29
Daylight broke.
Zhong Yan opened her eyes again.
The sunlight danced frequently on her eyelids, leaving scorching marks, as if surprised to see her again.
The first thing Zhong Yan did upon waking up was no longer to space out; she now had things to worry about.
Inside the cardboard box on the table, the bottle cap had been overturned at some point, and most of the corner was wet. Several small fish had been pulled out and lay haphazardly on the half-dry cardboard.
As for the little petrel, it was crouching in the clean corner opposite, its head tilted, its dark eyes unblinking.
Regardless, it is still alive.
After washing up and changing her clothes, Zhong Yan took out a small straw hat from the sealed box. It was the kind of hat worn by noblewomen taking an afternoon stroll in European oil paintings. It was small and round, with a yellow bow tied on the brim. It was very exquisite.
Line the inside with three layers of paper towels and place the little seagull inside.
Zhong Yan held her phone, her palms constantly sweating.
Zhong Yan doesn't like to trouble others, and she especially dislikes getting too close to people, but this time she had to consider Xiao Haiyan's situation.
If, in any event... someone must continue to care for it until it recovers and returns to nature.
After entering the phone number, Zhong Yan chose to send a text message to Ji Feng.
Not long after, her phone started buzzing and vibrating. Zhong Yan's heart skipped a beat. She looked down to see the caller ID, but not daring to keep the other person waiting, she answered the phone in a flustered state.
Jifeng said, "You're going to the vet, right?"
“Yes,” Zhong Yan replied.
Do you know where BabyJoy Pet Hospital is?
"have no idea."
"Then you can use the navigation. We'll meet at the intersection at 8:30."
It was already a stroke of luck that Ji Feng agreed to accompany her to the vet; Zhong Yan dared not ask for more and quickly agreed.
The sun on the island during the day is lethal; even with a sun umbrella, the intense sunlight still made me dizzy.
When Zhong Yan arrived at the agreed intersection, there were still twenty minutes left before 8:30. After waiting for about seven or eight minutes, a figure appeared at the corner.
Ji Feng put on a baseball cap with a logo, a white T-shirt, and wide-leg jeans. Although it was a simple outfit, he looked great, like a clothes rack walking on a runway.
After finishing the college entrance exam, Zhong Yan went back to take graduation photos and overheard female classmates discussing which university had the most stylish male students.
The most frequently mentioned are those few art schools.
Zhong Yan guessed that Ji Feng was probably a sophomore at some art school.
Because he also has that kind of presence.
He's very clean and handsome.
That's the kind of look those girls like.
Upon meeting, Ji Feng nodded to her and asked:
Where are the birds?
Zhong Yan stretched her straw hat forward from her elbow, and Ji Feng lifted the brim of his hat, glanced inside, and said, "Not bad, still alive."
"It ate several fish last night."
"It seems there's nothing seriously wrong."
The little petrel ate and drank its fill last night and is in good spirits right now. Except for not flying, it keeps chirping and chattering.
Zhong Yan almost suspected that it had become a spirit and wanted to cling to her so that she could live a life of "no worries about food and clothing".
After walking around the lush bushes and fence, Zhong Yan slowed down as she reached the main entrance of the pet hospital. A motorcycle with an exaggerated design was parked to the side.
"how?"
Ji Feng asked her, "Are you afraid of going to the hospital too?"
“No…” Zhong Yan said, “The owner of this car.”
This wasn't the first time Zhong Yan had seen this car. When she first arrived on the island with her backpack, she was using a GPS to find her way around but unfortunately got lost. After wandering around until it got dark, she saw this car and its owner, who looked like a delinquent girl, at an intersection.
Her pink hair cascaded down her back in a flamboyant manner, her eyes were covered by a pair of black sunglasses so her expression could not be seen, she was chewing gum, turning her head, and the exaggerated earrings hanging from her ears jingled together.
Although Shih Chung is a good school, its excessive freedom has led some students who lack self-control to quickly fall behind and associate with "bad kids" who have dropped out of school, smoking, drinking, racing cars, and extorting protection money from day students after school.
This phenomenon persists despite repeated attempts to curb it, causing significant impact on many introverted and timid students.
Zhong Yan's mother is a teacher at Shishi Middle School, but children of teachers are never exactly sought-after at school.
She was considered part of the "privilege".
She eats in the teachers' canteen, learns the latest news from the school, and even some rules have changed because of her.
Zhong Yan inevitably learned a lesson as well.
So when the motorcycle owner stopped her on Niling Island, she was so frightened that she turned pale and hurriedly ran away.
She can't handle this kind of person, so she can only avoid them.
"What's wrong with the owner?" Ji Feng had already walked around the motorcycle to open the door, and the cold air and animal smell rushed out of the room.
Zhong Yan shook her head, picked up the little seagull, and quickly followed.
"Dr. Bai," Ji Feng said, resting his elbow on the front desk, "I've come to see a doctor."
The young man, who was busy looking at the documents in his hand, glanced up and scoffed, "I can't stand dogs that weigh more than 100 pounds."
Monsoon wasn't angry. He asked, "Oh, can I see birds that weigh less than 20 grams?"
Dr. Bai raised his head again.
Taking the opportunity, Zhong Yan placed the straw hat on the table, saying, "Could you please take a look at this?"
Dr. Bai stood up and looked into the straw hat. "What's this? It's all black."
A customer nearby, holding a Chihuahua, also came over to take a look and asked, "Is this a wild bird?"
Seeing Zhong Yan's face turn red, Ji Feng said to himself, "Oh, I found it on the beach last night. It was tangled in a bird net and couldn't fly even after it was untangled. It's a black-tailed petrel."
Dr. Bai muttered that he only knew how to look at pet parrots, while putting on gloves and touching the petrel's wings.
"It feels fine to the touch."
“But it doesn’t fly,” said the monsoon.
Dr. Bai held the little seagull in his palm and shook it vigorously. The little seagull flapped its wings twice to maintain its balance and landed back in the doctor's palm without flying away.
For an adult, healthy bird, flying is as natural as breathing.
"Let's do a routine check-up and take an X-ray, but I think its wings and feet are normal."
Dr. Bai's assessment was consistent with that of the staff last night.
The final X-ray showed that the baby seagull's skeleton was intact.
Jifeng asked, "Could it be that it has contracted other bird diseases, such as bird flu? Bird fever? Bird stomach disease?"
At this moment, Dr. Bai reached out and took the test report from his assistant. "According to the data, there is nothing."
After putting down the test results, Dr. Bai took off his glasses and looked at the patient's two "family members," saying sincerely, "Animals, like people, can also have their behavior affected by psychological problems. So give it more love and patience, and spend more time with it, and it might get better."
Clearly dissatisfied with the diagnosis, Ji Feng raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"
Dr. Bai said, "We can't find out the specific illness, so we can't prescribe any medication casually. How about we prescribe some glucose?"
Ji Feng said with a forced smile, "Quack doctor."
Dr. Bai forced a smile, "Right now, all we can do is ask the patient to keep a good mood."
Zhong Yan remained silent.
The doctor's words seemed nonsensical, but she took them to heart.
Since animals have intelligence, they must also have emotions.
Can their hearts also get sick?
perhaps.
Zhong Yan asked, "How can I maintain a good mood?"
Ji Feng glanced at her.
Dr. Bai didn't expect her to chime in, "Uh, go out and get some sun, make more friends, spend more time with others."
Such a diagnosis would not have an immediate effect on the little petrel's ability to fly again, which inevitably disappointed Zhong Yan.
Sitting in the lounge, Zhong Yan gently stroked the little seagull's wings with her fingers when suddenly a whooshing sound rang out.
She looked up and saw a big golden retriever with a black nose, grinning at her.
Zhong Yan was stunned.
The golden retriever lowered its front paws and barked softly, then wagged its tail and came closer, trying to bury its big head in the straw hat.
Zhong Yan lifted the little seagull high, and it hid everywhere.
Five yuan!
A voice scolded the big dog.
The golden retriever whimpered, turned its big head to look behind it, and swept its drooping tail on the ground.
It has a connotation of flattery.
"Ah, sorry, I wasn't watching him for a moment..." the person apologized.
Zhong Yan was very surprised.
The dog owner turned out to be the same motorcycle owner. She was still dressed in that exaggerated style, but because she was holding a large golden retriever, she seemed a bit more approachable.
"Wu Yuan really likes to make friends with other animals, but I'm afraid he might smell something and say, 'It smells so good, my friend!'"
Zhong Yan found the scene both terrifying and hilarious.
“Little sister, you look familiar.” After saying that, the pink-haired girl stared at Zhong Yan for a moment, then snapped her fingers. “Weren’t you the one wandering around Hu Zi Alley last time? That place is dirty and chaotic; tourists wouldn’t dare go there…”
Zhong Yan suddenly realized that the pink-haired girl had stopped her that day perhaps because she noticed she was lost and wanted to give her directions, but she mistook her for a bad person because of her appearance.
Before anyone could answer, another girl with blue hair slipped in from outside the door. Her clothes and appearance were similar to those of the girl with pink hair.
"What's wrong? Wu Yuan has made new friends again? Hello, I'm Wu Yuan's godmother."
Surrounded by two E-type people, Zhong Yan dared not move, wishing she could turn into a statue.
The sculpture uttered two dry words: "Hello."
"What kind of bird is this? It's all black," the blue-haired girl said.
The pink-haired girl criticized her for being impolite and told her to say it again.
The blue-haired girl asked again, "Your baby is so special, what kind of bird is it?"
Zhong Yan was so nervous she could barely speak: "This is..."
Just then, Ji Feng walked in with one hand in his pocket and two bottles of water in his other hand.
He glanced around the room and asked:
"What are you doing?"
“Ji Feng.” Zhong Yan stood up, clutching her straw hat, and looked at Ji Feng with a sense of relief.
"Monsoon?" The two girls turned their heads at the same time.
The golden retriever barked excitedly.
It turned out that the three of them were classmates. They had a hard time meeting each other, so they sat down on the reception sofa at the pet hospital and started chatting.
Zhong Yan learned that the pink-haired girl was named Chen Baoran, a ceramic artist who ran a ceramic DIY studio on the island. The blue-haired girl was her best friend, named Coco, a college student who worked part-time as a photographer.
After the misunderstanding was cleared up, Zhong Yan was able to speak a few words with them.
I heard she was a high school graduate, and most people's curiosity is bound to be about her scores and the universities she was admitted to.
"Southern Normal University is good, it's a 985 university, but your score could have gotten you into an even better school, right?" Coco turned her head. "Ji Feng, I remember your school, Aerospace University, had a similar cutoff score, right?"
Monsoon tossed the water bottle aside and said, "We have plenty, enough to go."
Chen Baoran patted Wu Yuan's head and said, "Maybe Little Yan wants to be a teacher. A higher score is better. Not everyone wants to repair airplanes, right?"
Zhong Yan stared blankly at Ji Feng, not responding to Chen Baoran's words of support in time.
Ji Feng's gaze was so intense it almost pierced through her; she nearly missed catching the water he tossed into the air.
Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have dog hair on my face?
"I...I...I didn't expect you to be from the Aviation University."
"That's it?" Ji Feng said calmly. "When I was a kid, I watched a lot of science fiction movies and always wanted to build a spaceship."
Zhong Yan said softly, "I also like watching science fiction movies."
Ji Feng: "Oh, then why not apply to the Aviation University? Although you can't build spaceships, you can build airplanes."
Chen Baoran criticized him: "Why do you always talk in such a sarcastic way these days?"
"I've always spoken like this," said Ji Feng.
COCO complained: "It's like he's been beaten up by society, and his words are full of resentment."
Zhong Yan's lips twitched twice, but she couldn't get a word in edgewise.
At this moment, several more people poured into the waiting room. They were all pet owners on the island and often met Chen Baoran and Coco at the pet hospital. They were quite familiar with each other.
Some greeted people, while others came up and patted Wu Yuan on the head.
As more and more people gathered, Zhong Yan quietly sat in a corner with Xiao Haiyan in her arms until Ji Feng asked her if she was leaving, at which point she stood up.
On the way back, Ji Feng asked, "What are you planning to do?"
Rescuing wild birds is fine, but keeping them indefinitely is not a good idea.
Zhong Yan was unsure. "I don't know."
Monsoon took a big gulp of iced cola and said, "It doesn't have any terminal illness, so why can't it fly?"
Zhong Yan said to herself, "I don't know how to keep pets, I'm afraid I'll kill it."
“That’s better than me.” Ji Feng paused for a moment and said, “I can’t even take care of myself.”
Zhong Yan posed the question to him, asking, "Then what should I do?"
"Go back and show it some animal documentaries or something. Maybe it has just forgotten how to fly."
Zhong Yan thought Ji Feng's idea was terrible and couldn't help but frown.
Ji Feng looked at the girl and saw a completely different expression on her face, a mix of anger and grievance.
Whatever it is, it's much more vibrant than that lifeless, dull appearance.
He couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips into a smile, as if he had successfully pulled off a prank.
When Zhong Yan returned home, she inexplicably picked out a movie for Xiao Haiyan called "Fly with You".
The film tells the story of a human girl who finds a nest of abandoned goose eggs. In order to help the goslings hatch and return to nature, the girl overcomes her fear, teaches the goslings to fly in a glider, and leads them to their habitat, successfully returning them to nature.
A person and a bird are looking at the video playing on a mobile phone screen.
Zhong Yan was munching on bread she bought from the convenience store, while Xiao Haiyan was eating small fish.
When Zhong Yan saw the goslings taking off with Amy's mother goose on her hang glider, she couldn't help but shed tears of emotion, and the little goslings tilted their heads and chirped.
The images of the sky and forest on the screen also seemed to attract its attention.
Among this flock of goslings, there was a naturally weak gosling named Ego. Unlike its brothers and sisters, it was unable to fly successfully and was instead placed on a hang glider by the little girl and taken back to its roost.
Zhong Yan looked at the little seagull with pity.
Could it be that it's born weak and unable to fly, just like Ego?
If that's the case, it will die sooner or later.
The sadness came quickly, like a sudden downpour, instantly overwhelming her as she had no umbrella.
Do you want to see the sea?
Zhong Yan asked the little seagull.
Whether the little petrel understands or not, all it can do is chirp.
Zhong Yan started changing her clothes, cleaning up the little seagull's fish, and coaxing the little seagull back into its straw hat.
This last step was effortless, because the little petrel had already made the beautiful straw hat its home.
After doing all this, Zhong Yan placed her phone in the center of the desk, just like she had the night before. Then she turned off the windows, water valve, and power switch, and picked up the straw hat containing the little seagull.
The phone rang.
Mom made a phone call an hour ago.
She had few friends, and the last friend she could talk to cut off all contact with her after being "betrayed" by her.
Who else could it be?
Zhong Yan picked up her phone and glanced at it.
It's a monsoon.
He skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point: "There's a bird conservation museum on the island, shall we go tomorrow?"
That evening, Zhong Yan revised her diary again.
/
Saturday, August 2, 2025
The little petrel had its check-up today, and it's very healthy. Tomorrow we're taking it to the bird museum.
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