Chapter 1 — My Wet Jackfruit Mermaid

I accidentally bought a wounded mermaid at a cheap price. The seller said he was very stubborn, refused to sing, and refused to cry. I looked at the sobbing mermaid who occasionally hummed and sang. Not very similar, huh? After that, he kept plucking fish scales and giving them to me. He seemed very worried and didn't want to be with me. Waiting for him to heal, I released him back to the sea. The mermaid cried:

“Giving scales means the mermaid is asking for a mate, praying for a mate!”

“God damn it, this is not release, this is abandonment!”

01

This is a mermaid covered in injuries. The box was really too small for his body. He curled up pitifully, rope tying his hands behind his back. On his face was a cheap mouth mask, a yellow ear tag attached to his ears, above which was his code: 531. The originally beautiful silver fishtail had lost its shine. Confirming there were no errors, I signed the delivery note. From today onwards, he is my mermaid. I reached out to pick him up, he opened his eyes and let out a low warning roar at me. Those ice blue eyes were filled with arrogance and caution. I couldn't help but be a little stunned. This eye color really resembles the mermaid I met when I was young. So, after my close friend Tham Thanh sent me the link, I bought him without thinking much.

02

I briefly treated his wound. After being untied, he crawled into the pool. Inside is pre-mixed salt water, the concentration equivalent to sea water. I took the prepared salmon out of the refrigerator, went to the lake, and said briefly:

“Eat.”

He slowly approached, reaching out his hand towards me. If I knew enough about mermaids, I should have known this was a mermaid's hunting stance. Unfortunately, it wasn't until I felt a sharp pain in my arm that I realized this truth. The bracelet immediately broke off and fell into the water. Luckily my speed was fast enough, only a very small wound. Drops of blood fell into the pool, spreading in the water. The tip of his nose moved slightly, then he froze. Looking at his reaction, I thought, maybe he didn't mean to hurt me? Perhaps human skin is too weak for mermaids. I sighed, treating the wound on my hand. To avoid repeating the same mistakes, I decided to check out the electronic handbook that the store sent with the order: 【Mermen and humans do not have the same language, communication requires patience.】 【Mermen can operate in the land environment, but need to periodically replenish water, and at the same time need to supplement the amount of fresh water absorbed.】 【This species is naturally alert, the level of domestication depends on the individual. To ensure the safety of the owner, in the first stage it is recommended to use a glass tank, observe through the glass, do not make direct contact.】 【There are mermaids who have the ability to turn a fish's tail into two legs. If a mermaid escapes because of this, our store will not be responsible.】 【If mermaids are considered life partners, there is no reproductive isolation between humans and mermaids.】 【Please note: The physical strength and endurance of mermaids are far beyond ordinary people.】

03

That's all? Reluctantly, I still contacted customer service. I sent the order over. Customer care responded very quickly: 【Dear, it's written in the product details. This child is a special discount product, refuses to sing, refuses to communicate, refuses to give birth jade, solitary personality, only recommended as a low-end version of bed partner.】 【If it's for singing or pearl reasons, we will not accept returns.】 Me: 【I was scratched by a mermaid.】 【I want to ask if I need to worry about being infected with Vibrio vulnificus bacteria from the sea?】 Customer care replied: 【Don't worry, honey, mermaid Everything on my side has been taken care of.】 Thinking for a moment, I asked again: 【I fed him salmon, but he didn't eat it. Does he have any food preferences?】 Customer service: 【Dear, in theory, what humans can eat, mermaids can eat.】 【Maybe it's because they haven't adapted to the new environment, or maybe it's because it's not ripe yet.】 Not cooked yet? Do mermaids still need to eat cooked food? So what about wild mermaids? Did the forest man help with the grilling? Even though I didn't understand, I still accepted and asked: 【So roughly how many parts do you need to cook?】 Waiting a while, the customer service member replied: 【Dear, Tieu Tieu thinks maybe nine or three parts is fine.】 Oh my god, the forest people still need to know how to cook three parts. Me: 【Who is Tieu Tieu? Any experts?】 Other side: 【Dear sister, Tieu Tieu is me. Heart drop.】 I couldn't find any instructions online on how to grill three parts, so I casually sauteed it a bit, temporarily considering it rare. Going to the pool, I used chopsticks to pick up a piece of salmon and eat it in front of him.

“Edible.” I said.

He stopped in front of me, the water barely reaching his collarbone. He lowered his eyes, tears still lingering on his eyelashes, and his hands slowly lifted out of the water. Only then did I see that what he was holding in his hand was that bracelet. Every pearl was picked up by him. He put his arm around my arm and smiled obediently. Completely different from the previous fish. I thought: Looks like Tieu Tieu was right, he really likes three-point cooked salmon.

04

“Thank you.” I smiled and said thank you to him.

He waved his fish tail, looking a bit happy. Putting away the bracelet, I picked up my chopsticks again, picked up a piece of salmon and brought it in front of him. He looked at me, did not reach out to receive, but obediently opened his mouth, waiting for me to feed him. I brought it a little closer, he opened his mouth and bit it. The next second, he suddenly opened his eyes wide, his whole body shrank back, his eye sockets almost turned red in an instant. He used the back of his hand to cover his mouth, his throat moving, as if he wanted to spit it out but didn't dare. Tears rolled around in the eye sockets twice, then finally rolled down. Round pearls fell into the water. Sea and land relations suddenly became unprecedentedly tense.

“What's wrong?” I squeezed his chin and ordered, "Open your mouth."