When Ji Qingzhuo heard his words, she froze for a moment and clenched her hand on her knee.
She thought that Shen Rongyu might have misunderstood something again.
She never thought of leaving him, because all along, she seemed to only treat him as a research subject that deserved respect.
A research subject has its own life, and after the research is over, it has nothing to do with her.
It's not really leaving him... she just didn't want him to be bound and restricted by the transactions of the Night Abyss Sea.
So, Ji Qingzhuo shook her head, "Mr. Shen, it's not like that."
"But you returned the ownership of the Night Abyss Sea to me, isn't that leaving me?" Shen Rongyu half leaned on the sofa, with his dragon tail swaying slightly beneath him.
- He hated this tail when he first woke up, but now he has already seen it as part of his own body.
"Now that you have awakened, you have your own life. You can live in a way you like," Ji Qingzhuo had already arranged everything for Shen Rongyu after this.
"If the conflict with An Kun on the Night Abyss Sea a few days ago could be resolved smoothly, I would have repaid the loan from the Night Abyss Sea and bought you an identity in the underground trading market here." Ji Qingzhuo said softly.
"You don't need to worry about your future life. As long as you can cooperate with my research, I... am grateful to you," Ji Qingzhuo said to him.
Her words were all for Shen Rongyu's sake, but they still revealed a sense of unfamiliarity.
Ji Qingzhuo was just mechanically following her own standards in her interactions with her research subjects.
"The day I woke up, you came to the Night Abyss Sea and released a jellyfish," Shen Rongyu knew everything about the Night Abyss Sea and naturally knew that Ji Qingzhuo released a lighthouse jellyfish from a test tube before infiltrating the Abyss.
"Was I that jellyfish?" he asked.
"No," Ji Qingzhuo raised her eyebrow, "That little guy... wasn't an experimental subject, it just accidentally got trapped in the sample of seawater."
"Is there only such a difference?" Shen Rongyu asked again.
This question stumped Ji Qingzhuo. She had very little experience in deep communication and interaction with others. In her view, her relationship with Shen Rongyu should be like this, but... the current facts told her that it seemed not.
Ji Qingzhuo went through her thought process in her mind, trying to find the problematic node, whether the mistake was on Shen Rongyu's or her side.
She pondered and couldn't bear to push the blame onto others. After all, she had spent most of her time in the research institute and on the experimental platform, hardly participating in activities such as sample collection and getting close to experimental subjects.
Ji Qingzhuo felt like she was just a semi-skilled investigator. Even if she followed the protocols in the books for sampling, she still made mistakes.
"I understand," Ji Qingzhuo nodded to him.
Shen Rongyu felt that she didn't understand.
"Our relationship has exceeded the reasonable scope between a researcher and a research subject. It's my fault," Ji Qingzhuo said calmly.
"So?" Shen Rongyu sighed lightly. He didn't expect Ji Qingzhuo to realize this.
He wanted to deceive her, to find a way to devour her soul after breaking free from the ownership of the Night Abyss Sea. Of course, he had to deliberately create a relationship that went beyond the usual..."relationship" with her.
Wait... what was the first thing he wanted to do?
Break free from the ownership of the Night Abyss Sea?
Shen Rongyu was stunned.
Ji Qingzhuo reached out a fair hand towards him, "I'll take responsibility for guiding you to adapt to this society."
Shen Rongyu pushed away the strange thoughts and chaotic thoughts, gently holding her hand, his palm cold.
"Okay," he smiled softly, using a gentle and coaxing tone to say to her.
Chapter 16 Master of the Abyss x Researcher (Part 16)
As Ji Qingzhuo stood up, Shen Rongyu's gaze fell on her ankle. His restless tail had just tightly coiled around this area.
This researcher Miss Ji was really too honest.
Therefore, when Ji Qingzhuo turned around to say goodbye and prepare to end today's research sampling, Shen Rongyu's dragon tail submerged in the water pool flicked lightly on her turned shoulder.
Ji Qingzhuo lowered her head and saw the sharp dragon tail resting on her shoulder. Shen Rongyu hadn't fully recovered yet, so the tip of his tail was still bare. Otherwise, there should be a beautiful tail fin there.
Shen Rongyu thought she might be scared, but Ji Qingzhuo couldn't help but raise her hand.
She pinched the segment of the dragon tail that had fallen on her shoulder, gently placing it down.
Ji Qingzhuo thought Shen Rongyu didn't know, but Shen Rongyu knew very well. When she touched his tail, she secretly touched it several times.
Originally it was meant to scare her as a joke, but why did it turn into her willingly reaching out?
Ji Qingzhuo exclaimed in surprise, "Mr. Shen, your tail is very beautiful."
"The lower body looks good, but what about the upper body?" Shen Rongyu's voice was indifferent.
"For human aesthetics, you indeed have superior looks," Ji Qingzhuo tightened the strap of her diving equipment.
"So, Miss Ji, do you like it?" Shen Rongyu whispered, laughing.
They were about to part ways, and because of the conversation with Shen Rongyu, Ji Qingzhuo took out her notebook again.
She scribbled down his question on the paper.
Then, the movement of the pen did not stop.
Ji Qingzhuo's pen glided lightly on the paper, like a seabird skimming the water's surface.
She wrote, "Like?"
Does it mean "like," or is she asking what this emotion "like" is?
Ji Qingzhuo crossed out those two words and fell silent for a moment.
She still didn't answer his question, only saying, "See you tomorrow, Mr. Shen."
Ji Qingzhuo left the cabin and plunged into the water. She left the depths of the abyss and slowly swam upwards. In the past, she enjoyed this solitude.
But now it's different; this ocean is Shen Rongyu.
Seeing the rippling seawater outside the air cavity, she seemed to be able to observe his gentle heartbeat, his deliberately yet incredibly enticing voice. Just sitting there, he seemed to be able to make people blush and their hearts race.
Ji Qingzhuo widened her eyes, gazing at the ink-blue ocean. Her cheeks gradually turned red as she saw the waves ripple outside the air cavity, with a rhythm that was elegant and seductive.
She was in the sea, no longer in the cabin, but he was still teasing her.
This Mr. Shen Rongyu, the dangerous Mr. Shen... he was really despicable.
Ji Qingzhuo pressed her lips together. She poked her head out of the water and steered the transformed yacht, which was now parked in the middle of the sea, towards the shore.
The seaside tavern was lit up, and the owner was nestled in the midst of his collection of dolls, playing an old-fashioned love game, thoroughly engrossed.
In the swaying light inside the house, Ji Qingzhuo heard a youthful love song playing from the game console.
Just as she entered the door, she wanted to turn around and leave.
"If Miss Ji is short on money, I'll treat you to a drink," the tavern owner called out to her.
Ji Qingzhuo felt embarrassed to refuse and sat down at the bar.
"Still peach fruit juice?" The owner's gaze was still fixed on the game screen.
"Orange water," Ji Qingzhuo felt that she couldn't let Shen Rongyu influence her too much.
"Alright," the tavern owner said.
When Ji Qingzhuo took a sip of the drink, she found that the refreshing juice had a slightly sour aftertaste, lacking the sweetness and softness of a peach.
She had indeed gotten used to it, to the point where she couldn't even enjoy her favorite drink anymore.
Ji Qingzhuo still finished the entire cup, paid the bill, and prepared to leave.
"Miss Ji seems to have never been in love before," the owner suddenly asked, his mind still lost in the game's storyline.
"No," Ji Qingzhuo wiped the corner of her mouth with a tissue.
"You should give it a try," the owner said, staring at the electronic screen. "It's so beautiful, but unfortunately, I'm too old for it."
"I'll give you the address of a retirement home in the city next time," Ji Qingzhuo said.
The owner laughed heartily, saying, "Those old beauties wouldn't be interested in me."
Ji Qingzhuo left, having encountered a concept she had never paid attention to before.
"Love"...
That word seemed distant to her.
After finishing her work, Ji Qingzhuo took a shower, changed into her white nightgown, and sat cross-legged on the camel-colored cashmere carpet, staring blankly at the night ocean outside the transparent wall.
Of course, she knew the process of love, yes... a strict process.
Ji Qingzhuo found it hard to imagine herself holding hands with...she didn't even know what kind of person, keeping her palms dry. But if the two were so close that there was no concept of distance between them, then their breaths would intertwine, almost becoming one.
But...Ji Qingzhuo's brows furrowed slightly, she was confused, she didn't understand the significance of these processes.
In this era, reproduction no longer required the union of two sexes, so why did so many people still throw themselves into the realm of love?
Ji Qingzhuo had a book open on her leg, but she wasn't absorbing any knowledge, just staring ahead at the sea surface.
Until the ringing of her phone pulled her out of her thoughts.
Ji Qingzhuo pressed the answer button on her electronic device, and the voice on the other end seemed to come from an empty space.
"Ji Qingzhuo, the chief researcher of the Former Ocean Company?" a cold and stern male voice sounded.
"Yes," Ji Qingzhuo held the device between her shoulder and ear, flipping a page of the book resting on her leg with one hand.
"You, at coordinates (113, 2240) in the Night Ocean, teamed up with an unidentified man and committed violence against Mr. An Kun - this is the accusation he made against you," the security officer said coldly.
"Mr. An Kun attempted to illegally seize the property of the Night Ocean, and our actions were in accordance with the city's regulations for self-defense," Ji Qingzhuo said.
"Night Ocean's surveillance has no records of that incident," the security officer's tone remained steady.
"The surveillance also has no records of this act of violence," Ji Qingzhuo tapped her fingers on the electronic device.
"This is what you did to give Mr. An Kun a hard time during his acquisition of the Former Ocean Company...Miss Ji Qingzhuo, right?" the security officer suddenly laughed.
"The bullet casing that shattered the surveillance on-site has been found, and it matches the equipment you registered at the security bureau," he said.
"Hmm," Ji Qingzhuo lowered her gaze and turned another page of the book, "Am I violating any regulations by conducting violence against surveillance in my own properties?"
The other party laughed again, "Until the investigation is over, you have the right to provide evidence refuting all of Mr. An Kun's accusations, but you should know the influence Mr. An Kun has here..."
"Hmm," Ji Qingzhuo responded.
"Tomorrow, you may be requested to come to the security bureau for interrogation, and your partner also needs to be present. If he doesn't show up, you will lose your right to refute the accusation," the security officer reminded.
"Okay," Ji Qingzhuo had known that she would be facing such a big trouble.
She hung up the phone, and soon received a notification on her electronic device informing her and Shen Rongyu to appear at the security bureau for interrogation, clearly stating the time and location.
Ji Qingzhuo let out a long sigh. She snapped out of her guarded state and realized she hadn't thought about how to handle the interrogation.
Shen Rongyu had indeed done something, but An Kun deserved it.
However, the tricky part was Shen Rongyu's identity. How could he explain his existence?
Ji Qingzhuo patted her head, feeling her thoughts getting jumbled. She couldn't come up with a solution for the time being.
In the midst of this chaotic thinking, she was reminded of her previous confusion about love.
In the end, there was still one question that Ji Qingzhuo couldn't find an answer to.
In that final moment, when their bodies were no longer distant and their breaths intertwined... Ji Qingzhuo knew that at that moment, the other person would smell the scents of peaches, jasmine, and sandalwood. But what about herself? What kind of scent would she smell?
There would be a person breathing softly by her ear, a real presence emitting a misty face in the exhale. What would that face look like?
Ji Qingzhuo subconsciously ran her fingers through the patterns on her cashmere carpet. She couldn't imagine it, and perhaps she couldn't find an answer to this question.
Love was not suitable for her.
At that moment, she could feel the sea breeze blowing in front of her, refreshing and cool. Beyond the transparent wall, waves suddenly surged in a manner that defied the tides. Small shells and sparkling crystalline substances fell on the wall, fluttering down.
In the center of the waves, a figure appeared. Ji Qingzhuo saw a shimmering silver light in the moonlight, the beautiful dragon tail she had admired not long ago. Someone emerged from the sea, their wet hair sticking to their fair cheeks.
Sly Shen Rongyu could have kept his body free from seawater, but he deliberately soaked himself completely in the rippling indigo seawater.
His shirt was dampened by the seawater, clinging to his body and outlining his clear muscle contours. In the faint moonlight, the lines became even sharper.
Shen Rongyu looked at Ji Qingzhuo and tapped on the transparent glass wall of her residence.
At that moment, Ji Qingzhuo widened her eyes. When Shen Rongyu appeared in her vision, the image she had just imagined suddenly came to life with sound, color, light, and scent...vibrant and fragrant.
The book she had carefully protected was inadvertently crumpled in her hand.
"Miss Ji?" Seeing Ji Qingzhuo's dazed expression, Shen Rongyu called her again.
Ji Qingzhuo snapped out of her trance. She was grateful that the distance between them was still quite far, and Shen Rongyu couldn't see her expression.
She lowered her head, her face flushed, and leaned forward to press the switch, raising the glass wall that faced the ocean.
In an instant, the scent of the ocean filled the living room. Ji Qingzhuo sat on the edge of the camel-colored carpet, not getting up, just gazing at Shen Rongyu...the shimmering waves around him.
"Miss Ji," Shen Rongyu swam closer. He leaned his upper body against the corridor outside Ji Qingzhuo's living room, gazing at her intently. "Did I interrupt your thoughts? I imagine you were contemplating some tedious research data. I feel honored to be able to pull you out of such a sea of suffering," he said.
Ji Qingzhuo was usually thinking about the things he mentioned, but just now... she wasn't.
What was she thinking about? Ji Qingzhuo shook her head, trying to shake off the strange thoughts and focus on the present.
When Shen Rongyu asked if he had disturbed her, Ji Qingzhuo replied, "No, you didn't disturb me."
Feeling a bit rude sitting on the carpet in a daze, Ji Qingzhuo propped herself up with her hands and tried to stand up. "You can come up, I'll go get you a glass of water."
"No need," Shen Rongyu declined, the tail of his dragon swaying in the sea behind him.
"Since you're here, there's a notice here that I'll talk to you about tomorrow," Ji Qingzhuo turned on her electronic device. "Tomorrow, we're going to face an investigation from the Security Department. An Kun has accused us of violence against him."
Ji Qingzhuo didn't believe that a small missile could kill An Kun. People like him had many ways to save themselves. She just knew that she would have to face his accusations.
"I'll send it to my electronic device," Shen Rongyu said, shaking the small gadget in his hand that emitted a blue light. "Didn't Miss Ji buy this for me before?"
"It was bought with your money," Ji Qingzhuo forwarded the information to Shen Rongyu.
Shen Rongyu glanced casually at the screen in front of him.
"Your identity hasn't been registered yet. The management of individuals in the independent city is very strict. If you don't have a proper identity, even if An Kun's accusations are unfounded, you will be exiled and sold as a slave in the lower market," Ji Qingzhuo explained.
"Aren't you my owner, Miss Ji?" Shen Rongyu flicked his dragon tail in the water and said softly.
This made Ji Qingzhuo blush.
She turned her head to the side, revealing her uncontrollable blush. "The relationship between us is not something that can be explained by the regulations of the independent city, so it... is illegal."
"Oh," Shen Rongyu elongated his tone. "An illegal relationship."
Ji Qingzhuo curled her toes anxiously on the carpet. "It should be, but... Mr. Shen, your tone is strange."
"You don't have to worry about my identity registration, Miss Ji." Shen Rongyu lightly tapped the laser keyboard on the electronic device. "The gadget you bought is very useful. I used it to invade the identity management system of the independent city and created a fake identity for myself."
"Now I am an alien residing here, accidentally falling into the Nightlan Sea and meeting Miss Ji," Shen Rongyu chuckled softly.
"An alien," Ji Qingzhuo repeated his words. "That identity works."
She breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems that you have adapted well to human society."
Ji Qingzhuo hadn't forgotten her promise to help Shen Rongyu adapt to modern society. By saying "adapted well," she meant that Shen Rongyu quickly learned how to invade the identity management system of the independent city.
When Shen Rongyu heard this, he quickly blinked, and the damp drops of water fell on his long eyelashes like a fan. "Miss Ji, may I ask how to add you as a friend on the communication platform?"
Ji Qingzhuo: "?" You've already learned the Dark City system, but you don't know how to add friends?
"Click this." She didn't find him annoying and leaned over, using one arm to support herself on the black rock of the corridor, teaching Shen Rongyu how to operate.
At this moment, Shen Rongyu was leaning on the lower part of her living room corridor, with half of his body submerged in the water. When Ji Qingzhuo leaned over, her body was enveloped by his presence from above.
The moon was bright and shimmering, and everything on the sea couldn't escape the blending of light and shadow.
Shen Rongyu narrowed his eyes and saw Ji Qingzhuo's figure swaying on the calm blue sea surface. Her body had beautiful curves, swaying along with the shimmering waves, as if twisting her waist.
In reality, Ji Qingzhuo didn't move much. She maintained this posture with some difficulty. Her long hair, which was originally gathered behind her, fell down from her shoulder and lightly brushed against Shen Rongyu's brow bone.
Shen Rongyu raised an eyebrow subtly, remaining calm.
"What does this button mean?" He pretended to ask humbly, pointing at the words "Add Friend" on the screen and asking Ji Qingzhuo.
Ji Qingzhuo, supporting her body with one hand, feeling a bit shaky, still reached out to click on the "Add Friend" on the screen and answered Shen Rongyu's question.
"This is you sending me a friend request," Ji Qingzhuo said.
"Friend request," Shen Rongyu repeated the key phrase.
"Friend request," Ji Qingzhuo emphasized.
"Friend," Shen Rongyu broke down the phrase, asking in a naive and casual tone, "So Miss Ji and I are friends."
Ji Qingzhuo became flustered due to his random interpretation of the phrase and didn't know where to start explaining.
Under her distraction, the hand that was supporting her body finally slipped.
Ji Qingzhuo fell directly and hit her chin on top of Shen Rongyu's head, and her disheveled hair fell down, obstructing his view.
Shen Rongyu gently tucked her hair behind her ears, not brushing it away, and turned to the side. As a result, Ji Qingzhuo fell on her stomach and ended up facing him.
He lifted himself up and helped Ji Qingzhuo up. "Is this Miss Ji's friendly communication for 'friend'?"
"Sorry, I slipped," Ji Qingzhuo followed the force of his hand and stood up.
Shen Rongyu smiled at her.
By now, the electronic device on Ji Qingzhuo's carpet had been on for a while, and she had received a friend request from Shen Rongyu.
Shen Rongyu's palm was still wet. When he held her earlier, he flicked a lot of water onto the corridor.
So, when Ji Qingzhuo, who had been having a stroke of bad luck and weak limbs, went back to get the electronic device, she stepped on the slippery ground with her bare feet and fell again.
This time, the dragon tail behind Shen Rongyu lifted out of the water and accurately wrapped around her waist, preventing her from falling onto the corridor.
The ground was hard, the sea was soft, and falling into the sea was safer. He dragged her body and fell into the water.
Because Shen Rongyu hadn't separated the seawater, Ji Qingzhuo ended up in the actual sea.
She liked the ocean, but it was a bit of a self-proclaimed liking without knowing how to swim. When she went into the water, she had to rely on diving equipment.
Now that she had actually fallen into the sea, even with Shen Rongyu's tail constantly holding onto her, she still panicked.
She struggled desperately in the shallow water, as if a beginner swimmer was creating a drowning scene in the one-meter shallow water area.
Shen Rongyu had never seen such a big scene before, and he thought Ji Qingzhuo was really choking on water. He used his tail to pull her over.
In her frantic state of losing balance and composure, Ji Qingzhuo accidentally bumped into Shen Rongyu's chest, and his heart beat strongly.
She coughed several times before finally spitting out the seawater she inadvertently swallowed.
Shen Rongyu looked at her disheveled appearance and found it somewhat amusing, but his rationality told him not to laugh directly.
So he turned his head and shrugged his shoulders.
"Shen... Mr. Shen," Ji Qingzhuo rubbed her throat, her voice trembling with a sense of relief, "Please don't laugh anymore."
"I won't," Shen Rongyu pursed his lips, concealing his laughter, and replied with his eyes open.
Because she was afraid of sinking, Ji Qingzhuo had both hands on his shoulders - she didn't realize how inappropriate it was.
Shen Rongyu turned his head and looked at her hand on his shoulder. This research scholar, who always seemed calm and rational, finally showed her uncontrolled side.
"You can't swim, I'm surprised," Shen Rongyu said.
As Ji Qingzhuo listened to his deep voice, she finally felt nervous. The palm of her hand, which was placed on his shoulder because she was afraid of the water, began to sweat.
The warm and sweaty palm, the sticky touch... does it make people feel disgusted?
Ji Qingzhuo curled her fingers into a fist, trying to find a way to push him away. Her legs were floating in the sea, her toes swaying with the waves. As she swayed, she accidentally touched the cold and beautiful scale, and then gently brushed it along the pattern of the scale as she swayed back.
His tail!
Ji Qingzhuo tightened her toes, lowered her head, and whispered, "Mr. Shen, can you please..."
She struggled to make her request, "Can you take me up? I can't... swim."
"But it's shallow here." Shen Rongyu didn't move, just smiled at her with a gentle voice.
"I'm sorry, I really can't." Ji Qingzhuo sighed helplessly, she couldn't control her limbs accurately.
"Okay." Shen Rongyu's lips curled up, and he grabbed her arm.
Ji Qingzhuo thought of something, "Last time when we went into the sea, you made it so that I didn't touch the water."
"That required me to use my power and maintain physical contact with you." Shen Rongyu said.
"It has to be physical contact?" Ji Qingzhuo sighed lightly, feeling a bit disappointed. She thought this technique could be applied more widely.
"Surprised?" Shen Rongyu didn't lift Ji Qingzhuo up and put her back on the shore. He lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "But... there are other ways for you to have a similar ability as me."
"Huh?" Ji Qingzhuo's eyes lit up when she heard this. She turned her head to ask Shen Rongyu, "What way? Can I... write it in a research report?"
Ji Qingzhuo's speech became slower and slower, because she turned her head and met Shen Rongyu's gaze. She fell into the ocean of his sight, sinking deep into the mud, as if it was difficult to look away.
His eyes seemed to have a bewitching power: "Of course, there is."
"Do you still remember the little favor you promised me, to fulfill one small request?" Shen Rongyu asked.
"Yes." Ji Qingzhuo nodded, she blinked hard, feeling like she had fallen into the web of a dream.
Under the moonlight, on the sea, the ripples shimmered. It was her and him.
"To gain my ability, you have to become someone like me." Shen Rongyu wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
He spoke in a very low voice, as if sharing an extremely secret secret, his whispers like the wind, falling into her ears.
"Sometimes, all it takes is a kiss." He said, his voice full of tenderness, as if deceiving an ignorant person into falling into a trap. He finally couldn't help it anymore and showed his fangs.