked at him. “Stop pretending, I know you know!”
Wen Ming opened the envelope: “Yes, I know you know I know.”
“?”
MuMu was completely lost: “Wait, I need time to process this, it’s a foreign language to me.” Still haven’t mastered human language…
Wen Ming put away the envelope and called the director: “Change cameras.”
“Roger!”
[Why did they stop filming? It was getting good!]
[One more glimpse, please! I’ll buy all your products!]
[The viewership is peaking, why not capitalize on this?]
[We could read their lips if they kept filming.]
“MuMu.”
Wen Ming looked at MuMu intently, as if seeing through the mask: “Can Jiao Ren transform into humans?”
“The Clan Leader said I’m the only one they’ve heard of.”
Wen Ming lowered his gaze: “Why didn’t you tell me?”
MuMu fidgeted with its clothes, thinking he was angry.
“You’re the only Jiao Ren in human society, figuring things out on your own, aren’t you lonely? Let me be there for you.”
Soft cello music played in the background, blending with Wen Ming’s gentle voice.
MuMu’s heart ached:
“Then, then stay with me always, okay?” Its eyes shone with uncontained affection.
“My mama said I should gain equal standing as a human before revealing my feelings. Forget about me, now!”
Wen Ming’s lips curved into a smile. He extended his hand: “Hello, I’m Wen Ming.”
“Hello, I’m MuMu!” MuMu shook his hand. “I’m a mermaid language streamer, I live at your address, and I earn a little money to help with expenses.”
Wen Ming chuckled.
“Not bad, right?” MuMu tried to sell itself.
“Beep beep!”
The home butler received a message from Assistant Xu, and MuMu became even more enthusiastic: “And I’m kind of important! Your colleague contacted me, asked me to be a guest for the ribbon-cutting ceremony!”
MuMu suddenly panicked, scratching Wen Ming’s palm:
“Oh no, what’s a ribbon-cutting ceremony? What do I have to do?”
Wen Ming put an arm around it: “Don’t worry, I’ll be with you.”
“You’ll be there too? Thank goodness!” MuMu leaned against his shoulder, relieved. “The comments sometimes say I’m ‘not good at being human,’ I’m worried about being exposed.” Its breath warmed Wen Ming’s skin.
Wen Ming touched MuMu: “You’re warmer than before.”
“That’s normal.” MuMu listened to its racing heart. “Every time I realize how much I like you, I feel like I’m about to combust.”
Wen Ming kissed it through the mask: “Let’s go home early tonight.”
“I’ll take your airship!”
“Okay.”
They had to cross the outdoor area to reach the stage. Wen Ming extended his optical brain umbrella to shield MuMu from the rain.
Assistant Xu rushed over: “You two will go on stage from here, then…”
“Where?” MuMu blinked. “My vision is blurry, I can’t see clearly.”
Wen Ming sensed something and whispered: “MuMu, wait for me inside, I’ll take you home after.”
“No, I can do it.” MuMu insisted. “I want to hold your hand on stage, show everyone you’re under my protection, so no more evil bosses can bully you.”
Assistant Xu: ?
So it’s not an act, he really doesn’t know the Admiral’s identity? He must be from another planet!
Wen Ming gave him a look, and Assistant Xu quickly said: “We’ll keep it short, streamer, just read these lines on stage.” He handed MuMu a piece of paper and went to talk to the host.
MuMu traced the characters with its finger: “Thank you for your donations to the mermaid res…”
Wen Ming: “Rescue center.”
“Rescue center. Mermaids and humans are different, I hope everyone…”
MuMu paused at an unfamiliar character, turning to Wen Ming: “What’s this character?”
Wen Ming held its finger, pointing at the previous sentence: “Mermaids and humans are different, do you agree?”
MuMu thought for a moment, then nodded.
“You and I, are we also different?” Wen Ming asked.
This time, MuMu didn’t hesitate: “Yes!”
A flicker of disappointment in Wen Ming’s eyes.
“Of course Master and I are different!”
MuMu stood up straight, reciting like it was giving a poetry reading: “I’m closer to nature, I can feel the shape of water.” It extended its hand beyond the umbrella, catching raindrops.
“Like this raindrop, telling me how much I like you!”
The rhythmic patter of the rain against the transparent umbrella was drowned out by its racing heart.
Wen Ming caressed its ear: “Say that again.”
His calloused fingertips sent shivers down MuMu’s spine, its body weakening:
“I can’t, I’m dizzy…”
‘Prolonged time out of water, followed by sudden submersion, can negate the effects…’
MuMu, in human form, caught in the rain, was experiencing a resurgence of its mating season symptoms.
Wen Ming understood and held MuMu, whispering: “Don’t transform.”
“Admiral, streamer, the ribbon-cutting ceremony is about to…”
Assistant Xu, rushing over, stopped abruptly. He couldn’t describe the look in Wen Ming’s eyes – a possessive intensity, a barely contained desire.
“Assistant Xu, the streamer is unwell, find a replacement.”
Wen Ming took off his jacket, wrapped the dazed MuMu in it, and lifted him into his arms.
Assistant Xu, stunned: “What about you?”
Wen Ming had already disappeared…
“Hot… so hot!”
Back at the villa, MuMu frantically tore at its clothes.
By the time Wen Ming reached his bedroom, MuMu was naked, a warm, fragrant bundle in his arms.
“Still hot, woo, no more clothes to take off, what do I do?”
Wen Ming’s kisses rained down on it: “I’ll help you, okay?”
MuMu instinctively waited for a kiss on the lips, but his kisses trailed across its skin, igniting a fire within.
It bit Wen Ming’s neck, panting: “Why aren’t you kissing my lips? Stop it, it’s making me itch, so uncomfortable…”
“Sorry, no kissing tonight.”
“Why!?”
“Soothing takes a lot out of you, you need to conserve your energy.”
“Why!?”
MuMu soon found out why.
