SG 15

Following the sound, he saw a kind-faced grandmother standing at the entrance with a large bag in her hand. Through the glass partition, Chu Baiyan and the old woman met each other’s eyes, both surprised to see the other appear at such a time.

Only Yan Anqing kept working on the last rose decoration for the cup, not distracted by anything. Even if the sky fell, he would still finish what was in his hands first. When all three roses were fixed onto the outer wall of the cup, he finally put down his tool. When he looked up, his grandma had already come inside and placed the bag on the other end of the worktable.

“Baby, who is this?”

“The merman.” Yan Anqing found it strange. He had already told Grandma yesterday on the phone and had even told her to come early.

“He brought me tofu pudding, fried dough sticks, and rice cakes today. You came too late. Fortunately he didn’t leave.” Yan Anqing went over and opened the bag his grandma brought. The buns inside were still warm.

“The merman?” Grandma was confused. The young man in front of her looked tall and bright, not like someone related to mermaids at all.

“The aquarium. I took you to see him.” Yan Anqing reminded her.

Grandma had indeed gone to the aquarium once to watch the mermaid show with him. But with the glass and the water between them, and with her aging eyes, she hadn’t seen clearly the “merman” her grandson pointed out. The young man standing here now had a tall build and handsome features.

When Grandma still didn’t remember, Yan Anqing grew anxious. “He came on shore to find me.”

Grandma suddenly understood. “Oh, oh, you mean the ‘merman’ from the aquarium. So it’s him.”

Chu Baiyan nodded beside her, confirming her guess.

Everything finally made sense to her. The young man in front of her must be one of the aquarium’s “mermaid” performers. Thinking about it this way, all the things her grandson had said recently, how the “merman” came on shore to visit him, how he was making a plate for him, how he came to eat at their place, helped at the shop, and brought breakfast, were not fantasies at all. They had really happened.

But why would the performer from the aquarium appear in her grandson’s shop? And they seemed so close. It wasn’t strange for young people to have friends, but Yan Anqing had never liked interacting with anyone. Except for her and her husband, even when his own parents came to see him, he treated them like strangers.

Her eyes moved between the two of them, and she smiled kindly. “Baby, go on with your work. Grandma will chat a bit with the ‘merman.’ He came over as a guest, so I’ll ask what he likes to eat. Next time, I’ll bring it along.”

Chu Baiyan immediately understood that Grandma wanted to talk to him alone.

Yan Anqing never doubted the people he trusted. He went back to his chair by the table and, before starting the next step, looked up and said, “He likes buns.”

Grandma sighed quietly. She had already wondered why he suddenly mentioned wanting to eat buns yesterday. Usually, he never asked for anything. She brought whatever she wanted, and he accepted it. Now it was clear that the buns were for the “merman.”

The shop was small. No matter where they spoke, Yan Anqing could hear them. So Grandma brought Chu Baiyan upstairs. According to her grandson, he had been there before. Yan Anqing was extremely sensitive to other people’s emotions and had a strong sense of territory. If anyone made him uncomfortable, this calm scene would’ve been impossible.

After closing the door, Grandma gestured to the sofa. “Sit wherever you like. I didn’t get the chance to ask your name earlier.”

“Chu Baiyan.”

“That’s a nice name.” Grandma praised. “Chu as in the state of Chu, Bai as in white, and which yan is it?”

“The yan from flame.” Chu Baiyan rubbed his hands on his legs, feeling uneasy.

Grandma nodded. “All right. Don’t be nervous, Xiao Chu. I just wanted to thank you and talk a little about Anqing.”

She paused. “You probably already noticed that Anqing is different from others. Forgive me for being direct, but how did you and my grandson meet?”

Chu Baiyan recounted the whole process of how they met. He hadn’t thought much about it at the time, but saying it now, it did feel a bit like fate.

Putting what her grandson had told her together with his story, Grandma understood everything. Two people who should never have crossed paths became connected because of the “merman” plate. It was indeed a rare bond.

“Anqing has never had any friends since he was a child. I’m really glad you get along with him. But there’s something about him I think you should know. In his understanding, he really believes you are the ‘merman.’”

“He has high-functioning autism. His condition has improved a lot after years of therapy. He can live independently now, and he’s able to integrate into society. Otherwise, his grandpa and I wouldn’t have let him run this shop alone.”

When Chu Baiyan first met Yan Anqing, he had sensed something different about him but hadn’t known what it was. Other than seeing him as a real “merman” and having a bit of a jumpy way of thinking, he seemed fine. Hearing Grandma say he had high-functioning autism made his heart skip a beat.

“Since he was little, his favorite story has been The Little Mermaid. No matter how many times he reads it, he never gets tired of it. In his mind, if there’s a ‘daughter of the sea,’ then there must also be a ‘son of the sea.’ Only no one has ever met one.”

“The doctors call that a kind of omnipotent cognition. It means that in certain areas, his brain forms a belief so firmly that he sees it as real. That belief doesn’t change, no matter how much knowledge or experience he gains later.”

She smiled gently. “I never tried to correct him. It doesn’t affect his life, and if it makes him happy, then even if it’s wrong, what’s the harm? I just never expected he’d meet you. The aquarium has always had male mermaid shows, and we opened the shop here so he could watch them easily. But after meeting you, he believed you were the ‘son of the sea’ he had been waiting for.”

“Don’t doubt him. His feelings toward you are purely kind. When he was little, he used to say that if he ever met the ‘son of the sea,’ he would protect him, believe whatever he said, and never let him turn into foam.”

“So I want to thank you. When he said things that didn’t sound normal, you didn’t laugh at him or reject him. You accepted his kindness, and that means a lot to him.”

Chu Baiyan listened quietly. Now he completely understood why the plate mattered so much to Yan Anqing and why he had given it away without hesitation. It was because he was the “son of the sea” in Yan Anqing’s world.

The way his gaze followed him every day, the first words they exchanged, and the “merman” plate he had insisted on giving him, everything finally made sense.

He didn’t know what to say. He only said seriously, “Yan Anqing is a good person.” Chu Baiyan could feel the sincerity, the kindness, and the trust that came from him.

“In his heart, there are only two kinds of people: his own and everyone else. Except for those he considers his own, everyone else – even his parents – are others. You’re probably the only one besides his grandpa and me that he sees as one of his own. He has trouble accepting new people, but once he does, he becomes deeply attached.”

After laying all that out, Grandma finally said what she really wanted to.

“I told you all this because I hope you can think carefully about whether you want to keep being his friend. I really want him to have someone to talk to, and I can see that he’s been happier since meeting you. But what I fear most is him getting hurt.”

“Losing something after having it hurts more than never having it at all. Once he’s known what it feels like to have someone by his side, it’ll be unbearable for him if that person disappears.”

“If you’re only curious about him, please find a gentle way to step back now. Don’t wait until he grows more attached and then push him away because you’re tired of him. For ordinary people, losing one friend is nothing. But for my grandson, it could trap him in place for the rest of his life.”

“I’m not that kind of person.” Chu Baiyan’s voice was low and solemn.