SG 1

The first show of the day began, and as always, Chu Baiyan put on his light blue fishtail and dove into the water, sinking slowly toward the depths. He used the strength of his waist and abdomen to move the tail and glided through the colorful fish. Since it wasn’t a holiday, there weren’t many people watching the first show, and the aquarium didn’t arrange a scripted performance. The “mermaids” were allowed to improvise.

When he was close to the coral at the bottom, Chu Baiyan turned over skillfully, made a smooth circle in the water, and then looked up and swam toward the middle. Another performer with a pink fishtail was in the water with him, and the two of them continued their graceful underwater movements while waving at the visitors behind the thick glass wall.

He looked at the scattered crowd and saw the familiar figure standing in the same spot again. That person seemed to have a liking for plain clothes. Today, the young man wore a white T-shirt and jeans, standing in the middle area outside the glass, watching him. Through the seawater and the glass, the young man’s calm gaze stayed on him and followed his every move. Surrounded by visitors waving, cheering, and filming with their phones, that person looked especially noticeable.

Since the day he started performing at Jindu Ocean Park, Chu Baiyan had seen that young man at every first show for more than a month. He always stood in the same place. Unlike other visitors, he never took photos or videos, and he never joined in the interaction. Apart from his gaze following Chu Baiyan, his face rarely showed any expression.

Other mermaid performers said the young man was a regular visitor. He came almost every day just to watch the sea creatures and didn’t stay long. The mermaid show had always been here, but it had never caught his attention before. Many times, he would leave before a ten-minute show ended.

Like now, the female mermaid nearby paddled closer to the side where the young man was standing and interacted with the crowd. Everyone’s eyes turned toward her, and they waved and took photos. Only he stayed still, his gaze fixed on Chu Baiyan.

Chu Baiyan suddenly wanted to test whether the man was truly looking at him. He swam around the female mermaid, and sure enough, the man’s eyes followed his movement. When the time for the show was almost over, Chu Baiyan exhaled a small line of bubbles, traced a heart with his fingers at his lips, and moved his tail to rise slowly to the surface. When he looked down, he could still see the man tilting his head up, his eyes following until Chu Baiyan was out of sight.

After coming out of the water, Chu Baiyan went to the changing room to shower. They weren’t allowed to use shampoo or body wash during the daytime performances to avoid contaminating the water and affecting the sea life. Every time the show ended, he could only rinse his hair and body with warm water.

When he finished showering and changed clothes, he stepped out while drying his hair with a towel and ran into the female coworker who had been in the water with him, coming out of the women’s changing room.

“Your die-hard fan came again.”

It wasn’t the first time someone had said that. After hearing it so many times, even Chu Baiyan was almost starting to believe it. He was curious about the young man who came to watch him perform every day, but he didn’t admit it out loud.

“When did he become my ‘die-hard fan’? Wasn’t he already a regular here before I came?”

“You were off yesterday, right? That handsome guy came, saw that the mermaid performing wasn’t you, and left before the show ended,” the coworker said with a grin.

Monday was Chu Baiyan’s regular day off. The weekends had the most visitors, and leave wasn’t allowed. Everyone took turns resting on weekdays. Yesterday was Wednesday, and another male mermaid had asked to switch because he had something next Monday.

He imagined the man turning away in disappointment when he realized it wasn’t him performing. For a moment, Chu Baiyan laughed at himself for overthinking. It was just a coworker’s joke. He couldn’t seriously believe that someone came just for him. He changed the topic. “You can tell from that far away that he’s handsome?”

“What do you think? He’s handsome, that’s why everyone noticed him. Otherwise, with so many people every day, who would bother looking?” The coworker spoke with full confidence in her judgment.

More than half a year ago, several mermaid performers had already noticed that young man coming daily, but unlike the visitors who came specifically for the mermaid show, his eyes rarely lingered on the performers. Everyone had tried to get his attention during the early morning shows when the audience was small, but none of them succeeded.

Chu Baiyan smiled without replying, which counted as agreement. Even through the rippling water and the glass, he could see that the person standing quietly there had a handsome appearance.

When the second mermaid show began an hour later, there were many more visitors outside the glass, and the young man was nowhere to be seen.

For Chu Baiyan, working as a mermaid performer at the ocean park was the best job he could find, and it suited him the most. There were five shows a day, each lasting less than twenty minutes. After each show, he could rest or spend the break however he wanted.

He was a student from an undistinguished university majoring in a generic subject. During his senior year, he had already suffered several failures while job hunting. Every call he got after sending out resumes was from sales positions, and talking to people was exactly what he was worst at.

He got into this mermaid job completely by chance. He lived near the sea and was a good swimmer. During summer breaks, he worked as an assistant swimming instructor and lifeguard. His coach once mentioned that with his build and swimming skill, he could get a mermaid license since many places offered mermaid shows, and he would have no trouble making a living.

At first, Chu Baiyan didn’t take it seriously. Only when he realized that his degree was worthless for finding a job did he decide to give it a try and signed up for a PADI course. After getting certified, his coach brought him along for a few one-time performances, and they went well. Last month, a male mermaid at Jindu Ocean Park quit, and the venue saw a video of Chu Baiyan’s performance online. They contacted his coach directly, and he became a full-time male mermaid.

At lunchtime, everyone opened their takeout and sat in the break room chatting. Chu Baiyan didn’t like crowds, so he found a corner seat.

“This mermaid on the plate looks like Xiao Chu.” A female coworker scrolling through social media suddenly spoke.

“Let me see.” The others gathered around her. After looking, they all agreed.

“You’re right, it really does. Even the abs and the V-line are there.” Another male mermaid leaned over to check and called out to Chu Baiyan.

“Baiyan, come look. It’s uncanny. They even got the shape on your abdomen right.” He opened the full picture and smirked. It was just a ceramic figure, but the detail was perfect.

Chu Baiyan never liked joining in. Seeing he didn’t plan to get up, the female coworker sent the link straight to him.

“Xiao Chu, doesn’t this mermaid look just like you?”

He put down his chopsticks and opened it. On a beautifully crafted shell-shaped plate lay a three-dimensional mermaid figure with long silver hair, holding a trident. From the hairstyle to the accessories and even the color of the tail, it perfectly recreated the look he used when playing Poseidon. Chu Baiyan scrolled through a few more photos. Besides two close-ups of the plate, there were pictures of other ceramic pieces on the same shelf. It looked like they were taken in a pottery shop.

“Stunned by it, huh?” The male coworker leaned in again to view the photos with him. “Hey, does this count as violating your portrait rights?”

“How many lemons did you eat? You sound so sour. If someone made me look that good, I’d model for them myself. And look, it says ‘Not for sale, for display only.’ It’s art, got it?” The female coworker who first found the photo clicked her tongue.

That was when Chu Baiyan noticed the small tag next to the mermaid plate. It read, “Not for sale, for display only.”