My Little Pink Crocodile - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: You Dropped Me Off Again

Jiang Yu woke up slowly in the police station, struggling to open her eyes. Still groggy, she pursed her lips and instinctively hugged the clothes in her arms tighter. Sniffing the elegant scent of white orchids lingering on the fabric, she unconsciously curled the corners of her mouth into a smile.

Her face was full of joy; she hadn’t yet realized that she had been left behind once again.

“Little sister, are you awake?” A voice, tinged with a slight chuckle, called to her gently.

Jiang Yu puckered her lips and let out a mumble, as if suffering from “bed hair” grumpiness. But a moment later, she reacted.

This wasn’t the pretty sister’s voice…

Realizing this, Jiang Yu’s sleepiness vanished instantly. She snapped her beautiful eyes open and looked warily at the few people surrounding her.

“Who are you? Where is the pretty sister?”

She held Qi Yan’s jacket tighter, as if seeking comfort from it. The girl was naturally beautiful, with flawless white skin that invited envy. In her eyes was a mix of curiosity about the unknown and a touch of vigilance as she looked left and right, trying to find the figure she longed for.

However, the result was disappointment.

A flash of loss flickered in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a huff as she glared at the people in front of her.

“Did you kidnap me from the pretty sister’s side?”

Hearing this, the officers couldn’t help but laugh. It was the first time they had heard someone accuse a police station of kidnapping.

A female officer in uniform stepped forward to soothe her. “Little sister, this is a police station. This is a place that can take you home.”

Jiang Yu stared at her fixedly. Sensing no malice from her or the others, she shook her head. “The pretty sister said she would take me home.”

She looked as though she didn’t believe a single word from anyone present.

“You child, you ran away from home, didn’t you?” A male officer walked over. His face was usually stern, but facing Jiang Yu, he instinctively softened his gaze into the kind look one gives a child.

“Ah.” Jiang Yu opened her mouth, then lowered her head guiltily. “I guess so…”

Seeing her like this, the officers chuckled. Then, the female officer asked again, “What is your name? Do you remember your family’s phone number?”

Jiang Yu hung her head, feeling dejected. “I’ll answer your questions once you tell me where the pretty sister is.”

The officers looked at each other. The female officer was the first to realize who she meant. “You mean Miss Qi who brought you here? She went back.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yu excitedly tugged at the officer’s sleeve. “Where did she go back to?”

“To her home, naturally,” the officer replied.

Home…

Jiang Yu whispered the word, and her face immediately filled with grievance. Her eyes welled up with tears that threatened to fall at any second. Looking pitiful and helpless, she evoked a deep sense of compassion in everyone watching.

“Why didn’t she take me home with her?”

Seeing her on the verge of tears, the officers panicked, feeling the frantic helplessness of parents dealing with their own child.

“Little sister, you have to go back to your own home,” the female officer comforted her, then signaled her colleague to find Qi Yan’s phone number.

Understanding the signal, the colleague immediately flipped through the records and dialed Qi Yan’s number. After the call connected, a woman’s soft, tired voice came through.

“Hello, who is this?”

“Miss Qi, we’re calling from the police station. It’s like this: the person you brought in today keeps insisting on seeing you.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end before she replied with a hint of helplessness, “Please give her the phone. I’ll speak to her.”

Before Jiang Yu’s tears could fall, the phone with Qi Yan on the line was handed to her. Holding the phone and hearing that familiar voice, the tears Jiang Yu had been holding back instantly cascaded down, wetting her dress.

Hearing her crying, Qi Yan—who was standing before her floor-to-ceiling window—felt a strange pang of heartache. Her tone softened even further.

“Jiang Yu.”

Hearing Qi Yan call her name, Jiang Yu wiped her tears, pouted, and said, “You dropped me off. For the second time.”

She accused the other of irresponsible behavior, placing heavy emphasis on the last sentence.

Hearing those words, Qi Yan paused. A flash of confusion crossed her eyes. Her hand lightly touched the cool glass as she looked up at the dark night sky. The pale moonlight spilled over her, coating her in a soft halo. She searched her memory but still couldn’t recall when she had “dropped” the girl off twice.

She opened her mouth, listening to the small sobs on the other end, and finally spoke in a gentle tone, “It’s my fault.”

Hearing Qi Yan’s apology, Jiang Yu gripped the phone tight. The heart in her chest was beating quite fast. The pretty sister’s voice was just so pleasant to hear; she felt her anger nearly evaporating.

As if to hide her emotions, Jiang Yu sniffled, let out a small huff, and then spoke arrogantly, “As long as you know. Now hurry up and pick me up and take me home.”

She spoke as if she had no fear of being refused. In her heart, she was happily chanting: The first time was an accident, the second time… can also be an accident.

Silence fell on the other end again. Qi Yan knew she shouldn’t agree, but for some reason, the image of those silver-grey eyes—bright as stars and full of smiles, like the only light in an abyss—flashed through her mind. Something to be cherished.

The words that finally came out were a helpless sigh: “Give the phone back to the officer. I will talk to her.”

Jiang Yu’s eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously, even though the other couldn’t see. “Okay, here!” She said those last two words to the female officer as she handed the phone back.

She had a brilliant smile, and her entire being radiated an aura of joy that would make a garden of flowers pale in comparison. Seeing her like this, the police officers looked at her with the indulgent affection one has for a mischievous child.

“Whose little girl is this? How can she be so cute?” they whispered among themselves.

Usually, “cute” was a standard, polite evaluation, but for Jiang Yu, it felt like an adjective that didn’t even cover one ten-thousandth of her charm. Using common words felt like a profanation of this “flower of the nation.”

“You should be worrying about who made such a girl angry enough to run away.”

“Looking at her age, she’s probably about to take the college entrance exams. The pressure must be too much,” one person sighed.

They all assumed this was the reason for Jiang Yu’s rebellious runaway act and looked over, wanting to offer some guidance. Jiang Yu was still caught up in the excitement of seeing Qi Yan again. Seeing them looking at her, she gave them a smile.

It was precisely this smile that made the hearts of those preparing to give her a lecture go thump-thump. They all found themselves thinking how wonderful it would be to have a daughter like her. Their thoughts drifted so far they completely forgot what they had intended to do.

Jiang Yu seemed to remember something and said, “The pretty sister is going to take me home, so I can tell you my name now. I’m Jiang Yu.”

Actually, Qi Yan had mentioned it during the statement, and they were only asking as a matter of routine, but looking at Jiang Yu’s little face, they felt for the first time that being willful wasn’t such a bad thing.

On the other end of the line, the female officer heard Qi Yan’s helpless voice: “I’m sorry, it’s also my first time meeting this child, but for some reason, she’s very dependent on me. Please find her parents and let me take her to them.”

“It’s like this, Miss Qi: she’s not being very cooperative, but if she trusts you this much, perhaps you can find something out,” the officer suggested.

“Send her to my place tomorrow then,” Qi Yan said.

“Thank you for the trouble,” the officer replied, nodding.

After hanging up, the female officer discussed it with her colleagues and then said to Jiang Yu, “We’ll send you to Miss Qi’s place tomorrow.”

“Not right now?” Jiang Yu buried her head in Qi Yan’s jacket, her voice muffled and dejected. The vitality she had just regained vanished instantly.

Someone couldn’t bear to see her like that and comforted her, “We’ll send you over as soon as it’s light out.”

“Okay,” Jiang Yu agreed sullenly, still unhappy.

“Little sister, it’s been a while. Are you hungry? Is there anything you want to eat?” the female officer asked, looking at the time and figuring Jiang Yu must be starving.

“Fawn,” Jiang Yu whispered.

But since everyone was close by, they all heard it more or less clearly.

Everyone: “???”

Jiang Yu peeked out from the jacket with eyes full of obvious disappointment. “You don’t have any?” she asked, her tone tinged with regret.

Recovering from the shock, the officers laughed it off, saying, “This little girl really knows how to joke.”

Jiang Yu remained moody, just wishing for the moon to set so that she could see Qi Yan when the sun rose. Her emotions usually came and went quickly, and she soon began to comfort herself.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. The pretty sister must be very sad that she can’t see me either.”

She seemed to have forgotten that she was the one Qi Yan had sent here in the first place.

At this moment, Qi Yan hung up the phone and saw a message pop up. It was from her father, telling her to come back and meet her arranged marriage partner.

She tapped it open, her finger hovering for a long time. Finally, she replied with a single, simple word: Okay.

Immediately after, her brother Qi Ming, likely anticipating this, sent a message to comfort her, though he too was powerless to change their parents’ minds. Qi Yan replied: I’m fine.

She turned off the phone and tossed it aside—out of sight, out of mind.

Back when she was in school, she had refused her parents’ wish to enroll her in an arts academy. Because she loved animals, she had studied veterinary medicine behind their backs. She remembered how furious they were, even threatening to disown her. It was only because Qi Ming held them back that their anger subsided slightly. They never expected her to turn around and open a pet hospital and a pet shop. Spending all day in those places had infuriated them all over again.

Qi Yan knew that for parents who had worked hard to climb into the upper class, her choice did not fit their image of a refined lady from a prestigious family. To them, it was unrefined—something they were unwilling to mention. After all, who wouldn’t want their daughter to play the violin or the piano gracefully at future business galas?

But Qi Yan didn’t like being put on display like that; she had no desire to be a “vase.”

Standing in her empty house, even with the lights on and everything in its place, Qi Yan felt a sense of emptiness. She suddenly thought of Jiang Yu. Every move the girl made seemed to tug at her heartstrings.

She let out a bitter laugh and shook her head slightly, thinking she must be losing her mind.