Chapter 73: Heart-Manipulating Older Chaebol

He hadn’t bothered with any disguise earlier, but there was no way he could actually like it…

05 still remembered the task the Main God had assigned him.

Zheng Shiyan pinched his cheek, coaxing him gently. “So from now on, kisses will be your reward. Sound good?”

05 silently turned his head away, his white lashes drooping as he pretended not to understand a word.

That reaction only spurred Zheng Shiyan on. He leaned in even closer. “Well? Don’t you like it?”

Han Wu got another quick peck on the lips, but his gaze drifted downward instead.

Only then did Zheng Shiyan realize his own arousal. Embarrassment flooded him.

A kid ten years his junior had forced him into that absurd act, yet he hadn’t even gotten angry—he’d even taken the initiative to kiss him. Had he gotten too carried away with the coaxing?

That definitely wasn’t his intention.

“Don’t touch it.”

Han Wu leaned in, as if to help him out.

“No need…!” Zheng Shiyan couldn’t save face. He darkened his expression, a flash of annoyed embarrassment in his eyes, and shoved Han Wu out of the room before slamming the door shut.

He glanced down.

How strange.

Zheng Shiyan’s ears burned red. He turned and headed straight for the bathroom, taking another cold shower.

Meanwhile, the ousted Han Wu stood quietly on the living room carpet.

He slowly made his way to the spot where Zheng Shiyan had knelt earlier, violently retching. Han Wu gazed down at it.

On the dark carpet, a small patch of undried water stain had formed a bizarre cluster of translucent fish eggs, each one enclosing tiny black specks.

They pulsed faintly, as if absorbing others around them, slowly swelling larger.

Han Wu’s face remained expressionless as he crushed them underfoot.

The cluster burst into a puddle of colorless, traceless water that seeped into the carpet and vanished.

By the time Zheng Shiyan emerged from the bathroom, clad only in a towel, Han Wu had reverted to his innocent demeanor. He sidled up silently beside him.

Zheng Shiyan had no time for him—the phone rang with a report from one of his subordinates.

He listened while tossing aside the towel and pulling on the fresh clothes laid out for him.

In the process, the fluid lines of his shoulders and back, his trim waist, and more besides—all were taken in by Han Wu’s gaze.

“Boss, we’ve combed that coordinate over and over, run probes, even matched it against the video backgrounds… but it’s the same as before. The seabed is completely normal. No anomalies, and no sign of the warm currents you mentioned.”

How could that be?

Zheng Shiyan sank into thought.

Did finding the merman really depend on some inscrutable stroke of fate?

He dressed absentmindedly and prepared to head out on business.

Only when he turned did he notice Han Wu trailing him like a persistent shadow.

“You stay here,” he said, trying to shove the troublesome teen back inside.

Han Wu planted himself in place. He said nothing, but the reluctance was clear in his pale eyes.

Zheng Shiyan stared at him and finally sighed in defeat. “Fine, fine.”

He reached out and took the boy’s cool hand in his own. “Stick with me, then. Don’t wander off.”

…

It was afternoon by the time Han Xu saw Han Wu again.

“What?” Han Xu froze when he heard Zheng Shiyan had sent Han Wu diving. Disbelief filled his voice. “You had my brother go into the sea? That’s impossible! Weren’t you supposed to be helping him get treated?”

His gaze swept over Han Wu, brimming with heartache. “Dragging him out in broad daylight without even sunglasses… And what’s with the bruise on his face?”

Though he kept his temper in check, Han Xu’s tone and eyes brimmed with accusations against Zheng Shiyan, as if convinced he’d been abusing his brother.

Zheng Shiyan didn’t bother responding.

The bruise was almost gone anyway.

His own throat and chest still ached, though.

If not for the merman… he never would have brought this kid along.

“His congenital condition can only be managed, not cured overnight,” Zheng Shiyan said flatly. “I’ll keep taking him to doctors, of course. But he has to help me find that merman too.”

He paused, then turned to Han Wu with a charming smile lighting up his face. “Besides, you wanted to stick with me, didn’t you?”

Han Wu’s gaze fixed intently on his face. He nodded.

Han Xu rolled his eyes furiously from the sidelines, glaring at Zheng Shiyan like he was some bewitching fox demon.

Zheng Shiyan let out a low chuckle.

In the private room, the server began bringing out the dishes.

Having heard from Han Xu that Han Wu favored meat, Zheng Shiyan had ordered plenty of grilled steaks, braised pork, and a few local seafood specialties.

He’d thought it might be too much, but Han Wu’s appetite proved staggering.

The boy ate quietly and intently, his manners tidy enough but his pace lightning-fast.

No wonder they said a half-grown kid could eat his old man poor…

Zheng Shiyan watched him dig in with relish and picked up his chopsticks, taking a bite of steamed fish.

The flesh was fresh and tender, perfectly seasoned. But after just a few mouthfuls, an indescribable nausea surged up from his stomach without warning.

He dropped his chopsticks, his face paling as he hurried to the private bathroom attached to the room.

The moment the door shut, he doubled over in uncontrollable retching.

Dizziness crashed over him like a wave, his vision going black in waves. Amid the darkness, he vaguely saw that what he’d vomited wasn’t food scraps at all—but countless tiny fish, bellies up and wriggling.

The horrifying hallucination drenched him in cold sweat.

He squeezed his eyes shut, then looked again.

The sink was spotless, with only a bit of clear foam. That eerie vision might as well never have happened.

Zheng Shiyan took several deep breaths to steady his racing heart and lingering unease.

Once the dizziness ebbed, he straightened his slightly rumpled collar and opened the door.

Han Wu was waiting quietly just outside, gazing up at him.

Zheng Shiyan found it amusing. “What is it? Worried about me?”

The boy stepped forward and hugged him, placing a hand on his stomach and rubbing gently.

Zheng Shiyan blinked in surprise. “I’m fine.”

“Go on and eat…”

But Han Wu didn’t budge. He shadowed Zheng Shiyan’s every step back to the sofa in the private room and settled quietly at his side.

Zheng Shiyan leaned back against the plush sofa and pulled out his phone. He spotted his brother’s latest post on Moments.

A photo of him posing with their father on the golf course, captioned with a boastful update on the smooth progress of his newly acquired company business.

A familiar wave of irritation washed over him.

He’d planned to revive this sidelined project with the merman and make a quick mark to reclaim his place at the center of power.

The exhibition hall incident might need more time, though—the merman in that video had been far too grotesque.

He firmly believed that a more “beautiful” merman, one that better matched people’s imaginations, surely existed. He had to find a way to track it down.

Han Wu sat quietly beside him, his gaze fixed on the hand Zheng Shiyan was unconsciously pressing against his stomach. He never said a word.

That evening, back at the hotel, Zheng Shiyan decided he had probably caught a stomach bug.

He planned to take a hot shower and turn in early.

When he stepped out of the bathroom, he realized Han Wu hadn’t left. The young man was still lingering in his room.

“Go back to your own room,” he said, rubbing his hair dry with a towel.

Han Wu acted as if he hadn’t heard, standing motionless and watching him with those calm eyes.

But the moment Zheng Shiyan lay down on the bed, Han Wu scooted right over, clearly intending to sleep together.

“You…” Zheng Shiyan felt helpless. At first, he wanted to kick him out, but he couldn’t help recalling Han Wu’s pitiful state from before—drenched to the bone and standing guard outside the door all night.

This kid wasn’t quite right in the head.

He couldn’t just toss him out.

In the end, Zheng Shiyan sighed, pulled the blanket over Han Wu, patted him, and silently allowed the young man to stay.

“Behave yourself and go to sleep, understand?”

Han Wu said nothing, merely watching him with those gray-blue eyes.

That night, once Zheng Shiyan’s breathing grew long and steady, Han Wu sat up in the darkness and observed him silently.

Zheng Shiyan was clearly sleeping fitfully, his body curling up unconsciously as if fighting off some discomfort.

Han Wu’s gaze settled on his slightly swollen stomach.

He reached out and pressed down gently.

The touch was rigid, tense with unnatural bloating.

“…Mm.”

Zheng Shiyan frowned deeper.

This wouldn’t do. Pressing from the outside still wasn’t effective, even if he hated it.

The pressure point was wrong and could hurt his body even more.

In the end, Han Wu decided to intervene. He pried open Zheng Shiyan’s mouth and kissed him, his inhuman tongue sliding downward…

His throat was forced open. Zheng Shiyan furrowed his brows in pain, letting out a small sound before Han Wu pinned him down.

“Mmph…”

Intense suffocation flushed the man’s cheeks bright red, a clear flush spreading across his neck.

Tears welled up involuntarily at the corners of his eyes, saliva dribbling uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth.

Han Wu’s other hand pressed steadily on his stomach, applying firm pressure.

Only when the man beneath him convulsed violently did he jolt awake from his stupor. He struggled to the edge of the bed and vomited up a mess with a wretched heave.

Just as Zheng Shiyan tried to peer at the filth through his blurred vision, Han Wu swiftly pulled him back into his arms, keeping him from seeing what had come up.

Not until those wriggling eggs had dissolved into foam in the air.

Zheng Shiyan was drenched in cold sweat, as if he’d just been pulled from the water. He slumped against Han Wu, gasping for breath.

“You… what the hell are you doing? You little punk…”

He was obviously furious, but his voice was hoarse, and his body had no strength left.

Still cradled in Han Wu’s arms, he lowered his head, damp strands of hair clinging to his flushed nape. His legs drew up slightly.

Han Wu froze, realizing that the painful procedure had aroused him once more.

To distract him, he reached out at once, trying to help.

“Don’t.”

He shifted his legs beneath the covers.

“I said don’t…”

Zheng Shiyan shuddered, angry yet somehow…

“Urgh, enough…”

Han Wu noticed that although he was frowning, Zheng Shiyan had tilted his head back, his face flushed as if sinking into it. He barely had the strength to push him away.

Eh? Was he just going to accept it like this?

Han Wu’s ears turned a little red. After a moment’s thought, he tested the waters by going further.

Zheng Shiyan snapped his eyes open, resisting fiercely this time.

“What are you touching!”

“Hey!”

Furious, he kicked out.

Han Wu tumbled straight off the bed with a heavy thud.

The young man looked up.

His lips pressed into a tight line. Without a word, he climbed to his feet, avoided Zheng Shiyan’s gaze, and marched to the door. He slammed it shut behind him.

Now he was mad.

Zheng Shiyan rubbed his forehead, his temples pounding.

He sat on the bed for a few seconds before finally giving in. He got up and yanked the door open.

“Han Wu.”

The corridor stretched empty before him. No sign of Han Wu.

What? His heart clenched inexplicably.

Rain was pouring outside, distant thunder rumbling dully. In weather like this, where had he run off to?

Zheng Shiyan searched around the hotel but came up empty.

A tangle of annoyance and worry flooded him. He immediately called his subordinates to look for him.

It wasn’t until the next morning that they reported back. Han Wu had returned on his own.

Zheng Shiyan hurried to the room and found Han Wu standing lost in the corridor, as if unable to locate him.

The young man was soaked through again, water dripping steadily from the tips of his silver-white hair.

And in his hand, he clutched two sizable fish that still twitched faintly.

Rage surged to Zheng Shiyan’s head. He stormed forward, dragged Han Wu into the bedroom, and slammed the door.

“What the hell are you playing at?” he growled through clenched teeth, barely containing his anger.

“Drenched to the skin again! You run off without a word whenever you’re upset, then show up when you damn well please.

Do you have any idea how many people searched for you all night?”

He grew angrier still. “You think I can’t handle you, don’t you? Where’d you steal these fish from?”

Han Wu froze under the tirade, staring at him in a daze. Then he pursed his lips in displeasure, his pale blue-gray eyes brimming with grievance and stubbornness.

He flung the two fish to the floor with force. Then he turned to leave.

Zheng Shiyan grabbed his arm. “Where to now!”

Staring at Han Wu’s utterly unyielding attitude, Zheng Shiyan lost his temper and blurted out whatever came to mind. “Did you even go to school? Can’t you understand plain words?

I’ve never met such an infuriating kid. Your upbringing is a complete disaster!”

It was essentially a one-sided quarrel.

Zheng Shiyan fumed while Han Wu met him with silence.

Once Zheng Shiyan had cooled off a little, a sudden realization hit him.

He still needed Han Wu to find the merman.

In his current mood, the young man wouldn’t cooperate. But Zheng Shiyan had no intention of coaxing him…

Then an idea struck.

Others might not find it, but last time at sea, he had heard that eerie singing and sensed the strange shifts in the water.

Perhaps he could go himself?

Just that morning, his subordinates had reported a new find.

Near that stretch of sea, sonar had detected a deeply concealed seabed cave. Its structure was intricate and highly suggestive of a merman lair.

Thus, Zheng Shiyan simply left Han Wu behind and resolved to dive in himself and investigate.

Han Wu had been locked inside the room by him and was still stewing in sullen silence.

As Zheng Shiyan submerged into the seawater and drew closer to the deep, shadowy cave,

Han Wu suddenly sensed something. He sprang up from beside the door.

No…

Han Wu’s brows furrowed tightly.

It’s too dangerous.

He hurried to the window, vaulted over the sill, and slipped away. After traversing a short path, he leaped with practiced ease into the River Behind the Hotel.

To reach his destination as quickly as possible, his legs instantly transformed into a powerful fish tail covered in snow-white scales.