Since Wen Yu was busy most of the time, Carl and Lansi were usually the ones interacting.
To Carl, Lansi had become more and more human. In his words, it was just "a little trick."
Every day, Lansi insisted on having fish soup. It had to be just right—not too salty, not too bland—and it had to be served with a spoon.
Sometimes he wanted tea, preferably black tea in a cup, or juice.
Carl often felt like rolling his eyes.
Good grief. A fish that drinks tea? Isn't the pool already filled with water? Why does he need tea?
As for meals, Lansi seemed to have compromised. But what struck Carl as odd was how, every time Lansi had fish soup, he would beckon him over.
Carl, confused but obedient, would walk over, only for Lansi to shove a spoonful of soup into his mouth.
What was this all about?
At first, Carl thought Lansi might be in heat or experiencing some strange form of maternal instinct, trying to feed him out of affection. But then Lansi would never let him eat more than a single bite.
Carl was always left standing there, dazed.
After feeding him, Lansi would eat the rest of the soup himself, using another spoon, all while looking at Carl with deep disdain.
Carl eventually complained to Rose over video. After a long silence, she sighed and said:
"I think Lansi's trying to tell you just how awful your cooking is."
She didn't need to taste it. Just knowing Carl was the one cooking was enough.
"How does Lansi even manage to eat that stuff?"
Carl fell silent.
Taste? Who cares about taste? As long as it fills your stomach, isn't that enough?
Apparently not. Not for Lansi.
To be fair, the fish soup made by Carl and Rose was worlds apart.
Recently, the soup had either been way too salty or oddly sweet, leaving Lansi to wonder if Carl's taste buds were malfunctioning.
Still, for the sake of survival, Lansi had no choice but to hypnotize himself before each meal.
During this period, Lansi didn't always stay in the water. He often sat by the pool with his tail soaking, watching Carl busy himself.
Sometimes Carl would be in the garden out back, sometimes inside the villa using various appliances.
From Lansi's perspective, the villa had electricity, internet, and even the glass box that had once imprisoned him in the living room.
What shocked him most was the discovery that this world, which he thought had fallen into apocalyptic ruin, still had normal functions.
Jobs may have vanished, but people could still order takeout and receive deliveries.
Order takeout... unpack deliveries...
Lansi was stunned.
For the first time, he had an idea for how to escape.
That night, while Carl was sleeping, Lansi stared at the villa with a serious face and devised his escape plan.
Step one: enter the villa.
He needed to figure out exactly where he was. How far was the sea from here?
Step two: mail himself out.
When Carl was away, he could sneak into the glass box and order a delivery online to have the box sent to the sea.
It seemed doable.
Delivery services claimed they could deliver anything. So why not ship a mermaid?
The plan sounded ridiculous, but after thinking hard, Lansi couldn't come up with a better one.
If he used a little trick to lure Carl away, the plan might actually work.
Having confirmed that it was at least possible, Lansi pressed his palms together solemnly and bowed.
"Sorry, Carl. From today on, I'm going to start making things difficult for you."
Namo Amitabha.
Then he turned, swam over to the pool drains, and blocked them like usual.
Next, he dove toward the black plug at the bottom. Taking a deep breath, he summoned all his strength and yanked it out.
Pop.
The last time he had tried this, Carl thought the plug had just come loose on its own. He'd plugged it back in without inspecting it further.
Carl's carelessness gave Lansi the opening he needed.
…
The next morning, when Carl came to check on Lansi, he froze.
The plug was missing, the pool nearly empty. Only a shallow puddle of water remained, barely enough for the fish to survive.
In the middle of the pool lay the white-haired mermaid, face-down, completely motionless.
Carl's hands trembled as he grabbed Lansi's face. The physical sensation told him this was no illusion.
"Ahhhhhh—!"
Carl let out a wail, grabbing fistfuls of his own hair until he looked like a madman.
How long had the pool been like this?
Since last night?
If Lansi had been without water for that long, wouldn't he have dried out?
His head spun. The white mermaid wasn't just Lansi, he was 200 million dollars' worth of Lansi.
If he died of dehydration, Carl knew that Wen Yu would kill him without mercy.
Mind blank, Carl jumped into the pool, rushed over, turned Lansi over, and cradled him in his arms.
"Lan... si..."
Lansi: "..."
Why does this feel like a scene from Romeo and Juliet?
Time to test his acting skills.
He quickly composed himself, opened his eyes weakly, and looked into Carl's panicked face. Then he raised a trembling hand and pointed toward the villa.
Carl blinked. "What is it?"
Lansi mouthed the word water, then dramatically rolled his eyes and pretended to faint.
To make it more convincing, he even blew out a bit of white foam from the gill behind his ear.
Anyone watching would assume he was dying of thirst.
The goal was clear: get Carl to carry him into the villa, where he could learn the access password.
"Yes! There's water in the villa!"
Carl didn't think twice. He gently laid Lansi down and bolted into the house.
Lansi, still pretending to be unconscious: "???"
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
Soon, he heard Carl's footsteps returning. Lansi stayed still, waiting to see what Carl had brought.
Then he heard a clunk as Carl set something down.
A basin. A full basin of water.
Before Lansi could react, Carl lifted his head and dunked it straight into the water.
Lansi: "???"
He was completely caught off guard. If he weren't a mermaid, he'd be suing Carl for attempted murder.
Was something seriously wrong with this man's brain?
He struggled to lift his head.
"Don't move, you're still bubbling!" Carl insisted, holding Lansi down.
"You need to hydrate. Can't you breathe in water?"
Lansi thrashed his tail in protest.
Sure, he could breathe underwater—but who hydrates by soaking only their head?
"Relax, relax," Carl said soothingly, holding his tail with one hand.
"The pool's not ready yet, but this is the fastest way. It may be dumb, but it works."
After all, when humans go diving, they just wear helmets to breathe, right?
By that logic, this should work for a mermaid too.
A vein popped on Lansi's forehead.
He waited until Carl's grip loosened, then yanked his head up to yell. But Carl reacted instantly, pushing him back into the basin.
Lansi: "..."
Absolute idiocy.
"I know it's uncomfortable, but bitter medicine cures the disease," Carl said, still gently pressing his head down.
Tiny bubbles floated to the surface as Lansi gave up and let himself sink.
Carl sighed in relief. Just as he was about to get up, Lansi suddenly struggled again.
Carl reflexively pushed him back.
Click.
At that moment, a small white projector by the pool lit up.
Wen Yu's face appeared on the screen just in time to see Carl forcibly dunking Lansi's head underwater.
If Lansi were human, it would have looked like a live torture scene.
There was a long silence.
Lansi kept bubbling in the basin. Carl froze mid-pose.
"Carl," Wen Yu said calmly, "what are you doing?"
Only his voice betrayed the storm beneath.
Carl turned slowly. Realizing how their position looked—one hand on Lansi's tail, the other pressing down on his head—he jumped back as if electrocuted.
"It's not what it looks like! The water ran out! I'm just helping Lansi rehydrate!"
Lansi raised his head, wiped his face, adjusted his expression, then turned to Wen Yu.
He pointed at Carl and let out an indignant string of whines.
Clearly, he was telling on him.
The scene turned into a noisy back-and-forth between a man and a mermaid.
Wen Yu rubbed his temples and said with irritation, "Quiet."
Everything fell silent.
He looked at the pool, his gaze settling on the black plug.
Then he turned to Lansi, eyes unreadable.
Under Wen Yu's stare, Lansi began to feel nervous. It was like he was being seen right through.
He didn't wait for Wen Yu to say anything. Instead, he slithered to the basin and shoved his head back in with a splash.
Seeing this, Carl smiled proudly and said, "See? My method works!"
Wen Yu's temple twitched.
He decided he'd come back early.
"Why didn't you carry him into the bathtub inside the villa?" he asked flatly.
That had clearly been the right move from the start.
Carl looked blank for a moment, then realized his mistake.
"Oh. Right. That makes more sense."
Lansi, still bubbling, rolled his eyes.
Finally. Someone with a brain.
Carl rolled up his sleeves and was about to carry Lansi inside.
"Wait," Wen Yu called. "Once you get Lansi into the bathtub, clean up the pool."
His gaze landed again on the plug.
Why did this pool even have such a design flaw?
"Block that drain for good. Don't let Lansi pull the plug again."
"Oh, sure, no problem."
Carl nodded enthusiastically, completely missing the implication that Lansi had caused the mess.
Lansi twitched his fins and decided to keep playing dead until the projection shut off.
But deep down, he was delighted.
Finally, his escape plan could begin.