"In the far, far depths of the great sea, the water is as blue as the most beautiful cornflower, as clear as crystal. The water was so deep that no anchor chain could ever measure its depth..."
Seeing that the little mermaid in front of him was clearly uninterested and obviously distracted, the sea turtle could not help but ask patiently, "What’s wrong, Xiaoyu?"
The little mermaid lay sprawled atop a smooth massive rock.
When he heard this, he flicked his tail somewhat boredly.
His fishtail was the most special silver white color, so lustrous that even underwater it seemed to faintly reflect light.
His eyes were the color closest to seawater itself.
It was clear yet mysterious.
Without a doubt, he was the most beautiful mermaid in the entire sea, the ocean’s favored child and a masterpiece of the Creator.
Rong Xingyu propped his chin up with both hands.
Upon hearing this all too familiar opening, he pouted in dissatisfaction. "Grandpa Sea Turtle, you’re telling this story again. You’ve already told it to me eight hundred times!"
His features were exquisitely delicate.
Even when making such an expression of dislike, he only looked coquettish and adorable.
The little mermaid blinked his eyes and asked innocently, "Is this the only story you know how to tell?"
The Sea Turtle: "Nonsense. It hasn’t been eight hundred times."
"I can recite this story word for word already!" Rong Xingyu cleared his throat, then deliberately lowered his voice and made it thick and rough, imitating the sea turtle’s tone as he continued, "In the far, far depths of the great sea, the water is as blue as the most beautiful cornflower, as clear as crystal. The water was so deep that no anchor chain could ever measure its depth. The Sea King and his subjects live there..."
The Sea Turtle: "..."
Alright.
It really was word for word.
The sea turtle coughed awkwardly and looked at the little mermaid in front of him.
Rong Xingyu lay atop the giant rock with his eyes curved with laughter.
His already striking features became even more vivid and lively.
He’s breathtakingly beautiful.
Watching as the little mermaid gradually grew into himself over the years, the sea turtle felt not only the comfort of seeing a child grow up, but also an even greater sense of worry.
Having lived for so many years, whether on land or beneath the sea, he had naturally seen all kinds of people and events.
He knew all too well what sort of unnecessary trouble Rong Xingyu’s appearance might invite.
Thinking of this, the sea turtle could not help but speak earnestly. "Then do you know why I keep telling you this story?"
The little mermaid was extremely lively. He’s not the type who could sit still and listen obediently to a lecture.
He was currently swinging his tail back and forth admiring it.
Hearing the sea turtle ask this, Rong Xingyu shrugged. "I know."
Sea Turtle: "Really?"
Why did he feel a little doubtful?
"Really, really!" the little mermaid patted his chest in assurance. "Grandpa Sea Turtle, don’t worry. I won’t be like the mermaid in the story."
The sea turtle snorted softly. "Then I’ll believe you for now."
Rong Xingyu got tired of lying there and changed his position.
He absentmindedly tugged at the seagrass beside him and playing with it.
The sea turtle continued to remind him tirelessly, "No matter what, the land is truly dangerous and those humans too. If you see them, you must stay far away, understand?"
Rong Xingyu answered with a series of obedient mm-hmms, but in reality, the words went in through his left ear and straight out his right.
He did not take a single one of the sea turtle’s warnings to heart, having clearly perfected the art of perfunctory agreement to an advanced level.
What he was actually thinking was: Grandpa Sea Turtle was really foolish.
Didn’t he know that if he wanted to go to the land, he didn’t need to seek out a witch and drink some terrifying potion at all?
In fact, it was only not long ago that Rong Xingyu had suddenly discovered that he could actually control his fishtail and turn it into "legs" just like those of humans.
He had even secretly slipped onto land a few times.
And those humans who looked so similar to him didn’t seem as frightening as Grandpa Sea Turtle described either.
The sea turtle who had always insisted on instilling ideas like "the land is dangerous" and "humans are terrifying" into Rong Xingyu did not know that there was such a thing as "rebounding after hitting the bottom."
His repeated attempts at obstruction instead only made Rong Xingyu’s curiosity grow even stronger.
So when a loud plop suddenly sounded on the sea’s surface and Rong Xingyu who had been playing nearby looked up, what he saw was a human youth struggling in the water.
The youth’s movements grew weaker and weaker until finally he closed his eyes and slowly sank toward the depths of the sea.
Rong Xingyu hesitated for only a brief instant before swinging his tail and swimming over.
He grabbed hold of the sinking body and then exerted all his strength to push the youth back up toward the surface.
Rong Xingyu then followed him and breaking through the surface of the water as well.
It was night and the clear glow of the moon spilled across the sea.
With Rong Xingyu’s movements, it seemed to shatter into countless specks of starlight.
The stars were not in the sky, but upon the surface of the sea.
Rong Xingyu looked around, his expression stiffening slightly.
He was currently floating on the sea’s surface while holding the youth’s body with both of his arms.
Logically speaking, the next step should have been like in the story, he should rescue the youth and bring him to shore.
But when Rong Xingyu looked around, he realized they were drifting in the vast open sea.