Chapter 9

An Zimo's fingers tightened around the cola bottle as he rationally analyzed the meaning of "smells so good" and "want to eat." From a normal perspective, it probably wasn't the kind of wanting to eat food—it was a man's desire to conquer a beautiful woman.

Conclusion: this man really was no good!!

Pervert!

Scumbag!

Flirting around in front of a child!

An Zimo set down his cola, slid off his chair, stood in front of An Xiang, and stared at her expressionlessly.

"Momo, are you full?"

"Mm." An Zimo shot Xu Chuan a vicious glare, his disgust written all over his face.

"Then let's go home." An Xiang packed up their things. Without speaking much more to Xu Chuan, she took An Zimo's hand and left the shop.

The sky had cleared, and An Xiang easily hailed a taxi.

She gently rested an arm over An Zimo's shoulders and said, "If you meet someone like that again, remember to call for Mommy loudly." Still shaken, An Xiang added, "People like that are probably child traffickers. They're very dangerous."

An Zimo pursed his lips, shook off An Xiang's arm, and scooted away from her, leaving a wide distance between them.

Faced with her son's alienation, An Xiang felt somewhat hurt. But she quickly recovered. It was normal that her son wasn't close to her—after all, he had been sent away only days after he was born. Besides, there was something wrong with his brain...

Thinking of An Zimo's condition, An Xiang let out a deep sigh.

The way he was, even going to kindergarten might be difficult. He might even get bullied...

Lost in her wild thoughts, An Xiang's taxi stopped in North City District.

Three years had passed, and this residential complex had grown even more desolate. The streets were disorderly, weeds ran rampant, and untended trees grew wildly. The apartment blocks stood amid it all, with a massive Ferris wheel behind them. Long abandoned, it looked anything but romantic, instead exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression.

Staring at the scene before him, straight out of a horror movie, An Zimo's eyes slowly widened and his mouth fell slightly open against his will.

"Momo, we're home. Why aren't you moving?"

This... was home?

Facing the gloomy apartment building, An Zimo felt as if he couldn't breathe.

He clearly remembered that in their previous life, they had lived in the most prosperous part of the city. Why had their residence suddenly changed after reincarnation? He understood. It had to be because this woman no longer had him earning money for her, so she had fallen into such poverty.

"Momo?" Seeing that he still hadn't moved, An Xiang walked over. "Momo, do you want Mommy to carry you inside?"

"..." As if he wanted her to carry him.

An Zimo took a deep breath, forcefully shook countless terrifying imaginings from his mind, and followed closely behind An Xiang into the complex.

An Xiang noticed her son's concerns and spoke as they walked. "It only looks bad on the outside. The inside is actually decorated quite nicely."

"..." Really? He didn't believe her.

"Look, there's even an amusement park behind us. If you like it, Mommy can take you there tonight."

Once they entered the complex, they could see the amusement park in full.

The enormous dog statue before its gates had long lost its paint to wind and rain. One of its eyeballs had vanished somewhere, and its smile looked eerie and grotesque.

An Zimo's spine suddenly went cold. A chill surged from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and he shuddered, quickening his pace as he hurried after An Xiang into the residential building.

The corridor was dark, with no elevator. Perhaps it was too desolate—even people putting up little advertisements didn't come here.

An Xiang lived on the first floor. She stepped up onto the stairs and took out her key to unlock the door while An Zimo quietly surveyed his surroundings.

Upstairs was dark and silent, and the neighboring doors didn't look like anyone lived there either. Though it was broad daylight, the entire building showed no sign of human life.

"Momo, are you looking to see whether anyone lives here?"

An Zimo said nothing.

An Xiang answered herself, "Pretty much everyone in this building moved away. Now it's just our family left."

"...?"

"There were originally six other households, but a year ago, the man upstairs killed someone and hid the body. Once the neighbors found out, they all moved away."

"...????"

"It was just one death. What's the big deal?"

"..."

"..."

An Xiang muttered indifferently, then turned the lock with a click and pushed open the door. "Momo, hurry inside. This will be our home from now on!"

An Zimo had no expectations whatsoever for this so-called home. With a wooden expression, he stepped into the entryway and casually looked around.

How should he put it?

This wasn't a place for the living.

The Gothic decor and furniture, the inverted cross ornaments on the walls, the candle-made wall lamps—even the carpet had a vintage style.

"Momo, this is your room." An Xiang led An Zimo into the guest room.

The children's room had only been renovated a few days ago. Originally, An Xiang had wanted it to match the living room's style, but the system had sternly refused, claiming that a dark aesthetic was unsuitable for a child's physical and mental health. Though An Xiang found that regrettable, she had no choice but to give up for her child's sake.

She had painted the walls sky blue. The crib in the center was full of childish charm, while a sofa beside it was piled with plush toys.

It was the kind of room any child would love, but all An Zimo saw was stupidity and childishness.

As if he would sleep in a crib.

As if he would play with stuffed dolls.

As if he would like blue.

Ridiculous, naïve, stupid, childish.

An Zimo expressionlessly set down his little backpack. Even though he despised it, he didn't complain. He would escape sooner or later, and this room was only a temporary shelter. Its decor had nothing to do with him.

Seeing that An Zimo didn't seem to reject it, An Xiang couldn't help but beam. "I thought you wouldn't like this style."

He didn't like it at all.

"Then Momo, look around on your own. Mommy's going to tidy up the house now." An Xiang stopped at the door and looked back. "Oh, right. Don't ever go into the basement." One of the lights over the stairs was broken, and one of the wooden steps was loose. She hadn't had time to fix them yet, and she was afraid An Zimo wouldn't see clearly, fall down, and get hurt.

After giving her warning, An Xiang picked up a rag and carefully wiped every table and corner in the room.

Time gradually passed. An Xiang's warning had no effect whatsoever. Instead, it stirred up the trace of curiosity in An Zimo's heart.

Why wouldn't she let him go into the basement?

What unspeakable thing was in there?

An Zimo's clever, agile mind spun wildly. His gaze followed An Xiang's movements, and as soon as she left to take out the trash, he immediately got up and rushed for the basement.

A long flight of stairs led down to the basement. The light seemed to be broken; no matter how An Zimo pressed the switch, nothing happened.

Fortunately, it was daytime. The lighting was merely dim, not enough to obstruct his vision.

An Zimo moved his two short, thin legs, carefully stepping over one stair after another.

Click.

His shoe suddenly caught on a raised plank. He stumbled, and his body instantly rolled down the stairs.

An Zimo couldn't feel pain. He only felt unlucky.

Cursing under his breath, he climbed up from the floor and randomly brushed at his pants with his little hands. Then he looked up—and an enormous coffin abruptly filled his view.

An Zimo's breathing stopped. His small body stood frozen before the coffin.

Who in their right mind would put a coffin in their basement?

Looking more closely, the coffin had been polished to a shine. It had clearly been maintained for a long time.

[Don't ever go into the basement.]

An Xiang's gentle warning echoed beside his ears.

[It was just one death. What's the big deal?]

Just one—death.

One person.

Going by the emphasis of that statement, it meant An Xiang had seen two dead people. No, perhaps three.

Thinking about it carefully, this place was practically a natural haven for a serial killer!

An Xiang's composure in the face of murder and the coffin before him both told him something was wrong. Combined with memories from his past life, he had no doubt that An Xiang was capable of killing someone.

After all, his mother had truly threatened him with a knife before.

If she could threaten her own biological son, how could she care about anyone else's life?

Maybe this coffin had been prepared for him.

She thought he was a burden, so she might as well get rid of him early.

An Zimo closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were icy cold.

—In that case, he might as well strike first.

He quickly ran back to his room, firmly shut the door, curled up in a corner, and seriously considered how to commit the crime.

With his current body, there was no way he could get rid of An Xiang. No matter how weak his enemy was, she was still an adult. Acting rashly would only get him discovered and killed in return.

An Zimo buried his entire head in his knees.

He couldn't act impulsively. He had to calmly think of a plan.

If... if An Xiang truly was a criminal, then that basement and that coffin would definitely contain evidence of her crimes. All he needed was an opportunity to sneak in, gather the evidence, and hand it over to the police. Then he could easily get rid of An Xiang.

It was decided!

Tonight, he would act after An Xiang fell asleep!!

"Momo, what do you want for dinner?"

The door opened, and An Xiang poked her head inside.

Facing that foolishly smiling face, An Zimo sneered inwardly. He had already seen through this person's true nature and understood everything before him. All that remained was to ruthlessly expose her disguise and make sure she could never smile again!

"If Momo doesn't want to talk to Mommy, you can write it down." An Xiang had specifically found some paper and a pen and placed them on the table. The next second, she fell silent, then sighed regretfully. "Oh, right. Momo doesn't seem to know how to write yet."

She scratched her head. "Then I'll make some noodles. Something light is good for dinner." Having made up her mind, she went into the kitchen to prepare their evening meal.

The mother and son spent a quiet, ordinary evening together.

An Xiang was used to watching a movie after dinner, such as "Blood-Red Night of Terror," "The Texas Cannibal," or "Twenty Days of Terror." These were all romantic movies with Vampire as their protagonist. The only thing that upset An Xiang was that many of these movies ended with Vampire losing.

She cut up some fruit and placed it on the coffee table, preparing to eat while she watched. Seeing that An Zimo remained seated on the sofa without any intention of leaving, her eyes lit up. "Do you want to watch a movie with Mommy?"

This time, An Zimo responded. "Mm." He wanted to wait until An Xiang went back to her room to sleep, then go collect evidence in the basement.

"Then which movie do you want to watch?" An Xiang took out the remote and displayed all the movies she had bought, flipping through them page by page for An Zimo to choose from.

"'Fierce Ghosts: A Night of Terror,' 'Blood-Red Wedding,' and 'Have You Seen My Head?' are all ones I haven't watched. Momo, which one are you interested in?" It was the first time someone had watched a movie with An Xiang, and she was indescribably excited and happy. She introduced them one by one as though showing off treasures, completely unaware—without the system's instruction—that these R18 movies were unsuitable for children.

"..." An Zimo's face remained blank. Couldn't this woman pick something normal for children to watch, like "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf," "Little Mary," "Peppa Pig," or "Divine Armored Heroes"?

Forget it.

Why bother discussing basic principles with a criminal suspect?

An Zimo casually pointed. "'Have You Seen My Head?'" It was the longest one, and judging by the title, it was probably a bad movie. She would surely get sleepy after watching for a while. Once she got drowsy and went back to her room to sleep, he would begin his operation.

"Fine. If my son wants to watch heads, then we'll watch heads." Completely unaware of her son's thoughts, An Xiang happily agreed. She got a tub of popcorn from the refrigerator, took off her shoes, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and started the movie.

Unexpectedly, it wasn't a bloody, violent horror film, but a warm anti-war movie disguised as one.

The story primarily followed a soldier who was separated from his wife and child during World War II. He was decapitated and killed in the war, and his mutilated body became a vengeful ghost that desperately searched for its head. In the blink of an eye, seventy years passed...

At last, the headless ghost encountered a group of protagonists who made their living exorcising ghosts.

"Sir, why have you been searching for your head all this time?"

"Because I need my eyes and my lips."

"Why?"

"Because my eyes want to see my wife; my lips want to kiss her cheeks again. Oh, and Danny, too. That's my son."

Under the city's neon lights, the headless ghost in military uniform was gentlemanly and polite, completely dissolving the horror of the first half of the story.

An Xiang stuffed popcorn into her mouth and couldn't stop herself from sobbing.

An Zimo frowned as he looked at the movie, then at the tearful An Xiang beside him. His brow furrowed even more deeply.

That was it? That was it? That was it? What was there to cry about?

Human joys and sorrows were not shared. An Zimo only found her noisy.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?" The clock hand had already reached ten, and An Zimo felt drowsiness creeping over him.

An Xiang pulled out a tissue and rubbed her nose, her eyes red as she looked at An Zimo.

After a few seconds of silence, she smacked her forehead in sudden realization. "Ah! I forgot babies need to go to bed early."

An Zimo: "..." Idiot.

An Xiang hurriedly turned off the television, carried him back to his room, and gently placed him in the crib.

An Zimo despised the crib with its railings, but for the sake of the grand plan, he could only endure it for now.

A little rabbit lamp glowed by the bed, making the entire children's room feel even softer.

Just as An Xiang was about to close the door and leave, she stopped.

Seeing that she wasn't leaving, An Zimo asked impatiently, "What?"

An Xiang scratched her cheek, blinked, then returned to the bedside. Bending down, she placed a warm kiss on his forehead. "Goodnight, son."

Boom—!

An Zimo's mind exploded.

His eyes were full of shock. His little hands gripped the blanket tightly, and he had no reaction at all as all sorts of chaotic thoughts frantically swirled through his mind.

He had been kissed by a criminal suspect who might have eaten human flesh.

He was dirty.

He was no longer a clean baby.

There might even be DNA on his forehead. He couldn't wipe it off—it was evidence. Later, he could have it tested and get this vicious woman arrested.

Goodnight was just goodnight. Why did she have to kiss him? There had to be some kind of conspiracy behind it!

An Zimo frantically turned the volume of Mind Reading up to its maximum. An Xiang's inner voice nearly deafened him.

[I learned it from the television. I wonder if I did it right.]

[Should I kiss him lower down next time?]

[Mm!! I need to keep improving tomorrow!]

Her inner voice ended, and An Xiang left the room.

The little rabbit lamp swayed gently. The innocent smile on the rabbit's face seemed to mock his suspiciousness.

An Zimo rolled over, his fingers wanting to touch his forehead, but after thinking for a while, he lowered his hand again. His previously sleepy mind was now fully awake because of that utterly ordinary goodnight kiss. He couldn't explain how he felt, only that... Mother definitely did not love him.

She did not love him.

All along, he had lived on the strength of this belief.

An Zimo closed his eyes.

He had decided. Tonight, he would definitely tear through her disguise and expose her true form!!!

**

The clock ticked round after round. When it struck one, An Zimo threw back the covers and climbed out of the crib. Barefoot, his little feet made no sound against the floor.

An Zimo picked up the paper and pen An Xiang had left in the room that day and wrote a letter in Morse code. If anything truly happened to him, this encrypted letter would be evidence for the police to solve the case.

—He really was a genius.

—If he had not been so smart, he might have died at An Xiang's hands long ago.

An Zimo hid the letter, then carefully pushed open the door and stepped outside. The living room was pitch-black. He felt around on the table until he found a flashlight and switched it on, focusing the beam entirely on the door leading to the basement. An Zimo pursed his lips in thought, then took a folding fruit knife from the fruit basket and tucked it into the back of his pants.

With his preparations complete, An Zimo took a deep breath and walked to the door.

He had already planned it out. The moment he noticed anything strange, he would immediately call the police using the landline in the living room. An Xiang definitely would not be able to destroy the evidence in time.

An Zimo gripped the flashlight tightly and pushed open the closed door before him with extreme care.

He had thought she might have locked it, but she had not. Her carelessness had actually helped him.

An Zimo dimmed the flashlight as much as possible and descended the steps one by one. This time, he deliberately avoided the broken board and did not make the foolish mistake of tripping again.

After successfully reaching the bottom, the coffin was within arm's reach.

An Zimo tiptoed over. Facing the enormous coffin, he finally realized a problem he was about to face.

—It was too high.

—With his current height, he could not climb up.

Damn it.

If he could not climb up, he would not be able to see what was inside. Forget gathering evidence—An Xiang might discover him and deal with him while she was at it.

Unwilling to give up, An Zimo gritted his teeth. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a chair beside him.

Without hesitation, he set the flashlight on the floor, carefully moved the chair in front of the coffin, and climbed onto it with both hands and feet.

Steady breathing came from inside the coffin.

An Zimo stopped breathing.

Sure enough, there really was someone inside the coffin!!!

An Xiang: Ta-da! Didn't expect it, did you? It was me!

An Zimo: Who the hell likes dolls?!

Mommy: You're half a ghost yourself, actually.

Momo: ???

**

Momo had been hit too hard in his previous life, so his mind was not quite normal in this life either (:з"∠). Although An Xiang was quite a good mommy, she still thought like a Vampire, so do not judge the two of them by normal standards.

Jin Cheng is very long today!!!!

Random red envelopes.