Chapter 32#

The Innocent and Naive Fool#

Lin Xiaodong read through the message Lu Xing had sent him and found that his previous guess was correct: the other party had indeed discovered his identity from the very beginning.

He didn’t even bother with doubt, directly and explicitly inviting Lin Xiaodong: “The other day I saw you holding a copy of The Little Prince. I happen to have a private rose garden on Central Planet, and it’s currently in bloom. You are welcome to visit anytime /Smiling Face /Smiling Face /Smiling Face”

Along with the invitation, Lu Xing also sent a photo of the interior of the rose garden.

The photo must have been taken in the early morning. Under the soft sunlight, large clusters of roses bloomed fervently among green leaves, with dew refracting light like sparkling diamonds between the petals.

But what drew the eye was the life-sized white jade merman fountain in the center.

The merman sat on the fountain’s base with his head down, his tail fin skimming the water surface like a dragonfly. In his hands, he held a bright red rose, as if looking down and sniffing the rich fragrance within the stamen. The fountain spray fell into the pool, misty water vapor refracting rainbow colors in the sunlight, instantly making the blooming roses in the garden pale in comparison.

Lin Xiaodong noticed that the rose in the merman statue’s hands had been freshly picked from a branch and was still very fresh.

He stared at the photo for a few seconds and then clicked out.

System: “So Lu Xing knows more about merfolk than we imagined.”

“Exactly,” Lin Xiaodong nodded.

He wasn’t really a fool. For Lu Xing to send him a photo of this fountain, it couldn’t naturally just be to show how beautiful his rose garden was. Just looking at that merman statue, one knew that without a prototype, it would be basically impossible for even the most skilled master to carve it so realistically, perfectly replicating even the slightest expression of joy on the merman’s face.

“Is Lu Xing trying to hint to me that he knows the whereabouts of those merfolk kidnapped years ago?” he pondered for a moment and guessed. “But System, I recall the plot introduction saying that aside from me, there are no living merfolk left in the world?”

System: “Yes.”

“But it didn’t clearly state how those merfolk died,” Lin Xiaodong muttered to himself. “Maybe they died of weakness from being too far from Garan Lake, or were tortured to death by nobles, or died from mental exhaustion—there are many possibilities. I’ve been searching the Star Net lately, but opinions vary and there’s no unified story. It seems there’s a hidden story behind those events.”

“So you’ve decided to go?” the System asked instinctively. “What about Gu Xi’s side?”

This was indeed a problem.

Lin Xiaodong couldn’t think of a good way for the moment, and he didn’t trust Lu Xing—that “smiling tiger”—at all. So he simply brushed the other party off with a cat-head emoji, neither agreeing nor refusing, giving an ambiguous reply.

Having met a soft rebuff, Lu Xing didn’t seem to mind. He just sent one or two meteor showers every day when Lin Xiaodong started his live stream, seemingly just there to kindly show support.

But the problem was, with Lu Xing’s status as the Crown Prince of the Empire, how could he not attract others’ attention?

Only a week after starting the broadcast, the account “I Have a Big Tail” directly parachuted to the top spot as the No. 1 streamer in the music section, even squeezing out a group of veteran original singers. This immediately drew dissatisfaction from a large number of fans—it was simple: Lin Xiaodong had no works of his own and didn’t show his face, yet he could top the charts just by humming every day. Based on what?

“Could this be some royal member?”

“Hard to say. Crown Prince sends gifts on the very first day; who’d believe it if it weren’t royalty?”

“Even if they’re real royalty, they can’t do this. I admit the voice sounds great and the timbre is very special, but this is the original music section. Why should a streamer who only knows how to hum occupy the top spot?”

“So-and-so sings much better than him!”

Lin Xiaodong originally hadn’t intended to pay attention to these comments. He was here to cure people, not to engage in a war of words with fans of internet celebrities. But Lu Xing again “perfectly timed” a message to him, tactfully indicating that if needed, he could help Lin Xiaodong solve these troubles.

Out of curiosity, Lin Xiaodong agreed.

It was unknown exactly what method Lu Xing used, but after a mere half day, not a single comment about him could be found on the entire Star Net. Accounts that should be banned were banned, those that should be muted were muted. It could be said that both the red and black (positive and negative attention) were wiped out in the blink of an eye.

“Lu Xing’s control over public opinion is stronger than I imagined,” Lin Xiaodong browsed through the forums where netizens were as quiet as winter cicadas. Far from being angry, he commented with interest, “It seems these nobles aren’t entirely useless. The new faction’s strength in technology and media far exceeds that of the old faction, while the old faction is better at infrastructure and the all-important manufacturing. If Gu Xi really wants to lead the military to take down these nobles, it will take at least twenty more years of effort.”

After arriving in Sagittarius, Gu Xi hadn’t contacted him for a while.

Every time Lin Xiaodong called, he could only hear messages like “Sorry, the signal has been blocked” or “The star sector where the other party is located is not in the service area.” However, the man had given him a heads-up beforehand, saying the upcoming period might be quite tense, so Lin Xiaodong didn’t worry too much.

Just in case, he pre-recorded three songs for Gu Xi, instructing him to listen to them to fall asleep if he felt irritable or physically unwell. Gu Xi also knew the effects of merman songs and naturally agreed readily.

Upon finding out online that the rose blooming season only lasted two months, Lin Xiaodong decided to take the opportunity to keep the appointment with Lu Xing.

Because he didn’t want to expose the location of Gu Xi’s safe house, and also to leave himself a way out, he proactively contacted Lulu. He used the excuse of wanting to find the location of the merman cemetery to move her, persuading her to agree to help.

The soft-hearted Lulu quickly agreed, but although kind, she was not stupid. After all, as a princess who grew up in the royal family with an elite noble education, she repeatedly warned Lin Xiaodong: “Do not believe a single word that man says. I watched this brother of mine grow up; he is a lunatic who will do anything to achieve his goals.”

Lin Xiaodong was a bit eager to try. Except for his poor health, Lu Xing looked quite decent on the surface. Could this man actually be the same brand of “crazy” as Lin Xiamian?

Seeing is believing; he still intended to go meet the other party in person.

He logged into his Star Net background and asked if Lu Xing had time lately. The other side replied almost instantly: “Three days from now, see you at the Rose Manor.”

Rose Manor…

Lin Xiaodong searched online and found that the manor was registered under the name of someone named Noah. But he searched through the royal family’s public registers and couldn’t find this person at all.

With a heart of suspicion and testing, three days later, Lin Xiaodong arrived at the manor’s main gate.

An attendant in a tuxedo respectfully led him through the gates of the rose garden, following a narrow slab path straight ahead. On both sides were lush rose bushes, a rich fragrance wafting toward him. Lin Xiaodong had the momentary illusion of being in an ocean of roses.

He thought the end of the path would be the destination, but to his surprise, it turned out to be a huge labyrinth made of rose trellises. As if intentionally trying to confuse him, the attendant led him back and forth through the maze. An ordinary person would have been muddled long ago, but Lin Xiaodong had the system; no matter how many eighty-one turns the attendant made, it made no difference to him.

“This manor design is truly bizarre,” but he still couldn’t help complaining to the system. “When coming up just now, it was a long uphill climb, and there’s only one road both up and down the mountain. Here it’s a maze going round and round. Did Lu Xing build a manor or a prison?”

With great effort, he emerged from the maze, and the familiar merman fountain sculpture met his eyes. Lu Xing was sitting by the fountain, a book in hand that he was quietly flipping through. Hearing footsteps, the pale-faced youth looked up and gave Lin Xiaodong a gentle smile:

“Welcome to Rose Manor.”

The attendant who led the way brought a tray with a rose-shaped stud earring on it, along with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball for sterilization.

Lin Xiaodong didn’t take it, but stared at Lu Xing, meaning he wanted an explanation.

“This is a technological product developed by a company under my name. It can automatically judge what a person wants to say based on the vibration frequency of the vocal cords and convert it into standard sentences.” Lu Xing smiled slightly, his gaze toward him carrying no malice. “The only downside is that it’s expensive and difficult to mass-produce, so there’s only this one style of stud earring.”

Lin Xiaodong understood.

This thing was equivalent to a high-tech translator; wearing it would allow him to have normal conversations with people. Only, no matter how he looked at it, such a novel function didn’t seem developed for actual disabled people, and Lu Xing didn’t seem like the type to do charity.

In other words, this was a translator specifically serving merfolk.

Seeing Lin Xiaodong slow to decide, Lu Xing simply closed the book, set it aside, and stood up to walk over to him.

The youth took the stud from the tray and calmly shot a glance at the attendant, who sensibly lowered his head and withdrew.

“If you’re afraid of pain,” he turned his gaze back to Lin Xiaodong, who hadn’t moved, and suggested considerately, “I can do it for you.”

“Or,” Lu Xing paused and asked as if casually, “Xiaodong, do you not trust me?”

Lin Xiaodong exchanged a look with him.

Lu Xing’s pale eyes were clean and frank, showing no trace of malice, appearing to be sincerely looking out for him.

System: “Don’t forget…”

“Don’t worry,” Lin Xiaodong gave a light hum. “I know, I’m a fool right now.”

Think about it—a true “silly-sweet” innocent would absolutely not have the word “vigilance” in their brain.

So the little merman just shook his head, reached out to lift the long hair by his ear, and without doubt exposed his most vulnerable snow-white neck to a stranger.

But Lu Xing noticed that the little merman’s hand involuntarily gripped the edge of his clothes, and the thin tail fin also began to tremble slightly in the air because of tension. His gaze switched rapidly back and forth between the earring and the ground, appearing to be forcing himself not to be afraid.

“Don’t be afraid.” His voice softened involuntarily. “It won’t hurt at all.”

The youth wiped the earring with the alcohol cotton, one hand gently supporting the back of Lin Xiaodong’s head, while the other hand pressed hard and accurately against the little merman’s white and small earlobe. The stud popped out automatically, piercing the tender skin in the blink of an eye.

“There,” he said brightly, even producing a mirror from somewhere to show Lin Xiaodong. “Very beautiful. The rose suits your skin tone very well.”

The little merman picked up the mirror with teary eyes. No choice; a merman’s tear ducts were too developed, it wasn’t that he wanted to cry. In the mirror, the youth’s clear and handsome face had turned a faint pink because of the stinging pain in his ear. The left ear that had just been ravaged was as red as dripping blood. A trace of fresh red slowly seeped from the wound along the patterns of the petals, adding a bloodthirsty enchantment to the originally ordinary rose stud.

Lu Xing reached out, seemingly unintentionally brushing his fingertip against the little merman’s ear to wipe away that drop of fresh blood.

“Truly beautiful.” He smiled, lamenting once again.

Lin Xiaodong looked at the smile on Lu Xing’s face and opened his mouth: “I…”

The sound emitted by the earring was a bit strange—not like the flat recorded voice of an AI, but also slightly deeper than his original voice, yet with a lot of character, sounding like a young man’s voice.

“Come, sit.”

For some reason, the way Lu Xing looked at him was becoming dangerous, but when Lin Xiaodong looked over, he returned to his previous smiling manner.

He wanted to take Lin Xiaodong’s hand, but was avoided by the little merman. The youth’s movement paused for a second, his smile stiffening slightly, but he still suggested warmly: “Climbing the mountain was hard. It’s perfect timing; go rest by the fountain for a bit.”

Lin Xiaodong nodded. He looked at the book placed face down beside the fountain and asked: “What book are you reading?”

“I think you should be able to guess.” Lu Xing bent down to pick up the copy of The Little Prince with its graffiti-style cover. Lin Xiaodong noticed that although this book was well-preserved, the corners of the pages were slightly curled, indicating it had been flipped through many times.

He was indeed a bit tired. The hardship of walking with a tail was something humans with two legs couldn’t appreciate. The little merman looked with some longing at the clear pool water in the fountain and asked very politely: “Can I go in and swim for a while?”

Lu Xing laughed: “Of course.”

He very gentlemanly let Lin Xiaodong rest his hand on his, supporting the little merman as he sent him into the pool, then turned on the fountain’s activation device. In an instant, the air filled with water mist moistening dry skin, rainbow light shimmering in mid-air. The white merman stone sculpture above and the silver-tailed merman freely swishing his tail in the pool together formed a beautiful and wonderful picture.

Lin Xiaodong subconsciously shook his head. Water vapor stained his long hair, condensing into strings of tiny crystal beads, looking indistinct in the mist. But such humidity was just right for a merman. He took a deep breath of enjoyment and dove headfirst into the water.

The pool water was wider than imagined, and the depth far exceeded that of an ordinary fountain, as if it had been built with more than just ornamental gardening functions in mind. Lin Xiaodong’s internal suspicion deepened. He narrowed his eyes under the water, carefully observing the situation inside this fountain, and actually discovered a clue.

Underneath the base of the merman statue, an irregular white mark was faintly visible, looking a bit like handwriting.

The little merman nimbly swished his tail in the water, looking up at the sky. Good, Lu Xing didn’t seem to have noticed this side for the moment. Taking this opportunity, he quickly swam near that spot and glanced down as if nonchalantly.

Two words had been carved onto the base—

“Run away.”