The Little Duck 41

Chapter 41

For the first time away from their families’ care, they wanted to go to a farther place.

The bus swayed, and they went to many places.

They might get off because of a scenic spot along the way, a landmark building, or the sudden aroma of food wafting from the shops on both sides of the street.

Jian Xin knew that her world was small, and Yan Lu’s world was also small.

Before going home, she hoped to have seen, played with, and eaten more things with Yan Lu.

The small wallet that she had been diligently saving up like a hamster since elementary school gradually thinned out in this unrestrained escape.

Yan Lu’s wages from her part-time job were all under her bedroom pillow. Besides the small amount she was paid daily, she hadn’t brought any more.

But Jian Xin didn’t feel heartbroken, only that it was all unprecedentedly worth it.

She knew that this was their one and only indulgence before they grew up. Once they went home, they would never have this kind of freedom again.

On the second night of their escape, they slept in a 24-hour KFC.

Because there were almost no customers in the early morning, they could lie on their sides on the long benches with backrests by the window, which was a little more comfortable than sleeping sitting up in an internet cafe, but of course, only a little.

On the third day, Jian Xin briefly turned on her phone, sent a message to her family to report her safety, and then pulled Yan Lu to wander the streets again.

She joked that the two of them were really like street loiterers.

Yan Lu smiled and asked back, “How are we like that?”

Jian Xin: “We are, right! We have nothing to do and just wander the streets every day!”

She said with a grin, not caring at all that it was a derogatory term, just hopping around in the cold wind on the street. Occasionally, when she met someone walking a dog, she would become well-behaved in a second, shrinking behind Yan Lu and shivering.

Jian Xin always felt that they hadn’t slept well for two nights, and they must find a more comfortable place to rest at night.

So that night, she took Yan Lu to a bathhouse. It was forty-two yuan per person. They took a warm hot bath and spent a comfortable night in a cubicle.

On the fourth day, to avoid being charged extra, the two of them left the bathhouse early in the morning and wandered around the vicinity.

As they walked, they came to a snack street in the old town. The food was cheap and delicious. They ate from one end to the other, burping constantly.

At the very end of the snack street was a park with a lot of amusement facilities.

Today was a weekend, and there was a shop at the park entrance with a lot of children. Jian Xin pulled Yan Lu’s sleeve and curiously went in.

The moment she went in, her eyes widened.

The shop was divided into several areas—

On the far left, you could get your makeup done, your hair braided, and take simple children’s art photos.

In the middle area, there were pulp painting, sand painting, baked painting, as well as 3D puzzles and the kind of clay and tile building blocks for building small houses.

On the far right was an area where you could sit and knead clay.

Each area was filled with many children, seriously doing handicrafts with their parents.

The shop was full of many children’s works—all kinds of paintings, buildings and towers made of paper, mini-villas built with clay and tile building blocks, and teapots, cups, and saucers made of clay.

Most of them were made by children, but it was inconvenient to take them home, so they chose to leave them here for display.

Crooked and full of childlike fun.

“Have you ever played with these?” Jian Xin turned to ask Yan Lu.

Yan Lu shook her head, her curious eyes filled with an unconcealable longing, but the words that came out were, “It’s all for kids to play with.”

“We’re kids too!” Jian Xin said, pulling Yan Lu to the front desk and picking out the drawing boards displayed in the bin.

These drawing boards all had a pattern on them, some complex, some simple. The pulp paintings came with corresponding colored paints, and the sand paintings came with corresponding colored sand. If it wasn’t enough, you could pay extra to buy more.

Besides these drawing boards, there were also large boxes of 3D puzzles and clay and tile building blocks on the side.

These two were more expensive. They were basically villas, buildings, and towers. They would be very beautiful when completed, but they looked difficult to assemble.

They couldn’t go home now. Even if they really did assemble one, it would be a waste if they couldn’t take it back. It would be better to just find a painting to play with. If they couldn’t take it, they could just hang it here for display, which wasn’t a big pity.

Jian Xin picked and chose among the drawing boards, unable to make up her mind for a long time. She finally turned back to ask Yan Lu, “Which one do you want to play with?”

“Let’s just forget it, we’re so old…” Yan Lu muttered softly.

Mainly, it was too expensive. Jian Xin was not good at accounting, and their expenses these past two days had been considerable. Yan Lu couldn’t help but worry about how long her wallet could last.

“Aren’t we minors?” Jian Xin asked with an innocent blink of her eyes.

The young lady at the front desk laughed. She told them with a smile, “It’s fine even if you’re an adult. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Adults can play too. It just looks simple. When you really get your hands on it, you might not be as good as the kids who play with it often.”

“See, it’s not simple! Let’s pick one!” Jian Xin said, and once again, she was in a dilemma.

In the end, they chose three paintings.

A Doraemon sand painting, a beach pulp painting, and a Pikachu baked painting.

To complete these three paintings, they sat in this shop for several hours.

In the middle, an unfamiliar little girl in a light blue princess dress with two pigtails stood on the side, tilting her head and watching for a long time.

The little girl saw that their movements were very clumsy and their steps were chaotic. She was so anxious that she repeatedly gave them instructions on the side, like a little teacher.

Jian Xin didn’t reject this little teacher. She patiently followed her instructions, her face full of smiles.

“Like this? Is it like this?”

“Oh oh oh! I get it—little sister, you’re so amazing!”

Yan Lu couldn’t help but stop her handicraft and look up at Jian Xin quietly, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.

After finishing their handicrafts, they left their paintings in the shop.

The staff was very accommodating and directly hung their paintings on the wall for display.

Jian Xin looked at her “masterpiece” on the wall and narcissistically sighed about her artistic cells.

Actually, what artistic cells did she have? More like artistic bacteria.

These paintings already had line art. The customers only had to color them. Whether they were good or not, what did it have to do with her?

But she just felt that she was particularly talented. If she hadn’t studied music and had chosen art instead, she would definitely have become an extremely famous painter in the country in the future!

At this point, Yan Lu couldn’t help but bring up the “Lin Xiaoshuang” and “Li Xia” that a certain person had drawn in her first year of high school.

“Hey, let’s go and have a look in the park!” Jian Xin said, changing the subject with a grin, and ran to the ticket office outside the park.

“Let’s not, we’ve already spent a lot of money…” Yan Lu couldn’t stop Jian Xin and could only follow her to the ticket office.

The park’s entrance fee was not expensive, only five yuan, not even enough to buy half a sand painting.

After getting the tickets, the two of them happily ran in.

Yan Lu had never been to an amusement park before and was curious about everything she saw. When Jian Xin said she would treat her, she was so flustered that she quickly shook her head and waved her hands, not wanting to spend any more money here.

“But you’ve never played with them before.”

“Just looking is fine. I’ll get to play with them in the future!” Yan Lu said, holding on tightly to Jian Xin, who wanted to go and buy tickets, and coaxing her like a child, “When I earn more money, I’ll treat you to play here—”

Jian Xin really couldn’t persuade her and had to give up.

They walked in the park, stopping from time to time to look at the people screaming or laughing on the amusement rides. Even without spending the money, they seemed to be able to feel a similar happiness.

The sky gradually darkened. They walked around the park for a long time and came out before it got dark, then ate their way out from the inside.

—Where were they going to stay tonight?

This was a profound and not-so-profound question.

If they wanted to stay somewhere more comfortable, it would have to be a bathhouse, which was both quiet and warm—and even, in terms of warmth, far better than home.

But a comfortable place was more expensive. A night would cost eighty-four yuan, which was not much different from a cheaper hotel.

Jian Xin missed that warm and comfortable environment, but she also couldn’t bear to spend such a sum of money on accommodation every day.

After a brief struggle, she heard Yan Lu sneeze twice, and without a second thought, she took her back to the bathhouse from last night.

On the fifth day of their runaway, she and Yan Lu were caught and brought back home.

Although Jian Xin had been reporting her safety to her family every day, Huang He still couldn’t help but call the police.

The police were very efficient. The next morning, just as they had woken up, they were caught before they could even walk out of the bathhouse.

That day, they sat in the police station for half a morning, and finally, after giving their statements, they were picked up by Huang He and Jian Changjiang and brought home.

Jian Xin had thought that Huang He would erupt like a volcano, but the journey was unusually quiet.

When they passed the chemical plant, Huang He even deliberately stopped the car and had Jian Changjiang get out to buy four portions of the red oil dumplings that Jian Xin had always liked—the usual, two portions to eat now, and two for a late-night snack.

The two little girls who had made a mistake sat in the back seat, their little heads buried, not daring to make a sound as they ate the red oil dumplings in their hands.

As they ate, Jian Xin couldn’t help but ask softly, “Dad, Mom… are you still going to hand Yan Lu over to that big bastard?”

Yan Lu’s body couldn’t help but tremble, and she lowered her head even further.

“What, you can’t even earn money, and you want to wander the streets with her for the rest of your life?” Huang He asked coldly. “In a few more days, when you run out of money, are you planning to kneel on the street and beg with Yan Lu, or are you going to block a small alley and ask elementary school students for money?”

“…”

“Have you ever used your brain when you do things since you were a child? You two little kids, where do you sleep every day? If you run into any danger, who can take responsibility for it? Your mouth?”

“…” Jian Xin was about to bury her head in her dumpling bowl.

Huang He took a deep breath, gripped the steering wheel tightly, and didn’t want to say anything more for a moment.

Jian Changjiang: “That person is gone.”

Jian Xin instantly looked up, her hands on the back of the front seat, and poked her head out to look at her dad. “That person? Yan Lu’s dad? He’s gone?! So soon?!!”

“Mmm,” Jian Changjiang said. “He won’t be back.”

Jian Xin was immediately overjoyed. She held her dumplings, spread her arms, and gave Yan Lu a big hug.

“That’s great, that’s great!” The moment she let go of Yan Lu, she was so excited that she was almost in tears. “You don’t have to go back, you can continue to stay at my place!”

Yan Lu was both surprised and happy, her eyes full of disbelief.

After a brief silence, she couldn’t help but ask, “My dad… he, he why won’t he be back?”

It shouldn’t be. He’s lost his source of income from my grandma. He wouldn’t let me go so easily…

Jian Changjiang smiled and just said faintly, “He couldn’t win an argument with us.”

Finally, there was nothing more.

A farce had ended. They had wandered outside for a few days and then returned to that familiar home—everything at home was as usual, as if nothing had happened.

School was starting in a few days, and Yan Lu took the initiative to help Jian Xin with her winter break homework.

A little after ten at night, Jian Xin was called to the master bedroom by Huang He for a talk.

Yan Lu thought for a long time, then still tiptoed to the door, turned on her side, and gently pressed her ear against the door.

She heard her aunt and uncle tell Jian Xin in a low voice that the guy named Yan Guihong had been making a scene outside, and had even borrowed a quilt from somewhere and was sleeping in the empty space at their door at night.

No matter how much others tried to persuade him, it was useless. The security guards had come to drive him away several times but couldn’t.

He wasn’t afraid of being reported to the police. He kept saying that his daughter had been abducted and that he was here to take his daughter home.

Huang He and Jian Changjiang were blocked and couldn’t go out. They hadn’t even gone to work, and they had a headache every day when they woke up.

After several conversations through the door, Yan Guihong stated his demand.

He had already arranged a marriage for her in Liang County, and the other party was offering a dowry of two hundred thousand yuan—if he were to let Yan Lu stay in the city, he could, but they had to give him two hundred thousand, and he would leave, and from then on, he would just treat it as his daughter having married into the city.

Huang He struggled for a long time, and finally, after discussing it with Jian Changjiang, she agreed.

She said, a little help is a favor, a lot of help is a burden—she didn’t know if she was right or wrong to do this.

After sending the man away, she thought about it for a long time, her heart in turmoil.

She didn’t ask Yan Lu to repay this money in the future, only for a clear conscience.

She didn’t want Jian Xin to resent her for the rest of her life, and she didn’t want to see a little girl who wasn’t even seventeen be dragged back to the county to be married off early—that child’s grades were so excellent. If she finished university, she would have a bright future.

“Xin Xin, you have to remember, the family sends you to a good school and has been supporting your music studies since you were a child. The annual expenses are not small. This two hundred thousand is not a small sum for our family, and it’s even more of a burden for a child who is still in high school.”

“Your dad and I are telling you this because we hope you can understand that taking in a homeless person is never as simple as just adding another pair of chopsticks. It’s much more difficult than you imagine.”

“You’re very kind, but kindness must be within your own ability. The family can help you once or twice, three or four times, and you won’t feel the weight of kindness. But a lifetime is so long, and some things will eventually fall on you. What will you do then, have you thought about it?”

“Actually, it’s fine if you haven’t thought about it. Maybe one day you’ll understand…”

“Yan Lu doesn’t have to go back in the future. Let her stay here with peace of mind. From now on, we’ll all be her family. Your dad and I will support her through university…”

Through the door, Yan Lu couldn’t see the situation in the room, only heard Jian Xin crying—crying and apologizing to her aunt and uncle.

She tiptoed back to the bedroom, lay on her stomach under the warm yellow desk lamp, and continued to write Jian Xin’s winter break homework.

The sourness in her nose made her eyes red.

Yan Lu clenched the pen in her hand.

She silently told herself in her heart that this money must be repaid.

*

The voice call rang like a death knell.

Jian Xin didn’t even open her eyes before she grabbed her phone and sat up straight from the bed.

“Morning!”

“It’s noon, flexion and extension.”

“Alright!” Jian Xin replied, doing her flexion and extension exercises with her eyes closed.

I woke up today, what a good thing!

Just as Yan Lu was about to hang up the voice call, Jian Xin asked casually, “Are you free today? Want to watch the movie?”

And so, they made a date for a movie at three-twenty in the afternoon.

Jian Xin hopped around at home, getting ready, and couldn’t stop humming the OST of The Fallen Jade Branch—she couldn’t remember a few of the lyrics, just the tune.

She took out a black high-neck sweater from her wardrobe, paired it with a blue-gray plaid long skirt, wore a small silver music note necklace, and braided her hair into a low ponytail that looked simple but was actually a little complicated and very flattering to her head shape. She stood in front of the mirror and admired herself for a while.

—Ladylike, so very ladylike!

She really had a versatile temperament. It would be a pity not to be a female celebrity!

With this thought, Jian Xin put on a long, off-white woolen coat, leaned on her rather unflattering crutches, and went downstairs in high spirits.

But the moment the cold winter wind blew, her high spirits were replaced by a shiver.

On the way to the appointed place, Jian Xin kept thinking—in the future, if I want to do something, I should try to make the date on the same day. Yesterday’s situation was really scary. Not every bad thing in this world can have a happy ending.

As she was thinking, the car stopped.

To avoid being late due to traffic, she had deliberately left twenty minutes early. She had thought she had arrived early enough, but she hadn’t expected Yan Lu to be waiting at the mall entrance even earlier. Seeing her holding a long crutch and struggling to get out of the car, she even hurried forward to help her.

Jian Xin stood firm and subconsciously tidied her bangs, which had been messed up by the wind. “You’re here so early…”

“Not early, I just arrived,” Yan Lu’s tone was faint. “It’s windy outside, let’s go in first.”

Jian Xin nodded and followed her into the mall.

At this time, there were not many people in the mall. The two of them took the elevator to the fourth floor and slowly walked towards the movie theater.

Passing by a bubble tea shop, Jian Xin looked back. “Want some bubble tea?”

Yan Lu: “Okay.”

Jian Xin smiled, her eyebrows arching, and walked back to the bubble tea shop, looking up at the fancy menu.

“What do you like to drink?” she asked softly.

“Anything is fine.”

“I’ll choose, right?” Jian Xin said, looking at the rows of unfamiliar drinks with a headache. “Then… do you want milk tea or fruit tea? Sweet or not sweet?”

“I’m fine with anything.”

Jian Xin opened her mouth and couldn’t help but smile bitterly. “Don’t be so casual. If I buy something you don’t like, you’ll just keep it to yourself.”

Yan Lu was silent. It took her a long time to stretch out a finger and point to a cup of coconut lemon milk. “Thirty percent sugar.”

Jian Xin blinked and looked at the young lady at the counter. “Two cups of coconut lemon milk! One thirty percent, one normal! No ice, thank you!”

After that, she turned back to look at Yan Lu with a grin. “I’ve never had this before. Let’s try it. Your taste must be good.”

Yan Lu: “I rarely drink bubble tea. Qianqian recommended this.”

“Uh-huh—” Jian Xin replied, nonchalantly. “I rarely drink bubble tea either. It’s expensive, and I don’t have time.”

“I remember, when I was in middle and high school, I would always go for the sweet ones…” she said, leaning against the counter with a faint smile. “The kind of colorful bubble tea, I wouldn’t even drink it if it wasn’t sweet.”

“Now everyone is starting to drink the not-so-sweet ones, like thirty percent, seventy percent, half sugar, no sugar. I don’t get it,” Jian Xin said, looking at Yan Lu thoughtfully. “I still like it the way it was before. If you’re going to have something sweet, it has to be sweet enough.”

“You’re indeed still the same as before,” Yan Lu said faintly, just looking at the drinks on the menu.

“Actually, I’ve changed a lot, you just haven’t noticed,” Jian Xin said, pursing her lips, slowly taking a deep breath, and asking Yan Lu with a smile, “Do you want to take a closer look and see what’s different about me from before?”

Yan Lu glanced at Jian Xin hesitantly.

Today’s Jian Xin was much more refined than yesterday, very beautiful…

Jian Xin: “Can’t you tell?”

Yan Lu retracted her gaze, her tone flat. “Your leg is lame.”

Jian Xin: “…”

Sometimes she really felt that it was very difficult to communicate with this person.

Oh well, if it’s Yan Lu, then it’s understandable—after all, this woman was never very good with words.

“My great author Yan, it seems your observation skills are still not strong enough,” Jian Xin said, taking two steps back, gesturing from top to bottom with one hand, and joking seriously, “Look at me from head to toe, from top to bottom. Am I not full of calmness and patience?”

Yan Lu was dazed for a moment. “What do you mean?”

“Poor people are best at waiting,” Jian Xin said with a faint smile, once again leaning lazily against the counter. “People who are good at waiting are often calm and patient.”

Yan Lu was taken aback for a moment, and it took a lot of effort to suppress a smile. “So cold!”

Jian Xin giggled a couple of times. She was about to say something more when she saw that their bubble tea was ready.

She took the two cups and looked at the labels, handed the thirty percent sugar one to Yan Lu, and the two of them walked towards the movie theater together.

This movie, they had been planning to watch it from before the New Year to after, and after all the twists and turns yesterday, they had finally managed to watch it today.

It was still a weekday, and there were not many people in the theater.

Jian Xin hadn’t eaten since she woke up, so she had bought two portions of fried chicken strips before entering. She put the bubble tea on the side, held two wooden skewers in her hand, and started to eat happily.

After the movie, she had cried through half a pack of tissues that Yan Lu had passed to her from the side, her small mouth constantly chattering about the regrets in the main character’s heart.

Yan Lu looked at Jian Xin, whose nose was red from crying, and couldn’t help but think of many things from a long time ago.

This person wouldn’t even get red-eyed when she fought with people, but when it came to novels, anime, TV, and movies, her tear ducts were ridiculously low, and she would often cry until her face was a mess of tears and snot.

To cry like this, if you were to say she was sensitive and delicate, she was also a rough person, with a heart so big that it seemed that nothing could truly fill it.

What a strange person—no matter how many years passed, she could never figure out what was on her mind.

She could only quietly look at her, listen to her slightly choked voice, and not know how to answer.

When they walked out of the movie theater, the surroundings were much brighter.

Two little girls with high ponytails and down jackets, holding movie tickets, passed by them and leaned over the front desk to order a portion of popcorn.

Yan Lu turned her head, looked at their backs, and was in a daze for a moment.

When she came back to her senses, she only heard a soft question in her ear.

“Yan Lu, are we really going to live with this regret?”

“…”

“Actually… I’ve never gotten over you.”

“…”