My Little Pink Crocodile - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Crocodile Escapes Her Wedding

“I am not marrying him!”

Inside the exquisite little villa, colorful birds chattered annoyingly through the white openwork carved windows. Atop a pink dressing table sat a phoenix crown and a ceremonial bridal robe of immense luxury, looking entirely out of place amidst the European-style decor. On the table, a marriage contract embroidered with gold thread shimmered extravagantly under the candlelight.

On the elegant, girlish bed, pale pink curtains glowed with a faint golden light, their heavy silk draping partially obscuring a small lump huddled beneath the covers.

A maid dressed in dark green knelt by the bedside, patiently coaxing her.

“Young Master Jiang Yu, your marriage was decided by the elders. Now that the date is approaching, you cannot escape.”

The person under the covers suddenly pulled the blanket down, revealing a face flushed from the heat. Messy strands of hair could not hide her exquisite beauty. The young girl spoke through gritted teeth, her voice thick with indignation.

“I am the only pink crocodile in the entire clan! Why did they betroth me to him without even asking for my opinion?”

Faced with her questioning, the maid had no answer.

In the current generation of the Crocodile Clan, Jiang Yu’s father was the Chief, and Jiang Yu was the only mutated, pink-colored crocodile born to the main lineage. It was no exaggeration to say she was the pride and joy of the family—held in the palm of their hands for fear she might break.

Now that she had reached a marriageable age, her father and the elders had coordinated to choose a match: a certain black crocodile.

“What era is this? Even humans don’t do arranged marriages anymore!”

The more she spoke, the angrier she became, her beautiful eyes turning red with frustration. Jiang Yu had been pampered since childhood. Because her hide was so unique, she was incredibly proud and a little vain—a small crocodile who loved beauty above all else.

Ever since she heard her future husband was a black-skinned crocodile, she was horrified. she had caused a scene at her mother’s place and nearly torn down half the elders’ courtyard. But it was useless; the entire clan knew she was about to be wed.

Actually, it wasn’t that the black crocodile was ugly; on the contrary, he had a fine appearance—handsome and brave. However, he carried a constant scent of blood and was cold and fierce. This was exactly the type the girl disliked. More importantly, she loathed the lack of choice.

Jiang Yu threw her pillow across the room and flopped back onto the bed in defeat. She curled into a ball inside her blanket like a broken record, chanting, “Not marrying, not marrying…”

She tried to comfort herself, hoping to drum up enough self-pity to get the wedding canceled.

“Sigh.”

She grew tired of shouting and stared listlessly at the crystal chandelier above. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind. She scrambled up, propping herself on the bed, her tone turning excited.

“You just said… I could escape?”

The maid: “…” I said you CANNOT escape…

But Jiang Yu didn’t care. The more she thought about the feasibility of this plan, the more excited she became. She sat up abruptly, her pale pink silk nightgown slipping to reveal a rounded shoulder and a glimpse of her delicate collarbone. She ignored her disarray and spoke with newfound resolve.

“It’s decided. I’m running far, far away.”

The maid gasped and immediately began to dissuade her. “If you leave, it’s dangerous out there! Especially with a hide as unique as yours.”

The clan legends always warned that humans would skin them and sell their hides, but Jiang Yu was too focused on her escape plan to remember that now.

That night, Jiang Yu carried a small bundle and crept stealthily out of her room. She dodged the clan members and headed for the outside world. However, she had forgotten about the clan’s barrier. She stood before it, frustrated, unsure of what to do.

Back at the villa, the clan discovered she was missing and immediately began a search. Cries echoed through the night, and the light of lanterns drew closer through the dark woods.

Seeing she was about to be caught, Jiang Yu grew desperate. Casting aside her fear of pain, she threw herself headlong into the barrier.

The darkness of night was suddenly replaced by a scorching midday sun. It was humid and sweltering, and the buzzing of mosquitoes was incredibly annoying.

Cool stream water washed over her body, and a gentle breeze brushed past her ears. The girl, who had been squeezing her eyes shut in fear, finally mustered the courage to open one eye into a tiny slit.

What met her gaze was no longer the village where she had lived for a hundred years, but a strange forest. Withered leaves covered the ground, unable to mask the scent of damp earth. Jiang Yu was startled and tried to shake the dirt off herself.

As she moved, the stream water splashed around her. But it was then that she realized something was wrong.

Confused, she struggled to look down at her hands. All she saw were short, stubby claws.

Jiang Yu: ??

Why did I revert to my original form?

She was deeply annoyed and lost in thought.

Thus, she didn’t notice the poacher. He had appeared with a hunting rifle, originally looking for a fox, but his eyes landed instantly on the crocodile half-submerged in the stream.

Sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting dappled shadows across the forest. The gurgling stream was crystal clear, but its shimmering ripples couldn’t compare to the crocodile.

Her body wasn’t as hulking as a normal crocodile; she was actually somewhat small. Her scales sparkled like pink jewels—translucent and exquisite. Her long tail was like a dragon’s whip; when she moved it, it was a sight to behold.

Behind the man’s baseball cap, his eyes glowed with the greed of a hungry wolf.

The melancholic pink crocodile felt the gaze and looked over. Seeing a human, her silver-gray eyes—clear as glass—sparkled with joy. She opened her mouth to say hello.

But she forgot she was in her original form. No matter how beautiful her hide was, her open mouth revealed rows of razor-sharp teeth. From a distance, it looked like she was baring her fangs to attack.

The poacher’s eyes flashed with fear, and he raised his rifle.

BANG!

A single gunshot startled the birds in the forest. Their fluttering wings knocked more leaves loose, sending them drifting down like a rainstorm.

A woman lost in the mountains, searching for her missing friend, heard the shot. She looked up sharply, watching the falling green leaves. Her mind raced as she calculated the source of the sound. For safety, she took out her satellite phone and messaged her butler, asking him to bring a rescue team.

But she couldn’t just sit and wait. She followed the direction of the gunshot and began to search.

“Wuu… that’s a bad person…”

Her foot had just stepped onto damp, rotting leaves when she heard the voice. The woman paused, frowning, wondering if she was hallucinating. She closed her eyes. The voice carried by the air was ethereal and distant, making her uncertain. But listening to the sobbing tone, it sounded like a delicate girl.

Casting aside the unrealistic thought of ghosts, her first reaction was that someone was hurt, and that gunshot…

Poaching had been rampant lately. Despite government crackdowns, these hoodlums were a constant headache. People often came to the Bumia Mountains hoping to strike it rich.

The woman guessed there was a poacher nearby. She quickened her pace, but the mountain path was treacherous after recent rains—muddy and difficult to navigate.

After ten minutes of searching, a disheveled figure ran toward her.

“Qi Yan! I finally found you!”

The woman, Qi Yan, was caught in an embrace. She saw just how miserable her friend looked. Grace, who usually dressed exquisitely even for a hike, now looked like she had rolled in the mud. Her light blue sun-protection jacket was torn to shreds, her hat was gone, and her makeup was ruined.

Grace regretted everything. She couldn’t understand why she had agreed to go hiking here.

Qi Yan unzipped her silver-gray windbreaker and draped it over Grace’s shoulders. She patted her friend’s shoulder to comfort her. “I’ve already had the butler send people. We’ll be out of here soon.”

Qi Yan’s expression was calm, her voice steady. She was like the faint glow of a cold moon—chilly, yet possessing an invisible strength that was incredibly grounding.

Grace tightened the jacket around her, then suddenly remembered something. “I just fell near a stream. Over there… there…”

She seemed to recall the scene, her eyes filled with terror. For a moment, she couldn’t even speak. Under Qi Yan’s soothing, Grace finally overcame her fear and told her story.

After getting separated from Qi Yan, she had been searching when she slipped and rolled down a slope. Opening her eyes in pain, she saw a stream—and saw the water stained with blood. The smell of iron in the air made her look toward the source, and she panicked.

There was a person lying facedown in the dirt, unconscious. Beside that person was a beautiful crocodile that looked like it was made of crystal. The crocodile was circling the unconscious person with its mouth open. From Grace’s angle, it looked like it was about to swallow them whole. Grace didn’t even remember how she managed to run away.

Hearing this, Qi Yan’s frown deepened. She picked up her hiking pole. “Wait here. I’m going to go look.”

Having seen the “ferocity” of that creature herself, Grace couldn’t let Qi Yan go. “It’s safest if we stay here.”

But Qi Yan wasn’t convinced. Furthermore, that sobbing voice she kept hearing was getting weaker.

Qi Yan reached the spot Grace described. She braced herself against a tree trunk, hiding, and looked down. The scene she saw took her breath away.

So beautiful… she marveled inwardly.

Translucent pink scales covered the creature’s body; it looked like a meticulously carved piece of art. The smell of iron in the air snapped Qi Yan back to reality. Someone is hurt.

She turned her gaze to the person lying next to the crocodile. She didn’t see any wounds or blood coming from them. The pink crocodile was just lying there on the ground, quiet. But for some reason, Qi Yan felt a sense of “aggrievement” coming from the beast.

She listened closely. The sobbing was still there, but she couldn’t tell where it was coming from.

As she was thinking, the crocodile’s silver-gray eyes turned toward her hiding spot. The sobbing stopped. Instead, she heard an indignant female voice.

“Another one.”

Then, the voice turned sorrowful again. “As expected, humans are all bad people. My hide is so pretty…”

Qi Yan frowned in confusion. She looked left and right—there was no one there. And what did she mean by “humans are all bad”?

Thinking this, she met those beautiful eyes. They seemed to be brimming with tears, looking so pitiful it made one’s heart ache.

Qi Yan: “…”

Based on pure intuition, Qi Yan realized that the beautiful crocodile was the one speaking.

“Qi Yan…” Grace suddenly appeared at her side. Seeing the crocodile, she whispered her friend’s name in terror.

Qi Yan snapped back to her senses and asked Grace, “Did you hear it speak?”

Grace shook her head, looking at Qi Yan as if she had gone mad.

“It’s injured. I’m going to check on it.”

Qi Yan had just noticed that the crocodile’s leg was bleeding. Because half its body was in the water, it had stained the stream red. Grace’s eyes widened. She thought Qi Yan was insane and tried to pull her back.

“No! If you die, how am I supposed to explain it to your parents?”

Qi Yan’s gaze remained fixed on the crocodile’s injured leg. She patted Grace’s hand to show she’d be okay. She gripped her hiking pole and walked toward it. In truth, she was nervous, but her professional habit as a vet made her want to assess the wound.

“Oh? She’s coming over.”

The crocodile spoke again. Its tail splashed in the water, and it opened its mouth as if trying to scare her away.

“But… she’s really pretty…”

As Qi Yan approached, the crocodile’s eyes lit up. The wagging of its tail now looked less like a threat and more like a puppy trying to please someone.