The Lost Mermaid [Zhongyingmei]

Doris was startled by the gloom in his eyes.

Grievance and anger hovered in his heart like a thin python.Doris didn't understand why this person, whom she only met once, could always bring out her worst emotions, which made her extremely irritable.

Why had Cal Hockley looked at her so fiercely?She is so tolerant, allowing her treasures to be coveted by so many people, isn't she qualified to compete fairly?

When it comes to fair competition, the dirty method of "secret auction" must have been proposed by this Hockley!This damn profiteer, who has made up his mind from the very beginning, is still trying to get her to give up the competition with just a visit and an inexplicable gift?

Doris pursed her lips, glared at him, and then looked away.On the stage, Mr. Prior had already sorted the envelopes, and the waiter in the box on the second floor delivered several bidding letters from distinguished guests on a gold-plated tray.

Cal Hockley was baffled by the stare.He has been in thousands of flowers, although he is not as romantic and despicable as outsiders say, but he has seen all kinds of women, and he thinks he knows the women's thoughts like the palm of his hand.But after arriving in the UK, he encountered a setback with two women one after another.

For the first time, he had doubts about his own charm—maybe the charm of money. Mou didn't know what he was thinking.

Prior took the envelope on the tray with both hands and pressed it to the bottom of the stack of letters.

The bidder tapped the bell lightly with a small hammer, and the crisp sound hit everyone's nervous beating hearts. Seeing that all the guests turned their attention to him, the bidder nodded in satisfaction and said loudly: "Ladies , Gentlemen, thank you for your support and cooperation, and now I will announce the bidding prices one by one."

Doris grasped the armrests of the wheelchair tightly with both hands, and no longer cared about that annoying Hockley. She straightened her back and stared at the bidder's opening and closing mouths.

"Mr. Edward Zunashto, is willing to offer £25."

"Wow——" Everyone looked at Mr. Zun Ashto, and saw him nodding with twitching corners of his mouth. The young fiancée hugged his arms intimately, and her full chest was tightly attached to his body. There was a blush on her white and soft face.It seems that this rich man in the United States is planning to use his daughter to make the beauty smile.

Doris picked up the teacup in a panic and brought it to her mouth, but she didn't notice that the black tea in the cup had already bottomed out.

"Mr. Patrick Crawley, 20."

"Earl Rose, 21."

"Mrs. Margaret Brown, 10."

……

Bids were reported one by one, and the originally suppressed discussion became louder and louder, almost overwhelming the voice of the auctioneer.No one bid more than Mr. Edward Zunashto.Doris secretly had a bottom line in her heart. Although the auction house tried its best to promote it and even published it on the front page of the newspaper, there were not as many people who really wanted to compete for the Heart of the Ocean as imagined.

Even if the Americans are all rich, they don't intend to invest months or even years of working capital in factories on a gemstone that has no other function except decoration.British aristocratic lords, burdened with huge taxes and debts, quoted prices that were neither high nor low for the sake of face, which was considered flattering.

"Mr. Danny Boardman, 28!" The auctioneer's voice suddenly rose.

Doris hid her fingers together under the blanket, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. 1900 first offered a price of 25 pounds. When she heard that Mr. Edward Zunashto quoted a bid of 25 pounds, she was really nervous—she was worried that her deep-sea pearl worth [-] pounds would not be recognized.Fortunately, the auctioneer agreed.

Doris looked at the stage and saw Mr. Prior standing behind Heart of the Ocean, nodding and smiling at her.

More and more offers were sung, and the price of 20 was never exceeded. 1900's face remained unchanged, while Doris's heartbeat was getting faster and faster. For some reason, she should relax, but she had an ominous premonition.

The auctioneer put down the envelope in his hand and took a sip of water.Then, he picked up the quotation from the private room that was delivered at last.

"Mr. Maritz Stephen, 27.5!"

Doris's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help biting her lower lip hard, almost screaming.Not only her, but almost everyone in the audience exclaimed. They never expected that there would be such a close number in the case of a secret shot!This is too dangerous!

Following the line of sight of the auctioneer, Mr. Maritz Stephen was sitting on the sofa in the last row, and raised a gold-rimmed wine glass to her and 1900 from a distance.He looked very kind, even though the bid was slightly lower than that of the siblings, there was no disappointment or resentment.

The crowd didn't see the expected flashes of light and flint, so they let out a sigh, turned and sat back in disappointment.

When Doris was about to look away, she saw that bastard sitting next to Mr. Stephen!

Cal Hockley just smiled at her defensive eyes and spread his hands.The curvature of his mouth caused Doris's blue eyes to shrink suddenly. She felt a strong sense of unease, and suddenly looked at the auctioneer on the stage, only to see him unhurriedly opening the last envelope.

The auctioneer trembled and unfolded the folded letter paper. After seeing the writing on it clearly, he couldn't maintain his composure any longer. The corners of his mouth twitched and he sang loudly: "Mr. Carl Hockley, £30! Congratulations!"

Before the words were finished, bursts of cheers and applause erupted from the audience.

Carl Hockley stood up surrounded by his colleagues. He straightened his back and shook hands with the gentlemen who came forward to thank him. The unreserved ladies and ladies also walked towards him, saying softly flattery.

There was a low-key smile on his lips, but those black eyes were narrowed, exuding a light of joy, obviously he was trying his best to restrain his inner complacency.After dealing with the enthusiastic ladies, Hockley straightened his black suit with both hands, walked vigorously across the long carpet in the arena, and walked up to the front desk in the eyes of everyone.

Mr. Prior had been waiting for him on the stage early, and the two shook hands politely.At this moment, the closed door of the auction hall was opened, and reporters armed with guns rushed in, instantly filling up all the vacant seats in front of the stage, scrambling to be the first to shout and ask questions.

Doris's hands and feet were cold, and she was stunned when the auctioneer quoted a price of "30 pounds".She didn't recover until the noisy voices of the reporters almost lifted the ceiling.

1900 put his arm around her shoulder worriedly. This is the case of the "secret auction" model. Although it is a pity, it is indeed the highest price they can offer in a short period of time. If Hockley hadn't offered a higher price, Doris would have been able to get what she wanted.

"Doris, I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, brother, it's me... I'm too stupid and self-willed." Doris shook her head in a daze, her voice hoarse than ever before.

There was a lot of confusion in her head.She knew that if she blamed 1900, it would be unjustifiable.He has done everything he can, and she... blames herself. She didn't know the importance of money and left all the treasures at the bottom of the sea, so that now she is helpless and can only watch the Heart of the Ocean being destroyed. snatch away.

Doris hung her head in frustration, tears welling in her eyes.She roughly rubbed her eyes with her sleeves, then put the wide-brimmed hat on her head, and the black silk screen blocked her glowing red eyes.

"Let's go." Doris squeezed out a weak voice from her thin chest and thin windpipe.

'I must find a way to get it back, no matter what method is used. ' She said to herself silently, 'The Heart of the Ocean must never fall into the hands of humans. '

It was her fate, and it was his doom.

She left the auction venue without looking back. Unbeknownst to Doris, the high-spirited person on the stage was looking at her back through the noisy crowd at this moment and lost his mind.

Doris sank herself into the bottom of the lake, and the water rippled across her waist, chest and legs, and the unbearable soreness and pain in her joints were gently soothed.

Since she missed the heart of the ocean that day, she clearly felt that her soul seemed to be inspired by the heart of the ocean, and because of the lack of the power of the ocean, the decline that existed before became more and more intensified, as if there was something like a sponge , continuously pulling the anger out of her body.

Her numb legs became more and more sensitive, and the joints in her knees could easily wake her up from the night's dream.Such pain made her completely unable to separate her mind from thinking about how to deal with that nasty Hockley!

1900 finally became suspicious of her increasingly pale face. After interrogating forcefully, Doris finally couldn't bear the pain and told him about the strangeness of her body during this period, but there was no way to relieve it , As long as you stay in running water for a period of time every day, the pain can be relieved.

"You must take a good rest and replenish your energy!" 1900 snapped, looking at Doris in the wheelchair with hatred, and blamed, "Why didn't you tell me earlier! There is a clear lake in the nearby university. I'll take you there."

Doris frowned, lying on the back of the wheelchair, she nodded feebly in agreement.Her small face was extremely pale against the rose-colored blanket, 1900 looked at her weak appearance, and swallowed back the words of scolding.

From then on, every morning at four or five o'clock, 1900 would take her to the lake and make an appointment with her.After Doris sank into the lake, she hid her wheelchair in the woods and went alone to visit new friends—a violinist who had also worked in the ship's orchestra and was renting a set near the university house, dreaming of opening a piano store.

Doris would always linger at the bottom of the lake for several hours, and would not surface in a remote place until her energy was fully charged.

On this day, for the first time, she felt that her body was full of new energy before the sky fully dawned.In a distant place, there seemed to be a huge energy source slowly approaching. She couldn't clearly grasp the direction, but she was already affected.Doris originally planned to play with Xiaoyu for a while, and then come out at the appointed time, but found that it was too late, and she felt depressed and uncomfortable.

She flexibly kicked her legs, stretched her arms, and slowly slid towards the shore.Colorful fish passed through her thick black hair, kissing her cheeks, tickling her.

Doris giggled, and turned around lightly in the lake water, her curly long hair also drew an ink-like arc.

"Wow—"

Doris poked her head out of the water, and the sound of the water was especially clear in the semi-dark morning. Before she could take a deep breath, she heard a shrill cry: "Ah!!!"

Doris was startled, and sank down in a hurry.

Looking up through the water, on the shore not far away, a light is getting closer and closer, and a young woman in a long black dress stumbles towards here.The dead tree branch on the path where her skirt was placed on the shore had a hole in it. The woman didn't care, she raised the lamp in a panic, and looked at the water tremblingly.

Doris was stunned, she was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly wanted to continue to sink into the water, but she heard a woman's muffled cry piercing the water.

"God! Someone fell into the water! Are you okay?"

Doris didn't dare to make a sound, she opened her mouth, revealing only a string of bubbles.

The woman threw down the lamp, and roughly dragged a slender and flexible branch from the side of the road, and pulled it hard, but failed to break it.She cursed in a low voice, stepped forward regardless, and threw the branch down forcefully.

"Miss! I'm pulling you up! Hold on!" she yelled.

Doris was almost hit on the head by a branch, and she dodged subconsciously, causing a splash.In the woman's eyes, this seemed to be a painful struggle, and she became even more anxious. She pulled up her skirt and tied it in a random knot, kicked off her shoes, dropped her thick coat, and walked straight into the water.

Doris opened her eyes wide.You know, the soil by the lake is extraordinarily slippery and covered with moss, you will fall if you are not careful!

Doris quickly kicked the water, showing her face: "Don't come over! I—" Before she finished speaking, the woman let out a cry of pain, and fell back hard on the mud flat.Doris scratched her hair helplessly, rowed towards the lake, and soon her feet stepped on the soft ground.

"Hiss—" Even though the wet mud surface was already soft, Doris still felt a tingling pain from the soles of her feet.

The woman also let out a low cry, and got up from the mud flat. She rubbed her injured waist and ran towards Doris on all fours.Doris was so helpless, she had no choice but to bear the pain and walked towards the shore.

"Don't come here! I'm already out!"

Doris stopped her.

The woman's movements froze, and then she shuddered, picking up the branch beside her and throwing it at her.Doris felt helpless for her kindness, so she had no choice but to take the branch and walk towards the shore with a little force.Doris was wearing a white skirt, which was tightly attached to her body, and the black and black of the mud immediately stained the corners of her skirt.

The woman stretched out her hand tremblingly, and once their fingertips touched, they grasped it firmly.

The two supported each other and walked ashore without speaking.At this moment, the woman in black finally realized that the girl in the white skirt was not the one who fell into the water by mistake—and her reckless actions made both of them extremely embarrassed.but……

"Who are you? Why are you here before dawn?" She asked in a trembling voice, "In the water?" she added.

Doris didn't know how to answer and choked.Is she going to tell her that she is actually a fish?

"I..." Doris faltered.

The woman was startled by her hoarse voice, she picked up the coat she had thrown on the side of the road just now, and wrapped Doris in a sullen expression. "Poor girl!" she said sadly, "You must have something to worry about, stop talking, and look at what your throat has become! Don't freeze it!"

Before the words were finished, a gust of cool wind blew by, and the two people who were drenched on their bodies sneezed at the same time.

The young woman hurriedly picked up the lamp that had just been dropped by the side of the road, and took Doris away without hesitation, walking towards the school not far away.Doris was extremely helpless, but she couldn't find any reason to deceive her at the moment, so she had to be wrapped in her coat and pushed away step by step.

Soon, the two arrived in front of a tall building, and the woman tiptoedly led her in through the side door.

It was still dark in the building before dawn. With the faint light, Doris could barely see that this place seemed to be a centralized lodging place.There are rows of doors on both sides of the corridor, and the sound of washing came from a few of the rooms inside.

The young woman extinguished the lamp in her hand, led her to take advantage of the morning light coming in through the corridor window, quickly turned a staircase, and opened a door.

"Come in, I'll put hot water on you for a bath!"

After finishing speaking, she closed the door and hurried into a small room next to the room, and soon there was the sound of water.

Doris's feet were already freezing cold, and she was about to lose the pain sensation.She looked at the soft, fluffy goose-yellow flannel bedding, and at her dirty soles, sighed, leaned on the wall and approached slowly, and sat down on the stool at the end of the bed.

All of this happened inexplicably, she didn't know it until now, she just wanted to sink to the bottom of the water to absorb energy, but this happened to her?Doris carefully recalled that when she was underwater, she seemed to feel the power of the ocean slowly approaching.She once suspected that it was because of this woman, but she obviously couldn't feel any strange fluctuations from her body.

Doris closed her eyes, crossed her legs, leaned against the bedpost, tried to feel it again, but found that the force was still far away.She frowned—this power was very similar to the throbbing that the heart of the ocean brought to her that day, but it was definitely not just the heart of the ocean!

"Are you asleep?" The woman's voice woke her up suddenly.Doris saw fiery red hair and transparent gray-blue eyes in the morning light, and she shook her head.

"My name is Ruth Buckett. What about you? I've never met you."

Doris raised her head abruptly.