My Family Is Very Odd?

Chapter 12: I Want to Take You Away

A figure shaped like a person floated in the flowing river. The person's head was submerged in the water, with short hair and dressed in a suit and long pants, indicating he was a man.

Beside the bridge stood a woman, gazing coldly at the river's surface.

Some black shadows emerged from the deceased man's feet and separated from his body. One by one, those mournful faces burst into laughter, bowed to the woman, and then flew into the sky.

Amongst the girls were some younger ones, while others were older, and a few were around the same age as Li Xiao Gui. They all had braided hair, but their young faces seemed prematurely touched by death.

At the same time, some chains suddenly appeared below the man, dragging his soul down...

The woman looked up at the children, her face expressionless, her thoughts unclear.

Meanwhile, the sky was just starting to brighten, the perfect time for early morning school.

Drip, drip, drip...

A few raindrops hesitated and tapped on the ground twice, then suddenly poured down heavily.

Water splashed up in bursts from the surface, and due to the heavy rain, the river's body became blurred.

It's raining again.

The woman lifted her head, her black eyes looking at the raindrops, suddenly reminded of a yellow umbrella, a yellow cap, and...

The sand dunes at school.

The woman suddenly paused.

"I want to build a mountain."

"As long as we keep piling up like this, one day, we'll be able to build a mountain."

...

The woman slowly walked into the curtain of rain.

When she realized it, she had already found a horizontal, transparent bag, spreading it over the sand heap.

It wouldn't become a mountain.

Before long, she wouldn't be piling sand anymore.

She looked at the sand mound, as if seeing herself.

She rolled her eyes slowly, her thoughts wandering, and then she thought: But the little one must be upset seeing the sand destroyed, right?

Yesterday, they were piling sand together.

Water droplets splattered against the window of the ghost house. The curtains were pulled back, and the little one looked up at the pouring rain, panicking, and shouted, running barefoot out of the bedroom.

"Ah—my mountain!"

On the little one's round face, the faintly raised eyebrows wrinkled in distress.

"Little ghost! Put on your shoes!" The Young Ghost knew just from hearing the voice that the child had not put on her shoes. "What mountain?"

"In school, it's huge! I wanted to pile it up really high with my sister, like Foolish Old Man*!" Li Xiao Gui gestured, feeling extremely sad, as if the sky had fallen.

*The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains (Chinese: 愚公移山; pinyin: Yúgōng Yíshān) is a well-known fable from Chinese mythology about the virtues of perseverance and willpower. The story is about an elderly man named Yu Gong who is determined to move two mountains that are obstructing his path. Despite being called foolish by others for attempting such a seemingly impossible task, Yu Gong remains persistent and unwavering in his determination.

She sighed, "It's definitely gone now."

She lowered her head, and her delicate ears drooped in disappointment.

At this moment, Ghost Grandpa suddenly appeared behind Li Xiao Gui, holding a pair of pink slippers.

"Speak clearly so others can understand," Ghost Grandpa said in a slow voice.

Li Xiao Gui obediently raised her small, white feet and put on the slippers. Then she looked up and said, "My sister and I piled up a mountain with sand in kindergarten. We wanted to make it really high, higher than the house. Foolish Old Man could move mountains, so as long as I keep piling, even when I grow up, I can still keep piling until we build a big mountain!"

Li Xiao Gui sighed heavily, her freshly awakened hair standing on end like a rocket. "But now it's raining..."

Her small dream, just starting to sprout, was unexpectedly extinguished by the heavy rain.

Young Ghost: "..." Others move mountains, and you pile mountains?

Ghost Grandpa: "..." The story of Foolish Old Man moving mountains was meant to teach you the spirit of fables, not to make you try to move mountains yourself.

Ghost Grandpa silently looked at Li Xiao Gui and finally said, "...Let's have a meal."

The Young Ghost heartlessly said, "Piling sand won't build a mountain."

Li Xiao Gui asked, "Why not?"

The Young Ghost replied, "Because when you grow up, you won't be piling anymore."

Li Xiao Gui was indignant, puffing up her face. "I will keep piling, even when I grow up!"

The Young Ghost said, "But you'll graduate from kindergarten, and it will often rain."

Li Xiao Gui was shocked, her eyes widened. It was the first time she thought about this serious issue.

She thought the rain was just the first blow, but she didn't expect a second one.

"..." The Young Ghost looked at her earnest and surprised expression, almost unable to control his laughter. To hold back the laughter, he turned away and said with a serious tone, "Alright, let's have a meal first. After eating, it's time to go to school."

Although it was raining heavily, the school didn't announce any suspension, so they still had to attend classes.

As usual, the Young Ghost accompanied Li Xiao Gui to the school gate and returned to the corner after seeing her enter.

Li Xiao Gui was always early, and with the rain, there weren't many people at the gate. She glanced at the intersection and headed towards the playground.

She still wanted to see her mountain.

On the way, she made up her mind that even if the mountain was washed away by the rain, it didn't matter. Her dad was right; she just needed to find a secret hideout that could shelter her from the wind and rain to rebuild the mountain.

Li Xiao Gui was still ambitious and hadn't given up on the idea of piling a mountain.

But when she arrived at the playground, she found her mountain being protected by someone. A woman stood in the rain, holding a long, giant transparent bag over the mountain.

"Wow!" Li Xiao Gui exclaimed and hurriedly ran over.

But the woman wasn't carrying an umbrella!

Li Xiao Gui ran to the woman's side, trying to lift the umbrella higher, but she was too short. She anxiously said, "Why didn't you bring an umbrella? Hurry, hold my umbrella!"

The woman looked straight at Li Xiao Gui, though she had no expression, the light in her eyes was gentle. "You're here."

Her gaze shifted towards the sand, signaling Li Xiao Gui to look.

"Hold the umbrella!" Li Xiao Gui said.

Woman: "But I have to carry the bag."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiao Gui reached out her hand towards the bag, "Let me carry it, and you can hold the umbrella..."

Subconsciously, the woman pulled her hand back, and the bag drooped down. The water accumulated on the bag flowed down the angle and formed a pit in the sand.

"You're getting wet."

The woman's hand retreated too quickly, and Li Xiao Gui didn't have a chance to support it.

Woman: "..."

"It's okay, it's okay. We can pile another one. This spot isn't good anyway. When I graduate, I won't be able to keep piling sand forever. We can find a secret hideout and pile together." Li Xiao Gui hurriedly reassured.

However, the woman just stared at the sand mound as the water gradually eroded it. "Pile another one?"

Li Xiao Gui tiptoed and said, "Yes."

Li Xiao Gui's hand held high was getting tired, but the woman still wouldn't take the umbrella.

"There's no second one..." The woman looked at the sand and muttered to herself, "I might end up like this in the future."

"Huh?"

The woman looked up at Li Xiao Gui and said, "I'm leaving."

Li Xiao Gui was stunned, "You're leaving? Where are you going? Are you moving away?"

The woman replied, "Yes, but I'm not moving. I don't have a home. I don't know where to go, but I won't stay in one place for long. If I stay too long, I'll get caught."

"If you get caught, it's all over."

Li Xiao Gui looked at the woman with a confused expression, not understanding what she was talking about.

The woman knew that Li Xiao Gui couldn't understand, but she just wanted to talk.

However, she didn't like talking, nor did she want to get too involved with Li Xiao Gui, but somehow, things had evolved into this.

In front of Li Xiao Gui, she couldn't stop talking.

"I really like you. I really want to take you away," the woman said softly.