Su Shiye’s business card was a study in both humility and arrogance. It bore only the "Light Sea Federal Government" logo, his signature—*Su Shiye*—and his number. Aside from that, there was nothing.
Upon returning to her dorm, Fan Li did not call Su Shiye. Instead, she dialed Xing Hai. But just as the light on her communicator flickered to life, she glanced through her window and saw that the lights in Xing Hai’s room in the opposite building were dark. Usually, whenever he was home and awake, he would keep the lights on and wave to her from across the way.
Fan Li cut the call.
Xing Hai was likely exhausted from work and had fallen asleep; it was better not to disturb him.
She loved Xing Hai—truly loved him. They had done so much for each other, and their bond ran far deeper than that of ordinary lovers. She believed that if they were ever faced with a choice to sacrifice themselves for the other, they would both give up their lives to ensure the other's happiness.
A connection that deep, logically, should not be able to tolerate a third party, nor should it be swayed by outside factors.
She kept telling herself this, and she had indeed convinced herself. Even after turning off the lights and lying down, she forced herself repeatedly to focus, relax, and stop overthinking.
And yet, that man still found a way to slip through the cracks.
He entered her dreams, and he even usurped the place that held her most beautiful memories with Xing Hai—the Fluorescent Sea.
He took Xing Hai’s place, strolling idly with her along the glowing beach, their heads leaning close as they whispered.
In the dream, everything about him that attracted her was magnified. His lazy gaze, his pale yet full lips, his deep, resonant voice, his large hands and long fingers—even the rhythm of his breathing possessed an ultimate allure...
Because the dream was so beautiful and lacked any sense of guilt, she was reluctant to wake even when the morning sun hit her face, signaling that this was an illusion. She rolled over, wanting to prolong the vivid intimacy, only to find that Su Shiye was gone. Only then did she wake up, her brow furrowed.
This was terrible.
She pressed a hand to her forehead, her spirit weary and her mood foul.
But something even worse awaited her. When she looked down, she saw that her tail was gone. Swaying slightly in the water were two relaxed legs.
At that moment, her heart sank to rock bottom.
She tore Su Shiye’s business card into shreds and threw them into the trash. But it was useless. She wasn't in Luoya anymore, and he wasn't on the other side of the ocean. He was here, in a place where she might run into him at any time. Moreover, her sixth sense kept telling her that no matter how gentlemanly he acted, no matter how nonchalant he seemed about moving on, it was all a perfect disguise. The disguise of a male predator afraid of startling his prey.
Sure enough, at noon, she received a call.
It was the voice she thought of day and night, yet the voice her reason never wanted to hear.
"I didn't get a call from you yesterday, so I was a bit worried," Su Shiye said softly. "I asked around for your contact information today. I hope you don't mind."
"I'm safe, thank you for your concern. If there's nothing else, I have to hang up," she said coldly. "I have a class soon."
"Alright. I won't disturb you then."
After she hung up, Xing Hai, who was sitting across from her, asked curiously, "Who was that? You sounded a bit unfriendly."
"A politician I met at the opera house yesterday. He was just showing some courtesy."
"A politician?" Xing Hai frowned. "Why would he call you now? He's not interested in you, is he?"
"Nothing like that. The things they talk about with He Ge and Shasha are way beyond my level; I can't even join the conversation. Besides, they all know I have a boyfriend."
"I see."
After Xing Hai left, Fan Li felt conflicted.
Should she tell Xing Hai about her feelings regarding Su Shiye?
She desperately wanted to say it. She knew that if she did, Xing Hai would be hurt, but he wouldn't leave her. He would even try to comfort her and strive to be better. It sounded like honesty, but in reality, it would only burden him to make herself feel better. It wouldn't solve anything.
Hiding a secret was, in fact, the most painful path.
What she needed to do was digest these improper desires and pull that man out of her heart by the roots. If she couldn't uproot him, she would stay far away from him and avoid the source of her straying thoughts.
Regarding her new schedule, Fan Li had always had a giant question mark in her mind. Every day’s classes were normal—usually 300-person lectures starting at eight or nine in the morning or one or two in the afternoon, followed by seminars of about a dozen people. Only the Micro-Arcana class on Sephi Day was scheduled for 6:00 PM, starting with an hour-long seminar followed by a two-hour lecture.
This arrangement was so similar to the Arcana History class from the previous school year. Fan Li had a subtle premonition...
At 6:00 PM on Sephi Day, she arrived at the Micro-Arcana seminar classroom and sat down. She waited for a full twenty-three minutes, until the students in the class began to whisper among themselves.
"What's going on? Is the tutor late?"
"Was the schedule printed wrong? Why would a class start at dinner time? And why is the seminar before the lecture?"
Fan Li finally knew her guess was correct. She turned around and said calmly to her classmates, "Because this professor sleeps in all day and has no sense of time. Being late in front of three hundred people is embarrassing, so he uses a small class as a buffer to make it less awkward."
"Bingo. You really know your teacher well. It wasn't in vain that I moved you into my seminar again, my plebeian little fairy."
Hearing that voice, Fan Li turned her head and, sure enough, saw Ye Jia. He was leaning against the classroom door, and the girls in the class had already melted into puddles. Then, he slowly swam to the center of the podium and said solemnly, "Now, let us begin the roll call."
The students nearly fainted.
Fan Li’s face was covered in metaphorical black lines. The same trick—he really never got tired of it...
Then came the lecture.
Ye Jia was, as usual, sluggishly five minutes late. After entering, he pushed up his glasses and smiled at the entire hall of students. "I haven't been back to St. Yejiana in many years, but every time I come, I'm still charmed by the city's fashion. Luoya’s fashion is good, but the style is too modern, unlike the diversity here. In this city, you could wear a style from twenty million years ago while sitting on a coral reef, and no one would look at you twice for being strange. So, students of the Holy City, don't be shy about your pride; your fashion is the best in the entire Light Sea. You should know, my gay fashion sensitivity was all learned at the St. Yejiana Fashion Week sales."
The students laughed, while also agreeing that his taste in clothes was far too good for a straight man.
"Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I held a fashion week," Ye Jia said, pursing his lips and looking upward as he thought. "I would probably have requirements for every audience member: you must possess a ticket of a certain value and carry a certain amount of cash to enter. After the show, I would allow you to go backstage to buy one limited-edition fashion item. If you have enough money for the ticket, you're qualified to go backstage. As for the quality of the item you can buy, that depends on how much money you have left after buying the ticket. If a queue has twelve people and everyone has a ticket, they can group-buy twelve items. The wealthiest person will surely get the best one, but no matter how much money a person spends, they can only buy one expensive item. If no one in the queue has money for a ticket, they get nothing. These conditions are harsh, right? But the world of Micro-Arcana is just as harsh. We have this."
With that, Ye Jia extended a finger and wrote in the water. On the massive screen behind him, the following appeared:
*Maximum Kinetic Energy of a Fa-particle = M - N = δψ - N*
At that moment, the entire class was stunned.
"This is the famous Fa-Micro Theorem," Ye Jia continued. "It is equivalent to the fashion week sale. Every micro-particle is an audience member attending the fashion week; the energy they carry is the cash on them. When a Fa-particle hits a metal surface, that is the vetting process to enter the shopping area. The money left on the audience member after buying the ticket determines whether the final result is high-frequency arcana light or low-frequency arcana light. The Light of Dawn is what we call the 'super-whale' item. Other arcana lights are much more budget-conscious."
Many students had previewed the semester's material and had headaches from the obscure formulas in the textbook. However, the principle behind this complex formula was explained by Ye Jia as if it were a primary school math problem.
St. Yejiana was a place of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and Ye Jia’s name wasn't universally known. But after this one lecture for three hundred people, a Ye Jia fan club composed of Sea God girls was formed in minutes. Following his stint as Luoya’s most popular professor, Buke Ye Jia once again became a top-tier professor at St. Yejiana University. Because of him, Buke Shasha gained an extra layer of "goddess" aura, which made Kunti exceptionally annoyed.
After class, Fan Li caught up with Ye Jia. "Professor Buke, why did you come to St. Yejiana?"
"Because I told my father I had work involving military secrets here, and that my life could be in danger at any moment, but that I could also save the entire Light Sea, including the Red Moon Sea. So, he let me come."
"Life in danger?! For real?"
"Of course it's fake. I've wanted to come to St. Yejiana for ages. I was about to grow a new strain of bacteria from boredom in Luoya."
"..." Fan Li pressed her hand to her forehead. "Then why are you teaching Micro-Arcana?"
"I have to remind you, you little dummy," Ye Jia flicked her forehead. "You were my student for a year; did you never look at your teacher's academic background? I have a PhD in Micro-Arcana."
"I see... then why did you teach Arcana History before?"
"Because it was easy."
"If you like such an easy life, why come to St. Yejiana University?"
"My little angel Fan Li, are you a question box? But as for why I came to St. Yejiana, that’s a good question." Ye Jia rubbed his chin. "Probably because prostitution is legal here."
After the Basic Combat Theory Practical on Mise Day, Fan Li had a meal with Xing Hai before he went off to work. Fan Li returned to her dorm, only to see a Sea God male in military uniform downstairs, wearing a ruby eagle insignia. Seeing Fan Li approach, he said, "Miss Fan Li, the items from the Dictator have been placed at your door." With that, he gave her a left-handed salute and swam off toward the White Eagle Palace.
Even so, the passing students knew this was a soldier and a vessel from the Dictator's government, and they couldn't help but steal a few glances.
Going upstairs, Fan Li indeed found a large crate in front of her door. She moved it into her room and opened it to find five jewelry boxes and a crate of antifreeze from Antioch.
She picked up one box. It was labeled "Shigao Wolun—The Black Coral in Your Heart." Inside was a forehead ornament, a pair of earrings, and a bracelet, all made of pure black coral. Even without having studied marine jewelry, she was captivated by their understated, regal black-gold luster. They almost seemed to glow...
Black coral, also known as "King Coral," is a special species of gorgonian. Its skeletal composition is the densest, most durable calcareous mineral. It grows only five millimeters a year; the slower it grows, the stronger it becomes, and the deeper the waters it inhabits, the slower it grows.
Inside was a greeting card with the following handwritten text:
*Miss Fan Li,*
*This is black coral from a depth of 7,564 meters in the Holy City’s waters, two thousand years old. The style was designed for you alone, representing a token of my and Lord Su Shiye’s regard. I hope you will accept it.*
*—Wolun*
She checked the signature; it was actually the brand's founder and designer. It had only been three days, and it was already designed and crafted?! Was their jewelry business powered by rockets?
Aside from that, she opened the other boxes one by one: one contained top-grade red coral worth 1,700 Fu per gram; one contained gemstones from the Bodhi Sea; one contained a 24K pure gold forehead ornament from the Star Sea; and one contained black pearls from the Storm Sea... Every box had a handwritten card from a designer, noting it was "Lord Su Shiye’s sentiment."
Her hard-won peace of mind was once again disturbed by Su Shiye. She really hadn't expected him to be this kind of person. Knowing she had a boyfriend and having been clearly rejected, he still sent these things. It was baffling.
She originally wanted to return them, but thinking that doing so would alert him and inevitably lead to another encounter, she gave the items to Mise, He Ge, Buke Shasha, and her other new Sea God friends. Upon receiving the gifts, He Ge was so excited she spun Fan Li around; Buke Shasha also showed a rare smile of pleasant surprise; the others shouted, "Long live the Goddess!"
But after the excitement, they all felt something was strange. These pieces of jewelry couldn't just be described as expensive. At a depth of over seven thousand meters, coral barely exists. How strong would a mutant strain have to be to survive, be lucky enough to be made into jewelry, and then lucky enough to end up in Fan Li’s hands? This wasn't just a matter of money anymore.
To this, Fan Li only smiled. "Don't worry, they came through legal channels, and they're likely not fakes. Just take them."
The girls were easygoing; once she said that, they went back to being excited.
On the weekend, Xing Hai finally managed to clear half a day to accompany Fan Li to the city center.
Usually, Fan Li took public transport, but thinking of how hard Xing Hai worked, she hired a rental vessel for the day. Once they were inside, Xing Hai was a bit surprised. "Li Li, isn't this too extravagant? Do we have enough money right now?"
"Don't worry, He Ge introduced me to a very easy brokerage job recently, and I made a little extra cash."
"What kind of job?"
Fan Li hadn't expected him to press for details. Seeing the driver's seat in front of them, she had a flash of inspiration. "Helping her relative rent out their license plate."
In St. Yejiana, rental vessel licenses had to be won through bidding. They granted permanent usage rights and could be transferred. The price of a single license was as high as 750,000 Fu. There were 28,000 rental vessels in the Holy City, making the total value of all licenses 21 billion Fu. Many families passed down licenses as inheritance. St. Yejiana hadn't auctioned a new license in thirty-seven years. Thus, their licenses were like storefronts—they could be rented out. Even a family living frugally could survive on the rent alone.
"Renting out a license? You're finding tenants for them?"
"Yes. You know how the Light Sea clans are a bit lazy. I handle the pimping for them, and we split the profit thirty-seventy."
At this, even the driver in the front row couldn't help but give a thumbs up. "Little girl, that business brain of yours is top-notch."
Actually, it wasn't a business brain; it was her ability to improvise...
"Haha, thank you, Uncle." Fan Li hugged Xing Hai’s arm. "Don't worry, your money is all with me. Since you trust me so much, I won't spend it recklessly."
"I'm not worried about you spending it..." Xing Hai sighed silently, leaving the rest unsaid: *I'm worried I don't earn enough for you to spend.*
They arrived at the gourmet street in the city center and chose a restaurant famous for its crabs—Crystal Crab Abode.
There were over twenty customers waiting at the door. They waited for over an hour, until their tails were so sore they didn't feel like their own, before they finally reached the front. What was infuriating was that there were clearly seats available inside, but the staff wouldn't let them sit, giving the spots to an Orca girl and a Sea God couple who were behind them in line. Even more infuriating, when it was finally their turn, the floor manager let the Orca woman go in first.
Fan Li thought, *It's just one girl eating, I won't fight her for it, forget it.* But when the next number was called, the manager let the Sea God couple in first.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Fan Li swam over, blocking the couple, and questioned the manager. "We were clearly here first."
"I'm sorry, Miss, you must be mistaken. This couple arrived before you." The manager was also a Sea God, possessing a Kunti-style arrogance.
"Stop joking. They were behind us just now. Your staff—that one right there—" Fan Li pointed to the waiter inside, "gave our seats to these two guests. Why do we have to keep waiting now that it's our turn?"
"I'm sorry, Miss, you really must be mistaken. We all saw them arrive before you."
"Who is 'we'?"
"Little girl, don't you think you're being a bit too aggressive?" the man from the Sea God couple sneered. "Does a few minutes early or late make that much of a difference? Everyone has to wait."
"If a queue doesn't follow first-come-first-served, why have a queue at all? Why don't you just put a 'Sea Gods Priority' sign at the door and be done with it?"
"I think you've been called 'bait' so many times you've become a bit hypersensitive," the woman from the couple added, backing up her boyfriend.
"Say one more word," Xing Hai said icily, "and the hospital will be your destination, while the police station will be mine."
The couple didn't know offensive arcana, but they could feel Xing Hai’s combat prowess. They quickly shut their mouths in shame and anger. The manager respectfully opened the door to let them in, then turned back to Fan Li. "Miss, do you actually want to dine at our restaurant or not? You're the next number. The guests behind you are waiting; are we all supposed to stand here and listen to you make a scene?"
"Forget it, Li Li, let's go. Eating in a place like this won't be pleasant anyway." Xing Hai tugged at Fan Li.
Fan Li was about to leave, but then her eyes darted around, and she suddenly started acting like a spoiled brat. "No! I waited so long just to eat their Yellow Butter Crab! I want my Yellow Butter Crab!"
Xing Hai was stunned for a moment, then quickly took her hand. "Alright, alright, then we'll wait a bit longer."
The floor manager gave a contemptuous smile, but he didn't trouble them when the next number came and let them in.
The seat, naturally, was not a good one. They sat for fifteen minutes before anyone came to clear the messy table; nearly half an hour passed before a waiter came to take their order.
Fan Li had already done her research on this restaurant. She immediately ordered two Yellow Butter Crabs, then handed a 10 Fu tip to the waiter. "I want them cooked. Remember to steam them well for me."
The waiter was of the Oceanic race. Receiving such a high tip for the first time, he happily took the money and left.
A single Yellow Butter Crab cost 25 Fu. These two crabs alone were more expensive than a week's worth of food at the dorm. Seeing Fan Li spend so freely, Xing Hai wanted to say something, but he didn't want to spoil her mood, so he remained silent.
Forty-five minutes later, the waiter brought two steaming Yellow Butter Crabs and placed them before them.
"Wow, the cooked-food air bubbles at Crystal Crab Abode are certainly large," Fan Li remarked. "Are you sure these are cooked through? I don't like raw food."
"Positive. I specifically told the chef that this customer wanted them well-done."
"Were they made in a steamer? The limbs aren't broken, are they?" Fan Li stared at the crabs. "Hmm... it seems the butter hasn't leaked out?"
"They were made in a steamer, please rest assured."
Then, Fan Li and Xing Hai began to enjoy the delicacy.
Yellow Butter Crab is the pinnacle of mud crabs. As the name suggests, it is a crab with a lot of golden fat inside the shell. Because it was now midsummer, the high temperatures caused the crab's egg membranes to burst, allowing the juices to flow throughout the body and merge with every inch of the meat. Once steamed and opened, the inside was a field of brilliant gold, filled with dense grains of crab roe, emitting a fatty aroma akin to pine nuts. The flavor was far superior to that of ordinary crabs. Because the formation of a Yellow Butter Crab is complex and cannot be artificially cultivated, one can only wait for the perfect coincidence of nature during the sweltering heat. Consequently, they were much more expensive than regular crabs.
Fan Li hadn't intended to eat such an extravagant dish, but since this restaurant was asking for trouble, she would give it to them.
After enjoying the delicious crab and seeing that Xing Hai was also happy, she rubbed her stomach and waved to the floor manager. When the manager arrived, she held an arcana sound-orb in one hand and her communicator in the other. "I'd like to ask: does your restaurant kitchen have a cooked-food processing room?"
The manager froze. After a long pause, he stammered, "Well, normally, customers don't ask for cooked food. The demand isn't that high, so we..."
"Yes or no. Just one word."
The manager went silent.
In St. Yejiana, the catering industry was strictly regulated. To serve cooked food, one had to set up a separate processing room that met various government hygiene standards. If a restaurant followed all government requirements, nearly 50% of its area would be the kitchen, and the rent would double accordingly, severely impacting profits. Therefore, many restaurants didn't put cooked dishes on the menu but would fulfill private orders for them. Generally, outsiders wouldn't know this, but because the rent and fines were extremely high, it was an open secret in the industry. Even with fierce competition, peers usually looked the other way.
Fan Li’s hand holding the sound-orb moved, and her previous conversation with the waiter played back loudly. Then she shook her communicator. "Should I call the Health Regulatory Department now?"
"Don't... please don't..." the manager said urgently. "Whatever you need, just say it. Let's talk this through. How about this: I'll waive your bill and give you ten more Yellow Butter Crabs for free?"
"And apologize to me and my boyfriend."
"I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry to you both." The manager immediately gave them a left-handed salute. "Due to my personal failings today, your dining experience was unpleasant."
"Do you think your actions today were fair?" Fan Li looked at him coldly.
"They were not."
"Will you apologize to all the Oceanic guests you've neglected?"
"You're right, it was all my fault."
"Will you ever treat lower-tier sea races like this again?"
"No, never again."
"Very well." Fan Li smiled slightly. "Those ten Yellow Butter Crabs—I want them alive."
As the manager bowed and scraped to get the crabs for them, Xing Hai burst out laughing. "Li Li, you're something else. But why alive? We don't have a steamer in the dorm. It would be better to have them cook them before we take them."
"If they cook them, who knows what they'll put inside?" Fan Li winked at him. "We want them fresh. If you want them cooked, I'll cook them for you when we get back."
After leaving Crystal Crab Abode, Xing Hai took the ten crabs from Fan Li. Fan Li wanted to carry half, but she couldn't win them from him and eventually gave up. "What a deal. A great meal for 10 Fu, plus all these top-grade mud crabs."
"But I feel like this isn't right. Did we take too much? Maybe we should give them some money?"
"The manager suggested it himself. They brought it on themselves." Fan Li felt no guilt and was even a bit annoyed. "You big dummy, you work so hard; how long would it take for you to afford a meal like this? Even if you don't care about your own body, I care about my Xing Hai baby. Get that self-sacrificing thought out of your head."
"Alright."
The two of them strolled through the streets. This area had many undersea fountains that the government had intentionally left uncovered. Every so often, they would encounter a mass of bubbles rushing up from the ground. Every time a fountain hit Fan Li’s tail, she couldn't help but shrug her shoulders and let out a little cry, yet she couldn't stop herself from swimming toward them. Xing Hai carefully held her hand, afraid she might be washed away.
After swimming past three streets, they saw a massive cylindrical building. Behind the transparent floor-to-ceiling windows on every level were newly manufactured vessels. High on the building hung a striking metallic sign: *Sea-Race Vessels*.
"Oh, it's where you work."
Fan Li remembered Xing Hai saying he was going to apply at *Sea-Race Vessels* during the summer. The part-time pay there was actually quite high, but he worked like his life depended on it and took several other jobs. By now, she had completely lost track of his work schedule.
Across from the *Sea-Race Vessels* building was another prominent Holy City-style skyscraper. She remembered it was the Potion Regulatory Bureau. This building had no glass and was completely open-air. Many refined-looking employees wearing glasses swam toward their respective floors and entered their offices.
Fan Li was so entranted by the sight that she didn't see a fountain in front of her and nearly got swept away. He quickly pulled her back into his arms. She took the opportunity to hug his lean waist, leaning against his chest as she looked up at him. "Xing Hai, Xing Hai, I have a wonderful idea."
"Hmm?"
"Look over there." She pointed to the Potion Regulatory Bureau, then to *Sea-Race Vessels*. "Don't you love the corporate culture at *Sea-Race Vessels*? If you get a permanent job there in the future, I'll work at the Potion Regulatory Bureau next door. How about that? After we get married, you can pick me up from work, I'll make breakfast for you... and on the weekends, we can take our little baby to the algae garden near our home. We'll just be a simple little couple, passing our happiness down generation after generation..."
By the time she finished, she didn't realize she was smiling sweetly.
The fantasy made Xing Hai’s heart melt. He put his arms around her waist and, heedless of the people passing by, gave her a long kiss in the street. She didn't ask for an answer. His kiss had already said everything.
He kissed her so urgently that it was as if a fountain existed between their lips, continuously releasing bubbles...
Finally, she clung to his arm as they returned to the dorm. They called Yu Jin out to join them for another round of Yellow Butter Crab. When the shell was opened and Yu Jin saw all that golden crab meat, his two little bun-like fists clenched and shook with high-frequency excitement. His large eyes glowed, and drool visibly leaked into the sea. Fortunately, the food was protected by an arcana air bubble, or Fan Li would have had to reach out and cover his mouth.
***
**Glossary**
