Chapter 76: Extra — Let’s Build a Big Bird Nest Together (4)
He had actually gone back to his old trade.
Yan Yan nodded thoughtfully. It made sense—big brother performed “writing” as a brahminy kite for humans, and humans paid him in return.
They couldn’t freeload!
So Yan Yan followed Si Jingce’s example and even bowed to the fisherman. “Thank you for the tip, boss. May you catch fish every day, never go home empty-handed!”
To the fisherman, it just sounded like the two birds chirping nonstop after eating.
For some reason, he still felt like they were thanking him. Embarrassed, he scratched his head. “Ah… no need, no need. It’s what I should do.”
The brahminy kite and the pearl finch didn’t leave. They stood beside him, staring intently at his fishing rod.
A strange sense of pressure crept over the fisherman. He focused on fishing—and every fish he caught, he quickly cleaned, fried, and fed to the two birds.
In the end, the remaining fish were packed onto leaves and taken away by Si Jingce.
The fisherman watched in a daze as they left.
The kite didn’t even fly—just walked back, carrying fish in its beak, with a pearl finch perched on its back.
He secretly snapped a photo and posted it in a group chat:
“Guys, I swear I saw something insane today! A brahminy kite and a pearl finch came begging for fish. The kite even wrote words on the ground and asked for cooked fish! It didn’t eat the finch, even gave it food, then packed fish and left… what kind of world is this?!”
To prove it, he uploaded a photo of the writing.
Replies came instantly:
[Photoshopped. What bird can write?]
[Yeah right, how many fish did you catch then? Show us.]
The fisherman looked at his empty bucket.
All the fish had been taken.
He typed:
[I caught a lot… fed them all to the birds.]
[Just admit you got nothing. No need to make up stories.]
Fisherman: …Damn it!
—
Si Jingce brought Yan Yan back under the bridge, placing the fish aside as supper.
He looked Yan Yan over carefully.
Under his parents’ care, Yan Yan had become a little fluffy ball—but something still felt off.
Without a balanced diet, Yan Yan had actually gotten thinner.
After eating, Yan Yan hopped to the riverbank and bathed in shallow water.
As night fell, everything quieted.
Yan Yan glanced up—and noticed the same night heron from earlier still standing there fishing.
“Relying on humans for food doesn’t feel right,” Yan Yan said. “Why don’t we… find a teacher?”
Si Jingce glanced over. “Sounds good.”
They brought two fish as tuition and approached the night heron.
A fat fish surfaced. The heron stretched its neck, ready to strike—
But a rustle startled the fish, and it disappeared.
The heron turned angrily—only to meet the gaze of a brahminy kite.
…Excuse me.
It flapped to flee, but Yan Yan suddenly blocked it.
“Master Heron, wait! We want to learn!”
With a predator behind him, escape was impossible. The heron reluctantly stayed.
“What do you want to learn?”
“Fishing,” Si Jingce said, placing the fish down. “This is tuition.”
The heron immediately rushed over. “Oh, no need for that—learning is fine!”
It devoured both fish in seconds.
After eating, it puffed up arrogantly. “You already know how—why ask me?”
“My partner’s situation is special,” Yan Yan explained. “He can’t fly and has no experience.”
“A bird that can’t fly?!” the heron exclaimed. “You’re that kite?!”
Si Jingce paused. “You know me?”
“Of course! You’re famous!” the heron said. “A kite that can’t fly, hunt, or build nests—runs around watching finches and begging humans for food. You’re basically a celebrity!”
Yan Yan felt his soul leave his body.
His brother’s embarrassing reputation had already spread through the bird world.
The heron grew even more smug. “Fine, I’ll teach you.”
It puffed itself into a round ball and stood at the riverbank.
“If you can’t fly, fishing is harder. So we wait—for fish to come to us.”
…Just wait?
Si Jingce said nothing.
So the three birds stood there.
The heron stood silently like a statue.
Yan Yan, bored, started staring at the heron’s long white head feathers swaying in the breeze.
In the moonlight, its shadow looked… oddly like a dancing cockroach.
Yan Yan shuddered. “Has anyone told you… you look like a blue cockroach?”
The heron snapped, “That’s rude!”
“This is camouflage,” it said proudly. “Some of us even sneak into penguin enclosures to freeload. That’s my life goal. Don’t say ‘cockroach’ again—I hate them.”
Yan Yan shut up.
Fine.
Si Jingce shielded him with his wing.
Soon, a fish appeared.
“It’s coming,” the heron whispered.
It crept forward—slow, jerky, like a lagging slideshow.
Yan Yan frowned. This didn’t look like proper fishing at all.
“Big brother,” he whispered, “don’t copy this. It’s not cool.”
Finally—
The heron struck.
Missed.
The fish slipped away.
“That was a mistake,” it said seriously. “Next time I’ll be serious.”
Three hours passed.
Yan Yan got eaten alive by mosquitoes while watching the heron fail repeatedly.
Now he understood why it stood there all day.
“Can you catch anything?” he yawned.
The heron finally admitted, “Actually… I haven’t caught anything today.”
Yan Yan: …
“Then why didn’t you say so earlier?!” Yan Yan exploded. “We wouldn’t have paid you!”
That was two fish!
“I was hungry!” the heron said.
“By the way… where did you get that fish?” it asked.
Yan Yan spun in frustration—then suddenly smiled.
“From humans,” he said sweetly. “My brother is very good at begging. Just find fishermen—they’ll give you fish.”
The heron’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Of course. Here, I’ll teach you what to write.”
Yan Yan pushed a stone and slowly scratched words into the ground.
Panting, he said, “Show this to humans—they’ll feed you.”
The heron squinted. “What does it mean?”
“It means: I want to eat fish.”
The heron practiced several times.
“I want to eat fish. Got it.”
Then it left.
The two birds were left in the cold wind.
“…We just got scammed, didn’t we?” Yan Yan said.
Two fish. Gone.
Si Jingce looked at the ground.
The “writing” actually said—
“I am a big cockroach.”
He quickly comforted Yan Yan. “It’s fine. We’ll get more tomorrow.”
Yan Yan rubbed tears onto his feathers. “Don’t worry. He’ll pay for this!”
Si Jingce could already imagine the heron proudly showing that phrase to humans…
—
Back under the bridge, Yan Yan sighed.
In the end, the problem was simple—
Si Jingce couldn’t fly.
Yan Yan hugged his neck. “Big brother… when can we finally have a proper nest?”
“I’ll work hard,” Si Jingce said softly.
As a human, he could give Yan Yan everything.
Now, as a bird, he had to start from scratch.
“I’ve been gathering materials,” he said. “Let’s try building one.”
The branches were huge compared to Yan Yan, so he could only watch.
Si Jingce carefully arranged them—
First, forming a circle.
Then weaving branches together.
After half a night of effort…
He actually built something.
With dry grass laid inside, Yan Yan could sleep.
Half-asleep, Yan Yan was woken up.
“Baby, it’s done,” Si Jingce said. “Want to try?”
So fast?
Yan Yan flew over—and looked at the “nest.”
“…Big brother,” he said carefully, “did you learn from a spotted dove?”
Si Jingce: …
“It’s okay,” Yan Yan comforted him. “Ugly is fine. Maybe it’s comfortable!”
He hopped onto it—
Crack.
The structure collapsed instantly.
Buried in branches, Yan Yan crawled out, stunned.
He was just a tiny finch.
And he managed to crush an entire nest?!
