Little Duckling - Chapter 2

It was 11:04 PM.

Life is like this: even after submitting your resignation notice, you still have to work overtime until late at night for the job, right up until your official departure a month later.

Jian Xin stepped out of the office building, took a deep breath of the fresh air outside, and gazed up at the nearly full moon overhead. A strange sense of melancholy washed over her.

How odd, she thought. It was just an ordinary day.

An ordinary scolding, ordinary overtime.

So why did she suddenly feel like she couldn’t keep living like this?

After pondering for a while without finding an answer, Jian Xin inexplicably picked up her phone, opened the long-unused Q/Q app, and found a small group chat of six people that had also been unusually quiet lately.

Music’s a Waste of Time · Zzzz

National First-Class Protected Waste: Anyone still alive?

Yuezi the Music-Making Money Pit: Oh my, who’s this?

National First-Class Protected Waste: Come have a drink with me! @Yuezi the Music-Making Money Pit

Yuezi the Music Flop: I haven’t had a drink in years.

National First-Class Protected Waste:  “_”

Yuezi the Music Flop: Almost thirty now, starting my wellness routine early. 45-degree hot water, evening face mask—living the refined single life.

National First-Class Protected Waste:  “_”

Yuezi the Music Flop: Look at the time! I’m already lying down with my face mask on.

National First-Class Protected Waste: Come out for a couple of drinks! @Almost Done, Due Tomorrow @Outdated Blue Slim Mushroom

Almost Done, Due Tomorrow:  I couldn’t help but widen my small eyes

Outdated Blue Slim Mushroom: Darling, I’m recording a demo. The client needs it the day after tomorrow.

National First-Class Protected Waste: @Almost Done, Due Tomorrow  Sad  Xiao Yuan, don’t tell me you’re recording a demo too.

Almost Done, Due Tomorrow:  Shrugs  Pulling an all-nighter to finish the arrangement and pay off debts.

Almost Done, Due Tomorrow:  You haven’t even written a single bar of the client’s song. How can you bear to ask me to hang out at a time like this?

Jian Xin stared at the emoji for a long moment, then stubbornly typed another message:

National First-Class Protected Waste: I quit my job.

Yuezi, the Music Money Pit: Whoa! You scared me half to death!

Outdated Blue Slim Mushroom: Why did you quit?

National First-Class Protected Waste: It’s my birthday today.

Silence. A brief silence hung in the air before the group’s attitude suddenly flipped 180 degrees.

Yuezi, the Music Money Pit: GO! GO! GO!

Yuezi, the Music Money Pit: Ugh, I’m getting up! Where should we go for drinks?

Almost Done, Due Tomorrow: A new clear bar opened in South City District recently. I heard the atmosphere and drinks are good, and it’s close to Sister Xin’s place.

Outdated Blue Slim Mushroom: Send the location?

Almost Done, Due Tomorrow: You’re Welcome Bar (South City District, 100 meters north of the Anhe Road traffic light)

Yuezi, the Music Money Pit: Birthday girl, see you in half an hour!

Great. Suddenly, this day felt worth living again.

The You’re Welcome Bar was dimly lit.

Jian Xin sat in a corner booth, out of sight of the stage, with the three friends she had dragged out with her.

The warm, spherical table lamp glowed like a miniature moon, illuminating the colorful drinks on the table.

In front of the birthday girl sat a small, triangular slice of matcha mousse cake, untouched.

The lounge singer crooned classic jazz tunes in a languid voice.

Though the music was soothing, the drinkers seemed restless. One small mouth poured out a torrent of bitterness.

“He’s smoking every day, every day! Does he think the office is his home?” Jian Xin frowned, then let out a forced, humorless laugh, rolling her eyes dramatically. “Three women in the office, forced to breathe his ten-yuan-a-pack secondhand smoke all year round, and we can’t even complain!”

“That’s so unethical!” Zheng Xinyue chimed in eagerly.

Jiang Lan frowned. “Don’t your supervisors do anything about it?”

“Ugh, don’t even get me started!” Jian Xin waved her hand dismissively, letting out a heavy sigh. “She has her own office and never smells it, so why would she care if we die?”

“What about the other colleagues? Don’t they mind?” Jiang Lan asked.

Jian Xin sighed. “Some people used to bring it up occasionally, but that guy just didn’t care. There were only a few of us in the department, seeing each other every day. No one wanted to cause trouble, afraid of getting sabotaged later, so we just had to put up with it!”

Jiang Lan took a small spoonful of the cake the birthday boy had snubbed and remarked casually, “Your workplace sounds so complicated. When we encounter difficult clients, we just endure it for a while and then refuse to work with them again.”

The guy beside them, who had been silently munching on fries for ages without saying a word, couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

“What happened next?” Zheng Xinyue asked, resting her chin in her hand and stretching her mouth to reach her straw for a sip of juice.

“I quit! I was done!” Jian Xin downed her drink, set down the glass, closed her eyes, and waved her hand dismissively, her tone as carefree as if she were tossing out an old rag. “A pack-a-day smoker, an emotionally unstable boss, colleagues who were all smiles to your face but stabbed you in the back—I wasn’t putting up with that sh1t anymore!”

Zheng Xinyue released the straw, a hint of curiosity flickering in her eyes. “Workers deal with this kind of stuff all the time. Why are you so worked up about it today?”

Jian Xin took a deep breath, reluctant to answer the question.

“You’re acting weird!” Zheng Xinyue declared.

“Am I?”

“Definitely! That expression you just made… the last time I saw you look like that was back in our junior year!”

Zheng Xinyue spoke with conviction, tapping Jiang Lan’s hand for confirmation. “Lanlan, tell me, doesn’t she seem off?”

Jiang Lan gazed thoughtfully at Jian Xin for a moment, then nodded slightly, her movements a little tipsy, in time with the bar’s music.

“After knowing you for so long, you can’t hide anything from me,” Zheng Xinyue said with a slight tilt of her head and a knowing smile. “Come on, spill the beans. What’s bothering you besides that lousy job?”

Jian Xin remained silent for a few seconds before lowering her head to unlock her phone.

She opened the group chat and tapped on the photo, then closed her eyes and held the phone up.

The three heads huddled together, their faces alight with gossip. When they recognized the person in the photo, they quickly dispersed, letting out a knowing “Oooooh~” in unison.

The “Oooooh~” lasted two seconds before they seamlessly transitioned into humming the melody of the song’s instrumental break, adding a musical flourish to their teasing.

“No…” Jian Xin was momentarily speechless. “Even at a time like this, you musicians have to harmonize?”

Zheng Xinyue laughed. “As if you’re not a musician yourself.”

Chen Yuan added, “You’re the one who formed the band back in the day.”

Jiang Lan chimed in, “Exactly!”

Jian Xin retrieved her phone, her gaze involuntarily drifting to the photo. She pursed her lips, switched off the screen, and flipped the phone face down on the table.

“I’m different from you now,” she said slowly, raising her wine glass and draining the last sip. “I’m a corporate slave, a workhorse. I haven’t touched music in years.”

“Good riddance,” Zheng Xinyue replied, playing along. “Music just loses money. The worst thing you can do in our industry is actually work in it.”

Jian Xin held up her glass, staring at the melting ice cubes for several seconds before murmuring, “But you guys are free.”

Zheng Xinyue opened her mouth, then quickly changed her tone. “That’s true. Why don’t you join us? The income isn’t steady, but you’d be working for yourself—no more feeling stifled! Work hard and earn more, or just chill if you want!”

Chen Yuan: “Our studio has a more stable client base than it did a few years ago. If you join us, I can’t guarantee anything else, but at least you won’t starve.”

“Exactly,” Zheng Xinyue said softly, glancing at Jian Xin. “Honestly, the bar singer here isn’t even as good as you. If things get tough, you could juggle both—studio work and a part-time gig as a resident singer. You might even earn about the same, and it’d be way less soul-crushing than your current job.”

Jian Xin tilted her head, peering at her three old friends through her wine glass without saying a word.

Jiang Lan: “Xin Xin’s drunk.”

Jian Xin immediately retorted, “I’m not!”

Zheng Xinyue shook her head. “She’s not drunk; she’s just hurting inside.”

Jiang Lan closed her eyes and nodded. “I get it!”

Jian Xin: “Get what? Get… what?”

Zheng Xinyue took the empty glass from her hand and said with a flat tone, “It’s more infuriating to see your ex thriving than to wallow in your own mediocrity.”

Jiang Lan: “We all understand!”

Chen Yuan: “We all understand.”

Jian Xin gritted her teeth, held her breath, and shook her head violently. “It’s not… it’s not because of her!”

“Isn’t it?” Zheng Xinyue countered.

“Of course not!” Jian Xin’s voice, though still full of energy, carried a hint of grievance.

As her words faded, she opened her eyes and gazed at Zheng Xinyue, her expression slightly tipsy. “Zheng Xinyue! You won’t even have a drink with me!”

“Sis, I drove here. You wouldn’t want me to drink and drive, would you?” Zheng Xinyue replied, glancing at the other two at the table. She teased with a smile, “Lanlan and Xiao Yuan dropped everything to drink with you tonight. If you’re going to act like you’ll be upset if I don’t drink, are you ignoring them?”

“You’re just stirring up trouble!” Jian Xin shook her head, crossed her arms, and retorted loudly, “That’s not true at all! Yuezi never says anything serious, you all know that!”

“We know, we know,” Jiang Lan echoed, nodding like a broken record.

“I’m just worried we’ll all get too drunk and none of us will be able to get home tonight,” Zheng Xinyue said, shaking her head with a smile. “We all have such low alcohol tolerances, yet we love to drink. Every time, we end up blacking out… Yuanyuan isn’t here, so someone needs to stay sober. What if something happens?”

“That makes sense,” Jiang Lan nodded. “Yuezi has sacrificed so much!”

“Alright, such a huge sacrifice!” Jian Xin took out her phone, scanned the QR code, and ordered another drink.

Chen Yuan couldn’t help but say, “Drink less, okay? You just submitted your resignation notice, you’re not leaving immediately. You still have to work overtime tomorrow, and there’s work due on Monday…”

“Hey, Chen Yuan!” Zheng Xinyue quickly interrupted. “Xin Xin rarely gets out, and it’s her birthday today. Don’t spoil the mood.”

She patted Jian Xin’s hand. “Don’t worry about drinking too much. I’ll take you home if you get drunk.”

Hearing this, Jiang Lan raised her glass. “Xin Xin, let’s drink until we drop!”

“Okay!” Jian Xin nodded.

Her head was spinning, the alcohol already taking effect. Her eyelids felt heavy.

The bar’s mellow jazz music, combined with the casual chatter with old friends she hadn’t seen in ages, gradually blurred her consciousness.

She lost track of how many drinks she’d had, only remembering someone complaining in her ear—

“So heavy… drinking so much…”

“Good thing I had the foresight…”

“It’s just an ex. It’s been years…”

When she opened her eyes again, she was already lying on her own sofa.

Zheng Xinyue was still droning on beside her, muttering for ages, but Jian Xin didn’t understand a word.

Out of politeness, she half-closed her eyes and nodded instinctively.

“Your bag’s on the table, the AC remote’s there too. Make sure the blanket covers your stomach. I put the basin here—throw up in it if you feel sick. I’m going to take Lanlan home now…”

“I’m not even drunk!”

“Right, right, you’re not drunk! You’re home now, just rest well!” Zheng Xinyue cooed in her ear like she was reassuring a child. “Okay, I’m leaving now?”

Jian Xin nodded, humming through her nose.

With the click of the door closing, the room fell silent.

Time passed unnoticed. The AC had cooled the room to a chilly temperature.

Jian Xin grabbed her phone to check the time.

Two in the morning.

She should sleep; she had to work overtime tomorrow.

But where was her phone?

She scratched her head and groped blindly around the sofa in the dark, clutching her phone.

After some thought, Jian Xin concluded that she must have left her phone at the bar.

No, she had to go get it back!

Jian Xin stood up, fumbled with her slippers for what felt like an eternity, and staggered out of her room, closing the door behind her.

She sleepwalked into the elevator and sleepwalked out of the residential complex.

It was the height of summer, and even the night breeze offered no relief, leaving her feeling hot, stifled, and headachy.

Disoriented, Jian Xin drifted aimlessly down a main road, as if searching for something.

The streetlights cast shifting shadows that stretched and shrank with each step.

What was she trying to find?

Was it the confident, fearless version of herself from years ago?

Or was it the memory of walking hand-in-hand down deserted streets late at night, counting streetlights together, even with sweaty palms?

Ridiculous. After all these years, how could she still be hung up on that?

She was clearly…

Clearly out here to find her phone, right?

Oh, right! She was going to the bar to get her phone!

But after walking for ages, she glanced down and realized her phone was right in her hand.

Weird. Then what was she doing out here?

Jian Xin couldn’t help but tilt her head back, gazing up at the blinding lights.

Countless tiny insects swarmed beneath the lamps, flitting aimlessly back and forth.

Drawn to the light, they lacked any sense of direction.

After a long moment, Jian Xin lowered her head, her vision still speckled with afterimages. In a fit of pique, she stumbled forward and stomped on her own shadow.

The drunken dizziness surged through her brain once more.

She stopped stomping, tilted her head, straightened up, closed her eyes, and stood motionless, letting the wind cool her face.

It was the early hours of the morning, and the streets were deserted except for the occasional passing car.

Jian Xin slowly opened her eyes and glanced at her phone screen, which read 3:00 AM. She suddenly chuckled to herself, “Idiot—”

I should go home, she thought. After I finish this project, I’ll start over next month and become a new person!

With this thought, Jian Xin’s steps grew unsteady as she instinctively turned toward home.

She had barely taken two steps when a blinding light flashed beside her.

For that instant, the glare was overwhelming.

In a daze, she heard a car horn blare.

The next moment, a strange sensation of weightlessness briefly overwhelmed her body.

Her eyes flickered rapidly before plunging into darkness.

Time seemed to slow down drastically.

The screech of brakes, the impact, and the dull thud of her fall were all amplified tenfold.

After a brief cacophony, an ear-ringing silence descended.

Perhaps it was the alcohol.

In that moment, she felt no pain, as if her soul had left her body. She drifted aimlessly, observing from the sidelines, trying to comprehend what was happening to her.

Only when the pain slowly began to surface did she belatedly realize the gravity of the situation.

Ugh…

I think I’ve been hit by a car!

So, the question is—

Will I ever get another chance at life?!

This was a profound question.

Before she could even begin to ponder an answer, she lost consciousness.