"Please, go on."
"Go on... I... I don't know how to explain it. That day, afterward, my head was all muddled. I just knew something was wrong. Something was wrong with my dad, and something was wrong with my mom, too. I didn't stay long before I left. When I got back, I called a few of my siblings. My younger sister Chunfang had visited the old folks that day. When I told her... after I told her, she didn't say a word for a long time. The others didn't believe me. They all thought I'd lost my mind. Chunfang spoke up and said something did seem off, but she hadn't dared say anything at the time. My dad favored sons over daughters—or, well, not exactly. He just thought girls should be looked after by their mothers. Both my sisters were afraid of him and didn't dare say anything. The five of us siblings went to see the old folks together. Late at night, we all went over... I didn't want to go then. I'd wanted to go during the day... but I was worried something might really be wrong with Mom and Dad..."
"What happened after you got there?"
"It was late at night, and the temperature had already dropped. It was even colder inside the room. My younger brother said something, and my mom just smiled and said there was nothing wrong... Her face was still pale... Of the five of us, our youngest brother, Kangzi, was the one the old folks liked best. He just went and turned off the air conditioner in the living room. Once it was off, the house went quiet. We could still hear sounds coming in from outside... I, I was in the house, and everything felt strange. It was like there