Hao Ren basically didn't sleep at all that night.
After Little Merman had eaten and drunk her fill, she clung completely to him. He couldn't shake her off or put her down. Although she was only half a foot long and her little arms were as thin as chopsticks, once she wrapped them around him, they were surprisingly strong. And, to be honest, Hao Ren didn't dare forcibly pull Doudou off his arm. He was afraid of hurting the skinny little thing. But this couldn't go on forever!
Early the next morning, Hao Ren appeared before everyone with dark circles under his eyes, Doudou still hanging from his arm. From a distance, she looked like an armband. Because the little thing refused to let go, Hao Ren hadn't even changed his clothes yesterday. He had simply lain down fully dressed for the night. On top of that, he was afraid of crushing her in his sleep, so he had only managed to sleep two or three hours in total. Naturally, he was yawning nonstop.
Lily was packing her things, apparently preparing to go out to work—the few dogs in the back street needed their vaccinations. When she saw Hao Ren's appearance, she immediately cried out in surprise, "Wow! Landlord, you let her hang there all night?"
"What else could I do?" Hao Ren raised his arm. "She was fine before I fed her yesterday, but why did she become more and more clingy afterward? She won't even go to the basin for water."
When Little Merman had first hatched, she hadn't been this clingy. Hao Ren still remembered how easily he had been able to move her into the basin, and how she herself would jump out of the water and wander around as if exploring. But as time passed,