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nAt least not anymore.

nShe turned her head to look at him and noticed the nervous expression on his face and decided to be nothing but truthful to him. With one of her hands lying on her side and the other on the table she very carefully began, ” I … I won’t say that I don’t feel anything for you either, I do… though I am not clear whether its like or just desire for you.” She noticed the way Xiao Hua’s face lit up and felt a bit amused, was she really that good? That her small concession made him happy like that? ” But I will be honest with you, at the moment, I am afraid that even if my feelings for you are more than just being friends with you, I can’t act on them…”

nWhile she was speaking she kept a close glance at Xiao Hua’s expression and when she noticed that he wasn’t angry or upset, she continued, ” Chi is pregnant and I do not want to give him any shock or anything that will make him upset. That is why even if we have reached the border where we can no longer deny anything, we can’t let anyone know about us at the moment… I am sorry about this but this is something I have to do.”

n” I know,” her kindness and care for her mers was the reason he was so attracted to her in the first place. He has seen the women bringing one mer after another in their harem without caring about their husbands, Yu Dong was different from them at least she cared about her mers and he wouldn’t ask her to change it for anything, even for himself. ” I will be fine as long as we have established a relationship…like I said, I am willing to wait for you.”

n” Establishing our relationship,” Yu Dong scratched her chin as she thought carefully causing Xiao Hua’s heart to jump to his throat as he immediately shot up from his seat and exclaimed in a loud voice, ” Are you denying me that as well? I never thought that you will do something like this, Dong Dong! After taking advantage of me, you are refusing to take responsibility.”

nYu Dong was both amused and angry by his reaction, she snickered nastily and said, ” Xiao Hua, have you forgotten? You are the one who took advantage of me, how come suddenly it is me who took advantage of you?”

nXiao Hua shrugged and immediately said, ” But I never once denied taking responsibility of you.”

nThis time Yu Dong laughed out, look at him, with his tiny build that was so small that she could pick up him anytime and anywhere without even breaking a sweat and here he was saying that he will be responsible for her? Was he serious?

n”I didn’t refuse to take responsibility of you either,” she chuckled for a while and then very seriously looked at Xiao Hua. ” I am willing to take responsibility of you but I want to clear one thing, if we get into a relationship, I will not do anything to you until you are married to me. I do not want a repetition of last night, I know that you like me and that’s enough for me at the moment as for the rest of the time, try to understand me more as a person. Because as embarrassing as it sounds, we don’t know much about each other.”

nXiao Hua had to admit that she was right. He didn’t know her that well, though he liked her a lot apart from the basic things, he didn’t know anything about Yu Dong…what she said was not only respectful but also quite nice, this was his first time listening to someone caring about him so much, before her—— every woman he came in contact with wanted nothing more than holding him down and drag him to their bed but here he was giving Yu Dong a full opportunity to drag him but she was willing to wait.

n” All right, I understand.” Xiao Hua nodded his head, he wouldn’t refuse this suggestion that Yu Dong has given him. She has taken a step back and was willing to give him a chance then he should too take a step back and do as she was asking him.

n” But we are in a relationship aren’t we?” He asked after a short pause feeling it to be too good to be true.

nYu Dong smiled at him with adoration as she gave him a tiny nod. “Yes, we are in a relationship for the time being until we get married.”

n” Yu Dong! You are so amazing!” Xiao Hua who felt like he was walking in the seventh heaven immediately threw his arms around Yu Dong’s neck causing the latter to chuckle.

nHe was so happy that he embraced Yu Dong at once and that was the scene that Gu Ke Jin came to witness as soon as she opened the door of the bar and found Xiao Hua straddling Yu Dong. Her brows scrunched up and she would have yelled at him if not for catching glimpse of Yu Dong who was smiling at Xiao Hua calmly.

nGu Ke Jin swallowed her words and then cleared her throat causing Xiao Hua to jump off Yu Dong’s lap with a yelp. He turned to look at her in surprise before heaving a sigh of relief, ” Oh it’s you.”

nIt’s you? Did this mer have no shame? Where was the blush? Why was he looking at her as if some random cat or dog barged in?

n—————-

n” Yes, it’s me,” though Xiao Hua’s reaction was anything but normal, Gu Ke Jin was used to him being unique when compared to other mers, therefore she didn’t mind him acting like this, instead she calmly shrugged off her straw hat and jacket that she wore to protect herself from the rain and walked inside the bar. ” Did you two stay the night here?”

nBoth Yu Dong and Xiao Hua looked like they didn’t go back home, Xiao Hua was still dressed in yesterday’s clothes and Yu Dong was dressed in a robe that was thrown in the office when it didn’t come in use.

n” We did,” Yu Dong replied knowing that there was no point in denying it. ” The storm was too violent last night and we couldn’t go back home after we were done with our work. Staying here looked a lot more reasonable than being caught in a storm.”

nGu Ke Jin nodded in understanding, the storm was indeed violent. Last night many people who couldn’t find a shelter were injured. If either Yu Dong or Xiao Hua would have walked back home then surely they would have suffered. ” It was a good decision to stay here, I heard that at least ten people were injured last night because they tried to return home.”

nYu Dong was startled by the information —— ten people? That was a large number with no proper medical equipment and knowledge surely these people will suffer a great deal. Fortunately, she didn’t run out of the bar willy nilly or else the count would have risen to eleven.

n” Is it still raining?” Last night the storm was causing havoc and she pulled the curtains of the big window, before dragging Xiao Hua to the innermost corner of the bar. Therefore, she couldn’t hear the sound of rain coming from outside.

n” Not like last night,” was all Gu Ke Jin said as she turned to look at Xiao Hua and said, ” last night one of the mammies sent word that Li Hanjing was worried about you, so I told him that you are with me. You should go home and take a look, I guess your friends must be really worried about you.”

nAfter she was done relaying the message to Xiao Hua, she turned back to Yu Dong and added, ” Master Chi too sent one mammy, he asked me to tell you that there was no need to come back home and stay where you are lest you try to get back home with the storm going on like that.”

nYu Dong felt a bit guilty about worrying Fang Chi before she pushed herself off the chair and said, ” I will send word to him once the mammies arrive, we still need to discuss the launch of our new dishes there is no time for me to go back home right now,” then she looked at Xiao Hua who was standing next to her and patted his head. ” Go back home, this time don’t go on foot but instead take a cart, the road is slippery you will end up hurting yourself.”

n” I understand,” with a blushing face, Xiao Hua responded. He felt really happy upon being cared for by Yu Dong like a lover instead of a friend. Then he took the umbrella that Gu Ke Jin handed to him and walked towards the threshold of the bar with a goodbye wave but then just as he was going to step out of the bar, he rushed back and threw his arms around Yu Dong again before kissing her smack on the lips.

nHe heard Gu Ke Jin gasp behind him but he didn’t regret his decision, he wanted to stay as close to Yu Dong as he could and enjoy this not so secret relationship of theirs for a while.

nOnce he pulled back Yu Dong glared at him but he could see the smile in her eyes as she pinched his cheek and said, ” You naughty mer, go … return home soon. Or else Li Hanjing will come to the town while worrying about you.”

n” I know,” this time though reluctant he walked out of the bar.

nGu Ke Jin who witnessed something really shocking looked at Yu Dong like she has seen a ghost. ” You… what was that?”

n” A mer in love?”

n—————

nXiao Hua hummed as he got off the ox cart and paid Aunt Wang the fare before walking towards the village with a pretty pink umbrella over his head.

n” I am a little mer, walking to my home … oh dear I have lost the way, someone come and fetch me my heart.” He sang skipping as he jumped past the potholes and the mud-filled pits, trying to avoid dirtying his clothes because he was too busy keeping his clothes clean, he didn’t sense the presence that was following him as soon as he got off Aunt Wang’s ox cart.

n—— new rewards systems—

n1) castle — one bonus chapter

n2) spacecraft — three extra chapter

n3) gachapon —five extra chapter ( one extra chapter for five, three days consecutively)

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