RAM Chapter 25

Little Zhenzhu was very excited for his first bath. His attention was quickly drawn to the bubbles. Seeing that he wasn’t crying for attention, Lu Xie casually placed the small turtle he had bought next to him and turned to wash Hai San’er’s hair.

Previously, Hai San’er had always washed himself, and after Lu Xie supervised him the first time, he didn’t pay much attention after that. So, he didn’t realize how troublesome it could be to wash long hair.

The more hair there was, the more foam there was. A lot of foam got onto Hai San’er’s face, and the shampoo trickled down his forehead into his eyes.

“Hmm…” Hai San’er groaned, reaching up to rub his eyes. Lu Xie held his wrist down and quietly said, “Don’t move,” then pinched Hai San’er’s chin and turned his face around.

“Close your eyes.” It was just regular shampoo, but it was a bit irritating to the eyes. Lu Xie instinctively glanced at Zhenzhu. Hai San’er couldn’t handle the irritation, but Zhenzhu, still a baby, was having a great time playing with the turtle in the bubbles, seemingly unaffected. Fish indeed had strong vitality.

But as Lu Xie lowered his head, he saw Hai San’er’s eyes tightly closed, his eyes reddening from the shampoo. Why was this fish so delicate?

“Ugh…” Hai San’er kept whining. He wasn’t really in pain, but since he was used to washing himself, now that Lu Xie was helping, he just wanted to whine.

Lu Xie found it a bit funny, “What are you whining about? Did the shampoo hit you?”

Hai San’er chuckled and laughed out loud.

“You’re so annoying.”

“Look at Zhenzhu, he didn’t cry. Are you more delicate than a child?”

Upon hearing his name, Zhenzhu, who had been tumbling with the turtle, swam up in confusion. He released the turtle from his hands, flicked his tail, and quickly swam to Hai San’er’s side. Seeing Hai San’er’s eyes were red, Zhenzhu gently patted his arm in a comforting manner.

Zhenzhu wasn’t just emotionally needy, he was also very sensitive to others’ emotions, especially when it came to his fish dad. He looked up at Lu Xie as if asking why his fish dad was crying.

Hai San’er picked up Zhenzhu and pressed him against his cheek. “Don’t worry baobao. Thanks for comforting me. I need to tell you, Zhenzhu, your daddy is so mean.”

Zhenzhu, hearing this, gently touched Hai San’er’s face where there were no tears. Upon seeing Lu Xie’s serious expression, he looked even more concerned.

“Telling on me?” Lu Xie said, half-laughing, half-angry.

Zhenzhu didn’t think it was exactly telling on him; after all, his human dad was a little bit fierce. He raised his arm and made a gesture at Lu Xie, as if saying not to scold the fish.

“Alright, alright.” Lu Xie gave Zhenzhu’s palm a little tap, and after they finished washing their heads and bodies, he changed the water for both of them.

Hai San’er’s hair was long and thick. Fortunately, the sun was hot, so after Lu Xie wiped it down with a towel, he tidied up the rooftop. By then, Hai San’er’s hair had dried a bit.

“Lu Xie.”

Just as Lu Xie was sitting down, Hai San’er pointed at a movie poster on the wall and asked, “Why is her hair like that?”

In the poster, the actress had her hair styled in buns, one on each side, likely from a kung fu movie. This hairstyle was simple yet highlighted the actress’s neat and cute image.

“I want that style too,” Hai San’er pouted, looking at Lu Xie with longing eyes. “Lu Xie, I want that style too.”

Lu Xie exchanged a glance with him for a few seconds. Knowing Hai San’er, if he didn’t agree to this, Hai San’er would sulk for a long time. And now with Zhenzhu around, Zhenzhu would protect Hai San’er, so both fish would be upset together.

Luckily, the store had some hair ties on the shelf, ones that had been there for a long time but no one had bought. Now, they finally came in handy.

Although Lu Xie had never properly styled anyone’s hair, he was very good with his hands. After all, he could make a small umbrella, so styling Hai San’er’s hair wasn’t too hard. He split Hai San’er’s hair into two parts, just like in the poster, and used a comb to tie one side.

Hai San’er was very satisfied as he leaned back on the bathtub. After Lu Xie fulfilled his request, he became so excited that he couldn’t sit still. But since Lu Xie told him not to move, he could only hum a tune lazily, the same one he had sung when praying for the crows last time.

“Where did you learn this?” Lu Xie thought Hai San’er probably picked it up from some TV show, but the tune sounded so strange. Maybe it was off-pitch because he couldn’t sing well.

Hai San’er shook his head. “I didn’t learn it. I’ve always known how to sing it.”

It was probably something he made up himself, and that made sense—such an unpleasant tune was probably something he created on his own.

Lu Xie couldn’t hold back his thoughts and said bluntly, “It’s awful.”

A fish with no musical sense.

Hai San’er didn’t take the criticism to heart. “Is it bad? I think it’s fine.”

A fish with no musical sense and no taste.

“You should ask Zhenzhu, ask him if it sounds good,” Lu Xie said, thinking that even though Zhenzhu spoiled Hai San’er, there was still a general sense of aesthetics that shouldn’t be ignored.

Hai San’er propped up his chin and hummed another tune, then softly asked Zhenzhu, “Does it sound good? Zhenzhu?”

Upon hearing the singing, it wasn’t just Zhenzhu. Even the turtle that had been rolling around in the water and the small fish in the tank all swam toward Hai San’er. The small fish, unable to get close, even bumped their heads against the glass.

The group of underwater creatures seemed to have heard some divine melody, each of them with a dazed, entranced look, following Hai San’er with reverent eyes.

Lu Xie had seen this scene before. In cartoons, princesses could communicate with small animals—whenever they sang, all the little creatures would surround her. It seemed Hai San’er had the same power. But those princesses could sing well, while Hai San’er sounded more like a ghost wailing. The underwater creatures’ sense of aesthetics definitely needed improvement.

“Alright, that’s enough.” Lu Xie clapped his hands, finally finishing tying Hai San’er’s hair.

Hai San’er looked down at the water, and though his hairstyle was still different from the one in the poster (hers was a bun, his was two ponytails), he was still happy.

Lu Xie explained, “Your hair’s too thick to tie up like hers.”

But it still looked good. Hai San’er shook his head and wagged his two ponytails, watching Zhenzhu, who had his eyes filled with admiration.

“Let’s tie Zhenzhu’s hair too!”

Zhenzhu, the biggest cheerleader, raised both his hands, cheering. He wanted it too!

Since Lu Xie was now quite skilled after doing Hai San’er’s hair, in just two minutes, there were now two little mermaids with ponytails in the bathtub. Zhenzhu’s hair wasn’t as long, so Lu Xie tied just a bit, making it look like two little spiky buns. Both fish looked much more energetic.

Because Zhenzhu liked to mimic both human and mermaid movements, Lu Xie even made a little foam pillow for him so he could rest on the water. After re-arranging the little fish tank, the sun was beginning to set, and it was time to head back to their room to sleep.

Zhenzhu was full of curiosity and playfulness. He had gotten used to the spacious rooftop and big bathtub. When they returned to the small fish tank at night, he seemed a bit uncomfortable, always pressing his face against the glass, staring longingly at the window.

Lu Xie softly asked Hai San’er, who was lying next to him, “Why is Zhenzhu always staring outside?”

“Zhenzhu is a mermaid. A mermaid is still a fish, always longing for freedom. The sea is where freedom lies. It’s instinctual.”

Lu Xie thought this made sense. He hissed slightly, then looked at Hai San’er with a strange expression. “I’ve noticed you’ve been spending less and less time in the water lately. You haven’t even gone back to the sea for the past few days. Aren’t you a fish too? Why do you like running on land so much?”

He was almost no longer a fish, so his yearning for water and the sea wasn’t as strong as Zhenzhu’s.

“Why don’t you take Zhenzhu for a swim in the sea for a couple of laps?” Seeing how pitiful Zhenzhu looked, Hai San’er also couldn’t bear for him to spend his childhood in the fish tank.

Come to think of it, since Zhenzhu became a mermaid, he hadn’t properly been in the sea. His instincts had been calling him all along.

“Now?”

Lu Xie was always decisive. He stood up and started putting on his shoes.

“Yeah, now. It’s not convenient during the day, I’ll go with you both.”

Zhenzhu was gazing up at the night sky when suddenly he realized his perspective was much higher. Turning around, he saw that his dad had picked him up.

Lu Xie playfully threatened him, “If you don’t sleep at night, you won’t grow taller.”

“Don’t scare him.”

Zhenzhu wasn’t frightened. After all, it was the middle of the night and they were going to play, going to the sea no less. He had already rolled around excitedly in the glass jar several times.

Looking at the calm sea, Lu Xie hesitated, not daring to step forward. He stood still, intending to hand the jar to Hai San’er. Hai San’er understood his intention immediately.

“If you walk too far, little Zhenzhu will keep looking for you.”

Lu Xie lowered his eyes to look at little Zhenzhu inside the jar. Before he had even left, the little fish, who had been so excited, had quieted down. He stared at him intently, as if asking why he was about to leave.

“It’s fine.” Hai San’er reassured him, “It’s just me and little Zhenzhu here.”

Lu Xie smiled helplessly. Had he become so afraid of the water that he was depending on a newborn little mermaid for courage? He gave Hai San’er a knowing look—he wasn’t that pathetic. He repeated words of encouragement to himself and walked toward the rocks. He opened the jar and released Zhenzhu into the sea.

As soon as Zhenzhu entered the sea, he was beyond excited. He dove headfirst into the water, and his tiny figure quickly disappeared from their sight.

Even though he was a fish, Lu Xie couldn’t help but take a sharp breath. After all, Zhenzhu was still a young fish, and the sea was vast and unpredictable. He worried that if the waves got too big, Zhenzhu might get bumped or hurt, but he still couldn’t bring himself to get into the water.

“He…”

“It’s fine, you stay here and wait for us. I’ll go down and check on him.” Hai San’er said casually, then stripped off his clothes and jumped into the water.

The night was deep and tranquil, and the sea quickly returned to calm. Lu Xie stood at the shore, watching for a long time. He was starting to get anxious, but finally, he saw a large and small mermaid leisurely swimming beneath the dim ocean surface.

Their bodies were graceful, their scales shimmering with iridescent hues under the moonlight, like dazzling gems from the ocean. As the mermaids leaped out of the water one after the other, they traced beautiful arcs in the air, creating ripples that danced around them, sparkling in the moonlight, which bathed them in a soft, dreamy glow.