294: Chapter 294 Mermaid Tears?

The next day, Tang Ruan sat up in bed with her hair looking like a messy bird's nest.

Heng Zhou's arm was still tightly wrapped around her waist.

It was as if he was terrified she might run away.

Last night, everything had been fine at first.

But in the middle of the night, Tang Ruan suddenly felt a pair of eyes staring intently at her.

She snapped her eyes open and saw a pair of glowing violet eyes in the darkness.

Tang Ruan almost didn't recognize them as Heng Zhou's eyes.

Then, he lunged at her...

Calling out, "Little A-Wu, Little A-Wu..."

He kissed her forcefully, his voice thick with sobs...

Small, round beads pelted her face.

Tang Ruan was dazed for a long time before she realized—Heng Zhou was actually crying!

She had never seen him cry before.

For a moment, Tang Ruan suspected he had been possessed!

Clutching her pillow, she said sharply, "I don't care who you are! Get out of my brother's body!"

Heng Zhou: ...

Seeing that Tang Ruan didn't even recognize him, Heng Zhou felt even more aggrieved.

He lunged toward her again.

And so, she ran and he chased; she couldn't escape even if she had wings...

Eventually, Tang Ruan pinned Heng Zhou down on the table.

Seeing his aggrieved profile in the moonlight, she finally confirmed that the Heng Zhou before her hadn't been possessed by some transmigrated soul.

“Why... why are you crying?” Tang Ruan asked nervously.

The moment she let go, Heng Zhou pulled her into a tight embrace.

He held her so tightly she could barely breathe.

“I'm just afraid you'll leave me again and run away with Fen Tian.”

Back then, she had left him to elope with Fen Tian.

It was only after the Former Beast God caught them that he began erasing their memories.

Tang Ruan: She wasn't that same nineteen-year-old girl anymore.

Now, even if she were to elope, she would take both of them—no! She'd bring the whole family along.

Though... that probably wouldn't be called eloping anymore.

While Tang Ruan was trying to recall the correct definition of elopement...

Heng Zhou had already lifted her onto the table...

Tang Ruan snapped out of her intense recollection.

Watching Heng Zhou gradually move toward her, seemingly wanting to snuggle up against her...

With his messy hair and closed eyes... how... how could he be so cute!

Tang Ruan: It's over, she must be head over heels for Heng Zhou.

In his sleep, Heng Zhou rested his head on her lower abdomen.

Tang Ruan didn't have the heart to wake him, so she lay back down, intending to sleep a bit longer.

“Ouch!”

“What’s wrong?”

Heng Zhou suddenly sat up.

Tang Ruan: So it turns out he was faking sleep...

Tang Ruan reached behind her and pulled out a pearl about the size of a small fingernail.

Is this—a Merfolk's tear?

And it even has a purple iridescent luster?

Tang Ruan held the round, glowing little pearl, turning it over and over in the sunlight.

It was so beautiful!

It looked better than any pearl she had ever seen online.

There was a time when Tang Ruan was obsessed with watching clam-opening livestreams—the kind where you just watch and don't buy.

Every time an iridescent pearl was found, the host would hype it up immensely.

According to the knowledge she gained online, Akoya pearls from Japan had the best luster among pearls.

But compared to Heng Zhou's pearl—Heng Zhou won by a landslide!

She quickly felt around the bed for a while and found over a dozen of them.

It seemed he had cried quite a bit yesterday...

He must have been grieving on his own for quite a while before he woke her up.

After all, this grievance had been suppressed in his heart for who knows how many tens of thousands of years.

Those dozen or so pearls weren't all the same color; some had a purple luster, some pink, some pink-purple, and there was even one with a hint of green...

Tang Ruan, who had zero resistance to shiny things, now had zero resistance to Heng Zhou's tears.

After finishing her search on the bed, she put on her clothes and started searching the floor.

Heng Zhou: ...

Heng Zhou watched Tang Ruan's busy movements with some embarrassment.

“Why are you picking up my tears?”

Tang Ruan, unable to find any more, suddenly looked up.

She counted the pearls in her hand.

She returned to Heng Zhou's side.

“Brother, did you dream of something sad yesterday?”

Heng Zhou thought she was worried about him.

He reached out, pulled her into his arms, and placed a kiss on Tang Ruan's forehead.

“It’s all in the past.

You are by my side now.”

Tang Ruan: “Then will you cry again?”

Heng Zhou turned his face away awkwardly. “I won't.”

Tang Ruan displayed the pearls in her palm.

She gave a sheepish smile and held up three fingers. “But... I might need two or three more...”

Heng Zhou: ...

---

With the popularization of writing, many families began to adopt the concept of surnames.

Previously, beastmen were mostly named after their tribe or their own characteristics.

Once the concept of using the first character of the Mistress's name as the family surname emerged...

Some very strange names began to appear.

For example, a Cub from the Tiger Tribe might be named Tu Baibai, while a Cub from the Sheep Tribe might be named Hu Wang.

Later, the beastmen quickly discovered that such names made it difficult to distinguish one's tribe.

As a result, names like Xiong Tu Beibei and Hu Lu Baozi started appearing.

Tang Ruan didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she heard this, though she had to admit they sounded quite cute.

She just imagined a burly and brawny Male Beastman from the Bear Tribe being called Xiong Tu Beibei when he grew up—the contrast was hilarious.

He probably wouldn't even dare to announce his name loudly during a duel!

Rabbit Lady also gave names to her three Cubs.

They were Tu Lang Yi, Tu Lang Er, and Tu Lang San.

This was because 'One, Two, Three' were the first three characters Rabbit Lady had learned to write.

Tang Ruan: Why do they sound like some mysterious code names?

Rabbit Lady was in the nursery, looking at Tang Ruan's three Cubs.

Baby was now over a year old.

He had already learned to smile at everyone he met.

However, Rabbit Lady was more interested in the Beast King's Cubs.

Each of these two Cubs had a flame-shaped red mark between their brows; they clearly weren't ordinary.

“The Witch Doctor said the marks might disappear as they grow up.

They are imprints of their Beast Form, and because they're still young, they haven't learned how to hide them yet,” Tang Ruan said.

Rabbit Lady stared at the two Cubs for several seconds.

She sighed, “Who would have thought that the Beast King, with that ice-block face of his, looked so cute as a child.”

Tang Ruan: Is it possible they look cute because she is cute?

“Have you named them yet?” Rabbit Lady asked suddenly.

Tang Ruan said proudly, “The older sister is Tang Xintian, and the younger brother is Tang Zhuoyan.”

She had come up with these names herself, and while they weren't exceptionally outstanding...

In the entire Beast World, there was no chance of anyone else having the same names.

“What was that?” Rabbit Lady's face was full of questions.

Tang Ruan gave her a rough explanation of the meanings behind the two names.

Rabbit Lady's beautiful reddish-pink eyes widened, as if she had discovered a new world.

“You can even name them like that!”

Tang Ruan: “Mhm!”

“No way, I have to change my Cubs' names.”

Rabbit Lady turned to leave as she spoke.

Tang Ruan grabbed her. “Haven't the names for your Rabbit City already been submitted?”

Rabbit Lady turned back and winked her left eye at her.

“Don't worry! I have connections!”

By noon, Rabbit Lady returned and sought out Tang Ruan for lunch.

In a small vegetarian shop in Central City run by a Deer Tribe beastman...

Tang Ruan asked while eating a peach pie, “Did you get the names changed?”

Rabbit Lady: “I'll change them once I've thought of better ones.”

“Didn't Yan Qing say they had to be submitted by today?”

“It's fine, I have connections.”

Tang Ruan thought for a moment; wasn't Rabbit Lady's connection just Yan Qing?

But Yan Qing didn't seem like the type of person who would easily bend the rules for a subordinate.

Otherwise, if one City Lord wanted a change, another would too.

In the current Beast World, including the new cities built near the Sea Region and Dragon Valley, there were nearly a hundred cities.

It would annoy him to death.

“Who is your connection?” Tang Ruan asked curiously.

Heng Zhou was in charge of this matter; surely her connection couldn't be Heng Zhou?

After being under Heng Zhou's Heart Curse once, Rabbit Lady gave him a wide berth whenever she saw him now.

Hearing this, Rabbit Lady suddenly put down her pie and stared intently at Tang Ruan.