Carl came to see Lansi the next day.
He arrived very early—too early, really.
By the pool, Carl warned him, "I'm on duty today, so you'll have to stay here alone. Don't run around."
Lansi rolled his eyes at him from the edge of the pool.
Carl: "…"
Wiping his face, Carl muttered, "You little troublemaker. Only the boss can keep you in check."
With a sigh, he handed over the fish soup he'd brought, arranged some snacks, and set up a screen so Lansi could finish watching the palace drama he'd missed yesterday. Only after all that did he leave.
In any case, Carl's care for Lansi was thorough.
As soon as Carl left, Lansi jumped out of the pool. He swam straight to the villa's glass door, quickly entered the code, and slipped inside.
The glass box he'd once lived in was still there in the living room. After rummaging around for a bit, Lansi found the black cloth that had been used to cover it.
According to his plan, he was supposed to climb into the box, cover himself with the cloth, wait for Rose to arrive, have her mail the box to the beach, and then slip back into the ocean.
But the moment he sat in the glass box, cloth in hand, he frowned.
Why did he suddenly have a bad feeling?
After a moment's hesitation, he trusted his instinct and climbed back out, clutching the cloth uncertainly.
Maybe… he should wait for Rose.
He sat down in the living room, planning to rest there until she arrived and open the door for her.
But just as he was settling onto the carpet, the villa's front door opened.
Someone entered.
They didn't make a sound. They just stood there, silent.
Lansi froze for several seconds, then instinctively darted back out the glass door and dove into the swimming pool.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
If it were Carl, he wouldn't be quiet—he'd be humming off-key tunes and bouncing around.
If it were Rose, she wouldn't have a key. She would have needed Lansi to open the door.
A delivery person? What kind of courier just walks into someone's home?
Who was it?
Lansi sank to the bottom of the pool, worried it might be a thief.
But a thief? In a guarded zone? Who would be bold enough to break into this place without fear of being caught by the army?
Lansi pressed himself against the wall of the pool, trying to listen.
The intruder seemed unfamiliar with the layout, walking a slow loop through the villa before falling completely silent.
Lansi kept his ear fins raised and didn't dare make a sound. He prayed that whoever it was would just leave.
But then, with a loud splash, something heavy fell into the water—right next to him.
It was so close that it felt like the person had known exactly where Lansi was hiding.
Startled, Lansi was about to swim away when strong arms wrapped tightly around him.
"Ai—ya!"
Lansi flailed his tail wildly, his panic rising as he felt a warm chest press against his back.
But the man holding him didn't flinch. He chuckled and pulled Lansi toward the surface.
They broke through the water together. Lansi clawed at the arms around his waist with his webbed hands, but he had no nails and caused no damage at all.
What the hell—was this some fish thief?
He hadn't even seen the person's face. Furious, Lansi decided to retaliate.
He arched forward suddenly, then snapped backward with a powerful tail slap.
The man clearly hadn't expected it and released him in surprise.
Lansi twisted around, ready to see his attacker.
If this guy had bad intentions, Lansi swore he'd drag him underwater and drown him.
But then he saw who it was.
Wen Yu.
Lansi: "…"
Wen Yu was still wiping water off his face, smiling at him.
"Not bad," he said.
Lansi stared at him, wide-eyed, his pupils contracting with disbelief. His ear fins twitched erratically. His tail froze in the water.
After all this time, he was finally seeing Wen Yu.
He didn't know what to feel.
Relief. Anger. Confusion. Joy.
His eyes turned red.
He had been terrified just moments ago.
Wen Yu's smile faded as he noticed the tears.
Realizing Lansi had truly been frightened, he swam forward and gently wiped a pearl from the corner of Lansi's eye.
"Sorry," he murmured. "I just wanted to surprise you."
"Wa—!"
Lansi swore at him.
What kind of surprise was that? He thought he was being kidnapped again.
Wen Yu looked guilty. He leaned in and kissed Lansi's forehead.
"Won't happen again. Did you miss me?"
That was the breaking point.
Lansi's tears streamed down.
Of course he missed Wen Yu. He missed Wencer. He missed the sea.
Why was Wen Yu here?
With a sudden cry, Lansi bit Wen Yu's shoulder.
The military uniform absorbed most of it, so it didn't hurt, but Wen Yu let him vent, holding him patiently.
Eventually, Lansi stopped crying and bit less furiously. Then he remembered something. He wiped away his last tears and held the remaining pearls in his palm.
"What are you doing?" Wen Yu asked, confused.
Lansi shoved the pearls into Wen Yu's pocket.
"…Are you trying to pay me with these?"
Wen Yu blinked. A black line practically formed on his face.
Lansi nodded solemnly.
Then he pointed toward the sea.
"You want to go back?" Wen Yu asked.
Lansi nodded again, emphatically.
"But why should I help you?" Wen Yu's gaze deepened. "I just bought you for 200 million."
But I saved you before, Lansi wanted to say. He looked at Wen Yu, feeling betrayed.
When Wen Yu saw the shock and hurt in Lansi's face, he sighed and flipped Lansi onto his lap by the edge of the pool.
"You need to learn a lesson."
Lansi blinked in confusion as Wen Yu spanked him twice on his tail.
"Pah. Pah."
Lansi was dumbfounded.
He had just been spanked.
He was nearly a hundred years old, and he had just been spanked.
His face turned bright red.
"Ka—wa—!" he cursed again.
"Don't think I don't understand that," Wen Yu muttered.
He released Lansi, who slid away, clutching his tail in disbelief.
Wen Yu calmly showed him several white scales in his hand.
"You dropped these when I touched you. How can you say you're ready to go back?"
Lansi was speechless.
He had noticed some patches of missing scales before, but didn't think much of it. Now even a light touch made them fall.
Was he sick?
He hugged his tail and stared at it in concern.
"Stay. I'll take care of you," Wen Yu whispered in his ear. "No matter what you become, you're still my beautiful little fish."
Lansi looked up, dazed.
Wen Yu thought he had finally reached him. He smiled and added, "Stay here. I'll keep you safe."
"Wa—!"
Lansi cursed and dove into the water, sinking to the bottom, refusing to come up.
"Lansi?" Wen Yu called from above, alarmed.
Lansi didn't respond. He sat in a corner, thinking.
Wen Yu's words almost made him agree.
But he suddenly remembered—
No matter how much Wen Yu resembled Wencer, he was not Wencer.
He didn't want to be a pet in a pool. He wanted to go home.
In the sea, he belonged. On land, he would always be an outsider.
He leaned against the wall, dazed.
He wanted to evolve.
"Lansi?" Wen Yu called again.
No answer.
Realizing he may have gone too far, Wen Yu stood up and returned to the villa. He came back with a transparent bag.
Opening it by the pool, he hesitated, then poured its contents into the water.
With a splash, a little black octopus dropped into the pool.
"What a headache," Wen Yu muttered.
This was his backup plan.
He hadn't expected to use it so soon.
But if Lansi really wanted to leave—to find Winsor, the black mermaid—
Then maybe it was time.
Even if Wen Yu and Winsor were one and the same…
Even if Lansi hadn't realized it yet…
Wen Yu, feeling bitter, watched the little octopus drift into the water.
He was already starting to think about how he'd one day explain the truth to his little fish.
That he had always been both. Wen Yu and Winsor. One person. Two hearts.
At the same time, the little octopus that Wen Yu had poured into the pool floated quietly on the surface.
Once Wen Yu left, the octopus seemed to wake up. It shook its soft little skirt-like body and began to swim.
It wandered around the pool in a daze, inspecting its surroundings. After taking in the scene, it turned and began swimming toward Lansi.
The little octopus was about the size of a fist, jet-black in color. When it moved through the water, it looked like a flat pancake, with two cat-ear-shaped fins on its head.
"Excuse me, is there any fish over there?" a soft, childlike voice suddenly echoed through the water.
Lansi, who had been quietly planting mushrooms in the corner, froze. He looked up in confusion and tentatively responded.
"Who's there?"
Was there some sea monster in the pool now?
Was he hallucinating?
"Me," the voice replied.
The little black octopus fluttered through the water, its skirt trembling. It paused and realized that its color was far too inconspicuous, so it quickly turned bright red.
"Can you see me now?"
Lansi finally caught a good look and was instantly charmed by the little creature.
"Wow, you're adorable."
"Thank you," said the octopus, accepting the compliment with great poise.
It thought to itself, This is a carefully designed appearance. If he doesn't like it, I might as well perish.
"Did you get captured too?" Lansi asked.
The little octopus froze for a second, then hesitated.
"No."
In order to avoid further questioning, it quickly changed the subject.
"Are you building a nest?"
Lansi blinked, confused.
"A nest? What nest?"
"The mucus used for nesting is floating out of your mouth."
The octopus's voice was still soft and sweet, but the tone was unusually serious.
"You didn't know?"
Lansi: [...]
He subconsciously wiped the corner of his mouth, and sure enough, found that there was a white, sticky liquid floating out.
"Don't waste it," said the octopus. "Nesting fluid is very precious. Either build a nest now or eat it. Hurry."
Lansi suddenly recalled the mysterious white substance that had gotten onto his shirt in Wen Yu's bedroom that day.
Now it made sense. Sort of.