I Woke Up To Find Myself Being Kept By A Mermaid – CH53

Chapter 53

During the few minutes Ruan Chen and Lux were fussing about, Joshua sent a few more messages. Ruan Chen successfully got the merman out of the way, which finally allowed him to reopen his optical computer and check them.

[Joshua: Ruan, I just heard that the Western Sea Breeding Center awakened your compatriot!]

[Joshua: I’m planning to go check it out with Hugh. Are you coming?]

[Ruan Ruan: I’m almost there.]

[Joshua: !!!]

[Joshua: Are you going with Admiral Lux?]

[Ruan Ruan: Yeah.]

[Ruan Ruan: But we’re not going inside. He’s here to maintain order and said it’s very chaotic, so it’s unsafe to step off the flying shuttle.]

[Joshua: Ah…]

[Joshua: It’s fine, then I don’t need to see them either. I’ll come over to hang out with you instead. Wait for me!]

Ruan Chen glanced out the window at the long queue of flying shuttles and typed back telling him not to rush and to take his time. Looking at the situation, they would probably be stuck in traffic for quite a while.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the flying shuttle slowly ground to a halt. Ruan Chen had predicted it perfectly.

Just as Lux got up from the pilot’s seat, intending to sit over by Ruan Chen’s side, the window on the side of the shuttle was tapped a few times.

It was Vincent, who had been following behind them.

“Ah, Lux, I feel like it’s been hundreds of years since I last saw you.” The moment the door opened, Vincent grinned and tried to rush forward to give Lux a hug.

Immediately, his eyes caught sight of Ruan Chen sitting nearby.

Vincent slammed on the brakes. “Sorry, I forgot. You’re not like how you used to be. Hugs and physical closeness can’t just be handed out carelessly anymore.”

“…” Ruan Chen froze for a second, then recalled that it had been the Mate Festival just a few days ago.

Not wanting to deal with Vincent, he silently used the screen of his optical computer to shield his face.

Seeing his movements, Lux curved his lips. “If you know that, why did you still run over to disturb us?”

His words were answering Vincent, but his gaze remained fixed entirely on Ruan Chen.

Vincent: “?”

“We haven’t met for a few days, so why do I feel like I’ve missed out on a fortune?” He scrutinized Lux from top to bottom, keenly sniffing a slightly different aura, yet unable to put his finger on what exactly had changed.

He just felt the merman carried a total air of…

Triumph and utter gratification.

Lux went to contact the traffic department, asking them to disperse the flying shuttles blocking the emergency lane ahead.

Vincent didn’t dare to cross the line too much to avoid provoking this specific individual, so he turned his attention onto Ruan Chen instead.

“Huh?” After looking for a few moments, his eyes widened. “Ruan Ruan, this outfit looks so sharp on you!”

Joshua had stopped messaging him long ago; Ruan Chen had just been feigning to type on the keyboard earlier.

As Vincent drew closer, he hurriedly deleted the massive jumble of random characters he had aimlessly typed out.

Turning off his optical computer, Ruan Chen straightened his spine. “What do you want?”

“Just checking out your new clothes.” Vincent discerned at a single glance that his styling today was very different.

Ruan Chen shot a rapid look toward Lux, who was still on a call with the official responsible for traffic control.

He liked this outfit very much himself too.

Taking advantage of the fact that Lux wasn’t paying attention here, Ruan Chen raised his chin, adopting a casual tone: “Go ahead and look then. Don’t you have your own too?”

Vincent lowered his head to inspect it meticulously for a few seconds. “That’s different.”

He raised his hand, thought of something, and asked, “Can I touch it?”

Ruan Chen: “?”

Embarrassed, Vincent said, “No, I mean touching the clothes.”

Right under Lux’s nose, even if given ten thousand counts of courage, he wouldn’t dare do such a thing.

Ruan Chen let out an “Oh,” extending his right hand and shrinking his tiny claw completely inside the sleeve, offering him nothing but an empty cuff.

Looking at Vincent’s demeanor, he raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you have a military uniform too?”

Vincent rubbed the material a few times with his thumb, his eyes lighting up. “That’s entirely different!”

“I knew it. Yours is made from a material newly developed by the military headquarters; it hasn’t been officially rolled out yet.” He clicked his tongue. “This stuff is incredibly difficult to manufacture. Don’t be fooled by how soft it feels to the touch; it’s actually brutally tough. It won’t lose out to a protective suit by much, and ordinary laser guns can’t easily pierce it.”

“The main thing is that this material is lightweight. You’ve worn a protective suit before; it’s entirely too cumbersome compared to this.”

Ruan Chen hadn’t expected a seemingly ordinary military uniform to carry such massive ingenuity.

He paused, testing the fabric himself. “Are you sure?”

Why did it feel like ordinary material to him?

“Positive.” Vincent nodded. “If you don’t believe me, let me scrape it with my fish fin. I guarantee it won’t tear.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Ruan Chen kicked his legs and retreated far away. “No way!”

Vincent let out a sigh. “Lux really is partial. I’ve diligently served as his adjutant for decades, yet I’ve never received this kind of treatment.”

Ruan Chen straightened his clothes. “Go ask him for one. He’ll definitely give you a set.”

“It’s not that simple.” Vincent flicked his tail fin. “He doesn’t even have one himself yet. The core raw ingredient for this material is simply too hard to find.”

Ruan Chen blanked out for an instant. “He doesn’t have one himself?”

Vincent stole another look toward Lux to confirm. “Yeah. That outfit of his is made from the same old material as mine.”

Lux had specifically used such a valuable item to tailor a military uniform for him?

Ruan Chen couldn’t resist lowering his head to look over it repeatedly. The more he looked, the more beautiful he felt this uniform was; it was flawless everywhere.

Just as the corner of his mouth curved up in sheer delight, he heard Vincent add in a slow murmur, “Then again, with such a tiny amount of the core raw ingredient, the clothes made from it could only be worn by you anyway. It’s only normal that he gave it to you, so don’t carry any psychological burden.”

Ruan Chen’s expression collapsed instantly. “…”

“What are you guys chatting about?” Lux had finally finished communicating with the traffic department, turning around just in time to witness Ruan Chen’s rapid change of face.

He smiled. “What’s wrong? Did he bully you?”

Holding back a surge of frustration, Ruan Chen turned his head away. “Nothing.”

Vincent begged for mercy: “How would I ever dare? Ruan Ruan can casually pin me to the ground and beat me up at a moment’s notice. If anyone’s being bullied, it’s me.”

The blocked path ahead cleared up, and the flying shuttle began operating at high speed once more.

Lux sent Vincent back to the pilot’s seat and sat down right next to Ruan Chen. “How did he provoke Ruan Ruan?”

“…” Ruan Chen saw the reflections of himself and Lux on the window pane. The stark contrast between their large and small sizes only served to make him look more like a child.

He pursed his lips. “He said this uniform is made of a special material.”

“It is.” Lux knitted his brows. “Is it uncomfortable to wear?”

Ruan Chen turned around. “It’s not uncomfortable.”

He didn’t know where the sudden flare of anger that rushed to his brain just now had come from either.

Clearly, a second ago when he heard Vincent say Lux didn’t even have this uniform and had it tailored specifically for him, he had been very happy.

But Vincent then said the material was only enough to make a small garment, which happened to fit him perfectly, which indeed made sense.

What on earth was he angry about?

Ruan Chen shifted his rear, the corners of his mouth dropping even lower.

Lux thought about it. “This set of military uniforms uses newly developed material that hasn’t entered mass production yet. Right now, it can only be custom-made by hand, which makes the process very intricate.”

“When we planned to customize this military uniform for you, our relationship with the Imperial Family hadn’t eased up yet. We were afraid they would act against you, so we manufactured this piece in secret.”

“The only ones who know about this material are me, Vincent, and a few high-ranking generals at the military headquarters. Other mermen will only look at it as ordinary clothing when they see it. This way, if you encounter an accident, it can catch them off guard and serve a protective role.”

After Lux finished speaking, he gathered him into his arms. “That’s why the absolute first thing I did after bringing you home was contact the research and development department at the military headquarters to have them rush out this uniform, along with that protective suit of yours.”

Ruan Chen was stunned.

So it wasn’t that the material just happened to be enough to make a small garment, so they made it for him as a byproduct?

His thoughts were written all over his face, easily seen through by the merman.

“What are you thinking about?” Lux felt helpless. “Is that what Vincent told you just now?”

“…” Ruan Chen understood instantly; Vincent had mostly likely just cracked a joke to prevent him from feeling any psychological pressure.

He had overthought things due to his own pettiness.

And he had even made Lux explain a whole mountain of details to him.

Lux lost his laugh. “It’s not that the material was only enough to make small clothes. This was tailored specifically for you.”

Feeling even more defensive and mortified, his face flushed red as he stiffened his neck: “I wasn’t angry because of that at all. Who cares if you made it specifically for me? Don’t flatter yourself.”

“And what’s wrong with the clothes I wear being a bit small anyway?” He tried to assume a fierce expression.

Amused to no end, Lux rubbed him into his embrace and dropped a kiss on the crown of his head. “It’s not small. It fits Ruan Ruan perfectly, and it’s very beautiful.”

Seeing his demeanor, he couldn’t help but want to tease Ruan Chen further: “Then since I prepared these clothes for Ruan Ruan with so much care, shouldn’t Ruan Ruan return the favor a bit?”

“…” Ruan Chen shoved him away. “I don’t have money, I can’t afford a return gift.”

Lux leaned close to his ear, whispering in a voice only the two of them could hear: “I don’t want a return gift. Ruan Ruan, give me a kiss.”

“Last time I bit your tongue, we only kissed halfway. This time we’ll complete it, consider it the return gift.”

Ruan Chen stole a glance toward the pilot’s seat, pressing both of his small palms against Lux’s chin to prevent him from drawing close. “Vincent will see…”

“His back is turned to us, he can’t see.” Lux caught his wrist and dropped a kiss onto his palm.

Ruan Chen yanked his hand back rapidly as if scalded.

Lux lowered his eyes to look at him. “Just a single kiss, okay?”

“…” I really can’t do anything with you.

With red ears, Ruan Chen dragged Lux behind the backrest of the front seats to shield them. “If you bite my tongue again, you won’t be allowed to kiss me ever again.”

Lux curved his lips. “I won’t.”

Ruan Chen met his gaze for a moment, closed his eyes, and gently leaned upward.

Terrified that Vincent would hear any noise, his movements were exceptionally slow.

Lux also cooperated by softening his force, only exerting a tiny bit of strength to deepen the kiss when Ruan Chen parted his lips.

Kissing stealthily caused Ruan Chen’s five senses to be magnified even further.

He was practically worried that the sound of his heartbeat would be heard because it was beating entirely too violently.

Just as Ruan Chen was getting into the zone, clutching Lux’s collar to climb upward a bit, he suddenly felt the surroundings dim down slightly.

Ruan Chen opened his eyes, only to see another flying shuttle draw close right outside the window.

And the person sitting inside that flying shuttle was none other than Joshua.

At this very moment, Joshua’s mouth was wide open as he stared dumbfounded at the two of them kissing passionately in the back seat.

Ruan Chen’s entire body gave a violent jolt, and he bit down subconsciously.

“Hiss…”

Lux drew in a sharp breath of cold air, opening his eyes and releasing him.

“Lux, that flying shuttle next to us sent a signal saying they’re Ruan Ruan’s friends. Should we…”

Vincent happened to turn around from the front just then.

Catching sight of the human and the merman in an intimate posture in the back row, his words choked in his throat: “I, I, I… Sorry! I didn’t see a single thing! Carry on!”

He even handily pulled the window shutter shut with a sharp snap.

Ruan Chen: “…”

His face flushed bright red.

Lux’s expression remained calm as he gathered Ruan Chen into his arms to shield his watery, flushed expression.

He asked him, “Should we let them come aboard? Your friends.”

Right now I just want to gouge a hole in the flying shuttle and slip out, and then assassinate Joshua and Vincent along the way, thank you very much.

Pressed against Lux’s chest, Ruan Chen closed his eyes repeatedly several times, finally managing to make himself accept this reality.

“Let him come aboard. They’re also going to the Western Sea Breeding Center anyway,” he said textually devoid of strength.

Lux opened the hatch door, not forgetting to turn back in an attempt to salvage the situation: “This time was an accident. Next time we definitely won’t be caught again.”

Ruan Chen snapped in annoyance, “There won’t be a next time!”

“But you bit my tongue this time,” Lux looked aggrieved. “You have to give me compensation.”

Ruan Chen: “.”

“What bite?” The moment Joshua entered, he caught this line. “What compensation?”

Furious and embarrassed, Ruan Chen pushed the merman off his body. “Nothing!”

Lux knew that if he teased him further he would genuinely get angry, so he quit while he was ahead. “You guys chat. I’ll come collect my compensation later.”

Ruan Chen: “…”

Just you wait, see if I don’t give you a massive compensation. Ruan Chen held the grudge in his heart.

Lux sat in the co-pilot’s seat, very considerively leaving the entire back row to the two humans, giving them enough space to speak in private.

“Ruan, look at my ear fins!” Joshua turned his head with immense excitement.

Looking at a photo was one thing, but seeing it personally at close range was an entirely different feeling. Ruan Chen’s attention was instantly diverted by the exquisite ear fins before his eyes.

He couldn’t resist swallowing hard. “Can I touch them?”

He wasn’t exaggerating; they were truly beautiful. Paired with Joshua’s face, the pointed ears and appropriately sized ear fins made him look like a little elf.

Joshua’s face flushed. “Sure, go ahead and touch them. Be careful not to let them scratch your hand.”

With his warning, Ruan Chen touched the side of his ear fin with extreme caution.

The moment his finger pressed against it, Joshua couldn’t help but twitch his ear.

Ruan Chen quickly yanked his hand back.

“Ah… sorry.” Joshua turned his head. “I didn’t scratch you, did I?”

“No.” Ruan Chen had dodged quickly. “Does it tickle a lot?”

He didn’t seem to have touched Lux’s ear fins much; during the few times he did, the merman would catch his hand to stop him.

Thinking up to this point, Ruan Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if he had uncovered some secret.

The words Joshua spoke verified his thoughts: “Yeah, you actually can’t just touch them carelessly. Hugh rarely lets me touch his ear fins normally either… It’s said that there are too many nerve endings here, so they’re highly sensitive.”

Certain frames surfaced in Ruan Chen’s mind, and he lowered his head, letting out a hot-faced “Oh.”

Joshua smiled. “Ruan, you and Admiral Lux… um… did that for three days straight. Haven’t you felt any changes in your body?”

He had entered the transformation period much later than Ruan Chen. To be honest, Joshua was truly looking forward to what Ruan Chen would look like with beautiful ear fins; it would definitely be stunning.

Ruan Chen: “No.”

“How can that be?” Joshua was puzzled.

“…” Not wanting to reveal that something had gone wrong with his transformation period, Ruan Chen could only mutter ambiguously, “We really didn’t do it like how you’re imagining…”

Joshua cut him off: “I saw you guys kissing on the seat just now.”

Ruan Chen: “.”

Ruan Chen: “Kissing… kissing is just kissing…”

Joshua covered his mouth. “Ah, you mean you guys haven’t even…”

He stopped mid-sentence.

“Yeah, we haven’t,” Ruan Chen denied resolutely, trying to salvage a bit of the situation.

“Why?” Joshua didn’t understand. “Then how did you guys spend the Mate Festival?”

“…” Ruan Chen’s scalp felt numb. “Because I don’t want to. We’re not suitable.”

Joshua: “Huh? I think you two are incredibly well-matched!”

Ruan Chen buried his head. “…It’s not that kind of unsuitable, it’s…”

“I’m afraid of pain.”

“Afraid of pain?” Joshua blinked. “It’s not as terrifying as you’re imagining. It actually doesn’t hurt. I was scared at first too, but later…”

Lux turned his head back to look toward them. “What hurts?”

Ruan Chen’s entire body gave a violent jolt, and he covered Joshua’s mouth. “Nothing!”

Lux, however, had already gotten up and was swimming over toward them. “Did I bite you somewhere again just now? Let me see.”

Ruan Chen’s vision went black, and he nearly rushed forward to drag them both down to hell together.

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