The Little Duck 37

Chapter 37

Jian Xin had always liked sweet things and disliked bitter things since she was a child. She couldn’t get used to coffee. At this moment, sitting in the coffee shop, holding a large menu and facing the average price of twenty to thirty yuan, she struggled for a long time, not knowing what to drink.

In the end, Yan Lu couldn’t stand it anymore and helped her order a matcha latte, along with two small desserts.

“You just woke up, you must not have eaten,” Yan Lu said. “Just have something to tide you over for now.”

Jian Xin nodded a little embarrassedly, not forgetting to praise her, “You’re so thoughtful.”

“Not thoughtful,” Yan Lu said with a smile, stroking Xin Xin’s head. “If I were thoughtful, I wouldn’t have brought them. Now I don’t even know where to go.”

“They’re so cute, I’ve always wanted to meet them!” Jian Xin said, her gaze unconsciously falling on Cauliflower. “Little duck, so you’re the one called ‘Cauliflower’?”

She swore that her tone was as gentle and friendly as possible, even with a little bit of a lisp.

But this little duck had kidnapped her countless times in the past six months!

It was fine when it didn’t cause any trouble in the past, but today it had made her miss her movie with Yan Lu. If Yan Lu hadn’t said they would make another date, she would have really wanted to eat roast duck!

At this thought, she couldn’t help but grit her back teeth.

Jian Xin didn’t realize at all that her eyes were unconsciously filled with a hint of resentment.

Cauliflower’s head tilted slightly to the left, and it looked back at her with those inexplicably wise beady eyes, not at all intimidated, as if to say—what are you looking at?

Yan Lu looked at Cauliflower, then at Jian Xin. For some reason, she felt a sense of tension between this person and this duck.

She suspected that she was mistaken. Jian Xin wouldn’t get into a fight with a duck, but once their eyes met, they just stared at each other, unable to look away.

Not only could they not look away, but as they stared, they both stretched their necks forward slightly.

Yan Lu opened her mouth slightly, wanting to say something, but didn’t know how to start.

Fortunately, the waiter came over with a tray. “Hello, your matcha latte, blueberry masur, and chocolate mousse.”

Jian Xin came back to her senses and silently retracted her gaze from Cauliflower.

The desserts were placed on the table. Xin Xin stretched its head out to smell them, but was gently pulled back by Yan Lu.

“You can’t eat this, it’s not good for you,” Yan Lu coaxed softly.

“Wooo~” Xin Xin lowered its head and collapsed onto the sofa like a pile of mud.

“Can’t dogs eat sweets?” Jian Xin couldn’t help but ask.

“There are potential risks. A little bit occasionally is fine, but it’s best not to. Once they eat it, they’ll crave it and always want more.”

“I see!” Jian Xin said, taking a sip of her drink thoughtfully.

She thought for a moment, looked at Xin Xin, who was lying on the sofa, and tentatively called out, “Xin Xin?”

Xin Xin instantly lifted its head and looked over at her.

There was confusion in its eyes, but more curiosity.

“Calling my own name, and being answered by a little dog,” Jian Xin said, and couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “It’s really a magical experience.”

She looked at Yan Lu and asked curiously, “Can I pet it?”

Yan Lu: “You’re really not afraid of dogs anymore?”

“I haven’t been for a long time!” Jian Xin’s answer was full of confidence. “Don’t worry, I’ve practiced!”

For the past six months, she had been practicing in the same room with a certain little demon dog that shared her name!

“It doesn’t know you, it might not be willing to let you pet it…”

Before Yan Lu could finish her sentence, she saw Xin Xin pawing at the edge of the sofa, as if it wanted to jump down.

The sofa was a little high, and its legs were a little short. It couldn’t muster the courage for a long time.

Seeing this, Cauliflower let out a “quack,” flapped its wings, and hopped onto the table. It walked around the desserts and cups, and with an “I-don’t-recognize-my-own-kin” gait, it strode proudly and waddled to Jian Xin’s right side. It turned back and started to “quack quack quack quack” at Xin Xin—as if in mockery.

Hearing this, Xin Xin got excited and immediately jumped off the sofa. The leash was still on its neck, and it was already wagging its tail and running to the other side of the table.

Jian Xin subconsciously looked down at it.

She saw the little one hopping a few times under the sofa. It even knocked over the crutch that was leaning on the side, but it still couldn’t jump onto the sofa.

Jian Xin was really afraid that it would get anxious from jumping and bite someone, so she quickly bent down to try and pick it up.

Actually, she was still a little scared. After all, she had been chased and bitten by a stray dog on the street when she was a child.

But Xin Xin was very well-behaved. Seeing that someone was picking it up, it immediately quieted down a lot. Jian Xin held its two front legs with one hand and its butt with the other, and lifted it up from the floor.

The moment Xin Xin got on the sofa, it was so excited that the moment it left Jian Xin’s hands, it pounced on Cauliflower.

Its short little legs stepped on her body with some force, and it happened to touch Jian Xin’s right leg, causing her to gasp in pain.

“Xin Xin!” Yan Lu was so scared that she quickly shouted to stop it. “Don’t step on people!”

Being shouted at like this, Xin Xin’s duck-chasing movements instantly slowed down. Out of inertia, it moved for another two seconds, and finally, as if it had come back to its senses, the entire little dog froze in a pouncing posture, not daring to move at all.

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Jian Xin said with a smile, waving her hand and rubbing Xin Xin’s neck fur. “It’s so lively and active, so cute!”

What a joke, she’s a grateful person, okay!

The reason she was able to return to her own body today and sit here with Yan Lu was all thanks to Xin Xin’s slap!

Not just that slap, this little one had also helped her open the duck cage!

If it hadn’t opened the duck cage and let her come out with Yan Lu, she might still be in the duck’s body now, and Yan Lu would be waiting alone at the mall, and would have hated her for it. How could they have called it even?

At this thought, Jian Xin’s hand, which was petting the dog, couldn’t stop.

This fluffy little angel, the more she looked at it, the more she liked it!

Xin Xin’s fur was short, soft, and thick. It was clear that Yan Lu had taken good care of it.

Being stroked back and forth by a stranger like this, not only did it not resist, but it was no longer as stiff as before. It lay obediently by Jian Xin’s side, its four short little legs stretched out, its whole body completely relaxed under this stroking.

Cauliflower squatted on the side, tilting its head to look at this person and this dog, its gaze a little dazed.

“It seems to like you quite a bit,” Yan Lu said, looking at the scene in front of her with some surprise. “How strange, it’s never seen you before.”

Jian Xin: “You said before that it’s shy with strangers. I think it’s very friendly!”

“Why would I lie to you?” Yan Lu said, looking at the very comfortable Xin Xin, her eyes couldn’t help but curve slightly. “If you don’t believe me, you can ask Qianqian how many times she came to my house before Xin Xin would lie down so obediently and let her pet it.”

“I’m really going to ask!” Jian Xin said, taking out her phone, taking a short video of herself petting the dog, and sending it to Yao Wenqian with a grin.

Yao Wenqian was also the type who sat in front of her computer every day and would basically reply in seconds as long as she was awake and there was a message.

Seeing this video, she immediately sent a long string of exclamation marks.

Don’t Steal My Little Pudding: Xin Xin!!!!!

Don’t Steal My Little Pudding: You’re already petting it!!!!!!

Picked Up a Heart: It let me pet it the first time we met, so well-behaved!

Don’t Steal My Little Pudding: [???]

Picked Up a Heart: [Happy dog]

Don’t Steal My Little Pudding: How did you do it?

Don’t Steal My Little Pudding: I had to see it a dozen times before it would let me pet it so obediently!

Don’t Steal My Little Pudding: At first, I had to force it!

Picked Up a Heart: [Hehehe]

“It’s true!” Jian Xin put down her phone, rubbed Xin Xin’s fluffy little head, tilted her head, and asked sweetly, “Why did you let me pet you the first time we met, duck? Is it because we have a connection, duck? Your name is Xin Xin, and my name is also Xin Xin. Could we be a lost family, duck!”

“Woof! Woof-woo-woo!”

“That’s not possible,” Yan Lu said faintly.

“…I was just kidding. Teacher Yan is so strict.”

Jian Xin pouted. Cauliflower on the side suddenly tilted its neck up and started to “quack quack quack quack,” its cries rising and falling, as if it were laughing—and laughing out loud!

Hey, wait…

Is it really laughing?

This duck is really strange! Not only can it kidnap her, but it can also understand human language?

Damn it, why is even a duck laughing at her?

Jian Xin looked at Cauliflower, opened her mouth unconsciously, and was at a loss for words for a moment.

Just as she was about to speak, Xin Xin raised its paw and slapped Cauliflower’s beak a couple of times.

Xin Xin: “Woof!”

Cauliflower: “Quack quack quack!!!”

After a brief exchange that humans couldn’t understand but somehow felt was not very nice.

Xin Xin raised its paw again and pressed Cauliflower’s head onto the sofa a couple of times.

Cauliflower struggled for a while, flapping its wings, but couldn’t break free from Xin Xin’s paw. For a moment, it could only stick its butt up and quack fiercely.

Jian Xin: “Should… we stop it?”

Yan Lu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “They’re like this. You can stop it…”

Jian Xin thought for a moment, then reached out and scooped Cauliflower out from under Xin Xin’s demonic claws, holding it in her arms.

Even though the duck and dog were separated, they were still not convinced, stretching their necks, looking at each other, and starting a round of quacks and barks.

When she was a duck and was arguing with this little dog, she didn’t think it was that noisy.

Now that these two sounds were in her ears at the same time, Jian Xin belatedly realized what a demonic sound it was.

It’s a wonder the neighbors haven’t knocked on her door. Yan Lu’s apartment must have very good soundproofing!

It was a good thing it was a weekday and there were no other customers in the coffee shop besides them. Otherwise, Jian Xin was really afraid that she and Yan Lu would be kicked out by the staff.

But as they barked and quacked, the duck was the first to stop.

It seemed to have discovered that the human holding it was observing it.

After a brief silence, it tilted its head up and looked at Jian Xin.

After staring at each other for a dozen seconds, Jian Xin suddenly rubbed Cauliflower’s little head. “Can you be a little more well-behaved?”

This question seemed ordinary, but she always felt that Cauliflower should understand what she was really trying to say.

—Can you be a good duck and not mess with me at a critical moment like this again!

Cauliflower: “Quack!”

I don’t understand, but I’ll just take it as a promise for now.

Jian Xin stretched out a finger, scraped the little duck’s white and round chest from bottom to top, bent down to its head, and said softly, “Then it’s a deal. You can’t do this again next time.”

Cauliflower: “Quack ah!”

Yan Lu, who was watching on the side, couldn’t help but lift the corners of her mouth. “How could it possibly understand?”

“I feel like it does,” Jian Xin replied, smoothing the feathers on the little duck’s wing.

Finally, she was silent for a moment, then looked up and said embarrassedly again, “I was late today, and I can’t find any excuse. I just overslept, and it was also very wrong of me to forget to charge my phone last night…”

“Ever since the car accident, I’ve always been unable to control how long I sleep, and for how long,” Jian Xin said, then sighed and bit her lower lip. “But I was really looking forward to this movie today, so much so that I couldn’t sleep last night even after counting hundreds of numbers. It’s a pity that I still missed it in the end.”

Yan Lu: “It’s fine, it’s not like it’s going to be off the air after today.”

Jian Xin: “It has nothing to do with the movie.”

Yan Lu: “…”

Jian Xin saw the fleeting discomfort in Yan Lu’s eyes and couldn’t help but wave her hand and laugh nonchalantly. “In short, I just wanted to say, I’m really sorry—I really didn’t take today’s appointment lightly. I was rushing here the moment I woke up…”

“I can tell, you’re a mess,” Yan Lu said softly, her originally indifferent tone seeming to have a hint of gentleness.

Jian Xin subconsciously took out her phone, opened the mirror, and tidied her hair a little, then let out a sigh of relief.

She asked Yan Lu, what did she plan to do today?

With these two noisy little ones, it seemed that it wasn’t very convenient to go anywhere.

Yan Lu thought for a moment and said, “How about we go to your place? There’s a supermarket nearby, and the things are quite fresh.”

Jian Xin was taken aback. “How do you even know that?”

Yan Lu: “The private chef told me.”

Jian Xin: “Oh—”

The two of them chatted idly and rested in the coffee shop for a while longer.

When the drinks and desserts on the table were almost finished, they walked back to the mall in the cold wind, one after the other.

Jian Xin went in alone to return the power bank, then followed Yan Lu to the underground parking garage and went home amidst the bickering of Xin Xin and Cauliflower.

After settling the two noisy little ones, Yan Lu had originally wanted to go grocery shopping alone, but Jian Xin, despite her inconvenience, insisted on going with her, leaning on her crutches and limping behind her.

As they took the elevator down, she couldn’t help but mutter, “Your leg is not good, and you’re not resting…”

“It’s because it’s not good that I have to exercise more!” Jian Xin replied with a grin. “This is called—rehabilitation!”

Yan Lu smiled and shook her head, not saying anything more.

That afternoon, Jian Xin followed behind Yan Lu and wandered around the supermarket for a long time. Besides fresh meat, vegetables, and fruits, she also bought some snacks and drinks.

Jian Xin didn’t really want to eat snacks. After all, as a person grows up, their desire for these things will always decrease.

But it had been too long since she had been to a supermarket. Suddenly seeing Yan Lu pushing a small shopping cart and wandering around, it really reminded her of some things from a long time ago.

Back then, when Yan Lu was still around, every time it was the New Year, she would take the supermarket card her dad’s company had given her and drag Yan Lu to the supermarket near their home to buy a lot of small snacks.

The small shopping cart would be pushed forward by the two of them, passing one after another of the shelves full of snacks.

Yan Lu was always too embarrassed to take anything, but she was different. She would throw everything into the small shopping cart, wishing she could pile it up into a small mountain, and then take it home to enjoy with Yan Lu every day—she didn’t care what her mom was nagging about junk food and health outside.

But those days, it was as if in the blink of an eye, they were already as distant as a dream.

After returning home, Jian Xin took out a small knife, cut up the fruits she had just bought, and also made two boiled eggs, which she also cut up and served. She happily brought them to the living room, placed them on the floor, clapped her hands, and called the two little ones over.

Finally, she got up and went back to the kitchen, poked her head in to look at Yan Lu, and was about to find something to do, but her legs were really inconvenient, and she was just in the way in the kitchen. A short while later, she was chased out to the living room by Yan Lu.

Jian Xin pouted, sat down on the sofa, and started to mutter to the two little ones who were eating together on the side.

“Your owner dislikes me, and you two are eating so happily!”

“I wanted to help. I can’t cook, but I can wash and cut vegetables… I’m just a little slow.”

“I made your food, isn’t it perfectly separated? My knife skills aren’t that bad, are they?”

The two little ones were hungry, and their eyes were full of food. They didn’t pay any attention to her at all, just stuck their butts up high and buried their heads in their food.

Seeing them like this, Jian Xin couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.

Before today, she had never thought that these two little ones would appear in her home.

Cauliflower, and Xin Xin, she had always wanted to see them but hadn’t. Today, she had suddenly seen them both, and Yan Lu had even come to her home to cook dinner for her.

Could this be considered a blessing in disguise?

With this joy, she finished this dinner with Yan Lu.

Winter nights always come a little earlier.

The sky outside gradually darkened.

They had made too much food for dinner, and the two of them couldn’t finish it. Yan Lu found a large bowl, put all the leftovers in it, and also put the leftover rice in the bowl—so that Jian Xin could just heat it up in the microwave tomorrow to eat.

After packing up the leftovers, Yan Lu went into the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Jian Xin wanted to help, but Yan Lu just glanced at her and said faintly, “You’re standing there with your legs shaking. You should go back to the living room and sit.”

Jian Xin: “…”

She pursed her lips and thought to herself—it’s not that I don’t see the work, it’s that she won’t let me do it!

With this thought, Jian Xin sat in the living room, looking at the duck and dog running around at her feet, and fell into a daze.

Thinking back, she couldn’t even remember the last time Yan Lu had cooked for her.

In the past, at home, most of the meals were cooked by her mom.

But because Yan Lu wanted to learn, Huang He had once taught her step by step, so from time to time, there would be one or two dishes made by Yan Lu on the dinner table.

Later, when they went to university, they were not in the same city, and the distance was much greater. If they were reluctant to buy a plane ticket, then a single meeting would require a seven or eight-hour high-speed train ride.

Despite this, she still wanted to see Yan Lu.

So every time there was a holiday of more than three days, she would definitely go to see her.

Some things were really not convenient in the school dormitory, so they would find a homestay to stay in temporarily.

At times like this, Yan Lu would personally cook a meal for her.

In Jian Xin’s memory, Yan Lu’s cooking was not particularly delicious, at least there was a considerable distance compared to her own mom.

She preferred to eat out, to have something with a heavy flavor, or something she didn’t usually get to eat.

Now, thinking back, she realized that she had been taking her for granted back then.

Yan Lu’s cooking was actually quite good.

It was better than many of the takeouts she often ordered—simple, yet it seemed that she would never get tired of eating it for a lifetime.

Just as Jian Xin was lost in thought, the duck was suddenly chased by the dog and flapped its wings, landing on her lap.

This sudden little flying duck startled her. She snapped back to her senses and held Cauliflower tightly in her hands.

Cauliflower was quacking in her hands, and Xin Xin was barking on the floor.

Jian Xin calmed down and tilted her head to seriously study the little duck in her hands.

To not miss any detail, she even lifted its duck wings to take a closer look.

White, small, and dazed—uh, it didn’t look very special.

“How on earth did you do it?” Jian Xin asked, rubbing the little duck’s head, her eyes full of curiosity.

The little duck flapped its wings in her hands. “Quack quack! Ahh ahh quack!”

Jian Xin stretched out a finger, poked the little duck’s beak, and said in a low, serious voice, “I’m telling you, I have a good temper. This time, for your owner’s sake, I’ll forgive you for now—if you dare to mess around again next time, believe it or not, I’ll find a master to take you away?”

“Quack—” Cauliflower struggled for a moment, twisting its neck to look at the floor. “Quack quack, quack quack quack—”

I don’t understand…

It’s hard for a duck to communicate with a person, and it’s also hard for a person to communicate with a duck.

“Awoo woof woof woof! Woof woof woof woo awoo!” Xin Xin shouted, impatiently pawing at Jian Xin’s calf with its paw.

Jian Xin sighed, let go of her hands, and let Cauliflower jump out of her hands and go back to the floor to continue playing with Xin Xin.

These two little ones at Yan Lu’s house were really full of energy.

Sometimes it was hard to imagine that such a quiet person like Yan Lu would have two such noisy little pets.

But being noisy was also good.

In Jian Xin’s memory, Yan Lu didn’t talk much, and she had thought that Yan Lu was just a naturally quiet person.

But after she became a duck, she found out that Yan Lu had a lot on her mind. When no one was around, Yan Lu would always tell these two little ones things she couldn’t say out loud.

Every time Jian Xin secretly heard, she couldn’t help but wonder, how could there be such a person in this world?

Her gentle words and soft heart were all hidden away—people couldn’t see them, but the duck and dog could.

As Jian Xin was thinking, Yan Lu walked out of the kitchen.

She looked up and met her gaze. Time seemed to pause for a few seconds, taking them back to the past.

They were staying at a homestay together, and after dinner, they would move small stools to the balcony, enjoy the night breeze, look at the stars and the moon, and chat about everything under the sun…

But that was a long time ago.

After a moment of silence, Yan Lu calmly retracted her gaze.

“I should be going. We’ll make another date for the movie,” she said, crouching down and clapping her hands, calling Xin Xin to her side and putting on its leash.

Jian Xin said “oh” in a daze and asked, “If I ask you out on the same day, can you still make it?”

Yan Lu: “I’m not working on a serial at the moment, so my time is more flexible.”

Jian Xin nodded and said softly, “Then let’s just be spontaneous. I’ll ask you when I wake up early one day.”

Yan Lu: “Okay.”

Jian Xin smiled, her eyebrows arching, and saw her to the door.

A short while later, the sound of the elevator door closing came from the hallway. Only then did she take a deep breath and slowly close the door.

She leaned against the back of the door in a daze for a long time.

When she came back to her senses, she looked down, opened her phone’s WeChat, clicked on the small group [Family], and sent a bunch of pictures.

They were—the drinks and desserts from the coffee shop, the duck and the little dog, and tonight’s rather sumptuous dinner.

Huang He: Looks pretty good.

I’m Alive Again: Yan Lu made it!

Huang He: [Wow]

Jian Changjiang: [Thumbs up]

Jian Xin scrolled up the chat history a little, looked at these pictures again, and the smile in her eyes deepened.

She couldn’t help but purse her lips, unconsciously pressing down on the corners of her mouth. She switched from WeChat to QQ and sent these pictures to the band group as well.

Invincible Happy Duck: @Everyone

Invincible Happy Duck: [Aiyo!]

Invincible Happy Duck: How did you guys know that this dinner was made for me by the great author Yan, duck?

The Dead Duck is Still Stubborn: Who asked you?

Lan Lan Can’t Sleep Enough: Who asked you?

I’ll Procrastinate a Little Longer: Who asked you?

Invincible Happy Duck: Hehehehehehehehehehe

No one had asked her!

But she just really, really, really wanted to tell the whole world!

How much she wanted—

To hold that person’s hand again.