Perhaps he could ask this question tonight.
After all, Uncle Harrison’s research institute had a rather generous annual budget.
If this broccoli recipe could spark their interest, then as long as there were other recipes, the guest in the study would certainly receive fair compensation.
Wouldn’t that mean there would be a basic source of income even after moving out?
However, what Huo Ting didn’t expect was for the guest in the study to boldly disappear for the entire night.
*
“Wow… This is beautiful!”
When Yu Mian flew all the way to the Starry Sky Lake Scenic Area, his eyes widened in amazement.
From a bird’s-eye view, the sight was breathtakingly magical, far beyond what he could have imagined.
Who would have thought that there was such a beautiful place on Central Star, and so close to the old residence? And yet, he had always stayed in the study, never coming here.
[What do you think? Does your fish tail feel like it’s itching to move?]
[The system detects that this area is indeed an excellent ecological zone for interstellar aquatic races. It has a rich diversity of protected flora and fauna, making Starry Sky Lake a popular water attraction on Central Star…]
Listening to the series of introductions from the system, Yu Mian found himself more and more tempted.
He used to stay cooped up in the aquarium in the study, never thinking about venturing out to such a large water attraction.
Could it be that becoming a mermaid made him increasingly less resistant to these things?
“That guy Huo Ting is really smart. How did he find such a great place?”
“Can I really go for a swim here?”
[Of course, I can help open the bag for you. You just need to swim in.]
“!”
The next second, Yu Mian fell into the water with a “plop”, and happily wagged his tail as he swam around.
The moment he entered the water, Yu Mian felt an indescribable sense of happiness due to his innate affinity for it.
With a splash, Yu Mian transformed into his mermaid form and began to swim in the water without any instruction.
The light golden fishtail shimmered like a meteor in the water, creating ripples in the middle of the lake, a scene too dreamy to describe.
“This feels so much better than swimming in an aquarium!”
Emerging from the water, Yu Mian floated on the surface and swayed his tail lazily, feeling completely relaxed.
He had always been busy when venturing out, but this was the first time he had leisurely played in the water.
Was this the confidence and joy of having prewritten chapters stocked up?
He didn’t have to rush home at a fixed time every day to write.
[You could even swim over to the house and take a look from a distance. I’ve scanned the area and found that the private residences are widely spaced. If you were to buy one, you’d own an entire private waterscape.]
[This place is truly an ideal habitat for aquatic races.]
No matter how the little system evaluated and calculated, it felt that the house recommended by Huo Ting was perfectly suitable for its host.
Was it a coincidence?
After all, it was highly recommended to Yu Mian among the bunch of alternatives.
“Really?”
Yu Mian glanced at the lights in the distance, where a few private homes dotted the lakeside.
“Although, I feel like the houses here are ridiculously expensive, possibly even unattainable.”
As he swam closer, Yu Mian chatted with the system.
[But we’ve earned a lot of royalties!]
The system was eager for its host to upgrade his residence. It wanted to experience the satisfaction of a system helping its host level up.
However, just as Yu Mian was swimming quickly and the system was frantically calculating the royalties needed for a house, a major “traffic accident” occurred underwater.
“Ah! What’s that?!”
“Ow…”
Holding his head, Yu Mian emerged from the water, and was stunned to see a good looking young man in front of him.
Ernis on the opposite side looked at Yu Mian with horror.
“Are you a sasaeng fan?! You even found this place!”
“Huh? I’m not…”
Hearing this, Yu Mian felt like his brain was short-circuited.
What kind of fan was he mistaken for? He didn’t even follow celebrities.
Only then did the other party take a closer look at Yu Mian and was shocked for a moment.
After all, Yu Mian was so good looking that Ernis felt more like the saseang fan.
“…Are you a new neighbor? Are you also an aquatic race?”
[Host, the reward for your third book might already be taking effect.]
Just when Yu Mian was wondering why the other party had suddenly become very friendly, the system quietly gave him a reminder.
?
What reward?
[Friend of the Ocean: 100% favorability with aquatic races (invalid in extreme circumstances).]
Yu Mian: !
The little system then realized that Huo Ting’s choice of location was really suited for aquatic races.
In a sense, it was natural that wealthy and successful aquatic races from across the interstellar would buy these private homes.
Was this a large aquatic social community?
A way to change the reclusive nature of its host.
“Uh… I guess you could say that.”
Yu Mian hesitated, unsure how to respond.
Because from the moment he saw Starry Sky Lake, he had already decided to buy a house here, though he didn’t want Huo Ting’s help for fear of exposing himself.
“Would you like to visit my home, neighbor?”
As soon as Ernis said this, he saw Yu Mian’s subconscious cautious retreat, and suddenly realized that he might be easily misunderstood…
“You don’t recognize me?”
So, Ernis decided to make another attempt to prove he wasn’t a bad person by showing his face.
“…You seem a bit familiar?”
Yu Mian wasn’t sure.
[The other party is a very famous interstellar singer and superstar. Oh, theoretically, if you pursued our superstar path, this guy would have been your rival on your upgrade route.]
The little system helpfully introduced.
But now that its host had switched to writing, wasn’t this completely irrelevant?
Yu Mian’s blank expression seemed to hurt Ernis, who had always been somewhat narcissistic.
“It seems I’m still too conceited. After all, not everyone knows me.”
Ernis looked dejected.
“Sorry, if I didn’t bump into you, can I leave now?”
Although Yu Mian hadn’t revealed his fishtail, he still didn’t want to linger too long in the water with someone so close. After saying goodbye to Ernis, he disappeared beneath the surface, transforming into a small fish and swimming away at a much faster pace.
“Eh…”
Ernis hadn’t even reacted before watching Yu Mian escape as if fleeing.
For Ernis, this was an extremely rare occurrence.
In the past, wasn’t it always the other way around?
He had only wanted to tell him that many aquatic races living on Central Star often gathered at his place, and there happened to be a party tonight.
Moreover, as heavy face cons, he couldn’t help but think that this person would be very popular with everyone!
What kind of aquatic race could he be from?
After all, being able to afford a house in this area meant he was likely famous in some field, yet Ernis had never seen him before.
Watching Yu Mian disappear into the distance, Ernis felt a slight sense of regret.
Yu Mian, on the other hand, swam far away from the area before revealing his fishtail again. Lying in the water, he let out a sigh of relief.
The interruption had dragged on, and now it was evening.
He hadn’t even gotten to look at the house.
However, the starlight reflecting in the lake and the ripples stirred by the night breeze created a mesmerizing scene.
It reminded Yu Mian of an ancient Earth poem: “After getting drunk, I didn’t know the sky was under the water, and the boat was full of sweet dreams that overwhelmed the stars.”
**Ancient poems are so hard to translate. I’m 100% sure this isn’t accurate 😅
“I really want to sleep here…”
The profound sense of relaxation and pleasure ingrained in his genes made Yu Mian involuntarily close his eyes, fully immersing himself in the soothing embrace of this natural water scene.
[Actually, you could? We could go back tomorrow morning. After all, the pre-saved chapters will be updated automatically, and that little dandelion seems to be having a lot of fun and doesn’t want to leave yet.]
The little system had no objections. It glanced at the carefree dandelion playing not far away, twirling in the evening breeze with unbridled joy.
Clearly, it wasn’t eager to return either.
The little system couldn’t help but feel happy seeing its host so delighted.
That guy Huo Ting really found a great place.
Although both the person and the system had completely forgotten about Huo Ting back at the old residence.
Ever since night had fallen, Huo Ting had been sitting in the second-floor living room, paying attention to any movement in the study.
“Are you not going to bed? Is there something on your mind today?”
Qiao Ni carried a fruit platter upstairs, only to find Huo Ting wasn’t in the study or his bedroom but sitting quietly in the lounge with his eyes closed.
It seemed as if he were waiting for someone.
“…It’s nothing. Just leave it here.”
Huo Ting glanced at the clock hands pointing to midnight, confirming that the guest had yet to return.
He continued to wait in silence.
