Carl had been busy for a while before heading up to the second floor to look for Lansi.
In his mind, the white mermaid should still be playing in the bathtub.
Carl couldn't help but wonder if Lansi had taken a liking to that little rubber duck.
He imagined the mermaid with his tail flicked up, playing with the small yellow duck, and smiled indulgently at the image.
Even though Lansi could be a real handful sometimes, raising him felt like witnessing a miracle.
Rather than thinking of it as raising some inhuman species, Carl felt more like he was watching something extraordinary unfold right in front of him.
Without even realizing it, Carl had started looking at Lansi with the same eyes he once used to look at his younger brother.
Well—specifically, that kind of "older brother" gaze. And that word had... two meanings, didn't it?
The more Carl thought about it, the better he felt. He even decided to stop holding a grudge over the mess Lansi had made in the pool. With a spring in his step, he strode excitedly toward the bathroom and pushed the door open.
"Lansi, did you miss me?"
But his cheerful voice was cut short the moment he opened the door.
There was no white mermaid inside.
Carl stared at the empty bathroom, his smile freezing.
He knew it. He shouldn't have been so trusting.
With a sigh, Carl wiped his face, silently backed out of the bathroom, and walked toward the other side of the hallway. If he had to guess, Lansi had probably gone into Wen Yu's room.
As it turned out, Carl was right.
He found Lansi in Wen Yu's room.
And of course, Lansi had made a mess.
Thanks to Lansi's curiosity, the once tidy bedroom now looked like it had been hit by a storm.
Carl opened the bedroom door a crack and was immediately met with the aftermath.
The closet door was wide open. The previously neat rows of military uniforms were now in disarray, several hangers strewn across the floor.
Was he trying to steal clothes?
Carl stepped into the room and picked up one of the discarded uniforms, raising an eyebrow.
Everyone knew that Colonel Wen Yu lived a simple, restrained life. He was famously stoic and never seemed to care about appearances. His wardrobe reflected that—nothing but military-issued clothing.
As a mermaid, Lansi normally didn't need clothes. He spent most of his time in the sea. So what was he doing with Wen Yu's uniforms?
The room was eerily quiet, and Carl's curiosity grew. He carefully followed the trail of clothes further inside, and when he reached the bed, he froze.
The bed was covered in a scattered pile of uniforms. Nestled among them was the white mermaid, fast asleep. Lansi had a military shirt clutched in his hands, and another jacket draped loosely over his upper body.
His back was to Carl, so all he could see was Lansi curled up peacefully in the fabric, his chest gently rising and falling with each breath.
He looked completely defenseless.
Carl stood there, momentarily unsure what to do.
He had originally planned to scold Lansi and drag him out of the room. But now, seeing him asleep for the first time like this, Carl found that he couldn't bring himself to interrupt.
He didn't know exactly what Lansi had gone through, but he could imagine how terrifying it must have been—living free in the sea one day, and then being captured and tormented by humans the next.
Over the past few days, Carl had noticed something off. Lansi's pranks didn't feel like mischief—they felt like anxiety in disguise.
Wen Yu was the only one who could truly calm Lansi down. With him gone, maybe this was the only way Lansi could feel safe. Maybe, by curling up in Wen Yu's clothes, he could pretend Wen Yu was still nearby.
Carl stared at the sight for a while, then quietly took out his communicator and snapped a photo.
He sent it to Wen Yu.
After that, Carl tiptoed out of the room, closed the door softly behind him, and gathered up the rest of the clothes from the floor, placing them neatly on the sofa.
He planned to let Lansi sleep for a few more hours before waking him up.
Raising Lansi was exhausting... but at least he was quiet when he slept.
A moment later, Carl received a reply from Wen Yu.
[Is that Lansi?]
Sitting at the top of the stairs, Carl glanced back guiltily to make sure Lansi was still asleep before replying.
[Yeah. I don't think he really understands what clothes mean to humans, so don't be mad.]
Neither of them used voice messages or video calls. They just kept texting.
[I'm not mad.] Wen Yu replied. [Is he eating well?]
[Still the same. Barely eats anything,] Carl answered, a little worried.
[Boss, when are you coming back?]
He couldn't take much more of this.
Not only was Lansi a handful, but Carl was also secretly looking forward to watching Wen Yu put the unruly mermaid in his place.
Yes, Carl admitted to himself. That was a little petty, but so what?
[Two days,] came the reply. [I have a few things to take care of, might be some delays.]
[Alright, got it,] Carl replied halfheartedly. [What about Lansi?]
[Let him stay in the villa if he wants. Don't worry about the clothes.]
[After two hours, wake him up and let him stay in the water most of the time.]
[Understood.]
After the conversation ended, Carl rested his chin on his hand. Then he suddenly perked up with excitement.
Finally! He could play games on the living room screen without anyone stopping him!
He'd been eyeing a particular game for a while, but hadn't been able to afford the equipment. But now, with access to Wen Yu's setup, he didn't need to buy anything.
If Wen Yu ever asked, he could just blame Lansi.
After all, after raising Lansi for this long, didn't he deserve a little reward?
Humming happily, Carl skipped off to the living room.
—
Elsewhere, Wen Yu stared at the photo Carl had sent. He tapped the screen lightly with his finger.
The photography was terrible. The focus was messy. But even through the clutter, Wen Yu could clearly see the white fish tail poking out from under the uniforms.
His lips curved into a smile.
Was his little fish seeking out his scent?
The quiet reliance tugged at something deep inside Wen Yu. Possessiveness stirred in his chest, hot and urgent. He wanted to go back immediately, to hold his little fish, to fill him with his scent until he couldn't breathe.
"Building a nest already, are we?"
Wen Yu lifted his head and looked toward the horizon, thinking about what he should bring home.
That direction led straight to the endless sea.
Beneath the waves, a massive sea monster surfaced, bowing its head submissively before Wen Yu.
—
Lansi slowly woke up on the bed and yawned.
His eyes still half-closed, he looked around the bedroom.
He hadn't meant to fall asleep here. His original plan was to create a mess, give Carl the impression he'd made trouble, and leave it at that.
But after searching the room, Lansi found it so unnervingly clean that he was stumped. It looked like no one even lived there. No decorations. No knick-knacks. Just furniture and cold, impersonal space.
In the end, all Lansi could do was open the closet and stir up some chaos with the uniforms inside.
He hadn't expected the entire closet to be full of identical military uniforms, one after another, like someone had copy-pasted the same outfit.
There weren't even any casual clothes.
Seriously? Wen Yu was too uptight.
Lansi frowned in disbelief. What was with this old-school, prim-and-proper aesthetic?
With no better option, he picked out a few pieces and threw them to the floor, pretending to play around.
But as he reached into the closet, something caught his attention.
A faint scent.
The clothes were clean, neatly arranged, and lightly fragrant. But beneath that—just barely—Lansi picked up a scent that was uniquely Wen Yu's.
It wasn't perfume, nor detergent. It was something else.
It reminded him of the ocean. A trace of sea breeze, sun-warmed sand... something he hadn't smelled since being with Winsor on the shore.
Lansi leaned deeper into the closet, pressing his face against the clothes.
It felt almost like he was being held by Wen Yu.
The warmth of the scent soothed him. Before long, he had buried himself in the uniforms, letting the smell lull him into a rare sense of safety.
His mind relaxed. His thoughts quieted. And then, nothing.
He had no idea when he'd fallen asleep.
Now, awake again and surrounded by crumpled clothes, Lansi looked around in confusion.
Had he really slept on all of these?
He glanced down at the white shirt still clutched in his hands. The fabric was wrinkled and slightly stained.
Wen Yu wasn't going to scold him for this, right?
He'd meant to make a mess—but not ruin so many of the clothes.
Especially not these. They looked like custom uniforms, the kind you couldn't just buy online.
Lansi sat up and tried to peel the shirt off his body.
Then he noticed a strange white crust on the fabric. It had dried into a flaky shell.
"..."
He instinctively touched his tail, suspicious.
Nope. Scales were still closed. So it wasn't what he was worried it might be.
Curious, Lansi brought the dried substance to his nose and sniffed.
It was... smelly.
Before he even realized what he was doing, he'd popped the flaky bit into his mouth.
Crunchy. Kinda tasty.
He froze.
Wait—why did I just eat that!???