In the anime series, Goto Ichiri is actually my childhood sweetheart?

"It's been years since Japan has had such heavy snowfall, and it's been snowing for so long. Is this the increase in extreme weather conditions mentioned in the news?"

The driver couldn't help but sigh.

Even though he has been driving for more than 30 years, he only dares to drive at 20 or 30 miles per hour in such icy and snowy conditions. If he drives any faster, something will happen.

Not to mention that the road was icy and slippery, the snow wall formed by the heavy falling snow made it difficult for him to see the road ahead.

The most frightening thing about driving is low visibility. Danger can approach without the driver knowing it, and by the time it appears, it is already too late to react.

Even in this situation, since today is Christmas, there are still many families shopping outside.

The father and mother were on both sides, the youngest child was in the middle, the older children were protecting them like satellites, and the strongest ones were holding umbrellas in the front to keep the heavy snow out.

Liuhua opened the car window a little and let the snowflakes fall on her body. Under the heater in the car, they turned into water and melted into her clothes.

Some of them would even fall on her face, giving her a slight icy feeling.

She loves snow very much, because snow is different from rain, it has a sense of distance. Even if it falls on people all over the place, it will not immediately melt into water and wet people's clothes.

To melt the snow, you first need human enthusiasm.

Moreover, snowflakes are very beautiful. The exquisite snowflake shapes can even be carved by artists, shown to the world and praised by everyone.

But Rikka mainly thought snowflakes were cool, and she used the microscope she bought from Juuka to observe them at home, though she failed many times because the indoor temperature was too high, and she finally completed the observation in cold conditions with the windows fully open.

But the regular hexagonal shape and the exquisite transparent tip still made her intoxicated, and she even forgot that she was trembling.

The cold wind that came in through the window blew along Liuhua's face and onto her neck. Because it was very stuffy in the car, she had already taken off her scarf.

The coldness stimulated her nerves, paralyzed her brain, and dispelled her slight uneasiness.

She didn't dare ask her mother why she had to take all her clothes and things, even her books and dolls on her bed, over just for Christmas. Now the room in her house was empty, no different from when she first moved in, except for a few more signs of use.

Her mother had actually started moving for her a few days ago, and today was the official day to finish it, moving all the miscellaneous things away.

From the beginning to the end, all this happened without asking for Rikka's opinion.

Liuhua also understood that her opinion was not important, and what her mother thought was the most important, so she chose to accept it. She never cared about things that did not touch the fundamentals of her thinking.

"Remember to be polite when you get to your grandparents' place. Say hello first. Even if your grandparents like you very much, you can't act willfully. You have to listen to them. Got it?"

Rikka nodded wordlessly, her mother's voice still as authoritative as ever.

"Mom won't be with you from now on. You must take good care of yourself and don't let grandparents worry about you. They are old and their ability to bear things is definitely not as strong as that of young people. If you want anything, just tell your sister and she will buy it for you." Rika's mother's voice suddenly became gentle, and she spoke softly, like a loving mother holding Rika in the palm of her hand.

"Mom, what about you?" Rikka asked anxiously.

"Me? Don't worry about adult matters. Just stay at your grandparents' house for a while. And most importantly, don't fall behind in your studies. If I find out that you don't study hard, I will come back and spank you."

Rikka's mother easily covered up Rikka's question. This is a conceptual weapon that every parent can use on their children, 'You are still young, don't worry about these.jdp'.

"But……"

"There aren't so many buts! We'll be there soon. The snow outside seems to be lighter. Watch your step when you go down, and don't slip." Faced with her child's unwillingness to give up the last bit of her dignity, Rika's mother sternly stopped Rika from asking any more questions.

The car calmly passed through the country road where only a few lights were lit, and drove onto the viaduct that had just been sprinkled with salt.

The driver turned on the car music and adjusted the volume to a suitable level by turning the tuning knob.

Soothing music comes out from the speakers. Everyone who has something on their mind will let down their guard at this moment, close their eyes and enjoy this moment of peace.

Rikka was no exception. She let the breeze blow her, hugged her scarf in her arms, and closed her eyes.

Seeing her shrink, Rika's mother helped her close the car window.

The scenery on the bridge was dragged backwards, the sun was urged to go down the mountain, the sky gradually darkened, the houses in the distance were vaguely visible, and the snow seemed to be indeed lighter.

I don’t know how long it was before the car stopped and Rikka’s mother pushed Rikka.

"Thank you, Master. Please open the trunk. Rikka - open your eyes and get out of the car."

The drowsy Liuhua was still dreaming about the Evil King's True Eyes when she was suddenly awakened. She followed her mother out of the car with sleepy eyes, carrying large and small bags and walked towards the old house where she had been many times.

"Dad, Mom, I'm back with Rikka."

As her mother's voice sounded, Liuhua looked up and saw two elderly people who were not dressed very warmly standing at the door.

The old man had a serious expression, a flat head, and stood by with his hands on his hips, not saying a word.

The old lady standing by had a kind face. When she saw the mother and son, she came over to greet them.

"Oh, you must have come all this way. It's windy and snowy outside. Please go inside quickly."

These are Liuhua’s grandparents. When Liuhua’s father was still alive, he often took Liuhua back to his hometown.

The house in my hometown is very big. If my classmates see it, they might think Rikka is a rich girl.

Following their grandparents into the house, the mother and son put away their luggage and sat on the sofa to rest.

"Hey, Rikka, are you playing some kind of pirate game? Why are you wearing an eyepatch? Won't it hurt your eyes?"

Grandma was quite surprised to see the eye patch on Rikka’s right eye and asked with concern.

"...No, it's not a pirate game, it's the Evil King's True Eye." Rikka answered sullenly. She didn't expect her grandmother to understand her.

"I really don't understand what young people say. For example, the meal that Juhua prepared for us when she came home was something I had never seen before, but it was delicious."

Grandma smiled kindly and didn't seem to express any incomprehension about Rikka's strange behavior.

"How will a girl get married if she dresses like this? It's ridiculous!"

"Really, old man, you are too old-fashioned. Maybe young people nowadays like this. Don't discourage children's enthusiasm."

Grandpa Liuhua was obviously not very accepting of such avant-garde things, but Grandma Liuhua immediately suppressed him.

He snorted, picked up the cup and took a sip of hot tea, without saying anything more.

After everyone exchanged greetings for a while, Grandma Liuhua asked:

"Rikka's bed is already made. You should stay here today. It's so cold outside. It would be too dangerous to go back."

It was obvious that she was talking to Rikka's mother.

"Well, I'm sorry to bother you today. I need to stay here for one night." Rika's mother looked out the window. She wanted to go back, but the reality did not allow her to be willful.

"Whether my son is dead or not, you will always be Liuhua's mother and our daughter-in-law! Don't be polite to us! By the way, Liuhua, come here, there is something you, as a daughter, have not done yet."

After the old man said this in a domineering tone, he stood up swiftly and waved his hand to signal Rikka to follow.

Rikka's mother held the cup in both hands and said nothing, while Rikka followed obediently.

Following her grandfather into the inner room, she was surprised to find that the original reception room had completely changed. The entire room was vacated by the two elders, and the table and the imperial body were against the wall, occupying most of the room.

There was a photo frame on the table. The moment Rika entered the room and saw the photo frame, she shuddered from the bottom of her soul. She avoided his gaze and pointed her toes toward the door, wanting to escape from this place from the bottom of her heart.

Because the person in the photo frame was the father she missed day and night.

Because the grief caused by their son's untimely death was too great, Rikka's grandparents vacated this room after burying their son to commemorate him.

No one can guarantee how long this room will be preserved in the future, but at least for now, this room is still preserved for him.

"Lihua, come and kowtow to your father. Without your kowtow, he will not be able to pass away peacefully."

Grandpa pointed to the futon that had been prepared on the ground and spoke slowly.

Without the farewell of his children, a father will not easily start the next reincarnation. Grandpa Liuhua has been like this since he was a child, so he firmly believes this. The first thing he does after Liuhua comes back is to let her kowtow to her father.

"……don't want."

Rikka endured extremely hard, and squeezed out these two words while the muscles controlling her vocal cords were extremely tense.

"What did you say?"

Liuhua's grandfather widened his eyes, unable to believe that such words came out of Liuhua's mouth.

This is her father! When he was alive, no one in this world loved Rikka more than him!

"I said no! Dad is clearly not dead yet, why do you always want to lie to me and use this kind of thing to scare me!"

Rikka hugged herself protectively, closed her eyes, and backed away while screaming. The sound attracted her mother and grandmother who were still chatting in the living room.

"What happened, Rikka? Why are you crying?"

When Liuhua's mother saw her daughter crying, her first reaction was to hug her, but after listening to Liuhua's grandfather's narration, her expression turned cold.

Chapter 26 Christmas Day Exodus

Standing in the corner with her body huddled up, Rika endured the roar in front of her, her body trembling. In her heart, she hoped that this scene would pass quickly.

In fact, she had long expected that there would come a day when her mother would be angry with her for her naive ideas, but she didn't expect it to come so soon.

The wind and snow outside the window suddenly became fierce, with fine hail mixed with snowflakes, followed by a knife-like cold wind that scraped against the window, making a 'scratching' sound.

The whistling sound of the wind was like that of ghosts, so sharp and long that it made people feel lonely.

Along with all this was the roar of Rikka's mother.

"How many times do you want me to tell you that your father is dead, and has been dead for a long time. Even his body has been cremated and buried underground. How long are you going to keep lying to yourself? It's time to come out!"

With trembling fingers pointing at Rikka, Rikka's mother covered her heart with her hands in excitement, as if scolding Rikka would make her feel heartbroken.

"You're lying! You've been lying from the beginning to the end! I've never seen what you said with my own eyes, you're clearly lying to me. You've hidden my dad in some corner of the world, and I must find him back!"

After saying this, Rikka leaned against the wall behind her and slid down. She sat on the ground and kept wiping her tears with her sleeve. She was extremely sad.

Although she kept wiping her tears, the place storing her sadness seemed like a bottomless pit, from which endless tears flowed, and no matter how hard she tried, they could never be wiped away.

Rikka's grandfather silently looked at the mother and son who suddenly became emotional. He knew Rikka's situation, but he didn't expect Rikka to react so strongly after learning about her father's death. He didn't want to imagine it.

In fact, when he first heard the news from Rika's mother, he was also unwilling to believe it. Everyone has heard of such things as unexpected disasters, but almost no one would think that such a thing would happen to themselves.

But when he saw his son's pale and calm face in the cryogenic coffin, reached out to touch him and found him cold, and called him softly but got no response, he felt a trace of reality, which was both absurd and realistic.

My son just lay there quietly, as if he was asleep, but no matter how I called him, he wouldn't wake up.

Liuhua's grandmother went up to help Liuhua up, wiped her tear-stained face with a handkerchief, and also comforted Liuhua's mother who was very angry.

But Rikka's mother did not get discouraged. Faced with such a self-enclosed Rikka, she thought that she must correct this problem before leaving her.

"Okay, come with me, I'll take you to find the 'invisible boundary' that you've always wanted!"

Rikka's mother grabbed Rikka's arm as he stood up and pulled him away from Rikka's grandmother's hands.

Liuhua was led out like a puppet. She didn't resist at all and followed her mother out of the house in the blink of an eye.

"It's snowing so heavily outside, where are you going! At least bring the umbrella with you and come back early to avoid catching a cold!" Seeing that Liuhua's mother couldn't stop shouting, Liuhua's grandmother quickly caught up and forcefully stuffed the umbrella into their hands.

Grandpa Liuhua remained silent, as if he approved of Liuhua's mother's behavior.

The flying snow covered the entire night sky, like a white wall, pouring down on the mother and daughter.

With snow of this level, it would be difficult to even breathe in it, let alone move forward against the wind and snow.

But Liuhua's mother held Liuhua in one hand and held the umbrella tightly with the other hand, and braved the wind and snow, and forcibly tore a path through the snow.

Today she wanted to put an end to Liuhua's thoughts. The dead cannot be resurrected. Since she didn't believe it, she would let her see her father's grave with her own eyes and see what the name engraved on the tombstone was.

Liuhua's hometown faces the road and is backed by a mountain. The village has complete infrastructure, but the mountain behind it is still undeveloped.

This is because the villagers' tradition from generation to generation is to bury their dead on it, and the local government respects the tradition and does not disturb their roots.

Since Rikka's father died in an accident, according to the rules he should be buried in his hometown.

Kicking away the roadblock in front of her, Rika's mother stepped onto the mountain steps. Although the steps were covered with ice and snow, there was no accumulated ice, so they were not slippery.

It seems that someone is always cleaning this place to prevent passers-by from falling accidentally.

Liuhua hid tightly in her mother's arms. The wind and snow made it impossible for her to open her eyes. She didn't quite understand where her mother was taking her.

Every time she went back to her hometown, her father would not let her go to the cemetery to play, because that was the resting place of the ancestors. If the children went there, they would not only be contaminated by evil spirits, but also disturb the rest of the ancestors.

Rikka is not a very courageous person, and after hearing from other children in the village that there are ghosts in the mountains, she doesn't even dare to go near the area.

But she was very curious and once asked her father what was on the mountain and why he didn't let her go up.

She vaguely remembered her father's answer, but Liuhua couldn't remember it for a moment. She just felt her ears hurt by the wind. The cold wind was so freezing that she shrank her face into her scarf.

They didn't walk for long before Liuhua's mother released the hands that were holding Liuhua, propped up her legs and breathed heavily.

Liuhua walked forward a few steps in a daze. In front of her was a specially repaired cemetery. Each family occupied a small area, and then a railing was installed on the edge to mark the boundaries.

There was a small stele standing in front of her. The words on the stele were covered by ice and snow, and Liuhua could not see clearly what was written on it.

Patting her hat to shake off the accumulated snow, Liuhua turned around and saw her mother sitting on a stone pier nearby with an umbrella. Her face was red from the cold and she was looking at her quietly.

Although everything around her was covered with ice and snow, so that she could not see its original appearance, she still felt vaguely uneasy in her heart.