The Tycoon's Enchanted Mermaid

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Blow-drying Hair

The night was silent, the man’s sigh barely audible.

Ah Da watched as Qin Yu walked toward the bathroom and couldn’t help but follow, standing by the door, her eyes unblinking.

She watched him reach up to grab the hair dryer hanging high up, a spot she couldn’t reach even on her tiptoes, but for him, it was effortless—he was too tall.

He towered over her by a good bit, and she always had to look up when talking to him, although she could have reached the hair dryer by stepping on a stool, she preferred lazily using her Spiritual Power.

Now… it probably wasn’t necessary.

Qin Yu plugged in the device and tested the temperature, then looked up to see the girl standing at the door, her bright, glistening eyes softening his heart.

...

“Come here,” he called to her.

Ah Da blinked her eyelashes once, holding a towel and slowly walked toward him, her long hair swaying behind her.

The young girl was slight and graceful, her cheeks and hair dotted with water droplets, and just a proximity made him catch the sweet fruity fragrance of her, refreshing to the soul.

Qin Yu started blowing from the top of her head, his fingers well-defined as they threaded through her hair, feeling a bit cold, a bit ticklish.

In the bathroom, only the sound of the hair dryer persisted, the warm air traveling down from the top of her head causing Ah Da to feel slightly dizzy; she smelled the cool fragrance on Qin Yu, enveloping her entirely, pulling and impacting her consciousness.

Her pale little hand clutched at the man’s shirt at his waist, quickly creasing the white fabric.

Looking up, Ah Da saw his well-built wrists, clean and forceful, veins emerging with his movements as if she could see the blood flowing underneath.

For a moment, Ah Da felt parched and restless, unable to look away, her fingers tightening around his shirt turning slightly pale.

A restless uneasiness surged deep inside, corroding her consciousness, forcing Ah Da to exert some force to eventually shift her gaze.

Qin Yu noticed her anomaly, looked down at her while stopping his hair-drying motion, only to see her body trembling slightly, her teeth biting her lips, eyes gleaming with moisture.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Yu asked softly.

Ah Da looked up, her stunningly delicate features exposed, her mouth slightly open, yet unable to utter a word, resembling a fish out of water.

“I… I don’t know.”

His cool fingers brushed past the corner of her eyes, seeming to soothe the agitation within her heart, as Ah Da’s eyes regained a bit of clarity. The moment she looked up, her eyes met Qin Yu’s, the air around them pausing momentarily, his gaze darker.

“Need some incense?”

Ah Da’s fingers loosened from the fabric of his shirt, she gently nodded with a weak smile, “I just feel very tired and sleepy, but it’s okay, I’ll be fine after a nap.”

Qin Yu watched her for a moment without speaking.

He simply restarted the hair dryer to blow dry her hair, this time his movements were gentler, the temperature controlled just right. As the discomfort in her body gradually faded, Ah Da’s gaze couldn’t help but focus on his face.

His jawline firm and smooth, naturally deep-set brows and eyes, high nose and thin lips, the light from above casting shadows on his face, accentuating his stunning cheekbones.

Qin Yu’s focused gaze and the fingers threading through her hair, all these were what she felt in the moment, making Ah Da find him exceptionally gentle as he dried her hair, and she liked this side of him.

“Done,” he said, turning off the hair dryer.

Ah Da reached back to touch her hair, fluffy, soft and still warm, now dry.

Qin Yu washed his hands, then turned around to see the well-behaved girl still standing in place, immobile as she looked at him, her dark hair and clear, enticing eyes captivating.

Qin Yu asked, “Didn’t you say you were tired and needed to sleep?”

“Huh?” Ah Da snapped back to reality, her eyes darting around like a deer lost in the woods. “I’m going to sleep now, thank you for helping me dry my hair.”

Before waiting for a response, she ran out in her cotton slippers, as if she were avoiding something.

Qin Yu wiped his hands dry with a tissue. By the time he left the room, Ah Da was already out of sight.

Walking to the small living room, Qin Yu poured some incense into the incense burner and lit it. Not until the white smoke twirled up did he turn to grab a nightgown and head into the bathroom to shower.

Almost an hour later, Qin Yu finally settled into bed to sleep. Nowadays, he no longer worried about insomnia—Ah Da’s fragrance filled the entire room. With this unique scent surrounding him, Qin Yu quickly fell asleep.

Ah Da hadn’t slept yet, sitting on the incense burner with her knees hugged to her chest. She watched Qin Yu—watched him enter the bathroom, watched him come out, watched as he turned off the lights, and only when everything outside turned pitch black did her body relax and sprawl out on the bed. Her dark hair spilled over like flowing water, the black and white contrasting vividly.

She pondered deeply about what had just happened.

No clue emerged.

Ah Da knew that her earlier behavior wasn’t due to lusting over Qin Yu’s beauty; she wasn’t that…

When it came to beautiful things, she always treasured and saved them, not destroy them—like the pearls, porcelain jars, and antiques she preserved carefully.

Yet, just a moment ago, she had thought about biting Qin Yu.

This impulsive desire seemed to be an innate response of her body.

Could it be because of the blood?

Ah Da suddenly sat up. Her fingers absentmindedly touched the corner of her lips. Yes, she had bitten Qin Yu before and seemed to have grown addicted. The irritation she felt this time seemed to coax her into biting Qin Yu’s wrist, the blood flowing through the vessels and arteries.

But why was she like this? Ah Da panicked internally. Ever since she was freed from the constraints of the incense burner, many things had taken a strange and eerie turn.

She couldn’t stop it, this wasn’t what she wanted, and she didn’t want to become a demon that everyone despised. @@novelbin@@

She suspected that the cause of her drowsiness on the car today was due to being too far from the incense burner. On the way to Lishui Pavilion, she vaguely sensed her Spiritual Power leaking faster than usual. At that time, she didn’t pay attention, but now it didn’t seem to be her imagination.

The farther away she was, the faster the Spiritual Power dispersed?

Ah Da took a deep breath.

“Don’t panic, don’t panic, calm down.”

Speaking to herself, Ah Da straightened her body, suppressed the chaos and fear in her heart, closed her eyes tightly, and focused intently on absorbing the fragrance of the incense.

In the latter half of the night, as the incense extinguished, Ah Da slowly opened her eyes, her consciousness remarkably clear, her body feeling refreshed and permeated with an abundant Spiritual Power. Was this what a full recharge of Spiritual Power felt like?

It was her first trial, and it had gone fairly smoothly.

Before she could delight in her success, Ah Da suddenly frowned. Despite the heavy rain outside drowning in noise, she sensed that something was amiss with Qin Yu in the room.

What was wrong with him?

Without hesitation, Ah Da leaped out of the incense burner. Her bare feet touched the floor silently, the cold and damp breeze blowing in from the window stirred her soft skirt and black hair.

Because she hadn’t closed the window when lighting the incense, the rain splattered in. Ah Da hurried over and struggled to close the window. With the space now sealed off, the rain noise lowered, making Qin Yu’s heavy breathing all the clearer.

Ah Da rushed to the bedside and turned on the light, only to see Qin Yu on the bed, sweating profusely as if enduring immense pain, his entire appearance like someone just pulled out of the water.