Varesa remained silent for a long time, the emotions churning in her heart slowly settling.
She raised her head, faint traces of tears still lingering around her green eyes, her long lashes trembling gently underwater.
"Th-thank you, Bai You. I feel much better now."
Her voice was soft and sweet.
"I'm glad you're not sad anymore. Let's stop talking about things that make us sad for now. I believe everything will work itself out in the future."
Bai You spoke gently.
Varesa was silent for a moment before slowly loosening her embrace. She nodded gently.
"Thank you so much, Bai You."
Varesa flicked the fish tail swaying behind her and turned to look toward the top of the shell.
"Let's swim to the edge of the shell first. Once we're up there, I'll sing for you. I'm quite a good singer, you know."
Bai You nodded in agreement and swam upward beside Varesa, the water flowing past them.
Just as they were about to reach the shell's broad, flat surface, a faint watery glow appeared around Varesa, and her teal fish tail slowly transformed into a pair of slender, shapely legs.
She deftly switched to human form, braced her hands and feet against the edge of the shell, and swung herself up to sit on it.
Bai You was so focused on following her that she completely forgot to switch forms. Still trailing her fish tail, which shaded from pale green to white, she lunged toward the shell platform.
Without legs to support her balance, she immediately lost her footing and stumbled straight forward, about to fall hard onto the shell's rigid surface.
Varesa reacted quickly, immediately leaning out and reaching for Bai You's waist.
Their momentum carried them both into a gentle backward sway. Varesa sat on the shell, holding Bai You firmly in her arms while half of Bai You's body was still suspended above the water.
Bai You's long fish tail was still unconsciously patting the lake water, sending up little splashes.
"Be careful." Varesa looked down at the bewildered Bai You in her arms and couldn't help chuckling, her warm breath brushing against Bai You's ear.
"You were so busy swimming up after me that you forgot to change forms? If you'd fallen just now, that would have hurt."
The sudden closeness made Bai You's cheeks flush at once, and her two fin ears twitched gently on instinct.
She froze for several seconds before hurriedly using her innate ability to switch forms. A faint, soft glow enveloped her, and her fish tail gradually drew together, transforming into a pair of slender, fair legs.
Only when her legs had fully formed did Bai You, a little embarrassed, reach out and brace herself against Varesa's shoulders, trying to straighten up out of her embrace.
But Varesa didn't immediately let go. She kept her arms firmly around Bai You's waist, her green eyes gazing at her without blinking.
"You really scared me just now. Don't forget next time."
Varesa's fingertips brushed gently against the fabric at Bai You's waist, a trace of lingering fear in her voice.
"What would you have done if you'd hit one of the shell's protruding edges?"
Bai You's gaze shifted away for a moment. "I... I got distracted just now and completely forgot I still needed to change forms. It's a good thing you reacted quickly."
Seeing Bai You looking so awkward and shy, Varesa's smile deepened a little, and she slowly released her waist.
She reached for Bai You's wrist and pulled her over to sit beside her on the broad surface of the shell.
But Varesa noticed that Bai You's ears didn't seem to have changed back to the human ears she'd had before entering the water.
A pair of pale green, translucent fin ears rested softly on either side of her head, their tips trembling ever so slightly.
Varesa paused, her gaze settling on the particularly eye-catching little ears, curiosity rising in her eyes.
She leaned forward slightly and carefully reached out, gently touching one of the soft ear fins with her fingertip.
The instant her fingertip made contact, Bai You shuddered and instinctively shrank to one side, her cheeks growing hot in a flash.
Varesa smiled and teased, "Oh, your ears haven't changed back yet."
Bai You hurriedly raised her hands to cover her ears, her eyes flustered.
She'd been so focused on finding her balance and changing her fish tail into legs that she'd forgotten she probably needed to actively retract the ear fins of her mermaid form.
Bai You silently called upon the innate ability of her Mermaid Physique, trying to change the pair of fin-like ears back into ordinary human ears.
But no matter how she tried to activate her ability, the pale green ear fins remained firmly in place on either side of her head. Their tips even trembled twice from her growing anxiety.
She frowned, keeping one hand over an ear while clenching the other in front of her. She tried several more times, but the ear fins didn't change at all.
"Strange... why won't they change back?" Bai You muttered. She looked even more flustered, and her already pink cheeks grew redder.
Varesa watched her secretly strain again and again, her brows knitting slightly.
More curiosity appeared in her eyes. Rather than reach out again, she simply asked gently, "What's wrong? Can't you retract them?"
Bai You looked up at her, a little at a loss. "I'm drawing on the power inside me, but my ears aren't responding at all. No matter how hard I try, I can't retract these ear fins."
Varesa slowly leaned a little closer, carefully examining the pair of gently swaying fin ears. Her fingertips hovered in the air as she said,
"The ears of my Water Nymph race are all like this. Whether we're in the water or in human form, our ears stay the same."
"That's why, when you said you were a Water Nymph back then, I didn't believe you at first."
Varesa's gaze rested intently on the pair of pale green ear fins as she slowly continued.
"The traits Water Nymphs are born with don't disappear easily, but you clearly had ordinary human ears before, so I'm not quite sure either."
"When I learned you were a Water Nymph, I just assumed you were a somewhat special Water Nymph."
Hearing this, Bai You couldn't help freezing for a moment. She instinctively raised a hand and gently touched her slightly trembling fin ear.
Her fingertips felt its thin, translucent surface, and she felt even more at a loss.
Just then, she suddenly remembered that she seemed to have a system too. How had she forgotten about that thing?