I Woke Up To Find Myself Being Kept By A Mermaid – CH41

Chapter 41

The moment Ruan Chen finished speaking, Lux froze.

Then he burst out laughing.

Ruan Chen stared blankly for a few seconds before getting angry.

“What are you laughing at?! I was trying to comfort you out of the goodness of my heart…”

The merman turned away to clean the nail clippers and his hands. He lowered his head, but the amusement in his eyes was still obvious.

“Ruan Ruan, I’m already over one hundred and thirty years old.”

“…One… one hundred and thirty?”

This time, it was Ruan Chen’s turn to be shocked.

“But you… you only look like you’re in your twenties…”

Lux blinked.

“None of the merfolk you’ve met are under fifty.”

Nineteen-year-old Ruan Chen fell silent.

It took him a while to process that enormous piece of information.

Ruan Chen pulled his foot back.

“I don’t care. What I meant was that you can live another hundred years.”

Lux swished his tail and moved closer.

“But I don’t want to live for only another hundred years.”

Ruan Chen looked up.

“Why are you so greedy…”

He had never been good at comforting people.

Today, after overhearing Lux’s sincere words, his instincts had told him he needed to say something.

This was already the absolute limit of Ruan Chen’s ability.

He turned his head away.

“Then let me go. You can find another human.”

His tone was cold.

Unfortunately, the redness on his face had yet to fade, and his eyes were filled with obvious displeasure. Even the corners of his mouth had drooped into upside-down brackets.

The moment he finished speaking, he heard Lux laugh again.

Ruan Chen completely lost his temper and suddenly lunged at him.

“You—”

But the merman had already anticipated this move.

With one sweep of his arm, Lux pulled Ruan Chen straight into his embrace.

He tapped the tip of Ruan Chen’s nose with one finger and said softly,

“I want to spend the next two hundred years with Ruan Ruan, both of us healthy and well.”

The spark of anger in Ruan Chen’s chest instantly went out.

After several seconds of silence, he pushed himself upright, lowered his head, and muttered gloomily,

“Wanting it doesn’t make it happen. I just can’t get through the transformation period. You should be grateful if I can give you another hundred years.”

Unexpectedly, Lux did not stop him.

Instead, he sat up slightly along with Ruan Chen’s movements.

The merman brushed aside a loose strand of hair beside Ruan Chen’s ear.

“Does Ruan Ruan know why we transform humans?”

Ruan Chen froze.

“Because… you need humans to soothe your mental energy riots?”

“That’s only one reason.”

Lux rose upright in the water and extended a hand toward Ruan Chen.

“There are other, more important reasons. Do you want to know?”

Of course he did.

Everything Ruan Chen knew about merfolk came from the scraps of information he had read on the Human-Raising Forum.

Lux picked him up.

Ruan Chen hooked both arms around the merman’s shoulders.

“Where are we going?”

Lux swam back into the room and found the translator earpiece in the wardrobe, which had suffered through the earlier chaos.

He also opened a bag of snacks and gave it to Ruan Chen to eat by himself.

“I’m taking you to see my parents.”

Ruan Chen’s eyes widened.

“Y-your parents…”

They were meeting the parents already???

Lux carried him into the study.

After pressing something Ruan Chen did not see, a passage slowly emerged from beneath the room.

“To be precise, my ancestors,” Lux said beside Ruan Chen’s ear.

The entrance to the passage was dark and a little eerie.

Ruan Chen nervously clutched Lux’s collar.

“Why do your parents live underground?”

The moment he finished speaking, he abruptly realized.

“I’m sorry… I just…”

A finger pressed against his lips.

Lux said gently,

“It’s all right. These are things you should know.”

Once they entered the underground chamber, the surrounding water clearly became much colder.

Ruan Chen shrank farther into Lux’s arms.

The merman immediately held him more tightly.

“Cold?”

“It’s fine.”

Ruan Chen had a snack stuffed in his mouth, making his words indistinct.

After saying that, he even straightened his back a little.

Unfortunately, a freezing current swept over him the next second.

Ruan Chen immediately shuddered from head to toe.

Ruan Chen: “…”

He stiffened the corners of his mouth.

“I-I was just shaking for fun.”

A low laugh sounded beside his ear.

“Mm. You’re not cold at all.”

Ruan Chen: “….”

Lux added,

“But I’m a little cold. Can Ruan Ruan stay closer to me?”

“Why are you so delicate?”

Ruan Chen clutched his snack bag and pursed his lips.

“…Fine. Hold me tighter.”

He had already reached his limit.

If he kept pretending, he would probably sneeze in the water on the spot.

Taking the escape Lux offered him, Ruan Chen leaned back into the merman’s arms and found a comfortable position.

After they passed through the corridor, a faint glow gradually appeared along the walls of the underground chamber.

Ruan Chen widened his eyes and looked around.

Even the walls were intricately carved with countless merfolk designs.

The light did not come from lamps.

It came from some kind of glowing plant wrapped around the carvings.

Tiny fish and shrimp seemed to swim nearby as well.

“You can’t eat those.”

Noticing Ruan Chen’s dark eyes spinning after the little fish and shrimp, Lux reminded him.

Ruan Chen swallowed and stuffed another snack into his mouth.

“I wasn’t thinking about eating them. I was only looking.”

Lux’s lips curved.

He stopped before an upright statue.

“Ruan Ruan, we’re here. This is my father.”

Ruan Chen twisted around and looked up.

His eyes met the eyes of the merman statue directly above him.

He jolted so hard that his head nearly knocked against Lux’s chin.

“Meow?!”

“Don’t be afraid.”

Lux rubbed the back of his neck.

“It’s only a statue.”

Ruan Chen calmed himself and looked carefully.

The merman, so lifelike that even his eyes seemed to hold spirit, really was only a sculpture.

“You actually use such an ancient way to commemorate your ancestors too?”

Ruan Chen sounded surprised.

Lux paused.

“Ancient?”

Ruan Chen had assumed that in a technologically advanced merfolk world like this, they would have some novel method of honoring the dead.

Lux thought for a moment and asked,

“Does Ruan Ruan remember many things from before you were frozen?”

I don’t remember things from before being frozen. I was never frozen at all. I went to sleep in bed and woke up here.

Ruan Chen complained silently.

His instincts told him not to reveal his secret.

So he casually lied,

“I remember a little.”

Lux did not press him.

He carried Ruan Chen to another statue.

“The one before was my father. This is my other father.”

Ruan Chen stared at the statue in front of him, which was clearly smaller than the previous merman sculpture.

For a moment, he failed to understand what Lux meant.

Lux continued explaining,

“He was human too, just like you.”

“Huh?”

Ruan Chen looked the statue up and down.

“Then why is his statue carved as a merman?”

“That’s what I wanted to tell you.”

Lux set him down so he could see the statues more clearly.

“Many years ago, something happened to your human planet. But humans were very clever. You knew how to preserve a spark of civilization.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know exactly how it was done. It happened a very long time ago.”

Lux tried to remember.

“When my ancestors passed by Earth, your planet hadn’t been completely destroyed yet. They discovered a large number of humans who had been frozen.”

Ruan Chen’s lips moved.

“Frozen… We froze ourselves?”

“Yes.”

Lux looked at him.

“Does Ruan Ruan not remember any of that?”

It would be a miracle if he did.

Ruan Chen shook his head.

Then he frowned.

“What does that have to do with your two fathers?”

Lux took his little paw.

“Before that, because merfolk suffered from mental energy riots, most of our lifespans were limited to around one hundred and fifty years.”

“And enduring mental energy riots year after year made our temperaments increasingly volatile. Perhaps it also affected our bodily functions. In any case, the merfolk birth rate declined every year until it eventually entered negative growth.”

Ruan Chen vaguely began to form a guess.

Lux noticed his expression and patted the top of his head.

“Then we discovered that humans who had been awakened could be transformed into merfolk through mental pheromones.”

“Transformed merfolk not only stopped suffering from mental energy problems, but could also successfully lay healthy eggs for us.”

Ruan Chen: “…”

He instinctively looked down at his own stomach.

“Then how do you know whether those humans are willing to be turned into merfolk?”

Ruan Chen swallowed and stared at Lux.

“That’s also what I wanted to discuss with you today.”

Lux smiled.

Ruan Chen looked confused.

“What?”

The merman said softly,

“Under normal circumstances, merfolk bid for the opportunity to take a compatibility test with a human.”

“Is that the neck-biting part?”

Ruan Chen held grudges.

A rare hint of apology appeared in Lux’s eyes.

“No. Normally, a small amount of a merman’s mental pheromones is injected into the human with a syringe, and then their reaction is observed.”

“Only if there is no rejection response will the human and merman be allowed to meet.”

Knowing what Ruan Chen was thinking, Lux said helplessly,

“The transformation period can only proceed smoothly if both sides are satisfied.”

Ruan Chen froze.

Then had his transformation failed…

Because he had never accepted any of this?

Before he could think further, Lux said,

“Biting you that day… was an accident.”

He admitted frankly,

“Your voice sounded too beautiful. I lost control.”

Ruan Chen: “??”

Remembering that floating, euphoric sensation, his ears reddened.

“So it’s my fault?”

“My fault.”

Lux admitted it immediately.

Ruan Chen did not want to keep arguing about that.

He asked,

“What happens if the human doesn’t like the merman they’re matched with?”

“Mm…”

Lux thought about it.

“That seems to happen very rarely. Humans are already scarce, while there are countless merfolk. Eventually, there should always be someone they like.”

“If they truly don’t like anyone, they’ll continue living at the breeding center.”

“…You make it sound like choosing imperial concubines,” Ruan Chen muttered.

Lux did not hear clearly.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Other people got to select concubines.

Why had he somehow ended up forcibly married the instant he arrived?

Truly the unluckiest bastard alive.

Thinking that, Ruan Chen carefully looked Lux over.

Mm.

At least the match was high quality.

If some hideous monster had dared bite him the moment they met, Ruan Chen would absolutely have dragged him down to hell on the spot.

Lux squeezed Ruan Chen’s palm.

“My father was like me. His luck came very late. He didn’t meet the human who belonged to him until he was over one hundred and fifty.”

“My human father spent a long time getting used to him. Only after that did they have me.”

“So not long after I entered military academy, they both passed away.”

Lux lowered his lashes.

Ruan Chen knew what losing family felt like.

He pressed his lips together, lowered his head, and gently squeezed the merman’s hand in return.

“Don’t be sad. They only went to another world. Their souls are still up in the sky, staying with you.”

Lux tightened his hand slightly and pulled Ruan Chen into his arms.

“I’m not sad. I brought you here today so they could see that I have Ruan Ruan with me now.”

“…”

Ruan Chen buried his head against Lux’s chest.

“I’m not your partner.”

He was even more convinced now that his transformation had failed because he could not accept Lux biting him.

After all, their situation had been an accident.

They had skipped all the normal stages of meeting and getting to know each other.

The moment they met, they had gone straight to the main event and been forcibly declared partners.

Feeling the merman fall silent, Ruan Chen stared at a spot on the floor.

Lux asked softly,

“Why do you say that?”

Ruan Chen did not want to look at him.

“Because my transformation failed.”

Then he awkwardly added,

“The compatibility system you merfolk use is only your standard for choosing partners. Humans aren’t like that.”

“Then… what are Ruan Ruan’s standards?”

Lux asked gently.

Ruan Chen rapidly organized his thoughts.

“When humans become partners, we don’t care about compatibility ratings, and we don’t have mental pheromones. What matters to us is liking each other.”

The moment he finished, Lux answered without hesitation.

“I like Ruan Ruan.”

Ruan Chen stiffened.

“H-how do you suddenly like me? That’s not liking someone. You’re just…”

Images of his time with the merman spun through his mind.

For a long time, he could not find the right word.

What was it?

Instinct?

Somehow, that sounded even more embarrassing.

Lux slowed his voice.

“I don’t know what humans mean by ‘liking someone.’ But the first time I saw you, I felt something.”

“What…?”

Ruan Chen looked up.

Lux met his dark eyes.

“I endured mental energy riots for so many years without dying like other merfolk because I was waiting for you.”

Ruan Chen’s face began to heat.

He clenched his little fists.

“You were only attracted by my voice.”

“That’s part of what I like.”

The faint glow of the surrounding plants seemed reflected in Lux’s eyes.

“From the day I brought you home, I felt uneasy every day because I always seemed to make you angry.”

Ruan Chen’s heart had only just warmed when he heard Lux continue,

“But I also like seeing you angry.”

Ruan Chen: “You—”

Lux continued, “You look good when you’re angry. You look even better when you smile. You’re obedient even when you’re asleep.”

“I get angry because… you keep kissing me without my permission!”

Ruan Chen’s little face turned bright red.

He tried to use his loud voice to give himself courage.

Lux looked aggrieved after hearing this.

“Because I like Ruan Ruan so much. The moment I see you, I want to kiss you.”

Ruan Chen’s ears became even redder.

He turned away.

“…There’s no explaining anything to you.”

“You’re my partner.”

Lux straightened Ruan Chen’s face.

“I want to be close to you.”

Ruan Chen slapped his hand away.

“I’m not. I’ve already told you, you have to like each other to be partners.”

The merman looked confused.

“But I really do like Ruan Ruan.”

After several seconds, he asked,

“Ruan Ruan… doesn’t like me?”

“…”

Ruan Chen’s heart started hammering wildly.

Afraid that the moment he opened his mouth he would say something that made this merman smug, he simply pressed his lips together and remained silent.

Lux thought for a moment.

“Then according to human rules, what should I do in this situation?”

“I like my partner, but my partner doesn’t like me.”

“How many times do I have to tell you…”

“We have to like each other before we’re partners.”

Lux sounded slightly dejected.

“Then what do I have to do for Ruan Ruan to like me?”

Ruan Chen stiffened his neck.

“I’ll never like you. I don’t want to become a merman, and I don’t want to lay eggs for you!”

It took Lux a moment to understand what he meant.

He curled his tail and lowered himself until he was eye level with Ruan Chen.

“Ruan Ruan. I think you have a major misunderstanding about me.”

Ruan Chen asked,

“What misunderstanding…?”

Lux looked directly into his eyes.

“If you want to remain human, then remain human. If you want to become a merman, then become a merman. I don’t care about any of that.”

“I also don’t care whether you lay eggs.”

“If you don’t want to do something, I will never force you.”

Ruan Chen had already heard him say these things once at the breeding center.

But hearing the merman confess them face-to-face, in such a sincere and gentle voice, was completely different.

“I want Ruan Ruan to become my partner only because I felt something for you the moment I first saw you. It has nothing to do with any of those things.”

Lux tentatively intertwined his fingers with Ruan Chen’s.

He lifted his lashes and asked again,

“So, Ruan Ruan…”

“Can you tell me what I have to do for you to like me and become my partner?”

Something caught in Ruan Chen’s throat.

“I…”

He suddenly released Lux’s hand and turned around.

The little gills behind his burning ears trembled uncontrollably.

He had always resisted Lux because of the transformation and the egg-laying.

Those were his bottom lines.

But Lux said he did not care.

“I just don’t like you.”

Ruan Chen refused to turn around.

His affection for Lux was definitely caused by the mental pheromones.

Without them, he would have sent this merman flying long ago.

How could there possibly have been so much trouble?

“Biting you without your permission before was my fault. I failed to control myself. I’m sorry.”

Lux carefully touched Ruan Chen’s back.

“Is that why you won’t accept me?”

“How about I let you bite me back?”

“…Are you a dog? All you know is biting, biting, biting!”

Ruan Chen became embarrassed and furious.

The merman failed to understand.

“What’s a dog?”

Ruan Chen: “…”

Ruan Chen: “You want me to like you?”

Lux’s eyes lit up.

“Yes.”

Ruan Chen’s entire neck was bright red.

He squeezed his eyes shut hard.

“Then you have to follow my rules. In the human world, if you want me to like you, you have to court me first.”

Afraid Lux would not understand, Ruan Chen threw all dignity aside.

“I mean pursue me! Not bite me the second we meet!”

The moment he finished speaking, Lux agreed decisively.

“All right. I’ll court you.”

Ruan Chen’s mind buzzed.

What kind of nonsense was he even saying?

And why had this merman agreed so quickly???

“But…”

Lux’s brows drew together slightly.

“I might not know how.”

After saying that, he leaned closer.

His pale-golden eyes were filled with eager anticipation as he looked at Ruan Chen.

“Can Ruan Ruan teach me?”

Click here to download the full novel (PDF & EPUB)