At that moment, Yu Mian was hiding at the corner of the wall not far away, his heart racing.
“Is this guy really sick or just pretending? He opened the door so fast!”
If he had been just a step slower in running after slipping the note under the door, Huo Ting would have caught him.
If he could move that quickly even while sick, it was ridiculous!
[I think it’s more likely that you haven’t walked in so long that your legs feel unfamiliar.]
The little system quietly added as it looked at Yu Mian.
Yu Mian glanced at his legs.
“That… might be true. Or maybe it’s because of growing pains.”
Like how bones could ache when one had a growth spurt, maybe the shedding of scales for a growing mermaid could make their legs uncomfortable and their balance worse.
“Hiss… And there are still some scales on my ankles that haven’t finished changing!”
Lifting the robe the system had conjured for him, Yu Mian revealed two well-proportioned, fair calves and discovered that his ankles were still covered in a thin layer of golden scales.
The scales didn’t look frightening; rather, they had a strange, indescribable beauty, like a circle of shimmering crystal jewelry adorning his ankles.
[They’re actually quite pretty!]
The little system was fascinated, watching as Yu Mian curiously raised his toes. The scales on his ankles reflected the light with his movements, so mesmerizing it was hard to look away.
“They just itch a little…”
Yu Mian bent down to touch the scales on his ankles. He was tempted to peel one off but restrained himself.
Since the scales were already falling off, pulling some off himself would only make the shedding worse.
[Don’t pull at them. Once they fall off naturally, it should be fine. You’ll feel much better soaking in water.]
The little system actually didn’t have much experience, but it stopped Yu Mian from messing with the scales and offered some tentative advice.
Distracted by the scales on his ankles, neither Yu Mian nor the system noticed Huo Ting picking up the scale that had fallen off while fleeing.
When Yu Mian poked his head out from behind the wall again, cautiously and curiously looking toward Huo Ting’s living quarters, he saw that his note was already gone.
“He took it. Will he reply right away?”
[Maybe. Let’s check later. Go soak your tail first!]
Inside the bedroom, the note had been unfolded and set aside.
Huo Ting sat at the desk, his gaze fixed on the light gold, crystal-like fragment resting in his palm.
On any other day, he might have suspected it to be an accessory dropped by a visitor, but with recent happenings, such an idea was impossible.
After all, very few people had been allowed on the second floor lately.
Qiao Ni never wore jewelry while working.
What’s more, as Huo Ting observed the fragment, his sharp senses faintly detected a familiar, subtle fragrance…the scent of the essence he had brought back from the mall.
This was a scale.
And it was very likely freshly shed.
When Huo Ting confirmed his deduction, the faintly cool fragment in his hand suddenly seemed to burn. Subconsciously, he placed it back onto the paper note on the desk.
After all, in interstellar social etiquette, most races with scales attached great importance to the collection and preservation of their scales.
Touching or holding them without consent was considered deeply offensive.
“Still quite young,” Huo Ting muttered.
At this moment, he became certain that the one staying in his study must not be very old, perhaps even separated from the elders in the clan, leaving the other party ignorant of basic norms.
Scale shedding was a phenomenon common to many scaled races and usually occurred around adulthood. During this time, it was customary to take leave and rest at home until the process was complete before returning to work or school.
“…”
Huo Ting’s gaze returned to the note and a peculiar emotion flickered in his eyes.
He hadn’t even taken care of himself, yet he still came to check on others.
In some sense, Huo Ting suddenly understood the exasperation Hals and Qiao Ni often felt toward him.
—
Knock! Knock!
The knock on the study door startled Yu Mian, who had been soaking half his tail in the aquarium. His eyes widened slightly as he turned to look at the door.
In the next moment, he swiftly transformed back into his small fish form, flicking his tail as he darted into the aquarium’s decorative coral reef.
“Huo Ting’s here?”
[Most likely!]
It seemed Huo Ting anticipated that the “guest” inside would need some time to prepare. After knocking, he waited a full thirty seconds before turning the gilded handle.
When he opened the study door, Huo Ting’s gaze inevitably landed on the huge and eye-catching aquarium in the room.
The vivid fish swam gracefully among the coral and aquatic plants, the shimmering water casting a dreamy glow.
Something he had never paid much attention to suddenly became the prime suspect for a certain possibility.
After Huo Ting left, Yu Mian cautiously emerged from the water, holding onto the edge of the aquarium as he hesitantly eyed the now-closed door.
The long, black eyelashes were wet and clung together, framing his confused eyes with a misty sheen, like morning stars glistening with dew.
“Why was he staring at the aquarium?”
For a moment, he thought he had been discovered.
[Maybe he realized no one’s cleaned the tank for days? Didn’t he just leave without doing anything?]
After all, ever since Huo Ting’s explicit instructions to keep unnecessary personnel off the second floor, even the maintenance of this luxurious aquarium had become less frequent.
“Hmm…”
Yu Mian lowered his head and thought for a moment. He felt that the system might be right, but he couldn’t resist checking for a reply from Huo Ting.
—Not serious, but stay away for the next few months. It’s contagious and dangerous. – Huo
“This makes no sense.”
Yu Mian frowned at the note, finding the statement “not serious” contradictory to “dangerous”.
What was wrong with this guy?
He was, after all, Yu Mian’s “power bank”.
Without contact with Huo Ting, the speed of replenishing his mental power would be significantly slower.
If Huo Ting was really in trouble, Yu Mian felt somewhat obligated to “repair” him.
After all, it was thanks to Huo Ting’s help in purchasing skincare products that his tail had been so comfortable lately.
[It’s probably related to his mental sea. While your mental power has a soothing effect, you’d need direct contact for it to work… uh.]
The system seemed to pick up on Yu Mian’s intentions but didn’t fully agree.
As a result, just as the little system was muttered, the backend system prompt that had not appeared for a long time appeared again!
[Ding! Daily Task Detected]
[Resolve the discovered issue within 30 days. Completion rewards include the waiver of one month’s rent and internet fees. A special condition bonus is detected, so the daily task reward will be doubled from now on.]
“Wow… What’s this about a special condition bonus and doubled rewards? When did I trigger this?”
Yu Mian perked up instantly.
[I have no idea how you got this bonus, but it’s doubled?]
“So strange.”
Yu Mian pondered the matter while soaking his tail, unconsciously creating ripples in the water.
It really was much more comfortable in the water.
The only issue was the tank’s size, it was too small for him to stretch his tail fully.
If Yu Mian had opened the study door at that moment, he would have found that Huo Ting hadn’t returned to his bedroom. Instead, he stood silently by the staircase with his eyes closed, as if waiting for something.
The faint sound of water rippling in the study eventually reached Huo Ting’s keen ears, heightened even more during his manic-depressive period. Though barely perceptible, it became the final piece of evidence.
“…”
However, when Huo Ting opened his eyes, he just looked at the box in his hands.
The exceptionally beautiful scale was eventually placed into a brocade box.
In fact, Huo Ting had originally planned to send it back together with the note and sternly remind the young “resident” to take good care of their scales.
He had even written a second note for this purpose.
—During the shedding of scales, one should pay attention to rest and properly replenish nutrients.
However, in the end, Huo Ting didn’t know why, but he took it out again.
After all, if he sent it back, it would almost be like directly telling the other party that he had figured something out.
But the other party was highly sensitive to surveillance and clearly didn’t want to be discovered…
Moreover, when comparing the size of the scale in the box with any of the fish in the aquarium, Huo Ting furrowed his brows, realizing a certain issue.
The other party most likely had the ability to change their body size, which allowed them to perfectly hide in the study without being noticed.
But if they could change to an adult’s size, the aquarium in the study seemed too small.
Various thoughts surfaced in his mind, so much so that Huo Ting didn’t even notice that, for the first time in his life, he was feeling something called “worry”.
“What? Expand the aquarium…”
So, when Secretary Hals was called upstairs the next day, he was almost in disbelief at what his ears had just heard.
“Mm.”
In response to Secretary Hals’s shocked reaction, Huo Ting simply looked away and pretended to be calm and casual as he looked at the document in his hand.
After all, for the entire night, Huo Ting had been contemplating this issue while looking at the scale in the box.
Secretary Hals couldn’t help but glance at Huo Ting several times, but found that his boss had no intention of explaining at all, so he could only say, “Got it.”
“So what exactly is going on…”
After leaving, Secretary Hals, filled with confusion, felt that ever since the surveillance on the second floor was removed, his boss had been getting stranger and stranger.
Could it be that this year’s mental power radiation period was reflected in these abnormal behaviors and preferences?
“Secretary Hals, don’t you think this is a good thing? Look, today he even agreed to let me send fruits up.”
Qiao Ni was in a good mood and thought this was a positive sign.
“Is it also to be placed in the study?”
“Yes, after all, I’m just an ordinary person without mental power. I can’t get close to the living room like you.”
Qiao Ni could understand this, so sending it to the study and letting the young master take it himself was a way of indirectly isolating things.
But the expression on Secretary Hals’ face grew even more strange.
—-
During this time, as “Eternal Night Rose” was nearing its conclusion, the third book “Rebirth of the Interstellar Soldier King” became widely known for its amazing and bizarre “fall-from-grace” backstory.
The popularity of this new book, which was unexpectedly released without any publicity, skyrocketed along with this universal melon-eating scene.
An’s live broadcast video even broke platform records for views.
After all, as a Federation citizen, watching a group of burly men from alien star systems listening to a book so raptly was indeed a perfect live broadcast effect, and the screen was full of “hahaha” in the comments.
The little boy held on An’s head had also become a little internet celebrity.
Because when returning to the Federation on his private starship, An directly declared that he would sponsor all the education and training costs for these little ones from Garbage Star until they reached adulthood.
This would allow even the youngest fans of Fish Soup Noodles to attend school with peace of mind.
Although An obviously didn’t lack the money, for the vast netizens, this story about the new book was undoubtedly heartwarming and cute.
The key was that occasionally, An would post a few pictures of the little ones’ latest training achievements on StarBlog, creating a strange feeling that they were being cultivated by the whole Federation.
Therefore, requests for updates of “Rebirth of the Interstellar Soldier King” kept coming one after another.
For example: [Big Boss, the little fans from Garbage star waiting for your new book update are almost graduating elementary school! Why haven’t you updated yet?!]
Or [If you don’t update soon, I’ll be graduating from university! Do you think this is reasonable?!]
Even [I can only say “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King” is truly a “in-my-lifetime” series, if you don’t update soon, my grandson will be born![Screams]]
Yu Mian even felt like he hadn’t updated in years, but the first volume of “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King”” had only been released not long ago, right? Orz
And just as the atmosphere of anticipation reached its peak, a big news event occurred unexpectedly at the Huanyu Publishing Department.
“What, you’re saying this package was sent by a reader from EC580 star, specifically addressed to Fish Soup Noodles?”
When Editor Shaxs was called in as the primary person responsible for handling the situation, he stared in amazement at the giant cage emitting a fierce aura placed in the lobby on the first floor of Huanyu Tower.
Inside it was an alien star beast, sedated and sleeping!
“Yes, after much effort, it was sent to you. The interstellar courier fee alone was quite a hefty expense. If you confirm everything is correct, please sign for it.”
The starship courier team also seemed quite amazed.
Capturing such a rare and giant ferocious star beast alive was no small feat.
“…”
Shaxs’ hand shook as he signed. As for the deputy chief editor and other editors looked at the package before them with numbness and shock.
To be honest, since Fish Soup Noodles’ works became a huge hit, many enthusiastic readers, not knowing the author’s exact address, had indeed attempted to contact the author by sending various packages to the editorial department.
For example, the letter Lilith had sent earlier was also conveyed through Huanyu.
But Lilith’s letter was really elegant and packed in a delicate box.
This… this ferocious beast, no matter how you looked at it, couldn’t be delivered to Fish Soup Noodles!
Where would there even be space to keep such a star beast on Central Star?
