The Little Duck 55p1

Chapter 55 p1

They had originally agreed to meet at one-thirty the next afternoon, but Jian Xin couldn’t get out of the duck’s body.

Around ten in the morning, she had opened her eyes once and found that she was in Cauliflower’s body. With a speechless expression, she had closed her eyes again, hoping that another nap would bring some change.

She had finally fallen asleep, but who would have thought that when she woke up again, she was still in the homestay that Yan Lu had booked.

At this time, it was already one in the afternoon.

Yan Lu had put on light makeup and was dressed, looking like she could go out at any time.

But she was holding her phone, sitting on the bed with her head down, her brow furrowed, as if she was waiting for a response that should have come.

Xin Xin was lying by the window in the living room, basking in the sun with its eyes squinted, its little ears twitching from time to time.

Jian Xin shook her head and sighed, then flapped her wings and flew onto the bed.

Yan Lu glanced at her, and with just that one glance, a helpless expression appeared on her face.

“How can you be so unreliable at a critical moment?”

“Quack—” How can you blame me for this?

So unfair. Isn’t it Cauliflower that won’t let her go?

“So what should we do now?” Yan Lu glanced at the time. “Didn’t we say we would meet at two?”

“Quack?” Why don’t you go first?

Yan Lu saw the little duck beside her tilt its head with a seemingly clever expression and couldn’t help but glare at her. “You’re not thinking of letting me go by myself, are you?”

“Quack ah!” Yeah, you don’t have to wait for me. I’ll go if I can wake up!

Yan Lu grabbed the little duck and held it in front of her, rubbing its head forcefully, and asked again, “You don’t think I’m very familiar with my high school classmates, do you?”

Oh! I forgot about that!

Jian Xin always felt that since the reunion time was approaching, Yan Lu should be more anxious, afraid of being late and missing it.

But in fact, besides a few roommates in her class, Yan Lu was a complete stranger to almost everyone else.

The reason Yan Lu had come back to Nanjiang for this class reunion was entirely to accompany her…

In that case, being late shouldn’t be a big deal, right?

Besides, she didn’t really want to go to any class reunion. When she had pretended to mention it to Yan Lu, it was just in the hope that she could go back to Nanjiang with her.

At this thought, she jumped on the bed, flapped her wings, and flew to the desk where the laptop was, and with a small jiojio, she touched the laptop that was currently closed.

Yan Lu got up and turned on the laptop, created a new text document, and with her arms crossed in front of her, she pulled up a chair and sat down.

Jian Xin began to peck at the keyboard with her beak.

—Let’s wait and see. I’ll eat something and then take another nap.

—I’ll go whenever I wake up. It’s not like we’re not allowed to be late.

—If I really can’t wake up, then let’s just not go.

—Anyway, neither of us probably wants to go very much.

After a period of training, she was now a skilled duck-beak typist, and it didn’t take her much time to type out these words.

Yan Lu looked at the words in the document and was silent for a while, then said thoughtfully, “Then you’ll be sleeping at home all day. Won’t your aunt and uncle be worried?”

Hearing this, the little duck’s little head instantly tilted back tactically.

Hey, how did I forget about that?

Speaking of which, a situation like this, where she would hide in her room and sleep soundly, and couldn’t be woken up no matter how much she was called, had also happened during the New Year… but if she really slept soundly for a whole day, would it really not arouse suspicion?

Jian Xin couldn’t help but fall into a deep thought.

She was just glad now that she hadn’t told her family last night that there was a class reunion this afternoon. Otherwise, she would definitely have been urged when the time came, and if they found that she couldn’t be woken up no matter how much they urged, wouldn’t that have scared them to death…

At this point, let’s just eat and sleep first, and try to struggle a little more.

With this thought, Jian Xin typed two new lines in the document.

—I’m hungry. I’ll eat first and then try to sleep.

—If that doesn’t work, I’ll think of something else.

It seemed that this was really the only way.

Yan Lu cut up some of the pears she had just bought today for Jian Xin to eat. After Jian Xin finished eating, she ran to Xin Xin’s side and continued to sleep, leaning against its exposed fluffy belly.

Fortunately, the third time she opened her eyes, she was back at her own home.

She took out her phone and saw that it was already after four in the afternoon.

Her roommates in the WeChat group were all tagging her, and Yang Tian and Zhao Yiran had even gone to her private chat and asked several times—the question had even changed from “when are you coming” to “are you still coming today.”

Jian Xin took a deep breath and immediately sent a message to Yan Lu.

Picked Up a Heart: !!!

Perched by the Roadside: You’re finally awake.

Picked Up a Heart: It’s fine, it’s not too late. I’ll get ready and go out.

Perched by the Roadside: Then I’ll pick you up.

Picked Up a Heart: [Okay okay okay]

Finally, she replied in the group chat—Ahhh ahhh I’m so sorry! I overslept!!!

Her roommates all said—it’s fine, it’s fine, everyone is going to the restaurant at four-thirty. We’ll go back to the KTV after dinner. You and Yan Lu can just go directly to the restaurant, just give the class president’s name!

Jian Xin breathed a sigh of relief and got up to wash up.

To not keep Yan Lu waiting for too long, she just drew her eyebrows to make herself look a little more energetic, changed her clothes, put on her bag, and walked out of the bedroom.

Huang He, who was lying on the sofa watching a crosstalk show, glanced at her with some surprise and subconsciously asked three questions.

“What time did you go to bed last night?”

“Are you going out?”

“Are you coming home for dinner?”

“I had insomnia last night and only fell asleep this morning! I’m already two hours late for the class reunion this afternoon—I’m not coming home for dinner tonight!”

Jian Xin said, and slipped out of the house.

Don’t be fooled by the crutches, her steps were very fast.

Huang He sighed and glanced at Jian Changjiang, who was watching TV on the side. “Look at your daughter, she’s going out without even telling us in advance—I’ve already deveined the shrimp and soaked the shiitake mushrooms, but she’s not eating at home.”

Jian Changjiang: “It’s fine, this is her only meal today. She’ll definitely be hungry at night.”

Huang He: “That’s true. She can just heat it up herself then.”

…

Jian Xin hurried downstairs and saw Yan Lu’s car parked outside the community as soon as she got out.

That day’s class reunion, the two of them were not even the last to arrive.

There were still people who rushed over when everyone was almost finished with their meal, which made both of them breathe a sigh of relief.

Speaking of which, the ten years since high school graduation seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye.

Ten years ago, in early June, just after the college entrance exams, the class had organized a graduation party with the remaining class funds.

It was also the largest private room in a KTV, and several tables of good food were booked at a nearby restaurant.

Ten years had passed. The KTV from back then was closed, but the restaurant was still the same, and it had been redecorated, but the business seemed to be far from what it was back then.

A classmate said with a laugh that the economic downturn was really obvious. This restaurant was very high-end back then, and a few tables of food were not cheap. In the end, everyone had to pay a little more in class funds to get it.

At that time, there were even flying pancake chefs who would come out with a cart to perform. The flying pancakes were very hot, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the taste was very good. Now, even this snack was gone.

Not only that, but the price of the dishes in the restaurant had not only been lowered, but the dishes that were once a hundred or so yuan in her memory were now divided into two or three portions, served with rice, and could be turned into a fast food meal, sold at a stall at the entrance for twenty or thirty yuan, and you could even get an extra soup.

You could even find it on takeout platforms.

Finally, the classmate also sighed and said that most of the shops she used to love to eat at were closed. Occasionally, when she couldn’t decide what to order for takeout, she would go and look through her history, wanting to find a place she used to love to order from, only to find that most of them were also closed.

She knew that small businesses were having a hard time, but she hadn’t expected that even a star-rated hotel would have to lower its status to survive.

Once this was brought up, the topic opened up, and you said a word, and I said a word, each with their own consumption downgrade.

Between the various topics, someone would occasionally mention Yan Lu and Jian Xin.

In the eyes of these old classmates whose faces she could no longer fully recognize, these two were the most successful in the class now. They should be very rich and have a completely different life from everyone else.

But in the end, they also found that their lives didn’t seem to be much different from everyone else’s.

They didn’t live in a mansion, didn’t drive a luxury car, didn’t like to buy very expensive big brands, and their food and drink were also ordinary meals. They even wanted to eat at a skewer shop they had eaten at in high school when they came back this time.

Someone sighed, “This is not the same as the rich people in novels.”

Jian Xin just spread her hands. “I’m not a rich person anyway. I don’t earn much from writing a song, and I’m still renting a place.”

She said that if there was anything particularly different about her life from everyone else’s, it was probably that she had been in a car accident last year and was still walking with a crutch.

The classmates at the table were interested after hearing this and asked her for details.

Jian Xin briefly talked about her hospitalization and rehabilitation, and didn’t say much more.

After all, if she really had to say what was special about her life, it would have to be the paranormal event of turning into a duck—if she really said such a thing in front of so many people, she and Yan Lu would probably be packed up and sent to a psychiatric hospital tomorrow.

After a lively dinner, the class president and the old head teacher led the way and brought everyone back to the KTV’s private room.

There were more than forty people who came to this class reunion. Some were not even in the class group chat and were privately invited by good friends.

Ten years had passed, and it was very difficult to gather so many people.

But this liveliness did not belong to everyone.

Just like at graduation, the people who came to the party each had their own closeness and distance. They were either in pairs or in groups of three or five. Everyone chatted about their own things, and only when their own song came up would they take the microphone from someone else.

Of course, there were also the particularly outgoing types, who would constantly greet everyone, not only finding topics for others, but also being able to sing a few lines of most of the songs with a microphone, as if they would never let the atmosphere cool down.

The Jian Xin of the past was actually this kind of person.

But today, she found that she could no longer blend into this atmosphere.

So after being called upon by everyone to sing her representative work, as well as two OSTs from The Fallen Jade Branch, she waved her hand and shrank to the side, trying to become a transparent person.

She and Yan Lu sat together, scrolling through their phones side by side.

In her ear, someone was singing some high-pitched songs at the top of their lungs.

What “Love Until Death,” “Three Days and Three Nights,” “Left Finger Moon,” “Torment”…

The private room was full of drinks, and several people were playing dice loudly, drinking when they lost.

The two sounds were mixed in her ear, making her head buzz a little.

Jian Xin suddenly leaned closer to Yan Lu’s ear and asked softly, “Should we leave first?”

Yan Lu glanced at her and replied faintly, “Okay.”

So the two of them quietly picked up their bags and slipped out of this extremely lively private room.

The moment they walked out of the KTV, the moon was high in the sky, and the street was lit up with various lights.

The night wind brought fresh air, and also a hint of coolness.

It wasn’t actually late, just after eight-thirty.

Jian Xin looked at the moon in the sky and said softly that she didn’t want to go home. Yan Lu was silent for a few seconds and said that she could walk around with her.

And so, they started to wander around the vicinity.

This road was a little strange, but also a little familiar.

That year, in winter, they had also walked this street together, but now this place had long since changed its appearance. There was no longer such a lively night market, only the buildings on both sides were still the same as before.

Jian Xin walked slowly, and Yan Lu also slowed down her pace, accompanying her.

They didn’t know how far or how long they had walked when they passed by a lounge bar.

Jian Xin couldn’t help but glance inside and couldn’t help but think of the time when she and Yan Lu had run away from home and had also passed by such a bar.

At that time, she had wanted to go in and try it, but was pulled back by Yan Lu.

Yan Lu didn’t like alcohol. Even if she never said it, she should have known.

But she had ignored it back then. After she had fallen in love with drinking from time to time, she had even tried to pull Yan Lu along with her, first taking her to listen to boring small performances, and then taking her to a lounge bar to drink.

She had even thought that she was very thoughtful. Because she was worried that Yan Lu would not be used to the noisy environment, she had specially found a relatively quiet lounge bar.

Now, thinking back, it was just self-indulgence.

Just as Jian Xin was in a daze, she heard Yan Lu ask softly, “Want to go in for a couple of drinks?”

“Hmm?” she came back to her senses, her eyes full of suspicion as she looked at Yan Lu.

Did I hear wrong? Can such words come out of Yan Lu’s mouth?

Yan Lu: “I said, let’s go in for a couple of drinks.”

Jian Xin subconsciously looked up at the night sky.

Yan Lu: “Looking for the sun again?”

Jian Xin: “It’s a little abnormal…”

Yan Lu smiled faintly and turned to walk towards the lounge bar.

Jian Xin was stunned for a moment, and when she came back to her senses, she hurried to catch up. “You want to drink? If you’re just going to sit on the side and watch me drink alone, then there’s no need!”

“I just glanced inside, but I didn’t mean to drink. I just remembered some things…” she hurried to explain for that momentary glance.

“I want to drink,” Yan Lu said.

Jian Xin opened her mouth, her mind went blank, and she followed Yan Lu to find a quiet corner and sat down.

Yan Lu took out her phone and scanned the QR code for ordering, and without any unfamiliarity, she ordered a small drink, then handed the phone to Jian Xin.