"Alright, alright, take your time." Ye Jiujiu couldn't stop her, so she could only quietly put back some snacks that weren't suitable for children. They contained too many preservatives, and eating too much of them would be bad for her health.
After finishing her selections, Ye Jiujiu bought toothbrushes, towels, bath towels, small water cups, and other daily necessities for the little mermaid, who couldn't return home for the time being. She even picked out a large, foldable plastic tub specifically for bathing.
Once they were done shopping for daily essentials, Ye Jiujiu took her to a children's clothing store to buy a few outfits. Unfortunately, the shop was closed. She would have to visit a large shopping mall on the commercial street another day.
"Let's go home."
The two of them carried their bags back, and just as they reached their doorstep, they ran into Grandma Liu, who was heading out for a hospital check-up. Ye Jiujiu instinctively tried to block the little mermaid from view.
But it was already too late.
Grandma Liu had seen her. She stared at the beautiful, delicate child in surprise.
"Jiujiu, whose child is this?"
Ye Jiujiu felt a headache coming on as she looked at the unregistered little mermaid. How was she supposed to explain this?
The little mermaid tilted her head and looked at the elderly woman, then spoke in a sweet, childish voice, "I am Ye Xiaoyu."
"Ye Xiaoyu?" Grandma Liu was startled. She shared the surname Ye?
"Jiujiu, is this your child?"
Ye Jiujiu was surprised at how well the little mermaid remembered her instructions—and that she had even learned to introduce herself. She had originally planned to hide her, but now she had no choice. She replied carefully, "She belongs to a distant relative of ours. There's no one else at home right now, so she's staying with me temporarily."
"No one else?" Grandma Liu immediately imagined a tragic story—something about a woman having a child with a foreigner who ran away, leaving mother and child to fend for themselves, and now some misfortune had forced the child to be sent here.
She looked at the confused little mermaid with pity, her heart softening. Rummaging through her pockets, she pulled out a packet of cookies and handed it to her.
"Here, little fish, have some cookies."
The little mermaid accepted them and softly said, "Thank you."
"She's so sensible." Grandma Liu sighed deeply. So young, yet she had already endured so much.
"Will she be living with you from now on?"
Ye Jiujiu nodded. "For now. It depends on whether her other family members come looking for her."
"That's good. At least she can keep you company and make the house livelier." After speaking, Grandma Liu hesitated. "But you're still young and unmarried—do you know how to take care of a child? It wouldn't be good if people started gossiping."
"Don't worry, Grandma Liu," Ye Jiujiu said gently. "Xiaoyu is very well-behaved and sensible. She's easy to take care of."
As for gossip, Ye Jiujiu didn't care much. Their courtyard was at the end of the alley, and most of the nearby shops had already closed down. The few that remained open rarely interacted, and the neighbors in the back alley usually entered through the main road. Unless someone deliberately came to their house, it would be hard to notice an extra child. Even if they did, it wouldn't matter—every family had a few distant relatives.
The little mermaid knew nothing of Grandma Liu's worries. She munched on her cookies like a little hamster, but her throat soon felt dry. She glanced at the milk in Ye Jiujiu's hand and said, "I want to drink this."
"Come inside and drink it." Ye Jiujiu opened the door and led her into the yard. She opened the bottle and handed it over. The little mermaid took it and sat quietly on a stool beneath the eaves, drinking.
"She really is easy to care for," Grandma Liu remarked, watching the child who neither cried nor fussed.
"If there's anything you don't understand, you can always ask me. I've raised plenty of children—I know all about it."
Ye Jiujiu smiled and agreed, though she didn't dare ask Grandma Liu for help in reality. What if the fish tail were accidentally exposed and frightened her?
Grandma Liu still had things to do, so she left after chatting for a few minutes. Once she was gone, the little mermaid scratched at her legs and stomped her feet uncomfortably.
"It hurts."
"Are you feeling unwell?" Ye Jiujiu put down her phone and looked at her slender, fair legs. Her skin had grown dry. The little mermaid hadn't soaked in water since noon the previous day, and the lack of moisture had caused mild dehydration."I'll give you a bath right away." Ye Jiujiu quickly unfolded the collapsible plastic bathtub she had bought at the supermarket, rinsed it clean, and began filling it with water. The tub was surprisingly large—two meters long and one meter wide—more than enough for the little mermaid to splash around in.
The little mermaid plunged straight into the water. Her beautiful fishtail swayed lightly, and in the blink of an eye she shot from one end of the tub to the other, taking less than two seconds.
Ye Jiujiu only saw a blur before the little mermaid popped up right in front of her. Wet hair clung to her face, droplets sliding down her cheeks.
"You swim so fast."
Clutching the edge of the tub, the little mermaid let out a cute, innocent "Ah!" and said proudly, "Brother is the fastest."
"How can you be this adorable?" Ye Jiujiu couldn't resist snapping a photo with her phone. "Are all mermaids as good-looking as you?"
The little mermaid tilted her head, stared straight at the camera, and declared with confidence, "I'm beautiful."
"She really is beautiful." Ye Jiujiu gently poked her smooth, jade-like cheek. "A little girl this pretty has gone missing—won't her family be worried?"
The little mermaid swished her tail lightly, clearly urging Ye Jiujiu to hurry up and make the cheese-baked lobster.
"Second-large lobster."
Ye Jiujiu was both amused and exasperated. "Your family must be worried sick, yet all you can think about is food."
The little mermaid nodded with absolute seriousness.
"Delicious."
"I hope your family finds you soon." If the little mermaid stayed here long-term, Ye Jiujiu would have to get her registered and enrolled in school. Just the thought of helping with homework and tutoring made her head ache.
The little mermaid, however, had no such concerns. She flicked her tail, turned around, and dove back into the water, continuing to show off her gorgeous tail, which shimmered with a faint pink glow under the sunlight.
Seeing how happy she was, Ye Jiujiu didn't rush to call her out. Instead, she went to the kitchen to prepare lunch. With plenty of seafood on hand today, she decided to make a large pot of seafood rice.
To make seafood paella, she needed clams, shrimp, and squid, along with chicken legs, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, corn kernels, mushrooms, rosemary, butter, turmeric powder, and other seasonings.
Seafood paella required advance preparation, so she began at 10:30. First, she cut off a small piece of butter and melted it in a pot. Once fragrant, she added chopped onions and sautéed them until soft and golden. Then she added the prepared seafood, cooking it until it was just half-done before removing it from the pot.
Ordinarily, a splash of white wine would be added to remove any fishy smell and enhance the flavor. However, the seafood delivered from the refrigerated truck was exceptionally fresh, so Ye Jiujiu skipped that step altogether.Next, she stir-fried the soaked jasmine rice until each grain turned translucent, thoroughly coated in butter. Then she added diced chicken thighs, bell peppers, mushrooms, and seafood, tossing everything together. Finally, she sprinkled in a small amount of turmeric powder. Instantly, the rice took on a beautiful golden hue, glossy and inviting.
After seasoning, she poured in the pre-prepared chicken broth and let it simmer over low heat until fully cooked.
This single pot was enough to feed twelve or thirteen tables of guests. Since it needed to simmer for a long time, Ye Jiujiu kept a careful eye on the heat to prevent it from burning.
The rich aroma of butter gradually spread outward.
The little mermaid, who had been playing happily in the plastic tub, could no longer resist the scent. She grabbed onto the edge and struggled to climb out, using her tail to bounce herself forward. With a series of slap, slap sounds, she landed awkwardly on the ground, pouting as pain shot through her.
"It hurts!"
Hearing the noise, Ye Jiujiu rushed out of the kitchen and saw the little mermaid leaning against the doorframe, trying to balance on her tail, tears welling in her eyes.
"How did you jump out?"
"It smells good…" The little mermaid looked toward the kitchen pitifully.
"Why are you so greedy?" Ye Jiujiu quickly picked her up, checking her tail from top to bottom. Only after confirming there were no injuries did she relax.
"Does your tail hurt?"
"Ouch, ouch." The little mermaid wagged her tail, looking terribly wronged.
"You still feel pain?" Ye Jiujiu gently wiped her tail dry. "If you wanted to come out, you could've called me. If you hurt your tail, you'll end up crying."
The little mermaid blinked and replied in a soft, childish voice, "I won't cry."
As she spoke, she clenched her fists to encourage herself.
"Don't cry. Be brave."
Only then did Ye Jiujiu realize that the little mermaid hadn't cried once since arriving. Maybe crying wasn't allowed back home? She gently patted the child's back.
"It's okay. Little ones are allowed to cry. You don't have to hold it in."
"Don't cry." The little mermaid nestled into her shoulder and rubbed against her gently.
"Jiujiu, I won't cry."
Ye Jiujiu didn't catch the meaning behind her words—only the way she addressed her.
"You should call me sister."
The little mermaid nuzzled her again and softly called out,
"Jiujiu?"
Her voice was sweet and tender, as though she were calling both an elder sister and someone she deeply relied on.
"…Fine, call me whatever you like." Ye Jiujiu bent down, helped her put on her dress, then carried her to a stool. She scooped a bowl of rich, fragrant seafood rice and placed it in front of her.
"Eat."
"Thank you~" The little mermaid held the bowl, took a deep breath, and her eyes lit up.
"I like this. It smells so good."
"I knew you would." Ye Jiujiu placed a spoon into the bowl.
"Eat slowly."
"Okay." The little mermaid buried her face in the bowl, taking big mouthfuls without hesitation.
"Slow down," Ye Jiujiu reminded her gently. "There's still plenty left in the pot."
"Mmm." The little mermaid lifted her face, rice grains stuck everywhere, smiling so happily that her eyes curved into crescents.
"Look at you." Ye Jiujiu didn't know whether to laugh or sigh. She looked just like a little kitten covered in food.
The little mermaid blinked, let out a soft, babyish babble, and continued eating without a care in the world.
The lucky little one got to enjoy the delicious seafood, but passersby outside were far less fortunate. As the aroma drifted through the alley, people swallowed hard.
"What is that smell? It's amazing!"
"Is someone baking with butter?"
"This isn't a cake shop—it's a seafood place," said someone who had once been tormented by grilled squid. "They're probably making buttered seafood."
"I really want to eat it…"
"How about we skip noodles today and try seafood instead?"
"Isn't it expensive?"
"Eating it once a month is fine." The passerby was already tempted. "If I don't eat it today, I won't be able to sleep."
"…Alright, let's splurge once."
At this, the noodle shop owner's face darkened. He slammed the bamboo ladle onto the counter.
"It's expensive and tastes terrible. Why would anyone want to get ripped off? They must be crazy."
"We've already lost quite a few customers these past few days," his wife complained. "If this keeps up, she'll steal all our business sooner or later."
The noodle shop owner glanced toward the end of the alley several times before turning back to his wife.
"Do we still have the phone numbers those people left the day before yesterday?"
She pointed toward the backyard. "They should be in the account book. Why?"
"Don't worry about it." The noodle shop owner turned and headed toward the back, reaching for the ledger.