Wanwan gently pushed against his shoulder. "Sheng Jiu, I want to go out for a walk..."
After saying that, he glanced down at his tail in the water. Sheng Jiu's face darkened a bit. He reached out and took Wanwan's arm, whispering, "How about I accompany you out for a stroll later tonight?"
Wanwan lowered his eyes. His eyelashes concealed the disappointment in them. He moved his lips and slowly uttered, "I haven't seen the sun for a long time."
Wanwan didn't know how long those care - free days had passed. He only remembered... the sky was so blue and high back then. He and his little friends would lie on the reefs, looking up at the sky while stirring the water with their tails.
Thinking of this, Wanwan unconsciously raised his head, but all he saw was the dull ceiling.
Sheng Jiu pursed his lips. "Be a bit more patient. Maybe your legs will..."
" 'Maybe later'? When exactly? Sheng Jiu, how much longer do you plan to keep me here? You've trapped and imprisoned me, but you know I don't like it here at all."
Sheng Jiu's eyes shifted to his face. "Then what about me? Should I leave with you?"
Wanwan averted his gaze and softly said, "Sheng Jiu, you know I don't like you."
Sheng Jiu's hand hanging in the water slowly tightened. He wasn't sure if this was the first time Wanwan had said he didn't like him, but it felt like the first time he'd heard it. The words were like a boulder, weighing heavily on his heart and bending his back.
He'd known from the start that Wanwan didn't like him.
Even though he'd done so many things to please him, tried his best to move him with tenderness, retracted his claws, and made himself gentle, thinking he'd done better than his elder brother, it was all in vain.
Whether one likes someone or not can't be judged by such things.
Sheng Jiu looked at him seriously. "Wanwan, do you know why I keep you by my side? It's because I love you. So whether you like me or not doesn't matter."
"So you think as long as you're happy, my happiness doesn't matter, right?"
Wanwan looked at him coldly.
Sheng Jiu pursed his lips and said nothing.
They stared at each other in silence for a long time. Then Sheng Jiu gently stroked his cheek. "You should rest here. I'll take you out for a walk later tonight... I have some business to attend to, so I won't accompany you for now."
Wanwan turned his face away, avoiding his hand.
Seeing this, Sheng Jiu's eyes dimmed. He didn't say anything else and turned to leave the palace.
Wanwan slipped his whole body into the water. Only like this could he find a moment of peace. Vaguely, he heard someone knocking on the window.
He quietly poked his head out and saw a strange man standing outside.
The man was dressed in a black robe and had a pair of slanting phoenix - like eyes with a hint of evil.
He was squinting and sizing Wanwan up.
Wanwan nervously leaned against the stone wall. He didn't know who this man was or what his purpose was...
After standing outside and looking at him for a while, the man actually climbed through the window.
Wanwan exclaimed, "Who... who are you? Don't you know this is the emperor's palace? How dare you break in! Aren't you afraid of death?"
The man in black stood there and looked at him for a while. A smile appeared on his face. "You look quite like your brother."
Wanwan was stunned. He swallowed hard and it took him a while to come to his senses. "Do you know my brother?"
The man in black squatted down, reached into the water, and nodded nonchalantly. "Yeah, it was your brother who asked me to come and rescue you."
Just thinking of his family, Wanwan felt aggrieved. Tears welled up in his eyes. Hearing the sound, the man in black looked up at him. Seeing his tears, he frowned slightly. "Your brother is the youngest elder of the mermaid clan. How come he has such a crybaby for a brother?"
Wanwan pouted. He'd always been the most useless one in his family. He had no skills and always cried easily.
The man in black pinched his fish tail, his expression turning even more grim. "You're already this old, yet you still can't grow your own legs and have to rely on human medicine?"
Wanwan wiped away his tears and said aggrievedly, "I've been in poor health since I was a child. When I was young, my brother said I might never grow legs. I never expected to grow them or be as capable as my brother. But... but I want to go home."
His voice became choppy and finally he burst into tears.
"I don't want to stay here anymore. I don't want to be locked up. I want to go home."
The man in black raised his hand as if to wipe away his tears. But then, as if remembering something, he stopped his hand, sighed, and retracted it.
"Hey, why don't you stop crying first? Don't worry. I'll definitely get you out. Now I have something to confirm with you. After that, I can start the following plan."
Wanwan wiped his tears and looked up at him. "What do you want to confirm?"
The man in black thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "I just want to confirm whether you really don't like him, that tyrant."
Wanwan bit his lower lip and shook his head. Seeing this, the man in black propped up his cheek and tentatively asked, "Do you like his elder brother then?"
Wanwan shook his head again. "It's just that his elder brother saved me back then. My brother has always taught me to be grateful."
Hearing him mention his brother, the man in black's lips curled up in a smile. He softly said, "Oh, he even taught you to be grateful? Then how come he doesn't remember to be grateful himself?"
The last part was said very quietly. Wanwan could hardly hear it. He always felt that this man seemed a bit strange when he mentioned his brother...
But he didn't think too much about it.
The man in black just patted his shoulder. "Since you don't like him, things will be much easier. You don't need to worry about the following things. Just stay here obediently. I'll come back to find you in a while."
After saying that, the man seemed to be leaving.
Wanwan looked up and called out to him. "I want to know who you really are."
The man smiled with his lips curled. "I'm your brother's man."