Chapter 4
Edward Quan ·
13
On the day of our dinner, Gu Sui went out for a long time.
When he returned, Xu Qin was with him.
I looked in surprise at his collar.
A faint red mark showed beneath it.
“Why is it red there?”
“Are you hurt? Let me see.”
I reached to pull his collar aside, but he dodged.
“It's nothing.”
“Then why is it red?”
“...I bumped into something. It's fine.”
Only then did I sit down, apparently reassured.
My gaze moved to Xu Qin.
“So pretty.”
“A fellow countrywoman, all right.”
“I felt close to you the moment I saw you.”
Then I spotted a blue pattern beneath her collar.
Deliberately, I asked, “Why is it blue there?”
Xu Qin looked at Gu Sui in panic.
“It's... it's nothing.”
“If it's nothing, why is it blue?”
She was so embarrassed she nearly cried.
In the end, Gu Sui rescued her.
I only smiled and said no more.
One had a love bite.
The other, a mate mark.
Gu Sui was a merman.
Naturally, his mate mark was blue.
Of course their being together had left those traces.
Xu Qin must have seen our earlier performance and become angry.
It had taken him a long time to soothe her.
How?
The same way Shen Wang soothed me, obviously.
Only he didn't last as long.
As soon as Gu Sui left, Shen Wang appeared.
I quietly rubbed my waist.
It was still a little sore.
He was supposed to be cold-blooded.
How could he be even more enthusiastic about that than I was?
That dinner really was a feast with knives hidden beneath the table.
Before Xu Qin left, I patted her hand.
“You've only just arrived. You probably don't know.”
“This may be a beastkin world, but the quality of the males here is exceptional!”
“If someone catches your eye, just say so.”
“We're from the same world, after all.”
“I'll help however I can.”
She pressed her lips together in a shy smile.
But her eyes still strayed unconsciously toward Gu Sui.
I acted as though I'd just remembered something.
“Oh, right.”
“Things are different here.”
“They don't have honeymoons.”
“If you bond with someone someday, I'll make sure Gu Sui arranges everything.”
“You two can have a lovely honeymoon!”
Both their smiles froze.
14
After Xu Qin left, Gu Sui seemed to sense something wrong.
He studied my expression for a long time, but found no clue.
Once she'd gone, he stopped worrying about the mate mark.
When he went out to deal with tribal business, Shen Wang appeared in my room again.
I said softly, “He was the one who asked you to stand in for him.”
“Now he's bothered about your mark on me.”
“You beastkin really are strange.”
Shen Wang said nothing.
He only lifted my skirt a little.
The snake-shaped mate mark appeared again.
His cold hand touched it.
Then he lowered his head and kissed it, as reverently as a believer performing a rite.
“I'm bothered too.”
“A mate mark only appears between beastkin who truly love each other.”
So that day, when he'd seen the mark on my thigh, he'd stared for a long time.
Then made sure I didn't sleep all night.
Now he kept kissing it.
“When I first saw my mark on you, I was happy.”
“Only after losing it and getting it back did I realize...”
“How beautiful it looks on you.”
That night, I really couldn't take any more.
15
Time slipped quietly by.
Gu Sui saw less and less of Xu Qin.
Or perhaps that was only the show he put on for me.
I couldn't be bothered to find out.
One day, Shen Wang suddenly said, “Gu Sui is about to break through.”
Gu Sui was a genius born once in a century.
If he succeeded, he would become a beastkin with five beast markings.
Absolute power would be his.
The merfolk would surely prosper more and more.
A pity none of it had anything to do with me anymore.
I was leaving them soon.
Before I went, naturally, I had to give them a present.
After many days of waiting, Xu Qin finally came to me.
She stormed into my room, marched straight up to me, and pulled down her collar without a word.
Inside was the blue mate mark of the merfolk.
Instinctively, I glanced toward the shadowy corner.
Shen Wang had already turned his back.
Very considerate.
Xu Qin's face was icy.
Her words were calm.
“Last time, you asked what this was.”
“Today, I'll tell you.”
“It's a mate mark.”
“A bond mark that belongs only to Gu Sui and me.”
I nodded obediently.
“Mm.”
“And?”
“Did you rush here?”
“You haven't even caught your breath.”
I was so thoughtful I nearly moved myself to tears.
Xu Qin remained unmoved.
“Are you jealous of how much Gu Sui spoils me?”
“Have you been whispering in his ear?”
“Or threatening him?”
“Is that why he won't come and see me?”
“How can you use such underhanded tricks?”
“You can't compete, so you play games behind my back.”
I snorted.
“Jealous of you?”
“Are you sure this isn't a joke?”
“Yes, this is a beastkin world.”
“But neither of us is from here.”
“We should at least hang on to our morals and values.”
“How long have you been here?”
“You've adapted quickly.”
“So Gu Sui spoils you, does he?”
“If he truly loves you, why hasn't he dissolved his bond with me?”
“He hasn't even acknowledged you publicly.”
“Is this Schrödinger's affection?”
Her face went white.
All the color drained away.
“Do you have to be so nasty?”
“Now I finally understand...”
“Why Gu Sui stopped coming to see me!”
My face went cold.
I raised my hand and slapped her hard.
Crack!
The sound was as loud as a firecracker.
My palm stung.
If reason didn't work, force would do.
Xu Qin immediately burst into wailing sobs.
16
Hearing the noise, someone hurried inside.
At the sight of Xu Qin, he stopped.
“Why are you here?”
Seeing Gu Sui, she seemed to have found someone to lean on.
Her complaint was wounded.
“I only came to chat with her.”
“I never thought...”
She drew a sharp breath.
Half her face was red and swollen.
The handprint was plain to Gu Sui.
That slap really had been hard.
I couldn't be bothered to explain.
I went over and pulled her collar down, revealing a large part of the mark.
“Yes.”
“We were chatting.”
“About her period, too.”
“I did a quick calculation.”
“You two will be parents soon.”
“Congratulations.”
Gu Sui's expression changed at once.
He understood everything.
As though afraid I'd misunderstand, he hurried away from Xu Qin.
“Ruoli.”
“Let me explain.”
“This is all a misunderstanding—”
I raised a hand.
“Stop!”
“Gu Sui.”
“If you're keeping a mistress, look after her properly.”
“Hot one moment, cold the next.”
“You don't care about your mistress's mental health at all.”
“Now look.”
“She comes all the way here to bother me.”
“What a mess.”
“Couldn't you learn from me?”
“I've kept mine so well hidden nobody knows.”
Before I'd finished, Gu Sui choked.
He looked up and stared at me in disbelief.
Before he could speak, Xu Qin shouted angrily, “Who's a mistress?”
“Say it clearly!”
“This is the beastkin world now.”
“Not modern society.”
“Don't impose those moral standards here!”
“You can't have children.”
“In this world, offspring matter most.”
“But I might already be carrying Gu Sui's child.”
She was still looking pleased with herself when I raised my hand again.
Terrified, she tried to hide in Gu Sui's arms.
He pushed her aside.
His voice was hoarse.
“This...”
“When?”
I looked at him blankly.
“When did you find out?”
“And who have you been with...”
Just then, Shen Wang was standing behind him.
I hadn't even seen him arrive.