"That is... that is so rude! How can a mer act like that! "Xiao Hua who was called, 'a pretty boy with no other aspect worthy of buying', was horribly pissed and couldn't respond for a while. Only after a few minutes was he able to shake off his daze and speak. "That's not the way a mer talks of acts! That's simply barbaric! You are an ape!"
Chen Mi, the ape "..."??? ape?
Chen Mi, the ape "..."??! Ape??!
Chen Mi, the ape "..."!!!! He called me a monkey!!
"You little shitty flower! How dare you call me a monkey!" snapped Chen Mi rolling his sleeves as he growled. Though he agreed that he wasn't as pretty as Xiao Hua, he wasn't that bad-looking either. After he gave birth to Little bun, his skin was no longer yellowish as it was before. Now his skin was glowing and pearly white! How in the hell does he resemble an ape? Huh?
"Hehe, did I hit the nerve? At least I have a pretty face that could heal others' hearts with grace and beauty," snickered Xiao Hua. He giggled with his hand covering his mouth because he was used to acting like a pampered lady. Even his waspish voice was calm and collected, like an arrogant lady.
"And what can your pretty face bring? Can it bring money?"
"I'm afraid to tell you, but it can bring more money than your ugly face, you boorish ape!"
"You damn, a pretty boy just get lost!" Chen Mi, who knew that he couldn't fight with Xiao Hua in beauty, suddenly blew up. He didn't want his wife to be seduced by a pretty boy like Xiao Hua. There were two big brothers at home already, and he had to fight them every day to gain his wife's attention. Adding one more would be too troublesome. "Just begone! You. DAMN. PRETTY. BOY!!!"
Chen Mi was prepared to throw himself at Xiao Hua and fight it off with him, but then Yu Dong stopped him by patting his shoulder. Yu Dong left Chen Mi in charge of the fight because she wanted him to deal with Xiao Hua. As a woman, if she dealt with Xiao Hua and the latter started crying, then it would have been troublesome. This was why Yu Dong didn't bother herself with them. But if Chen Mi got himself in a physical brawl, she had to intercept it.
"Ah, wait a minute, "said Yu Dong as she raised her hand and stopped the fight that could be started at any moment. "Actually, compared to a pretty face, I would like to have something more practical."
Chen Mi: the winner, as the more practical one (he isn't, he just won because of Yu Dong's biased affection)
Xiao Hua: the loser, as he has nothing practical to offer 'Che'
Xiao Hua grew silent. He knew that he was asking for too much after what he had done to Yu Dong. Though he did nothing with his own hands and every decision was taken by Yu Dong on her own, he could have tried to stop her from making those decisions. The power he held on her back then would have definitely made her stop consuming the happy powder. He nearly killed her because of his selfishness and now had no right to beg her for his rescue. His request was selfish, he was selfish, and he will remain the selfish one for the rest of his life. Even now, he was only lying about serving her forever. Once he was saved, he would indeed run away. Because firstly, he didn't like women, not just Yu Dong but every woman. Because every single one of them was selfish.
And secondly, Yu Dong was too short. A pipsqueak compared to him.
Yu Dong the pipsqueak "..." you wanna fight boy?
Xiao Hua sighed and then bowed in an apology. All his anger left him in an instant. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you to do something like this for me. I don't deserve your kindness and sympathy after what I have done to you. I apologize."
Yu Dong examined him for a moment, she didn't have positive feelings for Xiao Hua, but she also didn't like how the mers of this world were treated. She knew that Xiao Hua didn't warn the previous owner because he was saving his own skin. He might be lying to her again for the sake of saving himself again but wasn't this everyone did? Whether in the past or future, she really can't accept another mer. It would be too troublesome. She already has to handle three jealous mers who were hard to understand. One more would be insane. "You know this world is all about give and take, don't you?"
Xiao Hua, who was bowing, was startled at the sudden change of topic. He didn't understand what Yu Dong was trying to say by asking him this.
"Indeed, I don't see your worth because you have never shown your real self. Other than singing in the tavern, I have never seen you do something worthwhile," continued Yu Dong as she stared at Xiao Hua's bemused expression. "You say that you will return the money that you are borrowing from me. But the question is, how will you return it? Like my husband just said, I don't need anyone to serve me. I have him as well as two other husbands at home. I don't need another one to take care of me no matter how beautiful he is because your beauty isn't going to get a return on my money."
At first, Xiao Hua didn't understand what she was saying but later on, he understood. He would be foolish if he couldn't understand what she said after working so long in the tavern. "You mean you're saying..."
Yu Dong smiled. No wonder Xiao Hua could reach the top without selling his body. He had a sound mind. "Show me your worth. Let me see exactly what you can do and how far you can go. If you can propose a good deal in two weeks, I will consider helping you. If you can not, you are not worth wasting my time. If you are really just a pretty face with no brains, you should act like one. Just be a pretty vase at some rich lady's house and do your job. Or show me how far you can go for your freedom. I'm not gonna waste my money on just a pretty vase. That's how this world works. You know it too, right?" Then Yu Dong straightened up and pondered over what she had just said. "Hmm, let's see if I missed something? Hmm - I didn't. That will be all, now if you don't mind, I still have a date to continue with my husband, goodbye."
With a wave of her hand, Yu Dong took Chen Mi's hand while holding Little bun on the other arm and walked away, leaving Xiao Hua completely stunned behind.
Xiao Hua stayed where he was for two minutes and watched Yu Dong go before bursting out laughing. "What's with that? Wasn't she the one who was wasting my money on my pretty face a few months ago?" He took one last look at Yu Dong's vanishing back and chuckled. "A good deal, hmm? I can make do with that too."
With that, he walked away into the opposite alley while humming a jolly tune.