After Mistakenly Binding The Matchmaker System

Chapter 129

He heard a cold voice near his ear, but when he looked up in surprise, he didn’t see the merman open his mouth. Instead, the merman’s gaze was unfriendly.

Had he done something to upset the merman? Yi Ziqi was puzzled. He thought about it but couldn’t recall doing anything. From the moment he entered until now, he hadn’t made any unnecessary moves or shown hostility towards the merman.

Little did he know, the merman’s displeasure was simply because he was too close to Li Shu. In the merman’s mind, Li Shu was already his possession, included in his protection circle, and no one else was allowed to approach.

The merman was very sensitive to human emotions. He could clearly sense Yi Ziqi’s admiration for Li Shu. If he had felt even a hint of negative emotion from Yi Ziqi, the lesson would have been much more severe.

“Ziqi, come here.” Li Shu didn’t notice the confrontation between them and called Yi Ziqi over.

Yi Ziqi didn’t move. He felt that if he approached, the merman would hate him even more. Although he didn’t know where this thought came from, he strangely believed in this possible development.

“Professor, do you want me to come and see the merman? I can just observe from here.” It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go over; it was that he truly didn’t dare.

Li Shu glanced back and saw that Yi Ziqi was tense and his entire body showed signs of wariness. What was going on? He turned back and looked at the merman, who had an expression that said ‘it has nothing to do with me’. He roughly understood the reason for Yi Ziqi’s reluctance.

“You don’t like him?” Li Shu moved a bit closer and asked quietly.

The merman’s wariness towards humans was indeed strong. His feelings towards humans couldn’t be described as liking or disliking. To him, humans fell into two categories: Li Shu and everyone else.

“No.” The merman actually had no strong opinions about this non-threatening human. If it weren’t for the fact that this human came in with Li Shu, he wouldn’t have paid him any attention.

“No?” Li Shu raised an eyebrow. “Then why are you scaring him?”

Not seeing something didn’t mean he was unaware. Yi Ziqi clearly looked frightened, and with only the three of them in the lab, the merman was the only one who could have caused this reaction.

The merman took a serious look at Li Shu. This person had indeed changed a lot. When looking at him now, there was no trace of the previous obsessive look, nor did he treat him as an oddity. He no longer trembled in his presence, as if he was facing any other human.

Yi Ziqi, who was hesitating whether to find an excuse to leave, suddenly heard another voice: “When he asks you to come over, just come. What are you afraid of? I won’t eat you.”

The voice was playful and lacked the previous hostility. Yi Ziqi steadied his nerves and took a step forward.

He took a step and nothing happened. His racing heart settled, and his tense hands relaxed. He took another step forward.

Until he reached the edge of the petri dish, nothing unexpected occurred. He was very wary and alert, but neither the professor nor the merman had changed their positions.

He finally relaxed the breath he had been holding.

Seeing the merman up close was a completely different experience than from afar. Up close, the overwhelming beauty was even more striking, a feeling hard to describe with words. All he could feel was shock, and nothing else came to mind.

The merman could really drive someone to madness.

Yi Ziqi stood there in a daze, his eyes unfocused. Li Shu waved his hand in front of him. “Snap out of it. Are you mesmerized?”

The young man snapped back to reality and blushed with embarrassment. Annoyed at himself for making such a foolish mistake, he looked away and said sheepishly, “Sorry, professor. I was distracted.”

“You were really mesmerized?” Li Shu was surprised. The merman was indeed beautiful, a kind of beauty that was difficult to describe, but wasn’t the reaction a bit too much? Even Gu Li and Qin Le’an, the two girls, hadn’t acted so out of character.

“I, I…” Yi Ziqi was at a loss for words. He wasn’t someone who was greedy for beauty. On the contrary, he had no interest in such things. He really didn’t understand why he was so obsessed and lost his composure in front of the professor.

“Alright, alright, I won’t laugh at you. It’s not a big deal to be mesmerized by the merman. Let’s get back to business.” Li Shu had brought Yi Ziqi over not just to see the merman but also because he needed a few more people for the upcoming research.

The original owner’s team members all had their own agendas. Given the significance of the task, there were some things Li Shu couldn’t discuss with them. However, there were no suitable people around him, and Yi Ziqi was a pleasant surprise.

It was a matter of mission success or failure, so there was no room for carelessness. Over the years, Li Shu had learned that a person’s downfall often started with a tiny detail. The failure in the previous world was similar; he and 1314 had been too careless, and hadn’t expected the protagonist’s happiness value to plummet suddenly.

In this world, he had to be extra cautious. A small overlooked detail could nullify all previous efforts.

“Professor, why did you ask me to come?” Yi Ziqi’s heart raced with anticipation. Having achieved what he had today showed he was not foolish. Li Shu’s intentions were quite clear, and he could infer the meaning with a bit of thought. If it was as he thought, he could continue working with the professor.

This was an outcome he didn’t dare to dream of. He had spoken of leaving and had not left himself any way out, placing himself in opposition to the four senior brothers. If the professor didn’t agree with his view, he would have offended all four of them without any benefits.

In fact, he understood why the senior brothers acted the way they did. The fact that they could get to this point proved that they were all capable. The so-called arrogance due to their talent was precisely because they had talent in the first place. They had the capital to be arrogant. He didn’t blame them; the starkly opposite results were merely due to different paths chosen.

There were two paths and two approaches, and there was no right or wrong. Even before today, they had all assumed which approach the professor would choose. The reversal came too suddenly, and Yi Ziqi was a little dazed.

Did the professor…change his mind?

He both anticipated and feared the answer. He nervously watched the neatly dressed man in white, not daring to blink.

“Why so nervous? Don’t worry, I won’t let you leave. I’ve carefully thought about your opinions, and I’m now more inclined towards your side. You’ve seen how healthy and vibrant the merman is; it’s so beautiful. I like all things beautiful and don’t want to see him all battered.”

Li Shu’s gaze fell into the void, as if looking at something through it. A pain flashed in his eyes, and no one noticed except the merman who had been constantly observing him.

“Some sacrifices are unavoidable and beyond our choice. We have no other option, but now, the choice is always in our hands. With the knife in our own hands, whether to cause harm depends on a single thought. Even in scientific research, we must understand what can and cannot be done. We need to have a scale in our hearts and be aware of which way the balance tilts.”

“I know what to do, professor,” Yi Ziqi said, clenching his fists. “I’m really happy that you accept my point of view.”

“I know you’re a good kid. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Whatever happens, the professor is here,” Li Shu looked at the excited young man with gentle eyes. “Don’t overthink it. I’ll need your help in future research.”

Yi Ziqi’s heart was greatly stirred by Li Shu’s words, and he immediately swore to achieve great things to repay the professor in the future.

“Let’s discuss the upcoming research. As one of the subjects involved, Mr. Merman should also be part of the discussion. Do any of you have any objections?”

Yi Ziqi now followed Li Shu’s lead unquestioningly. Even when Li Shu suggested including the experimental subject in the discussion, he didn’t find it odd.

“First, the research cannot be interrupted. The key point is how we will proceed with the next phase…”

Unlike the serious Yi Ziqi, who was engaged in the discussion with Li Shu, the merman’s attention was always on Li Shu. He knew the discussion was related to him, but he wasn’t interested in the so-called research. What he was interested in now was Li Shu.

Could a person change so much? The former Li Shu was filled with greed, no matter how he tried to hide it. Now, Li Shu was different. The merman narrowed his eyes. The person sitting not far from him no longer had that repulsive smell and carried a refreshing scent that calmed the violence in his heart.

He looked at Li Shu’s profile. The man had a cold temperament, and when interacting with him, many would subconsciously overlook his looks. It wasn’t that they couldn’t remember his appearance, but they only knew he was good-looking without being able to describe it specifically. What left the deepest impression was those eyes, they were black as thick ink and like an unfathomable abyss.

A man speaking confidently in his field had a unique charm. It was as if there was a magnet attracting the merman’s gaze, and it was fixed on Li Shu’s face. His presence was so strong that it was impossible to ignore.

Just as they finished a topic, Li Shu turned his head: “Are you finding this very boring?”

It was his oversight. When discussing with Yi Ziqi, they used many technical terms. The merman has been in the lab since coming ashore and had no chance to understand these terms. Feeling bored was normal.

The merman indeed couldn’t understand much of their conversation. He was so bored he almost started counting Li Shu’s eyelashes, but he retorted, “No.”

It seemed he was bored. Li Shu could sense the pressure around the merman was lower than usual. Having said all that needed to be said, Li Shu let the emotionally overwhelmed Yi Ziqi go rest.

After Yi Ziqi left, Li Shu briefly explained the experiment to the merman.

“You’re that sure I’ll agree to your request?” The merman swished his tail, and tiny droplets of water bloomed at the tail’s edge.

Li Shu stared at the shimmering blue light, and felt an inexplicable urge to touch it. Noticing Li Shu’s gaze, the merman smirked and left the water, standing in front of Li Shu.

Under the bright white light, the still-wet fish tail seemed to glow. The dark blue scales were arranged neatly. It was so close that Li Shu could touch it if he reached out.

“So, will you agree to my request?” Li Shu reluctantly moved his gaze from the fish tail to the merman’s crimson eyes.

There was an incomprehensible emotion in those eyes, which quickly flashed by. Before he could study it carefully, Li Shu heard the merman say:

“Lu Xi, that’s my name.”