I searched all over the Su residence, but I couldn’t find that little girl Zhizhi anywhere. It was the middle of winter, and light snow was fluttering in the sky. My pace wasn’t slow, and before long, I was panting with exhaustion, a fine layer of sweat breaking out on my back.
“It’s the first day of the Lunar New Year. Where could she have gone this morning?”
“She never lets me have a moment of peace.”
My vision went a bit dark as I searched fruitlessly, feeling a sense of dizzying disorientation as I spun in circles. Usually, if my daughter left my sight for even a moment, I would panic. It wasn’t like today, where I couldn’t find her anywhere in the world. I… I didn’t lose my daughter, did I?
I always loved to sleep in. I didn’t want to get up on New Year’s morning; why couldn’t I have spent more time with her? I hated myself. I could only be at ease if I watched over her personally.
Wait, I suddenly stomped my foot, almost forgetting to recall what Su Liumeng said this morning. Little Orange. The little orange cat. Could she have gone to the mountain again to play with that tiger?
*****
On the mountain, a quite adorable human child was defying all logic. Breaking the laws of gravity, she stood directly in the air, bossing a tiger around with a milky voice, commanding it to perform various ridiculous actions.
Her understanding of “playing games” with others was completely different from most people’s.
“Little Orange, no slacking off.”
A flash of craftiness flickered in Si Zhiruo’s eyes. Little Orange succumbed to Zhizhi’s childish authority, its entire body trembling uncontrollably. This was no cute human child; this was clearly a demon wearing a human skin. Right now, she was using her trademark demonic smile to command it to do all the movements it hated.
Heaven only knew how it had been caught and brought back. It had clearly run five hundred kilometers away overnight. Yet, just as it planned to take a nap, a dark shadow loomed over it the moment it lay down. It would never forget that tender, milky voice that sounded like a devil’s.
“Where are you planning to go, Little Orange?”
Suddenly, Si Zhiruo’s brow furrowed as if she sensed something. She looked back toward the Su family’s direction.
She stepped on Little Orange’s back. “I’ll play with you next time. If you’re not good, there will be a punishment. You can try to see if you can leave this mountain range before I get bored of you.”
As a Ghost King who had stood out among countless fierce ghosts, even though she now had a human body, remnants of ferocity and dominance remained in her bones.
She didn’t know what other fierce ghosts were like; she only felt that she was prone to extremes. The string that formed her emotions was exceptionally easy to snap.
In the next second, her figure vanished from the sky, and countless flower petals drifted down.
Little Orange trembled, lifting its head. ‘Is that demon really gone?’ Recalling the terror from just now, it resolutely sprinted forward to escape.
*****
At the Su residence, in a corridor leading to the front hall, I was leaning against a wooden pillar in a pavilion.
Rubbing my temples out of exhaustion did nothing to relieve the irritability in my heart. My body already felt quite uncomfortable, and on top of that, I had “lost” my daughter.
“Mama!”
Hearing Zhizhi’s voice, before I could even lift my head in joy, a small, soft body lunged into my arms. “I told Su Liumeng! I said I was going to find Little Orange to play!”
I knitted my brows, originally intending to be angry, but my tone softened as the words reached my lips.
“Come with me. You made Mama worry.” Si Zhiruo clung to me, not wanting to let go, so I simply picked her up and held her to my side.
“I need to design a communication talisman similar to a cell phone, something that can complete contact anytime and anywhere even in places without a signal. Otherwise, it’s too inconvenient.”
I pinched the little girl’s hand. The joy of finding her again made my tone light. “I was worried sick just now.
I thought someone had kidnapped you, then I thought about how small you are and that you might trip and fall while walking.”
“I won’t trip,” Si Zhiruo said in a muffled voice. She hadn’t let go of my clothes with her little hands.
“I made Mama worry.”
I didn’t expect her to actually be crying; her tears had already dampened the front of my clothes. “Mama didn’t mean to blame you.”
I gently patted her back, my own eyes becoming a bit moist. I wasn’t someone who liked to cry, but every time I heard my daughter’s cries, a wave of sadness followed in my heart.
“No, I’m just blaming myself. If only I could have sensed Mama’s mood earlier, if only I hadn’t been so playful.”
People were coming and going nearby. Many had already cast their gazes our way.
Being watched by so many while crying made the little one seem embarrassed; she sniffled twice and forcefully stopped her crying.
However, there were still residual tears on her little face, and she was unwilling to look at the passing pedestrians.
“Be good, look up.”
I took out a handkerchief.
“Let Mama wipe your tears.”
I had prepared hundreds of identical clean handkerchiefs in my storage space; there was no need to worry about running out.
“Mm.”
She obediently lifted her small face.
My movements were gentle as I wiped away the tear stains bit by bit, but her eyes were still slightly red, making it obvious she had just had a crying fit.
“Mama, do you really hate it when children cry?” Si Zhiruo squeezed her little hands.
“I heard other adults say that even with their own children, they especially hate it when the child makes a fuss. I also heard them say that every time there’s a fuss, they want to hold the child down and give them a beating. Zhizhi will be very good.”
Having gone through this, she thought of many things, and her voice gradually grew smaller. I almost didn’t hear the last sentence.
“Will Mama hate me too?”
“You are the daughter I gave birth to. How could I hate you?”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
I didn’t know who this child inherited this trait from. No one had even mentioned it, yet she could imagine it all on her own. Her mind was quite sensitive.
“Pinky swear.”
“Okay, pinky swear.”
Her tiny finger hooked around my pinky. The little one’s face brightened visibly, like an eternal star in the sky. Even the residual tear stains in her eyes turned into a brilliant galaxy.
“Pinky swear, hang it up, no changes for a hundred years. Whoever changes is a…” At this point, Zhizhi suddenly stopped.
I finished for her, “Whoever changes is a little dog.”
Si Zhiruo huffed and buried her head deeper. “You’re not allowed to say things like that either. No one is a dog; anyway, you just can’t say it.”
“Alright, Zhizhi is right. Just now when I asked you to come with me, where were we going?”
Si Zhiruo was in a great mood, and her little feet started to fidget again. But noticing my warning gaze, she immediately settled down. She was still a baby, after all; of course she needed her mama to hold her and didn’t want to be put down.
I didn’t know the little one’s hidden agenda.
“To see the Su family elders. Many people want to see you. Su Liumeng is probably with the Great Elder. Let’s head there first.”
I stopped walking toward the front hall and turned in the opposite direction. The Great Elder lived in a courtyard closest to the back mountain.
I had only gone toward the front hall because I wanted to go through the main gate to search the mountain for my daughter.
“I’m not some treasure. Why does everyone want to see me?”
“It means they cherish you. They want to see you because they like you.”
“I haven’t even met them. Why would they like me?” Si Zhiruo didn’t quite understand complex human emotions.
“Love me, love my dog. Do you understand that principle? Because Su Liumeng has talent, they acknowledge and like her. That extends to liking her wife and naturally liking the daughter I gave birth to. This is the continuation of life and love.”
I slowly lifted my head; the sun in the sky was a bit dazzling. Behind the continuation of life was also the continuation of responsibility. What would the Great Elder entrust to Su Liumeng this time?
In the courtyard near the back mountain, two figures stood one behind the other under a bare tree. The memory of the tree’s former lushness was still vivid.
“Great Elder.”
“This junior will certainly not fail your trust.”
I appeared at the entrance, and the two of them turned at the same time. The Great Elder’s eyes were filled with smiles as he welcomed us.
“Lass Si, we were just talking about you, and here you are. Since it’s the New Year, I don’t have much to give you. This is a small token from this grandfather; just take it and use it as you please.”
He handed me a red envelope. I responded with a slight smile. “I haven’t even given my New Year’s greetings yet. How can I take New Year money directly?”
The Great Elder gestured for me to stay standing.
“No need to kneel. What era is this? Bowing and kneeling are long out of fashion. A simple gesture is enough.”
The Great Elder was so kind and gentle that I felt a bit embarrassed instead. My storage artifact had been given by him. There was no reason to keep taking things from others.
I nudged my daughter.
“Quickly give your New Year’s greetings to the Great Elder Grandpa. What did I teach you on the way? You must greet people when you see them, otherwise it’s impolite.”
“Such a small child, what does she know of etiquette? Besides, we aren’t outsiders. No need for formalities.”
He gave each of us a red envelope. Looking at the large envelope stuffed into the little one’s hand, my lips twitched silently. The Great Elder was still as generous and mild as ever.
“Elder Grandpa, Happy New Year. I wish you happiness as vast as the Eastern Sea and a life as long as the Southern Mountain. May your cultivation realm grow stronger year by year.”
Si Zhiruo hadn’t forgotten what her mama had just instructed. Her little mouth was like it had been smeared with honey, making the Great Elder burst into laughter.
Hearing this address, Su Liumeng felt a bit sour in her heart. She thought about how she had poured her heart and soul out for so long, yet she hadn’t even earned an “Auntie” title.
At most, she had gone from being called “bad person” to being addressed by her full name. She was inexplicably jealous. Having only met once, Si Zhiruo directly called him Elder Grandpa.
This was something even I hadn’t expected.