Pet King

Zhang Zian took a mop and cleaned up the water that was overflowing from the tub. He then released the other elfins from his phone, one by one, into the empty space.

“Wow! Ajeo… An, are you a magician? Amazing! Can you teach me?”

The mermaid was utterly astonished when she saw the elfins appear one after another.

“Hey, who is Ajeoan?” Zhang Zian asked.

She blinked and played innocent. “I said ‘ah!’, Zian.”

“Ajeoan” and “Ah! Zian” did sound similar. If she were a real girl, then there would be dudes lining up for her, but her tricks did not fool Zhang Zian.

He heard it clearly. She started to say “Ajeossi” at first, then changed the pronunciation immediately.

“Don’t you think that I didn’t hear you! What’s your deal?” He didn’t get fooled easily.

She flipped her hair disapprovingly and splashed water everywhere. “Hey! Don’t be so narrow-minded! I bit my tongue, okay?”　　”

Zhang Zian was speechless. That was an original excuse.

“Are you a magician?” She pointed at the elfins and asked, “How did you make them appear? I’ve seen doves come out of hats, but how did you get the parrots and the cats out?”

“Quack. Don’t compare me with a dove!” Richard said from its spot on the door frame. “But Jeff, you must be happy, I suppose? Your IQ ranking is finally no longer at the bottom here at the shop!”

Zhang Zian glared at it, warning it to watch its mouth.

There were two small windows next to the bathtub in the bathroom for ventilation after baths and to get rid of extra humidity. A curtain was drawn most of the time.

The mermaid opened the curtain and looked outside, but it was already dark. She could barely see anything.

“I’m telling you, don’t stick your face on the window and look outside all the time!” Zhang Zian warned her seriously. “People are going to think that I’m hiding a girl here! I may not find a girlfriend because of this!”

“Quack! Then you can get a boyfriend in broad daylight. Just tell them that this mermaid is your bestie!” Richard gloated.

A hell of a bestie! My bestie is a fish?

Zhang Zian waved the mop to slap it, but it escaped to the ceiling of the bathroom.

The mermaid pouted. “Only tall and rich hotties can find girlfriends. You look like the supporting male role in a Korean drama who fought against the alpha male for the alpha female and failed!”

This was brutal!

Although, what she said kind of made sense…

“Humph!” Fina dodged the water that splashed out from the mermaid flipping her hair. “How dare this gold-digging fish brag in my palace!” it said in a depressed tone.

Zhang Zian wanted to ridicule them. The gold-digging cat was confidently accusing the mermaid of being a gold-digging fish. It would be even more convincing if Fina put down the pearl it was holding in its paw.

Ever since Fina found the giant pearl on the beach, it could not put it down. It played with it with paws all the time, like how other cats played with yarn balls.

“What?” The mermaid crossed her hands on the brim of the bathtub, supported her pointy chin on her arm, and stared at Fina with interest. “Aren’t you the orange cat from the beach?”

“What!” Fina’s almond-shaped eyes widened. It stared straight at her with a look as cold and sharp as an icy arrow. “This is not the beach. I suggest that you think it through before saying another word. You must know that careless talk leads to trouble. Think about that before it’s too late!”

The mermaid didn’t care. She inhaled and sniffed. “Not the beach? But I smell the ocean.”

Binhai City was a coastal city and was located on the east coast of China next to the ocean. Amazing Fate Pet Shop was located in Dongcheng District. All of the other three districts had suburban areas, but not Dongcheng District. The ocean was right outside the city and very close by.

“You are a stubborn one!” Fina said coldly, then tossed the pearl to Snowy Lionet. “Watch this for me. I’m going to teach a lesson to this shameless fish!”

Zhang Zian saw that the two of them were about to start a fight and wanted to intervene, but Fina was too quick. As soon as it spoke, it jumped at the mermaid.

Zian thought it unlikely that she could defend herself by flapping her tail against the water, as she was no longer at the beach. One flap of her tail would empty the tub. She didn’t flap her tail against the water. After she saw Fina approaching, she slipped downward, immersed her head and neck in the water, and lay at the bottom of the tub.

Fina missed her and landed on the windowsill, then stared at her through the water.

It didn’t want to the get its fur wet, and its paws were not long enough to reach her at the bottom of the water.

“I’m waiting to see how long you can stay underwater!” It crouched on the windowsill patiently, ready to beat her up as soon as she came out of the water to breathe.

Yet, one minute passed…

Two minutes passed…

Five minutes passed…

The mermaid lay underwater comfortably, showing no signs of coming out to breathe. It seemed that she could stay underwater until the world ended.

Fina was speechless.

It was a bit awkward, so Zhang Zian walked over to ease the tension. “Let it go, Fina. You are the whatever XIII, Guardian of the Kingdom of Eternity. Don’t lower yourself for this pickled fish!”

“It’s Fina Paris XIII!” Fina stared at him angrily. “My servant can’t even remember my full name. Why should I keep you around?”

“Meow, meow, meow! Castrate him! Castrate him!” Snowy Lionet took advantage of the moment. It had the pearl on its head like it was an acrobat.

“Okay, okay, okay. It’s Fina Paris XIII. I remember it now,” Zhang Zian said half-heartedly.

Fina realized that it was pointless to stay above the tub. Plus, it was hungry. It decided to let her go, then jumped off the windowsill, took the pearl from Snowy Lionet’s forehead, and said to Zhang Zian in a bossy tone, “Tell the Imperial Kitchen that I’m eating grilled fish tonight!”

It usually had grilled chicken, but it suddenly switched to grilled fish to intimidate the mermaid.

To his surprise, the mermaid suddenly emerged from the water and lifted one arm. “Ah! Jeo-an, I want grilled fish too!”

Zhang Zian said, “Are you doing this on purpose? Pronounce my name correctly first!”

“I bit my tongue!” she pouted and uttered confidently.

“Answer this for me first––you are a mermaid. Why do you eat grilled fish? Isn’t this cannibalism?” Zhang Zian was too tired to complain.

“I’m not a fish! I’m a mermaid––a beautiful mermaid!” She crossed her arms in front of her chest and said seriously, “I heard at the beach that a mountain needn’t be high; it is famous so long as there is a deity on it. A lake needn’t be deep; it has supernatural power so long as there is a fish in it! This is a shabby shop, but as long as I’m here, it’s awesome!”

Zhang Zian was ready to ridicule this ridiculous quote; however, Fina ridiculed it first.

“Bullsh**! It should be: A mountain needn’t be high; it is famous so long as there is a cat on it!” Fina said with disdain.

“Grandpa Tea, help me hold down Liu Yuxi’s coffin!” Zhang Zian asked Old Time Tea.

Old Time Tea smiled bitterly and said, “Sihwa, as you said, you are not a fish, but a mermaid. Since you are half-human, you should follow their customs and etiquette.”

It lifted its front paw and pointed at her bare shoulder. “How can you not wear anything? It looks bad. How about some clothes?”

“Quack! Someone here would prefer that she stays naked!” Richard winked at Zhang Zian mischievously.

“Clothes?” She looked at Old Time Tea’s long robe, then at Zhang Zian’s outfit. “Are they the things that you are wearing? I’d like to wear something, but I have nothing to wear. Besides, it would get wet, right?”

That was indeed a problem. If she didn’t wear anything, Zhang Zian could not control his eyes glancing in her direction.

“In fact, there are clothes to be worn in the water,” Zian suggested. “…Such as swimsuits.”

“That’s great. I want a swimsuit––a pretty swimsuit!” She flapped her tail against the water gently, then pointed at Zhang Zian and said, “Since you are the one suggesting, go buy some for me!”

Zhang Zian was rendered speechless…

Crap!

I have to go buy women’s clothes?