“You are a little crybaby!” The little turtle instantly pulled its head back into its shell with a whoosh. Its indignant voice sounded muffled from inside the shell. “You’ve been crying all day today.”
The turtle’s words immediately reminded Luoluo of her sadness again.
Her little mouth drooped, and tears began welling up in her eyes once more.
“Bad Little Wu Dui! Luoluo doesn’t want to be your friend anymore, hmph!”
She angrily turned her face away, her tiny shoulders trembling.
“Hmph! Fine, then don’t be my friend!” The little turtle stubbornly stretched its head back out and turned the other way too. “Then I won’t show you the treasure I found.”
At the mention of treasure, Luoluo became tempted again. She secretly turned her head and peeked at the little turtle.
Just in time to catch the turtle secretly peeking back at her.
The little girl and the turtle both let out another loud “Hmph!” and turned away again.
After a moment of stalemate—
“Grrrrrr…”
An incredibly loud rumbling sound suddenly came from Luoluo’s stomach.
The little turtle immediately turned back around.
Luoluo rubbed her little belly pitifully.
“Luoluo has no food to eat. My tummy is flat from hunger.”
Seeing her like this, and remembering everything she had gone through today, the proud little turtle’s remaining anger disappeared.
“Forget it, forget it. I’ll still be your friend.”
Stretching out its neck, it said to Luoluo,
“Hurry and carry me. I’ll take you to find treasure. Maybe we can trade it for meat buns.”
The moment she heard “meat buns,” Luoluo’s eyes lit up. Forgetting all about being angry, she scooped up the turtle and followed its directions, crawling toward the corner beneath the head of the bed near the wall.
“There!” Excitement sparkled in the turtle’s tiny green-bean eyes. “Little cry— Luoluo, hurry and pick up that glowing pearl!”
Following where it pointed, Luoluo indeed saw a round pearl about half the size of her little fist lying quietly in the corner, giving off a faint, gentle glow.
She reached out her chubby little hand and grabbed the pearl.
“Got it!” Luoluo cried happily, holding the pearl in front of the turtle. “Little Wu Dui, look! It’s so pretty! Can you eat it?”
The little turtle stretched its neck out even farther, nearly kissing the pearl.
“Yes yes yes! That’s it!”
It took a blissful deep breath.
“It can be traded for lots and lots of meat buns.”
Hearing that it could be exchanged for lots and lots of meat buns, the starving Luoluo’s eyes widened into circles.
With a plop, she immediately set down the turtle she had been holding in her left hand and used both hands to carefully cradle the precious treasure, lifting it close to inspect it.
The instant her injured left hand—still stained with blood—fully wrapped around the pearl, the pearl suddenly burst with brilliant light before flashing out of sight.
The little turtle stared blankly at the now-empty corner.
Its tiny green-bean eyes widened into perfect circles, neck stretched absurdly long.
“Little crybaby?” it called cautiously in a small voice.
No response.
“Luoluo?” Its voice rose, obvious panic creeping in.
Still silence.
“Luoluo! Luoluo!”
The turtle’s voice completely changed pitch.
It spun around frantically, craning its neck and looking everywhere, but there was no trace of the little crybaby anywhere.
Meanwhile—
Luoluo found herself wrapped in a warm, gentle glow. Her body seemed to float for a moment, making her feel dizzy and lightheaded.
Then the light faded.
She discovered herself sitting on a patch of soft earth.
In front of her stood a wooden house about half the size of her home. In front of the house was a small stone pond filled with crystal-clear water.
Inside the pond, two plump koi fish with shimmering golden and red scales lazily swished their tails as they swam.
Beside the pond stood a short fruit tree with spreading branches, heavy with bright red apples.
Around the courtyard were neat square plots of land filled with all kinds of plants.
Some Luoluo recognized—green vegetables, bright red tomatoes, vines full of melons and gourds…
But there were even more she didn’t recognize, blooming with beautiful flowers or bearing strange fruits she had never seen before.
Luoluo blinked her big eyes blankly.
Where was this place?
It was so beautiful.
Wow.
“Little Wu Dui?” she called softly out of habit.
No answer.
An unfamiliar place. Her only friend missing…
A huge wave of fear swallowed her once more.
“Little Wu Dui, where are you? Waaah— Mommy! Granny Wang!”
Luoluo’s mouth drooped as she burst into loud sobs again.
“Wuwu… where is this place? Luoluo is scared… Little Wu Dui…”
Her crying startled the two koi fish in the pond. Curious, they swam to the edge and poked out their round little heads, staring at tear-streaked Luoluo with wide fish eyes.
“Sniff… fishies…”
Through blurry tear-filled eyes, Luoluo noticed them, and her crying softened slightly.
“D-Did you see Little Wu Dui?” she asked between sobs.
The red koi blew out a bubble.
“Little girl, don’t cry. There’s no little turtle here. Only you, Little Gold, and Little Red.”
Even though the fish never opened its mouth, Luoluo could clearly hear its voice.
But little Luoluo was too young to realize how unbelievable that was.
“Waaah… Little Wu Dui is gone…”
Luoluo cried even harder.
“Little Wu Dui doesn’t want Luoluo anymore either…”
“Don’t cry, don’t cry.”
The golden koi quickly swam over too, flicking cool droplets of water onto her face.
“Here, drink some water. You’ll feel better after drinking.”
The cool droplets startled Luoluo. She instinctively stuck out her tongue and licked them.
Eh?
Sweet.
She licked again and again until all the droplets were gone.
Still sniffling, Luoluo finally stopped wailing. Her swollen red eyes stared blankly at the two big fish in the pond.
“The water… tastes really good,” she said timidly through her thick nasal voice.
“Mhm! If it tastes good, drink more.”
The two koi happily swished their tails as if nodding.
Carefully, Luoluo crawled to the edge of the pond and lowered her whole face close to the water.
Gulp gulp gulp.
She drank several mouthfuls.
Wow.
It tasted so good—cool and sweet, yet warm and comforting once it reached her tummy.
Even her scraped knees and palms didn’t hurt as much anymore.
“Thank you, pretty fishies.”
Luoluo smiled through her tears. Though tear drops still clung to her face, her sweet dimples had already returned.
She stretched out a hand, wanting to pat the koi’s heads.
The koi weren’t afraid at all. Instead, they affectionately rubbed the tops of their heads against her fingertips, making Luoluo giggle happily.
For the moment, she forgot all about fear and loneliness.
“Pretty fishies, Luoluo’s tummy is hungry.”
She pointed at the apples on the tree beside the pond.
“Luoluo wants to eat fruit, but can’t rea—”
Before she could finish speaking, an apple suddenly appeared in her hands all by itself.
Luoluo’s mouth fell open into a perfect “O” of shock as she stared at the magically appearing apple.
Excitedly, she shared the discovery with the koi.
“Fishies! The fruit… came into Luoluo’s hands by itself…”
Crunch!
She took a huge bite and mumbled with puffed cheeks,
“So yummy! Really yummy! Luoluo wants to bring some home for Little Wu Dui…”
But the moment she said the word “home,” her body suddenly flashed again.
Whoosh!
And just like that, she reappeared beneath Mommy’s bed.