There was no doubt that the rogue dolphin was immediately beaten up by a group of killer whales.
But the mental impact of that exposed scene was simply too strong. Lansi lay weakly on top of the little killer whale for a long time without recovering.
The little killer whale looked at him worriedly.
[Are you okay?]
[I want to go back and see Winsor.]
Lansi answered weakly.
He suddenly desperately needed to look at Winsor and cleanse his eyes.
By now, most of the whales had already dispersed. When the humpback whale turned around and saw Lansi lying limply atop the little killer whale, it sighed before speaking to him very seriously:
[Lansi, what kind of fish do you like? Forget dolphins. Their private lives are far too messy.]
Lansi: "..."
[Can I do it?]
The little killer whale asked shyly while letting Lansi lean against it.
[We're very family-oriented. We would never be as shameless as dolphins.]
[Aren't you still underage?]
Lansi looked at the little killer whale in shock before adding:
[Besides, I already have someone I like. He's also a mermaid… probably a mermaid.]
As he spoke, Lansi thought of Winsor—or Wen Yu, who was still stubbornly hiding behind his final disguise.
By the end of his sentence, even Lansi himself no longer sounded very confident.
[Oh… alright then.]
The usually energetic young killer whale immediately sounded dejected.
It looked genuinely sad.
Still, that was normal.
Most first loves never succeeded.
The little killer whale had experienced the cruelty of society.
[Where are you going?]
The humpback whale looked at both Lansi and the little killer whale as though they were two adorable children. Watching their interaction had softened its heart, so it gently offered:
[I can take you back.]
Compared to the massive whales around them, Lansi was far too small, and his swimming speed would obviously be much slower. The humpback whale genuinely wanted to help him.
[I want to return to Sunset Bay!]
The moment Lansi heard that the humpback whale was willing to help him, his eyes lit up immediately.
Unlike land, the sea had almost no obvious landmarks. Lansi had followed the whale pod while singing all this time and no longer had the faintest idea where he was, let alone how to find the direction back to Sunset Bay.
[Alright.]
The humpback whale looked at Lansi kindly and said:
[I'll hide you inside my mouth. Don't be afraid. Then we'll head to Sunset Bay.]
Inside the whale's mouth?
Lansi froze in shock.
He had always thought that kind of thing only existed in fairy tales. He never imagined he would personally experience it one day.
[Okay! Wow!]
Lansi instantly became excited.
He swam in circles around the humpback whale, touching it happily before suddenly asking:
[What about the killer whales?]
[They're old enough already. They can swim back on their own with me.]
The humpback whale ruthlessly rejected the little killer whales' idea of climbing into its mouth too.
Lansi twitched helplessly and placed his hands on his hips.
[I'm not young either. I'm already an adult. I only look small compared to you.]
[Mm.]
The humpback whale nodded perfunctorily before slowly opening its mouth.
Different whales fed in different ways.
Little killer whales had sharp teeth. Though small compared to humpback whales, their fangs made them true predators capable of dominating the ocean.
Humpback whales, meanwhile, looked enormous but were incredibly gentle creatures belonging to the baleen whale family.
Generally speaking, humpback whales did not prey on large animals, and even their hunting methods were mild.
When feeding, they would rush upward through the water with their mouths wide open, creating an enormous cavity that swallowed schools of fish and krill together with seawater. The baleen inside their mouths would then filter the food while expelling the water.
Lansi carefully stared into the humpback whale's enormous mouth before cautiously asking:
[You're not going to eat me, right?]
[Of course not.]
The humpback whale replied kindly.
[You're not the first little one I've carried in my mouth.]
Little one?
A black line immediately appeared across Lansi's face.
[I'm really not a child, thank you very much.]
Still, he did not want to waste any more time.
Since the humpback whale did not have sharp teeth, Lansi safely swam inside and flopped down onto the soft baleen lining the whale's mouth.
Once Lansi had completely entered, the humpback whale slowly closed its mouth, leaving only a tiny gap open to the outside world.
Its huge tongue pressed backward, firmly blocking the esophagus to prevent accidentally swallowing Lansi.
The little turtle had naturally followed Lansi inside as well.
The moment it entered the humpback whale's mouth, it became wildly excited. Crawling out from Lansi's belt pouch, it shouted enthusiastically toward the massive space around them:
[Helloooooo—!]
A moment later, an echo returned.
Lansi's spirits immediately lifted.
He sat up from the baleen and excitedly began poking around everywhere with the little turtle, touching this and that. He even tried singing inside just to hear the echoes bounce around the whale's mouth.
[Alright, stop playing and get some sleep.]
Just as Lansi and the little turtle were having fun, the humpback whale's helpless voice suddenly echoed around them.
Even the massive tongue blocking the esophagus trembled slightly as it spoke.
[You're making me itch so much. Be careful, or I'll sneeze you out.]
Lansi and the little turtle immediately became obedient.
Getting sneezed out by a humpback whale?
Considering the humpback whale's size, that would probably feel no different from riding a rocket.
…
Lansi had no idea how much time had passed.
When he opened his eyes again, bright light flooded his vision.
After waking from complete darkness into sudden brightness, Lansi felt dizzy and disoriented. Everything before him looked blurry, and he could barely make out his surroundings.
Wait…
Wasn't he supposed to be sleeping inside a humpback whale's mouth?
The inside of a humpback whale's mouth should have been dark.
[Teacher, I missed you so much!]
A sharp voice suddenly rang out.
Then, with a "Snap" a smooth tentacle wrapped tightly around Lansi.
Startled, Lansi immediately reacted the moment he felt tentacles on his body.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the tentacle and began violently smacking the little octopus attached to it.
He was seriously traumatized by octopuses now.
[Ow! Teacher, it's me, Quirrell! Why are you hitting me?!]
Although Quirrell was technically a terrifying black sea monster, he was still an invertebrate. Lansi's punches did not hurt him at all.
Still, Quirrell deliberately screamed pitifully anyway, hoping to make Lansi feel guilty.
Lansi squeezed Quirrell suspiciously, suddenly realizing the texture felt familiar.
Then he blinked and finally looked around carefully.
Countless sunken ships surrounded the area.
Not far away sat the Queen Mary he had once ridden on.
Nearby, scattered blackboards and drum stands lay abandoned across the open seabed.
Most importantly, the hermit crab watching from afar and the soft, adorable Quirrell in his hands instantly reassured him.
He had finally returned.
This was Sunset Bay.
Lansi immediately became happy.
He released Quirrell, then looked around more carefully and discovered that the place where he had awakened was inside a giant sea anemone.
Huh?
Was there an anemone here before?
Lansi tilted his head and thought hard for a while, but eventually gave up trying to remember and tossed the question aside.
He quickly swam around Quirrell and the hermit crab twice before hurriedly asking:
[Where are the humpback whale and the killer whales?]
Weren't they supposed to escort him back?
Quirrell slowly floated in front of Lansi and explained:
[The humpback whale brought you to Sunset Bay, but it was too large to enter. Then the little killer whales carried you the rest of the way here. But the little killer whales said they had a curfew. If they didn't return soon, their mothers and grandmothers would scold them, so they left.]
After learning where the humpback whale and little killer whales had gone, Lansi finally relaxed.
He swam in a circle through the water before eventually turning toward the nearby cabin-shaped shipwreck.
Grinding his teeth slightly, he asked the two sea monsters beside him:
"Where's Winsor?"
Under normal circumstances, shouldn't Winsor have already come out to see him?
Quirrell froze.
Its eighteen tentacles tangled together nervously until it nearly twisted itself into a knot.
[Damn it, I can't hold this in anymore!]
The hermit crab, who had been listening nearby, finally crawled over carrying its tiny shell-house and roared loudly:
[He kept hesitating and hesitating! Before you even woke up, Winsor ran away!]
Lansi: "..."
Wasn't Winsor supposed to be especially powerful?
Someone that powerful actually ran away?
Lansi's mood instantly dropped.
Dragging his tail behind him, he slowly swam toward the little cabin where he and Winsor had once lived together.
The cabin looked exactly the same as before he had left.
The shiny decorations Lansi had collected were still scattered across the floor and walls.
Everything was spotless.
No stray fish had wandered inside, and no seaweed had overgrown the place.
Some areas even looked carefully organized, as though someone had deliberately tidied them up.
That meant that after Winsor woke up, he must have come back here at least once.
That thought comforted Lansi a little.
After swimming around the cabin quietly for a while, Lansi suddenly heard Quirrell shouting excitedly outside.
Startled, he hurried out—
And finally saw Winsor.
The black-haired mermaid stood beneath him in the water, holding a string of tiny blue fish in his hand as he silently looked up at Lansi.
In Lansi's eyes, Winsor still looked exactly the same as he remembered—
Beautiful to the point of seeming unreal, with long black hair drifting through the ocean like seaweed and a powerful, slender fishtail covered in black scales.
And yet, Lansi suddenly felt awkward.
He slowly swam out of the cabin and stopped in front of Winsor before speaking stiffly:
"I'm back."
Compared to the dramatic reunion Lansi had imagined—full of hugs and kisses—the reality of the two mermaids meeting again was painfully calm.
There was even a trace of awkwardness hanging in the air.
"Mm."
Winsor's reaction was far too composed.
It was almost as if he did not know Lansi had been taken away at all.
In the same calm tone as usual, he said:
"I caught some fish. You should like them."
Seeing the strange atmosphere between the two mermaids, Quirrell and the hermit crab quietly slipped away without a sound.
Neither of them wanted to become collateral damage.
Especially the hermit crab, who had previously called Winsor a "coward."
"You… don't you have anything else to say?"
Lansi lowered his head.
Instead of accepting the fish Winsor handed over, he avoided Winsor's gaze and absentmindedly swept the sand with the tip of his tail.
"Welcome home."
Winsor answered dryly.
Silence.
The silence tonight could rival Cambridge itself.
Lansi finally snapped.
He suddenly rushed forward, wrapping his fishtail tightly around Winsor before pinning him down and sitting directly on top of him.
Then he glared fiercely at him.
"That's all you have to say?! Wen Yu, you gigantic bastard!"
If mermaids wore clothes, Lansi would probably have grabbed Winsor by the collar already just to look more imposing.
Caught completely off guard, Winsor dropped the fish in his hands.
The entire mermaid fell backward onto the seabed in confusion before hurriedly trying to explain:
"I'm only Winsor now… there's no Wen Yu anymore."
"You bastard!"
The moment Lansi heard that, his eyes instantly turned red.
Thinking about the Wen Yu who had once accompanied him on land—possibly abandoned on that battlefield, perhaps even without a remaining body—Lansi's emotions completely collapsed.
Tears streamed from his eyes, transforming into tiny pearls that scattered across Winsor's body one after another.
"I hate you!"
Winsor stared at the small pearls falling around him, his emotions becoming indescribably complicated.
Never in his life had he imagined that after becoming Winsor again, he would one day become jealous of Wen Yu.
"But it was only a body," Winsor said quietly. "I'm still here."
"Didn't it hurt when you came back?"
Lansi asked directly.
"I hate it when you do things like this! Whether you're Winsor or Wen Yu, I know they're both you. So don't ever do something like this again!"
Lansi could not imagine what dying instantly must feel like.
But instinctively, he knew Winsor must have experienced that pain.
He was both heartbroken and furious.
Only then did Winsor finally understand the meaning hidden beneath Lansi's anger.
His gaze softened.
Then he reached out, wrapped an arm around Lansi's waist, and gently coaxed him:
"I won't do it again."
Only after hearing that promise did Lansi finally wipe away his tears.
But after blinking a few times, he suddenly remembered something important.
"Well then, answer me this."
Lansi narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Were those black tentacles yours?"
Winsor: "..."
The romantic atmosphere instantly vanished.
Silently, Winsor withdrew the hand resting on Lansi's waist and lay flat on the seabed.
For the first time in his life, he learned how to play dead.
Seeing Winsor trying to dodge the issue again, Lansi became furious all over again.
After sitting on Winsor for a while longer, Lansi suddenly released him.
His expression turned calm as he turned around and began swimming away.
"Lansi?"
Winsor propped himself up with his tail and looked at Lansi's retreating back in confusion.
"My name isn't Lansi!"
Without turning around, Lansi swam farther away while declaring loudly:
"My name is Ranko! I'm Lansi's second personality! I don't know you!"
What, Winsor thought he was the only one allowed to use fake identities?
He could do it too.
Winsor: "..."