Ni Loung
Mei Ling narrowed her eyes and stared at the Mer called 'Entertainer Ni'.
The mer was a beauty, but his words needed some...politeness. With furrowed brows, she stood up and slowly approached the workers and the struggling mer.
"Manager Do, you can let Entertainer Ni go. I'm going to settle the problem he possibly has with my spouses with proper talk." Mei Ling tapped the worried manager on the shoulder.
"Workers, let Entertainer Ni go." Manager Do fretted and looked at the beautiful Mer. It was a good thing Mei Ling had come forward to deal with the mer or else, he would have to talk with the scary owner of the Jio brothel if one of the workers hurt Entertainer Ni.
The workers swiftly let go and hurriedly backed away. For some reason, this mer, Entertainer Ni, is strong!
Ni Loung stood disheveled in front of the woman he had long admired, feeling embarrassed at his messy state and impulsiveness. He cleared his throat and slowly and elegantly tidied up himself, arranging his clothes and brushing the hair strands away from his face.
Mei Ling patiently waited at the Mer to finish grooming himself and waved her hand at Manager Do, dismissing him and the workers around.
Manager Do gratefully looked at Mei Ling before hurrying away with the workers and closing the dressing room's door silently.
Mei Ling sat at her original seat again, patiently waiting for the other Mer to compose himself and talk.
---
Han cautiously watched everything that happened, he remained calm like a spectator. His slender hand pinched San's red blossom long sleeve, maintaining a grip on the hot-tempered Mer from pouncing the intruder Mer.
Jin, despite being called a 'vixen' by the other party, a visual lover remains a visual lover. He admired the opposite's Mer face.
San, the gorgeous mer with a temper was held back by Han's grip on his sleeves while Rin covered his mouth, preventing him from cursing out the provocative Entertainer.
Lin meekly hid behind Han, just slightly glancing at the intruding Mer, feeling ominous about Mer's arrival.
And lastly, Rin, who not only covered San's mouth but also stared at the intruder with a curious yet wary eyes.
Ni Loung felt the watchful eyes of the five Mers and snorted at them, selectively ignoring them and focusing all his attention on the sitting woman, Mei Ling, the woman who, despite him causing a mess in front of her, politely waited for him to tidy up.
Ni Loung loved the way she was so patient and polite. And he can't help but gnash his teeth upon remembering that the five mers with her caused him to lose his opportunity to be with her.
The brothel he worked for, Jio Brothel, was a strict establishment. The Mers raised in the brothel were all beautiful and talented, and Ni Loung happens to be both, possessing a fiery and provocative beauty and flexible body suitable for dancing.
To raise the reputation of the Jio brothel, the owner adopted a strange and unique rule. The top entertainers of the brothel can only be bought and taken away by those whose 'love' and 'dating' life is quite clean. There must be no official wives/husbands established and no more than three legal concubines in the buyers' backyard.
As the quality of the women and mers entertainers in Jio Brothel was superb, the unique rule was implemented and was taken seriously by those who frequented the brothel.
Owning a top entertainer from the Jio brothel often means that the buyer's inner courtyard life is clean.
Ni Loung didn't know if the five Mers in front of him were official spouses or concubines but their existence alone made it impossible for him to have a chance to propose to the Mei Family!
And to think he had finally convinced the brothel owner to matchmake for him!
Ni Loung once again became resentful, his eyes almost ready to burst out into tears.
Mei Ling became baffled. Why is this beautiful Mer crying? She didn't offend him or say anything rude right? She was quiet!
Lin, who was adept at noticing emotions, felt the waving resentment pointed at them. He was puzzled by the bitterness directed at them but looking at his wife's beautiful face, he felt that the explanation was clear.
"I'm sorry for my sudden outburst and rude intrusion, Ms. Mei Ling. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Ni Loung from Jio Brothel. You can just call me Entertainer Ni." Ni Loung composedly apologized, lowering his head to Mei Ling.
"It is alright, Entertainer Ni. Please take a seat so that we can talk about your words from earlier." Mei Ling calmly nodded, curious as to why this Mer had accused her spouses as 'vixens'.
Ni Loung was very straightforward and sat opposite Mei Ling, ignoring the wary and curious gazes of his fellow Mers.
"Ms. Mei Ling, let me be straightforward. As far as I know, you were still unmarried last week, right?"
Mei Ling blankly blinked before nodding her head. "Indeed."
Ni Loung: !!!
Ni Loung's body trembled. The woman he has been eyeing for three years is now taken and it just happened a week before!
"Ms. Mei Ling, may I ask a private question?"
"That's alright." Mei Ling did not think much and just nodded her head.
"Ms. Mei Ling, did the marriage with these vi- I mean Mers happened with your initiative or did someone matchmake them with you?" Ni Loung trembled and bowed his head, waiting for her reply.
If the marriage is by her will, does that mean that for the past two years, she didn't notice his seduction? If not, is she deliberately ignoring him?
The latter was the worse of the two, much more for an unrequited love. It was okay not to be noticed since that meant she did not know he held feelings for her but if it was ignoring, it meant that she knew he had feelings but turned a blind eye to them. The latter was going to hurt more.
Mei Ling was a bit puzzled as to why Ni Loung was trembling like a shaky leaf in front of her. She suddenly felt a bit worried about the health of this Entertainer Ni.
Still, she answered very honestly.
"My marriage was done by my mother.* Mei Ling said stably. After all, it was the truth. Her mother just left five mers in her house one day and boom! She had five spouses.
---
Han listened to the conversation silently, taking in the trembling sight of Ni Loung.
By just this appearance alone, he knew that Ni Loung liked their wife, probably a long time ago.
He just didn't know why the mer was so angry at them. If Ni Loung liked their wife, he could just propose to her family to be taken in as a spouse. Han and the others wouldn't mind another Mer in the midst.
Ni Loung, who was 'allegedly' trembling like a shaking leaf, calmed down. He heaved a sigh of relief. This means that Mei Ling was still as indifferent as before and it was her family that initiated the marriage, as he expected.
"Now, If I may ask a question back. Entertainer Ni, why did you call my spouses 'vixens'? They didn't do anything that may warrant that." Mei Ling seriously asked. Her spouses are part of her household, if she doesn't protect their reputation, who will?
The other thing is, she was curious. Her spouses didn't leave her house, they rarely went outside her courtyard, so where did this 'insult' come from?
Ni Loung's whole face blushed pink. He confessed with closed eyes.
"I- Ms. Mei Ling, I have been trying to seduce you to be my wife for the past two years." Ni Loung started.
"Huh?"
Mei Ling was dumbfounded. Why did this Mer suddenly confess? And she finally knows why she felt that Ni Loung was vaguely familiar. Isn't he the Mer who once stopped her way when she was shopping for tools with her brother?
Han, Rin, Jin, Lin, and San froze and became dazed.
"But Ms. Mei Ling has always been indifferent to my approach. I thought that Ms. Mei Ling was waiting for your parents' introduction. So I...wanted to try my luck and have been convincing the brothel owner to try to match me with you. I was able to convince the brothel owner after a year." Ni Loung clenched his fair hands.
"The brothel owner and I made a deal that after my performance for my last job, she would propose to the Mei Family for me to be your concubine, and if lucky enough, to be your legal husband." Ni Loung clearly stated with a bowed head, looking sad and heartbroken
San intervened at this point. "But why are you angry at us? We didn't do anything to wrong you. Rather, we would have welcomed you."
Though the five of them liked this wife, they knew their position. They can't help it if Mei Ling wants to welcome another spouse. They were rather satisfied enough to receive the treatment of being the first batch to enter Mei Ling's inner courtyard, as it meant that they had seniority over the incoming new ones in the future.
Another wave of resentment flew in Ni Loung's eyes, he gritted his teeth in regret.
"The thing is, our establishment has a rule of not giving a top entertainer to a person who has official husbands or wives and a person with over three concubines."
The five mers then understood why they are called 'vixens'. It was because of their timing that a lovestruck Mer wasn't able to marry off!
The room submerged into silence. Mei Ling was stunned and was searching her memory of the 'seductions' Ni Loung was saying while the five mers were speechless at the unlucky timing for this lovestruck mer.