Foreshadowing

Thank you anon reader for the Ko-Fi donation!

---

Bai Ling returned covered in blood. He forced down a few bites of food, scrubbed himself clean, and wrapped himself in the duvet, falling into a heavy, feverish sleep.

In his stupor, someone touched his forehead. The fingertips carried a warm, algae-scented aroma, like seawater touched by a red tide.

Bai Ling dazedly opened his eyes, catching a glimpse of a handsome, towering figure sitting quietly by the bed, appearing frozen in time.

Fragmented memories drifted sluggishly through his mind— sometimes the black portrait of Mr. D, sometimes the radiant face of the merman. The two were completely different, yet strangely blended into a similar temperament.

…Who was it again?

Bai Ling, still half-asleep, sat up and instinctively leaned toward the figure. Not knowing who it was, he tried bumping into them.

The other side instantly folded their arms around him, pulling him in and accepting him entirely without a single question or hesitation.

It was the merman.

His mind cleared instantly. It made sense; Mr. D was such a disciplined and polite person—there was no way he could ever be lumped together with this merman who seemed to have no bottom line.

“Out fighting again.” It was that parental tone of reproach.

“Mm-hmm. I won.” Bai Ling let out a yawn, stretching and burrowing further in.

Suddenly, a hand reached under his clothes, moving straight to rub his spine. The sensation made him jerk in surprise, his brows knitting as his voice became tinged with reproach:

“You have to take responsibility if you touch me in the middle of the night.”

Yu Chen had already mastered his patterns. He didn’t rise to the bait, but instead asked from a looming posture: “Did they hurt you?”

Bai Ling hesitated. “No…”

“Then why were you so angry?”

Bai Ling’s expression instantly turned cold, his eyes sharpening with a bladed edge. “They tried to snatch the thing around my neck. If I still gave them a friendly face after that, I’d truly be wasting my notorious reputation.”

Yu Chen caught the keyword and lifted his eyelids. “What notorious reputation? You never told me about that.”

Bai Ling lazily grabbed the hand that was exploring downward and pulled it into his arms to use as a pillow. He answered dismissively:

“I’m an interstellar pirate, specializing in occupying the nests of lonely old mermen… like you.”

His mouth was stubborn, but his body was honest. Yu Chen chuckled low. “Don’t you know my nest has a four-word sign hanging on it?”

Bai Ling looked up at him. “Which four words?”

“Welcome. Please. Come. In.”

Bai Ling pressed his lips together for a moment, then finally couldn’t help but break into a comfortable smile.

The old man certainly knew how to talk; when he wanted to coax him, every word hit the softest part of his heart.

Instinctively touching the pearl nestled against his collarbone, he called out as if casually:

“Hey, Little Pearl Supplier…”

Yu Chen gave a soft “mm” in acknowledgment.

 

Warmth flickered in the corners of Bai Ling’s eyes. “How much stock does your factory have left? I want to buy out the whole lot.”

“Quite the wealthy tycoon, aren’t we?” Yu Chen teased him, a rare occurrence, before lightly flicking his forehead. “However, I must remind the Captain that this particular merman has an extremely low output. In a hundred years, I’ve only saved up six pearls. Even if you buy them all, it wouldn’t make a full necklace.”

Six pearls, corresponding to six tears.

Bai Ling recalled an old rumor he’d heard: they say pureblood merfolk only produce round, pearl-like substances when their emotions are violently stirred, causing the calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate in their bodies to spike suddenly.

Izu Paraiso had only cried six times in his life, which fit his reputation for being utterly heartless.

“I heard pureblood merfolk serial-number their pearls and even give them names. Does this one have one?”

Yu Chen smiled helplessly. “Yes. It’s No. 2. As for the name, perhaps we can call it ‘Envy’.”

“Envy…” Bai Ling repeated the word. “Then are the others Greed, Pride, and the like? The Seven Deadly Sins? Wait, that’s not right. You only have six, so you’re missing one.”

Bai Ling suddenly grew excited, leaning in with bright eyes. “Which one is missing? Maybe I can fill it in for you.”

Yu Chen rubbed his hair, amused. “How would you fill it?”

Bai Ling spoke with total confidence: “By tempting you to commit a crime.”

“Tempting me to commit a crime is far too easy on me. At the very least, you’d have to make me hysterical enough to shed a tear.”

Bai Ling instantly deflated, pouting. “Then forget it. Crying is bad for the liver. An old merman’s liver can’t take that.”

Gripping the bird’s hot wrist, Yu Chen leaned down, closing the distance. A slight curve touched his lips. “Care to say ‘can’t take it’ one more time?”

Bai Ling used the momentum to hook his arm around the man, dragging him down into the pile of furs. He rolled halfway over and audaciously tilted his guardian’s rugged chin:

“Seriously, if I ever collect all seven pearls, could you cast a spell for me?”

Yu Chen was happy to indulge the child, playing along with even such nonsensical talk. “Depends. What kind of magical effect do you want?”

“Hmm, haven’t decided. How about turning back time seventy years?”

Bai Ling tossed the idea out casually, but Yu Chen’s body stiffened. A profound, unreadable shadow flickered deep in his eyes. He said:

“Turning back time opens the gates of hell and releases demons.”

Seventy years ago was the prime of Izu Paraiso’s reign.

“Even better,” Bai Ling buried his head in the merman’s chest. His cold hadn’t fully cleared, making his nasal voice sound soft and vulnerable. “At least the demons provide the milk.”

Such a sincere, sweet little bird.

Yu Chen pressed him back into the pillow, coaxing him to sleep with a tone that brooked no argument. He softly closed the bedroom door, his mind wandering back to the story of the pearls.

Perhaps he really did have seven pearls.

The missing one was lost in a dream, amidst torrential rain. The pearl had fallen into a sewer and vanished in the blink of an eye.

The name of that lost pearl was…

Indifference.

---

For no apparent reason, Yu Chen felt restless tonight.

Wanting something to fill the void, he went to the living room and ordered the AI to turn on the rarely used projector screen.

AI: “Which channel would you like? It’s late; usually, there are only live-stream replays.”

Yu Chen lazily propped up his cheek. “Then let’s watch a replay.”

No one knew his mind better than the AI. It immediately switched the screen to the recorded broadcast of Bai Ling’s match.

Since they had bought the platform, the Gorgon Design Bureau naturally added advertisements before and after the videos. The broadcaster’s diction was clear and his demeanor upright, blending perfectly with Gorgon’s rigorous, old-school style.

Yu Chen didn’t skip the ad. Instead, he listened intently, reciting the words in his heart. This was one of his methods for clearing his mind.

Toward the end, the broadcaster’s tone shifted, becoming slightly more upbeat: “In addition to the exclusive sponsorship above, this channel is also looking for a certain Mr. D, who is skilled at chess.”

“…Mr. D…” Yu Chen unconsciously murmured this name.

“To the gentleman whose ID ends with the letter D: if you see this message, I have something to tell you. Your friend has not passed away. He has opened a new account, and the number is the move-code from your tenth chess match.”

Before the voice even finished, Yu Chen’s mind had already automatically calculated the numbers: 3486091…

His fingers moved faster than his brain to input the ID. The first thing that popped up was a friend request.

He clicked “Accept.”

Messages flooded the screen like swirling snowflakes, causing his pupils to dilate slightly.

[New · Lodestar]: I want to meet you.

[New · Lodestar]: If you are willing, then tomorrow at 6:00 PM, I will be waiting for you at the bus stop in front of the Central Passenger Station.

Yu Chen’s heart began to beat erratically. His first reaction wasn’t to reply, but to turn his complicated gaze toward the bedroom.

He had been off his medication for nearly a day.

His vision was blurry; he could barely make out the shape of the doorframe. The bedroom door was ajar, and the light from the living room sliced into the room, creating a sharp boundary between light and shadow on the floor.

It seemed to foreshadow a certain choice.

His raised finger slowly lowered, ultimately failing to land on the input box. Yu Chen rubbed his brow and gave a cold, detached order to the AI:

“Go find out who put out that ‘Missing Person’ announcement.”

He picked up a glass of crimson wine and slowly sipped it, feeling the fermented tartness bloom in his throat like the sweetness of blood.

The Stump Bird…

“It was the Little Mechanical Bird,” the AI replied almost instantly after checking the data.

His pale knuckles loosened. The crystal glass plummeted, shattering into countless tiny, shimmering shards.

---

Author’s Note:

So please stop asking Big Cod why the Little Bird cries when he eats beef.

Everything in this story that looks like a weird plothole is an intentional arrangement!

AI: (With the most kind smile in the whole story) Daring to touch Master’s food? Are you trying to force me to log into my main account?

Little Bird: ??? Where did my pure, kind, pixel-perfect little robot go?

---

jjwxc comments:
1: Re-reading the earlier parts, I realize everything was foreshadowed. Traces of the past life leave deep imprints on the present. Whether it’s the milk truck, the veal, or the dark night hen’s tomatoes, because of the regrets of the past life, this do-over feels all the more precious.
I usually read without much thought, rarely reread a story, but going back I discovered so many missed details, so much emotion. Even parts I didn’t understand smoothly before found reasonable explanations in the context. Maybe this is one reason for this story’s readership issues; sometimes readers just want entertainment. The author intricately wove a subtle story that requires a certain patience to fully read and understand. For some, it might seem too intricate and lengthy, unlike certain “fast-paced” stories that offer direct, exhilarating pleasure, suiting my “fast-food stomach.” Not comparing which is better, just saying, thank you to the author for sharing such a story with us. I will remember the dandelion bird, the blue-tailed merman, the tall statue in a corner providing shelter from wind and rain, the pink dusk, the empire’s harsh winter, the flower garden atop the tower.
Also, combining the guesses from sisters in the comments about the past life’s cause of death, I boldly guess that Xiao Yi’s seventh pearl from his past life was picked up by Stump Bird. That’s why Bai Ling reacts so strongly to the pearl snatching. If I’m wrong, pretend I didn’t say anything.

2: Ahhh what to do what to do, from the pigeon coop to the various strategies, it’s all so Soviet, even the fate of those aging soldiers is the same… The helplessness at the moment of selling one’s own medal… Can’t stop crying 55555
Love the author so much, it hits me right in the feels.