RAM Extra 4

“I really didn’t lie, there really is a sea monster.” Yan Hui was kicked out of the house by his uncle and aunt, surrounded by neighbors watching the drama.

“Sea monster? Then I’m a mermaid, too. What era are we in? You don’t even know how to lie well.”

Yan Hui’s uncle and aunt had never liked him; they even wanted to use this opportunity to get rid of him completely. “We don’t want someone like you, who lies all the time. If you keep spouting nonsense, get out of here.”

The murmurs of the neighbors filled his ears. Yan Hui looked around frantically, trying to find someone who would believe him, but all he met were mocking gazes.

Yan Hui’s nails dug into his palms. He got up from the ground, pushed past the onlookers, and ran out of the crowd. No one believed him, and his uncle and aunt were eager to see him never return. He wanted to go home. He wanted to go back to his own home, but…

The farther Yan Hui ran, the more exhausted he became. By the time he caught his breath, he realized he had ended up back at the coast from yesterday. Driven by his survival instinct, he wanted to turn back, but he hadn’t lied. He wanted to prove to those who mocked him that he was telling the truth. In a burst of impulsiveness, he dragged his heavy feet toward the sea.

At that moment, the sea was calm and still. There wasn’t even a trace of the sea monster, not even the “hair” left by the creature had remained. Yan Hui gathered his courage and stepped closer to the water. The water barely reached his toes, warm from the sun, not the cold, eerie chill he had expected. His courage grew with each step.

“Hey!” Yan Hui shouted, his voice hoarse, “Come out! Big sea monster!”

The surface of the sea remained calm, no waves or ripples. Yan Hui, panting, seemed to be getting more carried away. “Why aren’t you coming out? Everyone thinks I’m lying, but everything I said was the truth… ah…”

Before he could finish, something coiled around his ankle, causing him to slip and fall into the water.

“Ah!”

Yan Hui scrambled to crawl toward the shore, but the thing kept tightening around him, creeping up his pant leg. With a splash, a tall figure emerged from the water, with the same hair and human body with a fish tail. Yan Hui recognized him—it was the sea monster!

After scaring the human into fainting yesterday, Zhenzhu had returned disappointed. But he was bored and sneaked back to the coast, not expecting the timid human to show up again.

Zhenzhu, sporting seaweed on his head and pretending to be fierce, looked down at the boy. “Were you secretly cursing me just now?”

The boy, terrified, immediately fell silent. He curled up his legs, shrinking back, trembling uncontrollably. But the sea monster’s strength was far beyond his. The boy only left deep impressions in the sand, which the waves quickly erased.

“Hm?” Zhenzhu leaned in closer, his glassy eyes faintly glowing blue.

The boy, nearly fainting from the face getting larger before him, clenched his fists and forced himself to stay calm. It took all his effort to find his voice, “You… you… you’re the sea monster!”

Sea monster?

Zhenzhu’s eyes shifted, and he made a face at the boy, his delicate features twisted in mockery. “I am a sea monster, so what?”

“You…” The boy stammered, clearly caught off guard by the monster’s straightforward admission. Zhenzhu had approached him repeatedly, but what was his real intention? “What… do you want?”

What did he want? Zhenzhu hadn’t thought about it yet. He just felt the deep sea was too boring, and without his dads to keep him company, he wanted someone to play with. There were no fish, so the human in front of him seemed good enough, especially since he looked easy to bully.

Zhenzhu’s eyes lit up as he came up with an idea. “You have to bring me food every day, or else…”

“Or else…?” The boy sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes filled with fear, his lips trembling.

Zhenzhu opened his mouth and continued, “Or else, I’ll drag you into the sea and make you my sea monster offering. Then, I’ll flood the whole city!”

The naive mermaid originally didn’t know such things, but Zhenzhu had heard many stories from his old man, and he could now make up tales himself.

“That’s too evil!”

The boy shuddered, his chest heaving as he struggled to breathe. “What… do you really want me to do?”

Zhenzhu was just trying to scare the boy with such a horrible idea. He didn’t actually plan on doing it.

“I want you…” Zhenzhu crossed his arms seriously, “to bring me delicious food every day.”

The boy’s heart nearly leapt into his throat. He thought the sea monster was going to ask for something outrageous and bad, but it turned out he only wanted an offering. “What… what do you want to eat?”

Last year, when his dad and old man visited, they brought him some new yogurt, and the taste had stuck with him for a whole year.

“I want XX brand yogurt, strawberry flavor.”

The boy was stunned, his surprise slowly overtaking his fear. The sea monster actually knew about yogurt and wanted strawberry flavor!

Seeing the boy silent, staring at him, Zhenzhu hugged his arms, “What are you looking at? Didn’t you hear me? If you don’t come tomorrow, you won’t be able to get near the sea again.”

The boy swallowed hard, forcing himself to nod. The monster was so powerful, he didn’t dare to run away, and besides, he had nowhere to go.

It seemed like the sea monster had gotten the response it wanted. Yan Hui felt the grip around his ankle loosen, but he didn’t dare stand up hastily. Trembling, he asked, “Can I leave now?”

The great sea monster waved him off dismissively, “Go on, just remember to come early tomorrow.”

Yan Hui wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt like the sea monster’s voice was sticky and whiny, almost like it was pouting.

Pouting? Yan Hui shivered. How could a monster pout?

Fearing the sea monster might change its mind, he scrambled to his feet and ran off, glancing back nervously. The sea monster was still reminding him, “Strawberry flavor!”

Yan Hui promised his uncle and aunt that he wouldn’t talk nonsense again, and they reluctantly let him back inside. When he got to his little room, Yan Hui dug out the last of his money, the emergency funds his parents had given him when he left home. He’d kept it hidden from his uncle and aunt, planning for an emergency.

He didn’t have a job or any income, but if he wanted to buy yogurt for the sea monster, he’d have to use all of it.

The next day, Yan Hui returned to the shore as promised. When the sea monster received the small bottle of yogurt, his expression fell slightly.

“Just one bottle?”

He only had so much money, he couldn’t buy all yogurt, alright?

Seeing that Yan Hui wasn’t responding, Zhenzhu muttered, “Every time my dads buy it for me, it’s a whole pack.”

“What?” Yan Hui didn’t quite hear it clearly, fearing the sea monster would be unsatisfied and refuse to let him go.

Zhenzhu sucked on the straw with a satisfying sound, “I’ll want more tomorrow. Strawberry flavor again.”

Yan Hui gritted his teeth but said nothing. He watched the sea monster finish the bottle in three gulps. He didn’t even know what flavor the yogurt was, but one bottle wasn’t enough—he’d have to buy a second one.