Chapter 6 — My Wet Jackfruit Mermaid

16

Habits are scary. Wen Lan has only been by my side for a few months, but I'm already having a hard time adapting to him leaving. It takes months to form a habit, then several months to break it. The Deep Blue Act was finally passed. Mermaids will officially be included in the list of protected intellectual species, banned from personal fishing and trading. Mermaids in human society can go through special procedures to receive legal status, work, and get married. The media was extremely excited. Some people say that the entertainment industry will welcome a group of mermaid stars in the future. Some say productivity in deep-sea work and marine animal research will increase sharply. Tham Thanh stood next to me, holding a press conference procedure sheet in her hand.

“The mermaid side said, you asked their representative to announce a specific personal preference, for example liking vanilla ice cream. They wanted to ask why.”

I thought for a moment and asked her:

“When watching movies about police and robbers, do you pay attention to what the character usually says when being robbed?

“'My son just entered elementary school this year', 'My mother is sick, she still needs me', 'There are old people up there, there are young people down there', right?

“What do you think is the cause?”

Tham Thanh was stunned:

“I thought it was stereotypical dialogue.”

I laughed:

“Not only that.

“Because generally speaking, it works.

“When I kidnapped you, our previous lives had no intersection.

“In my eyes, you are a stranger, a symbol or sticker, for example you are an office worker.

“But you use these 'stereotype' words to tell me that you are not your profession, you are just like me, a specific, honest person.

“You have your own life, your own family.

“That has a very high probability of arousing my conscience and sympathy.”

I laughed and told a story of my own:

“You know, when I was young I was very selfish, my parents were labeled 'parents' in my eyes.

“Until one time, my mother told me that she hated eating cucumbers because when she was a child, she ate a cucumber and bit a worm.

“That day I realized that my parents were not just born adults, they were also children.

“It turns out they are not only my parents, they are also themselves.

"I felt very magical, so I asked a lot of stories about their childhood."

Tham Thanh also laughed. I keep saying:

“The specific, private traces of life can make many people realize that this is a person who truly existed, with his own habits, past, and experiences.

“So the smaller, more specific this hobby, the more it can mobilize people's senses, the better.

“It's best to make everyone immediately remember her as soon as they see her.

“For example…”

“The taste of vanilla ice cream.” Tham Thanh continued.

I nodded:

“It still smells like cucumber.”

After a moment, I'll add:

“So I don't like eating cucumbers either.”

Tham Thanh said:

“Thanks, I won't eat anymore lately either.”

Once she got the answer, she responded. The room became quiet again. Recalling the conversation just now, I thought to myself. Maybe from the beginning I paid such attention to mermaids, because every time I see mermaids, I can remember the eye color of the eyes I have seen. there. Along with the temperature of the stone. Bowing my head, I looked at the process sheet Tham Thanh had given me earlier, my eyes stopped. Why did the mermaid side suddenly change representatives?

17

I went to find Tich Am, who was also the original representative. We've met each other a few times. Tich Am greeted me:

“Inspection.”

I went straight to the point, asking her why she changed agents. She smiled and said:

“He was found a few months ago.

“In your human terms, his bloodline must be considered noble.”

I frowned:

“If it's a matter of blood, I…”

Ti Am gently shook her head:

“It's not because of his identity.

“The first few days after returning, he hid in the cave and cried every day.

“Until one day, he said he wanted to learn human language and learn the ability to turn into two legs.

“He learns very quickly, so fast that everyone finds it hard to believe.

“The structure of human vocal cords is different from ours. Most of his vocalizations were counterintuitive to us, but his rate of progress surpassed that of any mermaid I had ever encountered.

“Finally, he surpassed me.”

Tich Am raised her head to look at me.

“He said he was looking for someone, so he wanted to talk where everyone could see. He hoped he could be seen by that person.

“When mermaids give names, they usually choose a name with a similar meaning to the original name, like me.

“His original name, in human language, roughly means 'sparkling', 'dazzling' and so on.

“Based on the original meaning, we gave him several names with similar meanings to choose from.

“But he doesn't need it.

“He said, his name is…”

At this time, on the screen, the mermaid representative stepped onto the stage. He wore a dark gray vest, long hair tied behind his head, a sapphire earring in his ear, a tassel of crushed diamonds hanging down, swaying with his footsteps. He sat on the stage and introduced himself:

"Hello everyone, my name is On Lan."

18

On Lan performed very well. He talked about the current situation of mermaids being caught and traded, and talked about the tribe's demand for equal rights. The entire process is extremely smooth, calm and natural. Finally, he put the draft speech aside.

“Actually, I have a very personal hobby, I like chewing ice cubes.”

This is not in the manuscript, it is completely improvised on the spot.

“In the coastal area where I live, this is a somewhat luxurious hobby, almost considered nature's most generous gift.

“Until I came to the human world, discovering ice cubes was extremely common among you.

“This made me think for a long time.

“A stone drifting from the poles to our seas requires the entire ocean to make way for it.

“What I consider a miracle is a part of your daily activities.