Chapter 7 — My Wet Jackfruit Mermaid

“But looking back at human history, I discovered that your advantages and disadvantages do not lie in the things you already have, such as tall buildings and airplanes.

“You are not from the beginning able to make and preserve ice cubes, nor are you born able to fly.

“Your strength lies in the fact that you possess the ability to constantly innovate, which is an ability that makes the world constantly open to more people.

“Currently, you are presenting the invitation as a gift in front of the mermaid.”

The tassel next to his ear swayed gently.

“I've seen your globe before. The map is divided into land and ocean parts.

“A long time ago, when humans were still debating whether the world was square or round, mermaids knew the answer because of the connection of the ocean.

“This does not mean that mermaids are smarter than humans, nor is it comparing who gets closer to the truth sooner.

“It's just that the way mermaids and humans perceive the world is different.

“For us, the deep sea is not a limit to be conquered, but just a backyard in our daily activities.

“You are willing to open the human world to us, and we are willing to respond with the same respect.

“The combination of land and ocean is a complete map.”

After saying the last sentence, he bowed slightly. The hall was quiet for a moment, then applause rang out.

19

In front of the screen, Tich Am and I also clapped. It cannot be denied that this is an extremely excellent speech. If I'm not amorous myself, then the person he's looking for is probably me. I remembered those scales and opened my mouth to ask:

“Tich Am, what do you mermaids mean by pulling their scales?”

Tich Am thought about how to express it and said:

“Mermaids are born covered in scales. For us, scales are a part of the body, also a natural defense line.

“When we want to keep someone in our lives, we will spit out a piece of scale and give it to the other person.

“The meaning is: I vow to entrust a part of my body, a part of my life to someone to preserve.

“I trust you, so much so that I am willing to give up the protection of my scales, revealing the weakest part of my life in front of you.

"In short, in human terms, it means asking for a mate, confessing love."

I remained silent. I can't blame me for misunderstanding this matter. After all, who would confess their love in that situation?

“So you already received the scales?” Tich Am asked.

Me:

“There are roughly… five or six pieces or something.”

She opened her eyes wide in surprise:

“So you two are very affectionate.”

I laughed dryly twice. But then, I became aware of a problem. If Wen Lan remembered my name, why didn't he come find me directly? It's not that I'm conceited, but among humans, I still have some reputation. Maybe he doesn't want to see me? Maybe "finding someone" that he said isn't about getting back together and making up the way I understand it. But thirty years of Ha Dong, thirty years of Ha Tay, don't despise the poor mermaid? He didn't come to find me, maybe he was angry with me. This speculation is really reasonable, so reasonable that it makes me a bit sad.

20

I thought for a few days and still couldn't figure out how to face him. I really want to find a quiet, empty place to be alone for a while. Unlucky ghosts So, I drove to that beach. The beach where I dropped On Lan back. After parking the car, I walked onto the sand. Then, my steps stopped. Because on the beach is lying a fish. He lay straight, his tail straight, so prominent that it seemed like he was afraid that others wouldn't detect him. I walked a few steps closer.

“Bump thump thump.”

His tail kept flapping on the sand. Next, the mermaid reached out and pressed his tail down. I walked next to him and squatted down. On Lan raised his head and looked at me pitifully:

“Do you still have it?”

There was absolutely no calm and natural look like the day of the press conference. I couldn't help but laugh.

“There's a big fish here.”

I reached out and cut his fish tail.

“I want to make you into braised fish, steamed fish, cinnamon squirrel fish.”

Cut to the waist, I held his waist with one hand and the fish tail with the other hand, carrying him off the sand. His face was buried in the crook of my neck, pearls rolled into my collar one by one.

“The rest is a crybaby.”

I hugged him and walked towards the car.

“I want to take it home and keep raising it.”

21 On Lan's side story On Lan once asked the elders in the clan what liking was. The elder told him that liking means wanting to eat the other person. He somewhat understood, but somewhat did not understand. He eats salmon because he likes it, he eats ice cubes because he likes it. But it doesn't seem like the type of liking he wants to know. After hearing this, the elder laughed.

“When you want to eat the other person, but can't bear it, you will know what liking is.”

At that time, he still didn't understand very well. The first time he met Lam Tri Phi was when he was trapped by a net on a shallow beach. He struggled for a long time, but the net tightened even more. Then, Lam Tri Phi appeared. On Lan was too scared. He once heard people in his tribe say that humans believe that mermaid flesh and blood can live forever, so when they see humans, they must run away. Seeing her take out a small knife, On Lan stretched out his claws and scratched her. But Lam Tri Phi only frowned, his movements did not stop. She cut the net that was wrapping around the mermaid and let him free. On Lan ran into the sea. He turned his head to look, the girl was still standing there.

"Just leave like that, without even saying thank you." She smiled, waved at him, "Goodbye."

The next day, he saw her again. Lam Tri Phi is fishing. I don't know how long I sat there, but I couldn't catch a single fish. That way you will starve to death. Wen Lan thought, dived to the bottom of the sea, caught the fattest fish, and carefully placed it next to her feet. Give it to her, eat it quickly. Lam Tri Phi laughed:

“Even you pity me?

“You don't understand, the fun of fishing lies in the waiting process.”

Clearly, mermaids are the race recognized to have the most melodious singing voice. It's clear that On Lan doesn't understand human language at all. But he still felt that her voice was gentle and easy to listen to. In the end, Lam Tri Phi still accepted his fish. She opened the box next to her, On Lan's eyes widened. That's a whole bucket of ice. Lam Tri Phi looked at his reaction and was a little surprised:

“Do you like ice?”

She gave the ice cube to Wen Lan. On Lan stuffed it into his mouth and happily squinted his eyes. He thought, humans are truly strange creatures. They seem very bad, but they seem very good. It's easy to hurt him, but it's also easy to save him. Like gods who are happy and sad.