C13 You Are Afraid That You will Give Birth to a Monster

February 16, 1988

"Could you be dreaming?" I didn't hear anything last night. " After I told Lina about what happened last night, Lina said disapprovingly. Lina has always slept very lightly, so even if she talked loudly, she would still be woken up. However, last night, she slept very soundly, so much that she didn't even know that I had gone out.

Under Lina's repeated requests in the afternoon, she followed her to move the bedstead and the bookcase. The mattress at home had been left on the floor all this time and was already slightly damp.

Compared to our apartment, 610 is simply too well-preserved. Except for dust and cobwebs, there was no damage to the floor or walls. The room was always locked, airtight, with no cracks in the ceiling or walls.

The furniture was covered with plastic sheets and white sheets. Judging from the thickness of the dust, the furniture had not moved since the previous owner had left. The window was curtained with velvet, and next to it was a Steinway maple piano.

Even the silver cutlery in the cupboard was made by Mepeson of Italy (an aristocratic brand that specializes in high-end cutlery, Herm s in cutlery, you know), and each piece of silver had a designer's signature on the back.

The previous owner seemed to be a photographic collector, with black-and-white photographs of photographers hanging on every wall, but what caught my attention was the world-famous kiss in front of the city hall.

They were a pair of lovers passing by the Paris City Hall, the boy accidentally hugged his girlfriend and gave her a deep kiss. At this moment, they seemed to have forgotten everything about them, and the passers-by indifferently hurried by them, no one paying attention to them, no one even giving them a glance.

The photo, while seemingly casual, reveals the romance and fun unique to the French people, reminding them in those days of a post-war revival that they were once a loving and passionate people.

While this photo was highly praised by the French arts community, it also made street photographer Duvano a iconic figure in the photography world at the time.

One must know that a photographic work like this will usually only be developed and printed to ensure its unique and precious value. The one that hung in front of me was a copy of the one that Dewano had personally printed himself. On the frame, there was a small line:

Giving to Johnson. People who also loved life. Your faithful friend, Dovano.

Johnson. That should be the name of the previous owner.

I suddenly knew why I had been feeling uneasy.

From the day Lina brought the furniture home, I had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but I couldn't pinpoint it.

The former owner of the apartment was a man with a high sense of taste for life, as could be seen from his careful selection of cutlery.

These pieces of furniture, even I, who didn't know much about them, could tell that each one was a collection level item.

He even had a photo of his friend, a priceless photographic collection.

What was it that made him leave and throw away all these things?

Even though the apartment had been abandoned for years, I, as a stranger, could feel his love for the family. Unless there was an extreme lack of money, it would not be easy to get someone to help them sell all these items.

Even if he did, he would entrust it to a close friend, not to his neighbor.

If Maria was very familiar with him, he would definitely know how precious these things are and he wouldn't casually let these things be abandoned for over ten years, and even give them to us as a gift.

"Lina, don't you feel that it's strange?" I told Lina my thoughts.

Lina shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe after this landlord left, he met with some mishap, and he might even be dead?"

"These items are worth at least several hundred thousand dollars. Even if they were to die, they would probably ask their friends and relatives to come and move them away. Or make a will and give it to a museum or something like that." I was still confused.

"Maybe he's a billionaire and views money as trash."

"Will billionaires live in rented houses? Didn't Maria tell you that he previously rented 610? Didn't she say what their relationship was? "

"Lei, do you have any prejudice against Maria? From the beginning, you didn't want me to talk to her. She's just an old lady who's kind enough to help us because he's got half a foot in the ground. But now that we are questioning her, don't you think that's a bit too much? " Lina's brows slightly knitted. He was already angry:

"Have you forgotten that you suspected Anna as well?"

Anna was our old neighbor in Philadelphia, almost as old as Maria. She didn't really know how to speak English and always got Lina to mail her letters.

Once, when Lina went out and I saw her sneaking into the garden, I called the police. She put her fresh carrot under the porch and gave it to us.

After the police came, Anna was so frightened that she couldn't say anything. I remember the tears of grievance in her eyes. For this matter, I have been scolded quite a bit by Lina.

It may have something to do with growth. I'm a skeptic, and it's hard to really believe in a person.

Maybe he really was overthinking things. We are broke, and have no money, and no power. Even if Maria wanted to harm us, we have to first cure the side effects of our strokes.

While thinking, Lina and I walked into the bedroom.

"This is a luxurious bed, it doesn't seem like a place for one person to live." I looked at the bed, which was almost two meters wide.

"Well, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, think about how we're going to get this bedstead out of here." Lina rolled her eyes at me.

February 18, 1988

Alpha was too smart.

He often came to find Lina to paint, and when Lina had nothing to do, she would just play chess with him.

It had to be known that Lina was originally a member of Fei Cheng University's Chess Club, she was ranked in the top five among all the universities in the United States.

Initially, when Lina told me about it, I didn't believe him and joked around, "You should have taught him how to play Go."

At first, I was just joking, I didn't think that Lina would actually go to China City to buy a Go. After teaching this brat for just a few days, Lina already had difficulty defeating him.

"I think his IQ is really too high!" After Alpha left, Lina was still blabbering in my ear.

"Tsk, winning next time is nothing. If you have the ability, then beat me next time."

I am a little disdainful of his rapid progress, because Go itself is a difficult game to learn. If you compare chess to a local battlefield in which the two sides fight, Go is more like a microcosm of the universe in which all things change.

"He can defeat you in ten days. Do you dare to bet with him?" Lina declared war on me.

"I'll let him be twenty." Although I am not proficient in Go, I am more than enough to win a child.

I really lost today.

"Void End." When we finished, Alpha used his not very fluent Chinese to tell me.

It's only been a little more than half a month since we moved in early in February, and Lina would sometimes teach him Chinese. Although Alpha's pronunciation was not standard, he had already learned how to spell it and was able to create simple sentences.

Not only that, Lina had also told me before that Alpha's talent in painting was extremely high.

"How did you do it?" I asked Alpha.

"I've been taught since I was young..."

The sound of knocking interrupted our conversation.

"Alpha, you should not disturb Shin and his wife any longer. It's time for you to go home and sleep." Maria expressionlessly waved at Alpha.

"I'm sorry, Grandmother." Alpha lowered his head and good night to us.

Somehow, I feel like Alpha is a little afraid of Maria. It was not normal for a grandson to be so afraid of his grandmother.

After they left, I asked Lina: "Alpha looks like he's around eight or nine years old. Children at that age are all in the fourth grade.

"A smart kid like him would be bullied if he went to an ordinary school, right?" Lina said.

"Actually, we could help him get in touch with the school in Philadelphia. Do you remember Professor Bayer saying that the University of Philadelphia has an institution for such talented children?"

"Lei, you aren't thinking of sending Alpha away again, are you? Do you hate him that much? Is it because he beat you in a game of chess, or is it because you hate children? " Ever since our previous quarrels, Lina had been exceptionally sensitive towards Alpha. No matter what I say about Alpha, she can always drag me into it. I sighed and stopped.

I don't hate Alpha, but the closer he gets to Lina, the more Lina will think of having a child of his own. If Lina knew the truth, would she forgive me?

20 February 1988

It was already night when he returned to his room after work. Lina was cooking in the kitchen. I saw my station light go on.

Alpha was actually not drawing in the living room, but was standing beside my desk and flipping through my books.

The book I borrowed from the library, Hereditary Diseases and Malformed Fetuses.

I remember putting the book in the drawer before I left.

"Hey, this is not a book a child can read."

"What are you afraid of?" Alpha suddenly asked me.

I was stunned. The question was baffling, but the first image that came to mind was of a malformed child born of the opposite sex in my family.

A deformed child that looks like a worm.

"What do you mean? I'm not afraid of anything. I'm afraid that you'll have nightmares at night." I paused, trying to close the book.

The lamp flashed suddenly.

Alpha's body was hidden in the shadows, but his eyes were shining in the darkness.

"No, you're afraid. "You, afraid, you, will, will, live, down, one, one, monster, thing." Alpha suddenly stared at me, like a machine, he spoke each word slowly.

He was laughing.