Apocalyptic Gratitude Duck - Chapter 28

Kexin crouched on the soft cushion, the pain intensifying to its peak. After a while, it gradually eased, the previous agony transforming into a warm, nurturing heat that soothed her scorched tendons and nerves. The sensation was so pleasant that Quack! couldn’t help but squint her eyes, wanting to savor it longer.

The feeling was like one of Master’s warm baths, comforting and soothing. Quack! wanted more, but suddenly she realized her wings and duck feet had changed.

Her wings had become short little hands, and her duck feet had transformed into delicate, pale feet. Curious, Kexin spread her small hands and examined them. They were chubby, with tiny dimples, much smaller than Master’s hands. She then looked down at her feet, which were soft and slightly cool when pressed together. It was all very intriguing.

Without her beautiful feathers or sharp claws, being transformed into a two-legged creature like Master felt like this.

Qiao Yanyu saw Kexin had become a naked little girl, sitting on the Quack! cushion. She barely reached Qiao Yanyu’s waist, looking about five or six years old.

Little Kexin lowered her head to examine her feet, studying them intently and occasionally touching them with her chubby hands, clearly fascinated by her new body.

Qiao Yanyu still couldn’t believe her eyes and called out softly, “Kexin?”

Kexin looked up, her round, pink face framed by soft, fluffy cheeks. Her adorable almond-shaped eyes widened slightly, revealing innocent, pale golden irises that sparkled with curiosity.

Her light golden hair lay softly against her cheeks, framing her small, endearing face that looked both cute and vulnerable.

Seeing Qiao Yanyu crouched before her, her eyes curved into crescents as she held out her arms and cooed in a soft, childish voice, “Duck~”

I want a hug!

Qiao Yanyu paused momentarily before gently gathering Kexin into her arms, her movements instinctively softening. “Kexin.”

Kexin nestled against Qiao Yanyu’s shoulder, affectionately nuzzling her Master’s face. “Duck~”

Unlike when she had feathers, her Master’s face felt smooth and soft, the gentle friction comforting. She loved this closeness, the warmth of their skin pressed together.

Qiao Yanyu was startled by Little Kexin’s actions, her ears tinged with a faint blush. The soft, cuddly Little Kexin rubbed her small face against Qiao Yanyu’s cheeks, tickling her. But remembering that this was Kexin’s first time transforming into human form, Qiao Yanyu allowed her to continue for a moment, savoring the excitement of the occasion.

However, Little Kexin kept rubbing back and forth, first on one cheek, then the other, as if she had discovered a new treasure and couldn’t stop.

Finally, Qiao Yanyu had to pry the clingy little one off her, her expression stern. “No more playing around.”

Little Kexin gave her a pitiful look before immediately pressing herself against her again. “Duck~”

I haven’t played enough yet! Don’t stop, duck~

Little Kexin was too soft and delicate to scold or hit, her entire body as tender as a broken eggshell. Qiao Yanyu didn’t dare be rough, afraid to touch her anywhere carelessly.

So, Qiao Yanyu allowed Little Kexin to continue rubbing her cheeks for a while longer.

Finally, when Little Kexin had had her fill of play, Qiao Yanyu pressed a hand to her lips and cleared her throat. “Alright, naked little duck, retrieve the storage chest with your clothes from the Space. I’ll help you get dressed.”

Kexin nodded, and with a thought, she pulled out a colorful assortment of spicy snacks from her Space: spicy sausages, spicy bean cakes, spicy fish jerky… all foods Qiao Yanyu had previously forbidden her from eating.

Kexin gazed at Qiao Yanyu with expectant eyes. “Quack~”

Kexin was now a two-legged creature, a little duck who could finally enjoy spicy foods.

Qiao Yanyu chuckled in disbelief, realizing why her stash of snacks occasionally went missing. Kexin had been secretly hoarding them all along.

What a sneaky little glutton!

Pretending ignorance, she asked, “Why are you bringing out snacks? Didn’t you want clothes? Little naked Kexin?”

The naked little duck showed no shame, even when called “naked” by Qiao Yanyu. She stubbornly continued to demand the forbidden treats she’d never tasted before.

Give me the snacks, and I’ll give you the clothes.

Just turned into a human, and already knows how to bargain.

Qiao Yanyu found it amusing. “I’ll consider giving you snacks only after you give me the clothes.”

Kexin seemed bewildered by Qiao Yanyu’s words, her pale golden eyes reflecting confusion. She could only repeat, “Quack~”

“Here’s your clothes, Little Kexin. Now, let’s see if you can handle some spicy food.”

Kexin brought out the storage chest for her clothes. Qiao Yanyu opened it, took out a white blouse she had worn last summer, and draped it over Kexin. The blouse, which had fit her perfectly, instantly transformed into a little dress for Kexin.

Kexin curiously pinched the white fabric, looking at Qiao Yanyu with the innocent gaze of a pure little angel.

Qiao Yanyu had to admit from the bottom of her heart that Kexin truly was the little angel heaven had sent her.

However, the weather was still too cold. She needed to give her little angel an extra layer of warm clothing. Qiao Yanyu then picked out a pale yellow sweater and slipped it over Kexin.

Dressed in the sweater, Kexin became a little round ball again. Her tiny hands curiously felt the fabric for a while, but quickly lost interest. It wasn’t nearly as pretty as her feathers, and it felt bulky and clumsy. Kexin didn’t like this kind of clothing.

After a few tugs and pulls, Kexin quickly figured out how to remove the thick sweater.

Qiao Yanyu reached out and stopped her, asking gently, “Why are you suddenly taking off your clothes?”

Kexin: “Quack!”

Kexin didn’t like wearing clothes; she wanted her beautiful feathers back!

A duck’s way of thinking really is different from a human’s, but since Kexin had transformed into a human, going naked would make her vulnerable to being ogled. Qiao Yanyu didn’t want anyone else seeing her.

Qiao Yanyu felt torn. “Would it be okay if you just wear one piece of clothing?”

After removing her sweater, Kexin felt much lighter. Wearing only a thin white blouse was still tolerable, so she reluctantly agreed to her Master’s request.

She remembered what her Master had promised her: once she was dressed, she could have her spicy snack. She lowered her head to peck at the snack, but realized she couldn’t reach it unless she lay down.

Just as Kexin lay down, a pair of gentle hands easily lifted her up.

Kexin watched helplessly as the spicy bean snack moved farther and farther away, until her Master finally picked it up. Her round, almond-shaped eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at her Master.

Seeing the surprise in Kexin’s eyes quickly turning into deep disappointment, Qiao Yanyu had no choice but to set her down and place the spicy bean snack in her small hands. “Use your little hands,” she encouraged. “If you can tear open the wrapper, you can have the snack.”

Ducks could easily hold food in their beaks, but human infants couldn’t.

Kexin looked at her tiny hands, then glanced up at her Master’s gentle, encouraging eyes. Straining with all her might, she tugged at the wrapper with her fingers, but it wouldn’t budge.

Helplessly, Kexin looked back at her Master. “Quack~”

Kexin couldn’t open it.

Even though Quack! had taken on a human form, it seemed Kexin still couldn’t speak or perform simple tasks that humans could easily accomplish.

“You have to work hard to get the snack,” Qiao Yanyu said, refraining from helping. It was time to start training Kexin’s finger coordination, encouraging her to explore and learn on her own, rather than taking shortcuts.

Kexin lowered her head in frustration, pulling and tugging at the wrapper, but it remained unbroken. Remembering how she used to rip things apart with her claws, she tried scraping at the wrapper with her fingers. Even when her pale fingers turned red from the effort, she still couldn’t tear the packaging.

The intense frustration crushed Quack!’s self-esteem. Kexin pursed her lips, her eyes reddening and swelling as she stared silently at the packaging paper.

Tears welled up in her clear, almond-shaped eyes and dripped down, quickly forming a small pool on the paper.

Qiao Yanyu noticed Kexin’s scratching had stopped. Turning to look, she saw Kexin’s tears falling freely, her heart aching as if it were being pierced by her daughter’s sorrow. She quickly gathered her Little Kexin into her arms.

Gently wiping the tears from Kexin’s small face, she asked anxiously, “Why are you suddenly crying?”

Kexin lifted her head, staring at her mother with a pitiful expression that was both endearing and heartbreaking.

Qiao Yanyu felt even more guilty, her eyes brimming with apology. She coaxed softly, “It’s all my fault. I’m sorry. Let me open it for my Little Kexin, okay?”

Kexin’s nose was red from crying, her thick, curled eyelashes still clinging to glistening tears. Slowly, she extended her reddened little hand and whimpered in the most pitiful voice, “Duck.”

“My hand hurts so much! I’m just a useless duck. I can’t even open a wrapper.”

Realizing she had been crying from frustration, Qiao Yanyu finally understood the situation. She sighed inwardly, took Little Kexin’s small hand, and gently blew on it. “Blow, blow. It won’t hurt anymore after I blow on it. You’re not a useless duck, Kexin. You just haven’t found the right way yet.”

Master, you’re tricking the duck. It still hurts even after you blow.

“Blow a few more times and it won’t hurt anymore,” Qiao Yanyu patiently soothed.

After comforting her for a while, Little Kexin’s attention finally shifted. Still thinking about the spicy bean snacks, she tightly clenched her small hand around one and presented it to her Master.

Qiao Yanyu’s gaze softened. Her warm, slender palm completely enveloped Little Kexin’s small hand as she gently held it. “Use a lighter grip,” she said softly. “Don’t squeeze so hard. You’re about to crush the snack into powder.”

Little Kexin loosened her grip slightly and looked up at her Master’s gentle profile.

Qiao Yanyu noticed Kexin staring at her again, her curiosity truly boundless.

Her delicate eyebrows arched slightly as she rested her chin on Kexin’s small head and gently tapped it twice. “Focus now.”

Kexin’s attention finally settled on Qiao Yanyu’s hands, her eyes fixed on the little bean cake.

Qiao Yanyu separated Kexin’s small hands slightly and guided them to slowly tear the bean cake apart. “You need to learn to control your hands. To tear something, you pull in opposite directions with both hands.”

Kexin looked at the torn bean cake with delight, then stared at her own small hands, babbling, “Duck~”

Qiao Yanyu stroked her small head, praising her, “Very good.”

She then took out a pack of small spicy sausages as an incentive. “Want to try again?”

Kexin’s head bobbed like a rattle drum as she handed the spicy bean cake to Qiao Yanyu, wanting her to feed her.

Having just finished crying, Qiao Yanyu couldn’t help but feel tender-hearted. “I’ll feed you, but first, you need to get the water from your Space. This is quite spicy, and you’ll definitely feel the heat the first time you eat it.”

Kexin eagerly produced the water, then opened her mouth wide like a baby bird, staring expectantly at Qiao Yanyu for a feed.

Qiao Yanyu’s peach blossom eyes brimmed with amusement, solidifying her feeling that she was raising a chick.

She squeezed the bean cake packet gently, extruding a small piece. “You don’t need to open your mouth so wide,” she murmured. “Just a little smaller, and I’ll feed you. Don’t worry, you won’t miss a bite.”

Kexin obediently narrowed her mouth. Before the bean cake could even reach her lips, a drop of spicy oil dripped from the packaging, its fiery taste spreading across her tongue. The sudden volcanic explosion of heat scorched her pale face crimson, making her cough violently before she could even bite into the bean cake.

Kexin’s face twisted in misery as she waved her hands frantically, wailing, “Spicy, spicy…”

Qiao Yanyu quickly tossed aside the bean cake. One hand patted Kexin’s back while the other fed her water. The bottle was nearly empty before Kexin’s face gradually returned to normal.

“Still spicy?” Qiao Yanyu asked, withdrawing the bottle.

A faint mist of tears glistened in Kexin’s clear eyes, two droplets sliding down from the corners of her cheeks, giving her a somewhat dejected look. She propped her chubby chin on both hands, her mood clearly low.

Being a duck is tough, Quack! sighed Kexin.

Even in her dejected state, Kexin still struck Qiao Yanyu as utterly adorable. She gently wiped away the tears from Kexin’s eyes and the crystalline droplets that had accidentally stained her lips. Suddenly, Qiao Yanyu realized that Kexin had just uttered words other than “duck” for the first time.

“Kexin, was the bean cake really that spicy?” Qiao Yanyu asked, trying to encourage Kexin to speak a few more words.

“Quack~” Kexin replied weakly.

The spicy snack she’d been craving had burned her poor little duck, dealing her quite a blow.

Qiao Yanyu frowned slightly. Had she imagined that earlier?

Lowering herself to Kexin’s eye level, she gently coaxed, “Besides ‘duck,’ Kexin, can you say anything else? If you can, I’ll get you some non-spicy bean cake.”

Kexin’s eyes lit up. “Quack~”

“And what else?” Qiao Yanyu prompted.

Kexin’s small hand scratched her soft, golden hair. “Gua!”

“Not bad. Keep going?”

Little Kexin extended her small, round hand and mumbled indistinctly, “*Duo… gan…”

Qiao Yanyu chuckled softly and corrected her pronunciation, “It’s ‘dou gan.’ Say it right, and I’ll give you some.”

Kexin’s pale, delicate face flushed slightly as she strained to enunciate clearly, “Dou! Gan!”

Relieved, Qiao Yanyu patted Kexin’s chubby cheeks and began preparing the dou gan. She cut open an empty mineral water bottle, filled it with water, and soaked the spicy bean cakes until they were mild enough for Quack to eat.

Kexin clung to her dou gan, unwilling to leave. Qiao Yanyu placed the water bottle in her palm for safekeeping, then bent down to pack her things. Half a Blue Grass plant, which she had plucked from Kexin’s mouth earlier, still clung to her camouflage jacket. After a moment’s thought, she tucked the herb into her inner pocket, zipped it up, and draped the jacket over her shoulders.

Kexin’s small, soft cushion might not be needed again, but Qiao Yanyu carefully stored it away. Who knew when Kexin might suddenly want her cushion again? Dawn was approaching, and she needed to return to camp after feeding Kexin.

As for Kexin’s origins, Qiao Yanyu had considered it. Rather than complicating things with explanations, it was simpler to claim she found the girl on the road, avoiding unnecessary trouble. Back at camp, she planned to gradually teach Kexin to use her hands and learn to speak, both slow processes.

Qiao Yanyu’s parents were often away on business trips, and she had no younger sister. Since childhood, her older sister Qiao Meng had cared for her with unwavering devotion, even teaching her to speak and walk. This natural dependence on her sister made the prospect of raising her own little sister, Kexin, deeply meaningful. From teaching her to read and write to witnessing every precious moment of her growth, Qiao Yanyu couldn’t help but envision a beautiful future.

A captivating smile curved her lips, and when she heard Kexin’s mumbled words, her smile widened even more.

“Bean… bean cake…” Kexin murmured, her pink lips pouting slightly as she cradled the mineral water bottle like a precious treasure.

Qiao Yanyu walked over to her and bent down slightly. “Alright, give it to me. It should be cool enough to eat now.”

Kexin offered the water bottle to Qiao Yanyu, who poured out the water, placed the cooled bean cake in her palm, and fed it to Kexin. Though few pieces remained intact, Kexin devoured them eagerly, leaving not a single crumb.

The pink tip of Kexin’s tongue accidentally brushed against Qiao Yanyu’s hand, its soft wetness making her heart skip a beat. She quickly withdrew her hand.

Even so, the tips of Qiao Yanyu’s pale ears flushed slightly, and the light in her peach-blossom eyes darkened momentarily.

Kexin watched her master’s actions with puzzled eyes. “Quack~”

Bad Master! You used to always finish feeding your little pet properly.

Qiao Yanyu steadied her breathing, clenching her fists behind her back until the wet mark left by Kexin’s tongue was etched with red marks. Only then did she slowly release them, her voice slightly hoarse: “Be good. From now on, you should eat from your own bowl.”

Kexin was even more confused, her clear eyes brimming with bewilderment. “Quack!”

I’ve always been good! It’s Master who’s being naughty!

“Let’s go home,” Qiao Yanyu said softly.

She picked up Kexin’s small cushion and strode ahead, her long legs carrying her forward.

After a few steps, she realized Kexin hadn’t followed and couldn’t help but look back.

Kexin trailed behind, her short legs straining to keep up, wobbling adorably as she walked.

How come even after turning into a human, you still walk like a duck?

*****

Note:

Dougan (Chinese: 豆干/豆乾; pinyin: dòugān) is a very firm variety of tofu (Chinese: 豆腐; pinyin: dòufu) popular in Chinese cuisine. It differs from regular tofu in that it is firm whereas tofu is soft.

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