Little Duckling - Chapter 7

Zheng Xinyue arrived at the hospital shortly after 1 p.m.

Jian Xin had just finished lunch, assisted by Yao Wenqian, when she spotted a familiar figure entering the ward. The woman, wearing a panda-shaped crossbody bag, stood beside her bed with her hands on her hips, radiating an intimidating aura.

Zheng Xinyue: “Oh, look, your arms and legs are still attached?”

Jian Xin: “……”

“Your friend?” Yao Wenqian whispered.

Jian Xin nodded with her eyes closed.

“Then you two chat. I’ll go get some fresh air!” Yao Wenqian said, fleeing the room as if escaping.

Zheng Xinyue watched the young woman scurry away before casually asking, “Who was that?”

Jian Xin: “The person who hit me.”

“She’s so young, looks like a college student,” Zheng Xinyue remarked, settling onto the edge of the bed. “Have you discussed compensation?”

Jian Xin: “I’ll get everything I’m entitled to.”

Zheng Xinyue nodded, her gaze returning to Jian Xin.

The brief frown and intense stare told Jian Xin she couldn’t avoid the impending scolding.

“Lying down comfortably?” Zheng Xinyue tilted her head, a dangerous smile playing on her lips. “No more overtime, huh? Must be a real treat.”

“I’m… I’m okay…”

“Okay?!” Zheng Xinyue’s voice shot up several octaves. “Ugh, I’m seriously at my wit’s end with you! Tell me, tell me this: I got you home, turned on the AC, and even tucked you in. How on earth did you manage to get hit by a car on the street?”

“……”

“What, was the sofa uncomfortable? Or did your overtime not burn off enough of that boundless energy? Did you really need extra exercise before bed?”

“……”

“Hey! I just can’t wrap my head around it! What possessed you to wander out alone in the middle of the night for a midnight stroll?”

“The alcohol went to my head a bit,” Jian Xin murmured, trying to explain. “I thought I’d lost my phone and went out to look for it. After searching for ages, I realized it was in my hand the whole time…”

“And then what?” Zheng Xinyue pressed.

“Then… I think I was trying to get back home. After that, I just passed out,” Jian Xin recounted, her eyes hazy as she gave Zheng Xinyue a hazy recap. “And then, when I woke up, I was… like this, lying here.”

Zheng Xinyue gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “You’re lying here now, and I’m regretting ever drinking with you tonight!”

“I’m sorry, it’s my fault,” Jian Xin said sheepishly. “You already took me home, and I went out wandering on my own. Getting hit was my own fault…”

She declared loudly, “I promise I won’t do it again!”

“Again?!” Zheng Xinyue was clearly furious, her tone now resembling a teacher scolding a student. “You were lucky this time! If something serious had happened, I wouldn’t be the one picking up your pieces!”

“Mhm! Mhm! Mhm! Mhm!” Jian Xin nodded repeatedly, like keeping time to a beat.

This should have been a serious moment—a friend giving a safety lecture. Yet for some reason, Jian Xin couldn’t suppress the corners of her mouth from curling upward.

Zheng Xinyue: “What are you laughing at?”

Jian Xin’s expression instantly shifted. “I’m not laughing!”

Zheng Xinyue: “You were just smiling! I saw it!”

Jian Xin: “No, I wasn’t!”

The denial had barely left her lips when the corners of her mouth twitched upward again, betraying her.

Giving up the pretense, Jian Xin grinned and said, “Come on, I’m not seriously hurt! A little rest and I’ll be back to full health!”

Zheng Xinyue: “Injuries to bones and tendons take a hundred days to heal!”

Jian Xin raised an eyebrow and cheekily completed the couplet: “Working like a slave for a lifetime?”

Zheng Xinyue frowned, sensing something was off. “Why does someone who’s been in a car accident seem so… happy?”

Jian Xin: “Of course I’m happy! I don’t have to go to work anymore!”

Zheng Xinyue: “That’s not it. My intuition tells me something’s off with you!”

Jian Xin took a deep breath. “Yuezi, no offense, but don’t you think your intuition is a bit excessive?”

Zheng Xinyue countered, “How is it excessive?”

Jian Xin: “It lacks restraint.”

Zheng Xinyue paused, then declared confidently, “There’s definitely something going on! You’re still so cheerful after getting hit by a car—is there something you’re not telling me?”

Jian Xin opened her mouth to speak, but Zheng Xinyue raised a finger, widened her eyes, and exclaimed, “Oh~” before boldly guessing, “You, you, you…!”

“Me, me, me…?”

“You’ve fallen for the girl who hit you?!” Zheng Xinyue lowered her voice dramatically, leaned closer to Jian Xin, and whispered, “How old is she? Has she graduated? Is there more than a five-year age gap between you two?”

“I…”

“I get it. After being single for so long, even a dog starts looking attractive. And that girl is undeniably pretty. But don’t get too desperate! There might be a generation gap. Spend a few more days with her before…”

“Stop!” Jian Xin couldn’t help but interrupt Zheng Xinyue’s nagging, sighing softly, “I’m not interested in that girl.”

Zheng Xinyue blinked, tilting her head in confusion. “Then…?”

Jian Xin: “Yan Lu is her cousin.”

Zheng Xinyue: “……”

Jian Xin: “……”

Silence hung heavy in the hospital room for over ten seconds.

Zheng Xinyue carefully considered Jian Xin’s reply, pondering it deeply before finally arriving at a new conclusion.

“Oh~~~ So you want to rekindle your old flame?!”

“Absolutely not!”

“Why not?” Zheng Xinyue pressed. “You seem pretty happy about it.”

“It’s impossible! She was heartless and cruel back then. I’d have to be insane to want to rekindle anything!” Jian Xin’s agitation caused the hospital bed to tremble. “We were never meant to be together!”

Zheng Xinyue stared intently into Jian Xin’s eyes for a long moment.

Jian Xin frowned, averting her gaze.

Zheng Xinyue: “Then what are you so happy about?”

Jian Xin: “……”

Zheng Xinyue: “Most people go through life without ever figuring out what path they truly want to take, yet they love using ‘we’re not on the same path’ as an excuse to end relationships.”

“……”

“Forget it. This is all your business. We bystanders can only watch,” Zheng Xinyue said with a sigh. “Look at you now, so pitiful… You were like this back then, and you’re still like this now. Sometimes I really want to find a fortune teller to see if Yan Lu is truly bad luck for you.”

“Alright, alright, that’s enough. You’re twisting the knife,” Jian Xin said with a wry smile. “Bringing it up like this is already quite rude.”

Zheng Xinyue chuckled, smoothly changing the subject as if nothing had happened.

Perhaps afraid Jian Xin would be bored alone, Zheng Xinyue chattered non-stop until Yao Wenqian returned, at which point she finally left the hospital with a relieved expression.

After Zheng Xinyue left, Jian Xin, with the help of the nurse and Yao Wenqian, struggled to get to the bathroom.

Her injuries weren’t exactly minor, but they weren’t severe either.

Her left leg had only a minor scrape, allowing her to hop around on one leg. However, her arms were quite inconvenient, making bathroom trips a bit of an ordeal.

The moment she lay back in bed, she even considered eating and drinking as little as possible to minimize the need for such trips.

But she quickly dismissed the thought.

The weaker you are, the more you need to eat properly to recover quickly!

That afternoon, Jian Xin devoured a hearty bento box from the hospital entrance.

With her stomach full, drowsiness soon overcame her.

Yao Wenqian, even more tired than Jian Xin, noticed her friend’s sleepiness and instantly tucked her in, saying, “Rest now, I won’t disturb you,” as she yawned and left the room.

Silence settled around Jian Xin once more. She gazed out the window, lost in thought as she stared at the crimson clouds.

Life had been so hectic lately that she hadn’t had a moment to simply look at the sky in ages.

Truth be told, after staring at screens for so long, tilting her head to gaze at the sky for a while left her feeling dazed, yet strangely liberated, as if she were no longer bound by earthly concerns.

In the past, when she was particularly exhausted, she used to joke, “The sooner I die, the sooner I’ll be reborn—hope lies in the next life.” Now, after surviving a car accident and lying in a hospital bed, could she consider herself to have already “died” once, granting her a chance to start anew?

As Jian Xin pondered these thoughts, her eyelids grew heavy.

She straightened her head, closed her eyes, and let go of her worries, surrendering to the rare moment of relaxation and drifting off to sleep.

In her drowsy state, Jian Xin felt someone poking her with a finger.

How annoying! she thought. Why would anyone bother a sleeping, injured patient?

She needed rest more than anything right now. Poking her while she was sleeping—how rude!

Just as Jian Xin was about to open her eyes to see who was being so impolite, her body instinctively shifted to the side.

Wait, wait a minute—

Her body… shifted to the side?

For an injured patient, that seems a bit… difficult, doesn’t it?

Jian Xin’s heart skipped a beat as she realized something was wrong.

Before she could even open her eyes, Yan Lu’s voice drifted down from above: “Why are you eating so little? The new duck feed won’t arrive for another two days. Just make do with this for now, okay?”

No way!

Jian Xin’s eyes snapped open in disbelief.

Before her lay a plate of barely touched duck feed, the mealworms still fresh and wriggling.

Yan Lu crouched behind her, gently poking her wing roots with a finger, a hint of worry in her eyes. “A picky duckling won’t grow strong. If Cauliflower doesn’t grow strong, he won’t be able to defend himself against Xin Xin when Mommy’s not home.”

Jian Xin: “……”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

It’s okay, it must be the way I opened my eyes. Just try again!

The little duck stood quietly before the plate, its eyes tightly shut, as if engaged in a silent struggle against the world.

Yan Lu tilted her head, observing it.

After a few seconds, the duck slowly opened its eyes, looked around blankly, and then suddenly tilted its head up and blinked at her twice.

Yan Lu, puzzled, blinked back and reached out to rub the duck’s head. “What’s wrong?”

Suddenly, Jian Xin felt a jolt of electricity in her brain and collapsed onto the floor with a thud.

Xin Xin bounded into the room, panting with her tongue lolling out, wagging her tail as she stared at the duck for a few seconds.

Tilting her head to the left, she raised a paw and tapped the duck’s head.

Yan Lu: “Xin Xin!”

Xin Xin: “Woof!”

Jian Xin: “……”

Duck, you’re numb!

How did I transmigrate again?!