Little Duckling - Chapter 23

After the call ended, Yan Lu casually opened a variety show to watch while she continued to sign documents diligently.

Little Duck nestled quietly on her lap, its head tilted slightly to the left, its gaze distant and thoughtful.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly, yet also felt fleeting.

The celebrities on the variety show were always laughing and joking, but Duck couldn’t understand a word they were saying.

The old grandfather clock in the living room suddenly chimed once. Jian Xin instinctively craned her neck to glance at the time in the lower right corner of her computer screen.

It’s already two in the morning.

Yan Lu could really sign her name! The stack of signed papers had grown into a thick pile, yet she was still writing, tap-tap-tap-tap.

The rhythmic sound brought back memories of their high school years.

Back then, Yan Lu had always sat to her left, writing something whenever she wasn’t studying.

When the classroom fell silent, Jian Xin could always clearly hear the tap-tap-tap-tap of Yan Lu’s pen against the paper.

Three years of high school—not long, yet not short either.

The sound was so faint, yet it seemed to possess a magical quality that inexplicably brought her a sense of peace.

She had always believed that time could fade many things, including habits that had formed but were long since out of reach.

But in that moment, she realized some habits never truly fade.

She could go a long time without indulging them, but the moment she did, everything would come rushing back…

Fortunately, no one would see her in this pathetic state. She could simply lie here quietly, savoring this long-lost sense of peace.

She didn’t know how much time had passed.

As her consciousness began to fade, Little Duck tucked its neck in, shifted into a more comfortable position, and gently pressed half its body against Yan Lu’s stomach, slowly closing its eyes.

Just as her awareness slipped away, she instinctively let out a soft “quack.”

Yan Lu, go to sleep soon.

Speaking in a language humans couldn’t understand, Little Duck quacked once more and drifted off to sleep. Yan Lu lowered her head, looked at the sleeping duck, and couldn’t help but smile as she gently stroked its tiny head.

“Okay,” she murmured.

This little one must be telling me to go to sleep, she thought.

She glanced at the nearly empty progress bar of the variety show episode and told herself: I should listen to Little Cauliflower. Just finish these last few minutes and then rest.

Vacations always feel too short. Before you know it, the carefree days of eating, drinking, and playing are over, and it’s time for school to start again.

Jian Xin frantically finished her winter break homework at 4:30 AM on the day school resumed, relying on a chaotic last-minute scramble.

Huang He woke up in the middle of the night and noticed the light in her daughter’s room had been on all night. She hesitated several times, wanting to say something but holding back, until finally she couldn’t quite restrain herself. Standing at the doorway, she muttered coldly, “You do this every time. I’m too tired to even scold you anymore.”

With that, she turned and went back to her bedroom.

Despite her anger, Huang He couldn’t help but think about her daughter moving into the school dormitory the next day. She had already packed several large bags and piled them by the front door, ready to take them to the dorm when she dropped Jian Xin off tomorrow afternoon.

The dormitory assignment had been arranged in advance. Huang He had spoken with Teacher Li before the start of the semester.

She explained that Yan Lu was an excellent student and that Jian Xin got along well with her. If possible, she hoped they could be roommates, so Jian Xin could learn from Yan Lu.

In the past, once dormitory assignments were finalized, they rarely changed unless there were exceptional circumstances. New boarding students were always assigned to dorms with vacant beds.

After all, each dorm only had six beds, and after living together for so long, suddenly transferring someone out could easily cause resentment.

But as luck would have it, Qi Xia had submitted a dorm transfer request during registration, stating she disliked the atmosphere of her current dorm and wished to move into Zhang Danya’s dorm.

Zhang Danya’s dorm had only ever housed four students, so adding one more wouldn’t be an issue. This left a vacancy in Yan Lu’s dorm.

The moment Jian Xin received her dorm key, she happily ran up to the fifth floor, accompanied by her parents, clutching the bedsheets, comforter, and pillow she’d collected from the first floor. She headed straight for Dorm 509.

The door wasn’t locked, indicating someone had already arrived.

Jian Xin turned sideways, nudged the door open with her elbow, and crab-walked sideways into the room like a little crab.

The bundle in her arms nearly blocked her entire view. Without even looking around the room, she blurted out, “Excuse me, classmate, which bed did Qi Xia sleep in before?”

No one answered her question.

After a moment of silence, someone took the bedding from her hands and placed it on the lower bunk behind the door, where only a bare mattress remained.

“Yan Lu!” Jian Xin’s eyes lit up as she waved. “You’re here early too!”

“Mm-hmm,” Yan Lu nodded, smoothly helping Jian Xin make her bed.

“I’m going to be living at school from now on!” Jian Xin announced, clasping her hands behind her back and tilting her head to the left to watch Yan Lu make the bed. She grinned and added, “I hope you’ll take good care of me!”

Just as she finished speaking, her parents, who had been chasing after her all the way, entered the room carrying large bags and small packages.

“You little rascal, running so fast…” Huang He grumbled, taking a few steps inside. Her eyes immediately fell on the girl making the bed behind the door, and a warm smile spread across her face. “Ah, Yan Lu, right? Xin Xin mentions you all the time!”

Yan Lu jumped at the sudden greeting, turning around and timidly bowing her head. “Hello, Auntie! Hello, Uncle!”

“Good, good, good! Everything’s fine! Now that Xin Xin’s living at school, you’ll have to help her with her studies, okay? Good friends should always strive to become better together!” Huang He said, noticing Yan Lu continuing to make the bed while Jian Xin stood motionless beside her. She quickly called out, “Hey, isn’t that Xin Xin’s bed? Jian Changjiang, what are you standing around for? Come help your daughter make her bed! Her classmate is more eager than her own father!”

“Coming, coming! I just walked in…”

Before Yan Lu could even process what was happening, Huang He had gently pulled her aside, leaving her and Jian Xin standing in a spot where they didn’t need to do anything.

Yan Lu looked at Jian Xin, bewildered. Jian Xin simply shrugged, spread her hands, and asked with a smile, “Where are you sleeping?”

Yan Lu pointed to the bed next to Jian Xin’s.

The blue-and-white striped sheets were stretched taut, practically wrinkle-free, and two neatly folded military blankets were stacked squarely at the foot of the bed.

“So you sleep here?” Jian Xin exclaimed. “Does that mean we can sleep head-to-head?”

Huang He interjected dryly, “Head-to-head makes it easier to chat, right?”

Jian Xin pouted and walked over to Yan Lu’s bed, reaching out to touch the perfectly folded, tofu-block-like military blanket. “Yours is folded so neatly! The drill instructor taught us how to do this during middle school military training, but I could never get it right!”

“Maybe you should reflect on that?” Huang He suggested.

Jian Xin fell silent.

“Learn from Yan Lu,” Huang He continued. “Otherwise, no one will make your bed or fold your blankets for you in college.”

“Ugh, fine, I get it!” Jian Xin grumbled.

“Don’t just brush me off,” Huang He retorted. “I know you’re impatient.”

Jian Xin secretly made a face behind Huang He’s back before plopping down on Yan Lu’s bed.

Yan Lu pressed her lips together, struggling to suppress a smile.

Jian Xin’s bed was quickly made, and her family bustled around, helping her unpack her belongings.

She had brought so much that her small locker couldn’t hold it all, so she stored some items in Yan Lu’s locker.

For this boarding school stay, she had bought four hot water bottles, placing two of them by Yan Lu’s bed.

Faced with Yan Lu’s surprised gaze, she simply smiled and said, “I don’t wash with cold water, so you’ll have to fetch hot water with me every day!”

With that, she turned back to unpacking her things.

Once everything was settled, Huang He and Jian Changjiang left the school first, repeatedly reminding Jian Xin to get along with her roommate, not to skip breakfast just to sleep in, to remember that school conditions aren’t as comfortable as home, to adapt well, and to call if she needed anything—they’d bring it over. “Don’t start whining to come home after just a few days!”

Jian Xin nodded repeatedly like a pecking chick, her neck nearly aching from the effort, before Huang He finally felt reassured enough to leave.

After seeing her family off, the dormitory finally fell silent.

Jian Xin stood hesitantly by the long washbasin beneath the window, holding a pink cup filled with toothpaste and a toothbrush. Suddenly, she pointed to the only white cup on the counter and turned to ask, “Is this yours?”

“Mm-hmm,” Yan Lu replied, looking up.

“Then I’ll put mine next to yours,” Jian Xin said, placing her cup beside Yan Lu’s. She adjusted the position slightly, aligning the two cups neatly side by side.

Finally, she hung her light blue towel next to Yan Lu’s.

Taking two steps back, she surveyed the washbasin, then returned to her bed with a satisfied smile.

“We’re roommates now!” she sighed, flopping onto her pillow and closing her eyes half-heartedly. “I stayed up until almost 5 AM finishing my assignment last night. I’m so exhausted…”

“How did you dare leave it until the last minute?” Yan Lu asked softly.

“I didn’t mean to! I kept thinking I had time, more time, but then suddenly it was all gone!” Jian Xin kicked off her shoes and collapsed onto the bed with a groan. “If only I had half your self-discipline!”

Her complaint went unanswered, but drowsiness crept over her.

Jian Xin yawned widely, hooked her toes, and pulled the blanket from the foot of the bed over herself.

“Take off your coat before you sleep,” Yan Lu said. “You’ll be cold when you wake up.” By the time the words left her lips, Jian Xin had already curled up motionless under the blanket.

After a moment’s hesitation, Yan Lu got up and gently poked Jian Xin’s arm twice.

“Don’t sleep like that, you’ll catch a cold…”

Jian Xin groaned softly, drowsily pulled off her jacket, rolled over, and drifted back to sleep.

Yan Lu pressed her lips together, draped the discarded jacket over Jian Xin’s blanket, and returned to her own bed.

After a long silence, she quietly switched the positions of her pillow and blanket, took out her notebook and pen from her backpack, and leaned over the pillow, resuming her unfinished story in peaceful concentration.

She wrote slowly, pausing frequently.

Jian Xin slept in the adjacent bed, so close that Yan Lu could catch the faint, clean scent of her shampoo.

The restless sleeper tossed and turned, soon disheveling her neatly arranged hair into a tangled mess.

Yan Lu watched her quietly, her gaze drifting into a daze.

It all felt like a dream.

Last semester, Jian Xin had said she would stay at school with Yan Lu. Yan Lu had dared neither to believe nor to suppress her anticipation.

She had assumed it was just an empty promise, thinking that even if Jian Xin didn’t forget over the winter break, she would surely change her mind.

But Jian Xin hadn’t forgotten. She had truly become Yan Lu’s roommate.

Qi Xia refused to sleep head-to-head with her, and no one in the dorm was willing to share their toiletries with her.

No one would even sit on her bed.

It was as if she were inherently dirtier than everyone else, and her belongings were tainted by her impurity.

Yan Lu gripped her pen tightly, hesitated for a long time, and finally couldn’t resist reaching out through the bars between the beds to gently touch Jian Xin’s disheveled, sleeping head.

Time passed quickly. Students gradually returned to school, and the dorm was no longer just the two of them.

Someone whispered nearby, seemingly mindful of her sleeping but not overly concerned.

Jian Xin drowsily opened her eyes several times before fully waking up when someone accidentally knocked over the clothes drying rack, causing a loud crash.

“I’m so sorry! It was an accident,” the classmate apologized sheepishly.

Jian Xin sat up, rubbing her eyes. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I should be awake anyway!”

She yawned widely, then hugged her blanket and stared blankly ahead.

Room 509 housed six students: Jian Xin, Yan Lu, Li Zhu, Zhao Yiran, Liang Shuangyi, and Yang Tian, the Chinese language representative.

With one familiar face gone and a new one arrived, the room initially fell into an awkward silence.

However, Jian Xin’s newly awakened brain soon kicked into gear. She started chatting about this and that, somehow managing to draw everyone into the conversation.

Yan Lu set down her pen, leaned against the wall, and quietly listened to her roommates’ idle chatter.

Jian Xin didn’t forget about her, occasionally tossing her a conversational thread.

Perhaps because of Jian Xin’s presence, Yan Lu felt for the first time that she could actually try to join in on the room’s usual topics.

What had once felt like an eternity suddenly seemed to pass quickly.

As dusk settled outside the window, the roommates began to leave one by one. Jian Xin climbed out of bed, smoothed her hair with her hand, quickly retied it, and turned to Yan Lu. “Let’s go grab some dinner! We need to head to the classroom afterward!”

She slung her backpack over her shoulder and strode ahead.

Tomorrow was the official start of the semester, so the school cafeteria wasn’t open tonight.

Jian Xin took Yan Lu to a goose soup casserole restaurant outside the school. They ordered two bowls with extra eggs and meat, and Jian Xin generously declared, “I’m in a good mood today, so I’m treating!”

She explained that she loved the casserole here. Sometimes, when she had afternoon tutoring sessions off campus and returned after the school cafeteria had closed, she would come here to eat. The soup was fresh, the meat tender, and the vegetables plentiful, with a particularly fragrant dipping sauce.

“You absolutely have to try it if you haven’t already!”

Yan Lu nodded, glancing at Jian Xin with a hint of uncertainty about how to start.

Jian Xin dipped her vegetables in the sauce, and Yan Lu followed suit. Jian Xin picked up an egg, and Yan Lu did the same…

As they ate dinner and chatted, the sky outside the window darkened completely.

When they were nearly finished, Jian Xin flipped open her phone to check the time. Seeing that Evening Self-Study was starting in ten minutes, she immediately called out to Yan Lu.

They put down their chopsticks, slung their backpacks over their shoulders, and hurried toward the school, one behind the other.

They made it to Evening Self-Study on time, but running so hard right after eating left them breathless and with mild stomach cramps that took a while to subside.

The bell rang, and Teacher Li walked into the classroom empty-handed. He sat down at the teacher’s desk, signaling the class representatives to collect the winter break homework.

After the homework was collected, Teacher Li gave a brief speech about new goals for the semester. He then called several students to help him carry all the textbooks for the semester from the office to the classroom, where they were distributed by seat.

Once again, the empty desks were piled high with books. Hidden behind this new cover, Yan Lu stealthily pulled out her novel notebook.

The next moment, her deskmate, Jian Xin, leaned over with a mischievous grin.

“How much did you write over winter break?” Jian Xin whispered.

Yan Lu pinched the written portion between her index finger and thumb, showing a thickness roughly the size of a chopstick.

“That much!” Jian Xin exclaimed, eagerly reaching out with both hands. “I want to read it! I want to read it!”

The next moment, she had her wish granted, receiving the long-awaited “update” from Yan Lu’s winter break writing. She picked up where she remembered leaving off and continued reading.

That night was Jian Xin’s first night living at the boarding school.

For some reason, she felt unexpectedly excited, even the task of carrying two heavy thermos flasks of hot water filled her with a strange thrill.

Emotions are contagious, and that evening, Room 509 felt livelier than usual.

The girls sat on their beds, chatting idly and occasionally bursting into laughter, clearly welcoming Jian Xin, their new roommate.

However, when they mentioned that the school conducted daily morning and afternoon inspections of dormitory cleanliness, with strict grading criteria, Jian Xin’s smile vanished. A low score meant her name would be written on the first-floor blackboard and reported to the Home Room Teacher. One of the criteria was mandatory military-style bed folding.

“I don’t know how to fold a military-style bed!” she wailed, clutching her quilt tightly, looking small, pitiful, and helpless.

“Practice, young lady!” Yang Tian declared.

The other roommates nodded in agreement, casting encouraging glances her way.

“Can’t anyone help me?” Jian Xin pleaded, pressing her palms together in supplication. “I’ll sweep, mop, take out the trash, smooth the sheets—anything but fold that military-style bed! Please!”

“Folding the military-style bed is the most troublesome part,” Liang Shuangyi sighed.

“It’s only necessary in winter when we need the quilt,” Yang Tian added. “In summer, we might not even unfold our quilts once the whole semester!”

Li Zhu nodded. “We just toss them on the floor at night and pull them back up in the morning.”

“Exactly!” Zhao Yiran chimed in.

“I’ll help you fold it,” Yan Lu suddenly offered.

“Wow, Yan Xiaolu, you’re the best!” Jian Xin exclaimed, her face lighting up. “Then I’ll help you make your bed every day!”

“No need,” Yan Lu replied. “It’s quick and easy for me.”

“I’m so jealous!” Yang Tian said, flopping back onto her bed. “What’s the feng shui like for that lower bunk behind the door? Why don’t the people who sleep there have to fold their military blankets? I wish someone would fold mine for me!”

“Keep dreaming!” Li Zhu chuckled, kicking Yang Tian’s bed frame playfully.

“Why is that?” Jian Xin asked Yan Lu, unable to resist her curiosity. “Did you used to fold Qi Xia’s military blanket too?”

Yan Lu shook her head. “Not me.”

“It was Zhang Danya,” Zhao Yiran explained. “She’d finish her own chores early every day and come to our dorm to fold Qi Xia’s blanket and make her bed. Then she’d sit there waiting for Qi Xia to finish getting ready so they could go to the cafeteria for breakfast together.”

Liang Shuangyi chimed in, “Yeah, yeah! There was even a time when Qi Xia was assigned floor-sweeping duty, and Zhang Danya took over sweeping our whole dorm just to help her finish faster!”

“Why don’t I have friends like that?” Yang Tian grumbled. “Everyone in class says Yan Lu likes Qi Xia, but if you ask me, Zhang Danya is the one who really seems to like her.”

Jian Xin glanced at Yan Lu out of the corner of her eye. Noticing Yan Lu’s lowered lashes, she paused to consider the implications.

A moment later, she curled her lips into a smile and said, “No one would actually believe Wang Xiaofeng’s bullshit, right?”

Yang Tian froze, realizing her earlier words had been inappropriate. She quickly forced a smile and said, “Of course not! Who would believe such nonsense? Qi Xia never even shares her snacks with Yan Lu. How could Yan Lu possibly like her?”

Yan Lu pressed her lips together, saying nothing. She simply leaned against her pillow and continued writing her novel.

Jian Xin’s eyes darted around before she leaned against her pillow as well, propping her chin in her hands. She smiled at Yan Lu and said, “Then I’m still the best, right?”

After all, she always shared all her snacks with Yan Lu!

Yan Lu blinked silently for a long moment before finally responding in a barely audible voice, “Yeah, you’re the best.”

The four words sounded strangely awkward.

Jian Xin knew that Yan Lu was just like that—forever unable to express herself well.

She pulled out her MP4, handed Yan Lu one earbud, and turned over to lie flat on her bed, hugging her blanket. While playing Tetris on her phone, she half-heartedly joined in her roommates’ idle chatter.

When the dormitory lights went out and her roommates stopped talking, the only sound in the pitch-black night was the music from her earbuds.

She slowly closed her eyes, feeling both unaccustomed to the darkness and inexplicably at peace as she drifted off to sleep.

Jian Xin wasn’t sure when she had fallen asleep, only that she woke up at home.

The bedroom was dark, and her phone showed the time as 1:00 PM.

Someone had @mentioned her in the band group chat. When she didn’t respond, they first flooded her WeChat with messages, then bombarded her with phone calls.

Staring at the dozen missed calls, she tilted her head, scratched her head in a daze, and muttered:

Of course I forgive her. Zzzz

Reading my ex’s novel isn’t illegal: What’s the emergency? Why all the fuss?

Reading my ex’s novel isn’t illegal: I just woke up.

Yueyue Wants to Stack Words: Are you a pig? How could you sleep so soundly?

Yueyue Wants to Stack Words: Hundreds of calls couldn’t wake you up!

Yueyue Wants to Stack Words: I thought something had happened to you!

Yueyue Wants to Stack Words: I even got dressed and was about to rush over to your place!

Jian Xin paused, then backed out to check the number of missed calls.

Reading my ex’s novel isn’t illegal: Exaggerating much? It was only thirteen calls.

Yueyue Wants to Stack Words: Slap

Lanlan Wants to Stack Words Too: Xinzi is always so meticulous.

Reading my ex’s novel isn’t illegal: So, what’s the rush? Why were you trying to reach me so urgently?

Reading my ex’s novel isn’t illegal: What happened?

Have you finished reading your ex’s novel yet?: Want to take on a 30,000 yuan project?

Reading my ex’s novel isn’t illegal! Thirty thousand?!

Have you finished reading my ex’s novel yet? Thirty thousand! Lyrics, composition, and vocals!

Yueyue Wants to Stack Words: Thirty thousand! Yes, thirty thousand! You’re not seeing things—it’s thirty thousand!

Reading my ex’s novel isn’t illegal: Jaw drops

Lanlan Wants to Stack Words Too: This is a major project!

Lanlan Wants to Stack Words Too: The OST for Cloud Between Moon!!!

Have you finished reading my ex’s novel yet?: They specifically requested your style and want you to give it a shot.

Reading my ex’s novel isn’t illegal: Jaw drops

Oh right, this is the commission Yan Lu asked Lin Xiyu to get for her.

So much time had passed—her leg cast had already been changed twice—that she’d almost forgotten about it.

Yueyue Wants to Stack Words: What are you hesitating for?

Yueyue Wants to Stack Words: This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Yueyue Wants to Stack Words: Do you know how many people would kill to submit songs for free for a project this huge? And they’d still get rejected! Landing this for our studio is like winning the lottery—you absolutely have to seize it!

Jian Xin sat up, tilting her head and staring blankly into space for a long moment.

It wasn’t until the group chat exploded with messages again that she finally replied: Accept it, only an idiot would refuse!

Finally, she took a deep breath, exited the group chat, and scrolled down for ages until she found that familiar Ya Ya duck profile picture.

They had promised to be friends again, but their last contact had been on the day of her second hospital follow-up appointment, almost half a month ago.

– How did I suddenly get the Cloud Between Moon OST commission? Did you recommend me?

– I just got a commission. The Cloud Between Moon production team contacted me directly. I have no reputation at all, so it seems impossible. Did you recommend me to them?

– Cloud Between Moon suddenly asked me to write a song! Did you put in a good word for me?

Jian Xin clutched her phone, staring at the white duck head. She typed and deleted messages in the text box, over and over, unable to bring herself to press the send button.

After agonizing for a long time, she bit her lip and sent a sticker instead.

Picked up a heart: Your darling suddenly appeared

Picked up a heart: Are you there?

As soon as she sent it, she immediately tapped twice to recall the message, cringing with embarrassment.

Yan Lu Er Qi: Why did you recall it?

Jian Xin: “……”

Good question. The editor would love to know too.