I Woke Up To Find Myself Being Kept By A Mermaid – CH15

Chapter 15: The Training Room

While Ruan Chen was mired in self-doubt, Lux returned holding a tray of food.

To feed his household human, Lux had gone out of his way to bring along a large amount of food suitable for him. It was all sealed into small jars, making it incredibly convenient to serve whenever it was time for a feeding.

“Meowu. (Smells so good.)” With food right in front of him, the lingering trace of awkwardness from earlier was instantly thrown to the back of his mind.

Ruan Chen reached out to grab it, but Lux dodged his hand. “Not ready yet, wait a moment.”

Thinking the merman wasn’t going to let him eat, Ruan Chen clutched Lux’s wrist with his small hands. “Meow-ow-ow? (Hand it over!)”

Immediately after, Ruan Chen watched as Lux pulled out a small vial of pale blue pills. He poured one out, placed it onto a spoon, and then scooped up a portion of the mixed meat puree, holding it up to Ruan Chen’s lips.

Ruan Chen: “?”

Laced right in front of my face? Do you think I’m freaking blind?!

He decisively turned his head away. “Meow! (Not eating!)”

Lux moved the spoon around to follow his mouth. The aroma of the food rushed into his nose, and Ruan Chen’s stomach signaled an urgent need for sustenance.

“Meow-ow-ow! (Get lost!)” Ruan Chen snapped.

He looked up to see the merman eat a tiny bit of the meat puree off the spoon himself, before making a short vocalization: “It tastes good. Have some.”

“…” Ruan Chen understood now.

This was exactly how his grandfather used to coax their fat ginger cat into eating hairball relief paste.

If I don’t give you a piece of my mind, you smelly goldfish are really going to treat me like a brainless pet.

Ruan Chen puffed out his cheeks and took a massive bite, engulfing the entire spoon in his mouth.

Under the merman’s expectant gaze, a mysterious smile spread across his face.

A few seconds later, with a sharp pfft, the small pill shot right out of Ruan Chen’s mouth, leaving a trail of bubbles in its wake.

Lux lowered his eyes. The little pill floated listlessly in the water.

Right in front of his face, Ruan Chen swallowed the meat puree with a loud gulp, then triumphantly licked his lips. “Meow meow meow? (Sucker. You didn’t honestly think I’d eat that, did you?)”

Picking up the small pill between his fingers, Lux gave a gentle smile of his own.

“Mew-wu… (What are you doing?)” Ruan Chen looked at the curve of his lips, suddenly getting a bad feeling.

As it turned out, his instincts were spot on.

Ruan Chen watched open-mouthed as Lux applied a tiny bit of pressure, crushing the pill into a fine powder and dumping it straight into the jar of food.

He then stirred it with the spoon, dissolving the powder completely into the meat puree.

The triumphant smirk froze on Ruan Chen’s face.

His eyes widened into saucers, filled with utter disbelief. “Meow meow meow??? (Are you fucking kidding me?)”

The merman stopped playing tricks. He scooped up another spoonful and took a bite himself, as if demonstrating that the added powder posed no danger.

Then, he brought the spoon back to Ruan Chen’s lips, his demeanor brook no refusal.

Ruan Chen suddenly remembered that this golden merman was capable of crushing a person’s head barehanded.

Fuck.

Ruan Chen shrank his neck back.

Since he ate it too, whatever he added probably isn’t toxic.

Knowing the little human’s clever, mischievous thoughts, Lux spoke softly, “It’s to give you extra nutrition. Be good.”

Though he was vexed, Ruan Chen got the feeling that if he kept resisting, the merman might actually lose his patience.

Besides, his stomach was genuinely starving.

Smelly goldfish, I’m writing this debt down. I’ll settle scores with you once I’m full.

Ruan Chen opened his mouth and took a massive bite, threatening him even as he chewed: “Meowu…” (You win this round, just you wait.)

Seeing that he was finally willing to eat, the warmth returned to Lux’s lowered eyes. “Good boy.”

Ruan Chen vacuumed down a whole jar and let out a tiny burp, the small gills at the base of his ears fanning open in sheer satisfaction.

Feeling the merman’s hand touching his stomach, Ruan Chen instinctively grabbed the hand, alert. “Meowu… (No touching.)”

Finding that the little tummy wasn’t even bulging yet, Lux popped open a second jar for him. “Eat more. You’re too thin.”

After polishing off three jars of different flavors in one go, followed by a handful of snacks, Ruan Chen felt completely content and began to drift off.

But the merman hadn’t left yet. Ruan Chen forced his eyelids to stay open. “Mew-wu…”

“Want to sleep?” Lux checked the time; it was indeed quite late.

He picked Ruan Chen up and pressed an unknown button, causing a conch-shaped bed to emerge in the room.

Lux tucked Ruan Chen inside. Finding it novel, Ruan Chen stretched his body. “Meowu. (So soft and comfy.)”

Enveloped by the plush texture, a heavy wave of exhaustion hit him.

His eyelids grew heavier by the second. Within moments, the person who had just sworn not to sleep let his head tilt to the side, completely losing consciousness.

Lux let out a very soft laugh. He brushed the hair away from Ruan Chen’s forehead and activated the do-not-disturb mode on the human-specific bed. “Goodnight, Ruan Ruan.”

As if responding to him, Ruan Chen mumbled in his sleep, “Mew-wu…”

The next day, Lux entered the secret conference room with three high-ranking generals to finalize the deployment strategy for the upcoming operation.

Ruan Chen was temporarily left in the care of Adjutant Vincent.

Seizing the opportunity, Vincent decided without a second thought to have Ruan Chen teach him that martial arts move from last time.

He led Ruan Chen outside the training room, intending to grab a set of combat gear for him. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally bruise or scrape this human—he couldn’t afford to pay for the damages.

“Man, you really are incredibly tiny.” Vincent sized Ruan Chen up, scratching his head. “Where am I supposed to find a protective suit that fits you?”

Crossing his arms, Ruan Chen growled impatiently, “Meow-ow? Meow meow meow? (Do you actually want to learn or not?)”

“Don’t be impatient, we have to get you a protective suit first.”

When Vincent opened the locker where Lux kept his gear, he froze in shock.

Lux had actually prepared a miniature version of the uniform for the human long ago, complete with an official rank insignia and identification number.

The two sets of clothes in the locker looked exactly like a father-and-son matching set. Ruan Chen stared at the piece that was clearly meant for him, falling into a dead silence.

Unaware that he had just stepped on a landmine, Vincent pulled the uniform out for him. “Ruan Ruan, put this on. If you get hurt later, I’ll be in deep trouble.”

With that, he shut the changing room door and waited outside.

Left alone holding the tiny clothes, Ruan Chen struggled to accept reality for a long time.

After a long moment, refusing to believe his eyes, he opened the locker again and crawled underneath Lux’s combat uniform.

It must just look big. It won’t actually be that exaggerated when worn.

A few seconds later, Ruan Chen couldn’t even reach the collar.

He flailed his limbs inside the fabric, trying to claw his way out. “Meow meow meow?! (Am I seriously this short?!)”

It’s definitely because that merman’s tail is abnormally long. He’s cheating, this doesn’t count.

With his pride taking another hit, Ruan Chen fiercely threw a middle finger at Lux’s uniform before resigning himself to putting on his own set.

It was infuriatingly form-fitting—neither too big nor too small, just right.

His hope that the uniform would be too large so he could score a mental victory shattered instantly.

With a long face, Ruan Chen walked out of the changing room.

“Oh wow.” Vincent’s eyes lit up. “So cute.”

The miniature protective suit looked incredibly soft and adorable on the human.

Ruan “Petite” Chen shot him a dagger-like glare. “Meow-ow? (Care to laugh again?)”

Vincent cleared his throat.

Leading him into the training room, Vincent gave a sycophantic, beaming smile. “Ruan Ruan, I want to learn that move you used to throw Thane last time.”

He gestured a few times based on his memory.

His movements were noticeably more precise than last time; it was clear the merman had put some serious thought into it.

Unfortunately, Ruan Chen was not in a stellar mood. Tightening his jaw, he hooked a finger at Vincent. “Meow-ow. (Watch closely.)”

Vincent instantly focused all his attention.

Almost in the very next instant, Ruan Chen abruptly lunged toward him from his spot—

Vincent instinctively raised his arms to block, but Ruan Chen had no intention of making a frontal assault. With a slick flip of his small palms, Vincent felt a strange, irresistible force manipulate his entire center of gravity.

Immediately after, just like Thane before him, the entire merman was sent flying sideways onto the training room floor.

“Whoa!” Despite taking a tumble, Vincent looked utterly amazed. With a flick of his tail fin, he popped right back up. “Ruan Ruan, again, again! That was amazing! I didn’t see it clearly, it was way too fast.”

Ruan Chen had already retracted his stance and returned to his original position. The merman babbled a mile a minute at him.

Understanding absolutely none of it, Ruan Chen crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow. “Meowu? (What are you saying? Slow down.)”

After Vincent gestured back and forth for a good while, Ruan Chen finally gathered that the merman wanted another round.

Another round it is then. It’s been so long since anyone could actually spar with me anyway. My hands are itching.

Ruan Chen licked his lips, a flash of brilliance igniting in his dark eyes which had been filled with disinterest just moments ago.

Caught in his gaze, Vincent inexplicably felt a chill run down his spine.

“Meow-ow. (I’m starting.)” Ruan Chen wasn’t just messing around with him this time. His expression turned solemn as he dropped into a proper, formal opening stance.

Following that, miserable cries began to echo from the training room: “Holy shit! Ow, mother of god…”

“I can’t beat you, I can’t beat you! Ruan Ruan, Big Brother Ruan, stop, stop…”

“Ow, ow, ow, hurts!”

“Seriously, I quit! Help me!!!”

More and more merman officers gathered to watch, quickly forming a dense crowd three layers deep.

In the center of the ring, the petite human moved with lethal agility and speed. His body was impossibly flexible, allowing him to effortlessly neutralize the mermen’s raw strength from angles they couldn’t even fathom, consistently pulling off brilliant counterattacks.

Vincent completely threw in the towel, shamelessly sprawling on the floor and refusing to get up.

Ruan Chen hadn’t had his fill yet. Frowning, he stomped a small foot right onto Vincent’s face. “Meow meow meow meow! (Get up! How can you be this useless?)”

Feeling as though his arms and waist were entirely broken, Vincent wheezed out a breath and pushed himself up. “Ruan Ruan, you win. Today… I really can’t go another round.”

“Adjutant Vincent, is that Admiral Lux’s human?”

A voice called out from the spectating mermen, all of whom carried expressions of pure excitement.

“Yeah,” Vincent croaked, forcing out a pained smile.

Only then did Ruan Chen realize they were surrounded by a massive crowd of mermen.

“Meowu…” Surrounded by entirely unfamiliar faces, Ruan Chen felt a sudden pang of anxiety.

One of the merman officers smiled amiably. “He’s amazing. Mind if I trade a few moves with him?”

The speaker was a security captain and a hardcore martial arts enthusiast. He possessed a heavily built physique, with upper body muscles practically bursting out of his uniform.

As he spoke, he reached out to pat Ruan Chen’s hair.

Ruan Chen immediately retreated, hissing fiercely at him, “Meow-ow-ow-ow—” (Don’t touch me!)

“What is everyone crowding around here for?”

A deep voice rang out.

The spectating mermen instantly snapped to attention, turning in unison. “Admiral Lux!”

Having just received a mental pheromone injection the night before, Ruan Chen was currently in a highly clingy phase with Lux. Not having seen him for most of the day, his eyes lit up the moment he heard the voice.

His legs kicked furiously as he swam like a bullet straight into Lux’s embrace. “Mew-wu… (Hold me!)”

A faint smile surfaced on Lux’s face. Catching Ruan Chen, he gently massaged the soft flesh at the back of his neck. “Good boy.”

The black-haired human nuzzled affectionately against Lux’s neck with a face full of sheer contentment.

The surrounding merman officers cast envious glances one after another.

Must be nice.

“Lux, I was just exchanging some notes on Chinese martial arts with Ruan Ruan,” Vincent quickly stepped forward to explain.

Lux frowned. “You bullied him?”

Vincent: “…”

How the fuck am I supposed to answer that?

I was the one who got bullied, thank you very much.

Vincent managed, “No… I absolutely did not let him get hurt.”

Seeing that Lux still looked displeased, Vincent let out a sigh. “If I told you he pinned me down and thrashed me, would you believe it?”

Lux lowered his eyes to meet Ruan Chen’s bright, dark eyes.

The latter looked up from Lux’s collarbone, blinking innocently. “Meowu? (What’s wrong?)”

“Do you think I should believe that?” Lux shot Vincent a sideways glance.

Vincent’s gaze fell upon Ruan Chen’s soft, adorable little face. “…”

It’s not like that!

The guy who just brutally beat me up and the guy right now are two completely different people!

Vincent had a total mental breakdown.

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