Chapter 289 - Concerns Of Fish And Time (1)

"I threw it out. Why would I keep it with me?" The voice of Liang sounded from the other end of the phone. 

When Li Yang arrived back in his house after the meeting with his family, the man looked around for a fish bowl, some kind of aquarium or tank where Chunhua probably kept the tiny pink salmon.

But without it in sight, he decided to give his brother a call and learned what happened. Li Yang clicked his tongue. "Couldn't you have at least kept it somewhere and tried to keep it alive? I… bought the fish for Chunhua but you just let it die?"

The thought of that fish simply dying didn't make sense to Li Yang at all.

"Chunhua was busy waiting for her mother to wake and somehow that fish didn't like to eat the fish food we got it. What was I supposed to do, feed it golden pellets? But did you seriously just go home for the fish? Also how the heck did you find your secretary?"

"That's none of your concern," Li Yang replied.

"Sure. Whatever floats your boat. I'm just shocked that not only did you head home to check on some animal—you also found Ying Yue He so easily."

"It's probably because she preferred to work with me and knew that you're terrible to work with."

"Oi. Don't try to sound like you're better than me, pet lover." 

Li Yang couldn't say that it was a special fish. But it truly was something that came from a special gift set meant for Narissa. The man chose to spare the details and instead only sighed. 

On the surface, it did seem ridiculous though.

While he left Ying Yue He to visit Chunhua and Luo Ju Di, here he was on a hunt for some fish that was already long gone. "Where did you bury the fish?"

If there were any remnants of bones or something, Li Yang might have found some use for it.

"Bury? Did you think that I'd have time to dig out a little graveyard for it?" Liang snickered at him from the other end. "I'm running the company that you left and you think that I made a little funeral for the fish?"

"Then how did you dispose of it?" Li Yang asked with a frown. He couldn't be bothered with the tongue of his brother right now when his hope about the fish's life was rekindled. 

"I flushed it into the toilet." 

"Okay, got it. I'm hanging up, bye." Li Yang ended the call and then sighed. While he was prone to believe that it was dead—at least dead enough for his brother to throw the fish out—there was always the chance for things to be not as they seemed.

The sight of Bao reappeared in front of him and the small bundle of fur gave him a plain look. "Please don't tell me that we're going to the sewers."

Li Yang wrinkled his nose. "No. As much as I'd love to go discover if there's anything dangerous in the waters that probably mutated from the waste of at least a million people, I won't risk it."

"Hah!" The Panda crossed its arms and stifled down a laugh. It gave him a serious look. "Good. We can't waste time trying to see you wrestle a crocodile or alligator when it's already a thing. There are already people who do that."

"Beast Tamers?" Li Yang asked.

"I was going to say, some folks that live in the land down under, but that's also true," Bao said. The creature cleared its throat. "But now we're done with your little errands, boy. When are you going to actually try and seduce the target?"

Li Yang stared at the Panda and held back from snickering. "For someone who's supposed to keep an eye on me, you clearly are not always paying attention to the events. There's a family dinner in two weeks and that's where I'll get in the family's graces."

He wondered if it meant that this creature was not as omnipresent as it tried to make it out to be.

Bao flicked a wrist dismissively at him. "That's all fine and dandy—I heard it when you said that you won't only be courting a single individual, but an entire family… but being on good terms with her parents won't get you anywhere in her bed."

"I am aware of that, but based on the description and stories that her parents tell of Anna Song. I don't think it would be that hard as compared to someone like Bo Lifen. She and I didn't get along well at first." Li Yang shrugged. "Whereas the profile of this Anna Song is someone who likes to party and have fun."

The Panda gave him a flat look. "...The 'hard' woman to sleep with was Bo Lifen because the two of you got that weird tension with each other? So you think that someone who enjoys her life… this Anna Song is easier?"

"She'd probably be more up to something casual?" Li Yang admitted. "Sex is fun afterall."

"Okay, you're the last person I expected to say that." Bao murmured something about frigidity before it clapped its hands. "Fine, let's say that your logic is not flawed at all. You still have at least two weeks before you see her so let's hope that you're on the top of your game."

"I have to be and I will be." 

"Gah. That confidence—some people do have it all, don't they?" Bao crossed its arms and clicked its tongue. "Big fish in a small pond, that I tell you though."

"As usual, you're quite supportive." Li Yang remarked before he checked his phone. There was a message from Bai Minghua that complained about Taiga being with her and it made him smile a little, remembering that he had to thank her for last night.

Except, it wasn't only Bai Minghua that assisted him during his encounter with the Nian Beast at all.

Li Yang looked up. "You know, besides all of this… is there a way to communicate back to Telriah? I think that Setsuko's just fine, but I can't say the same for Mitsuko, Leila, and the rest."

"Huh." Bao made a face. "The place where the goddess nearly tried to kill you. Why the heck do you want to check back there? Did you really start caring about some women you stayed with? You're too soft."

Whatever kind of negative perspective this creature had to feel that every ounce of concern to another person was some kind of weakness—Li Yang chose not to dwell on the matter too hard.

It would be too much of a pain to go on a debate, instead, he focused back on what he left behind in Telriah and what he could do. Returning there was impossible, and Li Yang practically just arrived back on earth.

But it wasn't fair to have left them alone simply like that.

"I had to use fifteen percent of the World Warper's energy to return from that Afterlife Plane, whereas, it would take a hundred percent to travel back there to Telriah." Li Yang placed his phone back into his pocket. "Time moves a lot slower there, or rather, there's a time gap—so I want to be reassured that the others are okay." 

"Geez."