The Tycoon's Enchanted Mermaid

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Grew Bigger, But Not Completely

Ah Da saw him staring intently at her with a cold look, most likely because he had just awoken from a nightmare; his eyes were full of bloodshot veins, which appeared quite frightening.

Ah Da involuntarily swallowed, already feeling guilty, and now even more scared. @@novelbin@@

“I… let go…”

Ah Da called out, her voice trembling slightly, her hand also started to pull away with force, but the man’s grip was incredibly strong, firmly clamping down on her slender wrist, causing her pain, she inhaled sharply through the pain.

Qin Yu’s grip involuntarily loosened, and he turned around to switch on the light. Under the bright white light, the young girl sat cross-legged beside him wearing an oversized shirt. Her eyes were sparkling, and as she rubbed the hurt wrist, she accused him with her gaze.

The air froze for a second, as their eyes locked.

...

“…What’s with your clothes?” Qin Yu diverted his gaze, his brows deeply furrowed, he asked.

Ah Da looked down at herself and realized the buttons were not aligned properly; she quickly reached for the blanket beside her to cover up, a faint blush spreading across her porcelain-white little face, she explained in her soft, glutinous voice.

“That, I didn’t mean to wear your clothes on purpose. Just now… when I came out, my body suddenly returned to normal size, and the dress on my body shattered into pieces, I could only find clothes from the wardrobe to put on, probably was too rushed and didn’t wear it right.”

Ah Da extended a finger toward the fragments on the ground, indicating she wasn’t lying. Qin Yu looked over to see pieces of fabric quietly lying on the floor, and his headache intensified.

Looking back at the timid girl in front of him, he suddenly didn’t know what to say.

…How did she suddenly grow bigger?

Ah Da was equally baffled; this matter was quite a coincidence. Originally, she was prepared to sleep inside the incense burner, but Qin Yu seemed to be having a nightmare, panting heavily and drenched in sweat. Ah Da couldn’t rest assured, so she decided to come out and check.

Who knew that the moment her toes touched the ground, there was a loud bang and her body returned to its original size. The blue puff dress she wore was immediately torn apart, and in her frantic hurry, she had to search the wardrobe for clothes, but all the clothes in there were Qin Yu’s. In desperation, she threw on whatever clothes she could find.

Even the buttons had been fastened haphazardly.

Qin Yu didn’t know what nightmare he was experiencing; he looked as if he had been pulled out of the sea, soaked in sweat, his face and neck red. Ah Da thought this wasn’t normal and reached out to check on him, but as soon as her hand touched him, Qin Yu woke up.

He gripped her wrist in one swift motion, with a surprisingly strong force.

The instant his eyes opened, there was a fierce, soul-capturing fierceness, like an Asura from hell radiating a terrifying murderous aura. At that moment, when he grabbed her hand, Ah Da didn’t doubt she could have been killed outright, as easily as squashing an ant. It was truly terrifying.

Ah Da hid behind the blanket, clutching her chest, still shaken at this moment.

Qin Yu gazed at her for a while, that face was very familiar, a perfect enlargement of that palm-sized creature, actually not that big, petite and delicate, seeming somewhat immature.

He suddenly wanted to ask her age, but then thought the question somewhat ridiculous. She was no ordinary person; what did age matter to her?

He lifted his eyes to meet hers, remembering how he had grabbed her wrist, slim, frail, liable to break at a touch, that incomparable tenderness lingered in his memory. Qin Yu closed his eyes in disarray, reopened them, then slid out of the bed.

Before leaving, he turned aside not looking at her, his voice low and hoarse, he told Ah Da, “Put on the clothes properly.”

Ah Da blinked with wide eyes, the man’s presence was too formidable; she involuntarily uttered a sound, watching his back like a little kitten as he walked into the bathroom.

With a click, the door closed tightly. Perhaps it was an illusion, but there seemed to be a hint of a hasty retreat.

Ah Da was also puzzled; Qin Yu seemed a bit angry just now, but why was he angry?

He also looked quite fierce. Could it be because she wore his clothes without his permission?

Qin Yu took a quick cold shower, donned a bathrobe, casually tied a knot around his lean waist, and dried his hair with a towel. Any annoyance from the dream had long been dismissed from his mind; now, his thoughts were entirely filled with the image of Ah Da.

At one moment she was a palm-sized tiny person, and the next she was the stunningly beautiful girl from before, switching back and forth.

Staring at his reflection in the mirror, Qin Yu realized he was deeply influenced by Ah Da, having slowly crossed boundaries. Before it was because she was only palm-sized, gender didn’t matter, and he could indulge her presence. But now, she had unexpectedly transformed into a girl, and he felt not the slightest resistance in his heart.

Even when she lay on his bed, wearing his clothes, he wasn’t victim to his usual obsessive need for cleanliness.

Anyone else would have been thrown out by him long ago.

Qin Yu faced the mirror, wiping the dampness from his hair with a towel, his gaze deep with thought. Ah Da’s current condition couldn’t be concealed, so from now on, she could only live openly in the villa. As for the reason…

“Ah!”

Suddenly, a sharp scream came from the bedroom. Qin Yu quickly turned and rushed out to see a small lump moving under the covers, trying to wriggle out.

Qin Yu frowned, walked over, and pulled back the blanket to reveal a small, timid head poking out, hair in disarray with strands hanging over her eyelashes and nose, her eyes large and bright, lips a tender pink.

Obviously, she had shrunk again—if earlier she appeared to be seventeen or eighteen years old, she now looked at most seven years old, with chubby, short arms and baby fat still on her face.

Like a little chubby doll.

Qin Yu: “…”

Ah Da avoided his gaze, her head hung low, looking like a child who had made a mistake and was awaiting a parent’s scolding.

Qin Yu frowned. If the situation weren’t so vividly real, he would have doubted whether he was still dreaming.

After a long while, he asked, “What happened?”

The emotions in the man’s eyes were unclear, his voice slightly cold. His tall, lean figure loomed by the bedside, oppressive like a heavy weight that made it hard to breathe.

Cowering under the blanket, Ah Da lifted her head to reveal a pair of red-rimmed eyes, wet with tears. She licked her lips, her voice soft and trembling, betraying her fear, “I… I don’t know.”

She didn’t know why she had suddenly grown bigger and smaller; it wasn’t within her control, and the shrinking had been accompanied by severe pain that made her cry out involuntarily.

“It might be because I absorbed too much incense recently, and my body couldn’t fully handle it, leading to this chaos and loss of control.”

As she spoke, Ah Da quietly added, “Of course, this is just my guess. Maybe I’ll shrink again in a little while.”

Qin Yu gave her a sidelong glance, “Shrink to the size you were before?”

Ah Da’s cheeks flushed slightly, feeling as if his words were a sarcastic taunt at her helplessness. Could she be blamed though? No one had taught her, and she wasn’t born with innate knowledge!

If it were Bronze Sword, he would have reassured her by now and would be figuring out a solution. Meanwhile, Qin Yu only asked questions, always stern and icy cold. He wasn’t as kind as Bronze Sword!

“I don’t know!”

Ah Da turned her body away, facing her back to Qin Yu, huffing in a small bundle with her thick, fluffy hair spread across the bed.

She had quite the temper; Qin Yu increasingly felt that he wasn’t raising a pet or a medicinal guide, but rather a tiny tyrant.

He lifted the blanket and lay down on the bed. The mattress sank, and the little girl abruptly turned her head, her face stricken with panic.

Qin Yu just looked at her, candid and straightforward. Both sitting on the bed, their size difference meant one had to look down while the other could only look up, “Two options, either you go to the guest room yourself, or you stay quiet and go to sleep. Choose.”