DISN – Epilogue Part 2

Deserted Island Survival Notes

By Gu Cheng Huai

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Translator note: I don’t speak Chinese so this has been awkwardly translated using google translate and cleaned up. Original text found here: https://www.sto.cx/book-138000-1.html 

All credit to the original author for this wonderful story. 

Please read this translation on https://erzoohobbytranslating.wordpress.com/. If you find this on another website, it has been stolen.

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Extra 4

“Mom, mom…!” 

When Xiao An Fei called Ye Zheng for the first time with such a tender voice, Ye Zheng felt that she really wanted to cry with joy. 

An Fei was so little but she had already begun to speak. She was a genius compared to her father who had grown so long and yet couldn’t even say a complete sentence. 

Of course, Ye Zheng knew that Andrew’s problem in learning human language was because of his different vocalization mechanism and way of thinking. It was natural and even if Ye Zheng and Andrew worked hard, it would not improve much. Ye Zheng was satisfied that she was able to get along with Andrew so well. 

But Xiao An Fei was different, she had a gift for language. Although she could not sing yet, she could already call Ye Zheng clearly. 

Ye Zheng patted An Fei’s head and when she looked at her expectantly, Ye Zheng bend down to hug her daughter. Holding her, Ye Zheng couldn’t help but marvel again at the unbelievable growth rate of mermaids.

Just over five months old and An Fei was half her height. Just like the child mermaid Ye Zheng had met, the scales and dorsal fin had grown out and she was heavy in Ye Zheng’s arms. She looked like a big pumpkin. Except for the fat tail, which was a little softer and not as flesh-like.

Gradually growing up, An Fei was not as soft and adorable as she had been as a little fry, but Ye Zheng still treated her like a child. As long as An Fei asked for a hug, she would not refuse. 

Ye Zheng sat aside and changed her posture so that An Fei could lean in her arms. Having picked her up out of the water, Ye Zheng’s clothes were now a little wet. Ye Zheng did not care, looking down at An Fei tenderly. 

Nestled in her mother’s arm, An Fei wrapped her arms around Ye Zheng’s waist. At the end of her fingers, her sharp claws glowed in a cold light. 

Ye Zheng took one of her daughter’s small paws and squeezed it, then rubbed her hair. Like Andrew, it was slippery and gummy. It felt very good and Ye Zheng couldn’t help but rub it twice more. 

(Please read this translation on https://erzoohobbytranslating.wordpress.com)

“Zheng Zheng…” 

While Ye Zheng was cuddling with her daughter, a cold hand grabbed her calf. Andrew floated up from the water and stared at her with his big eyes. Ye Zheng had just been teasing her daughter wholeheartedly and for a moment, completely ignored Andrew. What did that mean?

She realized Andrew was learning the rhythm their daughter used to call her.

“Zheng, Zheng…”

She looked down and saw that Andrew was now holding An Fei in his arms. It was pretty funny. Andrew loved the fry when she was young, bringing her out every day to catch fish and teach her to hunt. The two of them had a lot of fun exploring the surrounding waters.

But when An Fei stopped giggling and screaming, and started to consciously imitate Ye Zheng’s speech, Andrew suddenly realized there was a huge crisis. He quickly regained his enthusiasm for learning to speak and tried to outdo An Fei in front of Ye Zheng.

When they had first started talking, Ye Zheng had needed to coax and bribe him before he would open his mouth. Over time, Andrew lost interest in Ye Zheng’s language… after all, language was only used for communication and there was no problem in the daily communication between him and Ye Zheng.

But now, Andrew was determined to learn with his daughter.

There had been some problems at first. When Ye Zheng had pointed at herself and coaxed An Fei to call her ‘mom’, An Fei had not even opened her mouth before Andrew called first.

“Mom!”

This sound was exceptionally loud.

As soon as he finished, Andrew looked at Ye Zheng brightly as if to say ‘look how much smarter I am than my daughter’. He learned quickly and wanted Ye Zheng’s praise.

Ye Zheng had been stunned and could only sigh. After all, Andrew had introduced himself using his family name ‘Andrew’ and she knew that it was likely meaningless. Likely, Andrew thought that ‘zheng’ was a name for humans, not her individual name. Just like Ye Zheng using the short word ‘Andrew’ instead of the full word, ‘mom’ must be the suffix of ‘Zheng Zheng’. 

Ye Zheng praised Andrew for his eagerness and then told him seriously that he could only call her ‘Zheng Zheng’, never ‘mom’. 

Andrew’s tail and fins had drooped, making him look very sad. In compromise, Ye Zheng had made it so An Fei could not call her Zheng Zheng, only Mom. 

Andrew did not understand why Ye Zheng had two different names but thinking that ‘Zheng’ was only something he could use and that no other mermaids would greet her this way, Andrew felt that it was fair.

(Please read this translation on https://erzoohobbytranslating.wordpress.com)

Right, fair.

After discovering that An Fei was gradually taking up Ye Zheng’s attention, Andrew’s request to her was that she must treat them both fairly. 

For example, if Ye Zheng gave An Fei a hug, Andrew must also have a chance to be embraced. If Ye Zheng fed her barbecue to An Fei, the next piece must be fed to Andrew. As long as Andrew got more grilled meat than An Fei, he would forget about the rest of what she ate. 

Ye Zheng, who’s ankle had been caught, smiled down at Andrew’s wet eyes. 

“Good job, Andrew is the best.” She said, reaching out to rub his head.

Satisfied, Andrew looked at An Fei nestled in Ye Zheng’s arms. He jumped backward and swam down the waterway again.

Xiao An Fei likely had not noticed the subtle emotions between her parents. She just watched her dad swim for a while, laughing. 

Eventually, after many more days, An Fei’s height exceeded Ye Zheng and her weight had increased. Unlike her father, An Fei did not have the experience of slipping away to explore on her own. This was because of Ye Zheng.

When Andrew had met Ye Zheng, he had already been able to cross several seas because his parents had taken turns following him to ensure his safety. Ye Zheng was unable to swim and did not know that the father and daughter had made arrangements. Until she reached adulthood, An Fei would remain with Ye Zheng. 

Fortunately, their island was relatively large and it was easy for An Fei to have her own nest when she reached her growing period. She and Andrew dug a shallow sea cave, which An Fei decorated with shells and corals. 

However, time passed quickly and An Fei grew dissatisfied with the small sea. Mermaids had the instinct to be free and autonomous as adults. 

“Mom,” An Fei hugged Ye Zheng’s neck, her voice like clear honey. “An Fei will come back to see you.” 

Her language skills were a lot better than Andrews. Ye Zheng often whispered with her daughter biting her ears. 

“I will come back to see you soon,” An Fei continued softly in Ye Zheng’s ear, “Dad already wants to drive me out.”

(Please read this translation on https://erzoohobbytranslating.wordpress.com)

It was rare for mermaids like An Fei to stay with their parents until they reached adulthood. Parents and children would gradually become estranged after adulthood, just like Andrew’s parents, who only occasionally came to visit or to help when he was injured. 

The longer their adult daughter stayed at home, the more anxious Andrew became. 

An Fei kissed Ye Zheng’s cheek, “Bye, mom.” Then she jumped into the water, patted tails with Andrew, and calmly swam away.

Andrew and Ye Zheng followed her to the end of the waterway and watched her beautiful fish tail merge into the sea.

Compared to the 18 years of human adulthood, the mermaid who had only taken 2 years to grow up had left way too early for Ye Zheng. She sighed with regret and trailed back to the cave, listless.

“Zheng Zheng.” Andrew called softly, following her to squeeze intimately next to Ye Zheng in her stone bed. He licked the moist corner of her eyes, “There is Andrew in Zheng.”

“Okay,” Ye Zheng smiled reluctantly, wrapping her arms around her arms around his neck and closing her eyes. 

However, Ye Zheng found that it was not just her that was lost. Andrew had ‘chased’ away his daughter but he was also a bit sullen. When he returned home, he occasionally went to the small puddle where An Fei lived.

However, his mood soon improved. Radiating happiness, he flicked his tail and looked at Ye Zheng: They will soon have a little Andrew again!