MASG chapter 128

 

The speed of running back was extremely fast.

Xia Yu did not like sports very much. In school, he skipped PE classes and wasn’t serious about morning exercises. His physical fitness was average, and he especially disliked running. He preferred activities on land, such as soaking in seawater and spacing out. He liked letting the sea carry him farther away, sinking and floating, and moving freely at will.

But now, he suspected that his escape speed had surpassed the school record and might have even exceeded the national record! The scenery on both sides wildly retreated in his peripheral vision. All the sights lost their original colors and became terrifying.

This strange feeling appeared again. Xia Yu slowed his steps and realized for the first time that he didn’t recognize this place.

Where exactly was this place? Why was it so unfamiliar? Where did these roads lead? And where was home?

The people by the roadside were all smiling, but to Xia Yu, they were all question marks, as if they themselves weren’t sure where they were. A brief sense of strangeness appeared and disappeared. A few seconds later, Xia Yu recognized the street. Wasn’t this where he grew up? Wasn’t this Penghu Island?

Of course it was. He had lived here for 18 years; how could he get lost? Xia Yu wanted to laugh at himself, but now wasn’t the time. He lifted his feet and continued running toward home. When he arrived home, he didn’t go through the front door but subconsciously chose the back door.

The back door was rarely used; probably only Mo An liked to use it. As he twisted open the back door handle, a thought occurred to Xia Yu—that he didn’t want his parents to know he had run back home.

Right now, he should be taking his younger brother and sister to Goldfish Street. The three siblings would walk together happily, each picking their favorite little goldfish. Then, they would give their goldfish to each other as gifts with blessings. Afterwards, they would eat milk ice cream together and buy pinwheels and wind chimes. He would buy Mo An a stone amulet and his sister a small glass bracelet.

If Dad and Mom found out that he had run back, they would definitely get to the bottom of it. Then, Mo An’s true identity wouldn’t be able to stay hidden… Wait, why am I helping Mo An hide his true identity? Who exactly is he? Xia Yu’s mind was in chaos. His clear train of thought had fled, leaving only a pile of unsolvable, garbled codes.

Huff, huff, huff. Xia Yu took deep breaths as he ran back to his room and shut the door. The room was clean, but there was nowhere to hide. Now what? What should he do?

He sat on the edge of the bed and covered his face with both hands. He carefully recalled Mo An’s change in that instant. His eyes could turn completely black, and he could make all the goldfish on the street feel fear. Then…

Before Xia Yu could think it through, he heard footsteps.

They slowly approached and finally stopped at his door, as if the scene from that night were replaying itself. Xia Yu looked at the door. At that moment, his intuition was at its peak. His gut told him that the person outside was Mo An. He had followed Xia Yu back and followed him into the house through the back door.

Now that he was at the bedroom door, what was he preparing to do? Rush in and kill him to silence him? Or would he simply eat him? Was humanity about to be wiped out?

Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock. After several knocks, it was indeed Mo An’s voice, carrying a bit of worry and urgency. “Brother, are you back? I followed you back. You dropped your phone on the road.”

Phone? Where was his phone? Xia Yu had turned into a flustered, disorganized child, completely forgetting where his phone was. Now, both his pockets were empty. Not only was his phone missing, but the car keys he had brought out were gone too.

“Your car keys and house keys are all on one ring.” Mo An seemed to sense what Xia Yu was looking for. He clenched the phone and key ring in his hand, unsure if proactively exposing himself was a good move. But it had already been taken, and there was no way to take it back.

“Brother, don’t worry. I won’t hurt you. I just want to tell you some things about me. Can you let me come in?” Mo An knocked on the door again. He didn’t want to be a monster who forced his way in.

But there was complete silence inside the room, as if the person inside had already fallen asleep and refused to respond at all. Mo An could only leave the phone and key ring by the door and softly say, “I know these things are hard to accept, but if you want to understand, I’ll tell you everything. Brother, I’m the least likely person in this world to hurt you. Don’t be afraid of me. I’ve put the phone and keys down. Remember to come out and get them. I’m going back to Goldfish Street to look for Xiaoxiao now. I’ll stay with her. Don’t worry.”

After saying that, Mo An turned and left. He came in and left through the back door, so as not to make Xia Yu feel awkward. Inside the house, Xia Yu had already hidden under the bed. His hands were clenched in cold sweat, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Had Mo An really just left like that? Xia Yu blinked, trying to calm his uneasy heart.

It wasn’t until dinner that he and Mo An saw each other again, but it was in a situation where the whole family was present. His parents and sister all failed to notice that he wasn’t human.

“How many little fish did you buy today?” Xia Li brought out the main dish for tonight, seafood risotto, and served it to the children thoughtfully.

Xia Xiaoxiao was starving. She picked up her spoon and took a big bite. “We only bought six. Each one has a unique pattern. Dad, Mom, did you know? Something strange happened on Goldfish Street today. Everyone said it was a goldfish spirit wandering the human world, and the little fish recognized it.”

“Ah? There’s such a thing?” Zhang Mingqiao, of course, did not believe in the goldfish spirit, but he was patient and willing to listen to the children.

“Yes, if you don’t believe me, ask Mo An.” Xia Xiaoxiao gestured excitedly, her newly bought goldfish bracelet sparkling on her wrist. “The goldfish all over the street were dancing and trying to leap out of the water. I’ve attended many Goldfish Festivals, and this was the first time I saw that.”

Xia Yu kept his head down, eating. He didn’t dare join the discussion or look up. My silly sister, there is no goldfish spirit. The truly frightening non-human creature is sitting right beside you. He made all the goldfish go mad.

“Yes, I testify. Today was really strange.” Mo An pretended convincingly and casually put food in Xia Yu’s bowl. “Brother, eat more.”

“I’ll do it myself, thanks.” Xia Yu kept his head down, unsure of how to face what was to come.

Fortunately, Mo An did not press him. After dinner, he did not cling to Xia Yu to review homework together. After showering, Xia Yu first went to check on his sister to make sure that Mo An had not harmed her, and he felt relieved when he saw that she was unharmed. Soon after, heavy rain began to fall again outside. Strangely, there was no wind this time; the rain and thunder seemed to come without warning, right by the sea.

Looking at the sea now, Xia Yu saw a different kind of scenery. The former gentleness and blue had become a fragile protective color. At night, the ocean was awake. The pitch-black sea surface and pale waves had their own life. The true ruler lurked in the depths, growling and howling constantly, coming ashore at unknown times and mingling among humans.

Xia Yu suddenly had all kinds of strange fantasies. The damp air turned icy cold. He immediately closed the window, pulled the curtains shut, and curled up under the blanket, waiting for sleep.

But today’s shock was too great. No matter how many sheep he counted, he couldn’t sleep. So, he sat up, took out his laptop, and searched for keywords like “human gills” and “completely black eyes.”

The search results were all very vague. After all, no one in this world has gills, and completely black eyes are even more impossible. However, the answers he found could be traced back to surreal naturalist works. In some science fiction novels, he found a type of creature that satisfied his curiosity: mermaids.

They were fantasy creatures that simply could not exist.

Did they really not exist? Xia Yu stared at the answers on the screen, matching each piece of information to Mo An. Mo An liked eating fish, swam very fast, had gills at his collarbone and neck, had visited a pond of carnivorous fish, had a tear membrane over his eyes, all fish were afraid of him…right, and he couldn’t ride a bike! Of course, fish that lived in the sea all year round wouldn’t know how to ride a bike.

In summary, his younger brother was a mermaid.

Clang! Before Xia Yu could come to a decision, a sound in the hallway caught his attention once again. He looked toward the bedroom door. This time, as if possessed, he walked out without turning on his phone’s light.

It was already past midnight. The family was deep in sleep. Xia Yu felt off again, as if he didn’t recognize the house at night. It was as if there were some checkpoints in his head—once he left his room at night, information had to load, and everything he saw became sluggish.

The person making the noise was indeed Mo An. He was standing at the corner of the stairs. There was a flower stand at that corner, and on the top level was a fish tank with the little goldfish that had been bought today. Under the moonlight, the broad black silhouette looked like a monster illustration. First, Mo An squatted down, then slowly stood up.

When he turned around, Xia Yu saw the little goldfish he had bought today in his hand.

The little goldfish breathed in and out in his palm, its gills opening and closing from time to time. Xia Yu backed away. Was Mo An going to eat it? Was he going to slaughter all these little lives while the whole family was asleep?

But the bloody scene he had imagined didn’t materialize. Mo An reached his hand toward the fish tank and gently returned the goldfish that had jumped out to its tank.

“Brother, I already saw you.” Mo An turned his head toward the dark corner. “I want to tell you that I’m not a monster who only knows how to kill and eat fish. I have compassion and things I love, too. Come out, okay? Don’t hide from me.”

Perhaps because he saw Mo An put the little goldfish back, Xia Yu stepped out of the corner, but he was still trembling. “You…what exactly are you?”

“Can I say it in your room?” Mo An asked.

Xia Yu looked toward his bedroom and nodded. He was sure he was afraid of Mo An but also sure…he wasn’t repulsed by him.

The rain was still falling, probably until tomorrow morning. Mo An sat by the bed. Xia Yu made a cup of hot milk before coming over and slowly closing the door. “Keep your voice down. Don’t wake Dad, Mom, and Xiaoxiao.”

“The rain is so loud they won’t hear us talking.” Mo An secretly enjoyed doing something naughty. He patted the edge of the bed and said, “Come over. Let’s talk for a bit.”

“Tell me what’s really going on first.” Xia Yu was persistent and handed the hot milk to his younger brother.

Mo An took it. As if to prove that he wasn’t a monster who only ate blood and raw flesh, he drank the hot milk in one go and wiped the corner of his mouth. “Brother, I’m a mermaid. Do you believe me?”

So it really was a mermaid. Xia Yu nodded, somewhat understanding. “Really?”

Mo An lowered his tear membrane and stared at Xia Yu with completely black eyes. “Really. I’m a mermaid from the sea. But I’m a good fish, a kind fish. I came here just to find you—only for you.”

Xia Yu stared at Mo An’s legs, unable to imagine them turning into a fishtail. “Why? Do we know each other?”

“We do.” Mo An started executing his second-step plan. “When we were little, you saved me. Back then, I was a little mermaid.”

“Impossible.” Xia Yu didn’t believe him at all. “Why don’t I remember?”

Mo An thought for a moment and immediately came up with an idea. “Because humans are better off not remembering us. To make you forget me, I used my fishtail to whip you once, and then…you got whipped into amnesia.”

Very good. After saying that, Mo An nodded confidently, but was immediately hit on the head by a pillow that Xia Yu threw at him.