Chapter 509

The fish were caught and brought back quickly.

Seeing Pei Ye and Xu Chuo stopped talking simultaneously and looked down.

The little mermaid hooked the fish gills with one hand, and with the other, raised her sharp nails, slicing two strips of firm, tender white meat from the fish belly with a light stroke, and passed them into her mouth.

Clearly, she was eating raw and swallowing alive, yet her manner of eating was more elegant than most people's; Seeing Pei Ye could almost imagine them sitting on the vast, deserted moonlit reefs, tails dangling into the water, leisurely tasting newly caught seafood. It occurred to him that those rare fish that were hard to see on ordinary days were just the randomly ordered breakfast, lunch, and dinner in those eyes.

The two watched this fresh scene with interest; Seeing Pei Ye suddenly said: "Should we give her a name? I don't even know how to address her."

"Sure." Xu Chuo drank a sip of hot tea, naturally having no objection, "As long as you can call her and she responds."

Ever since he titled his residence in the Sword Academy, Seeing Pei Ye had discovered the joy of this matter; now that he had the opportunity, he squinted his eyes, first acting reserved and pondering: "I haven't decided yet."

"Then I'll pick one, let's call her 'Little Yu'."

"..."

"Hmm?"

Seeing Pei Ye composed his expression: "Little Fish is too perfunctory; are there no other fish in the world? What's wrong, Little Cat?"

The black cat withdrew its gaze as if nothing had happened, not wanting to remind him to notice it.

At this moment, Xu Chuo suddenly looked down; it turned out the little mermaid who was eating had raised her head again, looking at her and calling out a few times in a clear, childish voice.

"What's wrong? Is she dissatisfied too?"

Xu Chuo was also slightly startled: "She says... her name is Xiye."

"How did you hear that?!"

Xu Chuo fell silent for a moment, raised her cup to drink hot tea, and didn't answer.

The room was quiet for a moment; Seeing Pei Ye watched the little mermaid continue to eat elegantly, then suddenly seized the opportunity to snatch a strand of fish meat from her, and in her astonished eyes, used his finger to pick it up and feed it to his little cat.

The two combed through these matters again together; by the time they finished, the sun was already high in the sky, so Xu Chuo kept him for lunch.

Seeing Pei Ye discovered that this woman's menu was also extremely light; the extra sea bass had been sliced and placed to the side, prepared with sweet salt and sauce, becoming the only meat dish on the table.

The rest were all vegetable dishes and pastries; the two maids closed the doors and windows, and Xu Chuo also changed out of her cotton cloak, revealing a light goose-yellow inner garment; her elegant manner of using chopsticks was truly like a white crane, while her other hand flipped through a small book of unknown title.

Seeing Pei Ye was sometimes curious about her identity, not knowing how she cultivated such a temperament that "stands alone in the world and excels the crowd," and suspected whether the woman had other unknown titles besides "daughter of the late minister."

He had never dined at the same table with such a person and didn't know what etiquette to follow, so he just followed her lead, sat up straighter, and slowed down his pace of using chopsticks significantly.

"You said you wanted to ask someone to take me to the Mirage Tower; I wonder when that will be?"

"The Mirage Tower isn't open every day, nor is it open according to the calendar; you two can look at the specific time," Xu Chuo ate a slice of melon, "There's a class of yours at the Imperial Academy this afternoon; Changsun Jue will introduce you then."

"... Oh." Seeing Pei Ye had originally wanted not to go.

"Then you can take a rest; we'll talk after you've been to the Mirage Tower." Xu Chuo turned a page.

"Good."

The two ate quietly for a while; Seeing Pei Ye suddenly raised his head: "By the way."

"Hmm?"

"What about that story of yours?"

Xu Chuo raised her eyes, slightly startled.

"You said in the September court gazette that it would be discontinued this month and not updated, and that a new chapter would start in the October national gazette," Seeing Pei Ye looked at her, "It's already November now; you didn't fail to write it, did you?"

"..." Xu Chuo smiled and lowered her head, "The October 20th issue has already been published; I'll send you a copy in a moment."

"What about November's?"

Xu Chuo helplessly raised the small book in her hand: "Isn't this what I'm revising right now?"

Seeing Pei Ye's eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands: "This... can I take a look at it first?"

"No."

"..." Seeing Pei Ye pouted, reluctantly moving his gaze away, but thinking that he still had the October one to read, he felt some comfort.

But at this moment, Xu Chuo suddenly rested her chin on her hand and looked at him, staring fixedly without speaking.

"What's wrong?"

"You—" she seemed rarely hesitant, but still asked, "Do you want to write it with me?"

"... What?" Seeing Pei Ye seemed not to have heard clearly.

The woman raised her hand and shook the small book in her hand: "This story has just started a beginning that everyone knows; we can write the rest together."

Her eyes, like autumn water, were quiet and clear; most of the time, this woman was always so composed as to be somewhat lazy, and only during their first meeting, that night of drinking, and now did she have such a distance-free gaze.

"Me, can I?" Seeing Pei Ye had never thought of this; he widened his eyes, momentarily forgetting to hide his own shortcomings, "I actually don't recognize that many characters."

"Choosing words and constructing sentences is always easy; it has never been a very important matter," Xu Chuo smiled slightly, "Then it's settled; this installment will also be published on the 20th of this month; after you return from the Mirage Tower, we'll set to work on this draft."

Seeing Pei Ye was still chewing something in his mouth, but his eyes were already shining as he nodded repeatedly.

"This story will be shorter, only about... seven or eight chapters," Xu Chuo held her chopsticks with three fingers, poking into the plate in a rare display of impoliteness, her eyes looking into empty space as she thought, "But I hope to write it more seriously."

"What's it called?" Even though he would be able to get it in a moment, Seeing Pei Ye was already impatient.

Xu Chuo brought her eyes back to focus and said: "'Swing Rope'."

"What kind of story is this?"

Xu Chuo smiled again: "A love affair, perhaps."

Seeing Pei Ye was slightly disappointed, but it didn't dampen his enthusiasm; he rested his chin on his hand and rolled his eyes, momentarily forgetting to eat his meal.

Xu Chuo finally picked up her chopsticks to pick up a slice of sea bass; the youth, whose mind was still spinning with how to display his literary talent, once again showed his enthusiasm for sashimi: "You have no cultivation, be careful of getting diarrhea from eating this."

"..."

"..."

Xu Chuo's raised chopsticks paused in mid-air; she looked at him expressionlessly, momentarily seeming to be in a dilemma.

Finally, she didn't respond to this topic and elegantly brought it to her mouth.

The meal was finished in silence; Xu Chuo had a maid fetch an October national gazette for the youth, while the mermaid Xiye stayed here temporarily, letting Seeing Pei Ye drive the carriage to the Imperial Academy himself.

However, after strapping on his sword and cat, the youth still stood in place, looking at the woman with some hesitation, looking as if he had something to say but stopped.

Xu Chuo couldn't help but touch her brow: "... I know, I've never been picky about cold or raw food since I was a child, and I never get sick."

"No, that..." Seeing Pei Ye paused, "What about the wine?"