Little Beauty hadn't grown distant from him.
Her two little pranks had swept away all the worry and unease Zhao Lei had felt.
"So..."
he murmured, "you remembered our promise."
"Eee~"
Her pink-and-gold tail rose above the water, sending up a spray.
Her seaweed-like hair rippled in the water.
Zhao Lei suddenly felt as if he were watching a synchronized swimming routine.
He found his own association a little amusing.
But every movement Little Beauty made was lovely to watch.
Perhaps it was the added charm of her unusual appearance.
Looking at Little Beauty, he felt as though he were in a fairy tale.
His gaze fell to her feet.
Her tiny feet were easy to overlook.
Most of the time, his attention was drawn to her beautiful tail.
A thought suddenly came to him: in fairy tales, mermaids traded with witches to get legs that would let them walk on land, giving up their lovely voices in return.
But Little Beauty had had feet from the very beginning.
Still, even with feet, she couldn't walk on land, could she?
Unless she could retract that huge tail of hers.
That left Zhao Lei wondering what the point of her feet was.
But soon, he stopped thinking about it.
That was just Little Beauty.
She simply had both a tail and feet. She was born that way.
It was impolite of him to wonder about it.
Zhao Lei shook his head.
He cast aside all the random thoughts in his mind.
This was his reunion with Little Beauty, a chance to play around together.
He shouldn't let himself get distracted.
Ever since the promise they'd made when they first parted, Zhao Lei had gone to that remote little island every year.
He went to keep the appointment he'd made with