Chapter 17: Lord of the Sea Abyss × Researcher (17)

Ji Qingzhuo's focus was on the word "kiss". Not long ago, she had imagined scenes related to this word more than once.

She hadn't experienced it, so she could only imagine.

No matter how she thought about it, she seemed to have some resistance to this phrase. Kissing his lips, exchanging breath... with someone else, not herself.

But... the person in front of her was Shen Rongyu, and she didn't seem to have the same resistance as she imagined.

Was it because... he wasn't human?

And why would Shen Rongyu say such things to her?

Ji Qingzhuo was halfway submerged in the sea, and she pushed his shoulder with her fist clenched in her hand. She said, "Mr. Shen, please don't say such things. I won't believe you."

"Hmm?" Shen Rongyu still didn't let go of her, he held her in his arms. "I'm not lying to you."

Ji Qingzhuo raised her eyebrows lightly. "Mr. Shen, a kiss, I..."

Shen Rongyu didn't let go of her, he still held her in his arms. "Ms. Ji, what's the problem? This is for the sake of exploring the great science you believe in."

Ji Qingzhuo was dizzy from his bewitching aura, and countless scenes flashed through her mind. "I'm sorry, but this is something between lovers..."

"So, when I help you adapt to human society, does love not belong to the process of adaptation?" Shen Rongyu's elegant eyebrows raised slightly, his tone filled with a hint of doubt and surprise.

"This..." Ji Qingzhuo lowered her head, stammering, "In the human society that I know, the experience of love is not included."

In other words, she herself had been single since she was young, so she couldn't possibly teach him how to be in a romantic relationship.

"Oh..." Shen Rongyu said, "That's a pity."

His voice became excited again. "It's okay, Ms. Ji. If you don't know, I can show you."

Ji Qingzhuo was startled by his words and began to stutter, "I don't want... you..."

She suddenly realized that Shen Rongyu had been joking with her all along. She froze, unable to meet his eyes directly, and muttered, "Please don't tease me anymore."

"Of course, I'm not teasing you." Shen Rongyu pushed her onto the shore, his tone lowered. "I'm just curious about human relationships."

"I'll find some books for you to read another day. If you need other mediums, there are games and videos." Ji Qingzhuo clumsily climbed onto the shore, feeling a bit guilty.

She was sorry. She had promised him, but still couldn't explain to him what human love really was.

"Okay." Shen Rongyu had set the atmosphere just right. He thought Ji Qingzhuo wouldn't refuse, but it seemed that her brain just didn't have any information about this matter.

He watched her as Ji Qingzhuo bent her legs and sat on the shore, feeling a bit awkward. She nervously played with her clothes and started to daydream. She herself hadn't read any related books. What if the information about love in those materials wasn't quite normal?

Ji Qingzhuo thought. She had promised to be responsible for him and help him adapt to human society. What if this non-human creature was exposed to some unhealthy ideas about love?

But... she really didn't want to play the love game of the tavern owner!

Ji Qingzhuo used her fingertips to play with the water's surface. She softly spoke again, "I'm sorry."

"I don't know either," Ji Qingzhuo said quietly.

Shen Rongyu knew that his role now was to be the embodiment of "I don't know what human society is like", even though he already knew what human nature was. But he still pretended to be ignorant.

He understood and manipulated human emotions, but he couldn't fully integrate into these emotions. So his lies didn't give him away.

"Miss Ji is human. Don't humans themselves know what love is?" Shen Rongyu asked.

"I guess I don't really like it," Ji Qingzuo's voice was soft.

"Just like how you don't like being around people?" Shen Rongyu asked again.

"Yeah..." Ji Qingzuo replied in a low voice.

"How coincidental," Shen Rongyu said, "I am not human."

"Yeah," Ji Qingzuo's voice became even lower.

She didn't dare to look at Shen Rongyu directly, only at his reflection in the sea.

Ji Qingzuo spoke again, "I've imagined such a scene, kissing someone."

"Yeah?" Shen Rongyu became excited, "Does he have a face?"

Ji Qingzuo's mind flashed with his face, she squinted her eyes and remained silent.

Remaining silent, for someone who wasn't good at lying like her, was the answer that Shen Rongyu was expecting.

"I really...want to try," Shen Rongyu licked his lips.

He genuinely meant what he said. He had devoured and stolen the souls of countless humans, but he had never interacted with humans in this way.

"You won't like the feeling," Ji Qingzuo could sense that Shen Rongyu, like her, was a very clean person. She felt uncomfortable touching others, let alone engaging in more intimate physical contact.

"You'll never know until you try," Shen Rongyu said with a longing for something he was ignorant about.

Clearly, what lay ahead was also a realm he had never experienced before, but he insisted on feeling confident and put on a naive appearance.

Layer upon layer of disguise, stacked together, presented the most genuine posture.

Ji Qingzuo took a deep breath, bit her lip, then raised her hand and used the back of her hand to wipe her lips, keeping them dry.

She said, "Then...let's give it a try."

Shen Rongyu straightened his body and emerged from the water. He stared intently into Ji Qingzuo's eyes.

He wouldn't refuse such an opportunity.

So, he raised his hand and embraced Ji Qingzuo's neck. His hand was wet, and cold seawater slid down from her neck.

Ji Qingzuo shivered from the cold, but soon, her trembling lips were kissed by Shen Rongyu.

Her trembling and uneasy emotions instantly calmed down. Ji Qingzuo smelled an extremely refreshing scent, just like the scales on his tail, sharp and angular.

He was fierce, but he hid himself in a docile posture.

Shen Rongyu, of course, was not satisfied with just their lips touching. His tongue quickly pried open Ji Qingzuo's teeth, and she closed her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering lightly.

Not long ago, she had imagined three scenes herself, and now two of them had come true. For some reason, she felt an emotion she had never sensed before...pleasure, joy, stemming from an indescribable emotion surged into her mind like a surging tide hitting the shore.

Shen Rongyu's fingers on her neck slightly sank, and at his fingertips, a red light flashed.

He was greedy, not content with just the current situation. His lips and tongue rolled over her lips, the "oral fluid exchange" that Ji Qingzuo had mercilessly judged and detested was constantly happening.

Opening their mouths, apart from kissing, there was a more ordinary action.

Eating.

Finally, he lightly bit her lip. Behind the two of them in the shallow sea, the moonlight was gentle, and there were faint surges brewing, but no storm was stirred up on the sea.

"I really like it," Shen Rongyu's face slightly moved away. He licked his lip corner and said to Ji Qingzuo.

"You bit me," Ji Qingzuo's red lips bore faint teeth marks.

She didn't know, but this was already the best outcome for her. 

Shen Rongyu looked up again and lightly kissed her lips, just a gentle touch. 

"Do you like it?" he asked. 

Ji Qingzuo remembered the surge of waves that had engulfed her mind earlier, carrying an unknown sense of pleasure. 

Her hand lightly rested on his shoulder, stiffening, but she stayed silent. She thought she couldn't accept it, but in reality, she wanted...to do it again. 

And of course, he did it again because Ji Qingzuo didn't answer his question. 

Shen Rongyu kissed her lips again, insisting, "Don't you like it?" 

"No..." Ji Qingzuo turned her head away and took a long time to choke out the word. 

She was denying the phrase "don't like it." 

Shen Rongyu released her neck, smiling as he said to her, "It was a wonderful experience." 

Ji Qingzuo lowered her head, not knowing what she was thinking. She felt like a malfunctioning robot. 

She was contemplating why she didn't resist. Since meeting Shen Rongyu, all the logical reasoning she had was overturned by him. 

Ji Qingzuo believed her research wouldn't go wrong, but it had indeed gone wrong. Her research subject seemed to be somewhat out of control. 

She thought she could never accept intimate contact with a specific person, but that cognition was also incorrect. She didn't resist him. 

Ji Qingzuo subconsciously wanted to reach for her notebook that recorded Shen Rongyu's behavior, to document the current situation. But she was wearing a nightgown and had no pockets. 

Shen Rongyu held her hand, "It's not work time now." 

"Do you want to invite me to stay?" He winked at her. 

Ji Qingzuo didn't want the third scene to happen, so she shook her head, "I...my bed is very small." 

"I can't sleep in the living room?" Shen Rongyu's laughter was low, now he began to wonder what was going on in Ji Qingzuo's mind. 

"Goodnight." Shen Rongyu moved again, this time he kissed her forehead, his lips slightly cool. 

When Ji Qingzuo snapped out of it, he had already disappeared into the sea, and even on her thinly clothed body in the sea breeze, there was an additional dry coat. 

Ji Qingzuo wrapped herself tighter in the woolen coat. She knew it was Shen Rongyu's clothes. 

She was indeed feeling a bit cold, so she tightened the coat further, got up, and closed the glass wall. 

This was unusual, too unusual. Ji Qingzuo dizzyingly thought, she actually kissed her research subject. If her advisor found out about this, she would never graduate in her lifetime. 

How could she do such a thing? He was obviously a non-human being who didn't understand humans very well, longing to understand humans, and yet because of her human identity, she mistakenly made him develop feelings of admiration. 

Ji Qingzuo felt like a boring person. If Shen Rongyu met more lively and lovely human girls, he wouldn't have such strange longings for her. The information gap between them caused this. 

She felt that her initial decision to stay in the laboratory was correct, in this aspect she...was truly clumsy. 

Ji Qingzuo brushed her teeth before bed, and she gargled her peach-flavored mouthwash. 

Her phone screen, placed next to the sink, lit up. It was a message from Shen Rongyu. They had recently become friends on a communication platform. 

[Shen Rongyu: Miss Ji, did you have citrus water when you returned in the evening?]

[Shen Rongyu: I also really like it.]

[Shen Rongyu:^_^]