My Family Is Very Odd

The ticket collector stood frozen, the black-clad ghost girl's slender fingers hovering right in front of his heart.

The ghost girl paused, her head turning slowly. Even with her eyes closed, her gaze landed precisely on Li Xiao Gui.

“Little… Ghost.”

Behind her, several talismans were thrown, hitting their target and disappearing into her body. But they had no effect.

Just like the puppets she had been devouring, spiritual energy flowed into her but never out.

The exorcists stared in disbelief.

The ghost girl moved away from the ticket collector, finally allowing him to gasp for air. His head spun, and he practically collapsed to the ground.

She walked slowly towards Li Xiao Gui. Shen Chen, his brow furrowed, stepped in front of Li Xiao Gui protectively. Li Xiao Gui looked from the ticket collector to the eerie being that looked exactly like her.

Sensing a threat, or perhaps for another reason entirely, the ghost girl stopped in the middle of the path.

She pulled a white rabbit candy from her dress pocket.

Li Xiao Gui's clear eyes, like glass beads, reflected the ghost girl's form. Even though the ghost girl's eyes were closed, Li Xiao Gui could somehow sense a pleading look in them. Li Xiao Gui blinked, her gaze dropping to the candy in the ghost girl's hand.

Shiny, pure white icing coated the sweet.

“Little Ghost, candy,” the ghost girl said, looking at Li Xiao Gui.

The voice, the white rabbit candy, the feeling—it all sparked a memory in Li Xiao Gui.

“Ah, are you the ghost who gave me candy through the window on my birthday?” Li Xiao Gui asked.

The ghost girl nodded slowly. “I… I protect Little Ghost. I… worry… about Little Ghost. I… protect… Little Ghost!”

Her words came out haltingly, as if she was desperately trying to prove something. She placed the candy in one hand and stretched out the other. Her slender, graceful arm suddenly extended to an unnatural length, shooting forward like a predator. It snatched a struggling puppet and shoved it into her mouth, swallowing it whole.

Everyone watched in astonishment as she swallowed the struggling puppet, then spat it back out. She picked it up and presented it to Li Xiao Gui like a treasured gift. “I… I protect Little Ghost.”

Li Xiao Gui thought her words were a bit strange, but she stared at the puppet in the ghost girl's hand and hesitantly replied, “Thank you?”

Hearing Li Xiao Gui's response, the ghost girl started to devour the puppets with even more fervor.

Shen Chen watched her vigilantly, ready to form a seal at any moment. He didn't trust this ghost who looked like Li Xiao Gui one bit.

The bizarre scene held everyone captivated for a while. Then, sighs of relief rippled through the crowd.

“So this ghost is also from the haunted house!”

“Oh, that’s why it’s helping to get rid of the spirits.”

“That’s a relief.”

With someone mentioning it, everyone seemed to understand. It was true that they had only seen her consuming ghosts and puppets, never humans. It made sense now.

But even though they understood, watching the ghost girl devour more and more puppets at an alarming rate, her body becoming visibly darker with each bite, a sense of unease settled over them.

Soon, all the puppets in the vicinity were gone. Still hungry, the ghost girl reached for Wen Qing, who was standing next to the ticket collector.

“You can’t eat that one!” Li Xiao Gui cried out.

It was just a soft plea, but the ghost girl, her body radiating black energy, actually stopped. Everyone became even more convinced that she and Li Xiao Gui were connected somehow.

The ghost girl stood still, obedient but twitching. Even her left cheek seemed to spasm. “Hungry,” she mumbled, clearly unhappy.

The Young Ghost materialized next to Li Xiao Gui once more. Teacher Wen Yuanrui was nowhere to be seen.

“Five minutes are up, Little Ghost. Time to go home,” the Young Ghost said.

The amusement park was deserted now, only the lights flashing brightly and discarded puppets scattered around. They were no longer running rampant but lay still, like ordinary toys.

Li Xiao Gui looked at the Young Ghost. “Daddy, the little ghost said she’s hungry. What should we do? Can I take her home for dinner?”

Li Xiao Gui sought the Young Ghost’s approval. She didn't want the ghost girl to eat ghosts that looked like her brother, but she couldn't bear to abandon such a well-behaved ghost either.

The ghost girl listened to her and didn’t eat indiscriminately. Li Xiao Gui felt obligated to help her.

She thought of her brother's cooking. If she was hungry, eating more would solve the problem.

“What kind of creature is this little ghost?” The Young Ghost looked at the small, pitch-black figure with disdain. He glanced between the ghost girl and Li Xiao Gui, then clicked his tongue. In a flash, he appeared behind the ghost girl and slapped her back.

“Burp!” The ghost girl let out a long burp, expelling a large puff of black air. Her body deflated like a punctured balloon, shrinking from a height of 1.6 meters down to the size of a cat. Her partially formed facial features regressed back into four indentations.

“She wasn’t hungry. On the contrary, she ate too much. There, all better. Let’s go!” the Young Ghost said.

The cat-like ghost girl scrambled to her feet and tried to sneak towards Li Xiao Gui, but the Young Ghost grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and tossed her back, preventing her from getting close.

Honestly, even though she was the size of a cat, her body still resembled a human’s with limbs, a torso, and a head. However, her facial features were blurred, and she slithered on the ground like a snake. It was a rather creepy sight.

Li Xiao Gui, who had never been afraid of such things, looked at the ghost girl and nodded. “Oh. Daddy, Daddy, be gentle with her.”

The cat-like ghost girl flipped over and got up again, silently crawling towards Li Xiao Gui’s feet. She was quite clever; she had heard Li Xiao Gui wanting to take her home.

Unable to resist, Li Xiao Gui rolled up her sleeve and scooped up the ghost girl. Holding her protectively, she walked over to the ticket collector. “Brother, everything’s alright now. Let’s go!”

The ticket collector nodded, forcing his shaky legs to support him. “Thank you,” he said.

The ghost girl nestled comfortably in Li Xiao Gui’s arms.

He gestured to the man standing beside him. “This is my twin brother, Wen Qing. He was a firefighter. He died three years ago while putting out a fire. But I guess you already knew he was… gone, right? You can see these kinds of things, can’t you?”

Having witnessed the entire ordeal, the ticket collector had a vague understanding of the situation.

Li Xiao Gui nodded. The group made their way out of the amusement park.

The ticket collector and his brother, Wen Qing, walked side by side, chatting as if they had only been apart for a short while.

Just as they were about to exit, the ticket collector suddenly stopped, his expression a mix of bewilderment and anxiety. “I don’t know what came over me today. I could actually see him… Is there a reason why I could see ghosts? Will I be able to see him again in the future?”

Li Xiao Gui stopped as well. “If you normally can’t see him, then you’ll gradually lose the ability to see him. When you haven’t seen a ghost for a while, you’ll forget that you ever could.”

“It’s because the amusement park is special today,” Li Xiao Gui explained.

The ticket collector was stunned. “So, once we’re out of this amusement park, I won’t be able to see him anymore?”

The smile on Wen Qing’s face faded as he looked at his brother silently.

“To be precise, after tonight,” Li Xiao Gui said. “Because what made this amusement park special has been cleaned up.”

“I see…” The ticket collector murmured, then forced a gentle smile. “Well then, I’ll stay here and chat with him a bit longer. You guys go ahead.”

Li Xiao Gui watched as the ticket collector and his silent ghost brother stood together, separated by an insurmountable chasm.

A sudden pang struck Li Xiao Gui’s heart. It was a strange feeling, as if something she had just witnessed had triggered a deep-seated emotion within her.

“Okay! We’ll be going then!” Li Xiao Gui said.

She walked towards the amusement park entrance, where Chen Yuanyuan was engrossed in her phone.

It was between seven and eight in the evening, the time when the night market was at its liveliest. Chen Yuanyuan boarded a bus at the stop and parted ways with Li Xiao Gui.

They passed through a bustling street and arrived at the quiet road leading to their home.

As they walked down the peaceful street, Li Xiao Gui suddenly skipped over to the Young Ghost and declared, “Daddy, Daddy, I feel so happy!”

“?” The Young Ghost looked at her questioningly.

“Daddy, Daddy, I love you!”

“Are you thinking about keeping that little ghost thing?” the Young Ghost asked suspiciously.

Li Xiao Gui blinked innocently. “Huh?”

Author's Note:

Little Ghost’s Diary:

I can see Daddy, Mommy, Grandpa, Grandma, and Big Brother. It’s so great!

I’m the happiest kid in the whole world.

I’m going to say “I love you” every day! I want Daddy, Mommy, Grandpa, Grandma, and Big Brother to know it every single day.

Little Ghost loves them so much!

Wen Yuanrui, forgotten at the amusement park: Hello? Does anyone remember me?

Wen Yuanrui: My life is so hard.

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