I Woke Up To Find Myself Being Kept By A Mermaid – CH31

Chapter 31

With something weighing on his mind, Ruan Chen woke up early the next morning before his optical computer could even wake him.

It was too early to get up, yet not early enough to go back to sleep for another proper nap.

Ruan Chen took his little protective suit out of the wardrobe and changed into it. He fussed with his hair in front of the mirror, then sat down on a chair and opened his optical computer.

The moment he turned it on, countless unread messages flooded the screen.

And every single one was from the same person—Joshua.

[Houston: Ruan!]

[Houston: I just saw your comments. I only had time to say one thing in your defense before my account got banned.]

Most of the messages after that were Joshua marveling over Ruan Chen’s online battle with Sain the previous day.

Ruan Chen rapidly scrolled past them.

When he reached the final few lines, he paused.

[Houston: Ruan, are you still there?]

[Houston: Ruan! I saw you like Admiral Lux’s post. Stop pretending you’re offline!]

[Houston: You liked his post instantly, but you won’t reply to me… [Aggrieved]]

Ruan Chen: “…”

He scrolled back and checked the two posts Lux had made yesterday.

He really had liked one.

He had barely even noticed. His finger had simply tapped the little heart beside it on instinct.

Ruan Chen hurriedly typed an apology to Joshua.

[Ruan Ruan: Sorry. I wasn’t deliberately ignoring you.]

[Ruan Ruan: I went to bed really early yesterday and didn’t notice the messages.]

[Ruan Ruan: His post tagged me, so it popped up on my screen. That’s why I opened it. I don’t even know how I accidentally pressed Like.]

Unexpectedly, Joshua replied almost instantly despite the early hour.

[Houston: Admiral’s messages are more important than mine. I understand. [Touches fingertips together]]

[Ruan Ruan: …]

Ruan Chen did not want to continue this topic.

[Ruan Ruan: Lux already said Sain was spreading rumors. You can tell Hugh there’s nothing to worry about.]

[Houston: No need. He already knows.]

[Houston: He was so excited yesterday. He kept saying he believed Admiral Lux, and he even praised you for being brave and straightforward.]

After being praised for an entire day yesterday, Ruan Chen felt rather embarrassed hearing his friend bring it up again.

[Ruan Ruan: I just happened to argue with him.]

[Houston: Haha. You’re so cute.]

[Houston: Come to think of it, I think the Admiral treats you really well. Everyone in the comments says the two of you are very sweet together.]

Ruan Chen, who had recently been pinned to a bed and sniffed all over: “.”

[Ruan Ruan: That’s because you’ve never seen how dog-like he can be.]

[Houston: [Confused]]

[Houston: What does “dog-like” mean?]

Remembering that Joshua was a foreigner, Ruan Chen patiently explained.

[Ruan Ruan: What’s your favorite food?]

[Houston: Hmm… let me think…]

[Houston: Seaweed fish balls!]

[Ruan Ruan: Imagine you’re really hungry right now.]

[Houston: I actually am really hungry. I haven’t gotten up for breakfast yet.]

[Ruan Ruan: Then Hugh brings over a bowl of seaweed fish balls.]

[Houston: !]

[Ruan Ruan: Next, he eats every single one right in front of you with obvious enjoyment, then shows you the empty bowl.]

[Houston: ?]

[Ruan Ruan: That’s called being dog-like.]

Perhaps the message had been too devastating.

Joshua did not reply for a very long time.

After sitting for a few minutes, Ruan Chen was just about to open a can of food when someone knocked on the door.

He hurriedly got down from the chair, smoothed out his clothes, and only then went to open it.

When he saw an unfamiliar merman outside, Ruan Chen froze.

“Don’t—don’t close the door!” The merman officer outside hurriedly stopped him. “Admiral Lux sent me to pick you up. He sent a message to your optical computer. You can check.”

Ruan Chen checked and found that he had indeed received a message from Lux two minutes earlier.

[Lux: I’m still a little busy over here. I’ve asked Major Pegg to pick you up.]

Major Pegg showed Ruan Chen the officially verified name and identity on his optical computer, then smiled in a friendly manner.

“Are you ready? If you are, we can leave now.”

Ruan Chen glanced at the two merman soldiers guarding him nearby.

Neither of them showed anything unusual.

He nodded his little head.

“Meow. (I’m ready.)”

Major Pegg paused at the sound of that soft, sweet cry.

He smiled apologetically.

“Sorry. It seems my optical computer can’t translate what you’re saying.”

Ruan Chen turned voice translation back on through his own optical computer.

Only then could the human and merman communicate properly.

To accommodate the human, Major Pegg deliberately swam very slowly.

Halfway there, he turned and asked Ruan Chen, “Has Ruan Ruan had breakfast?”

“…”

Still not used to that name, Ruan Chen stiffened for an instant.

“I haven’t had time yet.”

Pegg nodded.

“Then once I bring you to the command room, I’ll prepare breakfast for you.”

Ruan Chen looked at him in mild surprise.

“Okay. Thank you.”

Pegg met those bright, dark eyes.

So well-behaved.

Was this the charm of humans?

He turned his head away, a faint blush appearing on his face from being overwhelmed by the cuteness.

Ruan Chen thought for a moment but ultimately could not stop himself from asking.

“Excuse me…”

“Hmm?” Pegg lowered his head. “What is it?”

In front of an unfamiliar merman, Ruan Chen—who was only fierce with people he knew—felt somewhat awkward.

He tugged at the hem of his clothes.

“What exactly happened to Lux? Yesterday, I saw the news saying… he lost the first battle.”

The moment this matter came up, anger surged in Major Pegg’s chest.

But in front of the human, he restrained himself and tried to keep his tone as calm as possible.

“The news was false. Royal News is an app personally established by Prince Sain. Whatever gets published there is entirely up to him.”

So that stupid fucking merman really had proved Ruan Chen right.

The writer had been Sain himself.

“I could tell.”

Ruan Chen nodded solemnly.

Pegg, who had been busy all day and had yet to hear about yesterday’s great online war, looked surprised.

“How could you tell?”

Ruan Chen blurted out, “The whole thing was complete bullsh—”

He raised his eyes.

A golden figure was swimming toward them from not far away.

Ruan Chen choked and hurriedly changed his words.

“The content was very incoherently written.”

Pegg struggled not to laugh.

“…It certainly was.”

“Ah, Admiral Lux!”

Pegg saluted Lux.

“Ruan Ruan has arrived.”

Lux nodded.

“Thank you.”

“It was no trouble. He’s very well-behaved.”

Pegg was clearly extremely fond of him.

“I’ll go get him some breakfast. He said he didn’t have time to eat.”

Having inexplicably been praised for being well-behaved, Ruan Chen stared blankly upward and met Lux’s gaze.

Lux smiled.

“You woke up this early. Aren’t you tired?”

Ruan Chen let Lux take his little hand and pursed his lips.

“No.”

He handed over the other translator earpiece he had brought with him and lowered his head.

“Here. I… I found it again.”

The corner of Lux’s mouth lifted.

He did not expose him and simply put the earpiece on.

“We’re currently in a temporary ceasefire. Later, a squad will leave the base to collect materials from the Spore Forest.”

Lux led him into the command room.

“That area is under our control and very safe. Would Ruan Ruan like to go see it?”

He remembered that Ruan Chen had been interested in the scenery of the Spore Forest from the very beginning.

Sure enough, Lux hit the mark immediately.

“Yes!”

The moment Ruan Chen answered, his optical computer popped up.

It was a new message from Joshua.

[Houston: I thought about it for a long time before I suddenly understood.]

[Houston: I think you’re the dog-like one.]

Ruan Chen rapidly sent a single question mark.

[Houston: Did that example you gave happen between you and Lux?]

[Houston: I just tried it myself.]

[Houston: And then Hugh pinned me down… [Shy]]

[Houston: Only then did I realize you were talking about Lux flirting with you…]

[Houston: QAQ Now I understand how loving you two are.]

Ruan Chen: ???

Lux watched several expressions flash across Ruan Chen’s face and raised an eyebrow as he leaned closer.

“Who are you talking to?”

Ruan Chen hurriedly covered the screen with one hand.

“N-no one.”

“Ruan Ruan made a new friend?”

Seeing him hide the screen, Lux did not press the matter and moved back.

“Be careful when making friends online. Some merfolk…”

He considered his wording.

“…have poor character and may try to trick you.”

Ruan Chen thought that he had been surfing the internet since elementary school and had never once been scammed in more than a decade, much less in a world where every account was tied to a real identity.

Still, a mischievous thought occurred to him.

He deliberately said, “Yesterday, lots of merfolk asked what color sack I liked.”

Lux frowned.

“Where? Show me.”

Ruan Chen continued watching his reaction with wide eyes.

“They also said they wanted to steal me away.”

Lux immediately realized Ruan Chen was deliberately teasing him.

Before Ruan Chen could react and dodge, Lux swept him into his arms and lowered his head.

“You’ve learned how to be naughty?”

“…”

Caught off guard and instantly exposed, Ruan Chen stiffened his neck.

Why did this merman always break the rules and resort to brute-force suppression?

Lux’s long hair brushed beside Ruan Chen’s ear as he moved.

“Tell them that if they have the courage…”

He smiled and lifted Ruan Chen’s little face, making him meet his eyes.

“…they can come steal you from my arms.”

Ruan Chen’s ears went numb.

He abruptly turned his head and yanked his arms out of Lux’s grasp.

Furious and embarrassed, he snapped, “Who wants to be in your arms?!”

Major Pegg, who had just returned carrying breakfast, heard a long string of fierce “meow meow meow meooows” from the doorway.

He froze.

Uncertainly, he knocked.

“Reporting.”

A series of clatters and crashes erupted from inside the control room.

It took a long time before everything finally fell silent.

Lux’s voice came from within.

“Come in.”

Major Pegg carefully stepped around a chair that had somehow been overturned by the door and placed the breakfast on the table.

His gaze drifted sideways.

Without warning, he noticed that the human’s wrist was slightly red.

Looking again, he saw that the human’s cheeks and eyes were red as well, with a faint sheen of moisture in his gaze.

Lux’s calm voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Notify the Third Squad. We leave for the Spore Forest in one hour.”

Pegg finally snapped back to his senses.

“Y-yes!”

Only after he left did Lux ask softly, “Did I squeeze your wrist too hard? Let me rub it for you.”

Ruan Chen, who had struggled in Lux’s arms for ages without managing to escape, glared at him.

“I don’t want you to rub it!”

He added immediately,

“It doesn’t hurt at all!”

With that, he grabbed his plate of food, kicked off, and darted over to the little coffee table nearby.

He ignored Lux completely.

Lux righted the fallen chair and coaxed him patiently.

“Ruan Ruan is too adorable. I lost control for a moment.”

Ruan Chen had always been pale.

His skin looked even whiter right after waking up.

Only recently had he finally gained a little healthy color.

Knowing the merman was trying to coax him, Ruan Chen turned his face away and rubbed his own wrist, refusing to respond.

Lux’s gaze fell on that slender wrist.

His eyes darkened slightly.

“I’ll be more careful next time and use less strength.”

Ruan Chen: “?”

He grabbed the little nutritional pill he had been about to eat and hurled it at the merman’s face.

“There won’t be a next time, stupid goldfish!”

Forget Meowx.

He should just call him Dogx instead!

Ruan Chen thought furiously.

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