I looked at Xiaoyuer and said, "You didn't drag me here just to discuss covering ourselves at night, did you?" Xiaoyuer rolled her eyes at me. "Of course not." Looking at Xiaoyuer's fiery figure, now that we were alone, my lust flared again. I gently reached for her hand.

Xiaoyuer flinched slightly but offered no further resistance. I placed my other hand on the small of her back. Her body temperature felt higher than before, perhaps an adaptation to surface life.

I leaned in and whispered close to her ear, "Xiaoyuer, are you cold when you sleep at night? How about I warm your bed for you?" Xiaoyuer jolted as if struck by electricity, stammering in a fluster, "No, Zhao, your wives might see, and they'll tease me again." Did my wives often provoke the mermaid behind my back? I asked, "There are only us two here, no one will know.

Do you want to try my embrace?" Xiaoyuer lowered her head shyly, silent. Gathering my courage, I pulled her into my arms. Only then did Xiaoyuer speak, "Zhao, do you know why my father and I broke off our father-daughter relationship?" I shook my head.

"I don't know. Was it because he couldn't accept you protecting me and Ximen Yan, and he flew into a rage?" Xiaoyuer shook her head. "You've always misunderstood my father.

In truth, he held no malice towards you; quite the opposite, he valued you highly. It was just through a series of missteps that an irreconcilable misunderstanding arose between us. That night, we discovered a genetic match in your blood—the most compatible with the Merfolk.

According to my father's plan, they wanted to invite you to... to breed with us Merfolk." Xiaoyuer's grasp of Mandarin wasn't strong. Her face flushed as she pondered for a long moment before uttering those two words.

This wasn't the first time I'd encountered such a situation; who could help it when my genes were so excellent? I corrected Xiaoyuer's terminology: "Not breeding, but **, or you could say sexual intercourse." Xiaoyuer kept her head down. "It's just that sort of thing.

But my father knew you would never agree to their plan, so he tricked me into going with you, hoping we would develop feelings during our time together. Then..." I held Xiaoyuer and fell onto the **. "Then we could breed, right?" As I spoke, my hand moved to her breast.

Her ** were unusual; compared to the other women, they were much firmer. Xiaoyuer struggled to dodge my hand, but I knew deep down she had no intention of resisting. Sure enough, after a few moments, she settled down, allowing my hand to slide beneath the low-cut camisole.

Xiaoyuer's voice was breathy with a slight gasp: "Don't mention breeding, it sounds so crude. Zhao, are you really not angry? We Merfolk were using you—it’s repaying kindness with enmity.

You saved me, and instead of repaying you, we plotted against you." I replied, "I am willing to be used. This is the sort of thing I wish happened every day." Xiaoyuer laughed. "You really are just like those older sisters said—when you get lustful, you disregard everything else.

But I am so glad you aren't angry. Thank you, Zhao. I was constantly worried that if you knew, you would stop speaking to me.

Now that it's out in the open, I feel much better, finally relieved of a huge burden." I held Xiaoyuer close. "Even if your father made mistakes, I know you genuinely care for me. For that alone, I won't be angry, nor will I hold any ill will toward your father.

Put your heart at ease." Xiaoyuer actively wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing happily against my chest. "Zhao, thank you. Meeting you is my fortune.

What if we—I'm just saying, if—what would happen if we really united and had a child?" The mention of a child instantly deflated me. Lying on the cold stone **, I sighed, "Look at Nianfu, and you know it’s possible. But it's strange; apart from Qiqi unexpectedly conceiving, none of my numerous wives have shown any reaction.

Could it be that I am too promiscuous and Heaven is punishing me?" Xiaoyuer sat up and looked me seriously in the eyes. "No, Zhao Qian, you are a good person; even Heaven looks out for you. Perhaps you just haven't tried hard enough.

After all, you have so many wives; it’s impossible to attend to every single one." I gazed intently over Xiaoyuer’s body. If I hadn't seen her fish tail before, who would ever guess she was a mermaid? Since reproduction with normal humans is impossible, what about with a mermaid?

Even if I fathered another little mermaid, I would accept it. Having only one child from over twenty wives was truly too embarrassing. Since Xiaoyuer was already willing to melt into my embrace, and the atmosphere was so heated, this perfect moment should not be wasted.

Though the setting was somewhat remote, this was Princess Xiaoyuer's bedchamber—the perfect place for intimacy. I certainly knew the efforts I put in with my wives; it couldn't be due to my lacking performance. There must be some mystery we hadn't uncovered.

If they weren't getting pregnant, maybe trying it with the Merfolk princess was the answer. I hadn't made a move yet, but the lust in my eyes was perfectly clear to Xiaoyuer. She boldly lowered her head and pressed her lips to mine, murmuring sincerely, "Zhao, I love you.

Believe me, there are no ulterior motives mixed with my feelings for you; I truly like you. Can you believe that?" I sucked on Xiaoyuer's sweet tongue. "I believe you.

We've been together for over a year; even a block of wood would sense your affection. Xiaoyuer, let's have a little mermaid." Xiaoyuer suddenly shook her head. "Uh, I don't want that.

If I get pregnant, you won't pay attention to me anymore. I want to be by your side every day; I want to be your mermaid." I reached to undo Xiaoyuer’s clothes, saying, "It hasn't happened yet. Why think so far ahead?

Right now, I want you to be my little mermaid. I really want to explore your body; let me study it." Xiaoyuer half-heartedly cooperated as I helped her undress. "My body was seen completely when I first met you; what else is there to look at?" Soon we were both naked.

I pinned Xiaoyuer down, intending to take her by force. "Yes, there is. I still don't understand the internal structure..." Xiaoyuer pushed me away.

"Hey, what are you doing? It shouldn't be like this; you need to follow the proper procedure." Damn, how did Xiaoyuer know so much? Those other women must have taught her.

The spring night was short, and unaware of the time passing in the cave, I eventually woke up because my bladder was full, holding an exhausted Xiaoyuer in my arms. She was curled up in my embrace like a little fish, her beautiful figure impossible to look away from. Due to her decades of swimming, her body was the best among all the women; a light squeeze felt exquisitely comfortable.

"Let me sleep a little longer," Xiaoyuer mumbled. I raised my wrist to check the time. "We must return to the battleship.

The experiment is about to start; everyone is probably getting anxious." We had all converted our cell phones into wristwatches now—a new type of communicator with all the functions of a phone. Since it incorporated the stereoscopic projection technology from the U-system, it no longer needed a screen, saving a great deal of space. Xiaoyuer reached out and hugged my neck again.

"Zhao, can I call you 'Husband' now too?" I nodded. "Of course, wife. Hurry up and give me a little mermaid.

I tried very hard just now, and the volume was substantial. Was the breeding plan considered successful?" Xiaoyuer was extremely shy and pinched my arm. "What are you saying?

If you mention those two words again, I’ll ignore you. It makes me feel like an animal." I laughed while putting on my clothes. "You brought it up first.

Later, when you report to your father, just tell him you finally seduced that big pervert." Xiaoyuer certainly didn't let us off easy; we played around a bit before she started dressing again. Looking at the 'evidence' on her Qipao, Xiaoyuer managed a wry smile. "What should I do?

Should I go say goodbye to my father like this?" I asked, "You didn't bring a spare set of clothes? I thought you planned to seduce me here all along." Xiaoyuer pouted, her lips curved in a playful glare. "There you go again!" I laughed.

"I won't mention it, I won't. It was me seducing you. Does the spaceship have spare clothes?

I'll go get them for you. I don't want your delicate body seen by other Merfolk." A hint of slyness flickered in Xiaoyuer’s eyes. "There should be.

Go look. A spacesuit would work too. We need to find a way back to the battleship first; what if the others see us like this?" As it turned out, the spaceship did have a few sets of clothes.

Perhaps Xiaoyuer had made up her mind this time to secure me, necessitating the preparation of a few backup outfits. I wasn't angry about her father's actions at all; I loved her and was willing to help her with her affairs. The Emperor of the Merfolk Kingdom must have suspected something.

The smile on his face was particularly ambiguous, considering how long I had stayed in Xiaoyuer's room; they likely inferred certain things. If we truly managed to produce a little mermaid, I would certainly thank my father-in-law. Upon returning to the battleship, Xiaoyuer didn't say much to the other women.

Although Yi Xiaorou, the trouble-making Zhao Fang, and Fang Yanmeng had come along this time, they were too busy touring the Twin Stars to investigate what I and Xiaoyuer had been doing during our absence. I asked Xiaohui and learned that preparations for the experiment were complete. We found an experimental site 100,000 kilometers away from the wormhole—it was a former battlefield.

In the vastness of space, piles of derelict battleship hulls remained. Additionally, we prepared a batch of U-system warships. These ships were capable of navigation, not solely intended for Simugu, but to make the experiment more comprehensive, to see if a black hole could indeed pull a traveling warship into its interior.

There is no day or night in space; we simply adhered to a schedule for our routines. After lunch, I brought Simugu out of the cell. The ugly alien was emaciated, his waist tentacles completely limp, looking as if he were already dead and unburied, a far cry from his initial arrogance.