Sea World of Beasts: The Sinful Mermaid - She's a Heartthrob

Chapter 15 Betrothal Gift
"Sheng Sheng, look how many fish I caught!" The boy's excited voice came. Bai Ni pulled his wet hair back, his eyebrows and eyes were unrestrained, and drops of water playfully traced his well-defined abs. The fish on his back were still jumping around.

After Bai Ni finished eating, he asked a nearby lanternfish beastman for a grass net and went to catch a large basket of fish.

After getting together with Sheng Sheng, he used his human form more and more often, because the size difference between him and Sheng Sheng was too big, and it felt strange when they were together.

The young man's handsome features were full of delight, but his smile froze when he saw what was on Yin Xu's neck, and he pursed his lips in dissatisfaction. "What is this?"

A dark gray ball hung quietly in the white fluff, strung together with a straw rope and worn around the neck.

Yinxu had never worn this before!
A hint of amusement flashed in Chao Sheng's eyes as she slowly explained to him, "It's made from the leftover materials from Yu Shenghua. She used them to make a pendant for Yin Xu to wear around her neck, which can prevent the evil spirits from invading her spiritual sea again."

Upon hearing this, Bai Ni's raised eyebrows drooped, and the anger in his eyes almost materialized. He stared at her angrily and fiercely, "Sheng Sheng, you've never done this for me!" He complained like a child who hadn't gotten candy.

He's known Sheng Sheng for longer and is closer to her, yet Sheng Sheng doesn't think of him first?! Is he already destined to be mistreated by his wife before he's even married into the family?
Bai Ni grew angrier the more he thought about it. His handsome, eccentric face was filled with a deep sense of loss, and the resentment in his eyes was almost tangible, shooting straight at this heartless female!
"not like this……"

"What kind is that?"

Yin Xu realized that Bai Ni had misunderstood and was about to explain when Bai Ni interrupted her. Bai Ni looked at the culprit with a stern expression, wondering what trick he had used to bewitch Sheng Sheng.

His mother had over a dozen beastly husbands, but only two or three were favored when she was young. His father was the most favored, so he and his sister were naturally loved by their mother more. However, those beastly husbands who were neither capable nor favored suffered a terrible fate. His mother married them out of momentary novelty, but once her affection wore off, she was unwilling to have their children, leaving them to live without hope.

Bai Ni bit his lip hard, his eyes dark and unfathomable. Sheng Sheng, would Sheng Sheng treat him like that too?

"Look!"

"What's this?"

While Bai Ni was lost in his thoughts, Chao Sheng walked up to him without him noticing. She opened her tightly clenched hands, and a rope made of snake orchid grass swayed gently, with a small blackish-gray ball hanging from it, exactly the same as the one around Yin Xu's neck.

Bai Ni's eyes lit up instantly, and he stammered, his voice filled with deep anticipation, "Is this... for me?"

Chao Sheng nodded and smiled gently, "Mm."

"It's for you."

"Hurry up and put it away."

Bai Ni quickly took it back like a precious treasure, holding it in his hands and observing it intently, as if he wanted to stare a hole through it.

Seeing his silly look, Chao Sheng's smile deepened. "No matter how much you look, it won't turn into two."

Upon hearing this, the tips of the white earrings turned slightly red, as if she realized that she had just been a bit silly. She then looked away, carefully put the earrings around her neck to go to school, and touched them a couple of times with some reluctance after putting them on.

He knew Sheng Sheng would never forget him!
After the initial excitement wore off, Bai Ni started clinging to him again, "Sheng Sheng..."

"Huh? What's wrong?" Chao Sheng looked at him in confusion.

"How did you come up with the idea of ​​making this for me?" Bai Ni's eyes shimmered with a gentle, spring-like light, and his lips curved into a sweet smile. If it weren't for Yin Xu standing nearby, he would have loved to pick up Chao Sheng and spin her around in circles. "..." Why did I make it for you? Wasn't it because I was afraid you'd cause trouble?

The spiritual sea of ​​silver floss is cleaned with the ash of the Yu Sheng flower, but the effect is definitely not as good as the effect of purifying it directly with witch power, so carrying a Yu Sheng flower ash ball can help prevent and consolidate the effect.

Bai Ni's mental sea has been thoroughly cleaned, so he has absolutely no need for this.

But she still knew the principle that it's not scarcity that's the problem, but inequality. Since they were going to live together in the future, it would be better to treat each other as equally as possible.

Chao Sheng looked at Yin Xu, who was squatting silently to the side, and waved to him. Yin Xu had just tactfully walked to sit on the open ground next to him. Now that he saw Chao Sheng calling him, his eyes lit up and he got up and walked over to her.

Bai Ni saw Yin Xu walking back, pursed his lips, but still didn't say anything.

Chao Sheng saw the two handsome beastmen, each two meters tall, and said to them with gentle eyes, “You both gave me a dowry, so I have to give you something in return.”

"Sheng Sheng..." Yin Xu hesitated, his dowry was not worth anything, there was no need to reply to him.

"Let me finish speaking." Chao Sheng's tone was gentle, her eyes pausing slightly. "I was exiled here, and I don't have anything of value on me. This herbal ball made of Yu Sheng Hua can help purify the spiritual sea and resist the invasion of filth into the spiritual sea. Sea Spirit Ginseng can sell for three hundred crystal coins, so this Flower Ash Ball should be about the same."

"Consider this my betrothal gift to you." As she spoke, Chao Sheng's face flushed with embarrassment. This betrothal gift was really meager, but apart from Bai Ni and Yin Xu's dowries, she couldn't afford anything else. She couldn't very well send their dowries back.

"I'm sorry, this is all I can offer right now."

"Sheng Sheng, what are you talking about as betrothal gifts?" Yin Xu looked at her in confusion, blinking her eyes slightly.

"?" Chao Sheng frowned. Didn't they know about betrothal gifts? She frantically searched through the original owner's memories, but the original owner had very few memories of marriage. The only related one was the marriage with the Mermaid King, but that wasn't something worth remembering.

“The betrothal gifts are… are…” Chao Sheng tried to find an explanation they could understand, “It means that since you gave me a dowry, I should give you betrothal gifts. This is called giving and receiving, and it shows that we are both satisfied with this marriage.”

Yinxu shook her head, her eyes filled with helplessness. "Shengsheng, we don't have the concept of betrothal gifts."

"Is this a custom among you mermaids?"

"Really not?" Chao Sheng swallowed hard and made up a dry, unconvincing story. "Yes, that's how it is where we are."

“Then the males of your mermaid race are truly fortunate.” Bai Ni’s voice was low, his eyes filled with expectation. “This is not the case in the polar seas. Females are scarce here, and males must be outstanding in appearance and ability to be chosen by females to be married and taken back as beast husbands.”

"Many females act gentle and mild-mannered before marriage, but they change drastically after marriage. Therefore, males will prepare a lot of precious dowry to please females in order to make things easier for themselves after marriage."

Bai Ni had witnessed the fates of many married men and even considered not marrying the main character at all. It wasn't until Chao Sheng appeared that his thoughts changed. He felt a stirring of romantic feelings and couldn't help but want to get closer to her, even if the outcome was bad. He... he was willing to accept it.

"Sheng Sheng, we are so lucky to have met you." Yin Xu's eyes rippled, and her lips curved into a gentle smile.

(End of this chapter)