Transmigration; Married to My Ex-Fiancé's Uncle-Chapter 219; Shopping 3

But how was that possible?

Yes, mermaids could take full human form. The magic allowed for complete transformation when necessary. But her brothers had always preferred the sea to the surface world. They’d called the land boring, restrictive, too dry, and too loud. They’d never shown interest in human affairs.

Could they have come looking for her?

The other car inched forward slightly, the man’s face turning away from her window.

Had it really been him? Or was she seeing things?

"Momma?" Yuyan’s voice broke through her spiraling thoughts. "Are you okay? You look... distracted."

Shuyin forced her attention back to the children, her expression smoothing into something calmer. "I’m fine. Just thought I saw someone I know. Probably just someone who looked similar."

But her eyes drifted back to the window, searching for that other vehicle in the maze of traffic.

Gone now. Either move ahead or turn down a different street.

Maybe it had been nothing. Maybe her mind was playing tricks, turning every vaguely familiar face into a connection to her life.

Or maybe her brothers really were here, searching the human world for their missing sister, not knowing she’d died and been reborn into flesh that looked nothing like her original form.

Shuyin immediately closed her eyes, her consciousness reaching outward like invisible threads through the congested traffic. The distance was close enough, nothing would interfere with their magic communication at this range. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Brother, is that you?" she projected carefully, her mental voice tentative.

The response came instantly, sharp with shock and overwhelming relief.

"Kailani? Is that you? Where are you? We’ve been looking for you for so many years!"

The yearning in his voice was palpable, mixed with disbelief and desperate hope. Her brother, her actual brother, not a figment of her imagination or wishful thinking.

"Hehehe..." Shuyin’s mental laugh carried nervousness and embarrassment, but also genuine happiness. "I think I saw someone like you! I did call Daddy a few hours ago, and I’ll go back home in a month. What are you doing on Earth?"

She could feel his frustration and exasperation even through their mental link.

"You! It’s all Father’s fault for spoiling you! Telling you all those stories about the Earth, filling your head with curiosity!" His tone carried the familiar exasperation of an older brother who’d spent too many years worrying. "You couldn’t help yourself, could you? Got curious and decided to venture up here without telling anyone, where are you? I can pick you up right now!"

She felt him reaching out with his own magic, trying to trace the source of her mental signature, attempting to pinpoint her exact location.

Shuyin immediately shut down that avenue, blocking the trace while keeping the communication channel open. They could talk, but he couldn’t find her. Not yet. Not like this.

Not when she was in a different body, living a different life, with human children depending on her and a contract marriage binding her to this world.

How could she explain any of this? How could she tell her beloved brother, her family who had spoiled and adored her, who had called her their precious princess of the sea, that their Kailani had been captured by humans? That she’d been held in a research facility for three years, studied like a specimen, drained of her essence drop by drop until there was nothing left?

That she’d died there, alone and terrified, and somehow woken up in a human woman’s body, in a human prison, with fragmented memories of two different lives tangled together?

The Kailani they remembered was the pampered youngest daughter of the Mermaid King. Adored by her father, protected by her brothers, given everything she could possibly want. Beautiful, playful, endlessly curious about the human world her father described in his stories.

She’d been their treasure. Their joy. The light of their underwater kingdom.

And she’d vanished three years ago without a trace, leaving them searching desperately across both sea and land.

"Kailani?" Her brother’s voice turned concerned at her prolonged silence. "Are you all right? Why won’t you let me find you? What’s wrong?"

"I’m fine," she assured him quickly, infusing warmth into her mental voice. "I’m just... I’m in the middle of something right now. Human things. You know how complicated they can be."

"Human things?" His tone sharpened with suspicion. "What kind of human things? Kailani, what have you gotten yourself into?"

"Nothing bad!" she protested, and it was only partially a lie. "I’m just... learning. Experiencing. You know Father always said we should understand the surface world, and I’m doing exactly that."

"For three years?" The disbelief was heavy. "You’ve been gone for three years, Kailani. We’ve searched everywhere, every coastal city, every harbor, every place where mermaids have been sighted. We thought you’d been captured. Or worse."

The word captured hit like a physical blow.

Because she had been captured. They’d been right to worry. Their worst fears had come true.

But how could she tell them that? How could she break their hearts with the truth?

"I called Father this morning," Shuyin said, choosing her words carefully. "Around eleven. We talked. He knows I’m alive and on Earth."

There was a stunned silence on the other end of the mental link.

"You... you called Father? This morning?" Her brother’s voice was a mixture of relief and hurt. "And he didn’t tell us? Didn’t tell me you’d made contact?"

"He probably wanted to give me time," Shuyin said gently, understanding now why her brother had been so shocked to sense her presence. "You know how he is. He probably didn’t want to get everyone’s hopes up until I was ready to come home properly."

"That old man," her brother muttered, affection and frustration tangled together. "Always protecting you, even when you don’t need it. Even when it means the rest of us are left worrying."

"I’m sorry," she said quietly, genuine remorse flooding through the connection. "I didn’t mean to worry everyone. I just... I needed time to figure things out."

"Figure what out?" Her brother’s concern was palpable. "Kailani, what happened to you? Why did you disappear for three years? Father wouldn’t tell me anything except that you’d called and you were safe. But I can feel something’s different. You’re different."

Of course, he could feel it. He’d known her all her life, the bright, carefree princess who’d never experienced real hardship or fear. How could she hide the fundamental transformation that death and rebirth had wrought?

"I’ve grown up," she said simply. "Three years in the human world will do that."

"But why the human world?" he pressed. "Why leave without telling anyone? Why stay away so long? Kailani, we’ve been searching for you. I’ve personally combed dozens of coastal cities looking for any sign....."

"I know," she interrupted softly. "And I’m grateful. But I needed this time. I needed to... experience things. Learn things. Become someone more than just Father’s pampered daughter."

"You were never just that," her brother said, his voice rough with emotion. "You were our sister. Our family. We love you."

Shuyin’s throat tightened. "I know. And I love you too. That’s why I’m coming home. In a month. I told Father that, and I’m telling you now. One month, and I’ll return."

"A month," he repeated. "You’re sure? You’re not going to disappear again?"

"I promise," she said firmly. "One month. I have some things I need to finish here first, human obligations I can’t just abandon, but then I’ll come home."

She could feel his internal struggle, the desire to grab her immediately versus respecting her autonomy, his worry for her safety versus his knowledge that she’d always been stubborn and independent.

"Fine," he said finally, reluctance heavy in his tone. "One month. But Kailani, if anything happens, if you need help, you call me immediately. Do you understand? I don’t care what human obligations you have, your safety comes first."

"I understand," she promised. "Thank you for understanding."

"I don’t understand," he corrected. "But I’m choosing to trust you. Like Father apparently is." A pause, then more gently: "I’m glad you’re safe, little sister. We’ve missed you."

"I’ve missed you too," Shuyin said, and meant it. "More than you know."

"Then come home soon," he urged. "And be careful until then. The human world is more dangerous than Father’s stories made it seem."

"I know," Shuyin said quietly, thinking.....