Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva
Chapter 924 - 74 The Legend of the Mermaid Girl_2

"Is it really that scary to go to work?" Lemon Fruit waved her hand.

"Hard to say." Emily shook her short hair and didn't continue explaining.

"Sometimes I really envy you all, having a small shop that supports yourself and living a relaxed life."

"What's there to envy about that, Sister Emily? I envy your annual salary of millions." Lemon Fruit stuck out her tongue.

"Money, huh, the first time you make big money, you'll be excited; after that, it feels pretty ordinary." Emily leaned on the sofa.

"Is Zi Jin working today?"

"Not today, she said she has classes today and can only come tomorrow." Lemon Fruit recalled what Tilan had told her when she came back last night.

"That's a pity, the next time I have free time to come by the shop, who knows when that will be." Emily said regretfully, but her expression didn't change, leaving it unclear whether she was sincere or joking.

Golden Flame Flower Academy, between class breaks.

"Tilan, you haven't been around much lately, where have you been?" Ores took advantage of the break to grab Tilan and ask.

"It's complicated, probably doing some extra work while fulfilling job tasks to earn some extra money?"

"Do you need money that much, to be earning extra on the side?" Ores was surprised.

"I have enough money, but the process of earning it is an experience itself, like interacting with people and society." Tilan simply answered.

"Can you take me with you?" Ores volunteered.

"No." Hearing this, Ores made a pitiful face. With her exceptional beauty, even Tilan felt a bit sorry.

"Alright, it's not about disliking you, Ores, but my job isn't suitable for many people, too many and it wouldn't work out."

"Actually, I've discovered some interesting things at work. I'll tell you about them once it's over, okay?"

"You can't go back on your word." Ores relaxed her brows and raised her finger.

"Why are you acting like a little kid?" Tilan hooked her pinky finger with Ores'.

"I'm actually still quite young." From the elves' perspective, Ores was indeed still a child, about 15 years old in human terms.

"What are you two whispering about?" Blanchi curiously leaned over at this time.

"Nothing much, just remembering a few clothing stores I've been to recently, Blanchi, do you want to come with us?" Ores quickly changed the topic.

"Feels like you're coaxing me, but whatever, I'm not one for gossip. It's just that Ores really likes Tilan; when you're with us, you're much quieter than usual." Blanchi joked.

While the three were talking, Shui Yanqing sat in the front row, lost in thought. After class, Blanchi called her, and the four of them went for lunch together.

After the incident at the hotel, Shui Yanqing and Ores basically stopped arguing. Even if they bickered, it was just a remark or two and they wouldn't pursue it.

Although the conflicts decreased a lot, Ores found it quite uneventful. Fortunately, Shui Yanqing's status gradually recovered, and she wouldn't remain gloomy, occasionally making jokes and teasing the other two songstresses.

"I'm working on a new song." Shui Yanqing spoke during lunch, her blue hair simply tied up, revealing her long neck. The high ponytail made her appear much more approachable.

"What style is it? You seem so confident, it must be almost done." The other three were curious.

"Hmm, it's probably quite gentle and lyrical, telling an ancient love story of the Mermaid Tribe."

"Is Yanqing going to play a mermaid?" Blanchi wondered.

"There will be a marine style, but not a mermaid." Shui Yanqing lightly shook her hair.

"Why not, isn't it normal for a song's music video to have the singer play the lead?" Blanchi was confused.

"Generally it is, but I can't. If I play a mermaid, it would seem like I'm deliberately trying to appeal to a minority species." Shui Yanqing explained.

"I don't want anyone to say that, even if only a few people would murmur."

"The story is about an ancient son of a merchant who encounters a storm during a sea journey, his ship sinks, and he is saved by a passing mermaid girl who then takes him to a desolate island."

"After that, the mermaid girl brings him food every day, and the two gradually develop feelings through conversation and interaction."

"But soon after, the time for parting comes, as a nearby ship finally passes by."

"The son of the merchant is reluctant, but under the mermaid girl's persuasion and longing for his family and the outside world, he slowly boards the ship."

"He returns to his hometown and gradually learns the trade from his family, until eventually he owns his own ship that he can operate independently."

"So he returns to that sea area, intending to find the mermaid girl who saved him." At this point, Shui Yanqing paused.

"And then, keep going." Blanchi was a bit impatient.

"And then, he spends a long time searching but never finds the mermaid girl who saved him back then, and by this time, he's not young anymore."

"He eventually marries, starts a family, and has his own children, just like a normal person."

"Years later, when he grows old and feels he can't hold on much longer, approaching death, he asks to be taken back near that small island and placed on a very small boat."

"'Let me drift on the sea and spend my final days like this,' he said."

"Although his family was unwilling, they didn't want to go against his last wish, so they did as he asked."

"So they put him on a small boat, alone on the sea, slowly watching him drift away."

"He drifted on the sea for three days and nights, watching the beautiful starry sky at night. His consciousness gradually blurred, as if he returned to that distant afternoon in his dreams, where he awakened on the beach and saw the scene of the mermaid girl."

"So he fell asleep, his consciousness gradually sinking, and just as everything was about to enter darkness, a familiar song rang out, and the mermaid girl appeared again beside his boat."

"She swam up to the boat, sat on the bow, looked at the sleeping white-haired old man, gently touched his eyelids, kissed him, and spat out a pure white, strange pearl."

"Then, as if time flowed backward, the old man's body gradually restored, his white hair turned black, his old age became youth. Several hours later, he slowly opened his eyes, finding himself as if shed a layer, becoming his former self from decades ago. At this time, he also saw the mermaid girl beside him, who was smilingly watching him, her demeanor as charming as it was back then."

"'Was it you who saved me?' he asked, repeating the exact words from years ago."

"'Yes,' the girl softly replied, then took his hand, watching the distant dawn slowly rise."

"Why did you not see me when I searched for you all these years?"

"Because you had family, and many things to do, I couldn't hold you back. Even with me, you wouldn't be happy."

"'I waited for you a long time, sometimes afraid you'd forgotten, but thankfully, you came eventually,' the mermaid girl told him."

"What happened to me, why did I suddenly become young again, as if time flowed backward?" He was quite surprised.

"'It's not that time flowed backward; no one can perform such a miracle. You still remember everything from these years, which proves you're not entirely going back to the past. It's just that your body has returned to its former state,' the mermaid girl explained."

"At the story's end, the two sit on the small boat, watching the distant sea, sailing towards a faraway foreign land, where they will start a new life together."

"Many years later, people at sea recorded and sang this story as a legend, and that pearl, which can restore youth, became the treasure of the Youthful Witch Xiberya."

After telling this story, Blanchi was moved to tears, resting her head in Shui Yanqing's embrace, while Tilan and Ores were also touched.

"It's truly a beautiful story. It's been a long time since I've heard such an untainted fairy tale."

"It's not about imparting some great lesson, nor necessarily about inspiration, but simply telling a desirable legendary tale."