446: 8.46 The Little Mermaid

8.46 The Little Mermaid

[666: Host…]0

666's voice might be mechanical but the pity that oozed out of it was so thick that it was irritating. The veins on Lu Yizhou's forehead popped. What did the system mean by that? He did not have the leisure to read fairytales when he was a kid. Even with Bianca, he had never seen this fairytale before even though he had often heard Oliver read bedtime stories for her! He certainly did not expect everyone to know but him!

'Daddy, it's not weird that you don't know,' Ozzie caressed his cheek with the tip of her fluffy tail. 'Mommy dislikes bad endings the most and 'The Little Mermaid' is the saddest of them all meow! That's why Mommy has not ever told me this story.'

'Then how did you know?'

At his question, Ozzie became sheepish. 'Hehe, my curiosity knows no bounds~ but this is a very good story meow! It reminds me of Daddy and Mommy!'

It was a sad ending but it reminded Ozzie of him and his lover? How? Curious, Lu Yizhou reached for the book and started to flip to the first page. At that, everyone's eyes flicked to him with a start. "Miss Irene?" Ji Yan asked in confusion. "Have you found something?"

"No, I have no idea what this fairytale is about." Lu Yizhou said without looking up. "Feel free to continue your discussion while I read."

"You don't know this fairytale?!" Ji Yan was shocked. "Woah, I did not expect there's someone who actually doesn't know poor little Ariel…"

Lu Yizhou rolled his eyes. Should the whole world know who this mermaid was? He tuned out his surroundings and began to read. 

The illustration was good and the story was quite engaging. Lu Yizhou finished it in less than fifteen minutes, frowning. Well, it was indeed a little unsuitable for a fairytale. Now he could understand why Oliver did not want their daughter to read something like this.

In short, Ariel, the young mermaid, fell in love with a human prince at first sight and saved him from drowning. Because she could not bear to part from him, she went to strike a deal with the Sea Witch; in exchange for a pair of legs, she would lose her beautiful voice and every step she took in the land would feel like walking on sharp knives. Not to mention that she wouldn't be able to return to the sea again. 

Lu Yizhou did not roll his eyes, but that was a near thing. This was why children shouldn't act however they pleased without an adult's supervision. What was in Ariel's mind to think that she could try to strike a balanced deal with the wicked Sea Witch? She had only come of age, for fuck's sake. Lu Yizhou suspected that she did not even know what was called a 'deal', and in the end she was scammed thoroughly.

Love could really make anyone's brain become minus, he clicked his tongue. 

Of course, what welcomed Ariel in the land was only a tragedy. The prince thought that the one who saved him from drowning was a princess from a neighboring kingdom and hence, fell in love with her. Ariel, this mute nobody, stood no chance at all despite her delicate beauty. She was heartbroken when the prince she loved married another girl. Despite being given a chance to kill the prince and get her tail back, she did not take it and chose to turn into seafoam.

This story was so braindead that it was painful to read. 

Lu Yizhou put the book down with a grimace. 'How can you say that this story is similar to your Mommy and I?' He frowned in disapproval. First thing first, even though he was willing to forsake everything for his lover, he was not so stupid to enter a one-sided deal that put him in an unfavorable position. Second, he would not stay still to see his lover marry another — no, he would not even give his lover a chance to fall in love with another. He certainly was not so naive, foolish and saintly like Ariel.

Ozzie was rendered speechless when she picked up his line of thoughts. She had only thought that Ariel was similar to Lu Yizhou in how they were willing to sacrifice everything for their loved one but… 'My bad,' she said exasperatedly. 'I forgot that Daddy is a savage.'

"How is it?" Ji Yan asked excitedly as he leaned forward with both arms propped on the table. "It's very sad and heartbreaking right?"

It was just plainly stupid, the corner of Lu Yizhou's lips twitched. "...Kinda."

"I knew it!" Ji Yan slapped the table and groaned dramatically. "Poor Ariel. If she could just make the prince see that she was the one who rescued him, then he would definitely fall in love with her and voila, they would marry and live happily ever after! This is just a simple misunderstanding that ends in tragedy!"

Wait. 

Lu Yizhou stared at Ji Yan, stunned. What did he say just now? Misunderstanding that ends in tragedy…? 

All of a sudden, he recalled the song that the ghost mannequin had always sung — "I didn't harm her… She lied to you. Why did you trust her but not me…' 

'The Little Mermaid' was one of the clues they obtained to solve the mystery in the Knox's family. The mermaid Ariel was supposed to be the one whom the prince fell in love with, but because the prince did not see her when he first opened his eyes after drowning, everything had become a huge misunderstanding. On the other hand, the ghost mannequin was singing about her grievance, of how the man she loved did not trust her. Lu Yizhou's eyes widened. If… If the similarity between the two lay in their rightful place that was stolen by others, then the ghost mannequin should be…

Lu Yizhou stood up abruptly, shocking the other three.

"W–What's wrong, Irene?!" Olivia clutched her chest. "You surprised me…"

"The ghost mannequin…" Lu Yizhou muttered out loud, his pupils dilated in utter disbelief. Why did he not think of this sooner? He had been misguided from the start because the ghost had addressed Ellie as 'Milady', that's why he thought that the ghost mannequin was the lady in black but he was totally wrong! If he followed hidden message behind 'The Little Mermaid', then there was only one possibility left—

—the ghost mannequin had been Madam Knox from the start!

Chills ran down Lu Yizhou's body and he couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. This time, the plot had really played him for good! He had no idea why the Madam would address Ellie in such a formal way, but he was certain now. The ghost mannequin should be the real Madam of the Knox Family and she did not mean harm! The bloody writing on the wall stated that she would return on the night of the full moon to reclaim everything that belonged to her, meaning that she would be helping the players to fight against the one occupying her body right now — aka the lady in black!

Fortunately, the mannequin disappeared before Lu Yizhou could destroy it otherwise he would definitely regret it now!

[[Main team quest[2/2]: Find out about the woman who came to the family ten years ago. Progress: 72/100%]]

Everyone was shocked to standing. "What—What happened?!" They pinned their excited gazes on Lu Yizhou. "What have you found?! What about the ghost mannequin?!"

The more Lu Yizhou thought about it, the more funny everything seemed to be. He raked his fingers through his hair and shook his head exasperatedly. "We have really been fooled. The ghost mannequin has always been—"

Before he could even finish his sentence, another notification rang in his mind.

[[Player 404 has triggered a special quest: Gather the broken pieces of Madam Knox's beloved comb. Progress: 1/5]]

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