My Family Is Very Odd?

Chapter 1: Can't a Ghost Just Rest in Peace?

Across the road from the villa, there came the sounds of a crying baby, accompanied by intermittent hiccups, creating a noisy and pitiful scene.

It was unknown who abandoned the baby. Lying alone in a swaddle, the infant cried loudly with closed eyes, tears staining its small face.

This area was renowned for being remote, with no other buildings nearby except for the solitary villa. The villa itself was an old house, with a spacious front yard and an overgrown backyard filled with weeds. The front gate was rusty, exuding an eerie and ghostly atmosphere.

Legend had it that the backyard of this villa used to be a graveyard, with dozens of sleeping bodies buried beneath the overgrown weeds. Hence, it had gained the reputation of being a Ghost House. Normally, very few people came here during the day or night, let alone anyone knowing that a small baby had been abandoned here.

A figure slowly emerged within the courtyard. It was a young ghost, who passed straight through the iron gate and drifted towards the baby. He looked at the tiny, soft human child with a sense of curiosity, exclaiming, "Come and see! There's a baby here!"

For the first time, he discovered that "soft" could be felt just by looking.

He stared at the baby with his pitch-black eyes, wondering if she had no bones. He was so eager to find out. If he were to cut her open, would he be able to see?

At that moment, two ghostly figures floated into the courtyard. One was a woman with long flowing hair and a gloomy expression, while the other was a muscular ghost.

The female ghost looked at the baby with a sinister face and coldly remarked, "Is this little thing the reason why I can't sleep?"

The burly male ghost, full of affection, said, "She's quite adorable. I've always wanted a baby!" As he spoke, he held his hands in front of his face and playfully waved it, attempting to amuse the baby. However, it seemed to make the baby cry even louder.

The young ghost rolled his eyes and said, "No one has visited this house in a long time. Let's invite everyone to come and play together, shall we?"

"What's there to play with?" grumbled the female ghost with a bad temper. She pointed at the male ghost entertaining the baby and mocked, "Look at this idiot!"

The young ghost turned his head and saw the male ghost's attempt at amusing the baby. It couldn't be considered as making funny faces like humans do. When he tried to entertain the baby, it was a genuine ghostly face, which looked like a pile of bloody and rotten flesh. Even ghosts would be nauseated by it.

The young ghost thought to himself, "No wonder the baby's crying got so much louder."

The female ghost said impatiently, "Look, look! This baby has been crying all day and night, whether she’s afraid or not. Is there anything fun about it? Besides, she's so young, what does she understand? No playing! I want to sleep!"

The young ghost pondered for a moment and proposed another idea, "How about we raise her and play with her when she grows up?"

The female ghost agreed, "Alright, so that we don't accidentally play her to death and turn her into a ghost trapped in this house. Would I even die properly?"

The burly ghost had a troubled expression on his face and said, "Oh, Queen, why does she keep crying? It's so pitiful."

The female ghost slapped him away, saying, "It's all because of you scaring her!"

As the burly ghost was pushed away from the baby, her crying did indeed become less miserable, but she was still crying.

The young ghost tilted his head and asked, "Why is she still crying? Could she be hungry?"

The impatient expression on the female ghost's face froze for a moment, and she asked, "Hungry?"

The young ghost inquired, "What do human newborns eat?"

The three ghostly faces, long separated from the world of the living, exchanged looks.

The female ghost, after some contemplation, solemnly suggested, "Candles, perhaps?"

Young ghost: "..."

Burly ghost: "..."

Doesn't seem right, does it?

The three of them carried the baby into the ghost house, and the curious ghosts gathered around, forming a circle. By this time, the baby had been crying for several hours, exhausted, and eventually fell asleep while biting her finger.

A compassionate ghost granny exclaimed, "Oh, how adorable!"

The burly ghost immediately agreed, "Yes, yes, so cute!"

The female ghost snorted, lowering her voice, "You won't find her adorable when she wakes up! Quickly think of a way to make her stop crying!"

The ghost granny said, "Children are usually content when their needs are met. Give her something to eat, play with her, and she won't cry."

The female ghost pondered and said, "That's right. What do human babies eat when they're young?" She felt like she had the answer on the tip of her tongue but couldn't remember the word.

The burly ghost stared straight at the female ghost's chest, and suddenly, a light bulb lit up above his head. He exclaimed, "Milk?"

"Smack!"

The burly ghost was once again slapped away.

He crashed into a pile of objects, causing the sleeping baby to twitch at the sound. However, perhaps due to extreme tiredness, she didn't wake up. Her eyebrows furrowed, and her soft little face pouted as she continued to sleep soundly.

But it startled the young ghost.

The ghost granny sighed, "Oh, how adorable."

The female ghost's temples throbbed, and with clenched teeth, she said, "You, you speak without thinking! I wish I could kill you again!"

The burly ghost moaned, "I-I'm sorry..."

At that moment, the ghost grandpa, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, "Baby formula."

The light bulb in the female ghost's mind lit up as well. She clenched her fist and hit her palm, saying, "Exactly, that's it! Baby formula! That's what I wanted to say!"

Meanwhile, the burly ghost started sobbing again, "No, no baby formula! Babies who drink baby formula tend to become chubby when they grow up! I feel like I became so fat because my mom fed me too much formula when I was young!"

The female ghost rolled her eyes and said, "I don't care!"

After saying that, the female ghost floated out of the ghost house to find something for the little baby to eat.

The ghosts inside the house were not bound to it; they could come and go freely. They had gathered in this house because there was a cemetery behind it, with a heavy Yin energy, suitable for ghosts to spend their afterlife in retirement.

Thirty minutes later, the female ghost returned, floating in with a bottle of warm milk.

She placed the warm bottle next to the sleeping baby. Although still asleep, the baby seemed to smell the aroma, and she moved her nose and opened her mouth to bite the nipple, happily suckling on it.

The female ghost sneered, "Hmph, a clever little ghost."

The burly ghost continued muttering, "No formula, no formula."

The ghost granny sighed, "Oh, how adorable."

The young ghost watched as the bottle emptied, and he worriedly asked, "Did you only bring one bottle? What if the baby wakes up and gets hungry again?"

The female ghost replied, "I also brought a bag of formula, so she won't run out."

The young ghost nodded but then hesitated and asked, "Do you know how to prepare baby formula?"

The female ghost's triumphant expression froze, and she silently looked at the young ghost, "..."

Young ghost: "..."

Two of them exchanged glances.

The female ghost made it clear that she didn't want to deal with this matter. With a cold face, she floated back to sleep.

However, she hadn't slept for long when the sound of the baby's crying came from downstairs. The female ghost was annoyed and shouted, "Why is there so much noise? Shut up!"

But as she looked down, chaos unfolded downstairs, terrifying even the ghosts.

"Aaah! What's wrong with her? Why is she crying again? Is she hungry?"

"But didn't she just finish drinking milk? Why is she wet down there?"

"Oh, how adorable."

"Adorable my foot! Did she wet her diaper?"

"What do we do? Why is she crying again? Is she hungry? Should I get some human milk for her?"

"Human milk my foot! Can't you see she wet herself? What are we going to doooo!"

"Diapers."

"Aaaahhh!"

The demon baby continued her live performance of crying and wailing.

With an expressionless face, the female ghost left the haunted house, saying, "I'm going out to see how humans prepare baby formula."

Upon seeing this, the young ghost quickly shouted, "Also bring back some diapers!"

By instinct, the female ghost nodded and fled from the ghost house, ruled by the demon baby.

Night fell.

On the eerie road, an unmanned baby carriage appeared, moving slowly on its own. The old street lamp on the side flickered, casting broken light onto the baby carriage, which was filled with baby formula, diapers, baby clothes, and other baby items.

Several large bags were hanging from the sides of the baby carriage.

The baby carriage was slowly pushed to the doorstep of the ghost house and suddenly flew up, leaping over the gate and floating inside.

The young ghost, already dark-eyed, seemed even darker. The despair in his hollow eye sockets was evident as he exclaimed, "You've finally returned!"

The female ghost pushed the baby carriage inside, and everyone rushed around, finally cleaning up the baby and even providing a more comfortable nest for her.

However, both the young ghost and the female ghost had good temperaments for ghosts within the ghost house, and yet the demon baby was driving them to the edge of their patience.

But after experiencing this torment, the young ghost became even more unwilling to let the baby die just like that. The baby didn't understand anything, so why should she easily perish after causing so much trouble? He wanted her to know what fear was and slowly torment her to death. Let her dare to mess with him like this!

No one had ever dared to mess with him like this after he died, not once!

The female ghost, on the other hand, was worried that if the baby died and accidentally turned into a ghost, she would be stuck in the haunted house, causing endless trouble. She didn't want that! It would truly be a miserable existence for her!

So, both of them secretly resolved to wait until the baby grew up before making any decisions.

The female ghost looked fiercely at the contented baby and snorted, "You'll know what it means to die when you grow up! Hmph!"

The female ghost let out another sneer, revealing her pettiness and narrow-mindedness.

The young ghost nodded in agreement, "You'll know when you grow up, you little brat!"

But at this moment, the baby, who was very satisfied and full of energy, showed them an exceptionally bright and gentle smile.

The baby even tried to reach out and hold their hands, wanting to play with them. However, every time, her grasp was empty, and she shivered, giving them a chill.

It was only natural. They were ghosts, and living beings couldn't touch them. Only inanimate objects could make contact with them.

But this little baby still had her tiny palms open, moving them around and smiling at them radiantly.

The female ghost and the young ghost looked at this vibrant and tender little being, their expressions becoming complex.

By this time, after all the commotion, dawn was breaking outside.

The haunted house was backlit, with thick curtains on every window, preventing the sunlight from entering.

However, in this desolate and lonely house, for the first time, a clear laughter echoed through the air.

Notes

Author's Note:

The female ghost's black box:

Sunlight has come in.

(The entire story is fictional; I just wanted to write a warm fairy tale. Kisses!)