Seizing the perfect opportunity, Shen Jiujiu rubbed his bird claws together on the branch. He folded his wings tight and hurtled toward Xie Jingtang in the form of a feathered ball.
Just as bird and human drew perilously close, Shen Jiujiu flung open his wings. With eager chirps and peeps, he flung himself straight into Xie Jingtang’s arms.
Mother—
Xie Jingtang swept up her sleeve in a swift motion, neatly wrapping the teary-eyed bird ball into a bundle of cloth and picking it up by the makeshift handle.
History had a way of repeating itself in uncanny fashion.
Everything went dark. Thoroughly swaddled and utterly immobile, Shen Jiujiu chirped in bewilderment: “Chirp?”
Just two days ago, Little Bird had teamed up with his accomplice to bag Shen Yuan. Today, it was Shen Jiujiu’s turn to get bagged by his own mother.
Xie Jingtang’s bird-catching technique was practiced and lightning-quick. Even Shen Jiujiu, who tussled with Sui Ziming in human-bird brawls on the regular, didn’t have a chance to react before his talons were secured.
That said, Xie Jingtang hadn’t expected her pursuer to be a tiny creature no bigger than a fist.
…Ridiculously easy to catch. Must be a dumb bird.
Not like one of those trained scout birds.
Better safe than sorry, though. Xie Jingtang had survived Prince Wu’s relentless pursuit this long thanks to her boldness and meticulous caution.
The people of the Western Regions revered the Peacock God and treated birds with great kindness. Conveniently, the caravan had just the thing for housing a pet bird.
Xie Jingtang rummaged in the caravan supplies for a birdcage, then carried the weightless cloth bundle back to her room.
She unwrapped the knotted layers of outer garment, expecting the little bird inside to panic and flutter away. Instead, as she looked down, she met a pair of glossy, damp black bean eyes.
As the cloth had rubbed over him from every direction during the capture, Shen Jiujiu’s feathers—which he had so carefully preened before reuniting with his mother—were now fluffed out from head to tail. The pretty little bird had become a bedraggled one.
Shen Jiujiu opened his beak: “Chirrp~~”
His call was a winding melody of grievance, as if to say: Coo me now, or I’ll cry for you.
“You’re a cute little thing, aren’t you?”
Xie Jingtang couldn’t resist reaching out to stroke the bird a couple of times.
She petted his head and cheeks, lifted his wings to smooth the feathers, then poked a fingertip into Little Bird Dumpling’s armpit tickle spot.
Watching the formerly indignant and aggrieved puffball roll and flop across the cloth, claws scrabbling wildly, Xie Jingtang couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Shen Jiujiu: “Chirp chirp chirp chirp!”
Tickly tickly tickly!
How could Mother tickle Little Bird’s armpits!
Shen Jiujiu wrapped his wings tightly around Xie Jingtang’s finger and pecked at the bullying digit with his beak.
Xie Jingtang felt the feather-light “peck” on her fingertip—more like a kiss than a bite.
Her gaze softened. She stopped teasing and instead smoothed his ruffled feathers back into place. “That was mean of me just now, wasn’t it? Did I hurt you?”
Shen Jiujiu shook his head: “Chirp chirp.”
Not at all.
Even though it was his first time getting bagged, it didn’t feel so bad.
Little Bird bounced and hopped across Xie Jingtang’s outer garment, chasing after her hand to nuzzle his cheek against it.
Mother, cuddle.
Xie Jingtang was startled by the little bird’s sudden affection and instinctively tried to pull her hand back.
Shen Jiujiu stretched out his wings to draw her hand close again. This time, it wasn’t just his cheek—he shoved his entire head right into her palm.
Snuggling close.
Xie Jingtang tried to dodge, but Shen Jiujiu chased after her, not only pushing his head in but wriggling his whole body into the warmth of her hand, refusing to budge.
The little bird gazed up at Xie Jingtang, his eyes sparkling brightly, brimming with tears.
Mother… snuggle.
Xie Jingtang’s hand froze mid-withdrawal. For some inexplicable reason, a pang of sourness welled up in her chest.
Shen Jiujiu’s beak brushed over the scars and calluses on her palm, fat teardrops spilling from his eyes and soaking the soft down on his cheeks in an instant.
Mother, Jiujiu misses you.
So much… so very much.
Xie Jingtang cupped her other hand around him, cradling the little bird dumpling gently in her palms. With tender strokes, she smoothed his ruffled feathers, soothing him as he cried and hiccuped.
“Don’t be sad, don’t be sad. It was my fault—I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that.”
Shen Jiujiu protested: “Cheep!”
I want you to grab me!
How can you not want Jiujiu!
He cheeped defiantly, then burst into tears again.
Xie Jingtang was truly helpless against this little bird dumpling. After all, it wasn’t a parrot that could talk—who could make sense of all that cheeping and chirping?
Worried he might cry himself sick, she even poured a cup of water and carefully held it up for him to drink.
She had no idea how the bird’s owner had raised him to be so loving and full of life. Just watching him filled her heart with joy.
Shen Jiujiu sobbed until he had it all out of his system. After drinking some water, he nestled into Mother’s palm, his tiny claws splayed across his exposed belly. His body went limp and soft. Only then did a wave of embarrassment hit him.
He wasn’t a little child anymore—how could he still bawl in Mother’s arms like this…
Xie Jingtang watched as the little bird dumpling lifted his wings to cover his cheeks, his expression shy and timid. She pressed a finger gently to his head and rubbed it, teasing, “Goodness me, I’ve seen plenty of birds in my time, but you’re the first one who’s ever cried himself soaking wet.”
Shen Jiujiu… felt even more mortified.
He spun around in her hand and buried his face in the crook of her thumb, humming and chirping in a coquettish whine.
“Cheep-cheep-cheep, chirp-chirp-cheep~”
Xie Jingtang: “…Hiss.”
She swore it wasn’t on purpose, but—
“Cheep!!!!”
Poked unexpectedly from behind, Shen Jiujiu shot off like a rocket, pattering away in tiny steps to hide behind the teapot. He paused, then peeked out with half his little head, staring at his mother in disbelief.
Xie Jingtang withdrew her finger, her gaze drifting away for a moment.
Whoa.
So when the little bird hummed and chirped like that, it even pulsed and shrank.
Adorably so.
Shen Jiujiu, utterly humiliated, clamped his wings over his little bird rear. No matter what Xie Jingtang said to coax him, he stayed hunkered behind the teapot.
How could Mother… how could she!!
Even Benefactor hasn’t!!
No.
Not even Benefactor!!!
The little bird bounced furiously on the table in outrage.
Xie Jingtang couldn’t hold back and let out another delighted laugh.
Shen Jiujiu unleashed a barrage of furious cheeps in response.
It had been ages since Xie Jingtang had laughed so freely. By the time she noticed, tears of mirth glistened at the corners of her eyes.
Gazing at the lively little bird hopping about on the table, Xie Jingtang thought of Xinian’s childhood nickname. She cradled the soft, fluffy little bird dumpling and said gently, “I have a child. They went by Jiujiu too.”
“You’re Little Bird Jiujiu, and mine is my precious Jiujiu.”
As she spoke, a thought stirred in Xie Jingtang’s heart.
The little bird looked sleek and well-fed, a gold necklace gleaming around his neck. He was clearly some noble’s pampered pet from the capital.
Yet there was no leg ring on his foot.
Perhaps…
“Little one, why don’t you consider staying with me from now on?”
“I’ll take good care of you.”
Xie Jingtang held out her hand to the little bird dumpling, palm up.
Shen Jiujiu hopped right onto her palm.
He was still a touch awkward about it, but he couldn’t deny Mother face.
“Good boy.”
Xie Jingtang murmured the praise as she rubbed her fingertip along the little bird dumpling’s nape, deftly unclasping the gold necklace in just a few strokes.
“Once I find Jiujiu, the three of us can live together as a family. Little one, I’m sure he’ll adore you.”
Jiujiu would of course adore Jiujiu—
Hm?
Wait a minute.
Shen Jiujiu keenly picked up on the implication in Xie Jingtang’s words.
Why did it sound like Mother was convinced he hadn’t died—and was even still in the capital?
But Shen Xinian really was dead. Shen Jiujiu’s very existence proved it.
Had Mother been fooled and manipulated by someone?
Lost in thought, the little bird perked up at the sound of footsteps outside the room, followed by a knock at the door.
Xie Jingtang swiftly shoved the little bird dumpling into the birdcage and locked it tight. She even yanked an outer robe from the table and draped it over the cage.
Darkness enveloped the cage. Shen Jiujiu strained to eavesdrop on Mother and the visitor, but all he caught was a string of maddening, incomprehensible chatter.
Exhausted from a sleepless night before and his earlier crying jag, the sound of Mother’s voice lulled him. He leaned against the cage bars, eyelids growing heavy.
Before long, he flopped over into a little flattened bird, his tiny chest rising and falling rhythmically.
…
He awoke from his nap to the same pitch-black cage.
No telling how long he’d slept, but the little bird felt utterly refreshed, as if the whole world had been renewed.
Shen Jiujiu smacked his beak and noticed a handkerchief draped over him. A food bowl and water bowl had appeared in the cage too.
His stomach rumbled with hunger, but the spoiled little bird eyed the millet warily. Reminded that Mother had set it out specially, he pecked at a few grains.
Now an expert at slipping locks, he extended a claw with practiced ease. Click—the cage door swung open.
Shen Jiujiu dragged his long tail feathers behind him and swaggered out of the cage.
Night had fallen quietly, leaving the room in silent darkness.
Xie Jingtang was nowhere to be seen.
The little bird jolted fully awake, sleepiness banished.
It was so late!!
Benefactor would have returned to the inner courtyard to rest by now!
Benefactor couldn’t manage without his little bird.
Xie Jingtang had closed the windows before leaving, but that posed no problem for Shen Jiujiu.
The little bird dumpling fluttered to the window and pecked a hole in the paper covering.
Rip—the sharp claw tore the window paper open.
Shen Jiujiu folded his wings, lowered his head, and effortlessly slipped out through the hole in the window paper.
Ran right into the sneaky Sui Ziming, no idea where he’d slinked out from.
The runaway bird and the thief meet in the same dark night.
Sui Ziming blinked, not asking Shen Jiujiu at all why he was still out so late—or why he’d crawled out of someone else’s window—and calmly raised a hand in greeting. “Wanna go back and eat together?”
Not having to fly by myself—that’s great!
Shen Jiujiu landed on Sui Ziming’s head without the slightest reservation, circled around stepping a few times, and settled in comfortably.
“Chirp!”
Let’s go!
“Okay.”
Sui Ziming, carrying the little bird dumpling on his head, steadily leaped out with a lightness skill.
Little Bird Dumpling turned his head and glanced in the direction of the post station, his mind’s little bird abacus clacking away noisily.
Mother, Jiujiu will go back first to coax the Benefactor to sleep.
I’ll come keep you company again tomorrow during the day~
Isn’t this also an alternative way for Jiujiu to stand people up?
