Chapter 43
“Confession…”
The masked streamer lowered his head, lost in thought for a few seconds, then looked up, his expression brighter: “Remember to give your mermaid a chance to confess to Emerald!”
The connected man replied: “Okay, I’ll contact Emerald’s owner tomorrow and arrange a meeting at the Mermaid Center.”
[I hereby pronounce the first fish couple officially together!]
[This one-star coin flower gift is my wedding present to them.]
[Why are you being so romantic? Isn’t this just the mermaid’s mating season?]
[Exactly, it’s just an instinctual desire to mate, mermaids don’t have emotions.]
[But wasn’t Big Tiger’s mermaid feeling down because it wanted its owner to play with it?]
[That’s just because it was bored.]
The comments slowed down, most viewers agreeing that “mermaids don’t have emotions.”
“Uh…” MuMu, sensing the shift in the livestream’s atmosphere, changed the subject: “Now connecting with the top gifter on the leaderboard—”
“Hello, streamer.” A young woman stood in a mermaid room.
The comments greeted her uniformly: [Hello, rich lady!]
[The leaderboard competition is insane.]
[That anonymous user in second place is so close, just one more gift away from first place.]
[I was watching that anonymous user, they were so aggressive at first, then hesitated for a few seconds and missed out on first place…]
[Maybe they wanted to ask something too outrageous and backed out.]
[Reminds me of that anonymous post about someone in love with their mermaid. /Smirk/]
“Streamer, my mermaid has a strange habit.” The woman’s voice came through the livestream.
The camera focused on a mermaid floating belly-up: “It always floats like this, according to the Mermaid Behavior Interpretation, this is a death pose…”
The masked streamer chuckled: “Mermaids also float when they’re completely relaxed, like when basking in the sun or enjoying snacks.”
The woman’s tone was strained: “But… it’s faking it!”
The masked streamer adjusted his mask and asked in surprise: “Faking it?”
“Let me demonstrate.”
The woman called the mermaid’s name a few times, but it didn’t move, its belly exposed to the air.
As if in a deep sleep.
The camera zoomed in for a close-up—
Its eyelashes fluttered, and its eyes darted around beneath its eyelids.
[You can never wake a mermaid pretending to be asleep.]
[Even the little streamer is surprised, this question is beyond his expertise.]
[The main problem is the mermaid isn’t making any sounds, the masked streamer can’t translate anything.]
[Why would you spend star coins to ask about something so trivial? If your mermaid wants to pretend to be asleep, just pretend you don’t know.]
The woman glanced at the comments: “No, if I don’t call it out, it will protest.”
She turned and walked away from the pool, and the mermaid behind her roared angrily, its tail thrashing, sending water splashing several meters.
The masked streamer tilted his head, listening intently.
The woman sighed helplessly: “If I ignore it, it’ll keep yelling, but this situation is easy to resolve—”
She returned to the edge of the pool, and the mermaid instantly resumed its floating pose, quietly “playing dead.”
[Is this mermaid going through menopause? /Confused/]
[This is hilarious, what’s going on in that mermaid’s head!? I’m dying to know!]
[Learning another language is so important, streamer, lend me your mermaid language skills for a few minutes! /Kneeling/]
The masked streamer smiled faintly: “How do you usually end this charade?”
“I have to shake it awake.” The woman gently shook the mermaid’s shoulder.
The mermaid scowled.
“It says that’s not how it goes.” The masked streamer translated. “You usually speak to it in an excited tone, like you’re acting.”
“…I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of so many viewers.”
The woman slowly rolled up her sleeves, looked at the mermaid, and instantly got into character:
“Baby, don’t die! Wake up!”
Her voice was dramatic, she shook the mermaid vigorously, and there were even tears of worry in her eyes.
Viewers who had just joined the livestream thought something had actually happened to the mermaid.
The mermaid jolted awake with an “awoo,” bared its teeth at her, and growled.
The woman quickly backed away: “This is the only way to ‘wake it up,’ but it has terrible morning breath, I’m afraid it’ll bite…”
[I’m speechless, the mermaid’s acting is so-so, but the woman is amazing, a rising star! /Thumbs up/]
[This mermaid needs to yell at its owner to be satisfied. /Crying laughing/]
[Clearly spoiled, throwing a tantrum if the human doesn’t follow its script, so demanding!]
“It loves you very much!”
The masked streamer’s words filled the chat with question marks.
The woman was incredulous: “It’s ‘playing dead’ because it loves me?”
“Yes, it just said so while gesturing.” The streamer imitated the mermaid’s aggressive movements. “It says it loves you this—much!”
[That’s what it meant? I thought it was about to attack…]
[Really? That claw-waving looks exactly like an attack stance, mermaids can’t possibly confuse hostility and affection, right?]
[Its clumsy acting shows that mermaids aren’t good at expressing themselves.]
The connected user stared at her mermaid for a long time: “Baby, you…”
The drama queen mermaid waved its claws and “awooed” again, looking fierce.
Masked streamer: “It says it enjoyed today’s game! It was a little sad when you walked away earlier, it thought you didn’t want to play anymore.”
[I get it, this mermaid only knows how to make “angry” faces.]
[This woman is so patient, if it were me, I’d suppress it with my mental seascape every time it acted up.]
[We should be more patient with mermaids. So far, none of the mermaids the streamer has translated for have shown any malice.]
[I used to think the masked streamer was the savior of interstellar humanity, but he’s actually the savior of mermaids!]
The connected user sat by the pool, stroking her mermaid’s hair:
“Why would it consider ‘playing dead’ a game?”
The masked streamer pondered: “What was your reaction the first time it floated like that?”
“I thought it was dying, so I picked it up and tried to revive it. After a few misunderstandings, it started doing it more and more.”
“It sensed that you cherished it and were afraid of losing it, so it wants to recreate that scene, seeking your attention.”
The masked streamer smiled faintly: “Although mermaids aren’t good at expressing themselves, if you care for them, they’ll develop feelings for you.”
Just like Hua Hua, whose memory was so poor that it forgot who Xiao Jun was, but once it recognized him, it would protect its “little brother”;
The red mermaid at Qi Xuan’s house, although claiming to be tricking him for more food, could still eat even if it didn’t cooperate with the spinning routine.
[My understanding of mermaids is shattered every time the masked streamer goes live. /Mind blown/]
[The woman clearly cares for her mermaid, spending star coins to reach the top of the leaderboard and keeping its tail so well-maintained.]
[Everyone in the interstellar world knows mermaids don’t have emotions, why is the streamer saying otherwise?]
“Because I understand mermaid language!”
Hearing the Comment Assistant, MuMu put its hands on its hips: “I heard it with my own ears, while you can only speculate.”
Have you ever been a mermaid!?
[But I don’t understand mermaid language, how can I know if my mermaid likes me?]
“You can know even without understanding.”
The masked streamer’s confident and certain voice echoed through Wen Ming’s office:
‘Love doesn’t need words to be expressed!’
Wen Ming threw the paper with “Mermaids are different from humans” into the shredder and left the company…
At home, MuMu was still diligently livestreaming.
The comments were heated, some viewers stubbornly clinging to their own beliefs, trying to change the streamer’s perspective.
Any other streamer would have lost control of the narrative.
But MuMu was the most composed illiterate streamer in history: “The popularity is increasing, you guys are amazing!”
[I suddenly feel powerless, like I’ve drawn my bow, and the target has flown away.]
[Ancient humans had debates with scholars, interstellar humans have the masked streamer stonewalling everyone. /Giving up/]
MuMu glanced at the time and asked the connected user: “Any more questions? I should end the livestream soon.”
“I can’t keep playing this game with it every day, is there a way to make it change its game?”
“If it enjoys interacting with you…”
MuMu leaned over and grabbed a floating water ball from beside the mermaid pool, showing it to the camera:
“I recommend choosing an interactive toy to cultivate a new hobby!”
[There it is, the Wen Corp advertisement!]
[How does Wen Corp always manage to ride the wave created by the masked streamer? Like they planned it in advance.]
[Please, Admiral Wen, teach a class at the Interstellar Business Academy, your product foresight is incredible.]
“Whoosh—”
“!” MuMu froze, recognizing the sound of Wen Ming’s airship. “Thank you, everyone, see you next time!”
It frantically put on its ear stud and hair clip, while the home butler closed the livestream and turned off the projector.
“Beep, welcome home.”
Wen Ming’s footsteps echoed from the entrance.
Too late!
MuMu hopped on one leg, struggling to take off its pants, and winked at the home butler:
Stall Master!
The home butler grabbed the floating water ball and threw it outside the mermaid room, then rolled after it.
“Beep beep, retrieving lost mermaid toy.”
The chubby robot blocked Wen Ming’s path.
Wen Ming moved left, it moved left, Wen Ming moved right, it moved right.
Wen Ming tapped its seemingly unintelligent casing: “Virus?”
The home butler finally grabbed the floating water ball:
“Beep beep, mermaid toy retrieved.”
“Disinfecting toy, disinfection complete.”
“Conducting safety check, result: safe.”
It had successfully stalled Wen Ming for more than ten seconds.
Wen Ming clicked the “Antivirus” function, bypassed the robot, and entered the mermaid room—
MuMu was at the top of the artificial rock, fiddling with something.
Seeing Wen Ming, it let out a long, mournful cry:
“Awoo—” Why did your stingy boss let you off work early!?
It looked like a despondent seal statue perched on top of the rock.
“What are you doing up there?” Wen Ming raised an eyebrow. “Be careful, you’ll fall.”
Out of his sight, MuMu frantically stuffed its clothes and mask into a crevice and plopped back into the pool.
It took off its crooked hair clip and waved it at Wen Ming:
“Woo.” I can’t clip it on properly.
Wen Ming lifted it onto the padded wall, his long fingers working like magic, effortlessly securing the stray hairs with the hair clip.
MuMu nuzzled his hand, tilting its head: “Awoo.” Thank you.
The little mermaid’s beautiful eyes sparkled, radiating trust and dependence.
‘Love doesn’t need words to be expressed!’
Wen Ming abruptly withdrew his hand, his movements slightly flustered.
MuMu, its cheek brushing against empty air, turned to see Wen Ming quickly leaving the mermaid room.
The home butler stood at the entrance, its antivirus scan having been for nothing.
As Wen Ming hurried past, it finished its scan, rebooted, and started its announcement:
“Beep beep, today is Valentine’s Day, a friendly reminder from your Home Butler Robot—
Soulmates are destined to find love on this day, Happy Valentine’s Day.”
The emotionless electronic voice disrupted Wen Ming’s hurried steps.
“Awoo!” Little Butler!
The home butler, ignoring its “homeowner’s” unusual behavior, entered the mermaid room.
MuMu beckoned it: “Whoo, whoo!” Come here!
Outside the mermaid room, Wen Ming took a tube of nutrient solution from the freshness preserver, holding it in his hand for a while, the warmth from MuMu’s touch still lingering on his skin.
“Ding!”
A video call request from the home butler popped up on his optical brain.
“?” Wen Ming went back and saw MuMu pressing the emergency button.
MuMu poked the button a few more times, looking at him: “Awoo!”
“What is it?”
MuMu’s eyes crinkled into crescents: “Awoo~” Nothing, you said I could press it whenever I wanted to see you!
Countless chasms separated humans and mermaids, communication being the first.
But at this moment, Wen Ming understood the little mermaid’s message.
He hesitated, his lips twitching, then said, lying through his teeth:
“Are you hungry?”
MuMu’s raised tail fin immediately drooped.
Wen Ming had come home early, and the regularly scheduled fresh fish delivery hadn’t arrived yet.
He picked up the mermaid bowl: “Have some fish food for now.”
MuMu leaned forward and swatted the bowl away: “Growl!” What’s that for? So formal.
Wen Ming sighed softly, holding the nutrient solution in one hand and scooping up some fish food with the other, offering it to MuMu.
He was used to hand-feeding it, but today, his skin felt strangely “sensitive.”
MuMu’s lips, like soft feathers, occasionally brushed against his palm, sending shivers down his spine.
Wen Ming’s fingers trembled involuntarily.
MuMu, thinking he was about to pull his hand away again, grabbed his wrist and licked the fish food faster.
A few crumbs were stuck in the lines of his palm, and MuMu carefully licked them clean, its tongue tracing a vertical line upwards.
It absently stared at the veins on the inside of Wen Ming’s arm.
His arm was tense, the veins more prominent than usual, throbbing with every lick.
This taught MuMu a new word in human language—
Sexy.
Mermaids didn’t have as many inhibitions as humans, and MuMu, following its instincts, nibbled on his arm…
Every pore on the back of Wen Ming’s neck opened.
He heard his own hoarse voice: “MuMu.”
The little mermaid looked up, its half-closed eyes hazy, just like in his dream, its slightly parted lips seemingly questioning:
Do you really only see me as a mermaid?
“Bang!”
A sound like a snapping string, the sound of reason breaking, but only when Wen Ming felt a cool liquid against his cheek did he realize it was the nutrient solution, crushed in his hand.
“Awoo!” Who pulled the curtain over my eyes?
