"I'm telling you, I'm really awesome. If Sister Ao hadn't run so fast that day, I would have hit her with a hammer."
Little Carp, with her melon hammer slung over one shoulder and fried chicken in the other hand, loudly proclaimed her prowess, assuring Liu Nanfeng that she would protect him.
"She didn't run, did she? Wasn't she invited home by your mother?" Liu Nanfeng chuckled, holding back his laughter.
"Uh—that's because Mom stopped me from hitting her, honk honk honk…"
By the end, she was laughing herself.
Then she honestly admitted, "I was bragging. Sister Ao is so strong; I can't beat her."
"I think you're already very strong. You weren't scared at all that day."
"Of course. I'm still a little kid. When I grow as old as Sister Ao, I won't be afraid of her anymore, so I need to eat more. Munch, munch…"
The little one took big bites of the fried chicken, her small face smeared with oil.
"Have some milk." Liu Nanfeng opened the bottle for her and handed it over.
Little Carp took it, gulped down a few sips, and then eagerly returned to her fried chicken.
Thinking of her noises last night, Liu Nanfeng asked with a smile, "Do you know what a chicken looks like?"
Little Carp paused, thought for a moment, and then shook her head.
Liu Nanfeng took out his phone and found a picture of a chicken to show her.
Little Carp looked closely and then exclaimed with understanding, "So this is a chicken?"
"You've seen one?" Liu Nanfeng asked, slightly surprised.
"I saw them by the river before," Little Carp said.
After all, she had over three hundred years of cultivation, and the Yangtze River was long, with villages along its banks. It wasn't strange for her to see chickens by the river, but no one had told her what they were called.
"This one you're eating now is called fried chicken; it's made from chicken."
"Wow…"
Little Carp was even more excited than when she saw the picture of the chicken.
"Chicken is amazing, it's so delicious! Munch…" She took a big bite.
"Haha…" Liu Nanfeng was greatly amused by her.
"You eat too."
Little Carp picked up a piece and offered it to Liu Nanfeng.
"No need, I ate lunch. I'm full. This is for you to eat," Liu Nanfeng refused with a shake of his head.
Upon hearing this, Little Carp immediately put the piece into her own mouth. She had only been polite.
"Big brother, why are you so good to me?" Little Carp suddenly asked, looking puzzled.
Liu Nanfeng froze for a moment; he was actually a bit surprised himself.
He was so good to Little Carp partly because he liked children, and partly because Feng Hongjin gave him a very warm feeling, and she was cute and kind, which made him like her even more.
"You're so cute, everyone would like you and be good to you," Liu Nanfeng said, gently pinching her cheek.
"No, there was a big bad guy who tricked me before. He even wanted to sell me," Little Carp said indignantly.
"Oh, really?" Liu Nanfeng was shocked to hear this.
"Yes, I even thought he was a good friend, but he wanted to catch me and sell me. Mom was very angry and wanted to flood his house, but Sister Yuchan stopped her. Sister Yuchan said to go to his house and beat him up to teach him a lesson."
The more Little Carp spoke, the angrier she became, waving her melon hammer as if she wanted to smash someone.
"What happened then?"
"Then I never saw him again," Little Carp said sadly.
"Alright, if you didn't see him, you didn't see him," Liu Nanfeng said, patting her back to comfort her.
"We were good friends when he was a child. How did he become so wicked when he grew up?" Little Carp said sadly.
"Did you know each other since you were little?" Liu Nanfeng asked, somewhat curiously.
"Yes, when he was little, he came to the river to catch fish, and I helped him catch a lot of fish. I thought we were good friends… Boo hoo…"
Little Carp suddenly burst into tears, her tears flowing like a river. It seemed that person had truly hurt Little Carp's feelings.
She choked out, "When his mother was sick, I even stole Mom's Resurrection Pills for him. Mom got angry, spanked me, and punished me for a long time, not letting me go out to play."
"When I saw him again, he had grown up into a big bad guy. He lied to me, saying he had delicious food, but Mom wouldn't let me go ashore. He tricked me into becoming a little fish…"
"Okay, okay, it's all over now," Liu Nanfeng said, hugging her gently to comfort her.
In his heart, he felt a pang of sympathy. How could anyone bear to lie to such a cute and innocent little girl?
However, since Little Carp said Zhu Yuchan had gone to his house and beaten him up, and he was never seen again, Liu Nanfeng guessed that beating had sent him to hell.
"Later, Mom gave me the melon hammer and said it was from Dad and it would protect me."
Little Carp raised the melon hammer in her hand, tears still on her face, but her expression full of joy.
"So for all these years, besides Shuishheng and Sister Ao, you haven't had any friends?"
Liu Nanfeng gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.
Little Carp became angry again.
"Hmph, Sister Ao isn't a good friend anymore. She bullied you that day. You and Shuishheng are my best friends."
"Is that so? Then when can you call Shuishheng over so I can meet him? I'd like to be friends with him too," Liu Nanfeng said with a smile.
"Okay, okay."
Little Carp started to get up to go find Shuishheng in the river.
But Liu Nanfeng held her back.
"Let's skip it for today. I have to go back soon too, and you've finished your fried chicken. If you call Shuishheng up, he'll only be able to eat your chicken bones."
Liu Nanfeng pointed to the mess on the ground.
Little Carp scratched her head sheepishly and then laughed with a honking sound.
She proudly said to Liu Nanfeng, "Am I not awesome? My tummy is so big! Roar, roar, I can eat a lot."
She carried the melon hammer, patted her little belly, tilted her head back and roared at the sky. Her adorable appearance made Liu Nanfeng laugh heartily again.
After they chatted for a while, Liu Nanfeng tidied up the ground.
Seeing the sun beginning to set, the crimson sun half-submerged in the river, dyeing the water orange-red, Liu Nanfeng bid her farewell and prepared to go home.
Little Carp leaped into the river and transformed into a red ribbon, repeatedly leaping out of the water to play.
Knowing Liu Nanfeng had reached the embankment, she could still be seen leaping from the water, as if bidding him farewell.
"Hurry home. I'm going home too," Liu Nanfeng waved at her.
Little Carp's tail, which had leaped into the air, wagged as if responding to him.
Liu Nanfeng rode his electric bike along the riverside road. He casually glanced at the river surface and saw that Little Carp was following him in the water.
So he stopped the bike, waved at her again, and then turned onto the side road, stopping for a while away from the riverbank. Then he turned the bike back, and Little Carp finally disappeared.
"This little girl."
Liu Nanfeng smiled as he continued on his way.
The river breeze brushed against his face, and at that moment, it felt wonderful.