The rain in the Deep Sea carried a biting spring chill. The youth’s ice-blue eyes were the only bright spot in the dim world.
He didn’t seem to have much patience.
After waiting for a few seconds, he turned to leave.
Suddenly, he felt a tug on his sleeve. Yusen looked down to see the little rabbit sitting on the ground, pitifully clutching his hand and tearfully pressing her cheek against it.
"...Sensen, I’ll go with you."
’She didn’t want to be left here alone.’
’The Deep Sea Empire was so unfamiliar to her.’
’The only one she wanted to be close to was Yusen.’
’Even though the Yusen before her had changed into someone she didn’t recognize.’
The Mermaid Youth led the Rabbit Clan female out of the courtyard.
No one stopped them.
When the Steward of the Undersea Palace saw the little female following His Highness, he silently cleared a path.
Yu Zhizhi entered Yusen’s room in Bishui Pavilion. The layout was similar to Shen He’s, but this one had a terrace for sunbathing.
As soon as she entered, Yu Zhizhi felt the warmth.
She looked at the bathroom inside and couldn’t wait to soak in a hot bath.
A sound came from outside the door.
Yu Zhizhi hid by the edge of the tub, hearing them mention words like "meeting" and "ceremony."
When she came out after her bath, the room was empty.
Yusen had gone out.
Yu Zhizhi found the bed and climbed under the covers. As she listened to the rain pattering against the glass, the whole world seemed wonderfully quiet.
Pestered by the Little Octopus all night yesterday and soaked by the rain today, her consciousness began to fade. She clutched the blanket and sank into a deep sleep.
Yu Zhizhi dreamed of the small wooden cabin on Zero Star Street, its yard piled high with snow.
A familiar figure in a dark green uniform was shoveling snow. He got halfway through, then irritably threw down the shovel and muttered, "It snows every day, every single day. It never ends. I’m so sick of it!"
Yu Zhizhi happily called out—
"Louis!"
Only to see the young man lift a pair of emerald-green eyes and stare at her resentfully, his gaze a silent accusation that she had mistaken him for someone else.
’...Lou?’
Yu Zhizhi’s mind blanked for a second.
’Wasn’t it Louis who lived with me in the small cabin?’
’Why am I seeing Lou?’
When Yu Zhizhi woke up, she was still thinking about this question.
There was a familiar sticky feeling on her wrist. Yu Zhizhi touched it, but there was nothing there. Remembering the last time she saw the Spider, she quickly raised her hand to check, only to see a very faint pink mark.
’...Has the Spider been here?’
’Or was it Lou?’
But unlike the last dream, which had been incredibly real, this time the images were too fragmented to piece together into a complete memory.
The spring rain was still falling.
Yu Zhizhi turned over and saw a figure walking out of the bathroom. Yusen had finished his shower and was wearing a casual white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing the defined lines of his arms.
The Mermaid Youth glanced at the figure on the bed.
Seeing this, Yu Zhizhi silently scooted inward. With her clear, rabbit-like eyes wide, she gave up the warm spot where she had been sleeping, as if she were fulfilling a duty.
Yusen sat down without a word.
The youth’s cold aura washed over her, colder than the spring chill outside. Yu Zhizhi clutched the blanket, noticing Yusen was holding a scroll that bore a blue mark shaped like a wave from the Deep Sea.
’...Is he still busy?’
’I heard the old King is gravely ill. There must be many difficult matters within the Deep Sea.’
Yusen leaned against the headboard. The moment he sat down, he felt the lingering warmth in the spot where the little female had been sleeping.
It carried her unique, faint scent of jasmine and milk.
’I’ve dreamed of this countless times, only to wake up to disappointment. She can’t possibly be here.’
He couldn’t focus on a single word in the scroll.
Yusen realized how easily his focus was broken, and a trace of self-loathing rose within him. He tossed the scroll aside and snapped off the light.
CLICK.
The world went dark.
Yu Zhizhi saw the youth lie down and get under the covers, only for him to immediately turn his back to her.
This reminded her of their time in the small cabin. Whenever Sensen was unhappy, he would sulk just like this.
Yu Zhizhi slowly moved closer.
She didn’t say anything.
She simply pressed her forehead against his back, taking in the fresh, cool scent of the ocean on him.
"Sensen..." Yu Zhizhi called his name softly.
A long silence followed.
Just when she thought Yusen was going to ignore her, she suddenly heard his slightly hoarse voice. "Who were you dreaming of?"
’...A dream?’
Yu Zhizhi thought of Lou, and for a moment, she didn’t know how to answer.
A sharp pain stabbed at Yusen’s heart.
He remembered the little rabbit calling out the name "Louis" in her sleep. His jaw clenched, and his ice-blue eyes smoldered with a hidden rage in the darkness.
’He wasn’t angry at her.’
’He was angry at himself.’
’I’d promised myself I would let her go. Bringing her back was just for a bed warmer, nothing more.’
’I don’t need to care about her every move like I used to.’
’And I certainly don’t need to care who she holds in her heart, who occupies her thoughts, or who she sees in her dreams.’
’What does any of that have to do with me?’
A sudden sadness welled up in Yu Zhizhi’s heart. She didn’t know why. Perhaps it was because there seemed to be an uncrossable chasm between her and Yusen. Their bodies were so close, yet the distance between their hearts felt immense.
’Even if Yusen doesn’t want to hear it.’
’I still want to say it.’
"Sensen, I really did want to go with you then. But they wouldn’t let me leave."
Yu Zhizhi summoned her courage and hugged him from behind.
No matter how cold Sensen was now, she would always remember the Mermaid Youth who had lived with her on Zero Star Street.
Although Paradise was often hit by blizzards and had frigid temperatures, it had felt warmer to her than the Deep Sea.
She would always remember that time.
Free, pure, simple, yet warm.
Back then, Yu Zhizhi’s only worry was probably how to get pregnant with a "Mermaid Baby."
"My plan was to let you get back to the Deep Sea safely first, and then I’d come find you when I got the chance..."
’Sensen must be angry because I didn’t do what I promised.’
’That’s why he’s ignoring me now.’
Yu Zhizhi pressed her forehead against his back, the corners of her eyes growing moist. ’Sensen must have been so sad back then. He waited for me all night by the sea before he left the Divine City.’
’But I didn’t go.’
"Sensen, please don’t be angry anymore, okay? I’ve come to find you now, haven’t I...?"
"To be honest, when I was first captured on the ship by Lord Shen He, I was terrified. But then I heard them say the ship was heading for the Deep Sea Empire, and when I thought of you being here, I wasn’t so scared anymore."
She murmured softly.
Yusen’s back stiffened slightly. His hand gripping the edge of the bed tightened, as if he were desperately trying to suppress something.
Yu Zhizhi hugged his waist tighter. "But if you keep ignoring me, I’ll be a nervous wreck. I can’t even sleep soundly. Sensen, I don’t know anyone in the Deep Sea except for you..."
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