However, looking at the current situation, it seemed a bit like being kept. Oh no, she had become a kept woman.

The next day, Jiang Yang woke up early. The “bed” was actually just a damp rock. Because the pool in the tree hollow was connected to the sea, it was particularly humid, and she woke up with aches all over.

She massaged her waist and looked at the limp beautiful fish-man. Overnight, the fish’s skin seemed to have become even whiter, the kind of pale that suggested weakness.

Jiang Yang didn’t want to disturb him and prepared to climb out of the tree hollow to find breakfast outside.

But even though she moved very gently, the fish-man woke up extremely sensitively: “A’Yang, where are you going?” His voice sounded panicked and scared.

Jiang Yang said, “You keep sleeping, I’m going out to find something to eat.”

Chi Mei shook his head: “I’m not sleeping anymore, I’ll go with you.”

Jiang Yang smiled: “I’m going to find food on the island. Can you walk on land? Rest well, I’ll be back soon.”

“I can’t walk, but I can wait for you by the sea. I want to go with you,” Chi Mei said firmly, with an attitude that suggested he wouldn’t give up unless she agreed.

Jiang Yang indeed couldn’t persuade him otherwise. After all, he was her lifesaver, so she let him come along.

The beautiful fish-man couldn’t go ashore without legs, so he lay on the exposed rocks by the sea, sunbathing. The warm sunlight shining on his body slightly eased the pain from his wounds. He watched silently as Jiang Yang disappeared into the dense vegetation of the island.

Jiang Yang went several hundred meters deeper than the path where she had found food yesterday. She caught a strange little creature that looked like a bird but had no wings. If she plucked its feathers and grilled it, it would surely be delicious. Continuing forward, she found a cluster of ripe raspberries. Jiang Yang tasted one; it was sweet with a hint of sourness, tasting excellent. She quickly picked some large banana leaves to wrap them up.

The fish-man was a sea fish, so he probably hadn’t eaten raspberries before. She would bring some back for him to try.

On the way back, she was lucky enough to find some wild onions, which could serve as a seasoning.

Jiang Yang carried her spoils back towards the beach. As her view gradually opened up, the glass-like blue sea came into sight.

The beautiful fish-man was lying on the reef, staring intently at a tall, lush flame tree by the sea. A hermit crab crawled over the back of his hand, but he didn’t even react, as if moving would cost him half his life.

This fish used to be quite active before.

Hearing footsteps, the previously lazy fish-man lifted his head, dimples appearing as he smiled: “A’Yang, you’re finally back.”

He looked just like a little husband waiting for his wife-master to return home.

Jiang Yang handed him the raspberries wrapped in banana leaves: “I picked some raspberries on the island. They’re quite tasty, try some.”

“Raspberries?” Chi Mei curiously opened the banana leaves.

As expected, the sea fish had never seen things from land before. Seeing the small red fruits inside, he picked one up and put it in his mouth. The sweet and sour taste made him smile unconsciously: “It’s so sweet. A’Yang, have you eaten some?”

Jiang Yang nodded: “I brought them back for you. Eat up, and then we’ll go back.”

Chi Mei’s face, which had been pale to the point of looking ill, finally gained a hint of color. He lowered his head shyly and responded with a soft “Mm.”

As the beautiful fish-man quietly ate the raspberries, Jiang Yang sat beside him. The waves wet the hem of her skirt, and the splashing water droplets were pierced by sunlight, shimmering like colored glass in the air.

Seeing that it would take a while for Chi Mei to finish eating, Jiang Yang looked at the flame tree not far away and stood up to walk over.

Having practiced martial arts, it didn’t take much effort for Jiang Yang to climb the flame tree in a few seconds.

As a renowned romantic woman in Lingnan, Jiang Yang naturally understood the art of elegance. Even giving flowers had its rules about color, shape, and branches.

But on this island far from human society, Jiang Yang let herself go wild. She directly broke off the branch with the most lush flame flowers and roughly carried it on her shoulder. The delicate flame flowers fell on Jiang Yang like burning flames, leaving a long, winding trail of fire behind her.

“You—” Chi Mei stared at Jiang Yang, his lips moving for a long time without knowing what to say.

“Didn’t you like flame flowers? Is this enough? Take it! If it’s not enough, I’ll go pick more.” Jiang Yang carried the long branch of the flame tree, the vibrantly blooming flowers opening at her temples, cheeks, and eyes, brilliant as fire.

Chi Mei took the flower branch, suppressing the joy welling up in his heart, and said in an icy voice: “I do like flame flowers, but I know you’re not courting me. I won’t misunderstand again. I… I also… don’t like the flowers you gave me, not at all.”

Jiang Yang: “…” Damn it, you’re clearly smiling very happily.

Next time you try to sound tough, remember to control your expression.

A certain fish who claimed not to like the flame flowers Jiang Yang gave at all kept holding the heavy flower branch without letting go on the way back, just like a husky holding onto its beloved bone. The burst flame flowers bloomed on the sea surface. Even though he pressed his lips tightly, pretending not to care and not to like them, the smile had already overflowed from his eyes.

Back in the tree hollow, Jiang Yang was cooking while the beautiful fish-man, contrary to his usual lazy demeanor, was plucking the flame flowers cluster by cluster. Though he claimed not to like them, his actions showed how he treasured each bunch. He carefully decorated the rocky walls of the tree hollow with them, and even retrieved the beautiful pearls he had cried earlier to add to the decor. These pearls emitted a soft, lustrous glow in the dim tree hollow, complementing the fiery red of the flame flowers. The atmosphere was quite… bridal chamber-like?

“A’Yang, does it look good?” The fish-man’s tone held an unprecedented joy, no longer listless, his eyes twinkling like stars.

Jiang Yang suppressed the strange thoughts popping up in her mind. How could a fish understand the concept of a bridal chamber? She smiled and nodded, “It looks very nice. You’re quite skillful.”

The beautiful fish-man’s eyes curved in a smile, saying with a hint of innocence, “I think it looks very good too, even better than my palace.”

Jiang Yang chuckled, “You have a palace?”

Chi Mei paused slightly, then said, “We merfolk all have our own dwellings at the bottom of the sea. Our houses are made of pearl shells, just like palaces. That lamp you liked before, made from a moon jellyfish shell, in our merfolk tribe, moon jellyfish shells are used to make windows and roof tiles. We have a lot of them there.”

Jiang Yang smiled softly, “It seems you lived a happy life in the sea.”

Chi Mei said, “Of course. My tribespeople all doted on me. Whenever there was something good to eat or play with, they would always give it to me first.” As he spoke, a trace of sadness appeared in Chi Mei’s eyes.

Jiang Yang naturally noticed this and asked gently, “To save me, you must have had a falling out with your tribespeople, right?”

“……”

Silence was the answer.

Jiang Yang said, “I’m really grateful that you were willing to save me, but I also don’t want you to quarrel with your tribespeople. They must be looking for you, right? Why don’t you go back?”

Chi Mei looked at her, his gaze unreadable, “If I go back, what about you?”

Jiang Yang smiled nonchalantly, “I’m a grown person, and the island is so big with so much food. I won’t starve to death. You should go back.”

Chi Mei turned his back to her, his voice muffled with suppressed anger, “I’m not going back. You can’t wait for me to leave, can you? Well, I’m not leaving. I won’t let you have your way. Besides, I’ll tell you, this fish is used to living alone. It’s the same with or without tribespeople. This island is my territory too, and no one can drive me away.”

Jiang Yang: “……” If he was used to living alone, why stay with her?

“Alright, alright, don’t leave then. I was just concerned about you,” Jiang Yang said casually.

Did she really care about him? Didn’t she say she didn’t like him? Chi Mei turned his head back suspiciously. Jiang Yang was bowing her head, plucking bird feathers, preparing to roast it over the fire.

Chi Mei angrily turned his head away. The anger made his wounds burn even more painfully. Chi Mei’s veins stood out from the pain. He knew it, she didn’t really care about him. He was always being deceived by her.

Jiang Yang rotated the makeshift spit, ensuring the bird roasted evenly.

The firelight, along with the faint glow emitted by the pearls, made the originally dim tree hollow much brighter. Things that were previously unclear became visible.

Jiang Yang stared at the thin back of the beautiful fish-man under his light mermaid silk. There was a clear, bright red scratch on his fair skin.

“What happened to your back?” Jiang Yang asked.

Chi Mei’s heart instantly tightened, frantically searching for an excuse: “This is from when I was scratched by the rock wall earlier. It’s not serious.”

Jiang Yang put down the roasting bird and slowly approached, “Let me take a look.”

Chi Mei immediately became nervous. If she got close, not just his back, but the more serious wound on his tail fin would be seen too.

He hurriedly retreated into the water, “No, I- I’m a man, I can’t just let you women look.”

Jiang Yang’s eyes curved upwards, “Have you forgotten?”

Chi Mei looked confused, “Forgotten what?”

Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat, and his face turned bright red, “You! Ah! Don’t you dare think about that again! I thought it was you……”

Chi Mei buried himself completely in the water, pretending to be a turtle.

Jiang Yang leaned against the rock wall, laughing out loud.

Hearing Jiang Yang’s undisguised laughter, Chi Mei felt terrible. It was too embarrassing. He squatted at the bottom of the water, feeling wronged and sad, with bubbles rising to the surface.

“Alright, I’m not making fun of you,” Jiang Yang said, stirring the water surface. There was nothing to laugh at about someone who dared to pursue boldly. And she had to admit, this fish’s little bird was quite well-endowed.

Chi Mei frowned, his eyes downcast and wronged, “But you were clearly laughing at me, and laughing so loudly.”

Jiang Yang held back her laughter, “No, I wasn’t. Ahem, I mean, since I’ve already seen what shouldn’t be seen, it doesn’t matter to look at your back too. I’m really worried about you. That wound looks very long. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone else.”

Chi Mei’s bright eyes rippled. He actually wished she would tell others. That way, she would have ruined his reputation and would have to take responsibility for him.

But obviously, Jiang Yang had no romantic feelings for him.

Chi Mei felt a lump in his throat, “It’s fine. We merfolk heal very quickly. Don’t you remember the injury I had on the ship before?”

Jiang Yang thought for a moment and felt he had a point. Perhaps she was making a fuss over nothing.

“Alright then, you rest well. I’ll call you when the bird is roasted,” Jiang Yang turned back to rotate the spit.

Chi Mei felt even more upset. He looked at Jiang Yang with deep resentment, pathetically thinking, why don’t you insist a bit more? If you insisted a bit more, I would have taken it off for you to see.

But Jiang Yang was already immersed in roasting the bird. Chi Mei lay on the rock, holding his head in melancholy.