Once they were inside the clinic and the doctor started chatting with the owner about the check-up, Shen Jingque finally let out a sigh of relief. No shots—what a win.
No surprises there—he was definitely a male bird, and a perfectly healthy one at that. A sturdy little fluffball, through and through.
Apparently, canaries are known for loving to sing. Huo Yunyan gave his own silent little fluff a gentle pat. “Doctor, when do canaries usually start chirping a lot?”
Translation: mine’s way too quiet.
The doctor looked genuinely surprised. “Your canary doesn’t like to sing?” That didn’t add up. As far as he knew, canaries were notorious chatterboxes. A quiet one was practically unheard of.
Huo Yunyan nodded and even gave it some serious thought. “He only chirps when he wants something from me.”
Now that he thought about it, every single chirp had an agenda. The realization made Huo Yunyan question his entire relationship with this bird. “I think he’s really smart.”
The doctor blinked. Really?
In his professional opinion, canaries weren’t exactly known for their brains. They weren’t good at learning things, and compared to birds like parrots or crows, they didn’t stand a chance. Even a budgie was smarter.
But he didn’t argue. Every pet owner thinks their baby is the smartest and cutest thing alive.
So the doctor just smiled and said, “Maybe it’s just a personality thing. You could try letting him listen to other canaries singing.”
“Good idea,” Huo Yunyan replied. “Thanks, doctor.”
Now that the little guy was older, there was no need to worry about screen time messing up his vision. Maybe he could start watching some canary videos.
While they talked, the bird in question was off to the side, picking at his claws. So boring. When were they finally going to leave this place?
Hospitals made him feel all kinds of uncomfortable.
Out of the corner of his eye, Huo Yunyan noticed the little guy messing with the desk calendar and looking bored out of his mind. He chuckled to himself and said goodbye to the doctor.
Finally—time to leave?
But… where to?
Wait, are we going straight home? No way!
Shen Jingque tilted his head and fluttered his wings, giving Huo Yunyan a not-so-subtle hint: Baby wants to go out and have fun.
And of course, Huo Yunyan had no intention of heading straight home either. After all, it wasn’t every day he brought his little featherball out. They should do something fun while they were at it.
Like visiting the biggest pet supply store nearby and letting his canary pick out his own toys.
Perfect.
Shen Jingque couldn’t have agreed more. This was exactly how a happy little bird should live—carefree and full of joy.
And so, off they went, to the largest pet store in the area.
Staring at the shelves packed with all sorts of colorful goods, even the usually quiet little bird got a bit chatty.
“You want this one?” Huo Yunyan held the cage up close to a row of brightly colored toys and pointed.
“Chirp!” Shen Jingque replied without hesitation. He even snuck a glance at the price—ah, not bad, it’s cheap.
“Alright. How about this one?” Huo Yunyan happily played along and pointed to the next toy.
This one looked pretty nice too… but it was definitely more expensive. The little guy tilted his head, looking unsure.
“Not a fan?” Huo Yunyan raised a brow. Personally, he thought this toy looked even better than the first, but hey—he was human. Maybe his bird had different taste.
Shen Jingque paced inside the cage a few steps: It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just… that price tag hurts. How could such a tiny thing cost so much?
Babies and pets—those were the real money pits.
“Forget it, I’ll decide for you.” Huo Yunyan smiled and grabbed the toy anyway—after all, the little guy hadn’t taken his eyes off it since he pointed.
Then they picked out bird food, supplies, cleaning products… Soon enough, their little shopping trip attracted the attention of quite a few curious shoppers.
“Wow, your bird is really smart. Look how lively he is! He doesn’t seem like your average bird.”
That was the comment Huo Yunyan heard the most. Each time, he’d smile modestly and say something polite—but inside, he was loving it.
When it came time to check out, the little bird leaned forward and peeked at the total on the receipt—and nearly had a heart attack. Holy crap, he thought. Keeping a bird is this expensive?!
Even back when he was in the hospital, his parents hadn’t spent this much.
“What’s wrong?” Huo Yunyan looked from the receipt to his stunned little pet. “Something up?”
After a moment, he guessed, “You want to play with this?” And stuffed the receipt into the cage.
Shen Jingque didn’t hold back—he pinned the receipt under his foot and bent down to carefully study where the money had gone.
The way he looked so serious made it hard not to laugh.
“You can actually read that?” Huo Yunyan chuckled. “Want me to enroll you in school?”
Shen Jingque turned his head to look at him. School? Sure, why not? Too bad that was just a joke—there’s no way he was actually going to school.
No school, but it was time for flying lessons.
Once they got home, Huo Yunyan set up a perch stand. While he worked, Shen Jingque sat off to the side watching, occasionally hopping over to test how it felt under his feet.
Not bad at all—the perch’s thickness was just right for his little claws, and the food bowl was within perfect grabbing distance. He stretched out a paw, scooped up a sunflower seed, and started cracking it open with a tilt of his head.
“Is that for me, sweetheart?” his owner’s voice chimed in at just the wrong moment.
Clearly overestimating his place in the bird’s heart, Huo Yunyan watched as the little guy glanced up at him—then promptly popped the cracked seed into his own beak and munched away like it was nothing.
Thankfully, Huo Yunyan had just been joking—he didn’t actually expect any kind of affection in return.
The little bird rolled his eyes around, then cracked open another sunflower seed. This time, he cheekily strutted from one end of the perch to the other, holding out the seed kernel like he was offering it to Huo Yunyan.
“…”
Huo Yunyan was stunned for a second. Then his eyes lit up. Wait, for real? He’s giving it to me? This little guy’s way too clever.
Was it what he thought?
Or just a coincidence?
Still surprised, Huo Yunyan reached out to take it. He wasn’t about to open his mouth and take it straight from the bird, no matter how much the bird seemed to enjoy eating that way. Those little claws? Not exactly the cleanest.
It’s not that Huo Yunyan didn’t regularly wipe them down—he did—but with a bird who used his feet for everything, there was only so much you could do.
Just as his hand reached out, the bird popped the kernel into his own beak.
So Huo Yunyan changed tactics and went to grab it from his mouth—
But then, the bird smugly took it out and held it in his claws again. Psych! Not giving it to you! Just messing with you.
“…”
It had been a long time since Huo Yunyan had been this speechless. He honestly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He was nearly thirty, a grown man—how could he not tell this bird was totally trolling him?
“Fine, I’m done playing. Go eat that on your own and stop getting in my way,” Huo Yunyan said with a chuckle, shaking his head and turning back to finish building the perch.
Honestly, if he told someone his canary’s first talent wasn’t singing—but being a brat—they’d never believe him.
Shen Jingque, feeling quite pleased with himself, stood proudly on the perch and let out two chirps, like he was declaring victory.
Huo Yunyan couldn’t take it anymore—he smirked and nearly reached out to ruffle all the feathers off that smug little head.
“Look at you. Not singing, just goofing off all day. Good thing I spoil you.”
The bird gave him a perfectly innocent look.
Once the stand was finished, Huo Yunyan moved to the other side of the room and patted his hand, calling out, “Come on, fly over. Don’t be scared.”
But the little bird was stuffed full, belly round and fluffy. He squatted on the perch like a feathered dumpling. Exercise right after eating? You kidding me?
He clearly didn’t want to move—but not wanting to disappoint his human, he reluctantly flapped over and landed on Huo Yunyan’s hand.
And then, just as quickly, he got sent back to the perch.
Turns out, the man was trying to train him the way you’d train a normal bird.
But Shen Jingque? Was absolutely not your average bird.
He turned his back, stuck his butt toward Huo Yunyan, and settled back into a nap.
“Little Feather?”
No response.
“Wanna go outside and play?”
Still no reaction.
Okay, well—technically no reaction. Behind the man’s back, Shen Jingque rolled his eyes dramatically. Seriously? I just got back in. You think I wanna go out again already?
“Play with your toys,” Huo Yunyan suggested.
After a pause, he added, “So now nothing can get you to move, huh?”
Of course not. Once a bird’s full, it’s officially nap time. No one messes with a lazy bird’s routine.
Shen Jingque had no idea when Huo Yunyan left. By the time he woke up, the sky outside was already starting to darken. Even though the night light had been left on, the quiet and dim room made him feel… unsettled.
The door.
To put it bluntly—his wings were strong now, and he didn’t want to live a caged life anymore. Puffed up with determination, he flew straight to the door and started pecking at it with his beak.
Every now and then, he’d tilt his head and press an ear to the floor, peeking through the crack beneath the door. Excuse me, where exactly did the man go? And why hasn’t he come back to open this door so I can stretch my wings a little?
Upstairs, Huo Yunyan heard the faint sound of pecking. When he carefully opened the bedroom door, sure enough—there was a tiny, angry little bird on the floor, puffed up with indignation, glaring at him like he’d been personally betrayed.
“Sorry. I came back late.”
Seeing that tiny body and those hurt little eyes, Huo Yunyan froze. Something soft in his chest gave a little twinge.
The sound of those persistent pecks echoed in his mind, and for the first time, he felt guilty—for keeping Little Feather locked in.
But what could he do? Leaving the door open was too risky. He couldn’t guarantee the bird wouldn’t get hurt.
Shen Jingque flew straight onto Huo Yunyan’s shoulder, his little claws gripping the man’s shirt tightly. The clever bird knew—if he wanted freedom, he had to act sweet, show he was trustworthy, and make it clear he wasn’t going to fly off.
Huo Yunyan’s interpretation: Aww, he’s so clingy. He really loves me.
Shen Jingque didn’t like flying around much and wasn’t really into exercise either, but just to be safe, Huo Yunyan got him a tiny little tracker that attached to his foot.
The house was huge. If the bird ever decided to hide, at least now he could find him quickly.
Shen Jingque wasn’t thrilled about the leg band. It was lightweight and didn’t feel like anything, but he still didn’t like it. Even so, he understood—it was just the man’s way of keeping him safe.
With the tracker on, he was now allowed to roam freely outside the bedroom.
Every window in the house had a screen, but that didn’t stop him from loving the fresh breeze of the real world.
Once he was free to move around, the household staff finally started seeing him.
They’d all heard the rumors—Mr. Huo was keeping an adorable little bird in his bedroom. Now, seeing it with their own eyes, they were all super curious.
Too bad the bird was shy. As soon as he saw strangers, he’d keep his distance, making it impossible for anyone to get close.
Perched up on the chandelier, Shen Jingque peered down with his big round eyes, watching the staff clean.
He wasn’t scared of people—just a little socially anxious.
And honestly? He didn’t like being touched all the time either.
Since no one could actually touch him, all they could do was snap pictures.
When Huo Yunyan got home from work, he saw several people trying to coax Little Feather down with food while frantically taking pictures. He couldn’t help but laugh.
“Little Feather.”
Those kinds of tricks never worked. Sometimes, when the bird was in a bad mood, he wouldn’t even pay attention to Huo Yunyan, let alone give in to a few snacks.
But as soon as Shen Jingque heard his voice, he spread his wings and flew gracefully down from the chandelier, landing precisely on Huo Yunyan’s shoulder.
Still, that didn’t seem to be enough. The man pushed his luck and said, “I’m home. Aren’t you going to welcome me?”
“…”
The little bird thought about it—he still needed this guy to feed and house him, after all—so he reluctantly opened his beak and let out a half-hearted chirp.
“Give me a kiss?” Huo Yunyan pointed to his cheek.
See? Shen Jingque thought. Humans are never satisfied.
But really, what choice did he have?
He was just a little bird who relied on someone else for food and shelter.
After a brief inner struggle, the bird finally shuffled over and lightly bumped his fluffy body against the man’s cheek.
He made up his mind—if this guy tried to ask for anything else, he’d flap his wings and slap him right in the face.
Huo Yunyan, on the other hand, was thrilled. Satisfied beyond words, he turned his head, clearly planning to give Little Feather a kiss of his own.
But just as he leaned in, the little guy stuck a claw right on his lips and pushed with all his strength.
“…”
Huo Yunyan backed off immediately.
If he remembered correctly, this little guy had just flown down from the chandelier. Who knows how much dust those feet had stepped in.
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