Chapter 3: Cold-Dressed Jellyfish Skin.

[Lifespan +1h]
[Lifespan +1h]
[Lifespan +1h]

Having learned his lesson from last time, Wen Chu paid close attention after clinging to Xiu’s chest muscle.

The moment he attached himself, his tentacles instinctively contracted, wanting to grasp the prey. It was during this contraction that the pop-up for increased lifespan appeared.

Wen Chu tried contracting his tentacles again.

His lifespan increased by another hour.

Wen Chu: …

So, he had to lie on Xiu’s chest and move his tentacles to increase his lifespan?

What a… strange method.

He had a gut feeling this wasn’t a good thing, but looking at his steadily rising lifespan and thinking of his ten-hour goal, he hesitantly moved his tentacles again.

Immediately after, he felt a tightening on the top of his head.

He was being lifted by his bell by Xiu again.

There was suppressed anger in Xiu’s transparent blue eyes, and a faint blush appeared behind his ears.

He spoke coldly, “Jellyfish, have you clung on enough?”

The narwhal stopped her narrative and looked at Xiu and Wen Chu in confusion. She had been immersed in her memories just now and hadn’t noticed what was happening on Xiu’s side at all.

Wen Chu carefully raised a tentacle. “My name is Wen Chu, not Jellyfish.”

Is that the point??

Xiu was so angry he laughed, and casually tossed Wen Chu aside. “I’m busy, don’t cause trouble.”

Wen Chu tumbled several times in the seawater before shakily floating steadily. He was like a bouncy, transparent pudding. After wobbling a few times, he drifted back towards Xiu.

The jellyfish’s small, soft tentacles hooked onto the tip of the Siren’s long finger.

“I’m not causing trouble,” Wen Chu explained seriously. “I want to live a little longer, and I also want to help you.”

A vein throbbed in Xiu’s brow. He lifted Wen Chu, wanting to throw this nonsensical jellyfish away again, but he paused inexplicably when he saw the tentacle hooked around his little fingertip.

Just then, the bewildered narwhal stepped in to mediate. “He’s just a little jellyfish, Lord Siren. If he has displeased you in any way, I will apologize on his behalf.”

Xiu, with a wet and sticky left chest and a bright red right chest: …

He took a deep breath and told himself, this is just a little jellyfish.

This is just an ignorant little jellyfish. I just need to explain things to him clearly. There’s no need to get angry.

Xiu looked up at the narwhal and said, “Excuse me, I need to have a private chat with this jellyfish. I have a general understanding of the situation in the shallows. You can also use this time to think about any other wishes you might have.”

Holding the jellyfish, Xiu nodded to the narwhal, then with a flick of his tail, he quickly swam towards a nearby pile of reefs.

Wen Chu was tossed about by the current in his hand.

Before he could regain his senses, Xiu had already swum behind the reef. Holding him, he lowered his voice, unable to bear it any longer, “Hey, from now on, you are not allowed to touch my…”

Xiu found it hard to say.

“Chest?” Wen Chu said bluntly.

Xiu’s pupils contracted slightly, then he feigned composure and said, “Yes. Understand?”

“Why?” Wen Chu was confused. “Is it because I hurt you at the beginning? I’ll be gentle from now on.”

“Or is it because the wound hurts too much? If it hurts, let me touch it again, and I’ll heal it for you.”

This jellyfish wants to touch him again??

Xiu gritted his teeth. “It has nothing to do with whether you hurt me or not. It’s an offensive act. You can’t do it.”

Wen Chu was even more confused. “Why?”

The little jellyfish asked slowly and perplexedly, “Before, doctors could directly cut open my chest. Is that also an offense?”

Wen Chu’s speed of organizing his thoughts was slow, which made his speaking pace unhurried. The words, spoken so slowly and with a matter-of-fact tone, stunned Xiu.

He looked at the currently intact little jellyfish with a complicated expression. Not knowing what he had imagined, his voice softened considerably. “It’s different. What you’re talking about is dissection. But touching me like you just did is an offense. We are not close. That kind of touch is an act between lovers.”

“Oh,” Wen Chu said, half-understanding. “So cutting open a chest isn’t an offense, but touching a chest is?”

Xiu: “…You can understand it that way.”

Wen Chu wilted.

He couldn’t just cut off a piece of Xiu’s chest.

Putting aside whether such an act would count towards his lifespan, not everyone was like him, without a sense of pain. Xiu would bleed and feel pain. He never wanted to hurt Xiu.

What’s more, he had already unconsciously injured Xiu.

He had to find a way to quickly cling to Xiu and earn lifespan.

What should he do now…

Xiu said only lovers could touch.

But what is a lover?

Such a familiar term. It seems I’ve heard someone say it before…

Wen Chu fell into deep thought.

From Xiu’s perspective, he only saw the little jellyfish’s head droop dejectedly after asking the question, looking particularly downcast.

He strangely felt a bit of guilt.

With the ocean pollution, jellyfish were among the first creatures to die off. Xiu guessed that Wen Chu might be a jellyfish that escaped from a laboratory. Perhaps some mutation in the lab allowed him to live on in ignorance until now.

So that’s why he kept clinging to him just now. Was it because he lacked a sense of security?

Xiu spoke softly, “In any case, don’t touch me again. If you have any wish other than going to the Arctic, I can try my best to help you fulfill it.”

Wen Chu immediately said, “Then can I be your lover? That is my wish.”

Xiu almost laughed in anger. “No.”

That’s also not allowed.

Wen Chu curled up in disappointment, looking exceptionally aggrieved. “Then I still want to go to the Arctic.”

Xiu was very puzzled. “What are you going to the Arctic for? It’s not your home.”

Wen Chu said as if it were obvious, “The narwhal said the water quality there is very good. I need to live in a place with good water quality.”

Otherwise, the rate at which his lifespan decreases will speed up.

Xiu, on the other hand, showed a stunned expression, and then his tone became even gentler. “You… how long has it been since you’ve had contact with the outside world?”

Wen Chu answered truthfully, “I don’t know.”

Xiu’s grip on him loosened. He sighed helplessly and finally held the little jellyfish in his palm, patiently explaining:

“It is now the third year since the humans migrated. Humans discovered another planet similar to Earth and completely drained the last bit of resources here before leaving.”

“After they left, oil spills, nuclear power plant explosions, tsunamis, global warming… that place wasn’t spared either. The Antarctic is now a restricted zone due to the ozone hole. The Arctic can only be considered a relatively better place, but we are currently in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. On the way there, we will encounter at least three nuclear power plants.”

“It would be very difficult for you and the narwhal to survive the journey.” Xiu paused, then said, “Or rather, in this disaster, it is very difficult for all creatures to survive. There are almost no living things in the ocean now.”

…Is Xiu worried that I will die?

It seems I accidentally brought up a heavy topic.

The transparent Turritopsis dohrnii hummed thoughtfully and wrapped its tentacles around Xiu’s little finger, as if to comfort him.

The small jellyfish, with its orange-red body in the center, was bright and warm in the pitch-black deep sea, truly like a small lighthouse.

Xiu’s gaze couldn’t help but soften even more.

He said, “I am powerless to reverse these things. I can only find the last remaining fish and fulfill their final wishes as much as possible. This time, I also want to go to the shallows to find the last parrotfish. He’s not going to last much longer, so I’m in a hurry.”

“If you have any other wishes…”

Before Xiu could finish, he saw Wen Chu, as if he had finally figured something out, suddenly use his tentacles to push off his finger for leverage and “swoosh” out of his grasp.

Before he could react, the little jellyfish “splatted” onto his face.

Soft, cold tentacles randomly caressed his lips. In his shock, Xiu forgot to resist, and the tentacles so nimbly pried open his teeth.

“I understand now. You’re worried I’ll die,” Wen Chu felt he had completely figured it out.

As long as he clings to Xiu, he won’t die. But Xiu said the prerequisite for clinging is to become lovers. The solution to all problems is to become lovers with Xiu.

Wen Chu had been racking his brain for a long time and finally remembered that he had heard about lovers before.

It meant that two people had to be together for a lifetime, and they also had to kiss.

“I won’t die. I’ll be your lover. We’ll kiss, and then can you let me touch you and take me to the Arctic?” Wen Chu asked sincerely as he probed with his tentacles.

What kind of twisted logic is this, taking everything for himself??

Xiu opened his mouth to tell Wen Chu to get out, but this instead gave the tentacles an opportunity to go deeper.

Soft, sticky, deep into his throat.

He gagged reflexively, his tail flailing, trying to escape the ever-deepening tentacles, a faint blush appearing at the corners of his eyes.

Wen Chu’s original intention was to kiss, but Xiu’s mouth was scorching hot, and his throat was even constantly squeezing and contracting, which made him shiver.

So strange…

After meeting Xiu’s shocked and angry, yet misty from choking, transparent blue eyes, the strange feeling intensified.

The jellyfish’s umbrella-like body expanded and contracted layer by layer, causing the orange-red body structure inside to tremble slightly, like a heartbeat.

[Lifespan +8h]

As the system panel popped up, he suddenly grew a size larger, and his tentacles grew a lot longer, going even deeper, almost filling the siren’s entire mouth.

Wen Chu stared at the suddenly appearing system panel, frozen in place.

Didn’t it have to be on the chest? Why does kissing also add lifespan?

It was also because of this momentary daze that Xiu finally seized the opportunity, grabbed him, and pulled him out.

“Wen. Chu.” Xiu said in a cold voice.

He had been talking for so long, and all this stupid jellyfish could think of was that he could kiss him?

He must have water on the brain to have, for a moment, felt pity for a brainless, heartless invertebrate like a jellyfish.

Wen Chu looked at Xiu’s unnaturally red lips and said blankly, “…Can I kiss you again later? Can we be considered lovers now? I won’t touch you.”

Touching is a bad thing, but kissing can’t be a bad thing too, right?

Xiu smiled coldly. “You like physical contact with me that much?”

Wen Chu thought the kiss had worked and his eyes lit up. “Yes, physical contact. I need it very much.”

Xiu flicked his long, beautiful blue tail, feeling the lingering fiery sensation in his throat. He chuckled lowly, “Fine.”

He let go of Wen Chu. His massive blue tail stirred the water, sweeping towards Wen Chu with urgent speed.

Xiu’s transparent blue eyes were icy cold. Even after just being messed with by the jellyfish, when his expression turned this cold, he was still untouchable, like a god looking down on all living beings.

Wen Chu the jellyfish shivered, truly feeling a real sense of killing intent.

“Boom—”

Xiu avoided him at the last second.

The reef behind him collapsed with a violent crash, and the surrounding seawater shook violently.

The narwhal, who was waiting nearby, was startled.

Seeing that the collapsed area was where Xiu and Wen Chu had just been, the narwhal’s first reaction was another earthquake and landslide. She was about to swim over to check the situation.

But before she could move, she saw the golden-haired Siren, holding a perfectly intact little jellyfish, emerge murderously from the dust of the rubble.

“Where’s a knife?” Xiu’s thin lips parted, his voice a little hoarse. “Give me a knife. I’m going to make this jellyfish into a cold-dressed jellyfish salad right now and fulfill his wish.”

Narwhal: …Wait?

Wen Chu, being held, was dazed for a moment. He was thinking about why he had angered Xiu again.

Was it because kissing was also wrong?

Or is being made into a cold-dressed jellyfish salad the correct way?

He slowly asked out loud, “What is a cold-dressed jellyfish salad? Does that also count as physical contact? Or is it a step to becoming lovers?”

Narwhal: Wait!!

You can’t kill each other!!

__

Author’s Note:

Xiu: (Threatens)

Wen Chu: (Happily sprouting little flowers because he didn’t understand)