The Little Duck 13

Chapter 13

[“From the time I can remember, many people have surrounded me, telling me to do this, to do that.”

“I know, I’ve always known, that everyone was doing it for my own good, so I obediently did as they said. But no one ever told me that the more obedient a person is, the less anyone will care about what she truly wants in her heart.”

“You see, this time, I just wanted to choose for myself, and everyone thinks I’m crazy…”]

The moment she pushed open the door, Yan Lu saw Jian Xin on the hospital bed, watching the drama while gnawing on a corn on the cob. She looked quite at ease, but there was a hint of tears in her eyes.

Her left hand was a little more mobile now, and for the past two days, she had been trying to eat and use her phone by herself as much as possible.

“Cousin’s here,” Yao Wenqian said, wiping away a tear and waving at the door.

Jian Xin paused the show with her little finger and gave Yan Lu a small wave with the half-eaten corn cob in her hand.

“You’re still injured, don’t wave it around,” Yan Lu reminded her, walking to the bedside and “casually” glancing at the phone screen propped up on the small table.

Yao Wenqian: “Sister Jian Xin has caught up to the latest episode. After this, she’ll be lonely with me.”

Yan Lu looked at Jian Xin and asked faintly, “How can you be lonely from this?”

Jian Xin almost choked on her corn.

She had every right to suspect that Yan Lu was being passive-aggressive again!

And she was so disappointing, to actually fall for a drama adapted from her ex’s novel!

I don’t want to admit it, I really don’t want to admit it!

Yao Wenqian clearly didn’t notice the awkwardness on her face. “Of course! Sister Jian Xin is even more excited watching it than I am.”

Jian Xin: “Well… Lin Xiyu is a good actress.”

Yan Lu: “Oh.”

Jian Xin: “…”

Yao Wenqian: “My cousin’s original novel is a good foundation too!”

“Yeah, yeah…” Jian Xin agreed, clearing her throat twice and changing the subject. “What time does this update every day?”

Yao Wenqian: “Seven in the evening, but there’s only one episode today.”

Jian Xin: “Oh, only one episode…”

Yao Wenqian giggled. “But there’s good news. The express pass opens at noon tomorrow. We can watch the finale together then. It’s my treat!”

Jian Xin: “Okay!”

Yan Lu sat down on the side. It wasn’t until the two had finished the last episode that she finally asked, “How’s your recovery going?”

“It’s alright. At least I can wake up in the morning now.”

“True,” Yao Wenqian nodded. “You were sleeping for so long the past few days. You wouldn’t wake up even when it was past mealtime, and you were listless when you did wake up—you’ve been much more energetic these past two days!”

Jian Xin smiled, a little awkwardly.

It wasn’t that she wanted to sleep for so long before. Who could understand the feeling of seemingly sleeping for more than ten hours a day, but in reality, spending most of that time in another body, battling wits and courage with a dog!

In the first few days after the car accident, she could turn into a duck just by closing her eyes.

The most annoying part was that while going over seemed to only require closing her eyes and sleeping, the way back was extremely elusive, practically a matter of metaphysics!

On lucky days, she would come back after a single night’s sleep.

But most of the time, she wasn’t lucky. No matter how much she slept, she was still a little duck, and could only patiently wait for an opportunity that would come at an unknown time.

In just a few short days, Jian Xin had experienced being licked back by Xin Xin, being chilled back by the air conditioning, being sunbathed back, and even listening to music on the floor had brought her back once!

Jian Xin had engaged in countless deep thoughts when no one was around.

After much deliberation, although she didn’t know if it was correct, she had tentatively summarized the method of transmigration into four words—synesthetic transmigration.

The so-called synesthetic transmigration meant that when Cauliflower and she experienced the same, or different but similar, five senses at the same time, she could transmigrate back from Cauliflower’s body.

Humans and ducks can transmigrate through synesthesia. What a cool and great discovery, she thought. If I dared to say this out loud, I would definitely be treated like a lunatic!

Actually, Jian Xin had thought more than once about whether she needed to make an appointment with a psychiatrist, but she had quickly calmed down each time.

She was very sure that she was not mentally deranged.

The duck was real, the dog was real, and Yan Lu was even more real.

This was a paranormal event that science couldn’t explain. She had no way of proving to anyone what she had experienced, let alone gaining their trust.

Fortunately, Yan Lu had changed Cauliflower’s food, and she had gradually mastered the way to deal with that Corgi. She hadn’t been over there for the past two days…

Jian Xin’s mind wandered through a jumble of thoughts. Finally, she couldn’t help but shake her head and proactively change the subject.

“My boss and colleagues came to see me this morning. They told me to rest well, but also asked me to find some time to finish the proposal I’m working on and hand over what needs to be handed over,” she said with a sigh. “My work laptop will be delivered to the hospital by tomorrow afternoon at the latest…”

“You’ve only been resting for a few days! You can just barely move one hand!” Yao Wenqian exclaimed. “Can’t you do it later? Can’t you hand it over to someone else?”

“If someone else takes over and can’t figure out the previous work, they might have to start all over again. They’d be doing extra work for no extra pay,” Jian Xin shrugged helplessly. “Forget it, it’s not easy for anyone. I’m already at the final stage anyway. The sooner I finish and hand it over, the sooner I’ll be done with all this.”

Yan Lu: “You quit?”

Jian Xin: “Yeah.”

Yan Lu couldn’t help but frown. “Is it because of this incident?”

Yao Wenqian’s eyes widened, her mouth slightly agape, her eyes already starting to fill with preemptive guilt.

“Hey, don’t be so quick to blame yourself. It has nothing to do with Qianqian,” Jian Xin said with a smile and a shake of her head. “I wanted to quit myself. I had already submitted my resignation letter before the accident. I just didn’t have time to leave before I ended up lying here.”

Yao Wenqian instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

Yan Lu was silent for a moment, then asked, “So what are your plans for the future?”

Jian Xin thought seriously for a moment, a not-so-confident smile appearing on her face. “Music, I guess—becoming a superstar in the music industry has been my dream since I was a child!”

“Although, a dream is just a dream, something to think about in your dreams. But my friend’s studio has been doing a bit better these past few years. I can go and ride their coattails. It shouldn’t be hard to make a living,” she said, tilting her head nonchalantly. “At twenty-eight, throwing away a monotonous, busy but stable life to resolutely walk a path full of unknowns—doesn’t that sound super cool?!”

Hearing this, Yan Lu didn’t say anything more.

Yao Wenqian was much more supportive. First, she marveled that Jian Xin was a musician, then she asked to listen to her work. After listening to a few songs, the praise never stopped.

Jian Xin had forgotten how long it had been since she had been praised like this.

The constant chatter made her head spin—her body was forced to lie in a hospital bed, but her heart was soaring, about to fly out the window.

Yan Lu sat quietly on the side, watching her cousin and Jian Xin laughing and chatting, her thoughts drifting off to who knows where.

That evening, Yan Lu went home a little earlier than usual.

The moment she walked in, Xin Xin came bounding towards her, wagging its tail.

Yan Lu crouched down, hugged Xin Xin’s neck, and smiled as she nuzzled its fluffy head.

Cauliflower, with its wings behind its back like a little teacher, waddled out of the study and quacked at her a few times with its head tilted.

Yan Lu ruffled Xin Xin’s neck fur, changed into her slippers, and walked over to Cauliflower, crouching down and smiling as she rubbed its head.

“Cauliflower is in a good mood today!”

“Quack—”

“Mommy hasn’t been home in the afternoons lately. Do you miss Mommy?”

“Quack!”

“In a few more days, when that person is discharged from the hospital, I won’t have to go over and take care of her every day,” Yan Lu said, poking Cauliflower’s small, flat, yellow beak.

Her tone was faint. The words seemed happy, but they also seemed to hide a hint of disappointment.

“It’s almost seven,” Yan Lu murmured, looking at the grandfather clock.

—Is a certain someone waiting for the drama update today?

Yan Lu didn’t know why she was thinking about this. What did it have to do with her whether that person was waiting for the update or not?

She was just there for Lin Xiyu, and the person watching the drama with her was just her cousin.

Yan Lu rubbed the duck’s head, stood up, and, with Xin Xin getting underfoot, checked the areas where the duck liked to be, cleaned up the day’s duck poop, and prepared a fresh bowl of dog food for Xin Xin. Only then did she sit back down in front of her computer and stare blankly at the half-written chapter.

The clock in the living room struck seven.

Yan Lu came back to her senses, looked at the unfinished chapter, and couldn’t muster any enthusiasm to continue writing. She simply closed the writing software and clicked on the latest episode of The Fallen Jade Branch on the video platform.

A short while later, Cauliflower heard the sound and waddled in from the living room.

The little duck stretched its neck long, tilted its head to the left, and looked at its owner with curiosity—as if it wanted to watch too.

Seeing it like this, Yan Lu smiled and picked it up. “Does our Cauliflower want to watch too?”

“It just so happens that Mommy is also alone,” she said, pushing aside the keyboard on the desk and placing Cauliflower on the table like a stuffed toy. “If you want to watch, then watch with Mommy, okay? This is adapted from Mommy’s novel!”

Yan Lu gently encircled its small body with her hands, her thumbs occasionally stroking the smooth, soft down on its chest.

Cauliflower sat down with a “quack,” tilted its neck, and stared blankly at the two people on the screen, leaning against each other under the moon.

[“Hey, have you ever seen a fish that not only didn’t die after leaving the water, but also grew wings and, carrying the moonlight, flew with all its might towards the sky?”

“A flying fish? How is that possible?”

“Why is it not possible? I’ve seen one!!”

“…You’ve seen one?”

“Of course! On the night it soared into the sky, its battered body was pushed ashore by the waves. The feeling of almost losing its breath made it want to return to the sea, but the thought that the sea behind it was no longer willing to embrace it made it endure the pain and turn its fins into wings, flying into the distance without looking back.”

“And then?”

“And then, it lived a very good life…”]

The little duck listened to the sound coming from the computer, a trace of confusion gradually appearing in its dark, beady eyes.

A short while later, that trace of confusion turned into a faint sense of doom.

Jian Xin: “…”

—I’m thoroughly impressed, duck!

It’s one thing to transmigrate when I sleep, but how can I transmigrate just by watching a drama?!

Can’t a person catch a break in this life, duck!!!