Jiang Xiaoya is about to become a child who’s dropped out of school!
This year, precipitation in the north decreased. Because the air humidity was no longer suitable for survival, the water ghosts began migrating south. If the Tiandong Base couldn’t withstand the first wave of the water ghost tide, the base would choose to evacuate before the second wave arrived. All the children were suddenly given a long temporary holiday and sent home.
Unlike the tense adults, children found it very hard to understand the cruelty of the world. Suddenly having endless vacation time, with no homework to do, they were all as happy as monkeys, dancing and waving their arms about. Jiang Xiaoya, of course, was a bit stronger than those children—she experienced the cruelty of the apocalypse for the first time.
But even so, she heard from Xiao Chan that the base’s school might be shutting down.
Thinking about not having to go to school anymore, not having to write that super thick pile of homework for the primary-to-middle-school entrance, the heaviness in Jiang Xiaoya’s heart turned into a strange smile on her face. Ah, what a pity.
Carefree little children are like this. Even something as heavy as the base having to move, in their eyes, was nothing more than moving somewhere else to live.
Jiang Xiaoya didn’t know whether her family would have to move or not. After a brief moment of thought, she quickly threw it to the back of her mind. After getting home, she ran wild in the swamp every day with Ah Hua, completely forgetting what homework even was. What she liked most was lying on Ah Hua’s back and passing through the shallow swamp. Every day she pestered her mother to walk along the swamp path to buy ice cream. The little dog chasing butterflies as they flew about was still enjoying a carefree childhood.
The youth made her a kite—a Big Big Monster kite. The aesthetic sense of swamp monsters was rather unconventional; it looked very much like a Dementor floating in the sky. But Jiang Xiaoya pinned a red bow on Big Big Monster’s head, giving it a kind of silly cuteness, and she dragged the kite around running all day.
She and Xiao Chan raised a nest of silkworm babies. Every day they went to pick leaves to feed the silkworms.
The result was that they turned into mutated swamp moths.
The little dog was so frightened it squealed and screamed. In the end, they still had to beg the swamp monster to throw them several thousand meters away.
Finally, the water ghost tide was about to arrive.
Jiang Xiaoya knew there were many high-level water ghosts in the swamp, and that home was very safe. But she still felt a bit worried about her classmates and little friends in the base. However, before Jiang Xiaoya could ask her mother, she was taken out of the house by the youth.
They held umbrellas and slowly headed toward the base.
All the water on Big Big Monster’s umbrella poured onto Little Little Monster’s umbrella.
Little Little Monster was drenched and squealed in protest.
On the distant horizon, faint black shadows could be seen—that was the water ghost horde, rushing toward the base along with the torrential rain.
───♡───
The alarm at Tiandong Base pierced the night sky, and intermittent evacuation notices came through the broadcast.
Water ghosts climbed onto the electric fence, and the guards’ gunfire rang out. Although the initial firepower suppressed and drove back most of the water ghosts, there was still a dense, endless black tide of water ghosts advancing behind them. Once this wave of firepower weakened, the pressure on the base would become unprecedented.
After many years, Deng Feng had already put down roots at Tiandong Base, and because of his outstanding abilities, he had quickly risen through the ranks. However, his mood right now was extremely heavy. The command room was deathly silent. Just as Deng Feng was about to request support—
Through the curtain of rain, he once again saw that existence that had repeatedly appeared in his nightmares.
All of Tiandong Base’s guard forces saw that terrifying existence—it had appeared again!
The heavy rain fell. Wherever the enormous figure passed, the ground melted into swamp, and the water ghosts turned into bubbles and vanished within it. More than ten years ago, it was this very existence that had caused massive panic at Tiandong Base; now it seemed to have grown even stronger. In the past, it affected only an area of several dozen meters, but now it could cause hundreds of meters of ground to suddenly collapse into swamp… Yet the swamp only swallowed the water ghosts that charged forward wave after wave.
That indescribable, terrifying existence merely kept its distance from humanity through the rain, and did not advance any further.
After those densely packed water ghosts disappeared, the enormous black shadow turned its head and walked toward the swamp.
All these years, Deng Feng had always wanted to find Captain Jiang’s child, even if it was only the remains. But there was nothing at all.
Deng Feng subconsciously wanted to step forward—
The gigantic being turned its head, its snake-like vertical pupils cold and ruthless. It was a warning telling him not to come any closer.
This non-human showed no sign of friendliness at all.
But then, why help them? In the past, the people of Tiandong Base suspected that this existence had no humanity—and it did seem that way. Fierce and violent, muddled and brutal, it was the legendary terrifying, indescribable thing that would only destroy everything. Its gaze made one’s scalp crawl. But after more than ten years, something seemed to be different.
Deng Feng seemed to see that huge figure holding the hand of a tiny little one as they left.
He wiped his eyes, and within the curtain of rain there was once again nothing at all.
Little Little Monster asked Big Big Monster whether she could make big prawns for her to eat at night.
The two figures, one after the other, returned to the depths of that mysterious swamp.
Actually, according to the original course of events, the swamp monster should have destroyed Tiandong Base long ago, accelerating its own evolution, becoming infamous everywhere, turning the entire world into a vast swamp. But because it raised a little brat, it could no longer be an evil urban-legend monster.
It grew a heart.
After some time passed, at the edge of the swamp forest, several large crates of materials extremely precious to humans appeared—probably a thank-you gift. Though there really was no need to be so polite. After all, when the swamp monster went to the base’s warehouse, it always did zero-yuan shopping.
All of a sudden, the youth discovered among that pile of expensive things some calcium growth tablets, dairy products, and the like. Although giving dairy products to a terrifying swamp monster was already very strange, what was even stranger was that inside those big crates were stuffed with many toys meant for little girls.
Mama, mama—Little Little Monster jumped up wanting to look. The youth reached out and pressed her head down in one motion.
It vaguely sensed a feeling of crisis.
───♡───
The second and third water ghost tides were weathered in the same way. It was as if some kind of tacit understanding had formed. Tiandong Base tacitly accepted the existence of that bad-tempered, vicious-eyed neighbor. They even tried to release goodwill. But clearly, the neighbor had no intention of paying them any attention. After multiple attempts at goodwill, they were chased out of the swamp. In the end, things just settled into the current state.
Jiang Xiaoya asked Mama whether she didn’t really hate humans.
From a young age, Jiang Xiaoya had known that Mama really wanted to swallow Tiandong Base. Although she liked Ultraman Zero, she always felt that Mama might be the monster Ultraman was supposed to fight.
That was indeed the truth.
The swamp monster had thought about watching the water ghost tide and Tiandong Base fight each other to the death, then taking the opportunity to eat both sides clean! Reaping that so-called fisherman’s profit. But Jiang Xiaoya was about to enter middle school. If Tiandong Base evacuated, they would have to find another school.
Was a school-district home really that easy to find? And redoing household registration and enrollment procedures was very troublesome.
Moving was even more troublesome. The damn child was attached to her bed—after sleeping one night in the new house at Tiandong Base, she absolutely refused to go again, and moving meant having to carry her bed along as well.
Even though it really hated humans, there was no other way.
World peace.
Very quickly, Jiang Xiaoya received the notice to start school, and was informed that the summer homework would be due in three days.
What?
A thunderbolt on a sunny day for an elementary school student.
No way, she didn’t want world peace anymore!
───♡───
Jiang Xiaoya entered sixth grade, facing the primary-to-middle-school entrance exam. The pressure on elementary school students was enormous. She often ran over to instigate Mommy into stirring up bloodshed and chaos; the youth lowered his head, raised his hand, and gave the child a sharp flick on the forehead, driving her back to write homework.
Jiang Xiaoya, Xiao Chan, and Deng Fei all entered Tianhe Base Experimental Middle School, becoming middle school students.
That carefree childhood seemed to be coming to an end. But as she looked out the window at the swamp where grass grew and orioles flew, she was still thinking about Mommy buying ice cream and going out to fly kites with Xiao Chan!
As for this, the swamp monster didn’t really feel much. This year wasn’t much different from last year. Jiang Xiaoya still ran around all day, werwer screaming, clinging to it like sticky candy. She had only grown 2 cm taller. The only real difference was that last year’s shoes no longer fit.
In the first year of middle school, they had a health and physiology class. After coming back, Jiang Xiaoya mysteriously hid the textbook deep in the bookshelf. She pattered over to find Mommy, drilled under his hair, stood on tiptoe to look at the youth’s Adam’s apple, then left in disappointment.
Sigh, why couldn’t she have a second growth spurt and turn into Mommy?
The youth was baffled and touched his own Adam’s apple. Still, it had recently gone to many classes. It roughly knew that children entering middle school might start developing, and might even enter a rebellious phase. Although it didn’t really feel it, it still patiently went to pick out sanitary pads, painkillers, and brown sugar ginger tea for her.
—Even so, in the youth’s eyes, Jiang Xiaoya was still that little brat crawling all over the ground. If it wasn’t careful, she’d roll around in the swamp or be chased everywhere by big geese.
But growth still came.
Last year, little brat Jiang Xiaoya was still obsessed with trading stickers with Xiao Chan. One summer day this year, she refused to leave the classroom. It was summer, and she didn’t even have a jacket to cover herself. The red bloodstains on the white school uniform were especially glaring. The little dog still had its pride—it stayed at its seat until all the classmates had left, then called Mommy for help, asking it to bring a jacket.
But the little brat felt extremely embarrassed. Ah, how was she supposed to explain what sanitary pads and a menstrual period were to Mommy? Mommy wasn’t even human, and besides, it was kind of awkward.
A figure appeared by the window and squatted in front of Jiang Xiaoya. The youth smelled the bloody scent on her. Just as the little dog was thinking about how to explain things to Mommy, and starting to regret hiding that textbook, the youth interrupted her.
Mommy knows. Your period’s here, right? Let’s go home first.
The sound of rain pattered softly. Jiang Xiaoya tried hard to hold the umbrella over their heads. Lying against Mommy’s shoulder, she felt truly at ease.
She asked the youth how it knew.
—Mm, it had studied in advance.
When? The swamp monster began to recall—probably when Jiang Xiaoya was in fifth grade. In order to be a good mommy, it had crammed a lot of knowledge. Adolescence, menstruation, even all kinds of issues. Although the youth wasn’t mature enough, it always hoped it could take good care of the child—know all the coming storms in advance, and then be a good guide.
After returning home, the youth even opened the packaging and seriously taught her how to use it. Like reminding her of small everyday matters, it carefully told her how to use that butterfly-like sanitary pad.
But very quickly, the youth noticed the little dog’s head lowering more and more, until she turned into a kettle, slowly steaming upward.
Like a little chimney.
Can you get a fever during your period? It wanted to reach out and touch her forehead—she let out a shout and charged into the room like a cannonball.
The youth’s sitting posture was very rough and unrestrained. After all, its legs were especially long, so it sat there with legs spread wide, still holding a sanitary pad in its hand. The vertical pupils carried obvious confusion, turning round and then narrowing into a line again. It wasn’t human—of course it couldn’t understand human shame. Born and raised in the swamp, the youth was like the swamp itself, which knew no shame; it wouldn’t feel awkward either. But it tried to understand humans.
Mm, the child has grown up. Seems like she needs to… that thing… keep her distance.
Other children, when embarrassed, would turn into shy little mimosa plants; but when Jiang Xiaoya got embarrassed, she turned into an angry boiling kettle.
Very cute—its little boiling kettle.
But it also had to take the child’s self-esteem and pride into account. The lecture said that a child’s self-esteem needed to be carefully protected, and that one mustn’t do things that hurt it.
So the youth squatted at the doorway, considerately not going inside, letting Jiang Xiaoya ask it if there was anything she didn’t understand.
The little beagle was angry. She felt Mommy hadn’t considered her dignity at all, and besides—it was male, she was female—even a little brat had pride, okay? She was going to evaporate, to bristle up, to ignore Mommy for three whole days!
It was her first period, and Jiang Xiaoya also loved eating ice cream, so the pain was especially bad. She ran out to drink hot water. After just two sips, she bent over, curled up on the sofa in pain, eyes watery, wanting to go look for Mommy—but now she was in a cold war with Mommy again.
Her stomach hurt so much. She curled over on the sofa like a dying little dog. In a daze, she felt her damp hair being tied up, and a hot water bottle being stuffed into her arms.
She called out to Mommy, saying she was worried about dirtying the sofa cushions at home.
The youth softly answered, mm.
“It’s okay. Mommy will wash it.”
She then told it not to sit beside her—what if it got its hair dirty?
“That’s fine too. It’s just blood. How could it be dirty?”
The little dog’s stomach hurt; she whimpered softly, her face pale—she wanted to hug him. But the youth remembered what the lecture said about keeping distance. It was that age already.
Mm, their baby was now a grown young lady. She couldn’t be treated like when she was little anymore.
So the youth wrapped her up in a blanket and squatted in front of her, gently patting her. In the past, when the swamp monster rocked Jiang Xiaoya, it was like a violent storm; time had turned the youth into a very competent mommy. Back when Jiang Xiaoya once drank coffee as if it were milk powder, it had even learned how to sing lullabies.
The swamp monster’s lullaby sounded like a strange ballad from the depths of the swamp. The youth’s voice was clean and magnetic.
The night was quiet like water, and the swamp, too, fell asleep.
Good night, my baby.
You are growing like a flower bud.
I stand beside you, quietly watching you grow in the night, and bloom in the morning.
