Chapter 16  Thermal spring The holidays were coming soon. After getting up in the morning and watching the bright suns.h.i.+ne outside, Lu Mengmeng’s mood was also bright. She hadn’t forgotten what Danjinos promised her. He said he would take her on a journey, but he never spoke about where they were going on the trip. They were about to leave, and she didn't even know where she was going. Just when she arrived at the airport with the boarding pa.s.s in her hand, she knew what kind of surprise Danjinos had prepared for herself. The destination of this trip was the hometown of Ma Liuyun’s girlfriend, and it was also a place Lu Mengmeng had never been before. It was Changbai Mountain. After getting off the plane, they rented a car and went straight to get accommodations. Looking at the rows of golden silver birch standing outside the window, Lu Mengmeng couldn’t help expressing her feelings. Although it was her first visit to Changbai Mountain, she had long yearned for the beautiful scenery here. “The scenery here is so beautiful!” “Do you like it?” Danjinos asked with a slight smile. “I love it!” The little girl kept nodding like a machine. The man driving was apparently satisfied with her feedback. His fish tail stepped on the accelerator and the car sped up to 102 miles an hour in an instant. Lu Mengmeng looked at the road and nervously held her seat belt in front of her chest. Whenever and wherever, life and safety were more important than everything else. When they arrived at the hotel and were ready to get out for check in, Lu Mengmeng saw Ludia coming in his direction. Did Ma Liuyun tell her the news?   Lu Mengmeng looked at Danjinos, showing a trace of suspicion. At the same time, she secretly made up her mind that if it was really Ma Liuyun who had leaked the secret, she must let him pay the price. Seemingly seeing through her thoughts, Danjinos tidied his collar and said softly, “I told them.” Lu Mengmeng was stunned at first, and then she quietly pressed her hand to her forehead. He took his fiancée to Changbai Mountain for a trip, and he even told his pursuers about their journey. . . His naive character would undoubtedly lead him to a lonely life. When she was thinking that, those three people joined them. “Danjinos! You’re really here!” Ludia excitedly waved at Danjinos, and her surprise could be seen from the smile on her face. Danjinos slightly nodded at them and then held Lu Mengmeng’s right hand. “Did you see me?” he said to Ludia. The Princess nodded heavily. Her big eyes looked at Danjinos instantly, and her mouth spread out in a wide smile. “The information I gave to you is true, right?” Ludia nodded repeatedly, still with a happy smile on her face, and her face show some shyness. “Can you remit the price of the information that was negotiated before to my account?” Danjinos casually asked. But after hearing this, Lu Mengmeng was stunned. This guy actually sold his trip to Ludia in exchange for the money of the information? “Blank, you’re going to pay!” Ludia gave a command to the man behind her. Then she turned around again, looking admiringly at Danjinos.   Tinkle! Danjinos’ mobile phone rang. While he picked up his phone, Lu Mengmeng took a quick glance at it. It showed the information for the transfer of accounts, and it looked like there were countless zeros behind one. . . The Princess was so rich. Lu Mengmeng quietly sighed. When she thought about the balance in her account, she could not help feeling unhappy. Seeing the numbers on his mobile phone, Danjinos showed a satisfied expression. Then he stretched out his hands and began to exercise. Was he . . . exercising? Lu Mengmeng wanted to show an expression of disgust, and she quietly said in her heart, Who is he? I don’t know him. Ludia was apparently unaware of what he was doing, and she was too embarra.s.sed to disturb him. So she had to stand aside and look at him with reverence. Everyone was puzzled. Then Danjinos suddenly carried Lu Mengmeng on his shoulder and ran away at the speed of light. “Ah-ah-ah!” Lu Mengmeng, carried on his shoulder, screamed horribly. She had lived for seventeen years, and it was the first time she had this kind of transport. Surprisingly, she found it was so exciting! In the jolt, she seemed to see a Hummer far behind them, but the speed of the car was too slow. In the twinkling of an eye, it disappeared from their sight.   In the car, Ludia bit her lip and looked angry. She made great efforts to catch up with him on Changbai Mountain, but this guy finally ran away. “Princess, shall we continue to follow?” Blank, on the front seat, asked with concern. There were mountains and woods in front of their eyes, and they couldn’t see Danjinos at all. “Follow him! Keep following!” Ludia angrily said, and there were tears in her eyes. However, she immediately wiped the tears away, and firmly looked ahead. No, she was the Princess of Atlantis. She would never give up so easily! * * * Half an hour later, when Danjinos finally put Lu Mengmeng down from his shoulder, she began to wonder if she had been frozen. . . Sitting in the hotel room, her feet warmed up around twenty minutes later. With hot tea, she slowly recovered. “Are . . . Are you all right?” Danjinos touched the back of his head in awkwardness. He was a merman, and he had no great sense of temperature. So when he ran, he completely forgot that it was snowing outside. What’s more, he forgot that Lu Mengmeng was a weak human being. . . “No. . . No. . . " Achoo! She sneezed forcefully. Lu Mengmeng also wanted to show that she was strong and not weak, but she exposed this as not true as soon as she opened her mouth. She sniffled, and Danjinos immediately handed over the tissues. “Now that we have changed places, they won’t know anything about our journey. I promise that I will protect our romantic trip!”   Faced with Danjinos’ promise, Lu Mengmeng rubbed her nose sadly. “Don’t you think that . . .  you are taking advantage of this?” Danjinos did not think so. He proudly said, “In human society, money is needed everywhere. I have to work hard to make money for my wife and children. Besides, I’ve already given her the information she wants. I just temporarily changed my residence. It’s not deceptive!” Well . . . from this logical point of view, it seemed quite reasonable. . . But was it really good to sell information of their journey for money? Lu Mengmeng sniffed silently and then sneezed. “By the way, I heard there is a hot spring that was formed naturally. Would you like to try it with me?” The voice of Danjinos interrupted Lu Mengmeng’s thoughts. When she thought of the hot spring, she immediately nodded with joy. After all, she hadn’t completely warmed up after sitting in the room for so long. Following him, she walked along the cobblestone road in a down jacket. She could not help s.h.i.+vering. The surrounding lights were dim, which made her fearful. If Danjinos had not been here with her, she would scream and run away. “We're almost there. If you are afraid, you can hold my hand.” The narrow path would not allow two people to pa.s.s side by side. As he spoke, he stretched out his hand before her. Lu Mengmeng hesitated for a moment, but she still reached out and held his hand.   His hand was warmer than hers was. At the moment that their skin made contact, Lu Mengmeng felt a warm current flowing into her heart. Soon, there was a dense mist before them. Under the orange light, a natural hot spring appeared in front of them. She didn’t know if it was really unknown. She didn’t see anyone else there except for them. Taking off the outer down jacket and exposing the swimsuit she wore underneath, she dived carefully into the water. The gentle water surrounded her like a broad palm. In front of her eyes, the rising mist bloomed around her. Before Lu Mengmeng had time to praise this wonderful feeling, Danjinos jumped straight into the hot spring.   The splas.h.i.+ng of water drenched Mengmeng’s hair ends. “Danjinos!” Lu Mengmeng ground her teeth. This fellow was not romantic at all! The mermaid, splas.h.i.+ng the water, became excited. He swam around in the hot spring pool and hummed a melodious song. Lu Mengmeng sat to one side. Looking at him being so happy, she could not help smiling a little. The orange heat lamp illuminated the world in front of them. Chirping could be heard around them. A gust of wind blew and the leaves rustled, as if to accompany Danjinos’ song. At this moment, everything was so silent, as if the whole universe had settled on this small hot spring. “What are you thinking about?” Danjinos swam to her and put his hand around her neck. She didn’t know whether it was her illusion or not, but the man’s movements were so gentle that she felt time stood still. His breath came into her ears, like an confusing invitation. Lu Mengmeng looked at him, closed her mouth lightly and shook her head shyly. “I just feel that the night is very beautiful,” she said, uncomfortably turning her face. Then she inadvertently saw the stars in the sky and could not help making praising their beauty. “Look! There are stars! How lovely!” Danjinos looked at the girl’s red cheeks, and his heart was full of tenderness.   “Mengmeng. . . ” He whispered her name. She was like a single snowflake on a snowy mountain, a delicate leaf of ginkgo. She was natural, and only those who really knew her could understand her true beauty. “Yes?” The girl looked down at him, and her eyebrows softened as she returned his rapt stare. “I like you very much.” His husky voice seemed to have come from ancient times, and Mengmeng’s heart itched after hearing its melody. She didn’t speak because she didn’t know how to respond. “I will give you time. No matter how long, I will wait for you to fall in love with me,” he gently confessed, his tone sincere. Then he began to sing. It was the old love song of merman. Danjinos’ voice was like a delicate piano. Every simple note could be transformed into beautiful music in his mouth. Lu Mengmeng listened quietly, and her heart moved. However, although she was moved, she somehow felt that these words were familiar to her. . .