Chapter 61
“Beep!” A new message notification.
Wen Ming glanced at it. Xiao Jun had forwarded a thread about people shipping him and the masked streamer.
“[Link] They’re shipping you two, is it real? What’s going on?”
“Nothing, we’re not close.” He replied curtly, then looked down, his expression softening:
“Sleep pod?”
MuMu, sleepy-eyed, covered its ears, refusing to communicate.
“MuMu…” Wen Ming persisted.
MuMu snapped: “Growl!” Leave me alone! That’s for being so cold to me outside! It gently nibbled on his hand to vent.
“If not the sleep pod…” Wen Ming released a few energy particles. “Soothe me, okay?”
Oh right, kissy time! MuMu perked up and eagerly climbed onto his arm.
Just as it was about to kiss him, Wen Ming stopped it:
“MuMu, soothing isn’t a task, it’s a request.”
“Awoo?” Why are you wasting time, we’re losing precious kissing seconds! MuMu slapped the water with its tail fin, turning away, sulking. I’m really angry this time!
Wen Ming’s eyes crinkled with amusement. He leaned in and kissed the little mermaid’s cheek, a fleeting touch.
“?” The kiss ended too quickly. MuMu pouted, a soft gurgle escaping its lips:
“Gurgle…” I kiss you, you pull away, but you sneak a kiss on me, humans are confusing.
“So you agree to soothe, right?” Wen Ming stroked the back of MuMu’s neck, gently guiding its thoughts: “Do you like soothing?”
“Awoo.” Yes. MuMu’s ears twitched. Especially you. Its clear eyes couldn’t hide its affection.
Wen Ming’s eyes flickered, and he began: “I…”
“Awoo!” No more talking, kissy time!
MuMu cupped his face and kissed him, eyes closed. It was determined to improve. It had messed up before, biting his lip, and had replayed the disastrous kiss countless times.
This time will be perfect! It kissed him confidently, only to be quickly overwhelmed.
“Whoo!” You’ve been practicing too!?
MuMu entered his mental seascape. The energy was contained, the tree sprouting new branches. Relieved, MuMu ended the soothing and focused on the kiss.
“Pop!” So nice!
Master looks fierce, but his lips are soft. Like the flesh beneath grilled fish skin… grilled fish!
I almost forgot to connect with the top gifter! MuMu’s eyes widened.
“Hmph…” Soothing’s done, stop kissing—
MuMu struggled free.
“Awoo.” The leaderboard boss is waiting, go to sleep.
“Tired?” Wen Ming’s arm instinctively wrapped around it, patting it rhythmically. MuMu nestled against him, its chin bobbing sleepily:
“Purr.” Can’t sleep… can’t stand up the boss…
“Sleep. Good night.”
MuMu’s consciousness faded: “Purr…”
…
“Awoo!” So sorry, Leaderboard Boss!
The next morning, MuMu remembered and smacked its head. Transforming, it sent a voice message to the anonymous top gifter:
“So sorry! I should have connected yesterday. I’m going live now, are you free?” It waited impatiently.
“Are you angry?”
“I’ll refund your gifts!”
“You’re anonymous, I can’t transfer, do you have an account?”
“Beep beep!” A message notification from the ear stud.
The anonymous gifter had replied with a single line of text:
“Not with my mermaid, maybe next time.”
“Okay, just let me know!” MuMu replied enthusiastically, but the other party didn’t respond.
“A person of few words.” It closed the chat: “Little Butler, my red carpet walk was so good, any endorsements?”
“Beep beep, none recently.”
MuMu’s eyes lit up: “What about the previous ones?”
“All withdrawn.”
“They can do that?” MuMu took off its ear stud. “Fine, I’ll just livestream.”
As it went live, the viewer count exploded, the comments overwhelming.
[Streamer, what’s going on with Admiral Wen? Did you know him before your first stream?]
[The shipping threads are insane, I thought you’d avoid it, but you’re live! /Confetti/]
[Little streamer, look me in the eye, were you giddy when you said “I know MuMu’s owner”?]
MuMu couldn’t read, but it recognized “MuMu” from practicing its signature. It touched its face, bewildered: I’m wearing a mask, how do they know?
It feigned composure:
“Ahem! No irrelevant discussions, let’s connect.” I’m not MuMu…
[My heart is broken, he called it irrelevant.]
[Came for the tea, but he denies it… /Smoking/]
[So he advertised Wen Corp just because their products are good?]
[Wen Corp wins again.]
“Let’s welcome the first randomly selected viewer!”
“Hello, streamer!” The connected user said excitedly. “What luck! I didn’t expect to connect!”
[Shut up, I’m jealous!]
[Connected user, you’ve become a “Good Luck Charm” meme. /Rubbing for luck/]
The connected user’s eye twitched: “I’ve been a background actor for ten years, never recognized, now I’m internet famous.”
MuMu chuckled: “Need a translation for that mermaid?” It looks familiar…
The connected user said with a frown: “It’s my mermaid, but I don’t have any questions.”
The camera showed the mermaid. It cautiously sank, sniffed the water, then surfaced, belly-up, inviting pets.
[Good baby, let auntie kiss you!]
[No problems at all? What a perfect mermaid.]
“My mermaid is very timid. Besides secretly soothing me during feeding time, it hides.”
MuMu tilted its head: “But it lets you touch its belly, that’s trust.”
“I’m also puzzled. I took it to the Soothing Competition, and it’s been floating like this ever since.”
The user petted the mermaid, gave it snacks, and it retreated.
“Still timid, only belly rubs, I don’t know where it learned that.”
“…?”
It learned it from me! Memories of the Soothing Competition surfaced. MuMu stared: This mermaid was there when I taught the others how to beg for snacks!
The user said: “It must be imitating someone, I’m so grateful to that mystery mermaid, our family’s savior!”
MuMu chuckled awkwardly. You’re exaggerating…
[Take your mermaid out to socialize more.]
[Why hasn’t the Mermaid Center held any events lately?]
[The Soothing Competition ended early, haven’t heard anything since.]
[Take your mermaid to the Center’s recreational area.]
The second connection, the top gifter, was… another familiar face.
“One moment, adjusting the camera.”
A high ponytail swished across the screen. MuMu’s ears twitched, and its eyes widened:
“You’re—”
“Shh, this is my personal time, call me ‘connected user.'”
[The Marshal! Looking good!]
[Even the Marshal is on the gift leaderboard, we’re all equal before mermaids.]
[What kind of mermaid does the Marshal have? Does she teach it military drills?]
The Marshal chuckled: “Nothing special, I chose it because I liked its looks.”
MuMu scanned the screen: “Where’s your mermaid?”
“It…” The Marshal rubbed her forehead. “I’ll show you, it’s a bit chaotic, brace yourselves.”
[Another destructive one?]
The viewers watched nervously as the Marshal opened the mermaid room door—
It was spotless.
[Marshal, you’re too humble, if this is chaotic, my house is a disaster zone.]
The Marshal called her mermaid’s name.
“Awoo—” A shrill cry erupted from the pool. The mermaid shrieked, glaring at the Marshal, splashing water at her. Within a minute, the room was soaked, and objects were scattered everywhere.
[What a mess!]
[The room was clean just now, this mermaid isn’t usually destructive, what happened?]
[Is the Marshal’s military aura too intimidating?]
“It only started acting like this recently, losing control whenever it sees me. I have to have the robot feed it.”
The Marshal blocked a flying toy: “We used to be close. Streamer, why is it hostile now?”
MuMu’s expression beneath the mask mirrored the mermaid’s distress.
It pondered: “It seems we need a little performance…”
“Admiral, today’s trip is a day trip, I’ve sent the files…” Assistant Xu piloted the airship, reporting the schedule. If he had looked back, he would have seen that Wen Ming wasn’t listening.
His optical brain was displaying the “Mermaid Language Simultaneous Interpretation” livestream, and his gaze was fixed on the masked streamer’s lips—
Slightly swollen.
As if they had been kissed thoroughly. A connection formed in Wen Ming’s mind.
He messaged the home butler: “What is MuMu doing?”
“Beep beep, mermaid MuMu is basking in the sun.”
Robots didn’t lie. But the little mermaid was a social butterfly, maybe it had charmed the robot too…
“Turn around.”
Assistant Xu hesitated: “Now?”
Wen Ming enunciated each word: “Go home.”
