CH 86.2

Translate by Hua

Qin Shasha looked stunned when she heard this, as if she had opened the door to a new world.

Although Ji Mingjiang didn’t turn his head, he caught a glimpse of them. After observing the two communicating several times, Qin Shasha, although still a little worried, obviously gave up the idea of stopping him, and he was relieved. He looked away and lowered his eyes to look at the round-eyed cub in the pool.

The mermaid, who was reluctant to be pulled over, resisted. The short, fat little tail flapped energetically in the water, and a lot of splashes came towards the shore, soaking the hem of Ji Mingjiang’s coat and cuffs.

“Tsk, loosen up.”

The not-so-tight-fitted hemline was fine, but the feeling of the sleeves clinging to his wrists wet against his skin couldn’t really be called comfortable. Ji Mingjiang rarely felt a headache. He shook the plate in his hand and ordered in the language of an adult fish.

The still young mermaid was shaken from side to side by his movements, but still stubbornly held the plate in his mouth. After hearing the familiar language, he was stunned for a few seconds and then hesitantly let go.

But as he let go, he stretched out his hand to hold the edge of the plate.

Ji Mingjiang: “…”

What a strange child.

“Do you like this plate so much?” It was rare to see such an energetic little mermaid. Although Ji Mingjiang felt helpless, he still became somewhat interested.

After moving his hands back and forth, folding up the soaked cuffs, he held the plate with one hand and cupped his chin with the other, asking with interest.

The mermaid opposite, whom Qin Shasha called Xiao Ning, glanced at him a few times. It’s unknown whether he was afraid of strangers or some other reason, but he nodded slightly and squeezed out a small “en” from his throat.

Seeing this, Ji Mingjiang chuckled.

This little guy is quite interesting.

“Why?” he asked immediately.

Hearing this question, the little mermaid, who was very stubborn, just now stared at Ji Mingjiang blankly for a while and then slowly shook his head.

“I don’t know either, but I just want it.”

After a pause, he added, “It feels very comfortable to bite.”

As he said this, one of his hands holding the plate moved as if he wanted to put it on his face, but presumably because he was worried that he couldn’t tug on Ji Mingjiang with one hand, he ended up giving up on this action.

But the little mermaid, who still didn’t know the sinister heart of the fish, didn’t know that even if his whole body was lying on the plate, Ji Mingjiang could still pull him over.

“Come over.”

Hearing this, he didn’t miss the movements of the mermaid’s hands when he spoke. Ji Mingjiang stared at his face thoughtfully for a few seconds, then pulled the plate and, with the cooperation of the little guy, pulled along the fish.

Then he caught him off guard and reached out to clamp his cheek.

After seeing the mermaid named Xiao Ning’s blue eyes widen in shock, Ji Mingjiang’s index fingers and thumbs stuck on both sides of the fish’s cheeks also squeezed slightly towards the center, forcing the mermaid to open his mouth.

“Hmm? Hmm? Hmm?!”

Chen Ning, who had never been treated like this before, reacted in a daze for a moment. He wagged his tail in dissatisfaction and tried hard to pat the white wrist of the person in front of him so that he could free his face.

Damn it, this mermaid who ran to the shore for unknown reasons is so big that his tail can’t even touch the other person. He shouldn’t let down his guard just because of this guy’s soothing aura!

“Don’t move; let me take a look at your teeth.”

While the mermaid was struggling with dissatisfaction, Ji Mingjiang pulled out the plate very simply and handed it to Qin Shasha, who was standing by and stared blankly. Then he said, “There’s a meeting in a few minutes, so why don’t you take the plate back first? I’ll see what’s going on with him.”

“Ah, okay.”

The message from the kitchen had indeed shown up on her light brain many times, so although she was still a little worried, Qin Shasha took the last plate from Ji Mingjiang’s hand and left the room in a hurry.

Seeing that his keeper and the plate were gone, the mermaid who was still forced to pout his mouth to reveal the two rows of small teeth was obviously a little unhappy. Ji Mingjiang glanced at him, and after rubbing the palm of his hand very absentmindedly on his very soft hair, he withdrew his hand and concentrated on the condition of his teeth.

After pulling his mouth further to both sides, he floated his free hand in the pool, then reached into the mermaid’s mouth and explored the two rows of very small teeth.

After retracting his fingers, Ji Mingjiang looked at the mermaid who glared at him in annoyance and swam directly to the other side of the pool without even caring about the plate that was taken away. He disgustedly rinsed his hand in the water and shook off the water droplets before standing up.

Sure enough, I guessed it right…

Receiving the inquiring look from Carrie on the side, Ji Mingjiang raised his shoulders, shook some misplaced clothes back to where they should be, and then said with some novelty, “His teeth grow a little fast, and now he’s at the age where he’s grinding his teeth.”

“Eh? So early?!”

Carrie was originally worried that there was something wrong with the little one’s teeth or that he was in a bad mood recently and was deliberately going against the keeper. Carrie’s eyes were filled with shock.

“Yes, I originally thought it was good enough for the current batch of mermaids’ teeth to develop normally. It’s amazing that there are still those who grow molar teeth at such a young age.”

There was also some incredulity in Ji Mingjiang’s eyes as he spoke.

“By the way, what’s the name of this mermaid, just Xiao Ning?”

“Of course not. His official name is Chen Ning, but he’s still too young now, so everyone just calls him Xiao Ning. It’s more affectionate.”

Ji Mingjiang nodded, turned around, and waved cheerfully to Chen Ning, who looked at him with a wary expression and said, “I’ll come back to you later.”

“Let’s go.” When he turned around, the expression on Ji Mingjiang’s face was still very relaxed. He said to Carrie, “It’s almost time. Let’s go to the conference room first. You can send a message to Qin Shasha and ask her to go directly.”

“Okay.” Although she felt a little confused, after taking a look at the time, Carrie listened to Ji Mingjiang’s suggestion, clicked on Qin Shasha’s contact information, and started typing.

***

[It’s already ten o’clock, it’s already ten o’clock, it’s already ten o’clock!]

1L: It’s already ten o’clock, and I’ve been squatting in the live broadcast room for an hour! Damn it, what is Jiang Jiang doing? ! You have just worked hard for a day; are you secretly cutting corners today? !

5L: Are you tired from skiing yesterday?

16L: I’m fine with that live broadcast routine! Hey, am I the only one who thinks Jiang Jiang’s interactions with His Majesty are also very interesting?

17L: You’re just trying to say they’re a CP! Wise me has seen it all.jpg

……

40L: It’s half past ten, it’s half past ten! Ah!

67L: I’m crying. I won’t be able to wait today. Why don’t we ask our boss to advance the ticket time to today? I’ll try to see if I can meet Jiang Jiang by chance. QAQ

128L: Do you all think Jiang Jiang is still traveling? The rumor I heard is that he and His Majesty have returned to the capital planet. Does anyone know what is going on?

159L: ? ? ?

After typing three question marks, Lin Nan, who had just finished an exam in the morning, exited the Starnet forum and opened his friend list.

Inside, Ji Mingjiang’s status display happened to be green online, and the online time was ten minutes ago.

Lin Nan was feeling resentful that his friend didn’t even say hello after returning to Capital Star, or it could also be that he was having a hard time taking the exam but someone ran out to enjoy skiing. He pressed his fingers on the keyboard on the floating screen, and the specially set-up keyboard crackled.

“Didi——”

After the meeting ended, Ji Mingjiang stood up from the seat temporarily added next to the main seat. He had just finished the recognition session. Looking at a group of keepers who were still a little reserved in front of him, Ji Mingjiang pretended not to notice anything. After smiling, he opened the door of the conference room and walked out.

Sure enough, after he left, the conference room with the door ajar instantly became lively, and his sensitive ears helped him catch several discussions surrounding him.

The message from the light brain sounded at this time. Ji Mingjiang pulled out the light brain screen as he walked forward.

The messages from Lin Nan rushed out eagerly.

“Lin Nan: I saw people say that you’ve returned to the Capital Star. So soon? Why didn’t you tell us when you came back? [Reposted post] It was mentioned here.”

“Ji Mingjiang: I encountered some issues. I was worried about an accident, so I came back first and started working early.”

“Lin Nan:?”

“Lin Nan: What happened… Forget it; if it’s not convenient to say, you don’t have to answer my question. I seem to remember that you mentioned work to us before, but you are not yet an adult, right, which I can remember just as clearly! How come there are still people who don’t even spare underage fish? Who are you working for? I’ll report him.”

In less than a second, the next message was sent immediately.

“Lin Nan: His majesty doesn’t count. If you treat His Majesty’s spiritual counseling as a part-time job, just pretend that I didn’t say anything.”

A chuckle escaped from his lips. Although Lin Nan couldn’t see his expression through his light brain, Ji Mingjiang still curled his eyes and laughed for a while before replying.

“Ji Mingjiang: I don’t work for anyone, and it’s impossible for me to treat Clarice’s spiritual counseling so cold-heartedly. I’ve returned to the Mermaid Foster Center, but it may be different from what you imagined.”

“Ji Mingjiang: I am about to take over the director’s position and let others work for me.”

It took a long time before Lin Nan’s message came over. The question marks on the screen clearly expressed the other party’s inner doubts.

“Ji Mingjiang: The specific reason has something to do with my sudden return, but the relationship is not that big. We will meet after I get off work. It’s safer to communicate offline.”

“Lin Nan: OK.”

After replying to this message, probably because the information revealed made him a little wary, Lin Nan didn’t send anymore messages, so Ji Mingjiang re-clicked the post he forwarded.

To be honest, if Lin Nan hadn’t said that someone mentioned the gossip about him returning to Capital Star early, he really wouldn’t want to read it.

After all, most of the comments inside were complaining about why he didn’t start the live broadcast.

Um……

Ji Mingjiang touched his nose with some guilt. This was beyond his control. After all, who would have thought that a meeting to revise some rules and regulations would last for so long… Although for most of the time, it was Oddo who pushed him out to answer the doubts and concerns of the keepers.

After biting the bullet and scrolling through the discussions, Ji Mingjiang finally saw the reply that caught Lin Nan’s attention.

“Here’s the gossip…”

Rubbing his chin, Ji Mingjiang searched all the other posts and replies with this ID in the forum. His eyes darkened and his eyebrows gradually wrinkled.

A side account that has no records of posts or replies before?

After thinking for a moment, Ji Mingjiang, who felt that making wild guesses here alone wouldn’t do much, skillfully forwarded this post to Clarice.

“Clarice: ?”

Would the question marks he received today be a little too much?

With a sigh, Ji Mingjiang sent the ID of the account just now: “I think there’s something wrong. Let’s see if we can find the IP first.”

If it can be found, it may make him hesitate for a moment, but if someone uses special means to cover up the IP, like those accounts the day before, then it must be an imposter.

“Clarice: Got it.”

“The Federation people shouldn’t be so stupid.”

Accounts that have caused trouble several times in a row all have something in common.

Sliding his sleeves down to cover the finally quieted light brain, Ji Mingjiang muttered in a low voice.

Because she was familiar with him, Carrie was surrounded by a group of keepers after the meeting and was asked various questions. After she was finally let out of the crowd, she saw Ji Mingjiang as soon as she turned a corner.

He was obviously the first to leave the conference room, probably several minutes earlier than her, but now he was in a position where he hadn’t gone very far.

Looking from behind, the mermaid, who could already be described as a young man in terms of height and demeanor, was still a bit thin under the cover of a loose black coat. His silky silver hair falls to the side as he lowers his head, revealing a section of fair skin. On the delicate neck, near the back of his ear, blue blood vessels are faintly visible under the swaying hair.

Ah……

Before walking out of the conference room, Carrie, who was still holding the emotion of “the child has grown up overnight”, suddenly felt a little annoyed toward her previous thoughts after seeing this lonely figure.

No matter how you say it, you are still a child who is nearly two years away from becoming an adult.

She walked a few steps quickly to catch up. Remembering that Ji Mingjiang’s hearing seemed to be very sensitive, she deliberately made her footsteps softer, and when she was about to reach Ji Mingjiang’s side, she suddenly patted his arm.

“What did you say just now, Mingjiang?”

Ji Mingjiang had detected the distinct sound of footsteps long before Carrie had tapped his arm, although he could tell that the other party was already trying to lighten her movements.

Therefore, he was not surprised by Carrie’s sudden action. What puzzled him was…the guilt and worry in Carrie’s eyes.

Um……

Ji Mingjiang recalled his actions after arriving at the Mermaid Center this morning. There seemed to be nothing strange about it. Why did Carrie’s eyes become like this again?

Ji Mingjiang was pondering over this matter for a few seconds, so he didn’t answer immediately. When he turned his head to explain, he saw the look in Carrie’s eyes that made the scales stand up even more than before.

“Wait…” Intuition made Ji Mingjiang speak out to stop her, but he was still a step slower. His and Carrie’s voices rang simultaneously.

“Don’t worry, Mingjiang. They’re just not familiar with you yet. Besides, your identity is related to His Majesty, so they will be a little reserved and unable to relax when facing you. After you stay here for two more days to familiarize yourself with everyone, then it will be fine……”

Ji Mingjiang’s eyes gradually became dull as he listened to Carrie’s nagging words in his ears.

Ah! He knew it! This darn filter cannot be taken off!

“Okay, Carrie.” Helplessly interrupting the keeper, who was too concerned about his mental state and emotional problems, Ji Mingjiang said, “I really didn’t care about what happened just now.”

Before the other party was about to make other worrying remarks, Ji Mingjiang changed the subject in time: “A lot of people have been urging me to start a live broadcast just now, so now I have to go back and ask those little mermaids if they are unwilling to show up. If you’re not very busy right now, Carrie, I’d like you to apply for a tooth sharpener for the little guy named Chen Ning.”

Reminded by his words, she remembered what had happened before they came to the meeting. Seeing that Ji Mingjiang’s expression did not seem to be fake, Carrie had no choice but to nod her head, pointed him to the room back to the nursery, and hurried towards the kitchen.

After watching Carrie’s figure disappear completely around the corner, Ji Mingjiang breathed a sigh of relief. This was really a concern that the fish couldn’t bear.

“I’m back.”

After deliberately making some noise, Ji Mingjiang pushed open the door of the nursery. For a moment, the sleeping and dazed mermaids floating in the pool all looked over. After noticing that it was Ji Mingjiang alone without other familiar keepers behind him, like children who started to have fun without the supervision of their parents, they swam towards Ji Mingjiang, squeezing in front of each other.

“Why are you here? What’s the matter?”

The temperature in the room has always been maintained at a constant temperature. Ji Mingjiang took off his coat and hung it on the hanger at the door. Right now, he was only wearing a shirt that just passed the waistline of his trousers. He sat cross-legged on the ground and asked without lifting his head while swinging the camera ball and the light brain.

“Why don’t you look at us?”

A disgruntled voice rang out from the school of fish below, causing Ji Mingjiang to look up.

The last batch of mermaids who stayed in the same pool with Ji Mingjiang should have all been matched. At least Ji Mingjiang didn’t see any familiar figures. After looking around briefly, his gaze locked on a little mermaid with golden hair and eyes.

The color scheme is very similar to the sun, so is the temper also the same as the sun?

For this kind of tempered mermaid, he had to be more patient, so he put down the things in his hands, looked at the blond mermaid, and said, “Probably because I’m a mermaid like you guys, so I don’t care about you as much as a human keeper?”

“That’s weird.”

The first blonde mermaid to strike up a conversation with him bristled with disbelief. “If you didn’t care about us, you wouldn’t be a coworker with Sister Sasha, Sister Carrie, and the others.”

Hearing this, Ji Mingjiang raised his eyebrows and said, “Okay, okay, you know quite a lot, so let’s put it another way. I won’t spoil you like those human keepers? So why are you all coming over her? Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

The other mermaids who had been watching their interaction earlier came forward one after another when they heard his question. Their faces were either immature or youthful but full of curiosity. Many mermaids reached out to pat Ji Mingjiang’s legs and squeezed them gently.

“It’s so strange. You are obviously a mermaid like us, aren’t you? Why do you have two legs like Sister Shasha and the others? Where’s your tail?”

“Do you have a genetic mutation? I still have some impressions from the lessons I watched before. It said that many humans today have genetic mutations, so do you also have a genetic mutation?”

“I also want to ask! How did you become like this? Also, what does it feel like to walk on two legs?”

“…”

It was the first time they saw Ji Mingjiang, a mermaid of the same species but with a completely different shape. Compared with the keepers they usually saw, there was an indescribable difference. The little fish cubs were extremely curious.

They had a bellyful of questions since they first saw him. If it weren’t for the fact that Ji Mingjiang was having a great time playing tug-of-war with Chen Ning, they would have pounced on him at that time.

“Okay, okay, I know what you are all curious about.” Various different voices rang in his ears at the same time, chattering so loudly that Ji Mingjiang almost couldn’t help but close his ear fins. He patiently listened to a few questions before quickly interrupting their queries.

“But wouldn’t it be better to exchange names before asking questions? My name is Ji Mingjiang, and aside from not being allowed to call me by my first name directly—which would be rude behavior for you guys—you can call me whatever you want. I already know that the blue-eyed mermaid’s name is Chen Ning; what about you guys?”

“Hm?”

When Chen Ning heard his name, he looked up at Ji Mingjiang and then remembered his abominable behavior previously. He glared at him angrily and swam to his blond friend with his tail wagging.

“My name is Chen Yang.”

Feeling the presence of Chen Ning, who suddenly squeezed next to him, the blond mermaid turned his head and looked at him doubtfully before saying his own name.

Ah, it really fits the feeling this mermaid gives, like a sun. mfn: His name Yang (阳) meant sun.

Ji Mingjiang nodded, indicating that he remembered.

“Me, me, me; my name is Mai Xiwei.”

“And me, my name is Devin.”

“…”

After seeing the demonstration given by their companions, a group of little mermaids rushed to announce their names.

“Alright, I’ve memorized them all. Now to tell you the answers.” Ji Mingjiang nodded with a smile on his face, then raised an index finger and waved it in front of their eyes, quelling the curiosity of these little ones before speaking. “The answers to all these questions are the same.”

“That is, this is a skill that mermaids already have. If you follow my requirements in the future, then when you’re my age, you’ll be able to take on the appearance of humans as well. At that time, you will be able to measure and experience the world with your own feet, instead of being shipped around in water crates or having to swim through a pipe with no scenery along the way if you want to go to the beach and let off some steam.”

When Ji Mingjiang said this, he couldn’t help but remember what he said to the mermaid named Carl when he was chatting with him at the mermaid center.

“How can we go out and walk with our tail? It’s impossible, right?”

“…”

Rubbing his brows, Ji Mingjiang looked again at the group of little mermaids in front of him, whose eyes lit up after hearing what he said.

Although he didn’t know how there were still such a group of real juvenile mermaids among the mermaids, it rendered enormous help.