My Natural Enemy Caught My Tail

*My next book is You Two Really Can't Just Kiss?, with the blurb at the very bottom~

[An impish, clever little mermaid with a bit of a scheming streak x a frail, blind, deceptively gentle yet secretly unhinged deputy commander of the Demon Suppression Bureau]

Fan Song is the last of the merfolk. Since she was old enough to remember, her whole family has been gone. She was always hungry and cold, and spent her days scavenging for scraps and drifting through the East Sea.

The year she came of age, she finally saved enough money to buy herself a coral garden as a new home.

On the day she moved in, she unexpectedly discovered that the garden's back courtyard connected directly to the residence of a strange young man on land.

It was an ordinary midday. Sunlight slanted into the courtyard, where a young man sat on a warm couch with white gauze covering his eyes. He wore a frost-blue robe embroidered with cranes. Beneath the gauze was a cool, weary face, serene and profound. His presence was imposing, yet his frailty gave him the fragile air of something that might break at any moment.

The young man seemed not to notice Fan Song's intrusion and continued slowly turning the pages of his book.

Fan Song carefully pulled herself upright against the wall. Once she had confirmed that he was blind, she relaxed and began awkwardly walking on her two legs, exploring the residence.

The place was clean and orderly, with plenty of spacious, cozy rooms. The kitchen was full of delicious food, and the storeroom was packed with medicinal herbs and precious artifacts.

More importantly, hardly anyone lived there. After looking around, Fan Song decided she felt quite at home.

She began quietly calculating the possibilities:

She could sneak in at night to get free meals and a place to sleep, then wait until the young man left for work during the day before stealing a few things from the storeroom to resell in the East Sea. There was so much gold, silver, and jewelry in there that surely he wouldn't notice if she took just a tiny bit to make ends meet, right?

Fan Song's little scheme clicked along nicely, and she openly began living under the same roof as the young man.

He kept his lifestyle simple, and spent most of his time in his study after work.

Fan Song secretly watched him for a whole month. Though he was frail, he was ruthless and efficient when killing demons. Every night, as she slept in the west wing, she could hear demons and spirits begging for mercy. They all called him Deputy Commander Ji.

Gradually, Fan Song grew uneasy. She took the opportunity to ask around, and only then learned that the young man she'd been living with for so long was none other than Ji Yuan, the deputy commander of the Demon Suppression Bureau, whose name struck terror into the hearts of demons and spirits.

When Fan Song learned the truth, it felt as if the sky had fallen.

The Demon Suppression Bureau was her natural enemy.

She'd been mooching off Ji Yuan for food, lodging, and shelter, and she'd stolen a lot of his belongings, too.

Once he found out, how could he possibly let her off?

Out of guilt, Fan Song painfully wove a quilt from merfolk silk and gave it to Ji Yuan, hoping he'd sleep warmly at night.

She also hoped he'd spare her.

Unfortunately, when Fan Song sneaked into his bedroom to deliver the quilt, Ji Yuan had just come home from work.

A man and a mermaid met face-to-face in a narrow passage.

Fan Song figured that since Ji Yuan was blind, he definitely couldn't see her, so she simply crouched beside the wardrobe and stayed perfectly still.

But as Ji Yuan changed, his sash fell to the floor. He bent to pick it up, and while feeling around, touched Fan Song's scaly feet, which were on the verge of turning into a fish tail.

Fan Song's heart leaped into her throat.

Ji Yuan grabbed her ankle and never let go.

Coming soon: You Two Really Can't Just Kiss?

Su Ran was as lovely as a lotus rising from clear water, gentle and courteous, and renowned throughout the capital as the daughter of a military family. The year she came of age, she obeyed her elders' arrangement and married a principled, upright young man of the Wei family.

The night before her wedding, her biological daughter from ten years in the future appeared at the door of her bridal chamber.

Her daughter opened with a bombshell: “My father is Xie Zhiyan.”

He was Su Ran's archenemy, the capital's number one playboy, a frivolous young master who lived for amusement and was infamous for his rebellious nature.

Su Ran said, “I'm marrying into the Wei family. How could I possibly marry a spoiled playboy in the future?”

Her daughter said indignantly:

“The Wei family has a cousin who's eight months pregnant living under their roof, and he dotes on his concubine while mistreating his wife. During the years you were married to him, you suffered one humiliation after another.”

“But my father will become the foremost Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. After you divorce, he'll marry you right away. He'll never let anyone say a bad word about you, and he'll earn lots of money for you to spend, so you can be the most glamorous lady in the whole capital!”

The truth her daughter revealed made Su Ran furious, but the rosy future she painted was awfully tempting.

The trouble was, Su Ran was marrying into the Wei family tomorrow...

For the first time in her life, the normally well-behaved Su Ran rebelled.

That night, dressed in her bright red wedding gown, she carried a ladder and climbed into the playboy's neighboring residence.

“I'm ordering you to come steal me away tomorrow evening. Bring a hundred chests of betrothal gifts and make me your bride.”

Xie Zhiyan lounged lazily, drinking and laughing insolently as he taunted her. “Why should I?”

Su Ran replied with complete seriousness, “We have a child together. She's seven.”

“...?”

Xie Zhiyan sobered up instantly.

That year, all the capital buzzed with the same story. The usually frivolous young master of the Xie family had stolen his friend Wei's bride-to-be and married her instead. The two young masters from the city's most prominent families had fought over Su Ran and ended up as sworn enemies.

Everyone assumed Su Ran would have a miserable life in the Xie household, married to the carefree young marquis. Then someone happened to enter the residence and overheard:

Man: “Dear, can I skip sleeping on the floor tonight?”

Woman: “Nannan, do you think Daddy should sleep on the floor tonight?”

Daughter: “Of course! Daddy hasn't finished his workbook, and if he doesn't finish it, he won't have money to buy Mommy jewelry.”

“...” Xie Zhiyan resigned himself to studying by lamplight.

Later, their daughter realized that her parents had been married for a month without ever getting intimate, and were still sleeping in separate beds.

They couldn't go on keeping their distance like this.

One night, she sat between Su Ran and Xie Zhiyan and said, “Both of you, kiss me on the cheek!”

As they leaned in to kiss her, she quickly ducked down, hoping they'd kiss each other instead.

But Su Ran and Xie Zhiyan's lips only brushed together before they awkwardly and stiffly turned away from each other.

Their daughter planted her hands on her hips, fuming. “Mommy, Daddy, can you two really not just kiss? Kiss for a little longer! That's how you'll make me!”

[Sweet, clear-eyed beauty x bold, unruly Grand Secretary x precocious daughter]

Theme: Face the sun and grow wild!