Depressed Chapter 16

When Shen Lian woke up, all he saw above him was the glare of a white incandescent lamp. He instinctively squinted, only then realizing where he was.

It was a private hospital room, and his adoptive father was sitting right beside him.

“Awake?” His adoptive father smiled kindly, his voice full of worry.

Shen Lian touched his forehead and felt the soft bandage there. He stared blankly at his adoptive father, then gave him a well-behaved, affectionate smile.

“Your mother, honestly—how could she leave you alone to go play cards?” His adoptive father frowned, his tone angry.

Shen Lian shrank back as if frightened, mumbling, saying nothing.

His adoptive father poured him a glass of water, leaned down, and asked with concern, “How did you end up on the stairs? If the neighbor hadn’t found you, I wouldn’t have known at all. What if something serious had happened…”

Shen Lian’s brow furrowed, and his eyes immediately filled with tears. “I tripped on the stairs when I was coming up. It hurt a lot.”

—In truth, he’d tripped going down the stairs.

His adoptive father let out a sigh of relief, patted his head, and stood up. “Daddy has to go to work now. Your mom will come see you in a bit. You rest well, all right? Don’t make trouble, and don’t make her angry, okay?”

Shen Lian nodded obediently.

His adoptive father closed the hospital room door, the sound of his leather shoes fading down the corridor.

Shen Lian curled his lips into a lovely smile at the empty air.

“Are you still there?” Shen Lian asked.

There was no reply.

Shen Lian wasn’t in any hurry. He leaned back against the headboard and drank his water in peace. His adoptive father was thoughtful—the cup he’d given him was just the right temperature, easy to drink.

His adoptive father had said his adoptive mother would come see him, but in truth, she never did. She must have gone off somewhere to play mahjong again.

Shen Lian thought that was just as well; he’d rather be alone in the hospital than share a room with her.

After three days in the hospital, Shen Lian returned to his school routine.

That same boy from before had squashed a bug between the pages of his book, leaving sticky innards smeared across it.

The beautiful family portrait Shen Lian had drawn last period was ruined as well.

During recess, the boy once again went around chattering to the other kids, saying Shen Lian was a stray, a wild child picked up off the street.

Shen Lian’s face darkened.

“What do you think about killing them?” The voice appeared again.

“Sure!” Shen Lian said.

The voice seemed very pleased, laughing softly.

Shen Lian sat at his desk, troubled, his head propped on his hand. “But what should I do?”

The voice tempted him: “Do you want to make chocolate? Feed it to them, and they’ll disappear!”

Shen Lian nodded excitedly.

With no one else at home, Shen Lian stood on a stool in the kitchen, obediently crushing almonds as the voice instructed.

He was clever and attentive, and the almond chocolate turned out perfectly. He even cleaned up the kitchen all by himself.

“Tomorrow, just give it to your little classmates,” the voice said.

“No problem!” Shen Lian promised.

The sound of the front door opening—his adoptive father had come home with his sister.

Today, his sister wore a pink dress, her face as beautiful and blank as ever. She went straight to her pink room, closed the door, and started on her homework.

Shen Lian quietly peeked in and asked, “Do you want a snack?”

They weren’t really close. The girl kept writing, like a programmed machine, ignoring him.

Shen Lian knew she wouldn’t eat it, so he sat down beside her, tilting his face up to look at her.

He took out a piece of the freshly made chocolate and said, “If you won’t eat it, could you give it to Dad tonight? I’m afraid if I give it to him, he won’t take it.” The chocolate had a bitter almond smell, not at all appetizing.

Suddenly, a sharp warning blared in his ears.

The girl said nothing.

“We should be good to him, to thank him, shouldn’t we? His job is so hard,” Shen Lian said.

The girl nodded mechanically.

“Then remember, don’t forget, okay?”

The girl nodded again, just as mechanically.

Shen Lian felt sure this puppet-like sister would keep her promise and returned to his own room.

Late at night, when the house was silent, Shen Lian opened the kitchen refrigerator.

His adoptive mother usually came home at dawn, always eating something before going to bed—she’d done so for years.

Shen Lian put the chocolates on the top shelf of the fridge. Given her height, there was a ninety percent chance she’d grab something from there.

He even cleared out the other food.

At daybreak, Shen Lian got up early and pushed open the door to his sister’s room.

The pretty girl sat in her chair, staring at the bed, her gaze still empty.

On the pink bed lay a man, clothes in disarray, his face stiff—he was clearly dead.

“Dad was too tired and fell asleep by accident,” Shen Lian said. “Let’s go out and close the door gently, so we don’t wake him.”

The girl nodded blankly. Shen Lian softly closed the door.

A woman lay sprawled on the kitchen floor. Her body was covered in bright red livor mortis, and there was a bluish tinge around her lips.

Cyanide poisoning.