Next to the long box truck was a round, tied-up circus shed. It was said that the circus will perform here for five days, after which they will leave for the next town.
The circus clowns were already standing by the roadside, handing out flyers and small balloons.
The exaggerated smiling faces, colorful wigs, and balloons instantly attracted some small children.
Bai Lixin walked up to a clown and took out money to buy two tickets. The clown, who was originally looking depressed, immediately perked up and said, “Welcome two guests.”
After receiving the tickets, Bai Lixin also took the performance list handed over by the clown.
The finale was a twin trapeze act. The show was quite varied, with monkeys riding bikes, lions roaring, blindfolded dart throwing, clown magic, motorbikes riding inside orbs, and so on—all classic circus acts.
Bai Lixin spoke up as if chatting, “Hey, why is there no more mermaid show? I heard that you have a unique mermaid here.”
The clown handed a red balloon to the little girl who ran over to him and then turned his head to look at the unfamiliar-looking Bai Lixin and Dijia and asked, “Are you from out of town?”
Bai Lixin: “Yes, we’ve come from thousands of miles away to see the mermaid. It’s a bummer; the show is not listed anywhere, and the rest were not worth traveling for. If you don’t have something, don’t advertise it, aren’t you scamming people?”
The clown had a big smile painted on his face, but his eyes were torn. “How can it be a scam? There used to be one, it’s just that it’s now gone.”
Bai Lixin: “Gone? How could it be gone? So you’re not scamming me? You really had one before?”
“Of course!” Seemingly annoyed that his words were being questioned, the clown widened his eyes, trying to appear more sincere. “I even performed with the mermaid. She was so beautiful, with a big dreamy blue tail and tail fins that spread out like a blue siren.”
“And her singing voice was heavenly, I’ve never heard such a beautiful voice.”
“Even her personality was gentle, Miss Xihai was so perfect, there wasn’t a single thing wrong with her, she was an angel.”
Bai Lixin: “So her name was Miss Xihai, so where is she now?”
The clown’s eyes dimmed, “She was an angel, so, of course, she went back to heaven, where she belongs.”
“She’s dead?” Bai Lixin’s eyes flickered, and his gaze fell on the clown’s greasy smiling face.
The clown suddenly became agitated and said, “No! She is not dead! I won’t believe it even if everyone else is saying that Miss Xihai is dead.”
Bai Lixin: “???”
Clown: “They had that same look on your face and thought I am crazy. I’m not crazy! Let me tell you a secret, just don’t tell others……”
The clown’s expression gradually became crazy: “I was close to Miss Xihai, and she once told me that she was immortal and that everything was a lie.”
“She also said ……” The clown was getting more and more agitated, and just as he was about to say something else, a foot suddenly kicked him heavily.
The clown’s lean body could not withstand such force, and he instantly fell to the ground, his whole body rooted into the muddy earth and covered in dirt.
Bai Lixin looked up and saw that the man who had kicked him was a sturdy, two-meter-tall man in a long, tuxedo suit. He had brown curly hair and a small curly beard.
“She was talking nonsense,” the curly-bearded man stomped on the clown’s back in disgust, sending the clown, who was about to get up, back into the mud puddle. “When the hell are you going to get back to normal? The mermaid is dead, stop speaking nonsense every day. If you have a lot of free time, use it to work on your new tricks. You’re out of the circus if you fail to perform well today. I don’t keep idle people and things that lose me money.”
The noise attracted passers-by who stood at a distance, thinking it was some kind of show, and they pointed and laughed at the clown.
The clown lay in a heap; he struggled to lift his head out of the mud, spat the mud out of his mouth, and begged in pain, “Boss, I was wrong, you let go, I will perform.”
Only then did the curly-bearded man known as the boss let go of the clown, and when he stumbled to his feet from the mud puddle, he kicked him in again and cursed, “Get the peacock girl over here and tell her to come and solicit customers. You get cleaned up and get ready to perform!”
The clown was kicked, and he stumbled forward a few steps. Bai Lixin noticed that when the clown looked back at the boss, his bloodshot eyes were full of resentment.
Only when the clown had left did the onlookers disperse.
Soon, only the tall man with the curly-beard, as well as Bai Lixin and Dijia, remained.
The curly-bearded man swept a quick glance around Bai Lixin and Dijia shrewdly, and his gaze fell on the sapphire around Bai Lixin’s neck.
“Looking at your attire, you must be the young master of some noble family, right?”
The material of the clothes was high-end and classy; they were ironed without a single wrinkle, and the standing posture was full of aristocratic elegance.
He prided himself on his knowledge, but this was the first time he had seen such a pure sapphire, it was something that could buy several cities.
Anyone who could wear such a gemstone as an accessory was either part of the royal family or an extremely rich person.
Bai Lixin did not deny or agree but asked the same question, “I came for the mermaid show, is she really gone?”
The curly-bearded man looked at the unworldly youth in front of him, his eyes batting wildly in their sockets.
He pinched his beard and spoke, “Although there are no more real mermaids, we still have mermaid souvenirs, photos, and whatnot for you to see if you’re interested.”
After catching the burst of interest in the youth’s eyes, he extended his thumb, index, and middle fingers and twirled them around, saying, “Only this.”
Bai Lixin simply turned his head toward the silver-haired wizard.
Does he have money on him, no!
He was a poor man.
The silver-haired wizard glanced at Bai Lixin and silently grabbed a handful of silver coins from his money pouch, “……”
He liked the feeling of being needed by his master, what was money? He could pluck the stars from the sky if he wanted.
The curly-bearded man got the money, smiled until his eyes narrowed into slits, and then turned at Bai Lixin, “Young master, this way.”
“Young master, you’ve come to the right place.” Curly Beard led Bai Lixin towards the long truck, saying, “Miss Xihai is the only mermaid in the world, and of course she is definitely the most beautiful mermaid in the world. But Miss Xihai had a very short life, dying at such a young age.”
“Alas, did you hear the legend about mermaid flesh on your way here?” The curly-bearded man looked at Bai Lixin and asked, “Did you really come just to see the mermaid show? There is no other purpose.”
Bai Lixin shook his head calmly and said, “I’ve never heard of it; what’s going on? What mermaid flesh? Mermaids are one of the few things I’ve always wanted to see, so I came here to feast my eyes.”
The curly-bearded man relaxed once he heard that. “Haha, so that’s how it is. I understand the curiosity. Rich people will really do anything to satisfy that little bit of curiosity of theirs, heh heh heh.”
“Then let me tell you the truth, the reason why you can’t see the living mermaid is because mermaid flesh can give you immortality. The mermaid’s adoptive mother killed her and ate her.”
The curly-bearded man licked his lips greedily and said, “If I had known that mermaid flesh had this effect, I would have done it first. Miss Xihai used to be the pillar of the circus, and she was so precious to us that we didn’t let her do any of the rough work, and she didn’t have a single wound on her body for six months.”
“She was very precious.” The curly-bearded man’s tone was full of regret: “But I was too greedy for money, and the elixir that was on the edge of my lips was gone!”
He looked down at Bai Lixin, who was very slender in comparison to himself, and said, “Young master, if there was such a plate of meat in front of you, would you eat it?”
Bai Lixin shook his head, “No.”
Curly Beard: “Why? That is the meat of the immortal mermaid flesh.”
Bai Lixin casually pointed to the stone at his feet and asked, “This stone also lives a long time, do you like it?”
“There is birth and there is death, there is nothing wrong with death, and there is nothing wrong with immortality.”
He had seen too many beings who had lost their humanity and gone spiritually numb because of immortality. He was not against such things as living a long and eternal life, but not everyone could withstand the erosion of time.
Curly Beard: “Oh, there is birth and there is death, but why must one die?”
As he spoke, Curly Beard stopped outside a carriage. The carriage was ornately decorated, one of the most luxurious of all the carriages, and even its size was 1.5 times larger than his truck.
The curly-bearded man inserted the key and unlocked the lock, saying, “Come in, you two; this is the carriage.”
It was small, but it had everything.
There was plenty of space inside the carriage—a coffee table and two long sofas as soon as you entered, and a desk and a large bed beside them.
Next to the desk was a television, a gramophone, a projector, and so on.
Upon entering the carriage, Bai Lixin was quickly distracted by the photo on the wall.
It was a group photo of several people, and he recognized three familiar faces in the photo: the one of the circus leader in front of him and the clown from earlier.
It must have been a group photo of the members of the circus, and beside the two of them were several workers in costumes.
Everyone was dressed in strange costumes, each different from the others.
But what attracted Bai Lixin was the fish tank in front of them.
In front of the crowd stood a huge transparent fish tank, with a mermaid with a huge tail lazily lying on the wall of the tank, her chin lying on her folded arms, smiling happily.
The huge, ethereal blue tail was sticking out of the water, spreading out much like a flirtatious blue siren.
Bai Lixin walked up to the photo and looked at it intently.
In terms of her features, this mermaid was exactly the same as the one they had seen at the Xihai house, except that the current Miss Xihai was more charming and enchanting than the one they had seen there.
She was in the middle, her posture relaxed and lazy, and her casual and lazy look was as if she were the victor, commanding the kingdom.
Although she was still smiling in this photo, that youthful, childish smile had faded and been replaced by one that lies somewhere between maturity and innocence.
There was a magic in her smile that made people fall deeper into it.
Bai Lixin stared at Miss Xihai’s smile and frowned slightly.
“Hey, are you shocked silly?” The curly bearded man’s prodding laugh came, “Don’t be shy, that’s everyone’s reaction after seeing Miss Xihai’s photo for the first time.”
He paused and added, “Both men and women.”
The curly-bearded man said as he bent down and dug through a bookcase for something. After a moment, he pulled out a black box and said, “Ah, I have found it.”
“Miss Xihai’s photos, videos, and such are all here. That’s the projector, it is already hooked up to the TV.” The curly-bearded man turned on the big, old-fashioned TV and expertly switched on the projector. He took a tape and gestured towards the projector, saying, “Put it in like this and you can watch it; do you need a demonstration, young master?”
Bai Lixin shook his head, “No, thanks, I can take it up from here.”
The curly-bearded man said, “Communicating with rich people is still the best. Then you two take your time and watch; I’ll leave you to it. Just put the things back when you’re done with them.”
Bai Lixin gave the curly-bearded man a look of indifference and said, “Aren’t you afraid that we’ll take the tape and the stuff away?”
Curly bearded man: “No, there’s the master tape. If you want to take it away, just take it away.”
With those words, the circus leader left, as hesitating for a second would be a loss.
Bai Lixin and the silver-haired wizard looked at each other.
The room was a little dark, and the silver-haired wizard turned on the light and warned, “Something is wrong.”
Bai Lixin: “I agree.”
“Even if the tapes can be reproduced, Miss Xihai’s stuff can’t.” Bai Lixin lifted the lid of the black box, and the contents were very neatly listed inside. “But he was relaxed as he left, there was no fear that they would be taken.”
The curly-bearded man didn’t look like a philanthropist, but a hunter who was curious about mermaids.
A videotape, a photo album, a few bows and brooches, and a notebook.
He sat on the sofa and first picked up the album.
The silver-haired wizard pulled the videotape out of the box and studied it in front of the projector and the television.
There was no shortage of pictures in the album, all featuring Miss Xihai.
To be fair, Miss Xihai was beautiful, with big, dark, wavy hair, a shapely figure, and delicate features. Even her make-up was charming and not vulgar.
There wasn’t much to the photos—just photos of Miss Xihai turning into a human being and also a mermaid.
There were also some snapshots of her performing on stage with a stage partner.
Bai Lixin flipped through them and stopped at the last one.
It was a picture of Miss Xihai in her mermaid form. She was singing with her arms wide open under the neon lights.
The photo was taken from the side, which of course captured some of the audience.
The audience was listening in rapt attention and fascination, and one could imagine how shocking it was to be there.
Bai Lixin’s eyes fell on a very inconspicuous spot in the audience.
There, a little girl in a black cloak sat with her legs dangling, still with the familiar golden hair and emerald green eyes.
The little girl had both hands on her cheeks and was listening intently.
Bai Lixin: “……”
What a ubiquitous little girl.
Having learned from the past two times, Bai Lixin did not ask Dijia to come and look at her this time; instead, he stared at the little girl without blinking.
He wanted to see how this little girl disappears.
The photo was exquisite, and the little girl maintained the movement of the propped up head.
The stare lasted for a long time, and if it had been anyone else, he would have been tired, but Bai Lixin was very patient. He did not even blink in order to see how the little girl would disappear.
The surroundings were very quiet except for the mechanical sounds as Dijia operated the projector not far away.
Suddenly, Bai Lixin’s pupils constricted.
In the photo before him, which should have been still, the little blond girl slowly turned her head.
She turned slowly, as if switching from one PowerPoint to another.
The little girl seemed to know that someone outside the photo was staring at her, and her gaze was impartial as she locked eyes with Bai Lixin.
One was inside the photo, and one was outside.
She slowly curled her lips, and then she stepped down from her seat.
She was heading in Bai Lixin’s direction, and the tiny figure slowly became larger.
He didn’t know if it was the filter on the photo, but he noticed that the little girl’s lips were a little paler than the first time he saw them.
The little girl moved step by step, and in a matter of moments, she had occupied the whole photo.
A pale face crowded the space in the photo, and a pair of unfocused eyes stared at Bai Lixin.
Suddenly, the photo in front of him flashed white, and everything returned to normal.
It was back to the photo of Miss Xihai singing, and the little girl had disappeared.
There was a sudden static sound from the television, and Dijia’s low voice came over: “Is this the little blonde girl you kept talking about previously?”
Bai Lixin turned abruptly and saw a tiny figure flashing through the crowd on the television.
A black cloak and big spiral curls of blonde hair.
The footage was supposed to be a record of a circus performance, and the circus leader was standing on the stage with a microphone in his hand, his expression one of excitement.
The girl chose a seat next to the stage, jumped up, and prepared to watch the show with both legs swinging.
Next to the long box truck was a round, tied-up circus shed. It was said that the circus will perform here for five days, after which they will leave for the next town.
The circus clowns were already standing by the roadside, handing out flyers and small balloons.
The exaggerated smiling faces, colorful wigs, and balloons instantly attracted some small children.
Bai Lixin walked up to a clown and took out money to buy two tickets. The clown, who was originally looking depressed, immediately perked up and said, “Welcome two guests.”
After receiving the tickets, Bai Lixin also took the performance list handed over by the clown.
The finale was a twin trapeze act. The show was quite varied, with monkeys riding bikes, lions roaring, blindfolded dart throwing, clown magic, motorbikes riding inside orbs, and so on—all classic circus acts.
Bai Lixin spoke up as if chatting, “Hey, why is there no more mermaid show? I heard that you have a unique mermaid here.”
The clown handed a red balloon to the little girl who ran over to him and then turned his head to look at the unfamiliar-looking Bai Lixin and Dijia and asked, “Are you from out of town?”
Bai Lixin: “Yes, we’ve come from thousands of miles away to see the mermaid. It’s a bummer; the show is not listed anywhere, and the rest were not worth traveling for. If you don’t have something, don’t advertise it, aren’t you scamming people?”
The clown had a big smile painted on his face, but his eyes were torn. “How can it be a scam? There used to be one, it’s just that it’s now gone.”
Bai Lixin: “Gone? How could it be gone? So you’re not scamming me? You really had one before?”
“Of course!” Seemingly annoyed that his words were being questioned, the clown widened his eyes, trying to appear more sincere. “I even performed with the mermaid. She was so beautiful, with a big dreamy blue tail and tail fins that spread out like a blue siren.”
“And her singing voice was heavenly, I’ve never heard such a beautiful voice.”
“Even her personality was gentle, Miss Xihai was so perfect, there wasn’t a single thing wrong with her, she was an angel.”
Bai Lixin: “So her name was Miss Xihai, so where is she now?”
The clown’s eyes dimmed, “She was an angel, so, of course, she went back to heaven, where she belongs.”
“She’s dead?” Bai Lixin’s eyes flickered, and his gaze fell on the clown’s greasy smiling face.
The clown suddenly became agitated and said, “No! She is not dead! I won’t believe it even if everyone else is saying that Miss Xihai is dead.”
Bai Lixin: “???”
Clown: “They had that same look on your face and thought I am crazy. I’m not crazy! Let me tell you a secret, just don’t tell others……”
The clown’s expression gradually became crazy: “I was close to Miss Xihai, and she once told me that she was immortal and that everything was a lie.”
“She also said ……” The clown was getting more and more agitated, and just as he was about to say something else, a foot suddenly kicked him heavily.
The clown’s lean body could not withstand such force, and he instantly fell to the ground, his whole body rooted into the muddy earth and covered in dirt.
Bai Lixin looked up and saw that the man who had kicked him was a sturdy, two-meter-tall man in a long, tuxedo suit. He had brown curly hair and a small curly beard.
“She was talking nonsense,” the curly-bearded man stomped on the clown’s back in disgust, sending the clown, who was about to get up, back into the mud puddle. “When the hell are you going to get back to normal? The mermaid is dead, stop speaking nonsense every day. If you have a lot of free time, use it to work on your new tricks. You’re out of the circus if you fail to perform well today. I don’t keep idle people and things that lose me money.”
The noise attracted passers-by who stood at a distance, thinking it was some kind of show, and they pointed and laughed at the clown.
The clown lay in a heap; he struggled to lift his head out of the mud, spat the mud out of his mouth, and begged in pain, “Boss, I was wrong, you let go, I will perform.”
Only then did the curly-bearded man known as the boss let go of the clown, and when he stumbled to his feet from the mud puddle, he kicked him in again and cursed, “Get the peacock girl over here and tell her to come and solicit customers. You get cleaned up and get ready to perform!”
The clown was kicked, and he stumbled forward a few steps. Bai Lixin noticed that when the clown looked back at the boss, his bloodshot eyes were full of resentment.
Only when the clown had left did the onlookers disperse.
Soon, only the tall man with the curly-beard, as well as Bai Lixin and Dijia, remained.
The curly-bearded man swept a quick glance around Bai Lixin and Dijia shrewdly, and his gaze fell on the sapphire around Bai Lixin’s neck.
“Looking at your attire, you must be the young master of some noble family, right?”
The material of the clothes was high-end and classy; they were ironed without a single wrinkle, and the standing posture was full of aristocratic elegance.
He prided himself on his knowledge, but this was the first time he had seen such a pure sapphire, it was something that could buy several cities.
Anyone who could wear such a gemstone as an accessory was either part of the royal family or an extremely rich person.
Bai Lixin did not deny or agree but asked the same question, “I came for the mermaid show, is she really gone?”
The curly-bearded man looked at the unworldly youth in front of him, his eyes batting wildly in their sockets.
He pinched his beard and spoke, “Although there are no more real mermaids, we still have mermaid souvenirs, photos, and whatnot for you to see if you’re interested.”
After catching the burst of interest in the youth’s eyes, he extended his thumb, index, and middle fingers and twirled them around, saying, “Only this.”
Bai Lixin simply turned his head toward the silver-haired wizard.
Does he have money on him, no!
He was a poor man.
The silver-haired wizard glanced at Bai Lixin and silently grabbed a handful of silver coins from his money pouch, “……”
He liked the feeling of being needed by his master, what was money? He could pluck the stars from the sky if he wanted.
The curly-bearded man got the money, smiled until his eyes narrowed into slits, and then turned at Bai Lixin, “Young master, this way.”
“Young master, you’ve come to the right place.” Curly Beard led Bai Lixin towards the long truck, saying, “Miss Xihai is the only mermaid in the world, and of course she is definitely the most beautiful mermaid in the world. But Miss Xihai had a very short life, dying at such a young age.”
“Alas, did you hear the legend about mermaid flesh on your way here?” The curly-bearded man looked at Bai Lixin and asked, “Did you really come just to see the mermaid show? There is no other purpose.”
Bai Lixin shook his head calmly and said, “I’ve never heard of it; what’s going on? What mermaid flesh? Mermaids are one of the few things I’ve always wanted to see, so I came here to feast my eyes.”
The curly-bearded man relaxed once he heard that. “Haha, so that’s how it is. I understand the curiosity. Rich people will really do anything to satisfy that little bit of curiosity of theirs, heh heh heh.”
“Then let me tell you the truth, the reason why you can’t see the living mermaid is because mermaid flesh can give you immortality. The mermaid’s adoptive mother killed her and ate her.”
The curly-bearded man licked his lips greedily and said, “If I had known that mermaid flesh had this effect, I would have done it first. Miss Xihai used to be the pillar of the circus, and she was so precious to us that we didn’t let her do any of the rough work, and she didn’t have a single wound on her body for six months.”
“She was very precious.” The curly-bearded man’s tone was full of regret: “But I was too greedy for money, and the elixir that was on the edge of my lips was gone!”
He looked down at Bai Lixin, who was very slender in comparison to himself, and said, “Young master, if there was such a plate of meat in front of you, would you eat it?”
Bai Lixin shook his head, “No.”
Curly Beard: “Why? That is the meat of the immortal mermaid flesh.”
Bai Lixin casually pointed to the stone at his feet and asked, “This stone also lives a long time, do you like it?”
“There is birth and there is death, there is nothing wrong with death, and there is nothing wrong with immortality.”
He had seen too many beings who had lost their humanity and gone spiritually numb because of immortality. He was not against such things as living a long and eternal life, but not everyone could withstand the erosion of time.
Curly Beard: “Oh, there is birth and there is death, but why must one die?”
As he spoke, Curly Beard stopped outside a carriage. The carriage was ornately decorated, one of the most luxurious of all the carriages, and even its size was 1.5 times larger than his truck.
The curly-bearded man inserted the key and unlocked the lock, saying, “Come in, you two; this is the carriage.”
It was small, but it had everything.
There was plenty of space inside the carriage—a coffee table and two long sofas as soon as you entered, and a desk and a large bed beside them.
Next to the desk was a television, a gramophone, a projector, and so on.
Upon entering the carriage, Bai Lixin was quickly distracted by the photo on the wall.
It was a group photo of several people, and he recognized three familiar faces in the photo: the one of the circus leader in front of him and the clown from earlier.
It must have been a group photo of the members of the circus, and beside the two of them were several workers in costumes.
Everyone was dressed in strange costumes, each different from the others.
But what attracted Bai Lixin was the fish tank in front of them.
In front of the crowd stood a huge transparent fish tank, with a mermaid with a huge tail lazily lying on the wall of the tank, her chin lying on her folded arms, smiling happily.
The huge, ethereal blue tail was sticking out of the water, spreading out much like a flirtatious blue siren.
Bai Lixin walked up to the photo and looked at it intently.
In terms of her features, this mermaid was exactly the same as the one they had seen at the Xihai house, except that the current Miss Xihai was more charming and enchanting than the one they had seen there.
She was in the middle, her posture relaxed and lazy, and her casual and lazy look was as if she were the victor, commanding the kingdom.
Although she was still smiling in this photo, that youthful, childish smile had faded and been replaced by one that lies somewhere between maturity and innocence.
There was a magic in her smile that made people fall deeper into it.
Bai Lixin stared at Miss Xihai’s smile and frowned slightly.
“Hey, are you shocked silly?” The curly bearded man’s prodding laugh came, “Don’t be shy, that’s everyone’s reaction after seeing Miss Xihai’s photo for the first time.”
He paused and added, “Both men and women.”
The curly-bearded man said as he bent down and dug through a bookcase for something. After a moment, he pulled out a black box and said, “Ah, I have found it.”
“Miss Xihai’s photos, videos, and such are all here. That’s the projector, it is already hooked up to the TV.” The curly-bearded man turned on the big, old-fashioned TV and expertly switched on the projector. He took a tape and gestured towards the projector, saying, “Put it in like this and you can watch it; do you need a demonstration, young master?”
Bai Lixin shook his head, “No, thanks, I can take it up from here.”
The curly-bearded man said, “Communicating with rich people is still the best. Then you two take your time and watch; I’ll leave you to it. Just put the things back when you’re done with them.”
Bai Lixin gave the curly-bearded man a look of indifference and said, “Aren’t you afraid that we’ll take the tape and the stuff away?”
Curly bearded man: “No, there’s the master tape. If you want to take it away, just take it away.”
With those words, the circus leader left, as hesitating for a second would be a loss.
Bai Lixin and the silver-haired wizard looked at each other.
The room was a little dark, and the silver-haired wizard turned on the light and warned, “Something is wrong.”
Bai Lixin: “I agree.”
“Even if the tapes can be reproduced, Miss Xihai’s stuff can’t.” Bai Lixin lifted the lid of the black box, and the contents were very neatly listed inside. “But he was relaxed as he left, there was no fear that they would be taken.”
The curly-bearded man didn’t look like a philanthropist, but a hunter who was curious about mermaids.
A videotape, a photo album, a few bows and brooches, and a notebook.
He sat on the sofa and first picked up the album.
The silver-haired wizard pulled the videotape out of the box and studied it in front of the projector and the television.
There was no shortage of pictures in the album, all featuring Miss Xihai.
To be fair, Miss Xihai was beautiful, with big, dark, wavy hair, a shapely figure, and delicate features. Even her make-up was charming and not vulgar.
There wasn’t much to the photos—just photos of Miss Xihai turning into a human being and also a mermaid.
There were also some snapshots of her performing on stage with a stage partner.
Bai Lixin flipped through them and stopped at the last one.
It was a picture of Miss Xihai in her mermaid form. She was singing with her arms wide open under the neon lights.
The photo was taken from the side, which of course captured some of the audience.
The audience was listening in rapt attention and fascination, and one could imagine how shocking it was to be there.
Bai Lixin’s eyes fell on a very inconspicuous spot in the audience.
There, a little girl in a black cloak sat with her legs dangling, still with the familiar golden hair and emerald green eyes.
The little girl had both hands on her cheeks and was listening intently.
Bai Lixin: “……”
What a ubiquitous little girl.
Having learned from the past two times, Bai Lixin did not ask Dijia to come and look at her this time; instead, he stared at the little girl without blinking.
He wanted to see how this little girl disappears.
The photo was exquisite, and the little girl maintained the movement of the propped up head.
The stare lasted for a long time, and if it had been anyone else, he would have been tired, but Bai Lixin was very patient. He did not even blink in order to see how the little girl would disappear.
The surroundings were very quiet except for the mechanical sounds as Dijia operated the projector not far away.
Suddenly, Bai Lixin’s pupils constricted.
In the photo before him, which should have been still, the little blond girl slowly turned her head.
She turned slowly, as if switching from one PowerPoint to another.
The little girl seemed to know that someone outside the photo was staring at her, and her gaze was impartial as she locked eyes with Bai Lixin.
One was inside the photo, and one was outside.
She slowly curled her lips, and then she stepped down from her seat.
She was heading in Bai Lixin’s direction, and the tiny figure slowly became larger.
He didn’t know if it was the filter on the photo, but he noticed that the little girl’s lips were a little paler than the first time he saw them.
The little girl moved step by step, and in a matter of moments, she had occupied the whole photo.
A pale face crowded the space in the photo, and a pair of unfocused eyes stared at Bai Lixin.
Suddenly, the photo in front of him flashed white, and everything returned to normal.
It was back to the photo of Miss Xihai singing, and the little girl had disappeared.
There was a sudden static sound from the television, and Dijia’s low voice came over: “Is this the little blonde girl you kept talking about previously?”
Bai Lixin turned abruptly and saw a tiny figure flashing through the crowd on the television.
A black cloak and big spiral curls of blonde hair.
The footage was supposed to be a record of a circus performance, and the circus leader was standing on the stage with a microphone in his hand, his expression one of excitement.
The girl chose a seat next to the stage, jumped up, and prepared to watch the show with both legs swinging.
