RAM Chapter 24

The little merman finally managed to retrieve his shrimp. He suppressed his curiosity, turned his back to Lu Xie, and sulked, waiting for Lu Xie to come and comfort him. He waited for a long time, and just as he was losing patience and about to turn around, he heard the sound of Lu Xie standing up.

Here he comes!

The little merman perked up his ears, his mouth full of shrimp that he had forgotten to chew. He waited, but after a long pause, he still didn’t hear Lu Xie speak. Instead, it was Hai San’er who spoke first.

“Where are you going?”

Lu Xie was walking quickly, and his voice came from the hallway, muffled. “Getting something.”

Huh?

The little merman quickly turned around, but there was no trace of Lu Xie. Where did he go? He’s not going to comfort me? Doesn’t he see that I’m still angry?

“What are you thinking about?” Hai San’er noticed that the little merman’s cheeks were puffed out, looking upset. He poked the little merman’s cheek with his finger.

Hmph, if he’s not going to comfort me, fine! At least I still have my mermaid daddy.

The little merman let go of the shrimp and turned to snuggle against Hai San’er’s finger, secretly swearing to himself that if Lu Xie ever regretted not comforting him and tried to make up for it, he wouldn’t care!

Thud, thud. The muffled sound of footsteps came from the hallway. The little merman had been enjoying snuggling with Hai San’er, but as soon as he heard the sound, his attention was immediately drawn elsewhere. Is it Lu Xie coming back?

Sure enough, it was Lu Xie. He had a bag in his hand, bulging with something. Hai San’er’s curiosity was piqued, and he pulled his hand back, leaning over the bathtub edge. “What exactly are you doing?”

The little merman was enjoying his daddy’s touch, but unexpectedly, Hai San’er quickly withdrew his finger. Caught off guard, the little merman tumbled into the water.

Gurgle, gurgle. Fortunately, the little merman was good with water and reacted quickly, drinking a few mouthfuls of water before surfacing. He took a deep breath, and then heard his daddy’s excited voice.

“For me!”

What’s this? The little merman held onto the bathtub wall and looked up at his daddy. Hai San’er had a flower crown woven from reeds on his head, decorated with little yellow flowers that sparkled golden under the sun. It was so beautiful that the little merman’s eyes almost glazed over.

Hai San’er adjusted the flower crown, grinning brightly, and didn’t forget to show off to the little merman. “Look, Daddy gave this to me. Isn’t it pretty?”

The little merman sulked. His daddy got one, so why didn’t he? He glared at Lu Xie, but Lu Xie was still carving the little stick in his hands, completely ignoring him.

The little merman, ignored once again, felt more and more wronged. Since Lu Xie wasn’t comforting him, he could only turn to his mermaid daddy. He swam over and gently tapped Hai San’er’s arm, then raised his pitiful little face.

While Hai San’er was admiring his flower crown, he looked down and was the first to notice the little merman’s tear-filled eyes, though the little merman stubbornly refused to cry. His large eyes blinked rapidly, silently pleading for help.

Hai San’er fought back a smile and glanced at Lu Xie. He saw that he had tried several times to be kind, but the little merman refused to give in. Now that Lu Xie wasn’t paying attention, the little merman was upset again. Hai San’er shrugged helplessly.

 If even daddy couldn’t handle it, the little merman was even more upset. To cheer him up, Hai San’er took off the flower crown and tried to place it on the little merman’s head, but it was too large. The little merman couldn’t wear it.

The flower crown floated on the water’s surface, and a bitter feeling surged in the little merman’s chest. He felt like a poor little cabbage surrounded by yellow flowers.

The little merman felt more and more miserable, about to shed tears, when a shadow suddenly loomed over him. Before he could raise his head, something pressed down on his head. When he looked, it was a miniature flower crown, just the right size for him. He turned to see that Lu Xie had somehow appeared beside the bathtub.

Even though Lu Xie was trying to be kind, the little merman was determined not to forgive him!

The little merman wanted to stay tough, gripping the sides of the flower crown with both hands, but… but Lu Xie actually gave him a flower crown.

As the little merman hesitated, Lu Xie placed a handmade little umbrella on his shoulder. Lu Xie had spent a long time carving the ribs of the umbrella, and the canopy was stitched together with colorful candy wrappers, making it especially pretty in the sunlight.

The little merman twirled the umbrella in the water a few times, sneaking glances at Lu Xie. His expression finally relaxed, no longer angry.

Lu Xie moved a lounge chair to the side of the bathtub and sat down, taking the initiative to interact with the little merman. He circled his finger around the little merman, creating a small whirlpool. The little merman watched Lu Xie’s finger in a daze, unprepared. He stumbled, rolling inside the whirlpool, and his head dunked into the water, with his tailfin waving in the air.

When the little merman snapped back to his senses, he leapt out of the water and swam toward Lu Xie’s finger, swimming with all his might. His small figure darted through the “rolling” water. Several “big waves” crashed toward him, and just as he thought he could catch up to Lu Xie, Lu Xie lifted his hand and easily dodged.

Lu Xie thought the little merman would get angry again, but to his surprise, the little merman’s face was serious, his whole body tense, completely focused on trying to compete. He had a serious, determined look on his face, as if he were trying to ride out the storm. He didn’t show any signs of throwing a tantrum. The little merman’s competitive spirit was strong.

Although the little merman was determined, he was still too small to catch up to a human like Lu Xie, and soon he was exhausted and panting.

Seeing him worn out, Lu Xie stopped his finger right where it was. When the little merman caught up, Lu Xie gently stroked his cheek. The little merman stiffened for a moment, his serious expression freezing. He looked at Lu Xie in confusion. After a long while, he didn’t bite or shy away, instead gently rubbing against Lu Xie’s fingertip in response.

“You’re impressive, you swam so far.” Lu Xie tapped the little merman’s chin, his tone softer. “Not angry anymore?”

Of course, I’m impressive! I’m a mermaid!

Well, whatever. I’m not angry anymore. I, the little fish, have a big heart, so I’ll forgive Lu Xie this time.

From birth until now, I’ve been too busy being angry at Lu Xie to properly notice my human daddy. The little merman spread his arms toward Lu Xie, but Lu Xie didn’t understand, so it was Hai San’er who reminded him.

“Give him a hug.”

Lu Xie was taken aback, but he complied, cupping the little merman gently in his hand. Worried that the little merman couldn’t be out of the water for too long, he placed him into the shell.

With such a small and soft creature, Lu Xie felt clumsy, afraid he might be too rough. He carefully placed the shell on the nearby table.

The little merman stared at him in disbelief. After forgiving him, he didn’t even get a kiss or a hug, but now Lu Xie just placed him aside?

Hai San’er gently reminded Lu Xie, “You have to kiss him, or he’ll get upset.”

This was a real challenge for Lu Xie. He had never kissed anyone voluntarily in his life—how could he be like Hai San’er, always going for the kisses and cuddles?

Having just made up with the little merman, Lu Xie didn’t want to upset him again. Even though it was awkward, he leaned in and kissed the little merman on the cheek.

The little merman was just like Hai San’er—after the kiss, he cupped his flushed cheeks with his hands and wiggled shyly.

Lu Xie laughed. He couldn’t believe the little merman was still shy. Just earlier, the shrimp had fallen into the water, and now Lu Xie handed the little merman another shrimp. The little merman took it, pinched his nose up, and pointed proudly at Lu Xie’s cup.

“You want a drink too? You’re too small, drinks aren’t healthy.”

The little merman was still trying to act spoiled, but even Hai San’er stood on Lu Xie’s side. “

You can’t have a drink yet.” And besides, Lu Xie had warned that too much soda would cause cavities. Hai San’er didn’t want the little merman to get cavities before even growing teeth.

To appease the little merman, Lu Xie opened a bottle of mineral water and poured a capful in front of him.

“Drink this instead. It’s a drink too.”

The little merman didn’t know much, but since it was from a bottle, it must be the same as what Lu Xie and Hai San’er drank. He liked it. He liked the flower crown Lu Xie made for him, and he liked the little umbrella too. He liked everything about his human daddy.

Suddenly, a hand appeared beside him. The little merman turned to see it was his human daddy.

Lu Xie crooked his finger, signaling the little merman to jump into his hand. The little merman gripped Lu Xie’s finger and leapt into his palm.

“When will he speak?” Lu Xie asked. It was unrealistic to expect a newborn merman to talk, but he couldn’t help being curious.

Here’s the translation of the provided passage:

Hai San’er stuffed the little umbrella into the little merman’s hand. “He’s still a baby.”

Although the little merman held grudges and had a fiery temper, he was even more playful. Especially after he calmed down, he comfortably leaned against Lu Xie’s broad palm, holding the little umbrella and spinning around. The sunlight refracted through the candy wrappers, casting a dazzling array of colors that made him dizzy, and he tumbled right into Lu Xie’s hand.

“Hey!” Lu Xie exclaimed, quickly placing the little merman back into his shell. “Dizzy? You can’t look directly at the sunlight—it’s too bright. Looks like I’ll need to get you a pair of sunglasses too.”

The little merman couldn’t stay out of the water for too long. After Hai San’er took the underwater spirit and placed it near the water’s surface, the merman was able to breathe more comfortably.

“By the way, doesn’t he need a name?” Lu Xie asked. Hai San’er had insisted on a name for him when they first brought the little merman home, and it was clear the little merman needed one too.

Hai San’er smiled faintly, and Lu Xie was taken aback. Hai San’er wasn’t usually this indifferent about naming things—he should be excited, right?

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to name him?”

Hai San’er lowered his eyes. “You know fish are forgetful. Even if we give the baby a name, no fish will remember it, and no fish can call it by name.”

Lu Xie didn’t quite understand. He smiled. “Fish may forget, but we won’t. We can call him by name.”

A sea breeze passed by, carrying the smell of salty sea air, but Hai San’er still didn’t look up. His long lashes trembled slightly. Lu Xie found it odd. Why was Hai San’er so quiet? Just as he was about to ask, Hai San’er suddenly spoke.

“Hmm, alright. Let’s call him Ariel.”

Lu Xie’s confusion was washed away by the name “Ariel.” He hadn’t expected Hai San’er to be waiting so patiently, but now it was clear he still hadn’t forgotten about the name “Ariel.”

“I told you, no male fish should be named Ariel—it doesn’t sound masculine enough.”

Hai San’er’s expression was gentle, not coquettish or playful, and he asked in return, “Then what name would you give our baby?”

Lu Xie felt a bit awkward. But the words “our baby” made him flustered. He still didn’t fully believe this was his and Hai San’er’s child. He had been caught by a merman, and now they had a child—each word sounded absurd to him.

“Hm? Lu Xie?”

Lu Xie had managed to trick Hai San’er before, but now he didn’t want to fool the little merman. However, with his limited vocabulary, he couldn’t come up with a decent name. After some thought, he lowered his voice and said, “How about Zhenzhu?¹”

The name Zhenzhu was gender-neutral and, for Lu Xie, it was the most meaningful and fitting name he could think of. It sounded beautiful, like a precious treasure.

“Alright!” Hai San’er agreed immediately. He lifted the little merman’s chin. “Little Zhenzhu.”

The little merman took a few seconds to react, realizing that “Little Zhenzhu” was his name. He happily splashed toward Hai San’er’s hand. When he got excited, he loved to hug and snuggle, sticking to Hai San’er and refusing to let go.

Zhenzhu was an emotionally needy merman, just like his merman daddy. He always wanted to be close to his dads. He hated staying alone in the fish tank, but he couldn’t stay out of the water for too long either. So, Lu Xie had specially ordered a small glass bottle with a metal outer casing to protect the fragile glass. It was portable, and he even left a gap in it so that Zhenzhu could curiously observe the outside world.

“Zhenzhu, look, this is a bottle I had custom-made for you. You can use this to go out with us.”

Lu Xie had chosen market day to take Hai San’er and Zhenzhu to the street market. Inside the dimly lit glass bottle, Little Zhenzhu was quiet. He lay against the gap, staring wide-eyed at everything outside.

The market was bustling with people, and many were selling chickens, ducks, and geese—animals Zhenzhu had never seen before. His eyes were wide with wonder.

They entered the pet market, and Lu Xie said he was going to buy a few fish for the little merman. Little Zhenzhu immediately spotted a small turtle in the corner, worried that his daddy wouldn’t buy it for him. He rubbed his little hands together inside the bottle, making a gesture of pleading with his father.

Lu Xie’s heart warmed. It was just too adorable. He covered the glass bottle with his large hand to shield Zhenzhu from being noticed by others. Then, he pointed at the turtle in the shell. “We’ll take that one too.”

They bought the fish and the little turtle. Hai San’er held the bag, even more excited than Zhenzhu because he liked them too. He softly reminded Little Zhenzhu, “You need to get along with the turtle, alright?”

Back from the market, Zhenzhu couldn’t wait to get out of the bottle. While the outside world was exciting, the bottle’s space was too confined. Even though he was still just a little merman, he didn’t like being stuck in such a cramped environment.

To play with Hai San’er and Zhenzhu in the water, Lu Xie had moved all the furniture, including the chairs, TV, and DVD player, from downstairs to the rooftop. He hardly ever went downstairs unless it was a rainy day. Sometimes, he didn’t even bother to open the shop door.

“Wait a minute.” Lu Xie had to clean the bathtub every day and change the water.

LittleZhenzhu was cradled by his merman daddy. He supported his body with both hands, peeking out of the underwater spirit to watch the fun.

Finally, after finishing cleaning the bathtub, Little Zhenzhu was waiting eagerly for the water to fill up. Just then, his human daddy suddenly spoke.

“Shouldn’t we give Zhenzhu a bath? He hasn’t had one since he was born.”

Although Little Zhenzhu had been in the water the whole time, Lu Xie was talking about an actual scrub-down.

What’s a bath?

Little Zhenzhu looked up, glancing between his two dads. He heard his merman daddy ask, “Can we use the new soap we bought?”

They had replenished their supplies at the market, and they had bought some new soap. Lu Xie wasn’t sure what Hai San’er had in mind but casually replied, “Sure.”

“Great!” Hai San’er’s eyes lit up as soon as he heard about the soap. He even raised an eyebrow excitedly at Little Zhenzhu.

Soap?

Seeing his merman daddy’s reaction, Little Zhenzhu guessed that soap must be some kind of special treat. He was eager to find out what it was.

Hai San’er couldn’t wait to get into the water. When Lu Xie came back with the soap, Hai San’er and Zhenzhu were already lying in the bathtub, soaking up the sunlight with their eyes closed, enjoying the warmth. They both lay in the same position—Hai San’er sprawled out in the tub, his arms resting over the edge, while Little Zhenzhu, his arms too short, mimicked his daddy’s pose and lay on his chest.

“The soap’s here!” Hai San’er clapped and cheered. Little Zhenzhu joined in, clapping along, giving the soap a proper welcome.

Lu Xie found it funny. It was just a bar of soap, but they were so excited. But then he thought, maybe mermen really like slippery bubble baths.

“I’ll open it! I’ll open it!” Hai San’er volunteered eagerly.

“Alright, alright. You open it.” Lu Xie didn’t argue. He suddenly remembered he had forgotten the bath flowers, so he had to go downstairs for a quick trip. “I’ll go get the bath flowers.”

This was a rare opportunity!

As soon as Lu Xie went down the stairs, Hai San’er wasted no time. He tore open the packaging of the soap, which had a coconut milk scent—a fragrance he really liked. The soap inside was white and plump.

“Zhenzhu, look! This is a soap.”

At that moment, both mermen looked at the soap as if it were sacred. They were just one step away from bowing to it in reverence.

Little Zhenzhu leaned against Hai San’er’s belly, his eyes sparkling as he smelled the sweet scent of the soap. It smelled so delicious. His merman daddy always thought of him first when there was something good to eat.

“Hurry up.” Hai San’er urged, using the small knife Lu Xie had left on the table to cut off a small piece of the soap.

Zhenzhu grabbed the small piece of soap, certain that his merman daddy was secretly saving the best treats for himself and Lu Xie. This was their little secret, and today they were going to taste it!

Hai San’er leaned in, inhaling deeply. It smelled even better than he had imagined—so sweet and fragrant. He hadn’t dared to hope it would taste so good, but taking a bite was already going to make his fish life complete.

“Eat it.”

Hai San’er gave the command, and both he and Little Zhenzhu eagerly bit into the soap.

Lu Xie returned with the bath flowers and saw two mermen frothing at the mouth and gagging in distress.

“What’s going on?!”

Lu Xie was greatly shocked. How did everything go so wrong in just the short time he went downstairs? Could it be heatstroke? He quickly turned the electric fan towards the bathtub. As he turned his head, he saw a row of bite marks on the soap that had fallen to the ground.

“You ate it?” Lu Xie was stunned. Then he looked at Zhenzhu’s reaction. “You gave Zhenzhu some too?”

“Wuwuwu… cough cough...” Hai San’er cried and coughed, “It tastes so bad, Lu Xie… How is it so different from what I imagined?”

Lu Xie immediately grabbed the water pipe and rushed to help Hai San’er and Zhenzhu rinse their mouths. “That’s not something you should eat! That’s what we usually use to bathe! You’ve used it before, didn’t you know? Zhenzhu might not know, but you should know better!”

“But it smelled so nice…”

If they hadn’t rinsed their mouths, the foam would have kept increasing as the soap mixed with the water. Zhenzhu didn’t eat much, and after rinsing a bit more, the foam faded, but he drank too much water and his belly got round. He kept hiccupping. Hai San’er took a big bite, and now the sound of him burping bubbles could be heard.

Lu Xie pressed down on Zhenzhu’s little belly, then shook his tail to help him expel most of the water. Zhenzhu’s round belly shrank down, and he finally came back to life, looking at Lu Xie with tears in his eyes, as if he had seen a savior.

“No wonder you said mermaids have strong vitality. Even such a small mermaid ate soap and still survived.”

After calming Zhenzhu down, Lu Xie quickly turned to save Hai San’er. Hai San’er was an adult fish, and after a few burps and more rinsing, he felt better.

“Look at you two. No sense of danger, eating whatever you find. Aren’t you afraid of poisoning yourself?”

After being scolded by Lu Xie, the mermaid father and son huddled together, not daring to even speak. They were small and helpless, too scared to even shed a tear.

Seeing how pitiful they looked, Lu Xie started to feel he had been too harsh. After all, they were mermaids, and he couldn’t expect animals to behave the same way as humans. It was normal for them to be so curious.

Cough cough… Lu Xie cleared his throat, then extended his hand to them. “Alright, you’ve eaten the soap, now it’s time to bathe, right?”

The mermaid father and son knew they had done something wrong. Lu Xie gave them an out, and they obediently sat in a row, waiting for him to help them bathe.

Hai San’er now had some psychological trauma about soap. When Lu Xie brought it near him, he instinctively backed away. Lu Xie used the bath sponge to lather the soap and then asked Hai San’er to turn around, starting to scrub his back.

“You have so many things to eat, why pick soap? Don’t you have plenty of new things in the bag you just bought today?”

Hai San’er didn’t dare to say that the first time he saw soap, he had already planned to take a bite. He sniffled and said, “How was I supposed to know something that smells so nice and sweet couldn’t be eaten?”

Because he had been scared by soda last time, Hai San’er only dared to drink fruit juice now. Lu Xie, feeling merciful, opened a can of soda and handed it to Hai San’er. “Drink this.”

Thinking about how soda might cause cavities, Lu Xie warned him, “Drinking it will cause cavities.”

Hai San’er was obedient for once.

“You won’t get cavities from just one drink, but after this, you can’t sneakily drink it yourself next time.”

Hearing this, Hai San’er relaxed. He took a big sip, and the bubbles gently fizzed in his mouth. He felt refreshed, thinking that soda was indeed delicious.

Zhenzhu watched his dads. His human dad was only comforting his mermaid dad—who cared about him, the little fish? When other fish cried, the water knew. But who knew when he cried?

Zhenzhu’s pitiful gaze was so strong that Lu Xie glanced at him. It seemed like Zhenzhu was sad because he had been ignored by his dads. His eyes were red from tears.

Lu Xie reached out and rubbed a bit of foam on the little merman’s body. Just a little bit, and Zhenzhu was completely covered in foam, looking like a little snowman.

Zhenzhu struggled to find a small gap in the foam. He looked at Lu Xie with confusion.

Lu Xie was washing Hai San’er’s hair. He demonstrated to Zhenzhu, “Like this, you do it yourself.”

Zhenzhu hesitated for a moment, then grabbed his hair with his little hands and started rubbing it. As more foam built up, he found it fun and completely forgot about his sadness.

So easy to cheer up!