Little Pearl

On the bed, Chi Li had one leg bent beneath him while the other stretched out lazily. Watching Si Jinyan cry, his chest felt increasingly stifled. He straightened his left leg and planted his foot on Si Jinyan's muscular mermaid tail. "Get out," he said again.

Chi Li's gaze fell once more on the little thing wrapped in layer upon layer of coils, completely hidden from view. His tone quickened, carrying a hint of dismissal. "Take it with you and get out."

Si Jinyan froze amid the scattered pearls, staring fixedly at Chi Li. He still had not recovered from Chi Li's previous two sentences.

Those two sentences took several turns in Si Jinyan's mind and had more or less become: "Chi Li said not to touch the egg" meant "Chi Li accepted the egg."

Chi Li pressed down slightly with the leg resting on Si Jinyan's tail, trying to emphasize that he wanted him gone. "And take your tears with you too."

Tiny pearls rolled densely beneath Chi Li's leg. A mermaid's tear glands seemed especially developed; with Si Jinyan's movements, the little pearls rolled aimlessly across the sheets. Some even rolled up against Chi Li's leg, uncomfortably digging into him.

Si Jinyan did not get up. He reached out and grabbed Chi Li's ankle.

The scales on the sole of his foot were icy cold, while a ring of powerful heat abruptly closed around his ankle. Chi Li's brows tightened.

A faint, barely noticeable delight rose in Si Jinyan's eyes as he asked uncertainly, "Chi Li, you mean...?"

Before Si Jinyan could finish, Chi Li cut him off. "I don't accept it."

Chi Li said it without hesitation.

Seeing the coldness in Chi Li's eyes, Si Jinyan did not feel as though his heart had gone cold. Instead,