Chapter 82: Monster

The next day, Li Xiuli showed up with two huge dark circles under her eyes, having taken a day off.

The sunshine was brilliant to the point of being slightly blinding, streaming through the window into the living room and gilding everything.

Her husband had already gone to work, and the two "sons" were also shouldering their backpacks, ready to head out.

Everything was terrifyingly normal.

So normal that Li Xiuli almost doubted that the faceless profile from last night was merely a nightmare born of her own mental disturbance.

"Mom, your complexion looks awful; remember to rest well."

The "eldest son," Ning Chao, walked to the entryway, turned his head, and politely bade her farewell, his face showing concern.

Li Xiuli tugged at the corner of her mouth, forcing out a strained smile.

The door closed.

The whole world gradually grew quiet.

And the smile on Li Xiuli's face gradually faded.

She rushed into the storage room, rummaging through boxes and cabinets like a madwoman, dust choking her into constant coughing, but she didn't care at all.

She had to find evidence!

Ning Tian's birth certificate, vaccination record, and all his awards from childhood onward—she found them all.

But what about "Ning Chao"?

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

Not a photo album, not an award certificate, not even a piece of clothing from his childhood!

Li Xiuli's heart sank bit by bit; she trembled as she dialed her husband's number.

"Hey, honey, what's wrong?"

"The... the things at home—did you tidy them up? I can't... find anything from Ning Chao's childhood." Her voice carried a tremor she herself didn't notice.

On the other end of the line, her husband laughed.

"Your memory's getting worse and worse. Ning Chao's stuff is all stored at my mother's old house, isn't it? He said he'd retrieve it together when he starts university as a keepsake."

That one sentence blocked all of Li Xiuli's doubts.

She hung up the phone, collapsed helplessly onto the floor, hugging her knees, her whole body trembling.

No.

Wrong.

Absolutely wrong!

She suddenly remembered something, grabbed her phone again, and dialed her best friend's number.

After a few rings, the call connected, and her best friend's cheerful voice came through.

"Yo, Xiuli, why do you have time to call me today? Not going to work?"

"I... I took a day off; I'm not feeling well."

"What's wrong with you? You really ought to look after your health! By the way, how are your two sons? The last time I saw your Ning Chao, he seemed to have grown a lot taller and become even more handsome!"

Her best friend's warm, natural words made Li Xiuli's blood run cold.

She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Not just family.

Even the people around her... thought there was nothing wrong.

It seemed... she was the abnormal one.

Afternoon.

Li Xiuli was still sitting dazedly on the sofa when the door lock turned with a click.

It was Ning Chao.

He had come back early, alone.

"Mom, why are you still sitting here?" He set down his backpack, his tone tinged with surprise, and explained:

"The school club activity was suddenly canceled, so I came back first."

He looked at Li Xiuli's pale face, his brows slightly furrowed, stepped forward, and reached out to feel her forehead.

"Not hot. Are you feeling unwell? I'll go get you a cup of hot water."

His fingers were ice-cold, without a trace of warmth.

His considerate concern nevertheless sent a chill up Li Xiuli's spine, as if it seeped from the cracks of her bones.

She stiffly shook her head.

"I'm fine, no need."

Ning Chao withdrew his hand, asked no further questions, turned, and went back to his own room.

Li Xiuli watched his retreating back, her heart pounding wildly.

She inexplicably rose to her feet, tiptoed like a ghost, and followed him soundlessly.

She wanted to see.

What Ning Chao, alone in his room, would actually do.

The door was left ajar, a gap remaining.

Li Xiuli held her breath, carefully bringing her eyes to the crack.

Inside the room, Ning Chao had his back to her, sitting at the desk.

Everything was as usual.

Just as Li Xiuli thought she was being overly suspicious.

A gray mouse, from some corner, scurried out, squeaking, and sped toward the wall corner.

It was that instant.

Ning Chao moved!

Their body remained seated, but the arm shot out at a Weird angle and speed that no human could ever achieve, like lightning!

Precisely, they seized the still desperately struggling mouse in one grab!

Li Xiuli's pupils, at that moment, contracted to a needle tip!

Then.

She saw a scene she would never be able to forget in her lifetime.

Ning Chao, expressionless, lifted the still hopping, shrieking mouse to their mouth.

Then, opened their mouth.

One bite.

One bite.

Bite after bite, slowly and deliberately, they swallowed the living creature whole, skin and bone.

Creak... creak...

The sound of bones being crushed, in the quiet room, was so clear it made the scalp tingle.

Fresh red blood, along their pallid mouth corner, slowly flowed down.

They ate so elegantly, so focused.

As if savoring an unparalleled delicacy.

"Ugh—"

Li Xiuli could no longer hold back, suddenly covered her mouth, a violent wave of nausea surged up her throat.

Extreme fear, like the sharpest knife, instantly pierced the thick fog in her mind!

She only has one son!

Ning Tian!

She only has a son named Ning Tian!

The thing before her, this monster that swallowed the mouse whole, is not her son at all!

What is it?

Who is it?

Why does it disguise itself as her own family?!

Back in the living room, Li Xiuli leaned against the cold wall, breathing heavily in big gulps, trying to calm her heart that was about to leap out of her chest.

She closed her eyes, then suddenly opened them!

A face.

A face with a kind smile, appearing without warning right before her.

Within arm's reach.

It is Ning Chao.

They don't know when, but have silently stood before her.

They tilted their head, their voice gentle enough to drip water.

"Mom."

"What's for dinner?"

Li Xiuli was terrified, every hair on her body standing on end!

She wanted to scream, wanted to run away!

But her legs felt as if filled with lead, unable to move.

Li Xiuli forced herself, squeezing out an extremely stiff smile from her throat.

"Dinner... dinner…"

Her voice trembled terribly.

"Mom... Mom will make you braised pork."

After saying this, she almost used up all her strength.

Ning Chao's smile deepened even more.

"Alright."

"Thank you, Mom."

After Ning Chao turned and left.

Li Xiuli couldn't stand steady, almost fell to the ground.

Evening.

Her husband and Ning Tian returned home, chatting and laughing.

The atmosphere in the house instantly returned to that Weird "normal".

"Brother! You came back so early today, have you finished your homework? Teach me this problem!"

"Dad, you also came back quite early today."

"Hahaha, with your brother here, you kid don't know how to think for yourself, huh?"

Li Xiuli in the kitchen, listening to the joyful chatter from the living room, only felt a chill all over her.

She trembled, chopping the pork belly on the cutting board piece by piece.

And just a few meters away in the living room.

The monster that just ate a mouse raw is happily chatting and laughing with its "father" and "younger brother."

In this household, everyone loves Ning Chao.

In this household, everyone thinks Ning Chao is family.

In this household, only she knows the truth.

Only she feels out of place.

Li Xiuli grips the cold, heavy kitchen knife in her hand, its blade reflecting a chilling gleam in the light.

She slowly lifts her head, her gaze passing through the kitchen door toward the warm scene of a "family of four" in the living room.

An absurd yet terrifying thought surfaces in her mind.

In this household.

It seems only she, who senses the oddity, is the "extra" person.

So then...... what should she actually do?