The Little Mermaid Fell for the Jiaoren 40

Chapter 40: Distancing

To be fair, the food in the military cafeteria was actually not bad. On the contrary, even if one could eat out, the cafeteria was still packed every day.

The soldiers in the cooking squad could still manage to caramelize pork belly even in the midst of war. Although it was a one-pot stew, none of the necessary steps were skipped.

Considering that it was Deng Xi’s first time eating human food, Si Jisheng chose some easily digestible millet porridge and a few light seasonal vegetables, as well as a portion of steamed fish that Deng Xi might like.

They were all packed in the military’s special dissolvable food containers.

The moment Si Jisheng turned back, he saw Deng Xi, who was blinking his eyes at a loss, holding a large pile of snacks.

His silver eyes narrowed slightly as he carefully scanned them.

A can of fruit candies, all artificial flavors and colors.

A cup of iced milk tea, easy to gain weight and bad for the stomach.

And a pile of fried and puffed foods, which looked unhealthy.

The space next to the mobility chair was empty. The culprits had long since run off, leaving only Deng Xi, who, under the little mute’s gaze, frantically stuffed the snacks that others had fed him into the flying chair, trying to prevent the little mute from seeing.

If he ate the snacks that others had given him, he wouldn’t have room in his stomach for the food that the little mute had gotten for him.

Deng Xi lowered his eyelids guiltily and took the initiative to control the mobility chair to sway and fly to the little mute’s side. “Are we eating here?”

Si Jisheng’s expression was as usual. “We’ll eat back there.”

Under the faint, gossipy gazes in the cafeteria, and the looks that were practically ready to snatch the merman on the spot, Si Jisheng expressionlessly led the mobility chair onto the military and political building’s sky ladder.

It would still take some time for the sky ladder to reach the top floor.

Deng Xi poked at the human food that the humans had stuffed into his hands and sniffed at the can of dried fish that he was most curious about with the tip of his nose.

Because the glass jar was sealed very tightly, the little merman didn’t smell anything. The rustling sound kept sounding in the quiet sky ladder.

“You can eat it.”

Deng Xi’s eyes lit up. He held up the glass jar with both hands. “Little Mute, help me open it.”

Si Jisheng could hold the glass jar of dried fish with one hand. He deftly twisted it open with one hand, then gently placed it on Deng Xi’s flying chair and instructed in a low voice, “But you can only eat a little.”

A human’s dried fish was only half a finger long, very small. Deng Xi had never eaten such a small fish before, and they had really become dry and shriveled, which was so magical.

The little merman tentatively put a dried fish in his mouth and bit it, then bit it again. It was so crispy it crunched with one bite.

Deng Xi’s blue eyes instantly lit up.

It didn’t have the light sweetness of raw fish sashimi. It was a salty feeling. The fishy smell was completely masked, and the fish bones were also baked to a crisp.

Super delicious!

Deng Xi couldn’t help but eat one, two, three…

In a short while, he had eaten half a can of dried fish.

Just as Deng Xi was about to eat more, the glass jar in his hand was suddenly taken away. Before he could react, he saw the silver-tail’s thin lips pressed into a cold, straight line, and he said cruelly, “Confiscated.”

Deng Xi’s eyes widened. “No!”

The little merman said pitifully, “Little Mute is stealing my dried fish.”

Si Jisheng lowered his eyes slightly. “You can’t eat too much before a meal.”

Deng Xi pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Si Jisheng frowned and sighed slightly. “I’ll give it back to you after you’ve eaten.”

Only then did Deng Xi’s eyelids curve.

At this moment, the sky ladder slowly opened.

Si Jisheng took Deng Xi to his lounge on the top floor. He turned off the mobility chair’s program, bent down, and carried the little merman from inside to a chair.

Because he had been in the flying chair for too long, the moment he got out, Deng Xi couldn’t help but flick his tail. His tail fin slapped the ground with a “patter,” and water droplets even splashed onto Si Jisheng’s black combat pants, leaving a water stain.

Si Jisheng squatted down, tidied up the Jiaoren silk that was wrapped around the blue-tail, and asked in a low voice, “Is it uncomfortable?”

Deng Xi looked down at the little mute who was squatting by his tail and shook his head. “It’s not uncomfortable. I’ve never been dehydrated.”

“My tail is very comfortable.”

Si Jisheng nodded, refilled the water tank in the flying chair, and then pressed the button on the lunch box.

The military’s lunch box automatically opened, steadily holding the food inside, and automatically transformed into plates, extending outwards and being placed on the table one by one.

Si Jisheng placed the spoon he had specially taken into Deng Xi’s millet porridge. “Do you know how to use it?”

Deng Xi had only ever used a human’s knife and fork. He shook his head.

Si Jisheng bent down and scooped up a spoonful of millet porridge with a paper spoon. The millet porridge was still steaming hot. He waited for a while before placing it by Deng Xi’s lips. “Open your mouth.”

Deng Xi took the spoon into his mouth and asked vaguely, “What is this?”

He didn’t know what it was, but since the little mute was feeding him, Deng Xi ate it without hesitation.

The millet porridge was soft and delicious. The chef in the cooking squad had also sprinkled a little white sugar on it. It was warm and sweet in the mouth.

This was the first time the little merman had eaten hot food.

It felt very novel, and the taste was also very good.

Si Jisheng explained patiently, “This is porridge that humans make with rice. And rice is a food that humans eat every day.”

Deng Xi: “Is it like our fish?”

Si Jisheng acknowledged with a sound. “Have you learned?”

Deng Xi nodded his head.

The little merman clumsily picked up the spoon and, imitating the silver-tail’s movements, scooped up the millet porridge in the bowl. Because it was much simpler to operate than a knife and fork, Deng Xi successfully sent the first spoonful into his mouth without dropping it.

He quickly learned how to use a spoon.

But the chopsticks used for Chinese food were several times more difficult than a knife and fork. Si Jisheng picked the bones from the fish, placed the meat in Deng Xi’s bowl, and had him eat it with a spoon.

The steamed fish was drizzled with a thick sauce. It was a bit hot, and with the soft texture of the millet porridge, it was salty and fragrant.

With one bite, his stomach became warm.

Deng Xi squinted his blue eyes in enjoyment, his eyelids curving. “So delicious!” He liked human food.

Si Jisheng also placed the seasonal vegetables in Deng Xi’s bowl. Afraid that Deng Xi, who was using a spoon for the first time, would knock over the bowl, he watched as Deng Xi finished eating, then returned the after-meal dessert—that can of dried fish—to Deng Xi before he started to eat.

Deng Xi propped his chin on his hands and watched as the little mute ate. He suddenly thought of something and tilted his head in confusion. “A human said I was Little Mute’s little boyfriend.”

“What’s a little boyfriend?”

The chopsticks in Si Jisheng’s hand suddenly hit the bowl, making a crisp sound that was deafening in the quiet space.

He let out a low, muffled cough, his chest heaving once. He took a deep breath.

Deng Xi asked with even more confusion, “Why isn’t Little Mute talking?”

Si Jisheng raised his eyes to look at Deng Xi. “It’s a title.”

Deng Xi blinked curiously. “What kind of title?”

Si Jisheng said, word by word, “It’s a title that we only have because we like each other.”

His silver eyes reflected Deng Xi, who was stunned in place, his throat tight.

Deng Xi was stunned for a moment before he realized what was going on. He seemed very happy and said in a daze, “So it’s a title for good friends.”

He curved his eyes.

The air seemed to have frozen for a moment.

The lounge was quiet for a long time before Si Jisheng quietly asked in return, “Good friends?”

Deng Xi nodded as if it were a matter of course. “Yes, I like Little Mute, and Little Mute likes me. Aren’t we good friends?”

Si Jisheng put down his chopsticks, closed his eyes with forbearance, and then repeated in a breathy voice, “Good friends.”

He could even faintly hear a suppressed tone.

Hugging tightly in the cold ocean, almost like courting, touching each other’s tails, and requesting to sleep curled up in the same shell.

Good friends?

Si Jisheng suddenly stood up, took two steps out, then turned back. He put his hands under Deng Xi’s armpits, bent down, and lifted Deng Xi from the dry chair.

Like lifting a small doll, his movements were restrained and distant, completely unlike the embrace before, where he had wrapped his long arms around Deng Xi’s waist and let him press against his chest.

He coldly placed the little merman in the damp mobility chair. Just as he turned his back, he turned back under Deng Xi’s clueless and bewildered gaze, took out the snacks that were squeezing the fish tail in the flying chair one by one with a cold face, and placed them on the table.

He uncomplainingly poured a cup of sweet fruit juice from the lounge and placed it by Deng Xi’s hand.

Si Jisheng took a deep breath. “I’m leaving.”

Deng Xi nodded obediently, a dimple appearing at the corner of his lips. “Then Little Mute, you can go and get busy.”

Si Jisheng’s expression instantly became even colder. He pressed his thin lips together, turned, and strode out the door. When he gripped the doorknob, he paused for a few seconds.

Deng Xi looked at the little mute’s tall back and waved his hand, his blue eyes curving slightly. “Goodbye, Little Mute.”

The next second, the door to the lounge was coldly closed.

Si Jisheng was exuding a cold aura. His steps towards the holographic training field were stopped midway. Dr. Li was holding a locked, silver-white medicine box and leading the white-haired cub, and they met the Marshal head-on.

Dr. Li nodded. “Marshal.”

She gently pushed the white-haired cub. “Mom has something to do. Can you go and accompany that big brother in the lounge first?”

The white-haired cub was holding the comm that Dr. Li had given him. He nodded and ran into the lounge.

The corridor was instantly quiet. It wasn’t until there was no one around that Dr. Li said in a low voice, “Marshal, I’ve brought all the medicine.”

Si Jisheng strode towards the treatment room. “How many days is the course of treatment?”

Dr. Li followed behind him, her face worried. “According to your newly decided treatment plan, this medicine will only last you for three days.”

After speaking, she sighed again. “But this is also good.”

One course of treatment could suppress the Jiaoren transformation for three months, and could also stabilize the comm system that monitored the Marshal’s mental sea for half a year.

They entered the treatment room. Dr. Li opened the briefcase. Inside was a full box of gene-suppressing drugs. After presenting it to the Marshal for inspection, she smoothly placed it in the safe cold storage box in the treatment room.

Besides being an excellent pharmacist who dispensed medicine to aliens, Dr. Li also had outstanding achievements in the field of psychology.

She turned on the lights in the treatment room and poured a cup of warm water for the Marshal. “This morning’s session was interrupted because of my child. It was my fault.”

“Let’s talk.”

Si Jisheng sat quietly on the leather sofa in the treatment room and nodded faintly.

“Your mental sea has fluctuated five to six times recently. The adjutant said that you’ve also had one Jiaoren transformation, but it’s already been suppressed by the treatment pod.”

“Why did you suddenly increase the treatment plan?”

A long silence.

“Next question.”

“Will you still use the training field to vent your excess energy?”

“Yes.”

“Venting your emotions is a good thing, but it’s better for you to control it.”

“I understand.”

“Do you still need the help of medication to fall asleep recently?”

“The monitoring system shows that my sleep quality has improved.”

“Then what about your own feelings?”

“Perhaps I don’t need it anymore.”

“Has anything changed?”

He remembered something, and his brow relaxed slightly. His silver eyes stared at a blue-green conch shell with many cracks on the round table. After a long time, he said quietly, “I met the person I could never forget.”

He had found his treasure.