The Runaway Mermaid - Chapter 2

Sure enough, the moment we entered the private room, the same familiar faces crowded around us.

I retreated on instinct, my stomach turning.

Qin Yan, on the other hand, greeted everyone with effortless poise before taking her seat. Beside her, I looked painfully awkward and provincial.

I sent Lu Jingran a pleading glance, hoping he might show mercy and let me leave.

He did not even look at me. All his attention was fixed on Qin Yan, as though the slightest discomfort or displeasure on her part would be a catastrophe.

While I stood there helplessly, someone pulled me down into a seat. A revolting hand closed around my wrist.

“Meng Tan, my chest hurts. Take a look at me.”

“Me too. My leg has been killing me.”

“And my back…”

They hemmed me in, treating me like a toy.

“I heard merfolk cry pearls. Go on, shed a tear for us.”

“What about your scales? Every mermaid has a reverse scale, don’t they? Where’s yours? Is it…”

With Lu Jingran present, they stopped short of putting their hands all over me. But their eyes had already stripped me bare.

“Lu Jingran…” I looked to him for help.

He knew I hated these men. He knew I hated places like this. One word from him and they would have obediently returned to their seats.

But Lu Jingran was busy slicing fruit for Qin Yan.

This was a man who had never lifted a finger for himself, who even made me peel his oranges. Now he was carefully cutting fruit for her.

He ignored me completely.

In the end, Qin Yan was the one who spoke. “That’s enough. She belongs to Jingran, after all.”

Only then did the men around me back off, laughing as one of them said, “She’s just lowborn beastfolk. If she weren’t useful, Jingran would’ve thrown her out ages ago.”

Qin Yan’s interest sharpened. “Oh? Beastfolk?”

In this world, beastfolk were considered inferior and treated with contempt.

“That’s right. She’s the most gifted mermaid in her clan. They sent her here specially to treat Jingran.”

Qin Yan’s eyes flickered. She rose to her feet. “Perfect timing, then. I’ve felt unwell since the flight. Would you mind taking a look at me, Miss Meng?”

My first instinct was to refuse.

Reason told me refusal would only bring worse trouble, so I nodded.

I examined Qin Yan. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her, yet she put on an impressive show of being in distress.

She was deliberately making things difficult for me.

Seeing her discomfort, Lu Jingran cast me a glance. “Doesn’t your singing soothe people? Sing.”

My throat was still painfully raw.

“Lu Jingran, my throat hurts.” I tried to reason with him.

The next instant, he hurled a glass at me.

It shattered on the floor, and a sharp shard sliced open my calf.

He stared at me and spoke a single word.

“Sing.”

Humiliation burned through me. I bit my lip and refused to open my mouth.

There was nothing wrong with Qin Yan.

Lu Jingran kept staring. The room fell deathly silent.

Suddenly, he gave a cold laugh. “Getting brave now, are you?”

My whole body went rigid as I remembered what my father had told me before I left.

“Tan, our entire clan is depending on you.

“You must rein in your temper. Obey them, and never anger the Lu family. Do you understand?”

Merfolk needed water to survive, but as more high-rises went up, waterways were polluted and lakes and coastal waters filled in. The places where we could live were disappearing at a terrifying speed.

The Lu family had paid a fortune for the waters we called home and planned to develop them. With nowhere left to turn, my father heard that Lu Jingran was gravely ill and offered me to the Lu family in exchange for a place where our people could continue to live.

That was why I could not anger him.

I bowed my head. Tears of shame struck the floor.

“I’m sorry.”

My lilting song soothed the emotions of everyone present.

Forgotten in a corner, I dug my nails hard into my palms.