The Little Duck 50

Chapter 50

—What’s it like to be a duck all night on the first day of moving into your ex’s house?

Thanks for asking. It’s a very subtle feeling, hard to explain in a few words.

If I had to say something, it would probably be that the underground relationship that was almost discovered by my family was really quite exciting…

That night, Jian Xin didn’t stay in the study. When she found that Yan Lu was about to start working, she very consciously went to the living room, jumped onto the sofa, and stared at her “sleeping” self in a daze.

Seeing her on the sofa, Xin Xin also wanted to come up for a moment, but its four limbs were short. After several failed attempts to jump, it could only lie down on the carpet below, dejected.

When Jian Xin came back to her senses, she saw the little stupid dog lying below with its ears drooping. That lonely feeling was exactly the same as her, who was in her ex’s house at this moment but was not being treated well at all.

A sudden wave of empathy made her flap her wings and jump off the sofa, and she snuggled up with Xin Xin.

For a moment, Jian Xin thought that it was actually about the same to be a person or a duck.

When she was a person, she wasn’t successful. She had neither money nor fame.

When she was a duck, she was also relatively a failure. She could only learn to endure being beaten by a dog.

In the past, when she turned into a duck, her ex was a little gentler to her.

Now, she was not being treated well by her ex whether she was a person or a duck.

To say the most heartbreaking thing—

In her current situation, she would urinate and defecate anywhere as a person, and she would also urinate and defecate anywhere as a duck. Her quality of life was simply not guaranteed.

If she could never solve the paranormal event on her body, Jian Xin felt that her life would probably be set in this way.

It wasn’t that she was pessimistic, but this kind of baffling paranormal event was really too mysterious.

But it wasn’t all bad news. At least she wasn’t locked in a duck cage today.

Jian Xin didn’t remember when she had fallen asleep. She only remembered that the old-fashioned grandfather clock not far away had chimed again and again, and Xin Xin beside her was warm, giving her an inexplicable sense of peace.

In a daze, Yan Lu had come out, as if she were doing something, and the noise was not small.

She tried hard to open her eyes, but she only saw a blurry image for a few seconds before she couldn’t resist the sleepiness and closed her eyes to sleep again.

When she woke up the next day, she was on the sofa. A down quilt had been placed on her at some point, and the cotton pajamas she had been wearing before she fainted had been taken off and placed on top of the down quilt.

The square pillow under her head was not very comfortable to sleep on. She felt a little sore in her shoulders and neck, but for the sudden situation last night, Yan Lu had not mistreated her.

Jian Xin sat up, pounding her head. The cold air rushed into the quilt, making her shiver. She quickly grabbed her pajamas, wrapped them around herself, and hugged the quilt in a daze for a while.

When her brain finally rebooted, she rubbed her eyes, yawned, and stretched.

Xin Xin and Cauliflower were both sleeping under the sofa, the two little ones snuggled tightly together, which was a little cute.

Jian Xin couldn’t help but reach out and gently stroke Xin Xin a couple of times. Xin Xin’s pointy little ears twitched, and it turned its head, not even opening its eyes, and continued to sleep.

She didn’t touch Cauliflower, afraid that after finally waking up, she would accidentally bump into that small body again.

This duck was too unreasonable. It was better for her to be a little more cautious.

With this thought, Jian Xin felt her stomach was empty. She subconsciously turned her head to look at the clock on the wall.

—It was a little after seven in the morning now.

At this time, Yan Lu should have only been asleep for a few hours. It was better not to disturb her.

I’ll order takeout.

Her phone was not beside her. Jian Xin let out a long breath, carefully put on her slippers, endured the slight stinging pain in her right leg, and limped towards the study.

What does it mean to be disabled but determined? She, a patient with inconvenient legs, was trying her best to be light-footed, afraid of disturbing the two little ones, and then the two little ones would disturb the just-asleep Yan Lu.

It was only a few meters, but it felt like she was sneaking around.

Finally, she tiptoed into the study, got her phone, and sat in the computer chair to choose her takeout.

Although her stomach didn’t hurt today, she still wanted to eat something hot, so after much deliberation, she finally ordered a bowl of beef noodles.

Note: Hang it on the door, take a picture and send it to me. Someone is resting at home, don’t ring the doorbell!

After ordering the takeout, Jian Xin got up and walked to the balcony, looking at the pale blue sky outside the window.

The cloudless sky at that moment made her feel much more open.

Jian Xin lowered her head and saw the familiar flower pot—even in winter, there were two or three blue plumbago flowers blooming on the balcony.

She unconsciously and gently pushed the swing chair on the side.

It was as if someone was sitting on it, and at this moment, was reading a book.

When the swing moved, she would also lift a faint smile, look back at her, with a gentleness like water.

Mmm…

She was daydreaming again.

The Yan Lu of now was only gentle in front of Xin Xin and Cauliflower. What was she? How could she be worthy of the great author Yan’s gentleness?

With this thought, Jian Xin couldn’t help but shake her head and sigh. She sat down on the swing chair, looked at the gradually brightening sky outside the window, and slowly swung until the takeout arrived. Only then did she come back to her senses and go to the bathroom.

Yan Lu woke up around eleven.

When she woke up, Jian Xin had already cleaned up all traces of the takeout. She was sitting on the sofa in the living room, her phone plugged in, playing on her small phone—when she saw her wake up, she even looked up and greeted her.

Xin Xin and Cauliflower were also awake, and at this moment, they were surrounding her feet, as if they had a new owner.

Yan Lu walked into the bathroom with a blank expression, closed the door, and looked at her somewhat disheveled hair in the mirror, frowning unconsciously.

After a few seconds of silence, she thought again, what had Jian Xin not seen of her? And she was inexplicably relieved.

After washing up, Yan Lu came to the living room, crouched down, and gently clapped her hands at Xin Xin and Cauliflower.

The two little ones immediately turned their heads and ran over to her.

She rubbed a small head with one hand, and without looking up, she said to Jian Xin, “Hua’an Temple is about seven kilometers from here. If you have nothing to do today, after we walk the dog and have a meal, we can go and have a look.”

“Today?”

“Mmm, it’s not a weekend, so the temple should also be relatively quiet.”

“Alright,” Jian Xin nodded and stood up from the sofa. “You’re going out to walk the dog? I’ll go with you.”

Yan Lu looked up at Jian Xin and didn’t say anything.

This feeling of “I’ll give you a look and you figure it out for yourself” inexplicably carried a hint of authority that could not be ignored.

Jian Xin unconsciously swallowed and explained, “The doctor told me to walk more, it’s good for my injury to recover…”

Yan Lu stood up, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

“I’m a big homebody now. I don’t want to move at all when I’m at home alone. I wish I could just be in my bedroom and bathroom all day, either sitting in front of the computer or just lying on the bed,” Jian Xin said with a smile, her eyebrows arching. “Since you’re going to walk the dog, you can supervise me. I’ll also exercise with Xin Xin every day.”

“I’m afraid you can’t keep up.”

“That’s not possible!” Jian Xin said loudly without blinking. “I can walk slowly without crutches now. With crutches, I’m as fast as flying!”

Ten minutes later, the two of them, wearing cotton pajamas, with a duck and a dog, were wandering aimlessly in the community in the winter wind.

Perhaps because of her period, Jian Xin had put on a heat patch, but she still felt very cold. At this moment, wearing a hat and a scarf, and limping behind Yan Lu, she really regretted coming along.

Xin Xin ran very fast, full of boundless energy. With a leash on, it was less like a person walking a dog and more like a dog walking a person.

When she was a duck, she didn’t think Xin Xin ran that fast. Now that she was a person, Jian Xin found that this little dog was actually so hard to chase when it jumped.

It was one thing that Xin Xin was hard to chase, but Cauliflower was not much better.

This little one would sometimes walk slowly by your feet like an old man in a park, with its little wings on its back, swaying, making you have to stop and wait for it occasionally.

But as it walked, it would suddenly flap its wings and fly far away, so fast that even Xin Xin might not be able to catch up. But Yan Lu would chase after it immediately, and it was clear that she was very used to it.

After personally walking this duck and dog once, Jian Xin finally understood the hardship of raising children. When she got home, she was so tired that she collapsed on the bed.

She didn’t know if Cauliflower was doing it on purpose, but it chased her all the way into the guest room, puffed out its round duck chest, and tilted its neck up for a demonic duck cry.

—It sounded a lot like mockery.

Jian Xin frowned, turned her head to look at the little duck on the floor, stretched out a finger, and threatened it, “Don’t be too arrogant. I’m going to Hua’an Temple this afternoon…”

The next second, her mind went blank. When she came back to her senses, she was already in a duck’s perspective.

The “herself” on the bed was asleep again, in a “才” shape—it always felt like her chest would be very stuffy if she pressed on it for too long.

Yan Lu’s voice came from the kitchen. Today’s lunch was ready.

Jian Xin sighed, flapped her wings, and ran all the way into the kitchen, tilting her head up and letting out an “uh-huh.”

Yan Lu glanced down at the little duck and didn’t think much of it. She just scooped the just-cooked frozen dumplings out of the pot and shouted, “Come out and eat!”

“Quack ah—” the little duck replied again.

Yan Lu was taken aback for a moment, walked a few steps to the guest room door, glanced at the Jian Xin on the bed who was sleeping soundly without her clothes off and without a quilt, and then looked down at the duck that had followed her.

For a moment, she was at a loss for words.

“Jian Xin?” she asked, looking at the little duck.

“Uh-huh!”

“…On the bright side, at least she’s on the bed this time,” Yan Lu comforted herself, took a deep breath, went forward to turn Jian Xin over, took off her jacket, and covered her with a quilt.

Finally, she went back to the kitchen and ate her dumplings by herself.

The little duck stood on the side, looking up.

“Quack quack quack ah?” Then are we still going to Hua’an Temple this afternoon?

“I don’t understand.”

“Uh-huh…”

The little duck spread its legs and sat down on the floor, listless.

There was one less person to eat the cooked dumplings, so Yan Lu could only put the leftovers in the refrigerator.

After a long silence, she couldn’t help but hold the little duck in her hand, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the down on its neck, and said thoughtfully, “Have you been crossing over so frequently before?”

“Quack!” No!

When it was frequent, it was once a day. When it wasn’t frequent, it was once every few days.

A situation like this, where she had just been awake for a morning and had turned into a duck again, had probably never happened before…

Why did it become so frequent after she came here?

Jian Xin also couldn’t quite understand.

Fortunately, the duration of this duck transformation was relatively short. She opened her eyes from the bed again around five in the afternoon.

Yan Lu knew that her stomach was empty now, so she immediately put down what she was doing, went into the kitchen, and pan-fried the plate of dumplings she hadn’t eaten at noon until both sides were golden brown. She served it with a small dish of chili sauce, and it was incredibly fragrant.

Jian Xin was very satisfied with her meal. The moment she finished eating, she very consciously went to wash the pot and bowls.

They finally went to the temple, but it was already five days later.

Because Yan Lu had remembered something, someone had once told her that it was not advisable to burn incense and pray during her period, so Jian Xin had waited patiently for a few more days.

In these five days, she had insisted on going downstairs with Yan Lu to walk the duck and dog every day, and she felt that her weak body from these past few years had gotten a little better.

But on the day they went to Hua’an Temple, the weather was not very good, and the whole sky was gloomy.

Just as they had entered the temple gate, a light rain started to fall from the sky. For a moment, they could only find a place to take shelter from the rain.

Before they came, they had both said they wanted to pray to the gods, but when they really got to the temple, they really didn’t know which god to pray to for such a tricky situation.

There were few tourists in the temple today, and a monk was leading the way, with instructions for every step.

Thinking that following the monk would not lead to praying to the wrong god, Jian Xin simply offered three sticks of incense with a pious expression in every hall she went to, while praying for the paranormal event to end soon, she also prayed for Cauliflower in her heart.

—May all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas bless me to be free from the duck’s body soon…

—Mmm, just bless me. Please don’t hurt that little duck. It probably doesn’t know, or it’s just being naughty… please, please!

And so, she walked and prayed, and prayed until her right leg started to tremble uncontrollably. Only then was she dragged by Yan Lu to eat a vegetarian meal.

Finally, the two of them asked a master in the temple for advice.

But because some of the things were too fantastic to be said out loud, they could only consult in a roundabout way for a long time, and in the end, they only got a sentence that sounded very mysterious—”all things in the world have their own fate.”

“All things in the world have their own fate?” Jian Xin muttered this sentence all the way, her eyes looking out the car window a little dazed.

Turning into a duck, is that also a kind of fate?

Don’t you say, you really don’t say, if she had never turned into Yan Lu’s duck, perhaps her connection with Yan Lu would not have lasted until today.

But why did such a strange fate appear, and when would it disappear?

Yan Lu glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. Seeing her dazed expression, she couldn’t help but comfort her, “We’ve burned the incense, and we’ve prayed to the Buddha. Let’s see if there are any changes when we get back.”

“Uh-huh…”

“On the bright side, at least there was no incense ash burning your hand this time,” Yan Lu said faintly.

Jian Xin pursed her lips and gently pressed her forehead against the car window. “What incense ash burning your hand, what your prayers won’t be answered, it’s all just superstition.”

Yan Lu: “If you don’t believe it, then why did you go to the temple to offer incense?”

Jian Xin: “I only believe what I want to believe.”

Yan Lu: “…”

Jian Xin’s tone was a little stubborn. Yan Lu didn’t say anything more, just drove seriously.

Just as the two of them got home, Xin Xin and Cauliflower both came up to greet them.

Yan Lu crouched down, rubbed their heads, changed her slippers, and called the two little ones into the kitchen to make their dinner for the day.

Jian Xin followed her into the kitchen, casually pulled up a chair and sat down, and very naturally picked up a small knife and started to help peel the fruit on the side.

Yan Lu glanced at her and didn’t say much, just put the eggs in the pot.

That night, Jian Xin sat on her bed and saw Cauliflower standing at the door, tilting its head and looking at her. She couldn’t help but give it a cautious look.

Seeing this, Cauliflower came a little closer to her.

Jian Xin immediately shrank back on the bed, found a position where, if she fell, she should be able to reach the pillow, and was relatively comfortable—she had prepared in advance for the possibility of fainting at any time.

But this time, the Great Duck Spirit did not exert its power, and she didn’t know if it was because of the incense and prayers today.

Cauliflower quacked at her a few times, and seeing that Xin Xin had come, it turned and ran to the living room.

Jian Xin breathed a sigh of relief, slowly fell back, pulled up the warm quilt, and stared at the ceiling in a daze.

She had been out for an afternoon today, and she was completely numb. She didn’t even want to take the expensive jobs in the studio group chat, just lay in bed and scrolled through her phone.

The moment she opened Weibo, she saw over four thousand red new messages. She subconsciously thought that she had said something wrong and was being cyberbullied.

She clicked on it with trembling fingers and saw that it was the official announcement of the release date of Moon Between the Clouds on March 12th, and the OST lineup was also announced.

At a glance, all the singers on the list were famous, and she was the only little-known one in the middle, which made her shiver.

Jian Xin carefully clicked on the comments and forwards and found that the front rows were all fans of the various singers and actors doing data. Her seemingly abrupt existence was actually not noticed or questioned, and she was relieved for a moment. She clicked on the video and listened to the song clips released by the official account.

As expected of an S+ big production, this OST lineup was very luxurious. From the lyrics, music, and vocals to the post-production mixing, they were all well-known in the industry.

She didn’t know if it was due to narcissism, but Jian Xin always felt that her song was very worthy of being among these great gods, and it didn’t seem out of place at all.

After a brief nervousness, she happily forwarded this Weibo post to her own homepage.

Because she didn’t know what to say, she didn’t dare to say anything.

A short while later, many unfamiliar faces followed the official account’s tag to like and encourage her.

—Although there are only a few sentences, I feel that “Only the Moon” is very amazing! It caught me from the first line! I’m looking forward to the full song!

—Why do you only have 50,000 followers?

—”Only the Moon” is good!

Jian Xin’s Weibo had not been active for a long time. It was rare for her to post something, and it was always a complaint about work. Now that she was suddenly active again, and in this way, many old fans and mutual followers who hadn’t been seen in centuries came out.

—Oh my god! What am I seeing!

—The niche treasure I follow actually wrote a song for my daughter’s drama?

—How are you so amazing!!!

Jian Xin closed Weibo, opened QQ and took a look. The name of her small band group had been changed to [Don’t Forget Me When You’re Rich Zzzz] at some point.

Just as she had popped up in the group, she was flooded with all sorts of festive stickers and “Don’t forget me when you’re rich.”

Invincible Happy Duck: Sometimes I really admire you guys, three people can create the momentum of a hundred-person group.

There’s a Dog in the Group: You’re starting to complain that we’re noisy!

Lan Lan Can’t Sleep Enough: Has the love faded?

The Pigeon Has Flown Far Away: [Even a dog would shake its head]

There’s a Dog in the Group: [The water of the West Lake, my tears]

Invincible Happy Duck: How can the love fade! Let’s go out for a meal and a drink when we have time!

There’s a Dog in the Group: Drink what?

Invincible Happy Duck: [Dares not to make a sound]

Lan Lan Can’t Sleep Enough: Drink juice! Drink bubble tea!

The Pigeon Has Flown Far Away: [Big pot of ice-cold Coke]

She had clearly said last week that it was not impossible to have a little drink when she was in a bad mood…

Sigh, this is really a car accident, a lifetime ban on alcohol!

Jian Xin lay in bed, holding her phone, and giggled silently for a long while.

Suddenly, she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She put on her slippers, hopped to the door of Yan Lu’s study on her lame leg, held on to the doorframe, poked her head in, and shouted in a breathy voice, “Yan Lu!”

Yan Lu was startled, and with some panic, she closed a webpage and glared at her. “Didn’t I say, you’re not allowed to look at the door…”

Jian Xin: “I have something to tell you!”

Yan Lu: “What is it?”

Jian Xin curved her eyebrows and said with a squint, “Thank you!”

Yan Lu glanced at her computer, confirmed that she had closed the webpage cleanly, and asked knowingly, “Thank me for what?”

“Moon Between the Clouds is scheduled to be released. In a short while, many people will hear my song,” Jian Xin said with a grin, her eyes full of joy. “Do you think my value is going to skyrocket?”

Yan Lu turned her chair and asked with a smile, “To what extent do you want it to skyrocket?”

Jian Xin tilted her head. “At least one song can go up to over five thousand, right?”

Yan Lu imitated her and also tilted her head. “Is that all your ambition? The old you was more daring.”

Jian Xin laughed, shook her head, and sighed. “I was too daring back then, so when I found that I wasn’t as amazing as I had imagined, I was quite decadent…”

She said that a person should be down-to-earth, one step at a time.

No one can be fearless forever like in their youth. Many of the things she had said in the past had come to nothing, and now she didn’t dare to boast casually.

Yan Lu couldn’t help but blink, her eyelashes slightly lowered.

“I’m much more steady now than before. Although… it might not be obvious, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll let more people see it,” Jian Xin said, looking at Yan Lu and saying softly, “When I make big money, I’ll treat you to a meal!”

After she finished, she waved at her and hopped back to the guest room, holding on to the wall.

Yan Lu turned her chair to the computer and let out a barely audible laugh.

The person who had once said she would earn big money to buy a villa and invite her to live there for a lifetime had now lowered her standards to earning big money to treat her to a meal?

The spirit that had once been worn down by reality had actually made that person a little like an adult.

At least, she would no longer casually make promises that sounded so difficult to achieve, yet made people want to believe.

Yan Lu opened the webpage she had just closed again, followed the hot search to Jian Xin’s Weibo, looked at the one-way follow, and clicked on follow back.

Finally, she switched back to QQ and sent a message to Lin Xiyu—I wish your new drama great success.

The private message from the other side immediately came back.

Lin Xiyu: You’re just going to wish me on your lips?

Perched by the Roadside: Mmm?

Lin Xiyu: My great author, you’re not even going to help me forward it!

Perched by the Roadside: This is not my novel.

Lin Xiyu: I knew you were going to say that!

Yan Lu smiled with her eyebrows lowered. Just as she was about to tell her that she would definitely forward it on the day of the broadcast, she saw that she had sent a new message.

Lin Xiyu: That someone’s song, there will be an official emotional clip released before the broadcast. Honey, can you help me forward it then?

Perched by the Roadside: Okay.

Lin Xiyu: [Hmph, woman]

Lin Xiyu: [A look that sees through everything]

Yan Lu looked at the computer screen, propped her face in her hands, and was in a daze.

She couldn’t help but think—

Jian Xin’s words just now seemed to be still blaming herself.

But a promise made without fear that ultimately comes to nothing is never one person’s fault.

That year, one of them dared to say it, and the other dared to believe it, but neither of them dared to persist a little longer.

In the end, she was not much more mature than Jian Xin back then…

So Yue Lao was too lazy to bless them back then.

If all things in the world really have their own fate, does the reunion after so many years really hint at something?

Can she really…

Give herself another chance?