Meanwhile, at the Wu household, the source of the letter, Pan Yao, who had become the little girl Wu Lai Di, was also distressed.

Just a month ago, at noon, Wu Lai Di, a little girl from Phoenix Island in City A, fell into the water. Her father was not far away, but for some unknown reason, he was momentarily distracted.

It was just a moment’s hesitation, but by the time he came to his senses, it was too late to jump in after her.

The little girl was carried away by the undercurrent and swept into a hidden underground river channel.

Beyond the underground river was the Great River.

Inside the underground river, there was no sunlight, and it was winding and long. Even someone who could swim wouldn’t be able to hold their breath for that long, let alone someone who couldn’t.

Those who saw it said that Wu Lai Di, the Wu family’s second daughter, was unfortunate. Her luck was bad. She fell into the water just as the tide was receding, and just so, her life was taken.

However, there are things in this world that are inexplicable, sometimes called miracles.

At the very moment Wu Lai Di fell into the water, in 2020, eighteen-year-old Pan Yao also fell into the water.

As Pan Yao lost consciousness, she saw a blurry shadow in the water. It appeared out of nowhere, right beside her.

She opened her eyes wide and could only see a red mark on the shadow’s neck, like a scar, or like a vine, as if it had once been crudely and unevenly stitched together.

Like the handiwork of a child.

It sighed softly and transformed into a warm, white light. The ball of light gently embraced her.

Just as Pan Yao was about to be sent back to the surface by the light, a disturbance erupted from the riverbed. A whirlpool suddenly formed at the bottom of the river.

Everything was dark, and the center of the whirlpool was indiscernible. She could only feel flying sand and swirling stones, accompanied by the “whooshing” and roaring of the water, a complete mess.

Perhaps a long time passed, perhaps only a moment. The ball of light enveloping Pan Yao was dominated. With a sigh of resignation, it protected Pan Yao tightly and was unwillingly but helplessly sucked into the whirlpool.

In an instant, the stars shifted.

When Pan Yao woke up again, she had gone from eighteen-year-old Pan Yao to seven-year-old Wu Lai Di of Phoenix Island, and the time had regressed from 2020 to 1984.

Pan Yao was extremely distressed.

What was even more distressing was that she saw Lai Di’s soul within the little girl’s body. Pan Yao didn’t want to usurp her body; she still wanted to find her own.

After all, she’d grown to eighteen years old. Over the years, she’d eaten so much food, and it hadn’t been easy to grow so tall.

Losing her own body, wouldn’t that be a waste of all the food she’d eaten over the years? Wasting food was shameful, and the ever-frugal Pan Yao naturally wouldn’t stand for it.

Besides, as the saying goes, seven and eight-year-olds are disliked by cats and dogs alike. Eighteen-year-olds, on the other hand, are like a flower.

Why would she give up being a flower to be disliked by cats and dogs?

After getting ashore and returning the body, Pan Yao encouraged the little girl. She and the little girl stumbled along, taking turns controlling the body, like Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West, going through countless hardships, finally making it back to the Wu household.

Who would have thought that when they returned to the Wu household, seeing the living Wu Lai Di, the Wu family was only shocked, not joyful.

Lai Di arrived home at night, and none of the neighbors saw her. After the Wu family recovered from their shock and fear, confirming that the little girl was a person and not a ghost, they exchanged glances, as if reaching a silent agreement. They pulled the little girl upstairs and locked her in the small attic.

Furthermore, not only did they not clarify that the little girl was not dead, they also forbade her from going outside. A few days earlier, they had even sent a letter to relatives, saying they were going to secretly send the little girl to the countryside.

Ever since she learned of her parents’ plan, the little girl Lai Di, who had been holding on by a thread, dimmed.

Now, no matter how Pan Yao called her or coaxed her, she refused to come out, just curling up in the depths of the body, motionless.

It was quite pitiful to see.

…

Pan Yao propped up her chin, looked around the room, and felt that she was also quite pitiful.

It was the height of the sunny day, and everywhere else was bright, but this attic in the Wu house was very dark. The room wasn’t large, only four or five square meters. It was usually used to store miscellaneous items, so the air had a dusty smell.

It was a good thing it was hot, otherwise there would have been a musty smell as well.

The heat had its good points and bad points. The room was small, and the window was nailed shut with wooden boards, only able to be opened a crack the width of a finger. The room was stuffy like a steamer, and Pan Yao was so hot and bothered that she felt even more distressed.

She was the baozi in the steamer!

After a moment, Pan Yao spread out her hands and looked at this body, sighing. Look at these thin arms and legs. How could she dare to call herself a baozi?

That would be insulting the baozi!

…

Just then, the sound of children singing drifted up from downstairs.

July had just passed, and the days were moving into August. Gusts of hot wind blew. The little children, oblivious to the heat, dashed through the narrow alleys, one after another.

Calling to their friends, teasing cats and dogs, they were as happy as could be.

“Running, running, who do those kids belong to? Making so much noise in the middle of the day?” With a “bang” of the window, an old lady stuck her head out and scolded, “If you keep making noise, I’ll tell your parents.”

“Run, the old hag is yelling again.”

“Who are you calling an old hag? Hey, whose kid are you? Let this old lady get a good look at you!”

“…”

The children ran away yelling, and the alley instantly became lively.

Hearing the noise, Pan Yao dragged a stool from the corner, stood on it, and peered out the window through the crack.

There were eight or nine little children, each carrying a net for catching cicadas on their shoulders and wearing a straw hat on their heads. They looked so spirited, as if they were swordsmen roaming the world.

“Let’s go, let’s go catch some cicadas.”

“Okay, let’s catch cicadas!”

“…”

The little children giggled and walked through the alley in front of the Wu house.

The child running in front, Zhao Shengli, slowed his pace, as if remembering something. He quickly turned around and made a shushing gesture.

“Shhh~”

“Shhh~” The other children copied him, making the same shushing gesture.

“Brother Shengli, why are we shushing?”

Children can’t stay quiet for more than two seconds, and soon someone spoke.

The one who asked was Erganzi. He was young, small, and thin, with wisps of fine, dark hair plastered to his forehead.

He tilted his head, sniffled his two runny nostrils. He was truly three parts naive, seven parts dirty, and ten parts unlovable.

Zhao Shengli lowered his voice. “My mom said that Auntie Wu’s Lai Di is gone. We should be quiet. If she sees us, she’ll be sad.”

“Why will she be sad?”

“Hmm…” Zhao Shengli thought for a moment, nodding and shaking his head. “This, this is probably what the Chinese teacher calls ‘being touched by the scene,’ I guess.”

Seeing that the others were still looking at him, with blank expressions, he smacked each of them on the head. “Dummies! Dummies! Dummies!”

“What I mean is, seeing us, she’ll think of Lai Di, but Lai Di is already dead. When a mother loses her child, how sad is that? We’re good kids; we shouldn’t do things that make adults sad.”

Zhao Shengli puffed out his not-so-impressive chest.

“Shhh~” The others shushed him.

They all played together, so they knew each other well. They were the ones who teased cats and dogs, and they loved to see adults upset.

“But, Auntie Wu doesn’t like Lai Di. Will she be sad that Lai Di’s gone?” Erganzi asked, confused.

Don’t think that little children don’t understand things. Children’s minds are very clear. Who is kind to whom, who is unkind to whom, they know it all very clearly.

Besides, adults are never on their guard around children, and they don’t avoid talking in front of them. After hearing so much gossip, every child has their own little notebook in their heart.

Everyone knew that the Wu family didn’t value Lai Di. No, it should be that the Wu family didn’t value daughters!

Erganzi: “My dad said her family is even happy Lai Di died, because now they can have another son.”

Zhao Shengli was stunned.

After a long while, he stammered, “Th-that shouldn’t be, right? Isn’t she her own daughter? How could there be such a cruel mother?”

When the cicada he caught died, he was sad for an entire afternoon. Surely Lai Di, to Auntie Wu, wasn’t even less important than a bug?

She would! She would be.

There are such cruel mothers and fathers!

In the Wu family’s attic, unable to play with the others, Pan Yao still wanted to participate. Seeing the commotion below and hearing Zhao Shengli’s words, she nodded repeatedly in agreement.

It seemed that the Wu family really didn’t plan to clarify this matter.

Pan Yao laughed mockingly.

She should also be thankful that this family wasn’t completely devoid of conscience. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be planning to send the little girl away, but rather to confirm her death.

…

The several little children downstairs finished whispering, shouldered their nets, and were about to walk out of the alley. Just then, Erganzi, who was part of the children’s army, looked up at the Wu family’s window.

At that very moment, he made eye contact with Pan Yao’s eyes in the crack of the window.

Dark and still.

Erganzi froze.

Pan Yao was also stunned.

“Mommy, there’s a ghost!” Erganzi screamed and howled, his feet moving as if he were stepping on hot coals, his hands and feet flailing as he ran forward.

The two streams of snot that had been sniffled back now waved in the wind.

Pan Yao: …

The other children were also startled.

Zhao Shengli scratched his head, confused. “What’s wrong with Erganzi?”

The others looked towards the entrance of the alley. Erganzi’s figure was already gone.

“I’ve never seen Erganzi run so fast.”

“Yeah, yeah, he usually even cheats when we play. If I didn’t think he was so small, I’d beat him up.”

Criticizing Erganzi, the others turned their gazes and also looked at the window. What they saw made them scream, and screams erupted in the alley, one after another.

“Mommy, mommy, a ghost!”

“There are eyes behind the window, it’s a ghost!”

“…Lai Di, it’s Lai Di’s ghost!”

As they ran, they regretted their actions.

Their moms/grandmas were right. They shouldn’t play around recklessly in the month around the Ghost Festival. Children have clear eyes, and they can see unclean things.

Pan Unclean Thing Yao: …

She’d scared the little children. What a sin.

Pan Yao thought, not entirely seriously. She jumped down from the small stool, clapped her hands, walked over to the small square table in the corner, and picked up the large white bowl to drink some water.

Just then, a sharp and angry voice came from outside the room. However, because she felt guilty, she forced herself to lower her voice, not wanting others to hear.

Therefore, although the woman’s voice was soft and pleasant, it gave off a chilling and oppressive feeling.

“Lai Di, Lai Di… What happened? I heard Shengli and those kids shouting your name, and they were yelling about a ghost. Did you, did you open the window?”

Zhou Aifeng, flustered and anxious, pushed open the door and came in, heading straight for the wooden window.

She carefully examined the window, and seeing that the wooden boards nailed to it were still intact, confirming that it could only be opened a tiny crack, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“How many times has Mom told you? You can’t be seen right now…” Zhou Aifeng turned around, saw Pan Yao holding the large white bowl and drinking water, and felt both deflated and helpless.

Such a small child, with wet, fine hair, thin arms and legs, holding a huge sea bowl to drink water. The bowl was almost as big as her head.

She looked just like a little beast.

Truly pitiful and lovable.

Zhou Aifeng’s heart softened again, and she reached out to pull Pan Yao.

Pan Yao, taking advantage of the motion of putting down the bowl, dodged to the side.

Zhou Aifeng looked at her empty hand, and then at Pan Yao, tears welling up in her eyes. “Lai Di, do you resent Mom?”

Pan Yao glanced at her and didn’t say anything.

Lai Di, Lai Di… Hearing that name just made her upset!

Just the fact that she named the little girl Lai Di, how could she be a good mother? If she really wanted a son so badly, why didn’t she change her own name?

If this mother was so eager for a son, she shouldn’t have named her daughter Lai Di. She should have changed her own name, that would have been sincere enough.

She shouldn’t be called Zhou Aifeng, what a waste of a good name! She should be called Zhou Aier, Zhou Zhaoer, Zhou Laier, Zhou Yiner, Zhou Paner…

Thinking of this, Pan Yao looked up at Zhou Aifeng.

See, aren’t they all nice-sounding names?

Zhou Aifeng didn’t know that Pan Yao was mentally criticizing her relentlessly. Seeing Pan Yao’s indifference, she felt a pang of pain in her heart. The pain made her raise her hand to clutch her chest, and when she touched her abdomen, her expression softened a little.

Caressing her belly, which was still far from showing, Zhou Aifeng spoke softly and gently, taking the words, kneading them, and breaking them into pieces, wishing she could stuff them all into Pan Yao’s head.

“Lai Di, I know you resent Mom, and you resent your Dad, resent us for not letting you go out, resent us for wanting to send you to your aunt’s house. You think we don’t want you anymore. Heaven knows, you’re a piece of flesh that fell from Mom’s body. Who wouldn’t love their own flesh?”

“Mom loves you!”

Pan Yao watched Zhou Aifeng, as she spoke, even raised her sleeve to wipe away the tears that welled up in her eyes, looking deeply moved.

Afraid of catching this terrible disease, Pan Yao shook her head furiously in her mind.

Don’t listen, don’t listen, it’s the tortoise chanting scriptures.