SG 28

That family must have just come back from the ocean park. There was not only the aquarium but also a water park there.

The older boy looked about seven or eight, holding a long toy water gun. The younger girl looked about five or six, clutching a bag of biscuits and eating as she walked.

At first, both children stayed within Yan Anqing’s sight. They touched a few cups and poked at some ceramic figures. After a while, they ran off somewhere out of view.

The couple at the counter had picked what they wanted and were ready to pay. When Yan Anqing turned around and glanced toward the register, his breath stopped. His body froze like someone had pressed pause. Even the air seemed to stop moving.

The two kids had somehow slipped behind the counter. The boy had dragged a chair over to the aquarium and was standing on it, fishing for starfish with the long toy gun. The water was murky and cloudy, with biscuit crumbs floating on the surface.

“Brother, I want the red one.” The little girl pointed at the red starfish she had set her eyes on. She had been feeding her biscuits to the starfish just moments ago.

The boy lowered the toy gun into the tank, poking at the red starfish over and over until he finally managed to lift it up.

The moment the long-handled water gun lifted the red starfish out of the water, Yan Anqing let out an uncontrollable scream. The little boy was so scared that his hand shook, and the water gun fell back into the water tank.

It sounded like a kettle screaming on the stove. The shrill cry stunned everyone in the shop. The scream didn’t stop. The little girl burst into tears and turned to find her mother.

Chu Baiyan was walking toward Starfish Pottery with groceries from the fresh food shop nearby. He was still fifty meters away when he heard Yan Anqing’s scream from inside.

He didn’t know what had happened, but his steps quickened. When he pushed open the door, Yan Anqing was crouched on the floor, clutching his head and screaming hoarsely.

“What happened?” Chu Baiyan dropped the groceries on the ground and crouched beside him, grabbing his shoulders.

Yan Anqing’s body, in a state of stress, was acting in self-preservation. Feeling a warm touch on his shoulder, he instinctively pushed the person in front of him.

Chu Baiyan almost fell but caught himself and grabbed Yan Anqing’s hands that were covering his head. “It’s me, Chu Baiyan. Look at me.”

Yan Anqing’s hands were held tightly. He struggled, but he couldn’t break free. His screams stopped. His tear-blurred eyes opened. His unfocused vision slowly found a familiar face.

“Mermaid.” His voice came out rough and faint.

“It’s me.” Chu Baiyan firmly grasped Yan Anqing’s hand. “Let’s stand up first.”

He lifted Yan Anqing’s arm and helped him up. Yan Anqing stumbled, his legs no longer feeling. He could only rely on Chu Baiyan’s arm to keep him standing.

The customers who had been frozen in fear finally relaxed when the screaming stopped. The couple glanced at each other, put down what they were holding, and left without a word.

The middle-aged parents comforted their crying daughter and whispered, “Is the shop owner sick?”

“What happened?” Chu Baiyan took out a tissue and wiped the tears from Yan Anqing’s face. His eyes and nose were red from crying.

“Starfish.” Yan Anqing’s voice trembled, his eyes dull and empty.

Chu Baiyan turned his head toward the tank and saw the long toy gun half-submerged in cloudy water filled with biscuit mush.

The boy had already climbed down from the chair. When Chu Baiyan’s eyes met his, the boy panicked and said, “My sister wanted the starfish. I was helping her.”

The little girl, who had stopped crying, started sobbing again at her brother’s words, afraid their parents would scold her.

The mother, still trying to calm her, said awkwardly, “Kids don’t know better. It’s not like they actually took it out. You were screaming so loudly just now, you scared the child.”

“Starfish.” Yan Anqing repeated, his whole body trembling.

Before this, aside from his sometimes wild and unrealistic thoughts, he hadn’t been much different from a normal person. It was only then that Chu Baiyan realized that Yan Anqing was a patient, merely trying to pass himself off as normal.

To others, it was just a starfish. Why such an extreme reaction? But Chu Baiyan knew what those starfish meant to him.

With his meticulous care, the starfish had become a part of his life. It was easy to imagine Yan Anqing’s heartbreak and horror at seeing it hurt.

Chu Baiyan pulled him against his chest, still trembling, and turned coldly toward the family. “Your children damaged store property without permission. As a parent, you don’t discipline him, but instead blame the owner for overreacting. The child may be ignorant, but the adult can’t even apologize?”

“What’s your problem? They didn’t do it on purpose. Who argues with kids?” the father said angrily.

“There’s surveillance. We can check the footage to see if it was an accident.” Chu Baiyan held back his temper.

“Starfish…” Yan Anqing’s eyes stayed fixed on the tank as more tears streamed down.

“It’s okay.” Chu Baiyan hugged Yan Anqing’s shoulders and pressed him against his chest. He coaxed him softly, “Let’s go rescue the starfish.”

Through his skin and skeleton, Yan Anqing could feel the strong beating of Chu Baiyan’s heart. He reached out and hugged Chu Baiyan tightly, his stiff limbs gradually relaxing as he slowly calmed down to the rhythmic heartbeat.

Chu Baiyan led him to the tank and pulled the toy gun out, throwing it onto the ground with a loud clang that made the boy flinch.

“How can you, an adult, bully a child?” the child’s mother raised her voice. 

Chu Baiyan turned his head to look at the couple and said in an unquestionable tone, “Apologize, or I’ll call the police and check the surveillance.”

“Mom, I don’t want the police to take me away.” The boy started crying again.

“It’s obviously the owner who’s sick. He’s picking on this ignorant child,” the child’s mother yelled.

Chu Baiyan took out his phone. “If you don’t apologize, I’ll call right now.”

The father nudged her with his elbow. They were out to have fun, not to waste time answering police questions. He reluctantly said, “Sorry. The kid didn’t know better. I’m apologizing for him.”

“It’s not ‘sorry.’ Say ‘I’m sorry.’” Chu Baiyan insisted.

“You…” the mother started, she was about to curse, but the father grabbed her arm.

“I’m sorry.” His face was dark as he said it, pulling the boy along and dragging his wife toward the door.

After they left, Chu Baiyan hung the Closed for Meal sign on the door and locked it.

“Go mix some seawater. We’ll take them out and clean the tank.” He handed Yan Anqing the small tank they usually used for feeding.

He used a fine net to scoop the biscuit mush from the water and threw it into the trash. When Yan Anqing finished preparing the seawater, Chu Baiyan used a clean mesh net to lift the starfish one by one.

“Let’s watch them for a bit. If any die, I’ll catch new ones for you tomorrow.”

Yan Anqing stared at the damp patch on Chu Baiyan’s shoulder, wet from his tears, and nodded.