My Family Is Very Odd

Just then, a little girl approached Li Xiao Gui.

“Xiao Gui Jiejie, Xiao Gui Jiejie, can you play house with me?” she asked, looking up with a serious expression on her sweet face. Her eyes, however, held a spark of anticipation.

Li Xiao Gui readily agreed. “Of course, Xiao Hua Duo.”

Xiao Hua Duo, meaning “Little Flower Bud,” was the girl’s nickname, and a fitting one at that.

Li Xiao Gui followed the girl, with Shen Chen trailing behind them.

“Jiejie, you be the mom, and Gege can be the dad,” Xiao Hua Duo instructed. “I’ll be your child.”

“Okay,” Li Xiao Gui agreed with a smile.

Shen Chen nodded solemnly, playing along.

Xiao Hua Duo cleared her throat. “Mommy, it’s noon. I’m hungry.”

“Oh, what would you like to eat, Xiao Hua Duo?” Li Xiao Gui asked, her voice taking on a playful lilt. “Mommy can make lots of delicious food.”

“I don’t know,” Xiao Hua Duo replied with a thoughtful frown. “Let’s go to the market and see.”

“Okay,” Li Xiao Gui chirped.

“But we don’t have any money,” Xiao Hua Duo pointed out. “We need to go pick some.”

“Pick?” Li Xiao Gui echoed, confused.

“Huh?” Shen Chen raised an eyebrow.

Xiao Hua Duo pointed towards a towering tree. “Mommy, the money is up there! The green leaves are money. I’ll go pick some for you.”

She started walking towards the tree.

“Wait!” Li Xiao Gui exclaimed, rushing after her. She crouched down in front of Xiao Hua Duo, gently stopping her. “You can’t climb the tree.”

Xiao Hua Duo frowned. “Why not?”

“Because you’re wearing a dress,” Li Xiao Gui explained patiently. “You can’t climb trees in a dress.”

Xiao Hua Duo pondered this for a moment before relenting. “But we need money…”

Li Xiao Gui rolled up her sleeves. “Mommy will pick some for you. Mommy’s wearing pants! Mommy will go earn some money!”

With that, she strode past Xiao Hua Duo and approached the tree, her eyes scanning the branches as if searching for a foothold.

Shen Chen, who had been momentarily misled by Li Xiao Gui’s initial protest, could only watch in exasperation as she began to climb.

“Be careful,” he called out, a hint of worry in his voice.

He felt like a concerned husband with a mischievous daughter.

Meanwhile, Chen Yuanyuan was scrolling through the photos on her camera, smiling at the images of the children's carefree smiles.

“They’re so adorable,” she sighed.

“They really are,” Xili agreed, her gaze fixed on the trio by the tree.

“I can’t understand how anyone could abandon them,” Chen Yuanyuan murmured, shaking her head sadly. “I hope they can always be this happy.”

She continued scrolling through the photos – students carrying supplies, Li Xiao Gui handing out candy, Shen Chen lending a helping hand, Xili showing cartoons to the children.

“Like Xiao Gui,” Xili added, her voice soft.

Chen Yuanyuan looked up, confused. “What do you mean? Xiao Gui isn’t an orphan.”

“I know,” Xili replied with a small smile. “It’s just… she always seems so happy.”

“Yeah, she’s definitely a cheerful person,” Chen Yuanyuan agreed, attributing it to Li Xiao Gui’s naturally sunny disposition.

She went back to her photos, pausing at the ones she had taken of Xili showing cartoons to the children. She always took multiple shots of each scene.

As she flipped through them, she noticed something odd in one of the photos.

Just as she was about to zoom in for a closer look, Xili turned towards her.

“Looks like lunch is almost ready,” Xili remarked casually.

Chen Yuanyuan, instinctively wanting to keep the photo from Xili’s eyes, quickly turned off her camera. “Oh, right! Let’s go get Xiao Gui and the others,” she said, rushing past Xili towards Li Xiao Gui, who was currently pretending to cook for Xiao Hua Duo.

“Xiao Gui, lunch is ready!” Chen Yuanyuan called out.

“I know,” Xiao Hua Duo replied matter-of-factly, still squatting on the ground. “Mommy’s making my favorite sweet and sour pork ribs. How much longer, Mommy? I’m hungry.”

“It’s ready, it’s ready!” Li Xiao Gui exclaimed, mimicking scooping food from a pan.

She let out an exaggerated sigh of relief.

Xu Li, who had been watching them with a sour look on his face, finally snapped. “She means real lunch, you idiot! Not this ridiculous pretend play! How old are you, playing house? It’s pathetic!”

Shen Chen shot him a withering glare before resuming wiping Li Xiao Gui’s forehead with a handkerchief.

Xu Li, defeated, threw down the toy broom he had been holding and stalked off.

Chen Yuanyuan, initially embarrassed by Xu Li’s outburst, couldn’t help but snap a photo of Li Xiao Gui and Shen Chen together.

Xiao Hua Duo, ever the scene-stealer, piped up, “Jiejie, Jiejie, make sure you take a picture of me too! You can’t have a family photo without the daughter! We’re a family, we have to be in the photo together.”

“You got it,” Chen Yuanyuan chuckled, snapping another photo.

“Okay, Xiao Hua Duo, the sweet and sour pork ribs are ready!” Li Xiao Gui announced, pretending to plate the invisible dish. “But the bone broth is still simmering. We’ll have to wait a bit for that. Let’s go have lunch at the dining hall first, okay?”

“Okay,” Xiao Hua Duo agreed reluctantly, getting to her feet. “But Mommy, can we play house again after lunch?”

She held out her hand to Li Xiao Gui.

She was a confusing mix of in-character and out-of-character. She still called Li Xiao Gui “Mommy” and stayed in character, but then she’d say things that shattered the illusion.

And she wasn’t even the one who initiated the game!

She reminded Chen Yuanyuan of a miniature version of Shen Chen and Li Xiao Gui’s future child.

Li Xiao Gui smiled and took Xiao Hua Duo’s hand, leading the serious-faced girl towards the dining hall.

Xiao Hua Duo’s expression, now that she thought about it, was even more like…

Chen Yuanyuan glanced at Shen Chen, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

Lunch, which was delayed by twenty minutes, was finally served at 12:50 pm.

Afterward, it was naptime for the children. Li Xiao Gui and the others helped put them to bed, finally getting a chance to rest once the children were asleep.

They had an hour to themselves, from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm.

None of them were in the habit of napping. They found a quiet spot in the orphanage garden and sat down to relax.

“Time flies, huh?” Xili sighed. “The morning’s already gone.”

“It really does,” Li Xiao Gui agreed.

“I’m going to miss them so much,” Xili lamented. “They’re so precious. I can’t imagine abandoning them. Oh! I have an idea!” she exclaimed suddenly. “Why don’t we bake some cookies or something for them while they’re sleeping? They’ll be so happy to wake up to a treat!”

It was a fantastic idea, and Li Xiao Gui, who had a knack for baking, was instantly on board.

“Let’s do it!” she said enthusiastically. “I’ll go ask the staff if we can use the kitchen.”

“I’ll come with you!” Xili chirped, jumping to her feet.

“I’ll stay here and go through the rest of the photos,” Chen Yuanyuan said. “I still need to take some pictures of the kids sleeping. I’ll find you guys later!”

“Okay!” Li Xiao Gui called over her shoulder as they headed towards the orphanage building.

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