our secret base

Chapter 1 The Mermaid on the Highway
In the summer of 2005, Yan Jingxing returned to his hometown with his uncle.

That place is called Baiyue Town, backed by green hills, facing the sea, with ports and fishing villages on the shore, it is a typical seaside town.

Baiyue Town is not far from Jinjiang City.It takes about three and a half hours to drive from the city center, and there are buses and coaches.

If he just went back there to visit relatives, or to escape the summer heat, he would probably feel very happy. He could occasionally stay away from the city and enjoy the leisurely life in the countryside.

Unfortunately, Yan Jingxing actually went to live there, and his uncle had already found a transfer school for him. He left in a hurry and didn't even have time to say goodbye to his middle school friends, so he couldn't help feeling somewhat resentful.

Yan Jingxing's parents live abroad all the year round, and they don't see each other once a year or two on average. Since the fourth grade of elementary school, his uncle Yan Yongzhi has been taking him to live.

This time it was because of job transfer, Yan Yongzhi was transferred from the school in the city to the town, so he could only go with him.

……

The car runs smoothly on the road, and the interior of the car vibrates regularly.

The man sitting in the driver's seat held the steering wheel with a relaxed expression.Old songs from Hong Kong and Taiwan were playing on the radio, and he hummed softly and out of tune, and the warm summer wind "whirled" into the open car window;
The teenager sitting in the passenger seat rested his chin in one hand, looking boredly at the same road scenery passing by the window.

The silence of no one talking lasted for a while, but Yan Jingxing couldn't help but bring up the topic he had talked about several times.

"Uncle, in fact, I have already said that you can stay in the city. I can take care of myself by myself. When you worked overtime before, I didn't always..."

"It's temporary and of a different nature. You are still a minor, so how can you not be with your guardian?"

Yan Yongzhi tapped the steering wheel with his fingers, and while looking at the rear mirror of the car, he comforted him casually:

"You don't have to be too sad. There are fun in the city, and the scenery in the countryside. Baiyue Town is the place where your dad and I grew up. In fact, there are many interesting things in the town."

"Really? Like?"

"For example, let me think about it. I remember that at that time, there were fairs and temple fairs in the town during festivals. I don't know if there are any now. Because it is very close to the sea, you can go to the shore to play at any time. Fishing and swimming and things like that."

"anything else?"

"Also, there are several islands near the town. Some islands are tourist attractions, and some are places for burning incense and worshiping Buddha. You can take a ferry there on weekends, and I will take you there when I am free. Before, I and Your father often secretly boarded the ship without telling the adults, and went to the island for a whole day, and once he almost couldn't come back..."

Speaking of this, Yan Yongzhi suddenly realized that this kind of words should not be said to children, it is completely a bad example, so he stopped talking.

"Sounds pretty good. Will uncle come with me?"

"Of course. I said, when I'm free."

"Then when are you free?"

"This is..."

Uncle hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth.

"I just joined the job, so I must be busy for a while, and the lesson plans are not ready yet."

"It's not the same as talking in vain."

Yan Jingxing pouted, pulled down the armrest of the seat, and leaned back lazily.

"Didn't you just transfer to another school? Go get acquainted with the new students in the class and build a good relationship with them. Also, I haven't seen how you study in this period of time. Don't let your grades drop. You can talk about the fun later... "

Uncle's nagging, he didn't continue to listen.The boy sighed and drew back.He originally wanted to sleep all the way to his destination, but he still couldn't feel sleepy, so he could only hold his head and continue to stare at the scenery outside the window.

However, when he gradually let go of his thoughts, drowsiness came to his mind naturally.His upper and lower eyelids started fighting.

At the same time, there are faint singing voices coming from afar.Elegant and ethereal, as clear as a lake in the mountains, it is the clear and beautiful singing voice of a girl.

Dimly, he thought it was the voice from the radio.Yan Jingxing soon discovered that the voice was sometimes distant and sometimes near, and it was obviously not from his side.

But... singing?
This is in a car driving on the highway, where is the singing coming from?
Suddenly, his whole consciousness came to his senses, and his eyes widened subconsciously, looking into the distance.

--what is that?
It seems to be a person...

He thought he was wrong.

The landscape around the highway flitted past the edge of vision.Next to the guardrail is a cliff, and at the bottom of the cliff is the blue sea. Waves of white waves roll up piles of jade, smashing into countless water foam on the dark rocks.

He grabbed his seat belt and tried to turn his head to look back.

——A slender figure who seemed to come from the depths of the sea was sitting quietly on a huge reef.

With her back against the sky, the figure had long seaweed-like hair, and the bright sun fell on her body, shining like broken gold.

She was singing an unknown ancient song, and her clear and sweet voice lingered over the highway.

In a blink of an eye, the car has quickly left the original place, and the figure on the reef has disappeared from sight.

But he couldn't help but widen his eyes, feeling that this scene was unforgettable.

What an amazing sight.

That person is simply... just like the mermaid in a fairy tale...

"Uncle, did you hear the voice just now?"

He turned around and couldn't help asking.

"Ah? What sound?"

Uncle, who was humming to the music on the radio, didn't seem to notice what happened just now.

"Singing, someone is singing."

"Sing?"

Yan Yongzhi reached out to turn off the radio, and listened carefully for a while.

"No, I didn't hear anything. What's wrong?"

"...Forget it, it's nothing."

He said "forget it", but his heart was still beating uncontrollably.

The scene just now was deeply imprinted in his mind, causing Yan Jingxing's heart to surge for no reason.

At this time, he saw a building not far in front of the road.

"Uncle, do I see a rest stop ahead?"

"Ah... yes. What's the matter?"

"I want to pee."

"In a hurry?"

"Well, I can't hold it anymore."

"Okay, I'll stop here for a while."

The car slowly drove from the road into the driveway leading to the rest stop.

"I'll go down for a cigarette, you can go if you want."

Uncle turned off the engine, held the door of the car with one hand, and was about to say a few words, when he saw Yan Jingxing jumped out of the car impatiently, and ran towards the sea.

"We'll be in town soon, don't run too far!"

"it is good--!"

The boy yelled in response without looking back.

"This kid..."

Yan Yongzhi lit a cigarette with a lighter, and looked at his nephew's back with some doubts.

"I was still languid just now, why did you suddenly get excited?"

*
"Huh...huh..."

As if driven by some strong premonition, he still couldn't let his hot mind cool down.

While his thoughts were chaotic, Yan Jingxing had already left the rest station, let go of his hands and feet, and ran on the hillside where weeds grew wildly by the bank.

He couldn't tell the specific direction, but just pushed forward with all his strength.

The fresh smell from the transpiration of the vegetation is mixed with the salty smell of the sea breeze blowing over the cheeks; the soft soil under the feet is like a huge and thick carpet, stretching forward endlessly.

The sun hanging high above his head sprinkled its blazing brilliance without hesitation, falling on his hair and shoulders, while the running Yan Jingxing felt hot all over his body, he also felt dizzy.

After a while, he felt exhausted, and sweat dripped from his forehead.

Running like this with all his strength, after a few minutes, the boy's pace slowly slowed down, and finally, he was so tired that he supported his knees, panting heavily.

Yan Jingxing took a deep breath while turning his head away, so the rest stop was completely out of sight.

Next to it is a winding road built against the mountains, and cars pass by at high speed from time to time.

"What the hell am I doing..."

In fact, the glimpse just now was not enough for him to determine the specific location of the "mermaid" and the reef where she was.

With the speed of the car, maybe the distance between her and herself is farther than imagined.

He straightened his body, put his hands on his forehead to build a shed, walked to the edge of the cliff and looked into the distance:
Snake-like roads, towering and steep mountains, and the endless sea in the distance.

At the end of the field of vision is the scene of "sea and sky line", at the intersection, there is a vast expanse of white.

And other than that, nothing.

The endless sound of the tide came from my ears, and the snow-white waves kept rolling onto the shore, leaving wet marks on the muddy shore.

Yan Jingxing put down his hands and sighed.

"Go back, or you will be scolded."

He was about to walk back, but at this moment——

"Tick, tick..."

He heard light footsteps and the sound of water dripping behind him.

Yan Jingxing turned his head abruptly, and saw a young girl standing behind him at some point, but he hadn't noticed her approach at all just now.

He was a little taken aback.

She seemed to have just climbed up from the sea, her body wrapped under the dark blue one-piece swimsuit was slender and thin, her wet hair was as long as seaweed, hanging down to her waist, and her hair was slightly curled.

The bangs on the girl's forehead are equally strong, long enough to cover her eyes.Even so, Yan Jingxing could still feel that the other party's eyes were staring at him through the cover of his hair.

Is this person... the figure I saw just now...?

Although there is no supporting evidence, Yan Jingxing has already believed in his own judgment.

He couldn't help swallowing.

Compared with the wonderful excitement from the bottom of his heart when he heard the singing in the car before, now he suddenly feels a little scared, and even the sun falling on his body at this moment is not so warm.

Why didn't she say a word?
Yan Jingxing confronted her, staring blankly at her who was silent, feeling uncomfortable all over.

Why are you staring at me like that?

Could it be... she is not a mermaid at all, but a drowned ghost, who climbed ashore to seek revenge?
No, speaking of it, there are also monsters that attract people by singing, but cause sailors to sink on the rocks. It is said that they also look like mermaids. They are some kind of mythical creatures...

Yan Jingxing was full of wild thoughts and couldn't help taking a step back.

"You...that, may I ask you...?"

He summoned up his courage and stammered to ask.

The girl in the bathing suit didn't answer him.

Cold drops of water continued to slide down the opponent's hair and body, and the wet marks on the ground gradually spread.

At this time, she finally noticed that it was inconvenient to observe like this, so she brushed her hair back with her fingers, allowing Yan Jingxing to see her face clearly.

I don't know if it's because of soaking in the water for a long time, the girl's skin is bluish white.but……

Very pretty, he thought.

Just like the actress who was too white to shine in the TV commercials, but now a real person appeared in front of her.

Compared with the person on the screen, her face is obviously a little bit of childishness, and she looks similar to his age.

The girl's eyes reflected her appearance like black crystal balls, and her thin lips lacked blood and were trembling slightly.

Yan Jingxing swallowed again involuntarily.

For some reason, after seeing the other person's face, his mood seemed... more tense.

At this moment, the corners of the girl's lips suddenly raised a bright arc, showing him a big smile.

Then, she ran towards herself.

"wait wait wait……"

Before he could react, the other party had already come to him, grabbed his hand, and at the same time forcefully stuffed something into his palm.

"This is……"

Yan Jingxing was taken aback, and quickly spread his hands.

There are several shells and pebbles lying quietly in the palm, all of which have beautiful colors or patterns.

"Gift."

The girl spoke.Her voice was like the ding-dong of spring water, and the timbre was exactly the same as the clear and beautiful singing that she heard in the car just now, which made Yan Jingxing believe that the other party was the "mermaid" on the reef he had seen.

"Gift?"

He found that he couldn't do anything except repeat what the other person said stupidly.

"Well. I brought it up from the sea."

"You, are you a mermaid?"

"No, that..."

The long-haired girl seemed to remember something, and answered him with a smile.

"It's a green hairy water monster."

"what?"

"Sooner or later, there will be a water monster crawling ashore from the depths of the sea."

"..."

uh, what do you mean?Yan Jingxing was at a loss.

"By the way, are you a tourist? Where are you going? Are you going to Baiyue Town? Just passing by? Do you want to settle down there?"

She didn't mean to explain at all, and asked a series of questions like a cannonball.

"Yes, yes, I'm going to Baiyue Town..."

"That's it, that's great. Baiyue Town is a very beautiful place, although there's nothing special about it...well, that's it, you can take this shell as a souvenir from your trip."

Yan Jingxing couldn't understand her words at all, but the other party was already ready to leave.

The girl turned around, and the wet hair flicked up a drop of water, shining brightly in the sun.She strode towards the sea.

"wait wait wait--"

He didn't have time to call her, and saw her leap over the reef with a few neat jumps, and then——

"...!"

She just jumped off the edge of the cliff.

Yan Jingxing ran over in a hurry, grabbed the stone beside him for support, leaned out cautiously, and looked down.

A figure emerged from the water and swam forward.That slender figure was as flexible as a real fish, and disappeared in the waves like flying flowers and jade in a short while.

Yan Jingxing stood on the edge of the cliff, standing there in a daze, with many thoughts in his mind.After a long time, he remembered that his uncle was still waiting for him at the rest station, and secretly screamed that he was not good, and ran back along the original road.

However, the mermaid sitting on the cliff and singing songs has already left an extremely vivid impression in his heart. Her figure is like a storm, sweeping the heart of the 14-year-old boy.

——This was the first time he met a girl named Ji Chunzao.

At that time, he didn't expect that the second encounter between the two would come so fast and so suddenly.

(End of this chapter)