Who touch my tails?!!

7.2 - His most naive, most simple and innocent smile

"You've returned?" The Duchess' expression was distant. Although she had been very fond of Yan Qiwen ever since he was small, they were not very close. Most of the time, the relationship between them was strange. It could not be called distant, but it could be said that the Duchess could not forget her own little son. Every time she wanted to care deeply for Yan Qiwen, she would be reminded of her lost child and feel uncomfortable in her heart.

"Yes." Xue Ling calmly responded. There was no hint of the fact that he had just broken off his engagement half an hour ago. He did not cry, nor did he make a fuss - he was nothing like the Yan Qiwen of the past.

The Duchess had a queer look on her face. "Have you really given up on Lou Cen? At the beginning, you stuck to him and stalked him endlessly, threatening death if you couldn't marry him. Now you're simply cancelling the engagement?" Although she did not express any intimacy towards him, the Duchess was still very concerned about Yan Qiwen. This was also the reason why Yan Qiwen had not been too hung up about his own identity over all these years.

"I've thought it through clearly." Xue Ling pursed his lips and said, "It's meaningless to ask for a marriage contract this way. Madame Lou doesn't like me, and tries in every possible way to interfere with my engagement to Lou Cen. Even if I marry into their family, I won't be able to live happily." Of course, what he was saying was all nonsense. If he had really married into their family, he could toss about there and make the Lou family restless, but it was still better not to harm other people's families.

The look on the Duchess's face finally relaxed. She sighed and said rather helplessly, "It's for the best if you have thought things through. I've told you before that Lou Cen doesn't care about the serious business of marriage. The means that your father used also stirred him up and made him feel discontented. I was worried that you would get nothing good when you married him." Merfolk existed to be cared for and cherished. Previously, the Duke had used some special means to make Lou Cen accept the engagement, and the Duchess had always felt uneasy about it. But since Yan Qiwen liked him, she could only let him be. Now that Yan Qiwen thought it through, she was naturally a lot happier.

"Although the engagement has been broken, I still want to go and see Lieutenant General Lou." Xue Ling lowered his brows and gaze, and looked extremely clever and obedient. "Even though we have cancelled the engagement, it was not because he was in a coma. I believe he will wake up… I want to make that clear to him so that at the very least, he won't antagonize the Duke's Palace and father in the future."

The Duchess could not gather her wits together for a while. She looked at him in surprise, not having expected him to say such a thing. She was also a little touched - she had always worried that Yan Qiwen had been overly spoiled by her, her husband and their two sons. He was too naïve and simple, and sometimes was simply just a fool. It seemed that after experiencing this situation, he had become enlightened and knew to consider things from the perspective of the Duke's Palace.

The Duchess touched her chest in relief and said, "I always thought that it would be best for you to find someone who cares for you and takes care of you if you never matured. Now that you have thought through and can understand some things, you've started to have your own ideas, and I won't have to keep you at home all day long." She placed a notice in front of Xue Ling. "This is the admission notice for the Merfolk Academy of Sacred Poetry School. Even though you can learn these things at home, at the end it's still good for you to come into contact with the outside world and interact with more people."

"Sacred Poetry Merfolk Academy…" Xue Ling thought about it for a moment, the corner of his lips twitching a little. "The Merfolk Academy that has always been known as a bridal academy?"

"Where did you hear that rumour?" The Duchess was somewhat helpless. "It's not really a bridal academy, only the subjects that are being learned there are all things like learning piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. Merfolk don't have to work, so they learn are some interesting and amusing things instead. It also means that you won't be bored at home all day."

Xue Ling's lips twitched. His head hurt terribly as soon as he thought of having to head into a pile of fish, but according to his current character design, he had no right to refuse and could only nod his head obediently before bringing up another issue again, "Mother, about the matter of going to see Lieutenant General Lou…"

"I know. Just tell me which day you want to go, and mother will talk to Madame Lou for you. Since your engagement has already been dissolved, Madame Lou should have no reason to offend the Duke's Palace."

Xue Ling smiled and nodded. He had just been about to go back to his room in his floating merfolk chair when the door to their home was vigorously pushed open.

"Mother! I heard that Lou family pulled out of little brother's marriage!" The man rushed through the door with a furious expression on his face. "Now, everyone who knows about this is talking about little brother, saying that he is shameless for wanting to pull out of the marriage as soon as that one called Lou got into an accident!"

Xue Ling was sitting in his merfolk chair. After hearing such a long speech, he turned around rather helplessly and called out, "Second brother.

There were three young masters in the Duke's Palace, of which two were breeders. Yan Chuhuan was the eldest and worked in the Imperial Palace, and Yan Zhaiyan was the middle son who was in the military. Back then, very few people knew that the Yan family had used some means to force Lou Cen's agreement, and it was unknown how Yan Zhaiyan had discovered this news, or even how he had learned that people were talking about their youngest brother.

The Duchess looked on expressionlessly at her reckless second son and said, "If you have something to say, say it slowly. How old are you now, still acting so recklessly? Your manners are worse than your younger brother's."

Yan Zhaiyan was told off by his mother, and his steps hesitated. He first turned his head to smile foolishly at Xue Ling before saying, "I'm just angry that people are talking about Wenwen without proof! Say, Wenwen, was the marriage cancelation forced on you by Lou Cen's mother? If she really dared to threaten you, then second brother will beat her for you!"

Xue Ling helplessly said, "Does second brother want to hit a mermaid?" Even if Madame Lou had done something wrong or made any mistakes, she still could not be beaten or hit. After all, she was a mermaid, let alone one of the small number of women who had transformed into mermaids through science. If Yan Zhaiyan really punched her, Madame Lou may actually die.

"Er…" He had spoken too fast. Yan Zhaiyan had not properly considered this question, and he clutched his head innocently.

The Duchess was rather helpless. Fortunately, her youngest one had finally seen the light. Otherwise, with the two of them around, neither of them would allow her to worry less. "Your brother agreed to the dissolving of the engagement, and it was not because he was forced by others. Let them say what they want outside, I will deal with it. You don't have to worry about your brother's reputation, and you don't need to worry that he won't be able to get married. It would not be a problem for a merperson from our Duke's Palace to marry into the royal family. It was just a lieutenant general, and nothing to be worried over."

Yan Zhaiyan looked at Xue Ling with bright, shining eyes. "Wenwen, you don't like that violent maniac Lou Cen anymore?"

Xue Ling: "…" How should he answer that? Right now, he had no idea where his man was. In view of his previous criminal record of showing up as the protagonist, Xue Ling could not be sure if Lou Cen was his man before he met him in person.

He answered rather ambiguously, "It's just that I've realized that forcing an engagement like this will not bring me any happiness."

"Of course! That fellow Lou Cen doesn't know how to get along with merfolk at all. He walks around with an ice cold expression all day long, and he only looks good. Second brother is also very good-looking! It's enough for Wenwen to like second brother. Don't think about that big ice cube!"

Xue Ling: "…" How was he supposed to answer such words?

The Duchess appropriately opened her mouth in time to diffuse the embarrassing situation. "Enough, you always speak without thinking. Wenwen, you should go upstairs and rest first."

"Good." Xue Ling agreed, and went straight back to his room.

The Duchess looked down at her own son coolly. "That's your younger brother. There are some things you can't randomly say. You're not a three-year-old anymore, and should use your brain more."

Yan Zhaiyan made a sound of acquiescence, turned around and went back to work. He had skipped work - not only had he been told off at home, he would also get punished by his supervisor later. In the future, it would be better not to listen to too much gossip.

Xue Ling went back to his room and studied the so-called Sacred Poetry Merfolk Academy. Finally, he remembered why the name was so familiar.

Because the protagonist shou also enrolled in this school, and also attended the Merfolk Academy. He had enrolled two months earlier than him.

It seems that he could get close to the protagonist shou this way?

He had not expected that the opportunity would come up so quickly. Xue Ling began to consider how to make the Duchess recognize her own son… If he didn't use too many means and made it as simple as possible, it would be easiest to simply become friends with the protagonist and invite him to the Duke's Palace.

The protagonist was named Yan Qingjun. It was a name that perfectly matched with his role as a protagonist. As the protagonist of this story, Yan Qingjun had all the good qualities - he was gentle, courteous, tenacious, a virtual 'Holy Mother'. Basically, you could find all the shining points of human nature in him. How could anyone dislike such a person?

Xue Ling did not intend to kill the protagonist this time. After all, Yan Qingjun had not done anything to him. What he could do instead was to change his fate, so that his original magnificent, tempestuous fate became mediocre, with no twists and turns.

Yan Qingjun's appearance was very similar to the Duchess'. Xue Ling was certain that as long as the Duchess saw Yan Qingjun, she would be sure that this was her youngest son. For matters after that, Xue Ling would have to take it one step at a time, but the Duchess didn't seem to be the type who would expel her adopted son just because she had found her own son. Besides, the Duchess' two brothers would be partial towards the Xue Ling that they had watched grow up, so there should not be any major problems on that front.

After that, he only needed to find his tail…

Xue Ling was admitted into the Academy, and the Duchess made arrangements for him the next day, so Xue Ling could not even enjoy half a day of happiness before he was sent to the Merfolk Academy.

The Sacred Poetry School was the most famous school in the entire Empire. Because of its special circumstances, the Merfolk Academy was not placed together with the main campus. There was a small forest between it and the main school, and special access was required to enter the Mermaid Academy. Ordinary breeders had no right to enter it at all.

Most of the people here were merfolk students, and the rest were ordinary teachers. All the breeders present were at the boundaries of the Mermaid Academy acting as guards, preventing against any incidents that may occur and disturb the merfolk's learning.

The Duke's car brought Xue Ling all the way to the entrance of the Merfolk Academy before opening the doors. Because it was on the way, Xue Ling and Yan Chuhuan travelled together. Xue Ling quietly said goodbye to his eldest brother, withstood his careful scrutiny, and then was placed into school.

At the end of the day, it was a place of learning, and even the aristocratic merfolk had to obey the rules. The little maid who followed Xue Ling yesterday had not come today, and Xue Ling needed to rely on himself.

Fortunately, because people from the Academy had known that he was entering the school today, they had arranged someone to meet him at the door and guide him as well as explain some of the things that he would need to pay attention to in the Academy. It was only then that Xue Ling clearly understood what was in this large area.

It was not convenient to have artificially transformed into a merfolk's body. They had to sit in a merfolk chair or soak in water all day long, and there was a limit to the amount of time they could spend outside of water. Therefore, places where merfolk lived had to have a swimming pool, and the same was true for Mermaid Academy. Because merfolk did not like to crowd together with too many others, most of the venues in Merfolk Academy consisted of all kinds of pools, in order to meet the merfolk's need to be in water.

Unlike the artificially modified merfolk, natural merfolk's bodies were better. Some of them could even walk around with their tails, but their scales were very precious, and nobody would be able to bear such a tragic thing. Natural merfolk's physical strength was also much better than artificial merfolk, and they could live comfortably on the shore. As long as they spent one day a week or so in the water, it was enough. But even so, they tended to try to stay in the pools.

After all, they were all fish, and could not truly live without water.

Classes for artificial merfolk and natural ones were held separately, mainly due to concerns that they would quarrel or something like that. The classes that Xue Ling attended were all for natural merfolk, and the number of students was relatively small. There was only a total of twenty students including Xue Ling that were then divided into two classes. They attended classes together, and the venues were very large.

As soon as Xue Ling came through the door, gazes swept over him from head to tail, and several merfolk gathered together to discuss him. Xue Ling ignored them, glanced over at the vacant spot beside the protagonist shou, and chose to sit next to him.

Yan Qingjun was very easy to recognize because he was the only one with a golden fish tail in the entire classroom. His tail was a brilliant gold that was particularly pleasant.

Xue Ling lowered his head and looked at his own black and gold tail. He did not even want to point out that it looked like the colors of a certain cellphone.

The coloring of his tail was also very special. The scales were black with a touch of gold, and each scale had a small golden ring around the edge. This was probably the symbol and coloring for the royal lineage of the deep-sea merfolk. After all, the colors black and gold were controlled by Emperors in ancient times.

Xue Ling's brain went in a circle on its own, and he was finally satisfied with the color of his own tail. He placed a smile on his face and turned to greet Yan Qingjun who was next to him. "Hello, I'm Yan Qiwen. You have a beautiful tail. I really like the color!"

Xue Ling felt that this was probably his most naive, most simple and innocent smile.

the cellphone that Xue Ling is referring to is the …

also, thank you 'Happy Reader' for the ko-fi! i've actually been out of town for the past week, but when i get back (tomorrow) hopefully i can start catching up on chapters and do a couple of double-releases.