Fishing a Little Dragon Girl from the River - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

No matter how meticulously Chen Huai’an cared for me, my cough showed no signs of improvement; in fact, it grew worse by the day.

He summoned many physicians, but not one could diagnose my condition.

Nonsense, of course they couldn’t. I was faking it.

I had learned a wonderful new term, “lying flat,” so I spent my days lounging in bed, waiting to be hand-fed.

Every day, I bundled myself up tightly, terrified that Chen Huai’an would discover that beneath the covers, I was actually getting quite plump.

Whenever Chen Huai’an saw me curled up on the bed like a shivering quail, his heartache deepened.

I spent every day sleeping, but it wasn’t on purpose. After all, I had to head down to the seabed at night to find my old man.

He had already issued me forty-eight “final ultimatums.”

“If you don’t come back right now, I’m telling you, I’ll give every single pearl in your room to the other little dragons!”

Every night, I spent my time trying to talk sense into my father.

“I’m coming back soon, I swear, really!”

Only after I had sufficiently placated him would I sneak back home.

Naturally, I had to catch up on my sleep during the day.

Chen Huai’an, unaware of the truth, watched me lying “unconscious” all day, his brow furrowing deeper with each passing sun.

Sometimes during the day, as I drifted in a daze, I would vaguely sense a figure by the edge of the bed.

Chen Huai’an’s voice was low, making it hard to hear him clearly.

“Song Song, I’m sorry. I can’t give you a good life yet. I don’t have the right…”

“…Once I finish the imperial examinations, I will…”

“…Wait for me, hold on. I will definitely come for you with all due honor…”

He would gently tuck the corners of my quilt around me before leaving.

I was completely oblivious to the weight of it all.

It wasn’t until one day, in a fit of rage, my father gave one of my 987 hidden gold coins to a Seahorse Spirit that I started to panic.

During the day, after Chen Huai’an finished cooking and left for the academy, I summoned a Field Snail Spirit to the kitchen to make me an extra meal.

Unexpectedly, he returned earlier than usual. Before I could finish my pumpkin soup, he pushed the door open and walked in.

I tried to scramble back to bed, but I tripped over my skirt and tumbled to the floor.

Only the pumpkin soup in my hand remained perfectly steady.

“The pumpkin soup… it’s sweet… try some…” I stammered guiltily.

In Chen Huai’an’s eyes, I was so weak I could barely walk seven steps without falling three times. Yet, even while he was away, I had thoughtfully dragged my sickly body up to make him pumpkin soup.

Chen Huai’an’s brow furrowed deeply as he rushed to support me, his eyes filled with agonizing pain. “Song Song, why are you so foolish! You’re still sick!”

I chose that moment to cough up a well-timed mouthful of blood. “…I know I’m a dying woman. You needn’t break your heart over me.”

The jade bracelet he had given me hung on my wrist as I recited my prepared script through hot tears.

“After I’m gone, throw my body into the An River. Remember, do not dress me in any clothes.

“I came into this world with nothing, and now I wish to leave it just as empty…”

Chen Huai’an desperately tried to interrupt me, but I simply tilted my head, cut off my five senses, and feigned death.

Consequently, I didn’t hear his frantic sobbing, nor could I feel the tears drenching my “corpse.”

Seven days later, I woke from my coma to find myself at the bottom of the An River.

I originally thought about going back ashore to take a look, but I was afraid someone would see me.

After all, I had lived there for seven or eight years, and the villagers were all familiar with my face.

Years ago, after a fight with my father, I ran away from the Dragon Palace. I had stopped to rest in the river channel when I was tired of walking, only to be fished out by Chen Huai’an as he was passing by.

He and the villagers had taken such good care of me over the years; they had been so kind that it was probably best not to terrify them by rising from the dead.

But in the end, even a dragon’s plans are subject to fate.