Chapter 63: I’ve Wronged You
When the other merfolk of the deep sea approached Nan Zishi, Lanxing didn’t panic.
When Yu Lang and Yu Chen got close to Nan Zishi, Lanxing didn’t panic either.
But when Mu Yang and Chuchen went all out, wanting to become mates with Nan Zishi...
Lanxing panicked!
"Sister, Brother, Nan Zishi is my female master! Don’t you dare try anything!"
Mu Yang looked thoughtfully at Lanxing and said, "Didn’t I hear that you two are fighting, and that you want to break your mate bond with your female master?"
Lanxing’s expression changed drastically. He said anxiously, "We haven’t broken it off yet! We are still mates right now!"
Chuchen, on the other hand, was unfazed. After seriously pondering the relationship between best friends and mates, she nodded after a good while. "Mmm, I think you have a point."
"We can be best friends first. If we want to become mates in the future, we can always change it."
As she spoke, Chuchen hugged Nan Zishi tightly again, pressing their chests together.
Nan Zishi: "..." ’This is a bit much! So enthusiastic!’
*
After the few members of the Mermaid Royal Family dragged Lanxing back to the palace, they immediately started a meeting.
Nan Zishi pulled Little Fu along to eavesdrop outside the door.
Not that she was trying to eavesdrop, of course. It was only because she couldn’t be more than fifty meters away from Lanxing!
Inside the palace.
The eldest mermaid brother, Mu Yang, was relatively quiet.
The second brother, Luochuan, was quite direct. He asked bluntly, "Lanxing, is that unbelievably beautiful female mermaid outside really your female master?"
Lanxing nodded. In front of his older brother and sister, he was still very well-behaved.
Luochuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. "Lanxing, were you blessed by the Beast God? How did you manage to meet such a beautiful female mermaid! Your brother and I have been waiting for hundreds of years and haven’t found one this beautiful!"
Mu Yang cut in, "What’s all this about you wanting to break the mate bond?!"
Lanxing still wanted his family’s understanding. He said, "She... she abandoned her husband and child! She abandoned Little Fu and me. What’s wrong with me breaking our mate bond?"
Mu Yang, Luochuan, and Chuchen exclaimed in unison, "Are you crazy?!"
Luochuan said, "You say she abandoned her husband and child, but isn’t she back now?"
Chuchen added, "Females make mistakes sometimes. Look at me, your sister, don’t I make mistakes all the time? It’s not a big deal, why can’t you forgive her?"
Luochuan continued, "Besides, she even had a child for you, and a female one at that. You know not all females are willing to have children. Don’t be so immature. Look at your sister. She won’t have any."
Chuchen shot Luochuan a glare. "Just make your point. Don’t drag me into it."
Mu Yang blushed a little. "And she’s so beautiful, it’s understandable if she was a bit fickle. Besides, didn’t she come back to find you? What female doesn’t make mistakes?"
The more Lanxing listened, the more aggrieved he felt, even though these words were seemingly meant to comfort him.
He was originally the little prince of the Mermaid Clan, the darling of the clan, you could say.
An accident happened during his coming-of-age ceremony. At his most helpless, severely injured, he was captured by a Land Beastman. The Land Beastman then sold him to her for a few measly blades of grass.
However, she tricked him into a cave and immediately formed a mate bond. Afterward, she left him with just an egg.
He had actually been happy when they were together.
He had looked forward to their future and had even considered how someone from the land and someone from the sea could make a life together.
If she could settle by the sea, he could go see her every day.
But she just up and left, abandoning her husband and child.
And after she left, there was no sign of her for five years.
He had grown up as the clan’s darling, a little prince. He had never been wronged like this before.
He had only just come of age.
Why was it that after being wronged so much, not a single person in his family sympathized with him, and even said he was extremely lucky?
If his own family couldn’t understand him, who else would?
"You’re all ganging up on me, but what did I do wrong?"
As Lanxing spoke, tears like pearls were about to fall.
"You are my closest family, so why can’t even you understand me?"
"Did I commit some unforgivable crime? Is any of this what I wanted? Am I the one who wronged her?"
"Just because she’s a female and I’m a male, she gets to be forgiven for abandoning her husband and child? No matter how many years have passed, as long as she comes back to find me... she’s considered a good female, is that it?"
"On what grounds?!"
Lanxing clenched his fists, turning his head to the side, and said sullenly, "Whatever... I’m going to break our mate bond, and that’s final."
Unexpectedly, not only did Chuchen not understand, she got angry. "Lanxing, don’t be so absolute!"
Hearing this, Nan Zishi’s heart clenched.
On Earth, where she was from, society was usually especially lenient with men. For the same mistake, a woman would often be deemed unforgivable, while a man’s transgression would be lightly brushed aside.
But in the Beast World, it seemed to be the complete opposite. A male’s mistake was unforgivable, while a female’s was brushed aside.
Having grown up on Earth, Nan Zishi could especially empathize with how Lanxing was feeling right now.
Her heart ached for Lanxing.
She stroked the Little Mermaid’s face and said, "Little Fu, we can’t let your father be so sad."
Little Fu swished her tail, her big, watery eyes looking up at her.
"Let’s go cheer up your father."
"Okay!"
Nan Zishi and Little Fu swam inside.
Seeing the beautiful Seven-color Mermaid and the little golden mermaid swim over, Lanxing felt a momentary panic.
"You heard that?" He had just said some very harsh things, and she had probably heard every word.
’After hearing what I said, will she hate me even more? Dislike me even more?’
A pang of sadness suddenly struck Lanxing’s heart.
He tried to console himself:
’...It’s fine. We’re going to break our mate bond anyway.’
"Sui Sui," Chuchen said with a smile, swimming up to her. "My brother is young and was spoiled by our family, so he has a temper. Don’t hold it against him."
"Whatever you do, don’t agree to break the mate bond with him."
If a male never finds a mate, he’ll be alone his whole life, which is just loneliness at worst.
But if he finds a mate and is then abandoned, a part of his spirit breaks, and he will permanently become one of the Wandering Beastmen.
Once someone becomes a Wandering Beastman, their mind becomes unstable.
Nan Zishi knew Chuchen was worried about her brother, so she said in a low voice, "Sister, don’t worry. I have no intention of breaking our mate bond."
Lanxing forced himself to be strong and turned to face Nan Zishi. "What did you come out for? To watch them all criticize me? Do you want to laugh at me too?"
Mermaid Lanxing, who had only just come of age, didn’t look very big. Right now, the corners of his eyes were red, a clear sign that he hadn’t gotten over his feelings of being wronged.
"I heard you talking from outside," Nan Zishi said softly.
"So what if you heard..." Lanxing turned his head slightly. "What do you want to say?"
He was still a little terrified.
"Lanxing, after listening to you, I think you’re absolutely right... It was indeed my fault."
Lanxing’s head snapped up to look at her.
Nan Zishi humbled herself. "It really was my fault. So, for the sake of our adorable baby, Fufu, can you give me a chance to make it up to you?"
She gave Little Fu a little tug. "Baby, go on, cheer up your father."
The little golden mermaid immediately swam to Lanxing’s side, gave him a big SMOOCH on the cheek, and said coaxingly, "Daddy, hold Fufu~"
"And to everyone... Brother Mu Yang, Second Brother Luochuan, Sister Chuchen..." Nan Zishi said sincerely, "For the past five years, for certain reasons, I truly failed to take good care of this father and daughter. Now, I ask all of you, brothers and sister, to please give me a chance."
Every single word Nan Zishi said here was on Lanxing’s side, speaking up for him.
In the Beast World, where had anyone ever seen a female who, out of sympathy for a male, would humble herself to speak up and plead for him?
After all, in this Beast World where females were few and males were many, females were always doted upon and favored. In such an environment, privileged females could easily become spoiled and willful.
And even if a female became spoiled and willful, she could easily gain the understanding and forgiveness of males.
Therefore, Nan Zishi’s actions at this moment—humbling herself, taking the blame, and speaking up for Lanxing—instantly maxed out her favorability with the few Royal Merfolk.
The scene fell quiet.
Even Lanxing seemed utterly astonished.
Chuchen chuckled softly and patted Lanxing’s shoulder. "Little brother, you’re a lucky one."
Then she swam away.
Mu Yang and Luochuan, however, glanced thoughtfully in Nan Zishi’s direction before swimming up to Lanxing and whispering, "Little brother, if you don’t want this female, we will definitely fight for her."
With that, Mu Yang and Luochuan also left.
Only Nan Zishi, Lanxing, and Little Fu were left in the palace.
Lanxing held Little Fu and lowered his head. Unsure if it was out of shyness or embarrassment, he averted his gaze.
"Are you still angry?" Nan Zishi asked.
With a slightly nasal tone, Lanxing asked back in a low voice, "You don’t think I’m being melodramatic?"
"Not at all," Nan Zishi said. "You weren’t wrong. Besides, you’re the younger one, after all. My mental age is older than yours, so I should have been more considerate of you to begin with. And I really was at fault..."
Nan Zishi’s voice softened. She said gently, "Lanxing, I’ve wronged you."