Back to the Future 1999: Raining at the Same Time

Chapter 138 Lost Property

“…Hey, are you okay?

Why are you sleeping here? Wake up. "

The girl gently patted the other girl's face, waking her from her sleep.

"Well... Good morning, it was a good sleep..."

Liberty woke up from his dream, rubbed his eyes and yawned loudly.

"and many more!"

"When did I... fall asleep? It was already dark?"

The sleepy Liberty immediately woke up, jumped up from the soft grass, and looked at the girl beside him blankly.

"I'm sorry, I hope I didn't disturb your rest. But falling asleep here is not a good idea. Haven't you heard that there are evil goblins here who will steal your important things when you are not paying attention?"

The girl holding the streetlight staff stretched out her hand to express her goodwill.

"It's you."

Liberty looked at the girl before him, one of the few other children who also frequented the forest. They had spoken a few times, but never exchanged names.

"I thought the kids who came here didn't believe in that stuff."

Liberty raised the corners of his mouth slightly as if he found her words funny, but then he thought, that's not right!

"Where is Mr. Chen Xi?"

"Huh? Who?"

"It was Mr. Chen Xi, the 'lake monster'. He stayed with me until I fell asleep."

Searching her memory, she couldn't find any information that matched the name. She could only shake her head.

“Blue Hat, Frosty Jack, Gilt Dog, Bistro, Black Annis… they’re all real.

But... I don't know the Mr. Chen Xi you mentioned."

"That's strange. He was with me the whole time before I fell asleep. Did he leave alone?"

Liberty's tone was a little lonely, and he clenched his fist around the stick.

"I don't know. When I saw you, you were already lying on the grass and sleeping alone."

However, just as he finished speaking, Liberty felt a familiar feeling coming from above his head. He reached up and caught the hand that was touching his head.

"Mr. Chen Xi!"

Liberty looked up with joy at Chen Xi who suddenly appeared, and couldn't wait to get in front of him.

"Where did Mr. Chenxi go just now? Can you tell me when you leave next time? Just say goodbye, please!"

Looking at Liberty who was staring at him eagerly, Chen Xi stretched out his hand to slightly block the light from her eyes and promised:

"Of course, I can still satisfy you with this small request."

Touching Liberty's head, Chen Xi's eyes were full of doting.

"Great!"

Liberty was very happy to get his friend back after such a hard-earned relationship.

However, in stark contrast to the atmosphere between the two was the girl standing blankly beside them.

Her expression gradually changed from disbelief at first to fear and finally to horror.

The hand holding the streetlight staff trembled uncontrollably, and the knuckles turned white...

"So what did Chen Xi do just now?"

Liberty swayed his body left and right as he shook the twig in his hand.

"I just spent a little time trying to break the illusion of a naughty little goblin~"

As he said this, he gave a look to the girl beside him from a distance, and it was this look that scared her half to death.

"You...why are you here!?"

Not to mention that this is already the girl's barrier. For some inexplicable reasons, in her eyes, Chen Xi is now a twisted mass of ugly flesh, twitching and wriggling like a heart. Only some of the original human figure can be barely discerned in the shadows.

"Oh, right."

As if remembering something, Chen Xi retracted the aura of the ancient god from his body.

When so many corpses were piled into his body, distortion and mutation were also engraved into his body.

Chen Xi took a quick look at that appearance...only the ancient gods in the Cthulhu mythology could be described as having that appearance.

So when necessary, Chen Xi would only release a little breath to strengthen himself.

So from the girl's perspective, the lump of flesh slowly turned into a gentle and elegant boy.

The warm smile on his face made her heart start pounding on another level.

"Okay, stop staring at me. You have something else to say."

Chen Xi grabbed Liberty's head and turned her towards the girl.

Although the girl didn't quite understand what was going on, she cleared her throat and spoke her lines according to the script:

"So... those goblins are real, but they're not all bad like everyone says... but there are still some naughty ones every now and then. Maybe you should check if you've lost anything."

Deliberately avoiding something, the girl paused subtly while speaking, but Chen Xi, who had seen through everything, just stood aside and smiled without saying a word.

"Let me see……"

After hearing what the girl said, Liberty searched his pockets one by one:

"My wallet, my shopping list... are all there. I don't think I lost anything."

"Isn't this yours?"

The girl pulled out a very familiar pocket, the label on it eliminating any possibility of mistake.

"No, I found this in a tree..."

"Wait, I remember now! It was after I opened this thing that I suddenly felt very sleepy."

"Uh, but it says 'Don't! Open me'."

"Yeah, how could I say no to a pocket that said 'Don't! Open me'?"

Silence for a moment...

"Okay, I understand."

Liberty took the bag from the girl.

"But... this is really strange. This really looks like a trap set by those mischievous goblins. Are you sure you didn't lose anything?"

Liberty searched his pockets again and even raised the stick in his hand. Only after confirming that every pattern on it matched his memory did he speak again:

"I... don't think so."

"That would be great if there isn't one."

The girl quickly took over Liberty's words and nodded, but then reminded:

"...Shouldn't you go home? I see you always get home before sunset, but it's already late."

"Yeah, I still have to buy things for my family, so I'm going to get scolded... But how did you know?"

In response to Liberty's question, the girl cleared her throat shyly.

Seeing this scene, Chen Xi almost screamed in excitement: "This is the teeth I want to see!" 9 unique female ketones!

I wiped my saliva quietly, not wanting to disturb them, and watched the beautiful friendship between the two little lolis quietly.

"Every time you come over, I sneak a peek at you. Because... you use 'that' too, right?"

"'That'...you mean..."

Liberty understood what the girl was talking about almost immediately.

His sister's roar echoed in Liberty's mind, but the girl in front of him had anticipation in her eyes.

So I asked tentatively:

"...Do you want to see it?"

"May I?"

The girl's voice sounded very excited, so Liberty ignored the roars.

"Of course!"

"Let me show you with this."

Although the blue bird friend was gone, the bird Liberty had folded out of newspaper was still perched nearby. Liberty picked it up from the lawn and held it in his palm.

"Pay attention—"

"Hey!"

Liberty tossed the origami bird into the air.

At that moment – the wind started to blow.

The wind blew the corners of Liberty's clothes and the girls' soft hair.

The little bird flew up.

"Wow...! You can change the wind!"

"Yes, but it requires the use of paper or cloth strips, and it can only make light objects fly, not heavy objects."

"So, you can't make yourself fly?"

"Yeah… I can't fly. At least not yet."

A hint of regret spread.

"It's a pity……"

As soon as the words fell, the two girls felt themselves slowly floating in the air, and the air beneath them was like a big hand holding them up.

Chen Xi, who had been standing aside without saying a word for a long time, stood up at this time, with his right hand opened and raised upwards, as if holding something.

"I... am I flying?"

"I can fly! Did Chen Xi do this?"

Liberty, hanging in the air, looked quite excited, with his arms outstretched, enjoying the feeling of the wind caressing his face.

The wind blew her hair up, revealing a forehead big enough for her to play tic-tac-toe.

"Strong wind and slicked back hair?"

After muttering something in a low voice, Chen Xi also reminded loudly:

"Remember this feeling. You can do it in the future too. Hold yourself up!"

Liberty cheered in the air, not knowing how much he had heard, and chuckled:

"Chenxi! Can you be a little higher?"

After receiving Liberty's request, Chen Xi increased his strength and pushed Liberty higher in one fell swoop, higher than the standing Chen Xi, higher than the forest above his head, high enough to have a clear view of the entire lake!

After confirming the eye contact, Chen Xi also sent another girl to keep up with Liberty's pace.

Then the night sky was filled with Liberty's excited cheers and the girl's shy smile.

After a long time, the two girls who landed on the ground supported each other, then both fell on the grass, laughing heartily.

"Chen Xi, you can actually summon the wind!"

After coming back to his senses from the dizziness of flying, Liberty was so excited that he almost threw himself into Chen Xi's arms.

Gently pressing down the fluttering little sparrow, Chen Xi boasted with a smile:

"It's no big deal. You'll be able to do it in the future. Just rely on your own strength."

The other girl also slowly sat up from the ground, with a lingering smile on her lips.

"I originally thought today was a very bad day, but now it seems that today is not so bad."

"If this is not bad, then what is good?"

He pinched Liberty's little nose to warm her body which was a little cold from the wind.

After breaking free from Chen Xi's clutches, Liberty slowly calmed down:

"By the way, can you keep it a secret for me? It's about me using 'that'. Sarah won't let me do that in front of other people."

"of course can."

The girl and Chen Xi spoke at the same time, but the girl added the next sentence:

"But why? We just made this little bird fly...well, and ourselves."

"I think it was because she was worried I would get in trouble.

But…actually, I still can’t figure it out.”

“Sarah said, ‘There’s no reason’… and maybe she’s right.

But I still don’t understand.”

"Why 'no why'?"

For a brief moment after Liberty asked the question, the only sound was the faint sound of wind across the lake.

"Does Chen Xi know?"

Facing the sudden inquiry, Chen Xi tilted his head and organized the appropriate words:

"I have my own answer, but is it really yours?"

Stroking Liberty's hair that was messed up by the wind, Chen Xi looked at her with a smile.

"You have to find the answer to this question yourself, only then can you truly understand it."

The girl opposite Liberty blinked at this moment:

"Maybe I know someone who can answer that question."

"really?"

Liberty, who was led into thought by Chen Xi's words at this time, obviously lost interest in the "answers" given by others.

"Of course. I know someone everyone calls 'The Manager.' She has all the answers in the world. Maybe we can ask her sometime."

The girl always had a smile on her face as she promoted the existence of an all-powerful old lady around her.

"'All the answers'...?"

"That sounds fishy. How did she do that? Could she know what I ate last night?"

"Of course, no problem. The manager even predicted the fifth letter on the third line of page 20 of my favorite book!"

Whether it's a mischievous little goblin who likes to steal other people's things or a mysterious old lady who knows everything, this new friend seems to be surrounded by incredible things, even... more magical than Chen Xi!

"Well, now that you've mentioned this, I admit that I am indeed a little curious.

How about we meet here tomorrow afternoon after school?"

"No problem, I won't be late."

The two children quickly agreed on their next adventure, and Chen Xi sighed that they were finally getting to the point.

"Everyone calls me the lantern bearer, what should I call you?"

The lamplighter extended his hand in a friendly manner, and Liberty placed his own hand on it.

"I am --"

The girl paused as the words reached her lips. The letters that should have flowed gracefully from her lips disappeared.

"I am…… ……"

"……what?"

"What's my name...?"

As he spoke, Liberty looked at Chen Xi for help, but Chen Xi just shrugged helplessly.