However, Yu Mian was not as unaware as Bai Lande thought, he had a clear understanding of his own abilities and the value of his book.
After all, “Contract Marriage” was a purely commercial novel, with every beat and plot twist carefully designed.
What was happening now was just a small appetizer. The upcoming climactic plot of chasing the wife and its ensuing rollercoaster would definitely bring a surge in subscriptions and reach.
This novel had been tailor-made to cater to readers’ tastes and preferences, a goal Yu Mian had set in due to the emergency inorder to complete his initial task.
[Fish: But for now, I can only sign contracts online—I might not be able to meet in person. qwq]
[Bai Lande: Ah, is it because your legs can’t walk?]
Yu Mian had only sent half his message when Bai Lande’s reply arrived.
[Fish: Uh… yes and no. It’s because I might be moving houses soon.]
[Fish: And my legs aren’t quite what you’re imagining [kneeling.jpg]. I just can’t walk temporarily. Maybe I’ll have the chance to visit you after a while. For now, I’m probably living on the central star.]
Bai Lande was a bit surprised by Yu Mian’s response.
So this young author wasn’t from some remote star system?
In fact, they were both on the central stat!
Come to think of it, the other party had never explicitly mentioned where he lived, he had completely filled in the gaps himself.
A while later, Yu Mian posted an update in his friend circle:
[Fish: First meal! It was delicious. All finished. [Picture]]
The picture was of an empty lunchbox, completely cleaned out.
But what caught Bai Lande’s attention wasn’t the empty lunchbox—it was the hand holding it.
It was nothing like the rough, muscular hands he had imagined, from someone who might have taken low-grade genetic improvement drugs.
Instead, it was a pair of hands without a single callus. They were even glowing faintly in the sunlight, clearly hands that had never done rough labor.
Strange!
Could it be that this young author was actually a mysterious rich second-generation who started a writing career when his family fell into poverty?
Yu Mian had no idea about the wild assumptions Bai Lande was making. Instead, he glanced once more at the friend request he had sent to the editor.
Still no response.
Maybe the editor was too busy to notice, or perhaps the message had been missed?
After resending the request, Yu Mian decided to shut down his light brain.
He had made a plan with Huo Yan and asked him to come with a small fish tank as soon as possible to pack up both him and the conch.
After all, the owner of the study, Huo Ting, would be returning to the central star soon.
If he didn’t leave now, it would be too late.
With a soft “plop”, Yu Mian restored everything to its original state, then used his mental power to transform back into a small fish and leapt into the fish tank.
The school of fish immediately surrounded him.
“You’re leaving soon?”
Though few words were spoken, the reluctance in their tone was obvious.
“Yes, but I’ve already arranged with Huo Yan that if the aquarium is ever thrown away, he’ll make sure someone releases you all back into the sea,” Yu Mian said, flicking his golden tail as he explained his plan with Huo Yan to the fish.
Even so, they were all still reluctant. None of them had expected the separation to come so soon.
“But leaving is probably the right choice. You’re so unique, if that two-legged beast discovers you, the consequences could be unimaginable.”
One of the fish analyzed the situation seriously, and everyone agreed. For a special and beautiful mermaid like Yu Mian, it was indeed better to stay far away from that dangerous individual.
Even though they had only wandered around the aquarium, animal instincts were always sharp!
“Hey, hey, hey, I’m here!”
A few nights later, the study door opened right on schedule. Huo Yan entered excitedly, holding a crystal jar as he waved at Yu Mian in the water.
The crystal jar he had found was just the right size to be held in his arms.
It seemed it had once been used to store holiday candies. It was sturdy, spacious, and even had a lid.
After filling the jar halfway with water from the aquarium, Huo Yan carefully reached into the tank, scooping out Yu Mian who was still hidden in the conch shell, along with the shell.
“This conch shell is pretty good-looking,” Huo Yan couldn’t help but comment as he studied the shell closely.
Under the light, its faint gold shimmer was striking, a far cry from the ordinary shells found on beaches.
After placing Yu Mian into the crystal jar, Huo Yan raised the jar and inspected it once again to ensure he was fine. Then he screwed the lid securely onto the jar and tucked it into his backpack. He quietly left the study, turning off the lights as he went.
‘Hehehe, as long as I made it through the hall and the corridor, I can return to my room. Mission accomplished!’
That cousin of his didn’t deserve to keep Yu Mian anyway.
He had no idea how to care for him and would never make a qualified mermaid keeper!
Everything seemed to be going perfectly.
That was until Huo Yan, who was sneaking through the dark, silently crossed the corridor and pushed open the double doors of the hall—only to be greeted by a blinding golden light.
The hall was brightly lit.
“Oh my, young master, weren’t you already asleep?”
The nanny, Qian Ni, exclaimed in shock, which startled Huo Yan and he froze in shock. His wide eyes darted toward his equally surprised parents standing behind her.
‘Ah? Why are my parents back!?’
Weren’t they supposed to leave him alone at his grandfather’s house for the summer while they conducted research in an alien galaxy?
“Huo Yan? Why aren’t you in bed so late? And where are your slippers?”
“Wearing pajamas and holding a backpack—where were you planning to go?”
Madam Inas handed her coat to a servant and crouched down to look at her son.
“Ah, Mom… Cousin!?”
Huo Yan’s mind momentarily went blank. He clutched his backpack tighter, suddenly realizing something else.
If his parents were back, then… his cousin might be back too!
Wasn’t he supposed to return on the weekend?
There were still a few days left!
“…”
Huo Ting had just gotten off the car and was standing silently at the entrance to the hall, fresh from his journey and the faint chill of stardust still clinging to him.
He hadn’t even had time to change out of his crisp military uniform.
“Huo Yan, what kind of behavior is this?”
“Your cousin traveled so far to bring mom and dad back from the research star system, and this is how you welcome him? How do you behave in etiquette class at school?”
Madam Inas glanced at Huo Ting, then back at her youngest son, suppressing the urge to sigh in exasperation for the umpteenth time.
“Uh… Cousin, good evening! Thanks for your hard work! Mom, Dad, I’m going to bed now.”
Huo Yan blurted out his greetings at lightning speed, ready to bolt.
This place was clearly a danger zone!
“Wait a moment. What’s in your backpack?”
Madam Inas grabbed the back of Huo Yan’s shirt effortlessly.
Despite her elegant and refined appearance, Madam Inas was surprisingly strong. She easily lifted Huo Yan like a radish.
“Books! I was just studying…”
Huo Yan tried to lie through his teeth, his face tense.
But he found that everyone was just looking at him in amusement.
Huo Yan: ?
“Judging by your direction, it seems you just came out of your cousin’s study.”
Madam Inas glanced at the door Huo Yan had exited from, exposing his route with ease.
“Y-yeah, exactly! I suddenly needed to look something up!”
Huo Yan’s internal alarms went off at full blast.
“Huo Yan, failing your exam is one thing, but hiding and lying about it is another.”
“Let go, hand it over.”
“The electronic version of your report card was already sent to us by the school. You can’t hide it just by secretly taking the report from your cousin’s study.”
Madam Inas had originally intended to tease her son, but upon realizing that Huo Yan was trying to lie, she snatched the backpack from his hands with disappointment.
However, the moment she felt the weight and the noticeable water ripples coming from the backpack, she was taken aback.
“Ah! Don’t shake my jar! He’ll get hurt!”
Huo Yan was so anxious at this point that he was practically sweating. He had originally planned to steal his report card back, but after meeting Yu Mian, he completely forgot about it.
Moreover, he had promised Yu Mian to take good care of him and bring him back.
Who knew the jar would be shaking like this—would it hurt him?
In the midst of the chaos, Madam Inas also realized she had misunderstood, so she loosened her grip and tried to return the backpack to Huo Yan.
But in his panic, Huo Yan couldn’t hold it properly, and the backpack seemed to be falling to the ground.
“It’s going to break—!”
Huo Yan was so anxious that he was sweating profusely and rushed over to try to catch it.
However, the next moment, he found the backpack, which was just a millimeter away from his hands, gently suspended in midair.
At the last possible moment, Huo Ting had grabbed the strap of the backpack, and was looking down at Huo Yan who was on the floor.
The arm with smooth muscle lines was as steady as a rock, radiating an indescribable sense of security.
“That’s great… I knew you’d catch it, Cousin!”
Huo Yan let out a deep breath. He felt as though half his soul had left him and completely collapsed to the ground.
One could say that his feelings of both hate and trust towards his cousin had never changed since childhood.
Huo Ting, rarely amused by Huo Yan’s relieved look, glanced at him as he held the backpack and asked, “So, what’s inside?”
Almost everyone in the hall turned their gaze toward Huo Yan, following Huo Ting’s question.
There was no room left to hide.
“Sigh, if you want to see, just look. But be gentle, okay? He’s very fragile!”
Huo Yan felt helpless and frustrated. His secret plan to transport Yu Mian had completely failed.
So the next moment, Yu Mian, who was dizzy from spinning in the jar, was lifted from the backpack and the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was an unexpected gaze.
The person in front of him had a natural air of detachment, and when their eyes met as Huo Ting looked down, the very breath in the air seemed to carry a chill.
Yu Mian even caught a faint, illusory smell of blood…
“He really likes staying inside your aquarium’s conch shell, so I took him out with the shell.”
“Cousin, can you please give it to me to raise? You don’t like keeping pets anyway.”
Huo Yan, who was completely unaware of the situation, was sitting on the ground, looking up at his cousin who was staring at the glass jar in his hand intently.
[Ding! S-Class mental power collection target detected!]
To Yu Mian’s surprise, the long-lost mechanical notification sound appeared at that moment.
[Novel Encyclopedia Tip: Approaching high-level plot characters may help you harvest a large amount of mental power and other valuable gifts!]
‘Hmm? Approaching this guy will harvest mental power?’
Yu Mian’s gaze immediately shifted toward Huo Ting. As someone who always struggled with not having enough mental power to write, this sudden change in perspective intrigued him.
The more mental power, the more he could write.
The more he wrote, the higher his manuscript fees and popularity would be.
Could this person be… the legendary…Gold Mountain?
*Symbolic Meaning: a symbol of wealth, prosperity, or a treasure trove.
