I Woke Up To Find Myself Being Kept By A Mermaid – CH36

Chapter 36

Ruan Chen nearly mangled the lyrics and froze on the spot, his face instantly turning bright red.

He finished the remaining half of the song purely on instinct. After all, he had already promised Lux. He could hardly stop halfway and take it back.

By the time the final line, “My heart feels so happy,” came tumbling out in a tune that had wandered off to who knew where, Ruan Chen had gone completely numb.

He put down the loudspeaker and immediately turned to hide behind Lux.

“Meow meow meow… (I’m not singing anymore!)”

This was way too humiliating.

Lux was still recording Ruan Chen singing on his optical computer when the human suddenly burrowed straight into his arms.

He wrapped an arm around Ruan Chen and bent down with a smile.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t you sing very well?”

“…”

Only Ruan Chen himself knew what he had just done.

Before opening his mouth, he had clearly reminded himself not to sing the wrong lyrics, yet his mouth had apparently developed a mind of its own.

Clutching Lux’s clothes, Ruan Chen mumbled vaguely,

“I sang it wrong…”

The moment he finished speaking, however, the entire ward erupted in applause.

Captain Cote, who had lost an arm and could not clap, leaned against the headboard and smilingly slapped his tail fin against the bed rail to show his appreciation.

Ruan Chen heard the noise and turned around in a daze.

“You sang beautifully,” a merman nurse in the ward encouraged him. “Don’t be shy. Everyone really likes you.”

She had heard Ruan Chen meow back and forth with Lux a few times and had no idea why the human had suddenly dropped the loudspeaker and hidden.

But she had noticed his flushed little face.

Ruan Chen peeked at the nurse from behind Lux’s tail.

The merman nurse smiled and nodded at him.

“Mew? (Really?)”

Ruan Chen tilted his head and blinked at her, then raised his face to look at Lux.

Lux soothingly ran a hand through his black hair.

“Really. They’re all hoping you’ll sing another song. Look.”

Ruan Chen turned back and immediately met the wounded soldiers’ eager gazes.

It was obvious that they looked much more energetic now.

But their wounds were simply too severe. These soldiers had suffered from mental contamination for so long that one song was not enough to fully heal them.

Lux rubbed Ruan Chen’s earlobe and coaxed him.

“Will Ruan Ruan sing one more song? I’ll take you to the shooting range later.”

Ruan Chen was silent for several seconds.

A little embarrassed, he squirmed awkwardly.

“…Fine.”

Then he raised his head again.

“You don’t need to take me to the shooting range.”

Lux hummed questioningly.

“Hmm?”

Ruan Chen pressed his lips together, tightened his grip on the loudspeaker, and turned around with a cool, stern expression.

“I’m willing to help treat their injuries.”

Truthfully, Ruan Chen actually liked singing.

The problem was that his sense of pitch was absolutely terrible. The moment he started singing, he went off-key.

Worse still, he had a loud voice.

It would have been one thing if he only dragged himself off-key, but when he was little, every music class ended with him dragging the entire class off-key with him.

Not even the teacher could pull them back.

When he was in sixth grade, the principal selected his class to participate in a choir competition.

Schools from all over the city were attending. The scale of the event made their homeroom teacher frantic.

On the day of the competition, Ruan Chen was taken to McDonald’s by the gentle and beautiful art teacher.

She bought him a huge Happy Meal and spent the entire day playing with him there.

Only after he returned did he learn that the art teacher had not taken him out because she especially liked him.

His homeroom teacher had been afraid he would ruin their chances of winning and had come up with the idea of sending him away.

Looking back, Ruan Chen could understand the teacher.

But at the time, young Ruan Chen had been deeply wounded.

That incident had also made him painfully aware of the fact that he was tone-deaf.

After that, he slowly stopped singing in front of other people.

His memories ended there.

Ruan Chen took a deep breath and racked his brain for another song.

Then, beneath the expectant gazes of the wounded merfolk, Ruan Chen lowered his lashes and began singing again.

“I have a little donkey, but I never ride it…”

Soft, rhythmic “meow meow meow, meow meow meows” echoed through the ward.

At first, Ruan Chen was the only one singing.

Gradually, the merman nurses beside him began clapping along to keep the beat.

By the end, every merman in the ward had joined in, flicking their tails and enjoying this rare mental soothing.

The scene was practically a miniature concert.

Halfway through, Ruan Chen got excited and sang every children’s song left in his memory.

The more he sang, the more relaxed he became.

Lux simply set up a small table in the middle of the ward and let him stand on top to perform.

“Meow meow meooow—”

Lux used his optical computer to record the entire scene.

While Ruan Chen was still enthusiastically singing Little Rabbit, Be Good, Lux had already posted a short clip from the ward online.

[Lux Dorian: Major discovery. Ruan Ruan’s singing can treat mental contamination caused by the Zerg. A human this precious should receive protection. I hereby request that Ruan Ruan be raised to the highest royal security classification. [Video]]

In the video he posted, Ruan Chen stood on the table, waving one little paw, his eyes shining brightly.

All around him were wounded merman soldiers.

Blackened traces were clearly visible around their injuries—the unmistakable marks left by the Zerg.

Yet the soldiers who should have been listless and weakened were all tapping out the beat along with Ruan Chen’s meowing song.

Within minutes, the comments exploded.

[It can treat mental contamination?! That thing can actually be treated now???]

[I think it’s real. Yesterday, I played Ruan Ruan’s singing video for my older brother, who was injured years ago. He told me his body felt much better afterward. I didn’t believe him at the time… [Shocked]]

[How could Admiral Lux joke about something this important? The reactions of the wounded soldiers in the video are obviously real too. This is amazing!]

[If that’s the case, Ruan Ruan absolutely should be properly protected. @Royal Human Protection Association]

[Protect Ruan Ruan +1]

[This is the first time I’ve heard of a human soothing mental energy through anything other than mental fusion. But why doesn’t my human’s singing have this effect…]

[Then Ruan Ruan should be protected even more! He’s the only one! I hope the royal family approves this request. [Worried]]

Lux casually skimmed the comments, curled his lips, and shut off his optical computer.

Vincent had also seen what he posted.

He leaned closer and whispered worriedly,

“Lux, by exposing Ruan Ruan’s secret so openly… won’t that make the royal family want to eliminate him even more?”

Lux glanced at him.

“No.”

“This can’t be hidden forever. They would learn about it sooner or later. I’m deliberately making sure everyone on Ocean Planet understands Ruan Ruan’s importance before they do.”

He said calmly,

“If the royal family still dares to touch Ruan Ruan under these circumstances, they’ll be digging their own grave.”

Vincent suddenly understood.

“Once Ruan Ruan is raised to the highest royal security classification, if anything happens to him, the royal family will be the first to be held responsible.”

That way, no matter how much the royal family hated them, they would no longer be able to make trouble for Ruan Ruan.

Doing so would only mean lifting a rock and dropping it on their own feet.

As for refusing to raise his security classification…

The royal family had only just lost public trust because of Sain’s farce.

Right now, they desperately needed to do something to win back the people.

As long as public support was loud enough, they would not dare refuse.

The Zerg and the sea demons were not problems that could be solved overnight.

Lux wanted to give Ruan Chen the most comprehensive protection possible.

By the time Lux and Vincent finished speaking, Ruan Chen had just finished his final song.

He still looked excited, but Lux noticed the faint exhaustion hidden beneath it.

“That’s enough, Ruan Ruan.”

Lux swam forward and took the loudspeaker from his hand.

“You’ve sung your voice hoarse.”

Ruan Chen did not feel any discomfort in his throat.

His head was just a little dizzy.

He really was somewhat tired and did not insist on continuing, allowing Lux to pick him up.

“Record the patients’ recovery progress,” Lux instructed the doctor in charge of the ward.

“Yes, sir!”

“Admiral!”

Suddenly, a merman called out behind them.

Ruan Chen and Lux turned around at the same time.

It was one of the wounded soldiers.

His injuries were not severe, but unfortunately, he had been wounded on his ear fin, a place very close to the brain.

The mental contamination had caused him unbearable agony.

Now, there was almost no trace of black left around the wound on his ear.

The injured merman struggled to swim over to Lux.

“Admiral Lux, I… I want to thank your human.”

His gaze was sincere.

Before Lux could say anything, Ruan Chen reached out his little paw on his own.

“Meow.”

The wounded merman froze.

“He wants to shake your hand,” Lux temporarily translated.

The wounded merman was overjoyed.

He hurriedly extended his hand and gently shook Ruan Chen’s little paw.

Ruan Chen gave him a sweet smile.

“Meow meow, meow meow meow.”

“He said, keep fighting. You’ll definitely recover,” Lux said with a smile.

The wounded soldier’s eyes instantly reddened.

He nodded repeatedly.

“O-okay. I’ll do my best to recover as soon as possible and return to my post. I swear I’ll protect you and your human with my life!”

With that, he gave Ruan Chen and Lux a military salute.

Once he took the lead, the other wounded soldiers also wanted to come forward and express their thanks.

Ruan Chen shook hands with several merfolk.

Only after Lux said, “He needs to rest now,” was he finally carried out of the ward.

Even at the doorway, Ruan Chen remained draped over Lux’s shoulder.

He pushed himself upright and waved both arms toward the patients inside.

“Meow meow meow! (Everyone, keep fighting! Get well soon!)”

Lux turned his head and quietly glanced at Ruan Chen.

It was Ruan Chen’s first time consuming so much mental energy at once.

He had not noticed anything at first.

But after returning to the room, drowsiness caught up with him belatedly.

He slumped in Lux’s arms, instantly wilting.

Lux sat down in a chair with him in his arms, lifted a hand, and scratched beneath Ruan Chen’s chin.

“Finally feeling tired?”

The touch felt extremely comfortable.

Ruan Chen tilted his head back.

“I’m not that tired. I’m happy I could help treat them.”

Lux’s hand paused.

Sensing that the massage had stopped, Ruan Chen kicked a leg in dissatisfaction.

“Keep rubbing.”

Lux came back to his senses and chuckled softly.

“All right. Where?”

“Here, around my cheeks. They’re so sore.”

Ruan Chen poked both cheeks with his fingers.

The merman obediently placed his fingertips where Ruan Chen pointed.

He used as little force as possible as he kneaded them, then slowly moved upward to massage Ruan Chen’s cheekbones and temples.

Ruan Chen let out a comfortable purr.

“Do you know how to do eye exercises?”

“What?”

The topic changed so abruptly that Lux failed to follow his thoughts.

Knowing the merman definitely would not know, Ruan Chen giggled.

“It’s like this… copy me.”

Following his memories, he pressed his fingers against Lux’s temples.

“First, press here. Then use your knuckles to rub along here.”

After demonstrating several rounds, Ruan Chen asked expectantly,

“Do you feel that sore, swollen, but really good feeling?”

Lux was visibly startled.

He blinked.

“Yes.”

“You’re lying. You definitely don’t!”

Ruan Chen exposed his lie at once.

He lowered his head and noticed the small section of sharp fin protruding from the joints of the merman’s fingers.

Ruan Chen: “…”

Forget it.

Different species.

If Lux used those to scrape around his eye sockets, he would probably scrape his eyeballs out too.

Lux was honest enough to ask,

“Then what does the feeling Ruan Ruan described actually feel like?”

Ruan Chen was in an excellent mood after experiencing what it felt like to be a big celebrity adored by everyone.

He patiently explained, “It just feels really relaxing and comfortable. We used to do a full set after class. It stopped our eyes from becoming nearsighted so easily.”

“Nearsighted?”

The merman looked confused.

“…It means your eyes get sick!”

Lux lowered his lashes.

His human retained many memories of ancient Earth.

This was not the first time Ruan Chen had revealed that fact.

After being stared at for several seconds, Ruan Chen looked away.

“Don’t you have work today?”

“I do.”

There was actually a lot to handle.

But Lux wanted to enjoy a few more moments alone with his human.

“Are you in such a hurry to drive me away?”

“…”

It would have been fine if he had not said anything.

The moment he did, Ruan Chen remembered what had happened while he was drunk yesterday.

If you get it right, I kiss you.

If you get it wrong, you kiss me.

Ruan Ruan is Meowx’s little treasure.

The tips of Ruan Chen’s ears heated up.

He turned his head away.

“I want to rest. Go handle your work.”

The merman extended an arm and trapped him in place.

“But I want to hold Ruan Ruan a little longer.”

Ruan Chen was just about to struggle when Lux’s low voice sounded beside his ear again.

“Ruan Ruan is so popular. Everyone likes Ruan Ruan…”

His tone sounded inexplicably dejected.

Ruan Chen froze.

He raised his eyes and met Lux’s pale golden gaze.

Before he could clearly read the emotion in those eyes, Lux released him.

“You worked hard today. Get some proper rest. I’ll be very busy over the next few days, so I may not have time to come and keep you company again.”

Lux placed him back into the conch bed.

The merman even thoughtfully tucked the blanket around Ruan Chen before affectionately brushing a finger against his cheek.

Lux turned to leave.

Suddenly, his hair was tugged from behind.

He looked back.

Ruan Chen had stood up inside the conch bed.

“…”

He seemed a little embarrassed and pressed his lips together.

After a long moment, he lowered his head as though giving up on himself and opened his arms toward the merman.

“Then… hug me for a little while before you go.”

Lux’s eyes instantly lit up.

When he did not react, Ruan Chen awkwardly began lowering his arms.

“Forget it if you don’t want to—mmph…”

His entire body was pulled into the merman’s embrace.

His face pressed against Lux’s chest.

Ruan Chen took several seconds to react before lightly and tentatively wrapping his arms around Lux.

Sigh.

The corners of Ruan Chen’s lips lifted.

He calls me a baby, but this merman is the real baby.

He needs someone to coax him all day long.

The thought had barely finished when warmth brushed the tip of his ear.

The merman kissed it.

Lux released him.

Only when Ruan Chen saw the smile on his face did he finally realize he had fallen for this fish’s pity act.

All that pitifulness and sadness had been fake.

He had only wanted to coax a hug out of Ruan Chen and take advantage of him while he was at it.

“If I ever believe you again, I’m a dog!”

Bang!

At the exact moment Lux escaped through the doorway, a snack can slammed into the closed door.

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