Stop Thinking Chapter 42: Extra 5: [Little Fish Fry] 4 (How to Make Three Babies Cry in One Minute…)

Chapter 42: Extra 5: [Little Fish Fry] 4 (How to Make Three Babies Cry in One Minute…)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

After hatching, the little fish fry could eat and sleep. Gu Xiuhan took care of them meticulously, and their growth rate was comparable to inflating balloons. Just two months had passed, and they had visibly grown larger. Each of them had a chubby body, with arms like lotus roots, gradually becoming stronger every day, turning into three sturdy and healthy fish fry.

Ruan Yu gradually found it difficult to support the fry with just one hand. He had to use both hands to lift the baby, similar to how one would hold a kitten or puppy under the ribs.

As they were already big baby fish, Ruan Yu felt it was time to give them nicknames. Previously, he casually referred to them as “Big Baby, Second Baby, Third Baby,” but that lacked distinction.

So, Ruan Yu thought hard and came up with several nicknames for each baby, intending to let them choose for themselves.

Speaking of which, Ruan Yu’s name was, in a way, chosen by himself. The pronunciation of his original name in mermaid language sounded like “ruanyu”. In the Imperial language, which evolved from ancient Earth’s Eastern Huaxia language, these two syllables had many homophones, especially “yu.” Little Ruan Yu chose the character “语” representing language and writing from a thick stack of literacy cards because mermaid tribes had a natural talent for language. Little Ruan Yu felt a connection to this character and found its shape appealing.

Every time Little Male Fish was kissed on the head by Ruan Yu, he would blush with joy. However, perhaps due to the burden of being a cool guy ingrained in his DNA, his eyebrows always had to be furrowed in a pretentious manner. Although his two eyebrows were short and stubby, you could still make out the outline of sword-like eyebrows. With just a slight furrow, he would look exactly like a younger version of Gu Xiuhan, as if he were about to coldly reprimand someone in the next moment.

Because of this similarity, Ruan Yu played a little trick when thinking of a nickname for Little Male Fish.

Ruan Yu sat cross-legged and laid Little Male Fish on his lap, imitating Gu Xiuhan’s technique to massage him, pinching his short and almost negligible neck, rubbing his chubby little shoulders, and clockwise circling his round belly to aid digestion. Little Male Fish was initially comfortable, squinting his eyes, but when he heard the three words “Little Milk Pudding,” he inexplicably became alert. Tilting his head on Ruan Yu’s lap, he tried to analyze Ruan Yu’s mental state.

“…Bah!” After a moment of silence, Little Male Fish struggled to control his mouth and sprayed out a few saliva bubbles. “Bah, pop!”

It’s hard for fish fry that are only two or three months old to articulate clearly unless they have exceptional talent. These saliva sounds roughly meant “no.”

Ruan Yu just wanted to give this fish, who resembled Gu Xiuhan, a soft and cuddly nickname. Delicious, soft, and bluish-green, just like the fish’s tail, it couldn’t be more suitable. But the smart baby didn’t fall for Ruan Yu’s trick. Ruan Yu had to resort to his last name. This name matched well with Little Male Fish’s naturally cold face.

Gu Xiuhan was an iceberg, and the little fish baby was an ice cube, which made perfect sense.

“Giggle.” The baby finally felt satisfied, chuckled, then quickly regained composure, trying to mimic the pronunciation of his own name. “Shhh, pop… Snap.”

“Little Ice Cube.” Ruan Yu smiled, revealing two dimples, and poked the baby ‘s cheek to correct his pronunciation.

The Little Ice Cube thought his dad was calling him, so he dignifiedly wagged his tail in response, confirming the name.

For the other two fish, Ruan Yu followed the same process, calling out the planned names one by one and observing the baby ‘s reactions. 

Little Female Fish had a neat and tidy personality and didn’t like to dawdle. As soon as Ruan Yu pronounced the first name, she pursed her lips and clapped her hands, decisively choosing it. She ignored the other names afterward, focusing on enjoying the massage service with her tail wagging lazily. Hence, her name was determined to be “Little Koi.”

As for the fish most resembling Ruan Yu, with a very soft temperament, he was like a little angel, never crying or making trouble, obedient like a fake fish. Throughout the naming process, he remained nestled in Ruan Yu’s arms, entertaining himself by twirling his tail. Regardless of which name Ruan Yu tried to call him, this little baby would just hold his tail, dripping with saliva, and sweetly respond to “Daddy” with a coquettish “Ha-ya~,” roughly meaning “Okay.”

In short, whatever gentle dad-like figure gave him a name, he liked it!

After thinking for a moment, Ruan Yu chose “Little Milk Candy” for him.

Sweet and milky, just like milk candy.

With the naming of the fish fry settled, another major event was put on the agenda—

These little fish had successfully passed the most vulnerable stage after hatching, and their physical fitness had met the standards. It was time to start learning the most basic swimming skills as a mermaid. Learning to swim for the fry was like a human baby like Ruan Yu learning to walk or a fledgling bird learning to fly. It sounded like an innate skill, but it actually required a learning process.

Now, throwing the three fish into the water wouldn’t drown them, but swimming back to shore wouldn’t be easy. They would just flap aimlessly toward the shore, much like toddlers crawling all over the place.

Before going into the water, Ruan Yu had the AI butler raise the temperature of the artificial lake to prevent the fish fry from getting cold. After the adjustment, Ruan Yu went into the water first to test the temperature. Feeling satisfied, he raised his hand to signal Gu Xiuhan on the shore, “You can bring the babies down now.”

“Okay.” Gu Xiuhan stood on the shore, holding the three babies in his arms like he would hold kittens. The babies firmly gripped Gu Xiuhan’s mechanical arm with their six little chubby arms. Beneath the mechanical arm were three dangling fat tails: one motionless, one eagerly swaying, and one tensed into a bow shape. Above the mechanical arm were three little round faces with various expressions.

Ruan Yu was overwhelmed by their cuteness and quickly regained his composure.

“Go down.” Gu Xiuhan bent down to pass the fish fry to the lake. His voice was deep but gentle. “Go find Daddy.”

Ruan Yu reached out to take the fish fry. Little Koi, squeezed between her two brothers, excitedly brightened her eyes, twisting and struggling to get into the water. She was so eager that she almost bit Gu Xiuhan’s mechanical arm. So Ruan Yu was the first to receive the brave little daughter. He dipped her ruby-red tail into the warm lake water to help her acclimatize to the aquatic environment. However, Little Koi was too brave and impatient. Taking advantage of Ruan Yu’s reluctance to clamp her down, her dough-like body twisted a few times, broke free from Ruan Yu’s grip, and with a “plop,” she splashed into the water, spraying her two brothers on the shore with water droplets.

Ruan Yu was startled and quickly dove into the lake to check on her.

Little Koi sank to the bottom like a round bomb, then burped out the air from her belly with a gurgling sound. However, soon under the threat of oxygen deficiency, she instinctively opened her gills and filtered a large mouthful of oxygen-rich lake water. Then, she laughed in the water, flailing her tail around in excitement and swimming around aimlessly, playing by herself.

Next, the steady Little Ice Cube also entered the water smoothly, strictly following Ruan Yu’s commands throughout. But what gave Ruan Yu a headache was the usually docile Little Milk Candy, who was even more timid than Ruan Yu expected. Faced with the unfamiliar environment, he panicked, and his small hands grabbed onto Gu Xiuhan, scrambling wildly. His chubby short tail wagged and twisted, somehow ending up on Gu Xiuhan’s shoulder. Little Milk Candy firmly gripped Gu Xiuhan’s thick, but uncertain, black hair with one hand and held onto his prominent nose bridge with the other, all the while crying and sniffling, “Daddy~ Sob, sob, Daddy…”

No matter how Ruan Yu tried to comfort him, he wouldn’t let go, seeming to be prepared to make a scene atop Gu Xiuhan’s head. If Ruan Yu had known this would happen, he would have named him Little Sweet Potato—sweet but a bit clumsy.

“If he’s really afraid, then…” Ruan Yu hesitated, unsure how to handle this problem baby.

 “But…”

There’s no mermaid who doesn’t swim. Sooner or later, he would have to swim. Escaping today doesn’t mean he can escape tomorrow; it’s all the same.

Gu Xiuhan gently patted the tense fish tail and, in his cold, stern voice, said, “Little Milk Candy, listen to me. Even though there are three offspring, I’ll still only use the term ‘baby’ to refer to Ruan Yu.”

“No listening!” Little Milk Candy vehemently protested, tightening his grip on Gu Xiuhan’s hair.

He wouldn’t listen! He even used his tail tip to lash out at his big dad! He was almost like a rebellious child…

Gu Xiuhan fell silent, no longer trying to persuade him, only raised his hand to loosen his collar, stripped off his shirt and pants, folded them neatly, and placed them on the bench by the shore.

Little Milk Candy became alert. “?”

Something wasn’t right!

Meanwhile, Gu Xiuhan had already stepped into the deeper part of the water along the shore steps.

“…Dad, Dad?!” Little Milk Candy’s facial expressions changed rapidly. His big eyes squinted in confusion, then widened in astonishment, exaggeratedly, as if acting in a stage play, which amused Ruan Yu, who chuckled.

Ignoring Little Milk Candy’s protests, Gu Xiuhan continued into deeper waters. In the blink of an eye, only his head remained above the surface. Little Milk Candy reluctantly clung to Gu Xiuhan’s head, like a hapless sailor on a sinking ship, attempting to survive by climbing the mast.

“Don’t be afraid, Little Milk Candy. You’re a little mermaid; you won’t drown.” Ruan Yu swam over, stifling a laugh, and comforted the child softly, while scooping up some lake water and letting the warm flow slide over Little Milk Candy’s body, helping him adapt to the aquatic environment. Little Ice Cube and Little Koi also paddled over with their messy swimming styles, tilting their faces up, communicating with Little Milk Candy with sounds that perhaps only Ruan Yu could understand.

Ruan Yu and Gu Xiuhan quieted down, wanting to see what the fish fry would do.

The communication between the older siblings seemed to be effective. Little Milk Candy’s face wasn’t as tense anymore, and he tentatively let his tail hang down, using the tip of his fin to flick up patches of sky-blue water, reflecting the soft colors of the lake in his shallow golden irises.

“Yiya.” Little Koi held Little Milk Candy’s left hand, which was pinching Gu Xiuhan’s nose bridge, with her right hand.

Little Ice Cube followed suit, silently holding Little Milk Candy’s right hand. 

Together, they dragged their little brother into the water.

The three babies huddled together in the water, with Little Milk Candy looking anxious, stiff, and motionless. Little Ice Cube, showing his older brother demeanor, followed what Ruan Yu had taught him, reaching out to pull Little Milk Candy’s gill flap behind his ear and making some sounds to remind him to breathe through his gills. However, children aren’t good at gauging strength, and mermaid gill flaps are particularly sensitive. Little Milk Candy, unsurprisingly, was hurt by his brother’s pulling and, with a pout, let out a whimper.

“Yiya!” Be careful!

Little Koi, who witnessed the whole incident, raised her fist and knocked Little Ice Cube on the head twice.

Fierce indeed.

“…Hmph.” …It wasn’t intentional. Little Ice Cube pulled back his hand, his deep black eyes quickly covered with a layer of water, wanting to cry from being hit by his sister but holding back with all his might.

He was already a tough guy at such a young age! Seeing this, Ruan Yu quickly intervened, comforting the one who got hit and then educating the one who hit the fish.

And so, they floated in the water for a while. Little Milk Candy, who had strongly resisted getting into the water just moments ago, gradually relaxed. After all, what really frightened him was the unfamiliar environment, not the water itself. The three fish fry swam freely in the water for about ten minutes. The two older ones managed to swim a short distance, while the clumsy Little Milk Candy could only spin in place. If his older siblings weren’t pulling him, he would sink like a stone.

“Gurgle, gurgle… gurgle…” Little Milk Candy struggled fiercely at the bottom of the lake, gulping down water, wanting to swim to the surface to join the big dad and little dad who were kissing each other. His tail wagged happily, but he sank into the sandy bottom of the lake halfway through his efforts, and after a series of maneuvers, he found himself drifting further away from the surface…

Little Milk Candy, “…”

He cried out pearls. In the end, he was yanked out of the water by Ruan Yu like a radish. And he even made a “pop” sound!

Ruan Yu held the flushed Little Milk Candy in his arms, almost laughing at his tears, while Gu Xiuhan solemnly recorded the entire process of Ruan Yu “yanking” the radish, preserving this precious black history.

After becoming a father, Gu Xiuhan recorded the daily lives of the babies more diligently than Shen Jingya.

The habits of a military man, neat and tidy, permeated through him, and Gu Xiuhan not only recorded diligently but also organized meticulously. These holographic images were automatically backed up to several different storage devices to avoid loss, and each video segment was accompanied by a summary and a unified number. Additionally, they were sorted into four folders named “Little Ice Cube,” “Little Koi,” “Little Milk Candy,” and “Multiple,” respectively, which brought extreme comfort to those with OCD.

Beyond these four folders, there was another huge folder named “Ruan Ruan,” filled with Ruan Yu’s childhood memories, most of which were filmed or recorded by Shen Jingya. After all, the young Gu Xiuhan was not the type to take photos of the little baby using a terminal.

Fortunately, Shen Jingya took pictures frequently, leaving Ruan Yu with many memories.

Seeing that the three fish fry were almost done playing, Ruan Yu began to formally teach them how to swim. How to paddle with their hands, how to use their tail fins to control their direction, how to regulate their buoyancy by controlling the air content in their bodies… With their innate affinity for water, the fish fry quickly absorbed this knowledge, instinctively understanding these techniques after a few tries. The remaining main task was to practice repeatedly to improve their proficiency.

“Left, right, left…” Ruan Yu led at the front, his slender and graceful fish tail swaying rhythmically. The chubby fish fry followed one after the other, putting all their efforts into matching Ruan Yu’s rhythm with their tails, like a string of ducklings following their mother duck.

As beginners, the rhythm of the first two fish fry occasionally went awry, but it was nothing compared to Little Milk Candy’s chaos. Because the more he couldn’t keep up, the more chaotic he became, and the more chaotic he became, the less he could keep up. Little Milk Candy, with a troubled expression, twisted into a piece of seaweed in the turbulent water…

Little Milk Candy, “?!?”

Presenting a comical wave pattern from head to tail. And now, tears were welling up in his eyes.

Even Gu Xiuhan couldn’t help but be amused by this silly baby. Though he didn’t make a sound, he couldn’t suppress the corners of his lips from lifting up.

“Little Milk Candy, don’t worry, Daddy will teach you.” Ruan Yu hurried to the end of the line, manipulating Little Milk Candy’s tail fin, helping him feel the rhythm, and encouraged him, “You’re already doing better than Daddy did when he first learned to swim. Little Milk Candy is amazing.”

“…Mm!” Little Milk Candy nodded with a hint of a crying tone, holding back the tears.

Ruan Yu was very good at empathizing with “idiots.” He knew that Little Milk Candy just learned a bit slower and reacted a bit slower. As long as he patiently practiced with him, he wouldn’t be inferior to his older siblings. And Little Milk Candy was also very tenacious, proving Ruan Yu’s point with slow but steady progress.

Once the fish fry experienced the joy of playing in the water, they couldn’t be stopped. Moreover, there were many marine creatures from Mother Star in the artificial lake, making for excellent playmates.

As a result, the fish fry spent more than half of their day in the water, even ignoring the calls of the robot butler for meals. Often, Gu Xiuhan or Ruan Yu had to personally dive in to catch them.

Ruan Yu was quick to catch them. Once he entered the water, his figure moved lightly like a silver arrow, making a few back and forth trips to easily catch the three little babies.

As for Gu Xiuhan…his swimming skills were among the top among humans, but compared to mermaids, of course, he couldn’t compare. Even though the three babies had only recently learned to swim, they were still much better swimmers than him. But, whether he was good or not, when Ruan Yu was working at the research institute, catching babies was a job only he could handle.

For the babies, this was like a fun and training-filled chase game, so when Gu Xiuhan didn’t enter the water, the baby gang, who had been playing together just moments ago, would scatter and flee as soon as he took off his clothes and entered the water, leaving behind only mischievous laughter.

“Daddy! Giggle! Come and catch us!” Little Milk Candy, who somehow learned to provoke, probably feeling that he was progressing quickly, began to act a bit smug. Among the three, he was the loudest, swimming a short distance and then turning his head to see if Daddy had caught up, bursting with joy.

Gu Xiuhan patiently swam over, treating it as playing with the baby.

Seeing Daddy getting closer and closer, Little Milk Candy smiled, accelerating while twisting his head to look around. But in the end, he forgot to watch where he was going, and his chubby little body “popped” against the artificial lake’s rocky wall…

It was fine elsewhere, but his nose turned red. Although he didn’t even bleed, for such a delicate little one, it was considered a serious injury.

“Sorry, Daddy was wrong.” Gu Xiuhan scooped up the uncomfortable little fish, who had all his facial features gathered, and hugged him, gently rubbing his little red nose and blowing on it, while apologizing in time. 

Little Milk Candy wasn’t one to make a scene, but because it hurt, he pouted and cried softly, “Wuu…”

Little Koi, worried about her little brother, swam over secretly, poking her head out behind Gu Xiuhan. She thought no one noticed, but just as she confirmed that her little brother was okay and was about to sneak away, Gu Xiuhan reached back and caught her, holding her steadily.

“Yah!” Daddy ambushed! Little Koi, with her highly developed combat instincts, reflexively bit the mechanical arm. As a result, the alloy arm was too hard, and it hurt her baby teeth…

Little Koi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into loud sobs, “Wuwawawawa!!”

Even when crying, the strong and domineering little girl’s momentum was greater than others.

Little Milk Candy, with teary eyes, pounced into his sister’s arms.The two milk balls cried in Gu Xiuhan’s arms.

Gu Xiuhan, “…” The former expert in taking care of children finally encountered his Waterloo while taking care of three little ones at the same time.

Little Ice Cube was nowhere to be seen, and there was silence in the artificial lake. Gu Xiuhan hesitated for a moment, planning to take these two “injured” ones back first for some treatment before finding Little Ice Cube, so he turned to go ashore.

But Little Ice Cube, who had been ready to ambush from within the waterweed, held his breath and waited, “…”

Why… hasn’t he come to find me yet?

“…” No, he can’t cry. Why did Daddy go ashore?! “…Humph.”

 

 

 

 

 

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