After the group parted ways, Qing and Zhihao headed to the Royal Garden because it seemed like a good place to demonstrate water manipulation without fear of destroying anything. They stood at a good distance away from the flowers then Qing said "Well, I know you are perfectly capable of moving water, and I've seen you demonstrate that you can make bubbles. Let me see you demonstrate how to boil water."

Zhihao smirked "Ok then. Step aside please, I wouldn't want you to get scalded."

Qing made sure to swim backwards then Zhihao commented "A bit more, a bit more, stop!"

The blue mermaid couldn't help but giggle at the distance he made her stand at.

Zhihao gave a genuine smile as he replied, "I meant it when I said I wouldn't want you to get scalded."

Seeing her smile gave her bubbles in her belly and she couldn't help but feel her cheeks heat up a bit as she smiled back.

He thought about the current temperature and the expanse of water before him that he wanted to heat up. He imagined the temperature getting warmer like when day arrived. Then soon, the water began bubbling and although Qing was standing a safe distance away from Zhihao's demonstration, she could feel the heat from where she was standing.

Qing immediately started clapping "Good work."

Zhihao couldn't help but feel happy at the fact that he was acknowledged by the mermaid that he always thought of as beautiful, demure, and he noted that her blue eyes sparkled with intelligence. So far, she seemed to have a frightening stern and cheeky side to her. Perhaps it was irrational to be attracted to a mermaid that he had only seen when their mutual friends got together and exchanged a few words with but from the moment they met, her beautiful and reserved nature captivated him. He had always accepted his feelings towards her and if they were irrational then so be it. He couldn't help but want to know more about the librarian. Now that they were both part of the flood clean-up crew, he had opportunities to see her more and try to get her to notice her more. He couldn't help but relish every moment that he got to spend with her.

The fact that his thoughts were drifting a bit towards her made the temperature start to heat up a bit then when he noticed that the temperature was changing, he decided to focus on the temperature and imagine the heat reducing.

When Qing felt that the water was no longer boiling and only some residual heat was remaining, she swam to stand a short distance away from Zhihao. "Well, you've definitely proven that you've been diligent about studying water manipulation. As promised, I will extend your loan time to one more week. I look forward to seeing more of what you've learned."

Zhihao smiled then he said "I've seen your water manipulation but what about making bubbles and boiling? Although, I'm sure you're excellent at it from seeing you move water."

Qing's cheeks had a tint of pink and she lowered her head as she said, "You flatter me."

She then turned to look at him and said, "It's your turn to step back Zhihao, because you've seen how bubbles moving at fast speeds can hurt."

He then swam backwards and stopped at a good distance. "Is this good enough for you?" He held up his open palms with lowered bent arms.

"Perfect."

Qing brought her outstretched hands closer to another and between her open palms, energy was vibrating into the shape of a big bubble. She then spun while the energy bubble followed her around and she had her arms crossed. She then spread her arms out of the cross she had them in earlier and the energy bubbles turned into a multitude of bubbles moving forward at a fast speed that caused them to self-destruct.

Zhihao's yellow green eyes widened in awe. He suddenly felt glad that he knew how far away he should stand from her otherwise, he could only imagine how bad that mass of bubbles would hurt when hitting him compared to the bit of damage he dealt Yìngyù earlier in the day.

He couldn't help but break out in a wide smile as he exclaimed "Amazing! I knew you were an excellent water manipulator, but you blew me away! C-Can you show me how to make bubbles the way that you just did?"

Qing couldn't help giggling with her fist covering her mouth even though that warm feeling from earlier reemerged in her belly and slowly made its way up to her chest. Her cheeks were slightly flushed as she replied "Perhaps tomorrow. After I show you how I heat up water, I should start going to bed myself and you should be going back to your duties, shouldn't you Zhihao?" She had lost her smile after saying that part.

Zhihao had lost his smile because her words had put a bit of a damper on the mood. He couldn't blame her for saying that; he had his own duties to mind after all and his night shift started later than Ruǎn yù's but he couldn't afford to be late to his otherwise he'd get chewed out.

"I'm sorry, I've ruined your mood, haven't I?" Qing's expression turned into one of ashamed concern.

Zhihao didn't want Qing to feel sad over him. He gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'm glad you reminded me about my duties."

Qing tried to smile back but the feeling of guilt still weighed in her heart. She wouldn't lie that demonstrating techniques of water manipulation and watching the other demonstrate was fun but also, she didn't want Zhihao to potentially get reprimanded for being late for his duties.

"I promise, I'll show you how I make bubbles next time."

Zhihao still smiled but it was genuine happiness rather than to assure her which made her feel better. That smile made her feel warm. Fortunately, he was already standing away from her so she could get straight to heating up the water. She tried to focus on the warm feeling that Zhihao kept giving her that evening. She wasn't a fool. She knew Zhihao was extremely interested in her and praised her often. In the past, they had exchanged a few words in passing whenever their mutual friends gathered together but now that they actually had more opportunities to talk to each other, she couldn't help but notice Zhihao made a point to talk to her every day even if he didn't say much. She had never been noticed in that type of way before and his attempts to make conversation with her seemed different than how she talked with her friends in the palace. She was being noticed by a merman, a beautiful and intelligent one, and the thought of it excited her for some reason. It was new but it wasn't bad at all. She liked this feeling and that realization made her open her mouth in the shape of an o even as she continued to imagine the warm feeling permeating her body spreading through her hands.

Soon, the water before her heated up rapidly and even though Zhihao was standing a safe distance away, he could feel the heat radiate. "Wow! Wonderful! That's got to be hotter than what I did earlier!"

Qing couldn't help but smile at Zhihao while he looked at her with adoration and in that moment, time seemed to slow, and their hearts beat quicker.

Note: Qing's demonstration of her bubble technique was based on the movements she does in Sabão Spray.

After this, updates won't be as frequent because I have to work on more chapters.