Chapter 72: I Am Not A Merman (IX)

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Chapter 72: I Am Not A Merman (IX)

With experimental material available, the research institute stopped pressuring Qin Yuan quite so aggressively. The dolphin fans, however, began making a fuss because there had been no new videos of Flame and Wave’s daily lives online for several days.

So Shang Ke transformed back into a dolphin and resumed livestreaming his carefree underwater life. Wave was already more than a year old but still far from independent and continued clinging to Shang Ke. If he went more than a few hours without seeing him, he would throw a tantrum that none of the other keepers could handle. Yet the moment Shang Ke appeared, Wave would immediately brighten up and become unbelievably well behaved, as though the little troublemaker from moments earlier had been an entirely different dolphin.

Shang Ke led him through every part of the aquarium’s interconnected waters, teaching him how to hunt, leap, breathe, hide, and… scare people. Their activities were different every day, leaving the fans thoroughly entertained and wishing they could jump through the screen to play with them.

When Qin Yuan entered the aquarium, Shang Ke was leading Wave through a huge glass tank. The tank was five meters tall and circular, connected to both the inner and outer waters, forming a semi-natural, semi-artificial environment.

The moment Shang Ke spotted Qin Yuan, he immediately swam up to the glass and winked at him, then stood upright in the water and displayed his white belly.

Wave copied him, except he did it upside down.

Qin Yuan stared wordlessly at the two white bellies, one right-side up and one upside down.

At that moment, a dugong slowly swam past behind Shang Ke, lazily glancing at them out of the corner of its eye.

Shang Ke turned around, climbed onto the dugong, and let it carry him through the water. Wave followed behind its tail, darting from side to side.

Qin Yuan recognized the dugong as the one that had previously been brought in as a potential breeding partner for Flame. Seeing Flame play with it so happily immediately gave him a sense of crisis. Flame could transform! What if one day he got tired of being human and decided to turn into a dugong for a change of mood? And then found a female dugong to mate with?

At the thought, Qin Yuan’s entire face darkened. He quickly caught up with Flame, tapped on the glass, and said, “Flame, maintain a safe distance from other creatures. Don’t forget that you’re already a dolphin with a partner.”

Shang Ke glanced at him and thought this man was worrying over absolutely nothing.

Qin Yuan did not think he was worrying unnecessarily at all. Ordinary people only had to guard against the men and women around their lovers. The rivals Qin Yuan had to guard against, however, were not even limited by species! Practically any living creature could become a potential romantic rival, with marine life posing the greatest threat.

Just thinking about such an enormous army of potential love rivals was terrifying, all right?!

Flame was not truly human and therefore was not bound by human morals and laws. What if one day, on a whim, he fell for some other creature, switched species in minutes, and abandoned Qin Yuan?

Qin Yuan decided he needed to give Flame a thorough lesson on the human concept of marriage before some other creature seduced him away while he wasn’t paying attention.

That evening, Qin Yuan downloaded several deeply moving romance films, pulled Shang Ke onto the bed to watch them together, and even prepared his favorite dried-fish snacks and doughnuts.

This world’s 3D technology was already extremely advanced, creating an almost completely immersive viewing experience. So although the plots were ridiculously melodramatic, Shang Ke still watched with great interest.

Qin Yuan’s attention, however, was nowhere near the movie. He kept sneaking glances at Flame beside him, watching his mouth move continuously as he happily enjoyed both the film and his snacks.

At that moment, Flame suddenly stopped chewing, apparently having seen something that surprised him.

Qin Yuan turned toward the screen and discovered that the movie had reached an explicit bed scene between the male and female leads, presenting an unmistakably adults-only sequence in considerable detail.

Qin Yuan inwardly cursed his own carelessness. Why hadn’t he screened these movies beforehand? Watching something like this wouldn’t have any strange effects on Flame, would it? Just as Qin Yuan hesitated over changing the movie or fast-forwarding, Flame suddenly said, “So mating between a male and a female is the correct way.”

Qin Yuan: “…” Why do I suddenly have a terrible feeling about this?!

Flame continued, “We’re both male. It seems like we shouldn’t mate.”

“No!” Qin Yuan said solemnly. “Mating isn’t restricted by gender!”

“But two males can’t reproduce.” Shang Ke pointed at the screen and analyzed the issue with a spirit of scientific inquiry. “The movie just said that only a male and a female can produce offspring.”

Qin Yuan immediately switched off the movie. “That isn’t the whole story. As long as two people love each other, they can mate.”

“But reproduction is every species’ responsibility. A species that can’t reproduce will eventually become extinct.” Shang Ke declared righteously, “I can’t be an irresponsible dolphin!”

Qin Yuan: No. Please, by all means, be irresponsible!

Qin Yuan took a deep breath and said earnestly, “Flame, remember the ‘experimental material’ you left with the research institute? Even if I never have descendants, you certainly won’t be short of offspring! Their bloodlines may not be completely pure, but they’ll all carry traces of your genes.”

Flame’s genes could promote the fusion of sperm and egg and greatly increase the chance of conception. That much had already been verified, although complete human trials had not yet been conducted. Babies conceived through this method would display effects imparted by Flame’s genes, but that did not mean they would actually be related to him by blood; the dolphin genes primarily served to improve the viability of the reproductive cells.

Of course, Qin Yuan had absolutely no intention of explaining that distinction to Flame. Otherwise, the dolphin might decide to shoulder the sacred responsibility of reproduction all over again!

“Really?” Shang Ke gazed at Qin Yuan with those crystal-clear eyes.

“Really.” Qin Yuan nodded firmly. “So you don’t need to worry about reproduction at all.” If Flame truly wanted a child that badly, then someday Qin Yuan could let him choose a species he liked and have a child created for him.

Considering how rare dolphins were, Qin Yuan felt that refusing to let Flame leave behind even a single child would indeed be too selfish.

Seeing that Qin Yuan had genuinely been led in circles by the nonsense Shang Ke had deliberately used to tease him, Shang Ke snickered inwardly. He leaned backward against Qin Yuan and lazily said, “Fine, then. We won’t reproduce. We’ll just love each other.”

Qin Yuan’s expression immediately relaxed, and he silently breathed a sigh of relief. No more romance movies in the future! Who knew what other species-survival dilemmas Flame might derive from watching men and women fall in love?

“Flame, how about I take you out tomorrow?” Qin Yuan suddenly suggested.

Flame had been capable of taking human form for several months now but had never left the aquarium. Qin Yuan thought it was time to take him out and let him have some fun.

Shang Ke’s eyes filled with delight. He raised his head and gave Qin Yuan a dolphin-style kiss to show just how pleased he was with the idea.

The next day, Qin Yuan left the aquarium with Shang Ke dressed up to look positively delectable. Their first destination was that classic dating paradise—the amusement park.

Although Shang Ke initially regarded the excited crowds with the aloof dignity of an untouchable flower on a lofty peak, the moment he actually joined the fun, his dolphin nature revealed itself completely. He became as radiant with excitement as the sun itself, nearly blinding Qin Yuan.

After lunch, Qin Yuan took Shang Ke shopping and bought him piles of clothes, snacks, toys, and everyday necessities.

Qin Yuan wanted to spoil Flame beyond reason until he could no longer bear the thought of leaving him.

Dolphins were not naturally monogamous. That was part of their species’ nature, something Qin Yuan could not change. But perhaps the bond they cultivated over time could still tie this dolphin’s heart to him and make Flame a partner who belonged to him alone.

The two stayed out until the evening lights came on before finally returning to the aquarium.

Several staff members immediately looked relieved when they saw them return. One exclaimed, “You’re finally back! Haiyan, hurry and go see Wave—he’s almost done for!”

What? Almost done for?

Shang Ke’s expression changed and he immediately rushed toward Wave’s pool, with Qin Yuan close behind him.

With a splash, Shang Ke jumped straight into the water without even removing his clothes.

Qin Yuan remained on shore and coldly asked the staff, “What happened?”

The staff member who had spoken earlier shrank back and gave an awkward laugh. “Sorry. It’s my fault for not explaining clearly…”

What “almost done for”? Complete nonsense!

Shang Ke looked at Wave, who was cheerfully swimming toward him, then at the coral beds the calf had thoroughly wrecked. Unable to resist, he poked Wave in the forehead and scolded, “Throwing another tantrum? I was only gone for one day.”

Wave rubbed against him pitifully, expressing that he had truly felt empty, lonely, and cold.

“Don’t make such a mess next time, or none of the little fish will want to be friends with you.”

Wave gave Shang Ke a look. Don’t take advantage of me just because I’m young. How could little fish possibly be friends with a dolphin? They’d get eaten in minutes, okay?

Despite disagreeing completely on the inside, Wave obediently nodded and put on a sincerely repentant expression.

Shang Ke knew his temperament far too well to waste more words. He tilted his head slightly and released a melodious dolphin song, soothing the frightened aquatic creatures around them.

Seeing this, Wave matched his frequency and joined in with a clear, resonant song of his own.

The surface of the water trembled gently. Qin Yuan and the others standing on shore could also hear the unique, beautiful notes. In the stillness of the night, they sounded almost like the song of a mermaid, filling everyone with an incomparable sense of peace…

That night, while the staff weren’t paying attention, Shang Ke transformed into a dolphin in one of the surveillance blind spots and stayed underwater with Wave, leaving Qin Yuan alone in an empty bed.

Qin Yuan was deeply depressed. Whenever he saw Flame making “skin-to-skin contact” with another creature, he immediately worried that something inappropriate might happen between them. Even perfectly ordinary physical contact could make him tense for ages.

Shang Ke had vaguely noticed that something was wrong with Qin Yuan. Every time he played with other creatures underwater, a certain someone looked ready to begin a massacre. Yet he refused to say anything, apparently unconcerned that bottling it all up might cause internal injuries.

That evening, Shang Ke washed himself until he smelled wonderfully clean, then climbed into bed beside Qin Yuan while hugging his dolphin pillow.

Qin Yuan held his hand, his gaze deep and unmistakably melancholy.

Shang Ke stared at him for a while. Seeing that Qin Yuan truly had no intention of saying anything, he pulled the man’s hand in front of him and looked at the sapphire ring on his finger. Then Shang Ke raised both his own hands, turned them back and forth, and asked, “Qin Yuan, don’t you think there’s something missing from my hand?”

Qin Yuan studied them carefully for a moment before answering, “Fair and soft. All ten fingers intact.”

Shang Ke: “…” With romantic instincts this terrible, you deserve to have no friends!

He gave Qin Yuan a smile that clearly said, I still want to save you, but my heart is so tired, then rolled over and righteously refused to mate with him.

The next day, a thoroughly frustrated Qin Yuan remained in a foul mood from morning to night. To make matters worse, he met with a married couple who kept openly displaying their affection in front of him. Qin Yuan mercilessly squeezed them for every advantage he could, sending them tumbling straight from the river of love into the Dead Sea.

Before leaving, the client’s wife suddenly asked, “President Qin, are you engaged?”

Qin Yuan casually replied, “No.”

The woman smiled. “I saw the ring on your hand and thought you were engaged.”

Qin Yuan froze. His gaze dropped to the sapphire ring on his hand, and his mind practically exploded as he remembered Flame’s question from the night before: “Don’t you think there’s something missing from my hand?”

How could he be this stupid?!

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