Chapter 138: Can I have it?

(1)

Pei Du saw his daughter's message about six hours later, he opened that photo, and various cute little toys arranged in a queue came into view.

Daughter: "The top ones were made by older sister, the bottom ones were made by me~"

Pei Du moved his gaze upward, his eyes lingering quietly on that row of toys.

It was even more beautiful than he had imagined.

"They're all nice."

At that time.

Domestic Pei Muyin was just about to rest when she received her father's message, she replied: "I added hanging cords to them at the back, so they can now be used as ornaments or keychains and such."

"Can I have it?"

Pei Muyin immediately said: "Of course, Dad, you can pick whichever you like~"

"This one."

Pei Muyin received a screenshot; the picture showed a keychain.

A light yellow pudding-colored little dog.

She made it.

The next second, she received another screenshot; still the pudding little dog, but this time it wasn't a keychain, it was a wind-chime-like hanging ornament, with the cute dog's head adorned below by a crocheted tag bearing a small bead.

It happened to match the keychain as a set.

"These two."

Pei Muyin said okay, promised to keep them for Pei Du, then she suddenly remembered something and told Pei Du: "Dad, this wind chime below was made by older sister; when taking the photo, to make it look nice, I casually placed it below and put it together with mine."

"Mm, very nice." Pei Du said, referring to the wind chime.

Pei Muyin: "I also think, older sister can make many more; she said she could teach me all of them~"

"That's impressive."

"Yes~"

…

Without the daughter saying it, Pei Du also knew the wind chime belonged to Shu Shu.

Time rewinds to when he and Shu Lingchen were playing a game.

Shu Lingchen brought up doing handicrafts, Pei Du casually asked whether this handicraft was difficult; Shu Lingchen at the time said: "For my mom it's just easy; when I went out to get water just now, I saw she had finished making another little dog wind chime."

The eleventh boring day of summer vacation.

During the time the little devil wasn't online, Shu Lingchen again leveled up his alternate account, just as he was considering whether to register another alt.

"Older sister, brother, shall we go out to escape the heat?"

At the dining table.

Pei Muyin said: "The weather is really too hot; I know there's a place that's not hot all day, and it seems quite fun too; we can rent a homestay there and then stay until before school starts before coming back."

"Huh? Sounds pretty good!" Shu Lingchen's listless eyes instantly lit up a second later; he immediately looked at Shu Shu: "Shall we go? Shall we go? I want to go, I want to go."

"Then, let's go."

Actually, Shu Shu saw the two little ones bored at home, almost growing grass from boredom, and also had the idea of taking them out to play, but she was still looking for a suitable spot when the daughter brought it up first.

Then let's just go to the place the daughter mentioned.

After lunch.

Shu Shu asked the daughter where that place was, what it was called, and said she would make a guide later.

"No need for a guide, sis; this place was recommended by Dad, he said if we go, he'll have people arrange everything there, we just need to show up."

……

Pei Du?

The next day.

The three chose to set out in the morning, when it wouldn't be as hot as daytime.

They had already packed their luggage the night before, waiting for the next day to head straight to the airport.

Shu Lingchen curiously asked Pei Muyin: "Sis, is that place far?" Do we have to fly there?

"A bit far." Pei Muyin explained: "We'll take our own plane, no need to queue; after landing we still need to transfer to a helicopter, because that place has many mountains, making it inconvenient to drive in, and there's a dedicated helipad there."

Shu Lingchen: "Our own, plane?"

"Mm-hmm."

About ten or so minutes later, they arrived at the airport.

After storing their luggage, Shu Lingchen followed behind his mother and sister, boarding a light-pink airplane.

The captain and flight attendants were still the two female staff members Shu Shu had seen when she accompanied her daughter to Gang Cheng last time.

They had also likely been arranged in advance.

Without Pei Muyin needing to speak, the plane's course headed straight to the destination.

About two and a half hours.

On the helicopter.

Shu Lingchen, who had been dozing off on the plane, lost all sleepiness from the helicopter's noise; looking out the window, he saw a vista of mountains connected to mountains, especially from this angle, he felt vibrant, a beauty unique to nature.

He couldn't help but look a bit longer: "Are we there?"

"Yes." Pei Muyin: "We'll be able to get down in another two minutes."

…

The aircraft door was pushed open to the side.

Shu Lingchen then felt a breeze carrying the fresh scent of plants gently blowing in his face; the air's temperature was just right, pleasantly moist.

It was nothing like the heat wave in An Shi that makes people feel only an uncontrollable restlessness.

Fresh and pleasant, very comfortable.

Shu Lingchen fell in love with the place in an instant.

"Excuse me, are you Miss Pei Muyin?"

A person who clearly looked like a staff member walked over; when the plane had been hovering earlier, we had already seen someone standing below, as if they were waiting just for them.

"Mm, yes."

"All right."

The staff member nodded respectfully to the three of them, then led Shu Shu and the others onto a gray‑white sightseeing cart; the cart rolled along a smooth, tranquil path, trees on both sides giving the feeling of having just entered a forest.

As they drove farther in, the faint sound of flowing water could be heard.

Finally, the sightseeing cart, as if guiding them to a treasure, stopped before a lovely villa that seemed hidden among the mountains and woods.

"Your luggage will be delivered here shortly by a dedicated person." The staff member said, "If you need anything, you can call the villa's landline; I won't disturb you further—goodbye."

…

After entering the door.

Shu Lingchen looked up and took in the modern, refined feel of the spacious interior with light reaching every corner, then wondered aloud, "Is this a guesthouse?"

That's a bit modest, isn't it?

Before arriving here, he had imagined a guesthouse as a clean, cozy little wooden cabin.

Shu Lingchen ran up and down the stairs, touring the whole house.

There were four or five rooms.

Pei Muyin without hesitation chose to share a room with Shu Shu, and Shu Lingchen likewise without hesitation picked the room next to his mother and sister.

He wants to be next to them!

After the rooms were chosen, the luggage was also delivered.

After simply putting away the luggage, it was nearly noon.

Pei Muyin was about to call the landline for lunch when the villa's doorbell rang—it was the meal cart.

Inside cart were the local specialties, and the taste was surprisingly good.

Shu Lingchen's fondness for this place went up another notch!

After eating, the three each went back to their rooms for a nap; when they woke up, an hour and a half had passed.

At that time, it was afternoon.

When the sun was at its highest, the breeze that blew was neither hot nor cold, carrying a gentle warmth.

The staff member who had just delivered the meal remarked that behind the villa there was a natural mountain spring stream, and this weather was perfect for playing there.

Then, after the meal.

Shu Shu then took her son and daughter, they changed into appropriate clothes, and went to the back of the villa; sure enough, a pool of spring water flowed down from the mountain stream, forming a decent‑sized flow at the lower end.

Playing at the seaside or riverbank was something Shu Lingchen and Pei Muyin had never experienced before.

An Shi is an inland city with no sea or river, its lakes are all man‑made, so Shu Lingchen had never played in water, while Pei Muyin did have some water experience—but that was only when her father took her to the park as a child, or when the family dog got her wet at home.

The two kids' eyes were full of fresh wonder.

Shu Lingchen slipped on his sandals and was the first to step into the water, which came up just above his ankles.

"Wow, it's so cool!" He reached out to Pei Muyin: "Sis, come down and try it?"

"Okay."

Pei Muyin held Shu Lingchen's hand and slowly stepped into the water as well.

"It really is cool."

While the two were still testing the water, Shu Shu had already walked up to the near bank to move some stones.

One glance at the good ecological environment told them there would be plenty of small creatures; sure enough, after lifting the first stone, a crab whose color closely matched the stone was hiding underneath—if one weren't sharp‑eyed, it would easily be missed.

Shu Shu pressed down on the crab's back and lifted it up; she glanced at her son behind her, who was tossing stones at the water's surface like darts, raised an eyebrow, not knowing what she was thinking, walked over, put a finger to her lips to signal her daughter to be quiet, then patted her son's back.

"Huh?"

The unsuspecting boy turned his head, and a pair of bright red, oversized claws loomed large before his eyes, waving menacingly; he jumped in fright.

"What the heck is this?!"

Shu Shu said, "It's Xiao Qiang, the little buddy of the fire‑turkey baby."

Shu Lingchen moved his face back a bit to see clearly that it was a crab, but hearing Shu Shu say "Xiao Qiang" made several unnatural expressions flash across his face.

"What's Xiao Qiang? I don't get it." He rubbed his nose.

Pei Muyin beside him also didn't understand and asked, "Sis, what's Xiao Qiang?"

Shu Lingchen immediately crossed his arms over his chest, dead serious: "No saying it, no saying it!"

Pei Muyin blinked, becoming even more curious.

(2)

When Shu Lingchen was little, Shu Shu once took him to a night market where a roadside stall was selling small turtles and small crabs.

Those tiny creatures were placed in little plastic boxes that came in many colors and could be carried by hand.

Shu Shu bought a crab for her son.

Shu Lingchen cradled the box preciously in both hands all the way home, and gave the crab a name.

Xiao Qiang.

Shu Shu told him that Xiao Qiang was the name of a cockroach.

Young Shu Lingchen, however, said, "Lots of people share the same name, so why can't little creatures?"

At that time, Shu Shu was still a bit surprised by her son's little train of thought.

"Fine, then let's call it Little Strong."

Next

Shu Lingchen practically raised Little Strong like a brother.

Before each meal, he would first feed Little Strong until it finished; when sleeping, he also had to place Little Strong on the bedside table; when watching cartoons, he also had to bring Little Strong along to watch, and even explain to Little Strong, "This is a monster, that is Superman."

Although the crab couldn't understand, he spoke in a soft, childish voice very carefully.

He even once secretly brought Little Strong to kindergarten, letting his classmates call his crab "Strong Bro."

At that time, Shu Lingchen was a very popular presence in class, with a bunch of "little brothers"; whenever he said something, the little brothers would follow along and echo him.

When the teacher discovered this, several little radish-headed kids were standing in a row facing the window, almost about to become sworn brothers with a crab and call it second and third brother.

Shu Shu laughed and cried upon hearing this.

She didn't criticize her son; she knew he wasn't being mischievous, he just treasured Little Strong very much.

She asked her son, "Why did you bring Little Strong to school?"

Shu Lingchen said, "I go to school every day, and Little Strong the crab would be so bored staying in its little house with only water for company; I want it to have more friends."

The next day, Shu Shu had someone custom-make a small fish tank; of course there were no fish, and the water was kept very shallow, with the inside deliberately arranged according to the crab's needed growing environment.

"All right, now with all these colorful stones, aquatic plants, sand, and shells keeping Little Strong company, it definitely won't feel lonely anymore."

Little Shu Lingchen nodded vigorously, finally able to go to kindergarten with peace of mind.

Until Little Strong was gone.

Shu Lingchen never expected his crab to be an escape expert.

One morning he woke up, saw the glass tank on the bedside table empty, and began frantically searching everywhere, finally spotting its silhouette in a corner.

But it was dead.

He didn't know if it was from lack of water drying out or something else.

Shu Lingchen cried so hard it was heartbreaking; his little hand holding the crab, tears streaming down: "Little Strong, without you, what am I to do? Wah wah wah."

Shu Shu originally wanted to buy her son a new crab to comfort him.

But she heard her son sniffle and say, "Even if we buy another one, it won't be the original Little Strong."

He didn't want it.

So that day, Shu Shu accompanied her son downstairs, dug a small pit, and watched him personally bury the crab.

"Little Strong, in the next life, let's still be good friends."

…

"Muyin, do you think the turkey chick baby was especially cute when it was little?"

Shu Shu told this story to Pei Muyin.

In the story, the protagonist is Shu Lingchen and "Shu Lingchen's mom"; she heard about this as an onlooker.

"All right, now even my childhood black history has been exposed!"

Shu Lingchen stuck out his neck, his face full of embarrassment.

"Brother is indeed cute." Pei Muyin chuckled softly, she said: "But I think Brother's mom is also a gentle and fun person; Brother worried the crab would be bored, so she bought a fish tank, and when the crab died, she would accompany Brother to bury it."

"Brother is so happy."

"…"

Shu Shu relaxed, stunned.

Shu Lingchen almost simultaneously looked toward Shu Shu.

In a moment, Shu Shu heard her own soft voice: "If there's a chance, Muyin…… would you want to meet her?"

The girl immediately nodded affirmatively, her peach-blossom eyes full of expectation: "Mm-hmm, I want to."

Shu Shu curved her lips, her eyes flowing with tenderness: "There will be a chance."

…

Shu Shu put that crab back.

The three played in the river for a while, and Shu Lingchen accidentally slipped, fell into the water, and got soaked all over.

After returning to the villa and changing into clean clothes, they sat in the living room playing poker.

It's a very ordinary stack-the-train game; you can collect cards by repeating, until you win all of the opponent's cards.

The sky gradually darkened.

The doorbell rang again; it was still that staff member.

He smiled and said, "Here the evening weather is cool, perfect for gathering around a fire to boil tea and DIY barbecue; everything has been set up, right in the courtyard."

Shu Lingchen, who had gone back to his room to fetch a jacket because he felt cold, happened to hear this as he went downstairs.

His hand pulling the zipper paused.

Several keywords suddenly flashed in his mind for no reason.

Mountain spring water, fire-side BBQ, and…… the boy lowered his head to look at his own jacket.

This process.

How it was exactly the same as what that little devil who played games with him had said—