Little Duckling - Chapter 26

Bringing a Chinese stomach into a Thai restaurant felt a little awkward.

But if she had to be honest, Jian Xin also had a Chinese stomach.

After a brief moment of awkwardness, Jian Xin glanced at the rain outside and asked thoughtfully, “Should we wait for the rain to stop and find somewhere else to eat?”

As she spoke, she rested her chin in her hands and murmured softly, “Actually, I have a Chinese stomach too. I just thought you might like this place better since it’s a bit fancier…”

Yan Lu: “What about this table?”

“We’ll pack up what we can eat and leave the rest. We’ve already paid for it, so we shouldn’t make our stomachs suffer, right?” Jian Xin said, pointing to the pineapple fried rice. “I actually quite like this.”

Yan Lu nodded and took a sip of her fruit tea. “I just wonder how long this rain will last.”

That was indeed a good question.

That night, the rain in Jin City poured down heavily, darkening the entire night sky until it was utterly devoid of light.

It wasn’t until around 10:30 PM that the rain finally stopped.

The two sat in the bubble room, each engrossed in their phones, occasionally sharing something funny they found.

The dishes on the table had long gone cold, but they still occasionally picked at them with their chopsticks. The pineapple fried rice they’d planned to take home was nearly gone.

By the time the rain stopped, neither of them was hungry, but they certainly weren’t full either.

This time, they didn’t bother with fancy restaurants. They drove for about fifteen minutes to a time-honored street-side chuan chuan place and ordered a steaming Yuan Yang Hot Pot.

Even late at night, the chuan chuan place was packed, so noisy they had to shout to be heard.

The air conditioning was weak, and the hot pot simmered vigorously, leaving them both drenched in sweat by the end of the meal.

But the street-side flavor was irresistible, so good they laughed and talked their way through plate after plate.

“Do you remember when our dorm used fake commuter cards to sneak out of school and walk a couple of kilometers to pool our money for chuan chuan?” Jian Xin reminisced. “Back then, chuan chuan was so cheap—it only cost about eight or nine yuan per person!”

“I remember,” Yan Lu said. “We went with Yang Tian and the others. Since meat was more expensive, we mostly got vegetables.”

“Of course we only got vegetables! Vegetable skewers were just twenty cents, while meat skewers cost fifty cents!” Jian Xin said, tilting her head slightly as she stared blankly at the bubbling hot pot.

Snapping out of her reverie, a faint smile tugged at her lips. “I still remember how we bought our own ham sausages to get more meat. We’d slice them up with plastic knives right before school ended, wrap them in napkins, and sneak them into the restaurant in our bags. Then, when the staff wasn’t looking, we’d dump them into the pot…”

Yan Lu: “You were always the one who did that.”

Jian Xin pouted. “If I didn’t do it, no one would have! Everyone else was too chicken.”

“Actually, I was scared too,” she admitted, shaking her head with a laugh. “Imagine how embarrassing it would have been if we’d gotten caught! But later I realized that sneaking ham sausages into the pot was as obvious as falling asleep in class!”

“Later, when I had some money, I met up with friends to see a movie and stopped by the school area. I was surprised to find the shop still there, so we went in for another meal,” Jian Xin said. “This time, I could finally afford all the skewers I wanted. My friend and I ate our fill. When the auntie was counting the skewers, she suddenly smiled and said, ‘No hot dogs this time, huh?’ My brain just exploded! I wanted to dig a hole and bury myself right there!”

Yan Lu couldn’t help but chuckle.

Jian Xin continued, “That’s when I realized they’d known about our little tricks all along. They just figured we were young, didn’t have much money, and really enjoyed eating there, so they turned a blind eye to such minor things rather than drive away customers.”

“What happened next?” Yan Lu asked.

“I apologized, but she didn’t mind. She just said it had been a while since she’d seen me, and when she recognized me, the old memory popped into her head, and she mentioned it casually…” Jian Xin said, taking a sip of her herbal tea. “She even gave us a discount for being loyal customers, waiving the drink charges. That was the end of it.”

“The owner really knows how to run a business,” Yan Lu remarked.

“If they weren’t good at business, the shop wouldn’t have lasted so long,” Jian Xin said, pausing before adding softly, “When I went back to Nanjiang last time, the shop was still open. The taste hasn’t changed much over the years. Back then, we were always so frugal that we never really got to enjoy the food properly. If we have time, let’s go together again sometime? Maybe Auntie still remembers you.”

Yan Lu was silent for a moment, then replied with lowered eyes, “If the opportunity arises.”

In truth, “if the opportunity arises” often meant little more than “no time.”

A non-committal answer was a polite refusal.

Jian Xin thought for a moment, then changed the subject. “You used to eat so little back then. Everyone said taking you out to eat was like getting a free meal.”

“That’s because you were always paying,” Yan Lu said flatly. “I didn’t have any money back then.”

Jian Xin’s eyes crinkled into a smile as she joked, “Then how about you treat this time? Consider it payback?”

“Sure.”

Yan Lu agreed so readily that Jian Xin immediately frowned and waved her hand.

“No way! I was just kidding!” She looked at Yan Lu earnestly. “Today’s on me!”

“You already treated last time,” Yan Lu pointed out. “Over four hundred yuan—that wasn’t cheap.”

“Great writer,” Jian Xin said, her tone earnest and stubborn, “even though I’m unemployed right now, I still have income. You don’t need to treat me like this. I said I’m paying today, and that means I’m covering everything! Not even a single drink less! Eat up, eat as much as you want, and don’t hold back! We’re rich now, so don’t skimp like we used to in school, okay?”

This declaration, combined with Jian Xin’s confident expression and bold tone, might have led anyone unfamiliar with the situation to believe this meal would cost a fortune, requiring her to spend lavishly for them to truly enjoy it.

However, when the bill finally came, including the hot pot base, the total for both of them didn’t even reach three digits—far cheaper than their previous meal.

By the time Jian Xin was dropped off at home, it was already past midnight.

Feeling guilty that the heavy rain had kept Yan Lu out so late, Jian Xin apologized profusely as she said goodbye.

Yan Lu, however, seemed unfazed, simply saying, “Get some rest,” before turning and leaving.

The moment the door closed, Jian Xin sat in her wheelchair, lost in thought for a long time.

Had they finally buried the hatchet? Would future encounters be less awkward?

Perhaps this was a good start.

She had recovered something that had once been very important to her. Although she could never put it back in its original place, at least… it was a kind of recovery, wasn’t it?

With these thoughts, Jian Xin exhaled deeply, lowered her head, and opened her phone to send Yan Lu a message:

Let me know when you get home!

Yan Lu arrived home around one in the morning.

She had left early that afternoon, never imagining that their planned dinner would turn into a late-night snack. She hadn’t prepared enough food for the two little ones, and the moment she stepped inside, she was greeted by a symphony of hungry barks and meows.

“I’m so sorry, Xin Xin and Cauliflower! Mommy’s late today. I’ll get you something to eat right away!” Yan Lu said, slipping into her slippers and rushing into the kitchen without even changing her clothes.

The two little ones were notoriously picky eaters. They refused to touch any of the bagged or canned food she bought online, insisting only on fresh meals—a real handful.

Sweaty and exhausted, Yan Lu spent ages in the kitchen, finally managing to feed them. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

She glanced at her phone and saw a message from Jian Xin, sent over an hour earlier.

Picked Up a Heart: Let me know when you get home!

Yan Lu Er Qi: I’m home now. Just finished making food for Duck and Little Duck.

After replying, she hesitated, then added:

Yan Lu Er Qi: I just saw your message.

She stared at her phone for a moment, waiting for a response. When none came, she tossed it onto the bed, grabbed a nightgown, and went to take a shower.

Finally washing away the day’s heat and grime, Yan Lu sat back down at her computer, combing her still-damp hair.

The stack of autograph sheets on the table seemed endless, just looking at them made her hand ache.

Yan Lu sighed, put down her comb, picked up a signing pen, and began signing again.

At three in the morning, a light rain began to fall outside the window.

The gentle patter of rain filled the air as Cauliflower waddled over to her feet, tilted its head, and quacked twice.

Yan Lu looked down at it. “Xin Xin’s already asleep. Why aren’t you?”

Cauliflower stood on its tiptoes, flapped its wings, and hopped in place, quacking again.

After a moment’s thought, Yan Lu picked it up and gently placed it on her lap.

“If you can’t sleep, you can keep Mommy company while I work,” she said, rubbing its small head and murmuring, “They’re really pushing for these autographs to be done before the drama’s popularity fades. There are still boxes of them outside. I’ll never promise to sign all the pre-orders again…”

The little duck tucked its neck in, snuggled against her stomach, and gently closed its eyes.

“You little rascal, you haven’t been sleeping in your duck nest lately, have you? You just want to sleep on me, don’t you?”

“Quack!”

“Then sleep soundly. Mommy still has to sign for a while.”

“Aww—”

Yan Lu smiled and picked up her pen again.

This duck is becoming more clingy than a dog lately, she thought. If this keeps up, Xin Xin’s going to get jealous…

Dorm 509 was always livelier than the other dorms.

Jian Xin had brought a pair of pale green speakers from home. Every night before lights-out, she would connect them to her MP4 player and play music until the power cut off.

At first, she would sit on Yan Lu’s bed, sharing her favorite songs with Yan Lu, each wearing one earbud.

Then someone jokingly remarked, “Jian Xin only ever shares her music with Yan Lu.”

Jian Xin glanced at their two earbuds, pondered for a moment, and ordered a portable speaker from Taobao during her next trip home.

From then on, the two earbuds became a speaker for all six roommates.

Jian Xin had excellent taste in music, and everyone in the dorm loved listening to it. Even the Dorm Teacher, during room checks, would often ask for song titles.

There are people in this world who seem naturally likable, effortlessly fitting in wherever they go.

In Yan Lu’s eyes, Jian Xin was one such person.

Before Jian Xin arrived at Dorm 509, the atmosphere had been subdued. The roommates rarely chatted, each keeping to themselves. At most, two or three would occasionally eat together, never inviting Yan Lu.

But things had changed recently.

Whether during lunch breaks or before bed, the conversations in the dorm grew more frequent, and the bonds between the girls deepened.

For instance, if someone suddenly got hungry at night and secretly made a packet of instant noodles, everyone would rush over to snag a bite.

The dorm called this “protection money.”

The idea was that if the Dorm Teacher came for inspection while you were making noodles, the entire dorm would help you cover it up, ensuring you wouldn’t get caught red-handed.

Another example: before every monthly exam, the girls would cram together at the last minute.

The entire dorm would be filled with the sound of loud memorization, as if they needed to shout to memorize properly.

And yet another example: they would occasionally gather around a table to eat together.

Around early May, a very affordable skewers restaurant opened near the school—the hot pot broth was free, vegetable skewers were 20 cents each, and meat skewers were 50 cents each, all with surprisingly good flavor.

Tired of the bland cafeteria food, they sometimes craved something spicier, like a mini hot pot.

At Jian Xin’s suggestion, the dorm girls calculated that a meal at the skewers restaurant wouldn’t be too expensive. So they got someone to make fake commuter passes, slipped out of school during the busiest after-school rush, and sprinted to the restaurant, happily feasting until they were full.

The restaurant’s food was indeed delicious and incredibly affordable. From then on, whenever they craved it, they would gather and go eat together.

Though they were always reluctant to order meat skewers, that didn’t stop them from enjoying every meal immensely.

The restaurant’s hot pot broth was particularly flavorful. To get more meat, they even started bringing their own ham sausages and secretly adding them to the pot.

The ham sausages were usually sliced during the last class before dismissal.

Yang Tian was in charge of this task, and she always sneaked a few bites of the uncut pieces beforehand.

When Li Zhu, her deskmate and bunkmate, pointed her out, Yang Tian would simply grin and retort, “What’s wrong? If the cook doesn’t steal, the harvest won’t come!”

With a mischievous smile, she would then wrap the remaining sausage in a napkin and slip it into Jian Xin’s hand.

Secretly adding their own ham sausages to the hot pot was something only someone with Jian Xin’s lightning-fast reflexes and quick thinking would dare to do.

In other words, their plan for extra snacks would have been impossible without Jian Xin!

However, aside from these occasional group meals to improve their diet, the dormitory residents usually ate separately.

Jian Xin was an art student who frequently left campus for private lessons.

With vocal training, music theory, sight-singing and aural skills, and piano lessons, Yan Lu always had a lot to study, so she couldn’t eat every meal with Jian Xin.

Before Jian Xin moved in, Yan Lu had always gone to the cafeteria alone.

One day, Yang Tian and Li Zhu saw Jian Xin hurrying out of the classroom with her backpack. They glanced back at Yan Lu, who was alone, and called out to her, “Yan Lu, want to come to the cafeteria with us?”

In Yan Lu’s memory, that was the first time anyone other than Jian Xin had invited her to eat together.

She froze for a moment, startled. It wasn’t until her roommates waved again that she snapped out of it, grabbed her notebook, and hurried to catch up.

As the days passed, the weather grew warmer.

The dorm room had no air conditioning or fans, and everyone was sweltering. They decided to sleep on mats on the floor.

Yan Lu always slept on the edge, right next to Jian Xin.

She loved the feeling of sleeping on the floor—the way they could touch each other with just a slight turn, making even their dreams feel gentler than usual.

The dorm room wasn’t large, and space was limited when everyone slept on the floor. They were packed so close together that someone would inevitably start talking.

One night, the girls got carried away gossiping about some boys in their class. Despite two warnings from the dorm supervisor, they couldn’t quiet down. The next day, all six of them found themselves standing in the Home Room Teacher’s office.

The Home Room Teacher stared at the usually well-behaved girls standing before her, their heads bowed low. She couldn’t bring herself to scold them harshly, so she assigned each of them a written apology, and the matter was dropped.

That evening, the Dorm Teacher came for room inspection and brought up the previous night’s incident. Jian Xin immediately stepped forward and shouted, “Teacher Liu, we’ll never do it again!”

Before she could finish, the Dorm Teacher lightly swatted her bottom with her handbag.

“You’ll never do it again? You’re the biggest troublemaker of them all!” the Dorm Teacher said, grabbing Jian Xin in a mock struggle that was more playful than harmful. “Playing your little tunes every day, sneaking in instant noodles, and even bringing a birthday cake for Liang Shuangyi with lit candles! Do you really think I don’t know about any of this?!”

“Aiya, aiya, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Teacher Liu!”

“Every time it’s the same—’I’m sorry, I’m sorry!'” the Dorm Teacher said, releasing Jian Xin’s arm, her tone a mix of exasperation and amusement. “You always humbly accept the scolding, yet never change your ways!”

The next moment, Jian Xin grabbed the Dorm Teacher’s wrist, gently swaying it and pleading for forgiveness. One by one, the girls in the dorm chimed in, begging for leniency, and the matter was quickly dropped.

After the Dorm Teacher left for other dorms, Yang Tian’s eyes widened in shock. “How did Teacher Liu know we snuck the cake in?”

“Pfft, she knows everything,” Jian Xin waved dismissively, plopping down on Yan Lu’s bed. “She just turns a blind eye as long as we pretend to be obedient and don’t flaunt our rule-breaking too blatantly. She couldn’t care less otherwise.”

Jian Xin was right. The Dorm Teacher knew everything.

Take instant noodles, for example. The smell was overpowering, even after the girls waved orange peels and sprayed diluted floral water to mask the odor. Most of the time, it was just a futile attempt to deceive themselves.

Once, right after the Dorm Teacher finished her rounds, Jian Xin jumped up, locked the door, and gleefully started preparing instant noodles with Li Zhu and Zhao Yiran.

Before the noodles were even ready, the Dorm Teacher made a surprise return, sending the three girls scrambling into the bathroom in a panic.

The Dorm Teacher entered the room, glanced around, and asked, “Why are there only three of you? Everyone was here just a moment ago.”

Yang Tian opened her mouth and whispered, “The bathroom.”

“Oh,” the Dorm Teacher said, glancing at the tightly closed bathroom door, a faint smile playing on her lips. “Three people in the bathroom?”

Yang Tian lowered her head, not daring to speak.

“One person pooping, two people catching, right?” the Dorm Teacher continued.

Liang Shuangyi couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter.

“Well, you three better hurry up,” the Dorm Teacher said sarcastically, turning to leave. “You know, you have to strike while the iron’s hot.”

Inside the bathroom, the three girls stared down at their instant noodles, suddenly finding the aroma less appealing.

When they finally emerged from the bathroom, Yang Tian and Liang Shuangyi were already on their beds, clutching their stomachs and laughing uproariously. Even Yan Lu struggled to suppress a smile.

“What’s so funny?!” Jian Xin slammed her noodles onto the table, planted her hands on her hips, and demanded loudly, “Do you even want to eat these or not?!”

“Yes!”

“Why aren’t you eating? This is three people’s protection money!”

Yang Tian and Liang Shuangyi immediately scrambled down from their bunks, ran barefoot to the table, and each took a bite before returning to their beds, completely satisfied.

Jian Xin knew Yan Lu would never join in at times like this.

Everyone else shared instant noodles when they craved them, but Yan Lu refused to partake, feeling she could never repay the favor.

So, whenever this happened, Jian Xin would always say she couldn’t finish her noodles and offer Yan Lu a few bites from her bowl.

At first, Yan Lu worried her roommates might gossip, just like how others in class teased her for constantly borrowing Jian Xin’s dinner card.

But as time passed, she realized the imagined whispers never materialized.

It seemed that ever since Jian Xin had entered her life, things had begun to change.

She couldn’t help but wish things could stay this way forever.

Yet she knew that none of this warmth truly belonged to her.

Jian Xin was the kind of person who could get along with anyone; Yan Lu was just one of many.

Have you ever seen the sun in the dead of winter?

It doesn’t glare, nor does it burn so fiercely that it’s hard to breathe.

In this endless winter night, its light and warmth feel so gentle, the only brightness and warmth she can touch.

She knows, she knows.

More people have come into her life, bringing more kindness.

But it all feels so unreal, as if it could vanish like smoke at any moment.

Every time she returns home, she finds only chaos and that madman who beats and curses her.

The tightly shut doors and windows imprison the nauseating stench of smoke and alcohol, and imprison her as well.

Lin Xiaoshuang hasn’t stepped into summer; rather, summer has approached her frozen winter.

How she wishes summer would never end.

If that day ever comes, the winter night will finally suffocate her soul.

Li Xia… would you take her away?

During evening self-study, the Chinese teacher sat at the podium grading essays.

Jian Xin lay sprawled across her desk, her mouth agape, one cheek flushed red in her sleep.

Yan Lu stared at the passage she had just written, remaining silent for a long time.

Finally, she tore it up, crumpled it into a ball, and shoved it deep into her desk drawer.

There were stories she had always hoped Jian Xin would understand, yet also always feared she would.