Chapter 66: Extra — The Mochi Family (4)
What… what kind of names are these?
After a long pause, Yanyan asked blankly, “What’s the female bird called?”
The hostess replied, “Zhuangzhuang.”
“And the male?”
“Meili.”
The hostess didn’t find anything strange at all. Instead, she said with satisfaction, “They even have full names. My daughter’s surname is He—”
Oh no. He Zhuangzhuang and He Meili.
Yanyan wiped his face.
It’s fine. There must be some meaning behind these names.
They sat for a while longer when they finally heard the sound of a key turning at the door.
A girl with a high ponytail, wearing a school uniform, walked in. “Mom, I’m back.”
Yanyan looked over with a complicated expression.
The person who named his parents “He Meili” and “He Zhuangzhuang” had returned.
The hostess greeted her with a smile. “We have guests today. Say hello.”
The girl, who had looked happy just moments ago, immediately pulled a long face. She glanced at them and reluctantly said, “Hello, brother.”
Yanyan waved at her, but the girl simply tossed her schoolbag aside, walked past them, and went straight to the birdcage.
Ignored.
Yanyan and Si Jingce exchanged a glance and followed over. They saw the girl carefully refilling the birds’ food dish while muttering, “Zhuangzhuang, Meili, I’m back from school. Did you miss Mommy?”
The birds chirped cheerfully.
The girl smiled with satisfaction. “Mm, Mommy missed you too.”
Yanyan leaned against the glass door, staring blankly at the girl who was much shorter than him.
At eighteen, suddenly gaining a fourteen-year-old “grandma”… being a bird was not easy…
“You can’t be so rude,” the hostess crouched down and spoke gently to her daughter. “These two older brothers are the ones who raised Meili and Zhuangzhuang’s child. We should be more friendly.”
The girl said nothing, showing no sign of friendliness at all.
With no other choice, the adults returned to the living room.
“The seller told us that birds not raised from a young age usually don’t get close to humans,” the hostess explained awkwardly. “But my daughter stayed with them all the time, quietly, without disturbing them. Eventually, the birds began to trust her and allowed her to touch them.”
Adult pearl finches only open their fluffy wings to humans they trust.
The hostess continued, “A few days ago when you said you wanted to take the birds, she was actually very upset.”
Yanyan had originally planned to buy his parents back and bring them home to live comfortably.
He pressed his lips together and looked helplessly at Si Jingce.
Si Jingce gently patted his head.
“Let us talk to her first,” Yanyan said.
He and Si Jingce went to the balcony. The girl continued sulking while teasing the birds, not even looking up.
Bird dad was a standard camel-colored penguin pearl finch, with those signature orange cheek patches. Bird mom had lighter feathers, less like a mochi ball and more like a larger glutinous rice cake.
Standing beside them, Si Jingce suddenly felt how similar Yanyan looked to these two birds.
Yanyan crouched down and watched the birds together with the girl.
Zhuangzhuang and Meili immediately recognized him.
Bird mom chirped excitedly, “Chirp?”
Why has fourth chick grown so big and strong?
Yanyan almost wanted to turn back into a bird right then and fly into his parents’ embrace.
He touched the cage, then withdrew his hand, turning to the girl. “You’ve taken really good care of them.”
Their feathers were clean, the cage was clean, and they got sunlight every day.
The girl huffed. “Of course I have.”
She pouted. “I won’t let you take Zhuangzhuang and Meili away.”
“But I’m taking them…” Yanyan paused, unable to say those names, “…to reunite them with their child. Isn’t that a good thing?”
The girl looked at the birds, her eyes gradually turning red.
Separation was indeed hard to accept.
Yanyan sighed. “And I never said I’d take them away from you. We just want to bring them over for a few days to reunite, and then we’ll return them.”
The girl didn’t believe him at all. “Adults always lie. You say it nicely now, but later you’ll just take them and never give them back.”
Yanyan blurted out, “That’s impossible. We can write an agreement.”
I’m a very honest bird—I never lie to my elders!
But when facing a child, Yanyan was clearly a bit at a loss.
Sensing something was wrong, bird mom pecked bird dad—who was busy eating—to get him to stop. Then she carefully leaned forward. “Chirp…”
Why are you crying?
Hearing the chirp, the girl wiped her tears, her voice still a bit nasal, but she softened. “Can I see Zhuangzhuang’s baby?”
“Of course!” Yanyan quickly nudged Si Jingce. “Brother, show my handsome photos!”
Si Jingce handed over his phone and slowly showed her pictures.
The baby bird wearing a little dress knitted by Si Jingce, glaring fiercely at the camera; a tiny fluffy ball sprawled out on a big bed, sleeping with its limbs spread wide.
In the photos, the little bird had new clothes every day and all kinds of comfortable nests.
The girl hugged her birdcage tightly. “Zhuangzhuang’s baby is so pretty.”
Yanyan proudly puffed up. “Of course!”
“Will you really bring them back?” she asked again.
Yanyan nodded vigorously. “Mm! I really won’t lie.”
The girl stood up with the cage, led them back to the living room, and closed the doors and windows.
Then she opened the cage. “Then let’s see if Meili and Zhuangzhuang are willing to go with you.”
As soon as she finished speaking, bird dad and bird mom flew out of the cage and rushed toward Yanyan.
Yanyan scrambled to catch them, but they fluttered upward and settled into his hair.
“D-don’t… don’t pull my hair.”
Bird dad poked his head out from above. “Chirp.”
It’s fourth chick turned into a human!
Yanyan: “I can’t see anymore…”
In the end, it was the girl who stepped forward and rescued Yanyan.
Logically speaking, this was Yanyan’s first time meeting the birds, yet Meili and Zhuangzhuang both flew onto him at the same time, as if by instinct.
Holding one bird in each hand, the girl asked softly, “If Zhuangzhuang’s baby meets them and then has to separate again… will he be very sad?”
The two birds in her hands suddenly looked at the girl, then at Yanyan.
“Of course he would be sad,” Yanyan said.
But now he had brother—he wasn’t a lonely bird anymore. When he felt sad, there would be someone to hold him and comfort him.
After hearing that, the girl bit her lip and made up her mind. “Then… brother, do you want to take Zhuangzhuang and Meili with you, so their family can be reunited?”
Bird mom looked at Yanyan. “Chirp.”
Yanyan understood and smiled. “No need. If you’re separated from them, you’ll be sad too.”
The girl froze for a moment, then hurriedly lowered her head as tears streamed down like broken pearls.
The hostess hurriedly pulled out tissues to wipe her daughter’s tears, but the girl pushed her away and used the two birds in her hands to rub her eyes instead.
Yanyan, watching his parents being used as tissues: …
His expression was both amused and helpless. He reassured her again and again, “I will definitely bring them back.”
Children are straightforward—they fear most that their treasured pets will be taken away. Especially after seeing how well Si Jingce had taken care of Yanyan, she thought her birds might live an even better life if they went with them.
“Don’t feel inferior just because your birds don’t have as many material comforts as others,” Yanyan rarely played the role of a life coach, speaking gently. “You’ve also raised them very well…”
He took bird dad and bird mom from her hands. Their feathers were all damp now.
He weighed them lightly—solid, quite plump. “…You’ve really taken good care of them.”
Birds eventually have to leave the nest. Even Si Jingce didn’t live with his parents anymore—Yanyan wasn’t the type to cry his heart out over it.
Besides, with technology nowadays, video calls were always an option.
After a long effort of persuasion, the girl finally believed they would return the birds and reluctantly handed over bird dad and bird mom.
Now only the older sister remained.
After returning home, Yanyan took photos of the two birds and sent them to the girl’s mother to reassure her. Then he let bird dad, bird mom, and his two brothers out to play.
All four birds immediately swarmed onto Yanyan.
He stiffly spread his arms, looking miserable as he called for help, “Brother, save me.”
Yanyan had turned into a human perch, slowly shuffling toward him. Si Jingce sprinkled some bird feed on the table, and the birds flew down at once.
Only bird mom stayed on him, using her beak to smooth Yanyan’s hair.
But Yanyan was now far too big—no matter how long she tried, she couldn’t properly groom him. So she flew down and began grooming the eldest and second brother, feeding them grain.
After feeding them, bird mom started carrying grains one by one into Yanyan’s palm.
He’s so big now—how much food would he need?!
“That’s enough, that’s enough,” Yanyan quickly stopped her, afraid she’d exhaust herself. “I can eat on my own.”
Only then did bird mom stop and slowly turn to look at Si Jingce.
Then she began placing grains into Si Jingce’s palm too.
Yanyan laughed happily. “You’ve also been adopted as a human chick by mom!”
Si Jingce lowered his head, looking at bird mom. “Thank you, Mom.”
With the whole bird family finally reunited, the house was nearly blown apart by their noise.
Si Jingce didn’t interrupt their reunion and continued contacting the buyer of Yanyan’s older sister.
Her situation was a bit special—she seemed to have some physical defect and had been resold multiple times. Now that he had finally reached her current owner, the person agreed to personally bring her over in a few days.
Just as he was about to pull Yanyan aside to tell him this, he turned around—
And Yanyan was gone.
His clothes lay messily on the sofa.
On the table sat five pearl finches. Four of them looked exactly the same—like copy-paste—pecking at food in unison…
Si Jingce: ……
Did I wake up too suddenly?
