03

 This opportunity to see his younger siblings stemmed from a phone call one afternoon.

Xing Hongyi, who was in a meeting, saw his phone screen light up. He initially didn't intend to pay attention, but seeing his younger brother's name on the caller ID sent a strange, overwhelming feeling through him

. His eyes lit up, and his heart began to pound inexplicably.

All of this told him that this call was important.

He gestured for his subordinates to stop reporting, picked up his phone, and walked out of the meeting room. He almost impatiently answered the call. Xing Minzheng's heavy breathing, like a broken bellows, came through the phone. He said, "Brother, come to my house. Only you are allowed in. Don't worry about what you see, and don't enter any room except the living room and kitchen. Just help me put my heart in the freezer."

These words were extremely strange. Putting everything else aside, these were trivial matters that could be handled by the servants. Why did Xing Hongyi need to make a special trip?

And what kind of heart? An animal's?

These questions were answered instantly when Xing Hongyi left his subordinates outside and entered his brother's villa alone.

The first floor was a spacious living room. Upon entering, he saw blood that had spread to his toes, and the thick stench of blood filled the air. The staggering amount of blood gave Xing Hongyi a clue. He closed the door and followed the bloodstains to the sofa, where he found his brother, Xing Minzheng, already dead.

Xing Minzheng lay on the sofa, a gaping hole in his chest, a bloody mess, his heart missing. Xing Hongyi looked down and saw the heart Xing Minzheng was cradling in his hands.

So, the heart referred to his own?

Xing Hongyi lowered his eyes, his reaction unlike that of a brother witnessing his brother's suicide; he was even somewhat indifferent.

Only the words of the village chief flashed through Xing Hongyi's mind:

"He came back to life."

"Your brother also made a deal with the Sea God."

Xing Minzheng, who deeply loved his lover, had no reason to commit suicide.

So he would be resurrected.

This matter couldn't be known to outsiders, so only Xing Hongyi could handle it.

Xing Hongyi bent down and took the warm heart from Xing Minzheng's hand, following his brother's instructions, and placed it in the freezer.

However, after doing this, Xing Hongyi ignored everything Xing Minzheng said.

He slowly washed his hands at the kitchen sink, the water rinsing away the blood, and hummed a song as he washed.

He looked up, as if gazing at someone whose face he couldn't see.

Wiping away the water droplets with a tissue, Xing Hongyi straightened his suit collar, left the kitchen, and climbed the stairs to the second floor. Unfortunately, after searching the entire three-story villa, he couldn't find his sister-in-law.

Xing Hongyi looked at his brother's turning pale face, pondered for a moment, walked out the door, and said to his waiting subordinate, "Investigate where Xing Minzheng usually goes besides this villa."

The subordinate agreed.

Two hours later, Xing Hongyi sat in the back seat of a luxury car, driven by his subordinate, heading to another villa of his younger brother.

This villa wasn't too far from the previous one, arriving in half an hour.

However, this villa was noticeably more luxurious, with an over-the-top opulence and refinement in both its exterior and private garden, unlike anything his brother would like.

Hmm… then it must be his sister-in-law's taste.

Surprisingly, Xing Hongyi didn't find his sister-in-law's taste vulgar; instead, he found it rather charming.

But Xing Hongyi was stopped outside the platinum-colored iron gate. The password he had previously shared with his brother didn't work. This was normal; Xing Minzheng had been wary of him, which indirectly indicated that his sister-in-law was definitely in this villa.

One mistake, two more chances.

After Xing Minzheng's birthday was also wrong,

Xing Hongyi began to think again. Finally, a smile appeared on his lips as he said to his subordinate, "Check the last day Xing Minzheng was contacted while on a business trip."

This was easier than the previous one. Ten minutes later, Xing Hongyi entered the date.

With a ding, the iron gate opened.

His subordinates remained outside, just as Xing Minzheng didn't want others to see his wife, Xing Hongyi didn't want to either.

The villa's door was an ordinary door. Xing Hongyi took a step back, then kicked the combination lock, pushed open the broken door, and entered the villa.

Once inside, he discovered that the villa's structure had been almost completely destroyed, leaving only a frame. Inside the frame was a huge glass tank, connected to the wall, filled with water containing brightly colored, delicious-looking fish, enormous coral reefs, and countless gems and crowns scattered throughout, shimmering under the lights.

It was like a luxurious aquarium.

Xing Hongyi could tell at a glance that the gems were genuine.

But he paid no attention to these; his gaze was fixed on the very center of the tank, where a huge seashell-shaped bed stood.

And on the bed lay a woman of stunning beauty, otherworldly, as if a celestial being had descended to earth… a mermaid.

The mermaid's hair, like seaweed, spread out in the water, reaching her waist and obscuring most of her body, leaving only a glimpse of her slender waist and luminous white skin. Below her waist was an incredibly long, pink fishtail, its color as delicate as cherry blossoms, breathtakingly beautiful. Her fins were transparent and ethereal, like silk, floating in the water.

She was fast asleep, her eyes closed, her thick, long, straight eyelashes rising and falling with the current, casting fan-like shadows.

Xing Minzheng's lover was not human, yet, it was vaguely expected.

Xing Hongyi subconsciously swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. His eyes couldn't leave the mermaid for a second, and he even felt a sense of relief that she was asleep and hadn't seen his disheveled and undisguised reaction.

Xing Hongyi also felt regret.

He regretted his hesitation, regretting that he hadn't discovered the mermaid for so long.

Xing Hongyi stepped forward, placing his fingers on the glass as if to get closer to the mermaid.

He called out, "Baby, baby, open your eyes and look at me."

He thought his voice was loud and clear, but in reality, it was soft and gentle.

He didn't want to disturb the mermaid, and only when his eyes ached from staring did Xing Hongyi realize how much time had passed.

The villa's windows were all tightly closed, covered by curtains, while the interior lights were suddenly bright.

Xing Hongyi glanced at his phone; it was nearly midnight. Even without knowing much about mermaids, Xing Hongyi sensed something was wrong. During this time, his lover, his mermaid, hadn't moved an inch.

He had initially thought it was because the mermaid was obedient, but now a sense of unease welled up inside him.

Xing Hongyi was quick-witted; he climbed up the stairs placed at the very edge of the glass tank. There was a gap of nearly a meter at the top of the tank, and a platform that looked like it was for holding something.

After examining the area for a few moments, Xing Hongyi concluded that it must have been built by Xing Minzheng, who regularly fed the mermaids. He then took off his suit jacket and jumped into the water without hesitation.

The fish that had been swimming around were startled and began to scatter. Xing Hongyi swam to the mermaid, embraced her, and the instant his fingers touched her delicate skin, he felt nothing but a jolt of electricity and one other word:

cold.

Colder than a living person.

Composing himself, Xing Hongyi carried the mermaid to the surface and carefully carried her down the stairs, being extremely cautious, afraid of bumping her beautiful tail and making her uncomfortable.

Despite the commotion, the mermaid didn't react at all; she didn't seem to be asleep, but rather unconscious.

He placed her on the soft sofa and murmured, "I'm not taking advantage of you."

Then, he lowered his head and kissed her lips—his first kiss, so illegitimate.

Xing Hongyi felt an immense happiness.

He breathed into the mermaid's mouth, feeling as if he were eating a sweet marshmallow, so reluctant to let go.

But this was useless; the mermaid remained unchanged.

Xing Hongyi's usually rational and calm mind was now in a state of panic. In his anxiety, Xing Hongyi suddenly thought of Xing Minzheng's strange behavior

... The heart.

The key was that heart.

Xing Hongyi found a clue in the chaos.

Fearing that the mermaid would feel uncomfortable if she was out of the water for too long, Xing Hongyi carefully placed her back on her bed in the water, then immediately ran out of the villa and told his subordinate in the car, "Back to the villa."

The subordinate didn't ask Xing Hongyi why he had stayed so long or why he was soaking wet. He was just dutifully driving and wanted to see what his boss's brother's lover looked like, but he couldn't suppress his feelings.

Xing Hongyi was unaware of his subordinate's budding feelings for the mermaid.

He hadn't originally intended to touch Xing Minzheng's heart.

He just wanted to see his brother and sister-in-law, then feel disappointed or bored, and withdraw his curiosity, that was all. But... how could that be?

How could anyone remain calm upon seeing a mermaid?

Only a surge of possessiveness and love welled up within him. He wanted the mermaid; he couldn't leave her; he wanted to kill everyone who challenged her.

He wanted…the mermaid to be his alone.

This wasn't superficial possessiveness, but a deeper love. He would banish all rivals and then offer the mermaid everything beautiful and loving he could.

Xing Hongyi thought this after retrieving the heart from the cryogenics.

Besides, even if Xing Minzheng discovered it, so what?

Xing Hongyi's ruthless methods were no joke; the outcome was uncertain.

Back at the scene, Xing Hongyi held the mermaid, carefully inserting the shredded heart piece by piece into her mouth. The mermaid's mouth was unexpectedly warm and moist, and her sharp teeth inadvertently cut Xing Hongyi's fingers, teasing his body and soul. Yet, Xing Hongyi only felt a throbbing vein on his forehead, enduring and calmly watching the mermaid instinctively swallow the heart.

Time passed slowly, and finally, the mermaid's eyelashes fluttered like butterflies about to take flight. He opened his eyes, revealing a pair of emerald-like eyes that shone with a cold and mysterious light, leaving Xing Hongyi's mind blank and unable to recover for a long time.

...He had gambled correctly.

The mermaid had woken up.

Xing Hongyi regained control of his breathing, taking deep breaths, his nostrils filled with the cool fragrance emanating from the mermaid. But the mermaid's changes did not stop there. With a furrowed groan—not from pain, but more like being too comfortable and not knowing how to relieve it—

he noticed that the mermaid's tail radiated a halo, stinging Xing Hongyi's eyes. Yet, he stared at it without blinking, causing his eyes to water.

When the light faded, the mermaid's tail disappeared, replaced by a pair of straight and slender legs, too perfect and beautiful, with no covering whatsoever for her private parts.

*Drip—*

Two streams of red blood gushed from Xing Hongyi's nose, dripping onto the collarbone of the mermaid in his arms, forming a small puddle. Xing Hongyi snapped out of his daze, quickly wiping the blood away with his sleeve before covering his nose.

The breathtaking scene he had just witnessed kept replaying in his mind.

"So pink…

so cute, I love it. "

After doing all that, Xing Hongyi's image was almost completely ruined. So when he looked up at the mermaid, he saw her brows furrowed, her usually emotionless eyes now filled with obvious disdain, her chin slightly raised, as if she wanted to distance herself from him.

Xing Hongyi didn't know what the mermaid disliked about him.

Perhaps it was his clumsy actions, or his overly eager and lustful behavior, or perhaps she was simply dissatisfied with him as a person.

Was he not handsome enough? Was he slovenly from being all wet?

Whatever it was, it was something Xing Hongyi couldn't accept.

His heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly, a sharp pain gripping him. His face instantly turned deathly pale, and his handsome features lost their luster.

A single, subtle emotion from the mermaid left Xing Hongyi completely disoriented, unable to function properly. His intelligence and emotional intelligence vanished.

He was now just a man who had fallen in love and become insecure.

He didn't want the mermaid to hate him.

Xing Hongyi pleaded, "Baby...don't look at me like that."

In his endless pain, the mermaid's merciless contempt, as if looking at a pathetic dog, actually excited Xing Hongyi...

A complex mix of emotions twisted together, inseparable.

All of this was a gift from the mermaid.

Xing Hongyi felt a sense of satisfaction.

He pleaded again, "Baby, if you keep looking at me like that...I don't know what I might do."

So, please stop looking at me.

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