Zhang Xin nodded. "Boss, I know."
Ye Jiujiu nodded back, packed the food neatly, handed it to her, collected the money, and saw the mother and daughter out. After they left, she locked the door, cleaned the dining area, and returned to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
She had only washed a few when the little mermaid rushed in, sweating all over, hugging her thigh like a sticky rice cake. "It's hot."
"It's hot?" Ye Jiujiu looked down at the little mermaid's damp hair. "Didn't I turn on the air conditioner in the room for you? What did you do to get so hot?"
The little mermaid ruffled her wet hair. "It's just hot."
"Is your hometown the Arctic Circle or something? How can you be so afraid of heat?" Ye Jiujiu couldn't even wipe her sweat because her hands were covered in soap. "Just sit for a bit. I'll run a bath for you when I finish washing these."
"I'm not sitting." The little mermaid stuck to her like a shadow, following her every step.
Ye Jiujiu slowed down, afraid she would bump into something. "Why are you following me so closely? Do you want to be my little shadow?"
"Tail?" The little mermaid looked at her own bottom, then at Ye Jiujiu's. "…No."
Ye Jiujiu: "…"
"It's in the water." The little mermaid dipped a finger in dishwater, then patted Ye Jiujiu's backside with great seriousness.
"What are you doing?" Ye Jiujiu stared at the little handprint on her pants.
The little mermaid blinked. "Where's your tail?"
"I don't—have a… butt." Ye Jiujiu caught herself. "No, I mean—I don't have a tail."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not a fish."
"Why not a fish?"
"…There's no reason!"
The little mermaid tilted her head. "What is… reason?"
Ye Jiujiu finally sighed. "Are you a walking encyclopedia of questions?"
"What is that?"
"…Forget I asked."
She pointed to a stool. "Go sit there."
"I'm not going."
"…Then what do you want?"
The little mermaid pointed at the refrigerator. "Let's have that ice cream."
"So all this fuss was for ice cream?" Ye Jiujiu almost laughed. So this little mermaid knew exactly how to circle around the topic so she wouldn't say no. "Go get one."
"Okay!" The little mermaid happily ran to the fridge, pulled the lower drawer with practiced ease, grabbed a chocolate-coated ice cream, tore it open with her teeth, and blinked at the dark chocolate shell.
Different from yesterday!
"Why is this one different?" she asked, but Ye Jiujiu didn't hear her.
Left unanswered, the little mermaid sniffed the ice cream, then took a tentative lick.
Sweet!
Her blue eyes lit up like waves catching the sun. She took a bigger bite—crunch—sweet chocolate and nutty fragrance exploding on her tongue.
Delicious!
Joy overflowed from her tiny body; she lifted a foot as she ate, bouncing happily like an excited dolphin. Cream smeared around her mouth until she looked like a tiny chocolate cat.
When Ye Jiujiu finished washing and sanitizing the dishes, she found a painted-face fish standing in the kitchen.
"My goodness—how did you get food everywhere?" she wiped her face helplessly.
"Delicious!" The little mermaid said proudly, tongue swiping her upper lip.
"Is it that delicious?" Ye Jiujiu asked.
"Yes!!" The little mermaid hopped in place.
Ye Jiujiu wondered—if she ever ate a premium ice cream, would she break through the roof?
After that, she made herself a simple cold seaweed salad to tide her over. Her stomach felt hot and empty from working all afternoon, so she only ate half a bowl.
The little mermaid peeked at her bowl. "No meat?"
"No." Ye Jiujiu lifted a seaweed strip. "Do you want some?"
The little mermaid shook her head vigorously while eating her ice cream.
Ye Jiujiu didn't dare give her something spicy anyway.
After eating, she cleaned up the kitchen, took out the trash, then led the slightly dehydrated little mermaid to take a bath.
The moment she sat in water, the little mermaid revived completely—tail slapping water joyfully, splashing everywhere until Ye Jiujiu was drenched from hair to clothes.
"You little rascal!" Ye Jiujiu rinsed her hair with the hose. "You think this is funny?"
The little mermaid giggled. "Lots of water!"
"…Not anymore." Ye Jiujiu looked at the almost empty basin.
"It's too small," the little mermaid said sweetly, blaming the basin like a seasoned fish politician.
Ye Jiujiu admitted… that was true. "How big do you want it?"
"I want to go down into the water." She dipped her head beneath the remaining water to demonstrate. "I want to play."
"Only the ocean is big enough for you." Ye Jiujiu continued rinsing her, cooling her off. After soaking her for half an hour, she applied fragrant shower gel.
"Smells good!" The little mermaid stuck out her tongue to lick it.
"Don't lick it!" Ye Jiujiu stopped her quickly. "You'll get poisoned."
The little mermaid froze. "…Poisoned?"
"If your tummy hurts, you won't get to eat meat or lollipops."
The mermaid was instantly horrified. "I don't want poison! I want rice!"
So easy to manipulate. Anyone with a kindergarten diploma wouldn't fall for it—but a three-year-old fish? Absolutely.
After her bath, Ye Jiujiu dressed her in a sparkly dress and told her to sit on the sofa until her legs turned back. She then showered, washed her own clothes, and hung them under the pear tree.
By the time she returned to the room, exhausted, it was already 3 p.m.
"Want to sleep with me for a while?" she asked.
The little mermaid yawned. "Yes."
They lay under the white mosquito net. Ye Jiujiu scrolled through her phone a bit, but soon felt a warm breath tickling her neck.
She turned—and met a pair of large, curious blue eyes.
"What are you doing? Weren't you sleepy?"
The little mermaid leaned closer, staring at the phone screen. "Is there a silver thing in there? What are they doing?"
"I haven't eaten anything," Ye Jiujiu lied desperately and shoved the phone under her pillow. "Sleep."
The little mermaid lay down, but her eyes kept drifting to the pillow. "I can see it… it's huge."
"You're imagining things." Ye Jiujiu covered her with a blanket and closed her eyes. "Stop talking. I'm too tired."
Seeing she was really exhausted, the little mermaid stopped speaking. But her eyes stayed wide open under the net, thoughts full of cotton candy she saw earlier in an ad.
She poked the blanket, then poked Ye Jiujiu.
Ye Jiujiu didn't move.
After confirming sleep, the little mermaid sat up secretly and crawled toward the pillow to steal the phone.
But her arms and legs were too short. She tried standing—wobbling like a baby deer—then lifted her foot to step over Ye Jiujiu.
The blanket tangled around her foot.
Thump!
She slipped—
And fell directly onto Ye Jiujiu's stomach.
A sudden, heavy weight from the sky.
Ye Jiujiu, who had just fallen asleep:
—lost her breath
—saw her life flash before her eyes
—and very nearly ascended on the spot.