The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 206: Chapter 206: The Little Dolphin Is Targeted

In the evening, Han Xiaorui took her two daughters to Wu Cuicui’s house to play.

”Minmin, we’re going to see the little dolphin tomorrow. Do you want to go?”

”Yes, of course!” Yang Minmin replied quickly. She had only ever seen dolphins in books, never a real one.

Yang Minmin had inherited her father’s seasickness, so she couldn’t go out on a boat at all.

Wu Cuicui said politely, ”Xiao Rui, I’ll have to trouble you to look after Minmin tomorrow, then!”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Of course. It’s what I should do. Besides, my younger sister will be starting school soon and will only be back on weekends.”

”If I have to go out to sea, I’ll need to trouble you and Brother Jianguo to look after things for me.”

Wu Cuicui nodded and smiled. ”That’s what I should be doing, too. When Xiao Jing goes off to school, you can just leave the children with me. I promise I’ll take good care of them for you.”

Han Xiaorui believed Wu Cuicui meant what she said.

With Pingping and An’an in the picture, they were practically family.

She was also business partners with Yang Jianguo, running an ornamental fish farm together.

Whether in matters of personal connection or business, their interests were perfectly aligned.

The next day, after breakfast, they took the bus. They got on at the first stop, so there were plenty of seats.

Conveniently, this bus route stopped right near the research institute.

The group—four children and five adults in total—boarded the bus and found their seats.

As the bus made stops along its route and ran out of seats, Han Xiaorui and the others put the children on their laps to give their seats to other passengers.

Yang Minmin was old enough to have her own seat, and Han Xiaorui sat next to her, keeping her safely tucked in.

The bus swayed and rocked for over an hour before finally arriving at the research institute.

When the gate guard heard Han Xiaorui’s name, he immediately called Professor Wang.

Professor Wang had his assistant personally lead them to where the little dolphin was recuperating.

The now-healthy little dolphin was swimming back and forth in its pool, occasionally leaping from the water. It looked particularly lively and adorable.

A week had passed, and the little dolphin had even grown a little.

Professor Wang was already waiting. Seeing Han Xiaorui approach, he called out, ”Xiao Han, over here.”

Yao Yulan had already arrived with her child and was tossing small fish to feed the little dolphin.

The little dolphin usually loved eating the small fish and was quite cooperative, but the moment it sensed Han Xiaorui’s presence, it immediately swam over to her.

Its eyes sparkled with joy, and it let out a series of happy clicks and whistles.

Han Xiaorui leaned closer, reaching out to stroke the little dolphin’s head. ”You’re all healed now. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to find your mother.”

The little dolphin nuzzled its head against Han Xiaorui’s palm, seeming to bask in her touch, its face looking like it was smiling.

Professor Wang was taken aback. ”This dolphin is so clever! It actually remembers Xiao Han. Before now, besides me, it wouldn’t let anyone else touch its head.”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Maybe it remembered me because we met when it was most helpless. You treated its wounds, so it remembered you, too.”

The little dolphin was incredibly cute.

It was also highly intelligent, seeming just like a small child who couldn’t speak.

The other children gathered around. Pingping and An’an, staying close to their mother, also reached out to stroke the little dolphin.

The little dolphin shifted in the water but didn’t pull away. However, when Cai Wenjun and Yang Minmin tried to touch it, the little dolphin wasn’t having it.

It dove into the water with a single, powerful plunge, resurfacing more than ten meters away.

Cai Wenjun’s face fell with disappointment. ”The dolphin... doesn’t like me.”

This broke Liang Xiaoyu’s heart, and she quickly comforted her son. ”The little dolphin just isn’t familiar with you yet. Once it gets to know you, it’ll let you pet its head.”

Hearing his mother’s reassurance, Cai Wenjun calmed down.

They didn’t just see the little dolphin; they also got to see other marine animals.

The five children cried out in amazement, their clear, happy laughter echoing around them.

This little dolphin was so adorable and so perceptive.

Han Xiaorui worried that someone from an aquarium might try to take the little dolphin, so she immediately said to Professor Wang, ”Professor Wang, I’ll go out to sea tomorrow! Please have someone deliver the dolphin to my boat tomorrow morning.”

Just as Professor Wang was about to agree, he suddenly changed his mind. ”I’ll have it sent to your boat right now!”

Han Xiaorui was taken aback. ”Professor Wang, what’s going on?”

”This little dolphin is very clever. The wife of one of our directors works at the aquarium, and she wants to take the little dolphin there.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui grew anxious. ”Professor Wang, we can’t wait until tomorrow, then. Delays breed trouble. I’ll take it right now!”

’So many dolphins brought this little one to me, begging for my help.’

’I promised I would get it back home safely. I absolutely cannot break my word.’

Han Xiaorui told Liang Xiaoyu, Han Xiaoqing, and Yao Yulan what was happening, then personally escorted the little dolphin back to her boat at Jinshan Bay Pier. Tomorrow, she would set out to find its family.

Chen Yishui, who was staying at Grandma Chen San’s house, heard that Han Xiaorui was bringing the little dolphin back. She hurried over to the fishing boat, opened the hatch to the hold, and started filling it with seawater.

Seeing the little dolphin swimming around in the live well, Han Xiaorui felt relieved.

”Xiao Rui, are we heading out to sea tomorrow?” Chen Yishui asked.

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”We’re going. No rain tomorrow, and the wind won’t be strong. The sooner we get the little dolphin out there, the sooner I can say I’ve fulfilled my promise.”

Chen Yishui smiled. ”There’s a reason Mazu and the Dragon King favor you.”

Han Xiaorui gave instructions, ”I’m going to ride back to the institute with them. You lock up the boat here and tell the crew we’re heading out tomorrow.”

”Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” Chen Yishui agreed.

Han Xiaorui returned to the institute in their vehicle.

Inside, Director Liu was losing his temper with Professor Wang. ”Old Wang, where’s that little dolphin?”

Professor Wang answered, ”The little dolphin has been released back into the ocean!”

”Didn’t I tell you to keep it?” Director Liu was furious. ’Such a clever little dolphin would definitely draw a huge crowd.’

Professor Wang scratched his head, putting on a simple, honest expression. ”I don’t seem to recall that. If I’d been told that, why would I have agreed to let Comrade Xiao Han take the dolphin?”

Director Liu looked at Professor Wang playing dumb and grew even more irritated. ”That was institute property! Since you just let it go, you can forget about this month’s salary!”

Professor Wang grew nervous. His salary was already stretched to the breaking point, and now with a pay cut on top of it, he wouldn’t be able to make ends meet.

”Director Liu, you can’t do this! That little dolphin didn’t belong to our institute. It was rescued by an affiliated organization.”

”Now that it has recovered, it’s supposed to be returned to the ocean. I refuse to accept you docking my pay for such a baseless reason.”

Director Liu snorted. ”You refuse? Fine. Then you can forget about getting any of your future research projects funded!”

Now Professor Wang started to panic. Without funding, his research would come to a complete standstill.

But the little dolphin was already gone. There was no way to get it back now.

Professor Wang started to say more, but Director Liu walked away without a backward glance.

Han Xiaorui waited for Director Liu to leave before approaching. ”Professor Wang, I’m so sorry. You’ve been put in a difficult position because of me and the little dolphin.”