My Family Is Very Odd

The next day, Shen Chen knocked on the door of the haunted house. Li Xiao Gui stared at Shen Chen for a full five seconds.

Shen Chen: "…"

Li Xiao Gui: "You didn't say goodnight last night."

It was a rainy summer day. Raindrops were falling outside the haunted house. Li Xiao Gui was wearing a fluffy, light yellow, thick coat, like a little chick in a standoff.

She was sensitive to the cold, and the haunted house was chilly. When it rained, the house felt like it had entered autumn or winter.

Shen Chen's car was parked not far away, and like its owner, it was waiting for a certain light yellow chick.

Shen Chen: "…"

The rain was a sudden summer downpour, coming down hard but with small raindrops, creating a thin mist. In the hazy rain, Shen Chen held a white umbrella, feeling a subtle sense of being seen through.

Every night before going to bed, Shen Chen would say goodnight to her, but yesterday Shen Chen only reminded her to brush her teeth before going to bed and didn't say goodnight.

Usually, this meant he hadn't slept yet and realized he wanted to say goodnight just before going to bed but was afraid of revealing his bedtime.

As she thought about it, Li Xiao Gui suddenly paused again.

As if realizing for the first time the meaning that could be carried behind this daily goodnight, she stared at Shen Chen for two more seconds.

Li Xiao Gui: "…"

Shen Chen: "…"

But suddenly feeling strange and wrong because of this seemed inappropriate, because that's how they had always been, saying goodnight to each other, from a chance encounter in kindergarten to a fixed routine that started one day in junior high school and continued to this day.

It was just a habit, Li Xiao Gui thought. It would be strange to suddenly start saying goodnight every day now, but she and Shen Chen were different. They had grown up together, it was different. Thinking this way, Li Xiao Gui calmed down again.

But she never thought that the reason she didn't find it sudden was because Li Xiao Gui had long passed the stage where Shen Chen suddenly started saying goodnight every day.

At that time, she didn't realize it was strange, and now thinking about it, she would only think it was normal for childhood sweethearts.

Four words: slow on the uptake.

Five words: slowly boiling the frog.

Li Xiao Gui: "What time did you go to bed last night? Did you stay up all night?"

Shen Chen remained silent.

Li Xiao Gui puffed up her cheeks and angrily tugged at Shen Chen's hair, then went back to get him an egg and a sandwich.

Because if Shen Chen didn't sleep well, he wouldn't be in the mood to eat breakfast in the morning.

Shen Chen had a particular way of waking up grumpy. He wouldn't take it out on people, but he would always express it in other ways. Li Xiao Gui shook her head, remembering her ghost brother's teachings. It was not good to skip breakfast, it was unhealthy.

The door was open, and the damp air was blocked outside by Shen Chen's tall body. Li Xiao Gui stuffed the breakfast into Shen Chen's pocket.

Her soft little hand rubbed against the inside of Shen Chen's light gray jacket through the thin fabric, and the fabric on the inside rubbed against his waist with her barely noticeable force. He unconsciously magnified that tiny, short rub countless times, finding it unbearably ticklish.

Shen Chen changed the subject, sternly asking what he already knew: "Did you brush your teeth before going to bed yesterday?"

Li Xiao Gui withdrew her hand, made a "hmm" sound, and smiled, showing her pearly white teeth. "I brushed them."

"Okay." Shen Chen nodded.

Thinking that Shen Chen had stayed up all night yesterday, Li Xiao Gui took the opportunity to ask for a favor, holding up five fingers and saying, "I want to eat three packs of candy today."

"One pack. You can't eat them all at once." Shen Chen stood firm on protecting Li Xiao Gui's teeth.

Being able to finish a whole pack, Li Xiao Gui was satisfied and turned her head to shout, "Brother! I'm going to school!"

Li Xiao Gui felt a gust of cold air blow through her hair, chilly. A dark shadow stood vaguely in front of her. Li Xiao Gui narrowed her eyes ingratiatingly.

An umbrella and two shoe covers flew towards her. Li Xiao Gui's open zipper was zipped up with a shaky hand.

Li Xiao Gui stuck out her feet one by one, letting the waterproof shoe covers obediently wrap around them. At the same time, a yellow umbrella was opened out of thin air, floating at the door, waiting.

Ghost Brother: "Okay! It's hot at school, remember to drink plenty of water. The water is on the right side of your schoolbag. It's lemon honey water, sweet!"

"Okay!" Li Xiao Gui walked out and reached out to take the small yellow umbrella.

Ghost Brother quickly raised his ever-present camera: "Xiao Gui, my dear, we'll wait for you to come back!"

Li Xiao Gui smiled naturally at the camera and nodded, saying, "Okay!"

Li Xiao Gui bent down and got into the passenger seat. The university was in a neighboring district of the same city, not too far from home, but definitely not close either. For convenience, it was best to have a car. So the ghosts rubbed their hands together, eager to get a car.

After witnessing the ghosts taking Li Xiao Gui for joyrides in remote, deserted alleys, and even flying around in a chaotic dance, Shen Chen silently signed up for driving school that summer after finishing high school. Then, two months later, he silently took out his driver's license and slapped it on the table in the haunted house, continuing to take care of Li Xiao Gui's daily commute to university under the watchful eyes of the ghosts.

After they both fastened their seat belts, Shen Chen suddenly and naturally took Li Xiao Gui's hand and put it into his shirt pocket, saying with a serious expression, "Your hand was so cold just now, let's warm it up."

Shen Chen was referring to when Li Xiao Gui put the breakfast in his pocket. Summer clothes were thin, and he could feel her body through the fabric. Li Xiao Gui didn't suspect anything, but the slightly warm egg in Shen Chen's pocket caught her attention.

"Okay. You eat the egg first, it's not good to eat it cold." Li Xiao Gui pulled her hand out of Shen Chen's palm, took out the egg from his pocket, and said, "Eat it before we go to school."

After putting the egg into Shen Chen's palm, she buried her left hand in her left pocket, showing off her fluffy pocket and saying, "My pocket is warmer than yours, fluffy and soft, super comfortable."

"…" Shen Chen looked at Li Xiao Gui's fluffy pocket and silently took the egg. "Okay."

Li Xiao Gui skillfully found a bottle of Yakult in the storage compartment, inserted a straw, and handed it to Shen Chen when he was eating the yolk.

The yolk could get stuck in your throat.

After Shen Chen took it, Li Xiao Gui buried her right hand in her pocket as well. Her hands were indeed a little cold, and being wrapped in the soft pocket made them much more comfortable. Li Xiao Gui squinted her eyes and lazily glanced at Shen Chen's pocket…

She suddenly paused for two seconds, then raised her head from the bottom up, looking at Shen Chen's fingers. His fingers were slender and bony, completely different from hers. She paused again, belatedly realizing something.

Li Xiao Gui: "…"

Hmm.

Shen Chen silently finished the egg and drove in silence.

Summer was hot, and the rain wasn't actually cold. Instead, it brought a refreshing feeling of finally putting out a fire. Pedestrians and students coming and going were still wearing short sleeves, at most adding a thin jacket.

As they got closer to the university, Li Xiao Gui's body temperature gradually rose. She took off her fluffy jacket. After taking it off, she thought for a moment and then took off her white jacket as well, putting it in the car, leaving her only in a thin short-sleeved shirt.

Shen Chen looked at Li Xiao Gui disapprovingly. Li Xiao Gui looked at him innocently with an expression that said she was hot. "It's hot."

Shen Chen didn't say anything else, so Li Xiao Gui jumped out of the car and joined the other students.

A gentle breeze carrying a light rain blew over, brushing against Li Xiao Gui's bare, overly white arms. She finally felt the slightly cool and refreshing temperature of summer.

After walking side by side on the wet road for a few minutes, Li Xiao Gui hesitantly and slowly tugged at Shen Chen's jacket.

Once, twice.

Shen Chen lowered his head and heard Li Xiao Gui whisper, "My hands are cold, can I put them in your pocket? I don't have any pockets anymore."

Li Xiao Gui looked at him with her big, light brown eyes. This was the first time she had done something with such an intention, and the strange feeling made her a little embarrassed and nervous. This embarrassment and nervousness made Li Xiao Gui's voice unconsciously change its tone, sounding a bit aggrieved.

Shen Chen stared at her and stopped walking: "Here."

"Ah?" Li Xiao Gui was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously reached out and took the umbrella that Shen Chen handed her, holding it high above her head.

Then she heard the rustling sound of a jacket being taken off. The light-colored jacket that had fit the tall teenager was now draped over Li Xiao Gui's body.

Li Xiao Gui: "…"

Then it was Shen Chen's turn to hold the umbrella. Li Xiao Gui put on the jacket. The jacket, which had fit Shen Chen perfectly, was a bit too big on Li Xiao Gui. The hem of the jacket reached her hips, and her exposed hands were at least a full size smaller than the cuffs.

Shen Chen mistakenly thought that Li Xiao Gui had taken off her jacket because she was hot in the car and now felt cold after the wind blew on her. He thought she was embarrassed to say so, so he sighed and rubbed her hair comfortingly.

Li Xiao Gui just looked up at him with a puzzled expression.

Shen Chen thought to himself with a straight face, was he usually too fierce and strict? Xiao Gui was actually afraid to say she was cold for fear of being scolded.

Author's Note:

Awkward mutual flirting between a straightforward girl and a straightforward boy.

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