Chapter 470: Rainbow

Chapter 470: Rainbow

“Mom, I’m going with you.” Gao Yang decided to join them. Find new updates at novelhall.com

“I’ll help.” Little Qing Ling also seemed interested.

“I’m going with you too!” Gao Xinxin didn’t want to be left behind when her brother and sister-in-law were going.

Zhuang Mei was pleased. “Sure. Let’s all go together.”

Gao Yang’s father, the only one with mobility issues, volunteered to stay at the farmhouse.

A few minutes later, they got changed and put on shoes before setting out excitedly with wicker baskets. Gao Yang turned around to see his father moving the wheelchair from the living room to the front yard, seeing them off.

“Be careful and don’t be too late!” his father called out.

He looked like a little puppy left behind to watch the house.

The sight made Gao Yang feel a pang of pity in his heart, but at the same time there was something amusing about it.

No, I shouldn’t laugh, or I’m gonna lose ten years worth of good karma over this.

The five of them climbed up the mountain in the back via the pebbled road, quickly getting halfway to the top. They rested in a rundown stone pavilion. Zhuang Mei pointed at a small fork where roads had formed through repeated treading.

“Once further in, look under the trees. There should be plenty of mushrooms. Do be careful though, and stay away from the steeper slopes, or you’ll likely fall.”

“Of course!”

Gao Xinxin had changed into a jacket and a pair of long pants that were easy to move in. She took the lead, shaking around the small wicker basket in her hand. Then she thought of something, and she turned around to ask, “Auntie Mei, are there gonna be poisonous mushrooms?”

“Haha, it’s unlikely. Just avoid the ones with vibrant colors.” Zhuang Mei took Lin Yue’s hand. They walked along the path together. “Even if you do, it’s okay. I’ll check your finds one last time before cooking.”

“Don’t put any fruit you find in your mouth,” Gao Yang called out, worried.

“Do you think I’ve got sponge for brain?” Gao Xinxin turned around to shoot back.

Gao Yang smiled. Ha, I didn’t say that for your benefit.

Trailing behind Gao Xinxin, Little Qing Ling felt a jab to her sister.

They walked along the path for a few minutes before soon reaching a lower depression. The place didn’t see a lot of sunlight. A faint smell of decay permeated the air amid the pine trees.

With gloves and boots on, they walked in the dim pine forest, looking for mushrooms amid the roots.

He walked away, pretending to leave her behind. His sister immediately stopped crying and ran up to him.

“Don’t leave me behind, Brother... I...I don’t want rainbow anymore. I want Brother...”

She even tripped and fell, getting mud all over her.

Gao Yang was still immature then. He wasn’t so much feeling bad about his sister getting hurt, but terrified that their mother would scold him for not taking care of her properly.

He immediately rushed back to help his sister up, wiping the mud from her face. “Stop crying, stop crying...”

His sister wailed even harder. “The rainbow doesn’t want me. Brother doesn’t want me either...wah...”

“Stop crying.” Gao Yang panicked. “The rainbow doesn’t want you, but Brother wants you. I will always be with you, okay?”

Finally, Gao Xinxin slowly stopped crying.

After collecting bamboo shoots, their mother took the siblings home. She couldn’t stop smiling after hearing what had happened.

She gave Gao Yang five cents and told him to buy skittles for his sister.

His sister couldn’t make herself eat the candy, and she hid it under her pillow for a long, long time until it melted into spoiled syrup, sticking to the pillow and refusing to get off even after washing.

Gao Yang didn’t know why he suddenly remembered that.

Perhaps his sister had thought since then that he would be her exclusive rainbow forever, that no one would take him away from her.

The siblings collected more mushrooms until there wasn’t any to be found in the area. They started heading back.

Little Qing Ling had gotten quite a harvest too. The three of them met up in the woods before going to find Zhuang Mei and Lin Yue.

The two women were about finished, too.

They stood on top of a large boulder, chatting while resting. The setting sun shone a ray of light at an angle through the dense forest, the golden light rimming their silhouettes.

Gao Yang, Little Qing Ling, and Gao Xinxin walked toward them.

“Mom! I’m awesome! Look how many I’ve got!” Gao Xinxin happily skipped forward, leading the way.

Lin Yue and Zhuang Mei stopped talking, turning to look at them.

For a moment, Gao Yang froze, heart pounding and back drenched in cold sweat. It felt as if the world was spinning around him.