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It was English class, and when Liu Xingyu looked at Shen Yuan, she noticed he didn't have a book. Her face was still fierce, and even her ears were red, but she moved closer to Shen Yuan and carefully placed her English workbook between them.
Shen Yuan pushed the English book aside, rested his chin on one hand, and his eyes fell on Liu Xingyu's ear facing him. The girl's ear was extremely red, her skin is so fair and translucent that the blush stood out even more. Suddenly, Shen Yuan felt a slight itch at the tips of his fingers.
He lowered his gaze, his eyelashes masking the rising emotions within.
Liu Xingyu was oblivious to all of this. At the moment, she was consulting the system about her new powers, wondering, "What if I suddenly grew fish fins?" Just the thought of it gave her chills. Xiao Jiu reassured her that wouldn't happen, and if she were to change, there would be hints beforehand.
After staying like that for the entire class, the bell finally rang. Only then did she remember she had been sitting next to Shen Yuan without taking the chance to improve her relationship with him, and she regretted it. But after recalling that Shen Yuan had accepted her tutoring, she became optimistic again.
"It's okay, I'll have plenty of other chances from now on," she thought.
While she was packing up, those girls approached her again. "Really diehard fans, indeed. Shen Yuan's admirers are as stubborn as he is," she mused to herself.
"Hello, I'm Zhuo Lan. I'm throwing a birthday party tonight. Would you like to come?"
Liu Xingyu was surprised by the invitation. She looked closely at the girl, who was smiling and seemed to be planning something. Liu Xingyu didn't have the patience or energy to play games with these obsessive fans and was about to refuse when Xiao Jiu suddenly spoke in her head.
"Host, accept the invitation. Shen Yuan will also be there. Remember, in the storyline, he always attends any parties he's invited to."
The system's reminder made Xingyu excited. That's right—she had to go, no matter what these girls were planning. She still had to build a good relationship with Shen Yuan, and maybe the party would be a good reason to do so. Liu Xingyu suddenly smiled, her smile so beautiful, like a pearl shimmering under moonlight, pure as a crystal-clear spring. Even the girls found it hard to resist that smile, which carried a blend of warmth and tenderness, like an invitation to peace and tranquility.
Zhuo Lan and her group quickly recovered, and after confirming Liu Xingyu's attendance, they left.
The day passed quickly, with no conversations between Xingyu and Shen Yuan since the morning, but this time she wasn't in a hurry.
When she returned home, Liu Xingyu quickly prepared herself for the party. On her way back, she had bought a suitable birthday gift and a simple yet elegant blue dress with light jewelry to wear tonight.
By nine, she was on her way to the party. The party was in a nearby villa area. Many students from her school lived there since it was a wealthy area and one of the best neighborhoods. Luckily, she found a house nearby quite easily.
Zhuo Lan seemed to be very popular, as almost all her classmates she recognized from school had shown up. The students had gathered their gifts on a large table in the living room, and Liu Xingyu also went to place her gift there. Zhuo Lan spotted her and approached before she could do so. With a fake smile, she said, "Oh, Liu Xingyu, you came! I thought you might not know the way. Did you have any trouble getting in here? You know, this place isn't exactly open to… the lower class."
The girls around Zhuo Lan laughed without even trying to hide it. The news of Liu Xingyu trying to get close to Shen Yuan had spread among all the girls, and they all hated her for it.
Liu Xingyu didn't react much to their comments. She kept a polite smile and handed the gift to Zhuo Lan.
"Happy birthday! I wish you a year filled with joy, health, and a long life full of success and happiness—everything you wish for."
Zhuo Lan, who had been mocking Liu Xingyu, suddenly felt embarrassed. But after a moment, she regained her composure and took the gift with arrogance, saying,
"What's this little box, Lui xingue ? Don't tell me you just wrote a card or bought something cheap and brought it here?"
"You can open it if you're curious," Liu Xingyu said with a smile. Zhuo Lan looked at her suspiciously, then opened the gift. Everyone who had been expecting a joke from Liu Xingyu was surprised.
This wasn't a cheap gift, as everyone had assumed. It was a set of famous, newly released jewelry. The jewelry was very expensive, even for these second-generation rich kids. It wasn't that they couldn't afford it, but their parents wouldn't agree to give them two million just to buy jewelry.
Zhuo Lan and everyone else looked at Liu Xingyu. They had always thought she was a poor girl, but it seemed that wasn't the case. After thanking her, Zhuo Lan left, and Liu Xingyu went to the food table to grab something to eat. While eating, she looked around for Shen Yuan but couldn't find him.
"Could it be that he didn't come?" she thought to herself.
"Hey, Xiao Jiu, find out where Shen Yuan is and tell me," she requested.
After waiting a moment, Xiao Jiu, whose voice grew more human each time she spoke to him, replied, "Host, Shen Yuan is by the pool on the eastern side of the villa. You can go there by exiting through the glass door on your left in the corner."
"Oh, thank you."
Liu Xingyu quickly went to the pool. As she walked, she felt warmth slowly spreading through her body. She thought it was just from moving from the warm villa into the cold air and didn't think much of it.
Unfortunately, it wasn't due to the temperature...
When she arrived at the pool, she saw Shen Yuan standing there, smoking. She was surprised; she hadn't known he was a smoker.
"I think your fans would have a heart attack if they knew the perfect male god of their school is actually a smoker," she teased.
Shen Yuan turned his head after hearing her words and saw a beautiful girl with long hair draped over her shoulders, wearing a short indigo-blue dress, with a small white legs Under it, and pretty white heels. She was simply radiating, lighting up the area around her.
Shen Yuan stared at her with those lifeless eyes, but if you looked closely, you would see deep emotions hidden within them.
Liu Xingyu wasn't intimidated and gestured to the ground where Shen Yuan stood. "Don't tell me you're planning to leave all those cigarette butts lying around."
"That's none of your business. Get lost."
"Oh dear, he really seems to be in a bad mood today," Liu Xingyu thought, continuing to approach him. "Why are you mad? I was just saying. By the way, the party is inside. Why are you here alone?"
"It's none of your business," Shen Yuan repeated.
"Okay, okay, I won't ask. But staying alone isn't good. How about I keep your company for a bit?"
Shen Yuan looked at her for a moment without saying anything, then looked away. So, she stayed beside him. When he finished his cigarette, he flicked it, and it landed in the pool.
Liu Xingyu looked at him, sighed, then leaned forward, knelt by the pool, and tried to reach for the cigarette. Suddenly, her ankle twisted due to her high heels, her body shuddered, and she fell into the pool.
The villa's outdoor pool was large and deep. Liu Xingyu, being from inland and never able to learn swimming despite numerous attempts, had given up. She sank into the water, swallowing pool water, panicked, and flailed helplessly.
She slowly sank to the pool's bottom. The expected drowning sensation only lasted a short while, but Liu Xingyu was extremely scared and unconsciously held her breath.
Gradually, her legs merged together in the water, a blue light flashing for a second before transforming her legs into a beautiful, shimmering blue fish tail.
All of this happened while Liu Xingyu had her eyes tightly shut, oblivious to it all. Tears flowed from her eyes like a waterfall, turning into small, beautiful pearls sinking to the bottom of the pool.
Shen Yuan, who had walked away after flicking his cigarette, saw Liu Xingyu fall into the pool and immediately jumped in to save her.
He froze at the sight, his usual calm expression cracked. After a moment, he snapped out of it and swam quickly to reach her.
The moment he touched her, Liu Xingyu, shocked and frightened, clung to him like a child clinging to his parent. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, pressing her body against his, and even her fish tail coiled tightly around Shen Yuan's body, trembling all the way to the tips of its fins.
Liu Xingyu was still in shock, hugging Shen Yuan and not moving, tears streaming down her face, continuously dripping onto Shen Yuan's neck before soaking into the water.
Shen Yuan kept holding her, gazing at her deeply, but no one could discern his emotions from that look.
After a while, Shen Yuan moved and pulled Liu Xingyu to the edge of the pool, lifting her out of the water. Liu Xingyu still kept her eyes closed, clutching Shen Yuan's neck, crying silently. Shen Yuan looked at her.
When she opened her eyes, he said to her, "Liu Xingyu, what the hell are you?"
Liu Xingyu was taken aback, looking at him for a moment before getting angry. "What? I told you not to throw your cigarettes on the ground! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have fallen into the pool, and instead of apologizing to me, you're insulting me now."
"Shen Yuan, are you even human?"
"I'm the one who should be asking that question." He replied, pointing his chin at her to look down.
Liu Xingyu followed his gaze and then screamed. Suddenly, her tail moved rapidly, splashing water on Shen Yuan.
Liu Xingyu was stunned; even though she knew she had mermaid powers, she never imagined that a fish tail would grow on her. Well, she knew, but knowing and seeing are two different things.
"Since when can't fish swim?" Shen Yuan's voice pulled her out of her daze. She looked at him just as he was climbing out of the pool, and without thinking, Liu Xingyu grabbed his clothes.
"Don't go."
Shen Yuan glanced at her, then brushed her hand away and stepped out. Liu Xingyu felt anxious that Shen would leave her here or call the police or anyone.
Perhaps due to the influence of her mermaid powers, she became very sensitive and started crying, with pearls falling one after another into the water.
Shen Yuan, who had exited the pool and turned his head toward Liu Xingyu, planning to pull her out, saw this scene. Perhaps because he found it magical and unbelievable, he sat beside her, raised his hand, and touched her cheek before picking up one of the small falling pearls.
Liu Xingyu was surprised and stopped crying quickly. Shen Yuan looked at her. "Are you planning to stay here and cry until someone finds you and hands you over to those crazy scientists? I bet they will chop you up like sushi."
Liu Xingyu gasped in shock, shaking her head quickly. Then she hugged Shen Yuan's waist. "No, take me with you."
Shen Yuan chuckled softly. "How do you know I won't hand you over myself?"
Liu Xingyu paused for a moment, then tightened her grip on his waist and said nothing. It was clear that she was afraid he might really do that, but she didn't let go. Shen Yuan was genuinely surprised by this.
Shen Yuan stopped teasing her, put the pearl in his pocket, and took out his phone, which, fortunately, still worked after being submerged in water.
Rich people always get the best things.
After he called his driver and ordered him to bring the car behind the villa, Shen Yuan carried Liu Xingyu to one of the seats, covering her tail with his jacket.
When they reached the car, he ordered her not to move, then went to the vehicle. Liu Xingyu was afraid he would leave her and go away, but she could do nothing but obey his words.
Shen Yuan brought a blanket from the car and wrapped her in it before putting her in the vehicle, and they headed to his home.
... Yes, his home.
Liu Xingyu, who had just experienced drowning and transforming into a mermaid, couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep on Shen Yuan's shoulder.
It can be said that she fainted, so she didn't realize that Shen Yuan had taken her to his home.
Even the driver was surprised; his young master was not the kind to allow anyone into his territory, yet here he was, carrying a drowning girl and taking her to his home. Nevertheless, it wasn't his business to pry into his master's privacy; all he had to do was follow orders.
To be continued...