Chapter 141 – Love in a Fallen City: You Are My Eternal, Unfading Starlight – The First Direct Confrontation (05)
“General Walker…”
“Wait a moment.”
Mr. Eddie had just opened his mouth to greet everyone, but he was interrupted by Turs, who walked into the kitchen.
“Hello, Mr. Eddie~” The little mermaid smiled and greeted the familiar person when he saw him.
“Hello, Bai Tang.” Eddie smiled in response, happy to see the little mermaid living well.
Turs came out carrying a tray with freshly fried snacks and a drink to replenish the mermaid’s nutrients.
“Wow, it smells so good~” Seeing that Turs had made the food he casually mentioned wanting to eat, Bai Tang eagerly reached out, “Turs, you’re amazing~”
The little mermaid stuffed two fried taro balls into his mouth, his cheeks puffing out, a look of pure satisfaction on his face.
“Don’t eat too much, drink the nutritional liquid first.” Turs sat next to Bai Tang and brought the cup of nutrient-rich drink to his lips.
“Can I not drink it? It’s sour, I don’t like it~”
Bai Tang frowned, pouting and trying to look pitiful, attempting to escape the situation.
“No.” Over the past few days, Turs had been very indulgent with Bai Tang. Whatever Bai Tang asked for, he mostly gave in to, except for matters beneficial to the little mermaid, which Turs was very firm about. “Do you not want to turn into legs?”
Legs were Bai Tang’s obsession; he dreamed of being able to hop and jump. “I want to, I want to~”
The little mermaid took a deep breath, brought his nose close to the sour liquid, and then carefully asked, “How many more times do I have to drink this?”
“Just this once.” Turs held up one finger to emphasize.
“Okay then.” Bai Tang closed his eyes and bravely downed the drink in one go.
The taste of the mermaid’s exclusive nutritional drink was really awful. The red-brown fish tail kept slapping the sofa, showing how much its owner was “suffering.”
Once the cup was empty, tears of frustration filled the little mermaid’s eyes. He leaned into Turs’ arms, sobbing softly. It was just too awful to drink.
Turs popped a candy into Bai Tang’s mouth, gently wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes. “Don’t cry, we won’t drink it again.”
“Mm-hmm.”
The candy slowly dissolved, covering up the sour taste. After a while, the little mermaid finally pulled away from the general’s embrace. When he looked up, he realized everyone was staring at him. His face turned bright red from embarrassment, and he quickly buried his face back into Turles’ arms, unwilling to come out.
“Bai Tang is shy, please understand.” Turs smiled warmly as he faced the others.
“Where?” Mr. Eddie responded, “General Walker has been taking excellent care of Bai Tang.” He was probably the person most hoping to see the lively and healthy little mermaid, aside from Turs.
Although others also liked the mermaid, their affection was mostly due to their professional roles. Among them, Le Mengqi lowered her head to hide her jealousy. To outsiders, it seemed like she was merely shy after seeing how the other protectors interacted with their mermaids.
“We came to visit this time to see if the little mermaid has adjusted to life after leaving the mermaid base. It seems that Bai Tang is adapting well to his new environment,” Eddie added.
This could also be seen as praise for Turs. Bai Tang turned his face away and whispered, “Turs is really good~”
The mermaid’s endorsement of General Walker meant that Bai Tang was genuinely happy. Mr. Eddie smiled at Bai Tang and said, “Bai Tang is also amazing. His adaptability is excellent.”
Mermaids need encouragement and affirmation. Mr. Eddie remembered that Bai Tang was a shy mermaid. Now, it seemed that Bai Tang must also like General Walker, or else he wouldn’t have been so bold in interacting with him when Walker visited the mermaid base. Mr. Eddie was thinking of the original character’s personality, but Bai Tang wasn’t much different.
“Mengqi, didn’t you want to thank the general?” Mr. Eddie’s real intention was to resolve the situation, so Le Mengqi wouldn’t have the chance to interact with the general anymore.
Turs Walker was already the protector of another mermaid, and Le Mengqi, being a single mermaid, should avoid getting too close to a “married man.”
What Mr. Eddie didn’t know was that he had unintentionally spoken the truth.
Le Mengqi bit her lip, holding back tears, yet they didn’t fall. She looked up with a pitiful expression. “Hello, Turs, I’m Le Mengqi. I really appreciate your help last time. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known what to do…”
Tears shimmered in her eyes but didn’t fall, showing that she was a fragile yet strong mermaid. Le Mengqi had already transformed her tail into legs, and when she stood up, she accidentally revealed a small section of her white calf, then deeply bowed toward the opposite side.
No one sitting in the same row as Le Mengqi saw this, but Bai Tang, sitting opposite her, clearly noticed her movements.
“Green tea b*tch,” the system muttered.
Bai Tang instinctively looked at Turs’ reaction. When he lifted his gaze, he met Turs’ eyes in a deep, affectionate stare.
Turs had just straightened Bai Tang’s clothes, which had become slightly disheveled when he had been held in Turs’ arms. The pretty collarbones had been exposed, and Bai Tang couldn’t let anyone else see them.
“What’s wrong? Do you want more candy?” Turs thought the little mermaid was just being greedy and picked up another candy to put into his mouth.
“Hahaha, Tang Tang, look at the female lead’s expression! The male lead isn’t even looking at her, what a waste of an expression,” the system gleefully mocked.
Bai Tang turned around and saw that Le Mengqi hadn’t had time to hide her ugly expression, making eye contact with him. The other woman glared at him fiercely, but Bai Tang, unafraid, puffed out his cheeks and glared back. “So what? My eyes are bigger, and I look better.”
Everyone laughed at the little mermaid’s funny face. Bai Tang felt pleased and tightened his arm around Turs, deliberately showing off to Le Mengqi.
“You’re jealous, aren’t you? This is my man.”
Le Mengqi, feeling provoked by Bai Tang’s challenge, was furious. This wasn’t a simple mermaid, this was clearly a scheming b*tch.
Turs noticed the silent tension between Bai Tang and the mermaid across from him but didn’t stop it. He gently stroked Bai Tang’s long hair.
The little mermaid was declaring his ownership, asserting his claim. This thought made him feel immensely happy.
Le Mengqi remembered why she was here—trying to form a bond with Bai Tang under the guise of mermaid friendship, with the goal of showing Turs her best side.
Bai Tang, however, had no idea what had gotten into him, as he was unknowingly walking the same path as the male antagonist Bai Tang from the original storyline—showing off.
Le Mengqi sighed, “Turs and Bai Tang really have a good relationship…”
Bai Tang replied, “Yeah, Turs is really good to me. He even tells me bedtime stories before we sleep.”
Le Mengqi: “What a childish idiot, still needing bedtime stories.”
Bai Tang added, “Mengqi, Turs is my fiancé. Only I can call him that—you can’t. You should call him Mr. Walker or General Walker.”
Bai Tang blinked his innocent, big eyes and looked at Turles, “Did I say something wrong?”
Turs gently patted his head and smiled, “Tang Tang is right.”
Round one, Le Mengqi loses.
Le Mengqi: “I’ve seen this before; it’s a masterpiece by the famous Mr. McGill. General Walker has really good taste.”
Bai Tang: “I couldn’t sleep the night before yesterday, and I saw this painting on TV, which made me feel sleepy. Turs specifically bought it for me to look at when I can’t sleep.”
Le Mengqi: …
Round two, Le Mengqi loses.
Le Mengqi: “The arrangement of the backyard is quite primitive. I didn’t expect that General Walker shares the same hobby as I do…”
Bai Tang: “That’s my hobby. I love forests, and Turs prepared this forest pond just for me…”
Round three, Le Mengqi loses.
“This snack tastes great.”
“Turs knows I like it, so he learned how to make it for me.”
“This sofa is very soft.”
“Turs is afraid I’ll be uncomfortable sitting on the floor…”
“This…”
“Turs bought it for me…”
“This…”
“Turs said…”
Throughout the entire afternoon tea, no matter what topic Le Mengqi brought up, Bai Tang always found a way to turn it into a brag about something Turs had custom-made or done for him. Le Mengqi gritted her teeth in frustration, exhausted from the conversation.
Most importantly, Turs Walker had been admiring Bai Tang the entire time, even going so far as to feed him water and wipe his mouth whenever needed, leaving everyone around them to suffer through a whole afternoon of dog food.
Since Le Mengqi’s intended target only had eyes for Bai Tang and didn’t even acknowledge the others, her show was really just a performance for blind people.
In conclusion, today’s round: Le Mengqi, checkmate.
As evening approached, Mr. Eddie stood up to bid farewell, accompanied by a “fatigued” Le Mengqi and the staff from the mermaid base.
“Sorry for disturbing General Walker today. Once Bai Tang can transform into legs, it might be a good idea to take him out more often to get used to the sunlight. It’s good for his health. But remember to bring the mermaid nutrient supplement. When he changes back into his fish tail, he’ll need to replenish his nutrients.”
The mermaid nutrient supplement he mentioned was not the same as the one Bai Tang drank in the afternoon. This one was applied to the fish tail when it changes back, serving as a protective and restorative agent.
Bai Tang waved his hands in panic, “I don’t want to drink it, I don’t want to drink it…”
Mr. Eddie laughed heartily, “Don’t worry, this one isn’t something you drink. It’s applied to the fish tail and helps shorten the time needed for the tail to turn back into legs. It also helps prolong the time he can stay on his legs.”
“Alright, alright~” Bai Tang’s face brightened, relieved that it wasn’t something to drink.
Turs took Mr. Eddie’s instructions to heart. To show his gratitude for the protection Bai Tang received at the mermaid base, he lowered his status slightly and saw him off at the door.
“You’re welcome to visit the mermaid base anytime~” Mr. Eddie waved at Bai Tang from the car.
The car then started and drove away.
The system, puzzled, asked, “Tang Tang, don’t you think provoking Le Mengqi like that will make her resent you?”
In the original storyline, the male antagonist, Bai Tang, had caused the female lead to intensify her desire to steal the male lead by showing off. Didn’t that mean Bai Tang was heading down the same path as the original character? Thinking of Bai Tang’s eventual fate, the system shuddered.
“Do you think she wouldn’t hate me if I didn’t provoke her?” Bai Tang’s retort suddenly made the system snap out of its confusion.
Yes, the female lead came today with the intention of stealing the male lead.
“Anyway, she already hates me. I can’t just keep letting myself be wronged. That’s what you taught me,” Bai Tang added. “Besides, Turles will protect me. Even if he can’t, Qiu’er will protect me.”
Ding — Good person card.
Ding — Squirrel Association President and Squirrel Fanatic System activated.
It pounded its chest, firmly and confidently declaring, “That’s right! Bai Tang’s safety is under my protection!”
Author’s Note:
Haha, didn’t expect this, right? I said I was going to sleep, but I haven’t slept yet, and I even updated the chapter!
I have this story in my favourites just because of the system 😭