Chapter 4: Lord of the Sea Abyss × Researcher (4)

After hearing her answer, Shen Rongyu stared at her, his eyes as cold as ice formed at the bottom of the sea, but his lips curled up.

He smiled, his smile still enchanting.

"Good," he said.

Ji Qingzhu continued to lower her head and record, not looking up to see his carefully designed smile.

But he made a suggestion, "Will you only record my voice?"

Ji Qingzhu wrote down this sentence as well and said, "Yes."

"Why not record my expressions?" he suggested.

Ji Qingzhu suddenly realized, "You're right, I haven't taken a sample collection class before. My mentor told me I didn't need to learn that."

"But your suggestion is good," Ji Qingzhu looked up, carefully observing his expression with an inquisitive gaze.

Shen Rongyu was used to disguises. A sweet and kind appearance could easily make the prey relax their guard, and he was well versed in this.

Ji Qingzhu didn't look into his eyes. Her gaze only briefly swept across his eyes, which seemed to contain thin ice, before pausing on his sexy thin lips.

Perhaps due to just waking up, his lips lacked color, giving off a fragile sensation.

Ji Qingzhu lowered her head and continued to record on the paper.

Shen Rongyu's deep voice came, "Can I take a look at what you've recorded?"

"Mr. Shen, of course you can." Ji Qingzhu handed him her record book.

The paper was filled with densely packed data, and it wasn't until it came to Shen Rongyu's part that there were some short words.

Ji Qingzhu clearly and understandingly recorded these words on the paper.

"He looked at me like he was looking at prey. This proves that he is not human. Even though he has a carefully crafted pleasant smile on his face, it's just a disguise when hunting."

"In fact, his body has already adapted to the surrounding temperature, but he deliberately makes his complexion appear fragile. This makes him somewhat cute, because I can't find anything in the deep sea to keep him warm - this is completely useless."

Shen Rongyu: "..." Can I see this?

His perfectly mask-like expression seemed to have a crack at this moment.

"Here you go." He handed the record book back to Ji Qingzhu, as if he hadn't seen anything.

Ji Qingzhu didn't mind him seeing this content, because for her, it was within her rights as the observer to let the subject know her thoughts about him.

She clapped her hands and stood up. In the short time since encountering the non-human intelligent creature from the deep sea, she had already recovered from the shock and quickly formulated a rational solution in her mind.

Ji Qingzhu always built a framework in her mind before doing anything, and then followed the established steps.

"Mr. Shen, I have the following plan for your current situation. I will tell you first, and you can reject my suggestions, and we can discuss again." Ji Qingzhu held her record book and took two steps forward.

"First of all, considering your current level of danger, I'm afraid I can't let you out yet - I can't find a way to release you until the research is complete." Ji Qingzhu said to Shen Rongyu.

Shen Rongyu maintained a faint smile on his face without speaking.

"In the meantime, I will collect samples from you for research. This is not without compensation. After the research is completed, you can make your wishes, and I will fulfill them within my ability. You can ask me to find a way to release you from here, of course, you need to promise to cooperate with me during the research process." Ji Qingzhu's pen tapped rhythmically on the record book, making a rhythmic sound.

"Of course, sir, I promise not to hurt your body during the sampling process and not to harm you." She added.

After finishing her long speech, Ji Qingzhu realized that Shen Rongyu hadn't said a word. If she were in a normal conversation with someone, she would appreciate the listener's silence. She didn't like too much interaction with people.

However, did Shen Rongyu's reaction mean that he had objections to certain parts of her proposal?

So, Ji Qingzhu turned her head and earnestly asked Shen Rongyu, "Mr. Shen, do you have any objections to any of the agreements?"

Shen Rongyu tapped his finger on the board, his peach blossom eyes still focused on Ji Qingzhu. "No."

"Why aren't you speaking?" Ji Qingzhu asked.

"Because if I speak, I'll trouble you to lower your head and take notes again," he answered with a smile. "It's too tiring for your fragile body."

Ji Qingzhu was taken aback. She lowered her head and added a few more words to the record book.

- "He is trying to tempt me with his words. I can't deny that my heartbeat has quickened slightly, but that is a normal physiological reaction."

If it were a normal stranger in front of her, she would definitely turn around and run, just like with An Kun, running as far as she could.

The best way to deal with complicated interpersonal relationships is to cut them off directly.

However, there were too many mysteries surrounding Shen Rongyu. His relationship with the Night Abyss, his race and origins, and why he was locked in the depths of the sea. These mysteries were enticing, and what she desired most was to uncover the truth behind them.

So, Ji Qingzhu didn't escape. Instead, she mustered her full attention to deal with the current situation and try to learn how to interact with... a half-human.

The upper half is human, half a person.

After Ji Qingzhu finished writing these words in her record book, she walked towards Shen Rongyu. As she walked, she spoke with a dry and doctrinal tone, "Mr. Shen, if you have no objections, can we consider our agreement reached?"

Just as she took a couple of steps, an accident happened. She didn't notice the rotten wooden plank beneath her feet and stepped on it.

Ji Qingzhu successfully stepped into thin air and fell from the cabin.

Shen Rongyu watched in astonishment as the clumsy "fool" in front of him disappeared before his eyes.

It was almost instinctive, as if he couldn't bear to let his new toy fall to the ground. Several shadows emerged from beneath Shen Rongyu, smearing the dark red color in the dark cabin.

Those things wrapped around her waist and lifted her up again.

In the instant Ji Qingzhu felt weightless, she knew something bad had happened. She was about to fall flat on her butt.

But she didn't fall. Something unusual lifted her up. When she regained her balance and reached out to grab those things, they retreated like serpents, disappearing.

Ji Qingzhu squatted in front of Shen Rongyu, recording the sensation of those things wrapping around her waist. She asked, "Mr. Shen, thank you for bringing me back up. What were those things?"

Shen Rongyu: "?" You're asking about that too? I would scare you if I told you.

"You don't think I only have one tail, do you?" he said.

Ji Qingzhu's pupils shook as she looked down at the dragon tail, bound by chains, under Shen Rongyu. It looked like a decaying piece of art.

"Isn't this something Miss Ji should be studying?" Shen Rongyu blew on the strands of hair falling from Ji Qingzhu's temple. "Unveiling the veil of mysteries is the most exciting part of the process, isn't it?"

"Yes," Ji Qingzhu said. Her long eyelashes blinked, because Shen Rongyu's breath was gentle, making her feel a bit ticklish.

He applied just the right amount of force, not making her feel offended.

She was surprised by her own discovery today, but she checked the time and realized she should go back. There were still many things she needed to sort out once she returned home.

"Mr. Shen, I need to go back. When I went into the water earlier, I lost my glasses. Did you happen to see them?" Ji Qingzhu asked.

In the shadows beneath the cabin, a faint red object flashed, and Ji Qingzhu's glasses were thrown up.

"What about the pheromone bracelet that you bit off?" Ji Qingzhu thought that if possible, she wouldn't go into the sea to look for the bracelet he had bitten off.

Shen Rongyu bit off the shark's fin, simply because she detested the scent of the devil shark. Those bloodthirsty creatures rarely liked similar beings. 

"Miss Ji, you can use mine," he said.

Ji Qingzhuo looked at him, her hands raised helplessly. "I usually don't collect biological pheromones. The one you lost was artificially formulated."

Shen Rongyu peeled off a scale from his dragon tail. "Use this."

As he peeled off the scale, although no blood flowed from the decayed lower half of his body, the silent reaction was even more shocking. It indicated that half of his body had completely decayed.

"You…" Ji Qingzhuo didn't take the scale.

She took out disinfectant and cotton swabs from her spacious lab coat pocket and leaned closer. "Do you need me to treat the wound?"

"No need," Shen Rongyu said.

He stopped Ji Qingzhuo's body from nearing his.

Ji Qingzhuo saw the dried-up wound where the scale had been peeled off, and it seemed to sprout new scales. His recovery rate was impressive.

"You don't have to do this. I can make a new pheromone bracelet for self-defense," Ji Qingzhuo said, taking the scale from him.

From her words, Shen Rongyu understood the reason she wore that peculiar-scented bracelet.

He coughed lightly and spoke innocently. "Miss Ji, perhaps you don't understand what I mean."

"Hmm?" Ji Qingzhuo put the scale in her pocket and softly responded.

"I just don't like its scent," Shen Rongyu said.

"Is your sense of smell that sensitive?" Ji Qingzhuo seemed to have made a new discovery. Only similar beings could sense pheromones. Did this mean Shen Rongyu was closely related to the devil shark?

She tried to use her own experience to understand Shen Rongyu's existence and fit him into the known biological spectrum.

"You detest the scent of the devil shark," Ji Qingzhuo listed the information on paper. Faced with the unknown, her excitement grew. "Then what scent do you like?"

In order to communicate with him, Ji Qingzhuo had to lean in close in the cramped cabin space. As a result, Shen Rongyu could clearly smell her scent.

His fingers curled slightly and lightly brushed against her strands of hair, the tips of her slightly curled hair scratching his palm.

"Yuzu wood," he said.

Ji Qingzhuo wrote down "Yuzu wood" on the paper. She was familiar with this type of wood, as her office desk was made of solid yuzu wood.

"Patchouli," he continued.

Ji Qingzhuo's tongue gently touched the tip of her teeth. She was also familiar with this scent, as it was in her mouthwash.

"Citrus," he paused.

The tip of Ji Qingzhuo's pen stopped, and the rustling sound of her recording abruptly ceased.

Just before she dived into the sea, she had just drunk a glass of citrus water.