Feasibility of Mermaids Infiltrating Qilin

"Zhang Shenglin?"

Zhang Shengchun called out to the person in front of him, and hesitantly called out the person's name.

"It's rare to see you dressed so festively." It wasn't until he saw that Zhang Shengchun was dressed in all red and had a handsome appearance with red lips and white teeth that he realized that he was also a child who was only nine years old.

Zhang Shenglin turned around and nodded slightly to him.

"Happy New Year! Where are you headed so early in the morning?"

Zhang Shengchun was used to his coldness. He put one hand on his shoulder and looked him up and down with a smile and a look of surprise. He said with certainty, "This dress was given to you by Zhang Xingze, wasn't it?"

"I didn't expect you to look so good in red."

When Zhang Shenglin heard him praise his new clothes, his expression softened, and he nodded with a slight smile: "Yes, it was a gift from Aze."

The sudden gentleness of someone who is usually cold and expressionless is incredibly powerful. Zhang Shengchun stared at him for a while, then suddenly reached out and began to forcefully grope his neck and jawline.

Zhang Shenglin's smile faded, and his delicate, jade-like face regained its usual reserved composure. His eyes, as clear and cold as the moon under the moonlight, gently swept over Zhang Shengchun.

For some reason, even though there was no emotion in his eyes, Zhang Shengchun always felt like he was being scolded.

He chuckled dryly twice: "Haha, isn't it because I'm afraid you're someone else in disguise!"

Knowing that his behavior just now was indeed like that of a fool, mainly because Zhang Shenglin's expression just now was completely different from his usual self.

He changed the subject: "By the way, where are you headed?"

"Go to the small storeroom."

Zhang Shengchun was very puzzled: "What are you going there for? Are you going to collect your quarterly allowance? Collecting your allowance on the first day of the Lunar New Year?"

“If you need money, I can lend you some. How much do you need? If it’s not enough, I can go to Heshan to borrow some more. There’s no one in the small warehouse right now.”

Zhang Shenglin remained silent for a while, thinking of Zhang Shengchun's usually overly accurate and well-informed sources. He concluded that it must be true that the small warehouse was empty.

The boy's handsome brows furrowed slightly. After thinking for a moment, Zhang Shenglin turned around and continued walking forward.

Since there's no one in the small warehouse, he can go to town, but he'll have to speed things up.

"Huh? (⊙o⊙) You're just leaving like that? What do you need the small storeroom for? Tell me, maybe I can help you?"

Zhang Shengchun didn't expect him to leave without saying a word. Well, it wasn't that he didn't expect it, but after Zhang Shenglin met Zhang Xingze, he didn't seem to be as arrogant as before.

It seems the problem lies with the people around him. If Zhang Xingze were here, this kid definitely wouldn't be so rude.

Zhang Shenglin stopped, turned around and looked at Zhang Shengchun, then seriously uttered two words.

"Gift."

"what?"

Zhang Shengchun was momentarily stunned, then quickly realized: "You mean you want to prepare a gift? For Zhang Xingze?"

Zhang Shenglin nodded.

Seeing him nod, Zhang Shengchun had just guessed casually, but he was right. He couldn't help but look Zhang Shenglin up and down.

The Zhang family has always been known for their outstanding appearances, and Zhang Shenglin is no exception. Even at a young age, one can see the charisma he will possess when he grows up. However, his expression is too indifferent, lacking any emotional fluctuations, like a wooden doll born untouched by worldly emotions.

It's truly unbelievable that the Zhang family's wooden doll would actually have the idea of ​​giving away gifts. But Zhang Xingze is indeed beautiful, coupled with that naturally eerie appearance. Beautiful, considerate, and with a special tenderness reserved only for one person, it's no wonder the wooden doll could one day become human.

Zhang Shengchun stroked his chin, finding Zhang Shenglin's change amusing. Under Zhang Shenglin's increasingly cold gaze, he playfully hooked his arm around Zhang Shenglin's neck.

"You should have said you were going to give me a gift. Come on, I'll take you to a nice place."

Zhang Shenglin still didn't like anyone other than the little merman getting close to him. He instinctively shook off the arm on his shoulder, and remembering that Zhang Shengchun was going to take him to a place where he could prepare gifts, he forcefully suppressed the urge to retaliate.

Zhang Shengchun was well aware of the wariness that the Zhang family had been specially cultivated to be, so he did not try to get closer. He maintained a distance that was neither too close nor too far and led Zhang Shenglin toward the inner gate of the house.

As they walked, he explained to Zhang Shenglin where they were going.

“We’re going to my maternal home. The people from the small warehouse are also there now.”

“Before New Year’s Eve, the Zhang family members from overseas returned to their ancestral home to pay New Year’s visits, bringing a batch of goods from overseas and the south. There were many rare items from foreign countries. If you want to give Xingze a gift, there should be something suitable among the things the Zhang family brought back from overseas.”

As he spoke, Zhang Shengchun began to gesticulate wildly as he recounted the foreign things he had heard of, such as foreign liquor, cigarettes, cloth, pens, books, watches, music boxes, and cameras.

Some things are hard to find in their area, but not for the rest of the Zhang family. It's just that many in the Zhang family are conservative, and these novel items from abroad rarely appear within the clan.

They were all still teenagers, not even old enough to be allowed to roam freely. The farthest place they were ever allowed to go was the small town outside the Zhang family's territory.

The only thing in the town that was related to foreigners was the clock in the shop of the town's big merchant.

He will leave home this morning to visit his maternal grandparents' home and see the imported goods from the Zhang family overseas.

The Zhang family's maternal relatives lived in a small village surrounded by dozens of households. Zhang Shengchun was quite familiar with the place and led Zhang Shenglin through a series of turns before entering a three-section courtyard.

Several familiar people were inspecting the goods piled on the ground in the yard. As soon as Zhang Shenglin and his companion entered, the men looked over warily.

These people are the ones who usually manage the small warehouse.

Upon seeing them, Zhang Shengchun smiled and went up to greet them, "Uncle Fuxiao, Uncle Longxing, we'd like to exchange some things."

Goods brought in from outside are inspected by the small warehouse before entering the main family compound. Before entering the main family compound, if a clansman wants to exchange some goods, the clan will tacitly allow it as long as the owner of the goods agrees.

Upon hearing Zhang Shengchun's words, the person in the small warehouse simply nodded and said, "Go ahead."

Standing beside the goods, a woman dressed in a Western-style dress looked at the two young men from the same clan who had entered with a half-smile.

She was also a member of the Zhang family clan, and had been educated and raised by the clan since childhood. Of course, she knew what kind of people the boys under the clan's cruel training were like.

These two people actually came to exchange for some foreign goods that the elders of the family considered useless. Could it be that the Zhang family now is different from the Zhang family she remembers?

Out of curiosity, Zhang Haimo kindly pointed out: "The things in that area are things I just brought back from England, you should like them."

Zhang Shenglin looked in the direction she pointed and immediately spotted a pair of cat's eye stone earrings in the box.

They were a pair of deep green cat's-eye stones, their ethereal green reflecting a captivating luster in the sunlight. The bright band of light on the gemstones was incredibly lively, like a kitten winking mischievously.

When Zhang Shenglin saw the pair of green cat's-eye stones, he was reminded of the little mermaid's beautiful green eyes.

Without hesitation, he chose the pair of green cat-eye earrings.

Seeing him choose those earrings, Zhang Haimo raised an eyebrow: "Good eye. I brought these back from England. They are gemstones from a British colony. Among the cat's-eye stones I've ever seen, they are of top quality."

Zhang Shenglin couldn't tell the quality of jewelry; he just felt that these earrings were most suitable for the little mermaid's earlobes.