The Little Duck 16

Chapter 16

In her youth, as long as it wasn’t related to her studies, Jian Xin’s memory was always exceptionally good.

She once thought that a story she had loved with all her heart could be imprinted in her mind for a lifetime.

But looking back now, she had to admit that the story she had read from her deskmate’s pen so many years ago had long been forgotten.

It was a novel that the author had never transcribed onto the internet, a memory that existed only between the two of them.

She tried so hard to recall, but in the end, she could only remember a few scattered fragments.

But no matter how blurry the memory was, she still remembered a line from the story—

[Lin Xiaoshuang leaving Li Xia was like a fish leaving water.]

[And a fish cannot leave water.]

[If Li Xia really was never coming back.]

[Then she would suffocate on a sea surface untouched by sunlight—ten thousand miles of frozen ice, the tomb of her memories.]

…

It was around noon when Jian Xin returned to the hospital.

At that moment, she was huddled in the duck nest, as dazed as a large, soulless glutinous rice ball.

The computer, which had long since gone to its screensaver, was playing a light and fresh instrumental piece. The three-beat rhythm was soothing and airy.

The screensaver was a deep blue forest, with a full moon hanging high and a white deer drinking from a stream.

Fireflies danced in the thin mist, twinkling gently to the unknown tune, as if they could transport a person into a fairytale-like dream.

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening interrupted the tranquility.

Yan Lu is back from walking the dog.

With this thought, Jian Xin opened her eyes with a complicated mix of emotions.

The light, airy instrumental music in her ears came to an abrupt halt. Jian Xin stared at the light blue curtains by the bed, which were fluttering in the wind, for a few seconds. It wasn’t until Yao Wenqian had closed the door and gently placed the lunch box by the bed that she realized she was back in the hospital.

“You’re awake.”

“Uh-huh…”

Jian Xin always felt that every time she transmigrated back, her head was dizzy, as if she had been hit with a club the night before.

She clenched her left hand into a fist and gently tapped her temple.

“The sun is already high in the sky. Let’s eat first!”

“Mmm…”

Yao Wenqian skillfully set up the small table at the end of the bed, helped Jian Xin sit up, and handed her a pair of chopsticks.

Jian Xin: “Um, last night I…”

Yao Wenqian: “I could tell you were really tired. It was seven o’clock, the nightlife was just beginning, and you passed out right after the commercials! I saw you were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t have the heart to wake you, so I went home and watched it on my computer.”

Jian Xin: “…”

“But you’re a patient, so it’s understandable,” Yao Wenqian said with a giggle, taking the food out of the lunch box. “I can watch it again with you.”

As she spoke, she took out her phone, opened the video platform, and held the screen up in front of Jian Xin, waving it. “I’ve already bought the express pass gift pack, just waiting for you to wake up so we can watch it together.”

“Uh, ah… oh!” Jian Xin came back to her senses. “Okay, okay, shall we watch it now?”

“Sure!” Yao Wenqian immediately set up the phone stand and happily clicked on last night’s updated episode.

The opening theme was automatically skipped, and the familiar sponsor’s commercial jingle played once again.

Jian Xin couldn’t help but look up and ask, “By the way, Qianqian, can I ask you something?”

Yao Wenqian: “What is it?”

Jian Xin: “How long has your cousin been in Jincheng?”

Yao Wenqian: “About three years, I think.”

Jian Xin: “Why did she come to live in Jincheng?”

Yao Wenqian blinked and answered without the slightest hesitation, her tone full of certainty, “Of course it’s because I’m here!”

Jian Xin: “…Oh.”

Yao Wenqian: “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just think it’s such a coincidence that she and I have been in the same city all this time…” Jian Xin couldn’t help but tighten her grip on her chopsticks, but her tone remained light and casual. “Three years, and we’ve never run into each other once.”

“Jincheng is so big, and my cousin has been quite a homebody these past two years. If it weren’t for her dog, she probably wouldn’t go out more than a few times a year,” Yao Wenqian said. “If you hadn’t hit my car, let alone three years, we might not have had the chance to meet even in a dozen years.”

“You’re right,” Jian Xin nodded, then couldn’t resist correcting her. “But it was your car that hit me, not me hitting your car.”

“It’s all fate anyway. If it weren’t for this, you and my cousin wouldn’t have buried the hatchet, right?” Yao Wenqian said, rewinding the drama’s progress bar a little. “Let’s watch the drama, it’s already started!”

Jian Xin said “oh” and didn’t ask any more questions, just stared absentmindedly at the phone screen.

She and Yan Lu… have they buried the hatchet?

Yao Wenqian and Yan Lu had agreed that until she was discharged, they would take turns coming to the hospital to take care of her—the general division of labor was: Yao Wenqian was responsible for the morning and noon, and Yan Lu was responsible for the afternoon and evening.

However, Yao Wenqian seemed to be quite free every day. Ever since she discovered she could watch dramas with her, she was no longer in a hurry to go home. She just wanted to watch dramas and clips with her, and several times she only left reluctantly after dinner.

Despite this, Yan Lu still insisted on coming to the hospital around two in the afternoon every day and would quietly stay with her until nine or ten at night.

It was only last night that Yao Wenqian insisted on staying to wait for the drama update with her. Yan Lu felt it was unnecessary for both of them to stay so late, so she had left the hospital early.

To be fair, Yan Lu’s care for her during this period had been meticulous, without any sign of impatience.

But while she and Yao Wenqian had already added each other on QQ, WeChat, and their phone contacts, Yan Lu had never shown any intention of giving her any of her contact information.

Could this situation really be considered burying the hatchet?

Jian Xin couldn’t figure it out…

It wasn’t so much that she couldn’t figure out whether she and Yan Lu had buried the hatchet, but rather that she couldn’t figure out if there was any need for them to stay in touch.

In a few more days, she would be discharged. By then, she would no longer need their meticulous, rotating care. The subsequent compensation would be handled by Yao Wenqian alone. Would she and Yan Lu not see each other so easily anymore?

In truth, after seven years apart, many things that were once familiar had become exceptionally strange.

Perhaps her relationship with Yan Lu was no exception.

In the end, so-called “love” simply didn’t have the long shelf life that novels portrayed.

The person she thought she couldn’t let go of, the hurdle she thought she couldn’t overcome, had eventually become a memory so distant that it had almost faded from her life.

So, their reunion after a long separation consisted only of a faint greeting at the bedside and an awkward chat where they clearly didn’t hit it off.

The love and hate, the arguments and entanglements she had imagined, were completely absent.

Jian Xin thought she should be grateful.

At least this reunion was decent enough. At least in the future, they could still go their separate ways—as if they had never met again.

But all of this was on the premise that she hadn’t turned into a duck and hadn’t foolishly looked through someone’s playlist.

Jian Xin thought she was big-hearted enough.

No matter how far she walked, no matter how hard she fell, she had always firmly believed—in this world, nothing is a big deal except life and death.

She could even easily accept turning into a duck after a car accident, yet her emotions, only at the moment she saw the playlist, had surged like a tsunami, unable to calm down for a long time.

On the small phone screen, two people who had to turn their backs on everything and travel to the ends of the earth together were sitting by a bonfire, looking up at the starry sky, finally able to open their hearts to each other in this deserted land.

The familiar plot once again entered her vision.

“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?”

“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, it lived a very good life…”

The girl in blue hugged her knees and said softly, “As long as you’re willing, just keep walking forward like this. No matter what pain you’re in, there will surely be a day when it becomes the past.”

At that moment, a flame danced in her eyes, seemingly brighter than the distant stars.

But the person watching the drama had her eyes blurred with tears.

Jian Xin felt that she had probably been turning into a duck too frequently and was starting to have a nervous breakdown. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have started crying nonstop at such a calm scene—crying so much that the food in her hand no longer tasted good.

Seeing this, Yao Wenqian’s eyes widened, not giving her viewing buddy any face at all.

“Wow, you can even cry at this!”

“…” I don’t want to cry either, but I just can’t help it!

“I thought my tear ducts were well-developed, but compared to you, I’m still lacking!”

“…” I didn’t used to be a crybaby either. It must be Yan Lu’s… duck’s fault!

After she was discharged, she must find time to go to a temple and pray, and also find a master to see what kind of evil she had run into to be frequently tied to Yan Lu’s house by a duck!

It’s a happy decision!

With this thought, Jian Xin quickly typed a message with one hand and sent it to the band’s QQ group.

[Drink My Ass Zzzz]

Nationally Protected Trash: Who’s coming with me to a temple to pray after I’m discharged?

Yue Zi Says Not Even a Dog Would Drink with Xin Zi: What’s with the superstition?

Outdated Sad Mushroom: What’s with the superstition?

Nationally Protected Trash: I feel like I’ve been a bit unlucky lately. I’ll go pray, what if?

Done in a Sec, Due Tomorrow: [Dazed]

Yue Zi Says Not Even a Dog Would Drink with Xin Zi: You brought the bad luck on yourself.

Outdated Sad Mushroom: You brought the bad luck on yourself.

Nationally Protected Trash: One word, are you coming or not!

Yue Zi Says Not Even a Dog Would Drink with Xin Zi: Coming, coming, coming!

Outdated Sad Mushroom: Coming, coming, coming!

Done in a Sec, Due Tomorrow: Coming, coming, coming!

Yue Zi Says Not Even a Dog Would Drink with Xin Zi: Just focus on getting better first. Otherwise, forget praying, you won’t even be able to walk a few steps.

Outdated Sad Mushroom: 9494!

Nationally Protected Trash: [OK]

“Sister Jian Xin?” Yao Wenqian couldn’t help but ask, “Are you busy with work? Should I pause it?”

“No need, let’s keep watching!” Jian Xin said, putting down her phone.

—I’ve composed myself. I definitely won’t cry this time!

That afternoon, the moment Yan Lu walked into the hospital room, she saw two tearful figures on the hospital bed, crying so hard they could barely breathe.

She approached in surprise and took a look. The wastebasket by the window was almost full of wet tissues.

The next second, both tearful figures looked at her with a hint of resentment.

After a brief daze, Yan Lu glanced out the window. “…The extra chapter is a happy ending.”

Yao Wenqian: “Wicked stepmother!”

Yan Lu: “The extra chapter was filmed. It’s the last two episodes.”

Jian Xin: “Is a late sweet treat still a sweet treat?”

Yan Lu: “Then don’t eat it.”

Jian Xin: “…”

Look at that, are those the words of a human?