My Family Is Very Odd

Li Xiao Gui had a dream. She dreamt that she was sick and her body was very cold. She stood outside a gloomy house, shivering, waiting for someone, but no one came.

She heard that this was the place where her parents found her.

Li Xiao Gui squatted down, put her little hands on her knees, and waited obediently for the ghosts to pick her up.

Then she saw the Female Ghost floating towards her from the house. It said to her, “Little Gui, stay away from us and go somewhere warm. You are too cold.”

Li Xiao Gui shook her head and said, “I’m not cold. I want a hug. I want to go home.”

But the Female Ghost didn’t let her get close or hug her. It said no, this house is not good for your body.

Then the Female Ghost left her alone.

So Li Xiao Gui went to knock on the door aggrieved. The door opened, but the ghosts wouldn’t let her in.

The Female Ghost said, “Little Gui, stay away from us. You are too cold.”

Ghost Grandpa said, “Little Gui, we are not good for your health.”

Ghost Granny said, “Little Gui, we are different.”

Burly Ghost said, “Little Gui, you are old. We are so sad.”

Young Ghost said, “Little Gui, leave this place and go to where the humans are.”

Li Xiao Gui stood at the door blankly, the cold air turning into an itch that poured into her throat. Li Xiao Gui suddenly coughed violently. The cough came at a really bad time, but she couldn't control it and kept coughing. The more she coughed, the farther away the ghosts were from her. She had to cover her mouth to stop the cough from overflowing. No! This can’t be! Mom and Dad would be sad if they didn’t let her near them. It had always been like this.

Li Xiao Gui covered her mouth, her eyes blurred with tears. Through the mist, she suddenly found that her hand covering her mouth was full of wrinkles.

Li Xiao Gui's eyes widened in horror.

The ghosts looked at her sadly. “Little Gui, are you sick? Are you old?”

Looking at the sad faces of the ghosts, Li Xiao Gui was stunned, at a loss. “…Yes.”

The ghosts said, “When humans get old, their vitality will pass away, and their bodies will become weak.”

Li Xiao Gui said, “That’s right.”

Li Xiao Gui raised her head and asked blankly, “How old am I? Am I eighty years old? Am I very old?”

The ghosts said, “Yes. You are very old. So your body will be very weak, and it is easy to get sick if you stay with us. When humans get old, it is difficult to recover once they get sick.”

Li Xiao Gui said, “Then I have been learning to be a spirit for eighty years. My spiritual power is already very, very powerful, and I can already resist Yin Qi. And I usually exercise well, and my body is very healthy. Don't worry.”

The ghosts said again, “We are different, Little Gui. One day you will die. Do you want us to watch you die?”

Li Xiao Gui said more soberly than them, “Because I am going to die, you don’t want me anymore?”

The ghosts said, “Because we are very sad.”

Li Xiao Gui said, “Then look at me more. Because it is sad to be separated by death, shouldn’t we be together more when we are alive? Don’t you want to see me more?”

Li Xiao Gui stretched out her hand. “Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, Brother. Look at me more.”

Li Xiao Gui stretched out her hand, the skin and flesh rubbed together, and looked at them timidly and uneasily.

The ghosts said, “…”

Li Xiao Gui said aggrievedly, “Don’t leave me behind.”

Just when Li Xiao Gui's uneasiness was about to overflow and explode, her hand was finally held.

Warm and inclusive.

At that moment, all the time became young, she smiled, grabbed the ghost's collar coquettishly, and buried her head in it.

The ghost said, “Okay.”

She hugged the ghost contentedly, and a warm current came from her body.

Warmth?

Li Xiao Gui opened her eyes abruptly, tears still welling up in the corners of her eyes, and they slid down transparently.

“Ha!” She woke up suddenly, her eyes were still unfocused, and she suddenly realized that she didn’t know when half of her body had left the rocking chair and buried herself in a warm body.

Li Xiao Gui lifted her head and saw the familiar jawline of the young man. It was fair and clean. Li Xiao Gui was still a little confused. “Shen Chen?”

Shen Chen hugged the soft Li Xiao Gui, looked at her fixedly with his head down, stretched out his hand, rubbed the tears from the corners of her eyes with his thumb, and asked softly, “Had a nightmare?”

Li Xiao Gui shook her head and said with a smile, “It was a good dream!”

Why were there tears if it was a good dream? Shen Chen thought strangely as he looked at Li Xiao Gui.

But it really didn't look like she was unhappy.

Li Xiao Gui asked, “Why are you here?”

Shen Chen said, “Auntie called me and said you were not feeling well. Are you feeling better now?”

The sun was warm, Shen Chen's hands were warm, and the embrace was also warm. Li Xiao Gui couldn't help but rub against him. She felt an unprecedented sense of security and satisfaction. “Okay! I don’t feel so bad anymore.”

Shen Chen gently rubbed Li Xiao Gui's hair.

Li Xiao Gui rubbed her eyes, got up from Shen Chen's arms, looked left and right, and asked, “Where’s Grandma?”

Shen Chen said, “Downstairs.”

Li Xiao Gui stretched. “Oh, then I'll go down and find them! I want to eat! I’m so hungry!”

It was already noon, and Li Xiao Gui had unknowingly slept all morning.

Shen Chen picked up Li Xiao Gui with one hand and let her sit on his arm. “You’re not wearing shoes, I’ll carry you down.”

Li Xiao Gui was caught off guard and panicked for a moment, nodding instinctively. “Oh, oh!”

Shen Chen picked her up with the quilt. His delicate and restrained face moved closer to Li Xiao Gui, and Li Xiao Gui unconsciously held her breath.

“Hold tight.” His slender neck line drooped towards her, and Li Xiao Gui could only follow his cold voice and raised her chubby arms.

The moment their arms intertwined and their bare skin touched, both of them were stimulated.

…Her arms were so soft. The muscles in Shen Chen's neck, shoulders, and arms tensed.

Li Xiao Gui's heart was pounding, panicked and swollen, beating as if someone was hitting her heart with a drumstick!

Shen Chen held Li Xiao Gui, who was buried in the quilt, like a doll.

He carried Li Xiao Gui to the first floor. Young Ghost, who witnessed them, changed his expression and floated over gloomily.

Li Xiao Gui tried hard to straighten her legs, let her feet pop out of the quilt, her round feet dangled, and said innocently, “Dad, I don’t have shoes.”

Young Ghost’s original intention was to directly put the shoes on Li Xiao Gui’s feet, but Shen Chen picked up the shoes with one hand and carefully put them on for the little ghost one by one.

Young Ghost was a little dissatisfied, but didn’t say anything.

Shen Chen’s warm palm touched Li Xiao Gui’s palm, which made Li Xiao Gui shrink back. After Shen Chen helped her put on her shoes, Li Xiao Gui jumped off him impatiently.

Li Xiao Gui ran towards Young Ghost. Young Ghost subconsciously took a step back. Li Xiao Gui stopped, stared at Young Ghost for two seconds, put her hands into her sleeves, and rushed forward to hug Young Ghost.

Young Ghost was so frightened that he quickly lifted Li Xiao Gui up, let her wrap her arms around his neck, and kept his head suspended in the air to avoid skin contact, in case Li Xiao Gui missed and fell.

Young Ghost asked, “Are you satisfied?”

“Yes!” Li Xiao Gui nodded, got down from Young Ghost, and went to find Ghost Granny.

Ghost Granny was holding a knitting needle and crocheting.

Li Xiao Gui asked, “Grandma, what are you crocheting this time?”

Ghost Granny replied, “Oh, Little Gui, I’m crocheting a woolen bag.”

Li Xiao Gui’s eyes widened, her eyes lit up. “Wow!”

No matter how many times she watched it, as long as Ghost Granny was crocheting, Li Xiao Gui would hold her chin and exclaim in admiration when she watched, “Xiao Hua received the little chick that Grandma crocheted before, and she likes it very much! She has to hug it every day when she sleeps.”

Xiao Hua was a child Li Xiao Gui met when she went to the orphanage to do volunteer work in high school. They had been in touch ever since.

Ghost Granny said, “Oh, it’s great that Little Gui’s friend likes it.”

Ghost Granny’s movements of knitting were slow and leisurely, but they were methodical. Li Xiao Gui couldn’t learn it no matter how hard she tried.

Ghost Granny was already very old when she died, her skin had obvious wrinkles, and the exposed wrists and fingers could see the bones, but it didn’t look ugly at all. She sat gracefully, without hunching her back, her posture and state were very good, she looked elegant and noble.

Li Xiao Gui said with emotion, “It would be great if I could be as beautiful as Grandma when I’m old.”

Ghost Granny’s fingers, which were crocheting, paused. Li Xiao Gui said longingly, “I will definitely learn how to knit and crochet by then. We will knit together in the garden behind the house.”

Li Xiao Gui squatted down wrapped in a quilt, her eyes filled with a hazy smile. Ghost Granny looked through her eyes, as if she really saw two old ladies crocheting in the garden, surrounded by flowers carefully taken care of by Ghost Granny.

Li Xiao Gui raised her head to look at Ghost Granny. She seemed to be infected by the imagined scene, nodded with a smile, and said, “Yes.”

Li Xiao Gui was satisfied. She remembered her empty stomach, muttered that she was hungry, turned around and shouted for her brother, and walked to the kitchen.

After walking two steps, she stopped, clutched her stomach, and gasped. After she stabilized, she continued walking.

Shen Chen followed Li Xiao Gui like a guard. “What’s wrong?”

Li Xiao Gui’s voice reached Ghost Granny and Young Ghost’s ears. “My stomach hurts.”

Shen Chen said, “Go lie down on the sofa, and I’ll get you something to eat?”

Li Xiao Gui said, “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’ll be fine after a while. I’m so hungry…”

In the living room, Ghost Granny was crocheting leisurely. “Little Gui is uneasy.”

Young Ghost frowned, his voice was not gentle, even a little stiff and cold. “She is always uneasy when she is not feeling well.”

The Female Ghost didn’t know when she sat down beside Ghost Granny and poked the prototype of the woolen bag. “We didn’t give her a sense of security. Shen Chen did a good job in this regard.”

Ghost Grandpa was sitting on the other side of Ghost Granny, reading a newspaper. He didn’t like to talk, but he always attached great importance to matters related to Little Gui.

The Female Ghost yawned lazily, and said in a negotiating tone, “Give me the first woolen thread that Little Gui knits.”

Young Ghost disagreed with the Female Ghost’s words. “We are different. She is not in good health now. Usually, she does whatever she wants. Why is what Shen Chen does good?”

Ghost Granny said, “Little Gui doesn’t care.”

Young Ghost snorted coldly. “She is always so willful.”

The Female Ghost also snorted. “It’s not like she was spoiled.”

Li Xiao Gui’s satisfied voice came from the kitchen. “It’s warm and comfortable! It’s so sweet and delicious! I’m so happy. Brother is awesome!”

Shen Chen said from the side, “I’ll make it for you in the future too.”

The living room was silent for more than ten seconds.

“…” Young Ghost blinked. There were three ghosts sitting in the living room. He looked at the three ghosts and suddenly said, “If humans feel very happy, will they become obsessed and stay?”

“…”

Young Ghost said, “Forget it. The first finished product knitted by Little Gui is mine.”

The Female Ghost jumped up. “What nonsense are you talking about!”

Ghost Grandpa shook the newspaper with a serious expression. He didn’t talk much, but his words were harsh. “Mine.”

Ghost Granny smiled and said nothing.

URGENT: Our Google Ads account was blocked due to violations. We'd deeply appreciate your support through donations to help us continue our work. Or we won't be able to continue the translations.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

Love what you read?