Chapter 238
Rong Heng stared blankly at the merman boy in front of him. As the boy’s tears fell, landing on his face one by one, a blurry scene surfaced in his mind.
It was of a blue-haired, blue-eyed little boy pointing at a scrape on his knee, his eyes filled with tears.
“Yang Yang, it hurts so much…”
It was just a small scrape, barely enough to break the skin, yet the boy cried as though the world had ended, his face full of grievance. He hiccupped softly, reaching out his arms for a comforting hug.
This was a memory Rong Heng had never recalled before.
But as it emerged now, it became increasingly vivid. He stared at the merman before him, noticing how the boy’s features began to overlap with those of the crying child from his memory.
Though the two faces had changed greatly with time, the eyebrows and eyes carried the same familiar essence. The way they cried—so heartbreaking—struck a deep chord in Rong Heng’s heart.
“Clang!”
The small sword that had been suspended in midair fell to the ground, landing near the merman boy. Without the focus of its master, it dropped harmlessly, with even the blade relaxing its menacing angle.
Rong Heng gazed at the tear-streaked merman, overwhelmed by a strange yet undeniable sense of familiarity. Trusting his instincts, he reached out tentatively, his hand gently brushing the boy’s cheek. Just as he often comforted his younger sister, he wiped away the tears that wouldn’t stop falling.
“Don’t cry,” Rong Heng said softly.
As soon as the words left his lips, a stronger wave of familiarity washed over him, like he had said the exact same words to that blue-haired child before.
But instead of calming the boy, his tears began to flow even more furiously.
The merman loosened his grip on Rong Heng’s shoulders. Raising his right hand—a delicate, pale hand covered in fine blue scales with sharp, claw-like nails capable of tearing flesh—he hesitated for a moment.
Rong Heng tensed slightly, his instincts preparing for a defensive move. Then he noticed something, and his brows furrowed.
“You’re hurt?”
Rong Heng pointed at the boy’s raised hand, his sharp eyes catching the detail: one of the nails on his ring finger was broken, exposing the tender pink flesh beneath. The nail bed looked soft and swollen, waterlogged to a pale white.
Fingers are connected to the heart, and just imagining the pain of a broken nail made Rong Heng wince.
The merman’s mouth quivered as though the acknowledgment of his injury had shattered the last of his defenses. Confirming something within himself, he suddenly threw his arms around Rong Heng, burying his face in the boy’s chest, and began to cry loudly.
Startled by the sudden embrace, Rong Heng felt the merman’s arms tighten around him like a vice. The grip was so strong it was nearly impossible to break free.
The only way to escape would be to use his swapping ability again, but… listening to the boy’s heart-wrenching sobs, hearing that earlier “Yang Yang,” and recalling the flashes of memory, Rong Heng ultimately chose to stay still.
He sighed silently, his free hand patting the merman boy awkwardly on the back. “Don’t cry anymore… I’m here.”
He reached out a somewhat clumsy hand to gently pat the boy’s smooth back, softly saying, “Does it still hurt? Get up, and I’ll help you take care of it.”
But Ika refused to let go of Rong Heng, clutching him tightly as he sobbed uncontrollably, as if releasing years of pent-up grievances and longing.
Rong Heng was helpless, left with no choice but to continue serving as a temporary pillow.
The commotion had already drawn the attention of the adults. Li Sinian arrived first, followed closely by a startled Creek, who had been roused from his sleep. Without even consoling his wife, Creek leapt through the window, using a hover disk to rush over.
And then they saw the scene of Ika pinning Rong Heng to the ground, hugging him tightly while crying.
The other children, drawn by Little Li Hua’s earlier scream, had already gathered around. They had initially come to help, only to be left dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events.
Having been displaced by Rong Heng’s skill, Little Li Hua had run back and now stood hesitantly a short distance away from the two boys, her expression equally bewildered.
Both adults let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, none of the children were hurt.
When Li Sinian made a move to step forward and separate them, Creek stopped him, his heart softening as he saw the rare display of human emotion from his son.
He didn’t want Ika to revert too quickly to his previous cold and unfeeling state.
At the same time, he couldn’t help but murmur, “The boy Ika is hugging… is that Yang Yang?”
“Yes,” Li Sinian confirmed with a nod. “His nickname is now Xiang Yang, and his full name is Rong Heng.”
It was an interesting coincidence that Caretaker Su had chosen the name “Xiang Yang” for Rong Heng, which also contained the character “Yang.”
“And the little girl—is that Tian Tian?” Creek frowned.
“Yes.”
Li Sinian went on to explain the new names of his daughter and son, urging Kreek to use their current names when addressing them.
“The ages… don’t seem quite right, do they?” Creek asked tactfully.
Their sons had been born in the same year—one at the beginning of the year, the other at the end—making Rong Heng a few months older than Ika.
The two boys had grown up as playmates, and Creek vividly remembered how Ika loved to follow Rong Heng around like a shadow. They had been inseparable as children.
But now, Ika was already thirteen, whereas the boy Ika was hugging clearly hadn’t had a growth spurt yet. He looked no older than eight, ten at most.
And as for Li Sinian’s daughter—how could a ten-year-old girl be so tiny?
Hearing this, Li Sinian sighed deeply and explained the frozen human experiments that Rong Heng and Little Li Hua had been subjected to. Creek listened with a dark expression, his brows tightly furrowed and anger blazing in his eyes.
“Those scum of the scientific community!”
He cursed under his breath, his gaze softening with a deep sense of pity as he looked at Rong Heng and Little Li Hua.
Li Sinian’s emotions had calmed significantly. Over the past few months, he hadn’t merely been serving as a caretaker at the orphanage. Although the scum responsible for the frozen human experiments had been eradicated, the vastness of the galaxy meant that dark corners still existed.
The harm inflicted on his children was irreparable, but there might be other victims out there.
The Li family’s power wasn’t enough to eradicate all shadows, but saving a few was better than none. At the very least, taking action was better than doing nothing.
Naturally, this wasn’t something Li Sinian could discuss with Creek at the moment. If it were to be mentioned, it would have to be in private and at the right opportunity.
They stood still for a while, waiting until Ika’s sobbing gradually subsided before cautiously approaching. But as soon as they lifted their feet, the boy’s vigilant gaze snapped toward them.
The young merman’s eyes, still red and glistening from his tears, now carried an unmistakable ferocity. It was clear that, while he had recognized his childhood playmate, he hadn’t fully regained his human consciousness or intellect.
“Ika, it’s me, your dad…”
Creek’s voice was tinged with bitterness as he took a step forward. But the boy’s sharp-toothed snarl and piercing screech made him freeze in place, not daring to agitate him further.
Then, to their shock, Ika picked up Rong Heng and dove straight into the pool, swiftly swimming away with powerful flicks of his tail.
Rong Heng hadn’t expected to be suddenly submerged and ended up choking on a mouthful of water. The suffocating sensation caused him to struggle in panic, and instinctively, he activated his object-manipulation ability.
Just as Ika was about to dive deeper, he realized that his arms were suddenly empty. The boy he had been holding had turned into a stone, slipping out of his grasp and sinking to the bottom of the pool.
His beautiful blue eyes blinked in confusion before widening in panic. He quickly retrieved the stone, and tears that had just subsided began streaming down again, forming strings of bubbles that floated to the surface.
On the shore, Rong Heng gasped for air, coughing violently. When his sister ran over to check on him, he shook his head and offered her a reassuring smile.
Then, getting back on his feet, Rong Heng returned to the edge of the pool and looked down. There, he saw the young merman cradling the stone he had swapped himself with, crying his heart out underwater, as if genuinely believing that Rong Heng had turned into a rock.
Rong Heng: “…”
This merman boy, while fierce, didn’t seem particularly smart…
Despite his thoughts, Rong Heng couldn’t help feeling a strange warmth in his heart. Besides his parents, there was someone else in this world who still cared so deeply about his past self, even though he had long forgotten that person.
“I’m here.” Rong Heng crouched down, reaching out to stir the water lightly.
The ripples immediately caught Ika’s attention.
He raised his head and looked upward. Upon spotting Rong Heng on the shore, he blinked in confusion, then glanced at the stone in his hands before looking back at Rong Heng.
Finally, realization dawned on him. Tossing the stone aside, he swam agilely, his tail propelling him with joy as he headed straight for Rong Heng.
