The Tycoon's Enchanted Mermaid

Chapter 88: Chapter 89: Break Even

It was all a mess.

Qin Yu hadn’t intended to hold her or kiss her. He was merely reacting to her bewildered inability to grasp his words when his mind wandered, and his hands had already pulled her close on their own accord.

By the time he realized it, she was already in his arms, surrounded by a rich fruity fragrance. She was small and delicate, incredibly soft to hold, unbelievably tender.

Her struggles and confusion did not sober him; instead, they stirred the suppressed beast deep within him.

Qin Yu hadn’t expected her to affect him so profoundly. As he leaned down to press his lips against her luscious ones, everything became chaotic.

As they drew close, reason tried to consolidate but eventually shifted to the corners of his mouth, the touch was supremely soft, and her scent filled the air around him.

It was only a light taste, not an in-depth one. Qin Yu slowly opened his eyes and found the young girl in a daze. Perhaps there was nothing more frustrating in the world than this.

The dark color in Qin Yu’s eyes faded as he tapped on her forehead lightly, “What are you thinking about?”

Hearing his voice, Ah Da’s gaze moved from the small mole on his nose to his eyes. The cool detachment was gone from his eyes, replaced by a softness and an emotion she couldn’t quite understand.

“I was wondering… you just stole a kiss from me.”

Ah Da muttered softly, her eyes flickering in slight grievance, looking up cutely.

Qin Yu sighed lightly, “Is that all you noticed?”

Ah Da’s face was flushed as if painted with color, her fingers touching the place he had just kissed felt somewhat hot. She asked him with embarrassment, “…Why did you kiss me?”

This feeling was so strange, being so close, it felt like the air was filled with intoxicating drugs making her mind blank.

Was kissing what Little Pink Bottle mentioned as liking or was it what Bronze Sword spoke of as possessing?

Did Qin Yu like her?

Ah Da didn’t know why her heart felt pleased, her chest seemed to have a little deer rampantly bouncing inside. Perhaps Qin Yu was just too handsome, she always liked looking at him.

She thought, if this was what liking meant, then perhaps she did like him a bit.

“Weren’t you asking about the reason for deleting the video?”

Qin Yu answered irrelevantly, leaning slightly to one side. His black hair was tousled by the wind, his handsome, lazy features distracting.

Ah Da was twisted around by his evasive conversation, unable to figure it out, a tiny flame of irritation igniting in her eyes. Her embarrassment turned into annoyance, “You’ve been weird in talking tonight, can’t you just tell me directly?”

She had just misunderstood earlier. Liking him was nonsense, he was so bad, liking him would be absurd!

She was merely bewildered by appearances, Ah Da reassured herself resentfully.

Qin Yu paused, then a faint smile cracked across his face, his back hand propping up his head, leisurely watching her.

Seeing he wasn’t speaking, Ah Da felt depressed and noticed his arm around her waist loosening. She immediately seized the chance to push him away and straighten up, shifting her seat away.

Qin Yu saw this and didn’t stop her.

The sound of water lapping came from the lake.

After a long while, Ah Da couldn’t help but speak up.

“It doesn’t matter… if you won’t tell, then it’s fine. I don’t really want to know. The video is gone, you kissed me just now, and I’ve kissed you before. Now we are even.”

This way, he couldn’t tease her about stealing a kiss before, as every single time, she wanted to find a hole to crawl into. Now, having stolen a kiss back, he finally had no grounds to speak of it.

Ah Da humphed, giving him a fleeting glance and saw that he was still staring at her, his gaze cold, which frightened her and made her immediately look towards the dark lake.

Why did it feel like he was angry again?

While the young girl spoke of settling scores, Qin Yu grew more irritable the more he heard, wanting to grab her and punish her.

“Even? You don’t get to decide that,” Qin Yu spoke out.

Ah Da froze, her eyes reddening as she gritted her teeth, angered again and again, wishing she could rush over and punch him a few times.

“How…how do you suggest we make it even?”

Qin Yu, feeling amused, thought she was like a little cat that had its tail stepped on, meowing at him without causing any harm or threat; instead, it made him want to tease her more.

It would be better to tease her until she cried.

But when he saw her trembling eyelashes, fluttering like butterfly wings due to distress, his heart softened, and his tone became much gentler.

“Must we really make it even? In your heart, am I not equal to that sword and those two other containers?”

Qin Yu admitted that he was somewhat upset inside.

“They are not just any containers, they all have names. Little Pink Bottle is actually called Fencai Flower Peony Bottle, and the Jade Pot is called Qinghua Five-color Cloud Jade Pot.” Ah Da’s eyes sparkled like shooting stars, pausing after each word, her expression serious. “That’s rude of you.”

Ah Da glared at him, determined to stand up for her friends. Didn’t he know that antiques hated it when people got their names wrong? It was just like calling someone by the wrong gender.

How presumptuous.

Seeing her protective stance, Qin Yu felt helpless and immediately repeated the full names of the two antiques she had just mentioned, and then laughed first.

He laughed at how he had abandoned his bottom line for her, indulging in acts he would never have considered before.

Pampering a young girl?

He must be crazy.

Ah Da, however, was amazed by his memory; it was impressive that he could remember everything after she had said it just once, not missing a single word.

Qin Yu’s smile faded, and he stood up.

“It’s getting late, let’s head back.”

Ah Da didn’t want to go back yet.

Seeing that she was reluctant to move, Qin Yu teased her deliberately, “Don’t want to go? Do you want me to carry you back?”

As he bent down to pick her up, an annoyed Ah Da, not wanting to be carried, clutched her phone and ran off to one side as if evading some flood or wild beast.

Qin Yu couldn’t help but chuckle.

Hearing his chuckle, Ah Da’s cheeks turned pink, and she dared not look at him, hurrying towards the exit.

The two of them walked down the steps, one following the other.

Mrs. Song approached them, holding a white jacket in her hand, and gently said, “The lakeside wind can be chilly at night and it’s easy to catch cold after a while. Miss Ade would be better off wearing an extra piece of clothing.”

Ah Da didn’t refuse. After all, it was a gesture of Mrs. Song’s concern. Although she wasn’t afraid of the cold and rarely got sick, she did need to learn to act like a normal person.

Suddenly, Qin Yu took the jacket from Mrs. Song, and Ah Da looked at him skeptically. He unfolded it and draped it over her, the lightweight jacket with a fluffy hood looking quite cute.

Seeing the little hood, Ah Da’s dark, shiny eyes glittered like two gems.

Her thoughts were written all over her face, and Qin Yu easily read her mind. He reached over, placed the hood on her head, and tied the drawstrings, making her look like a little bunny with fluffy trim around her face.

On the way back, Ah Da’s mind was all focused on the hood, constantly pinching the left and right ears with both hands, enjoying the soft feel which made the ears pop up when pressed.

After entering the house one after the other, the servant presented the detox soup already prepared. Ah Da took it and tasted it; the initial sweetness was followed by an odd mix of bitter and spicy flavors, not very pleasant.

Qin Yu drank it down expressionlessly.

Ah Da watched him, dumbfounded. Had he lost his sense of taste, or was his soup different from hers?

Disbelieving, Ah Da sipped again, only to find the flavor more concentrated at the bottom.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

Qin Yu, expressionless, set the bowl aside and handed her a napkin, “The taste of ginger is spicy. If you’re not used to it, eat something else to mask the taste.”

Ah Da took the napkin and held it against her mouth, but the spicy and harsh taste in her mouth lingered, sometimes even surging back up her throat.