Chapter 2

I quivered my wings in delight.

Ms. An gently gathered me into her palm and held me as if I were the most precious treasure in the world.

“Don’t rush, Xingxing. Come home with Mom. I’ll find you a pretty box, so don’t run off.”

She cupped me carefully the whole way home, then rummaged through cupboards and drawers until she found an exquisite metal candy tin.

I had brought it back from a business trip to Shanghai. Ms. An had not cared much for the candy inside, but she had adored the beautifully decorated tin and repurposed it as a sewing box.

Now she dumped out every needle, spool, and scrap inside and placed me in it with utmost care.

Cradling the box, she muttered to herself, “What do cockroaches eat again? Xingxing must be hungry. I’ll get you something.”

I waved my feelers, trying to tell her not to bother. I was planning to kill this body soon so I could come back as the next animal. There was no need for dinner.

Then again, could cockroaches starve to death?

I had no idea. It was my first time being one.

Ms. An brought breadcrumbs, rice, and even went into the kitchen to fry a fresh batch of chicken.

A mountain of food rose before me.

“Xingxing, eat. Why aren’t you eating?” Ms. An grew anxious, and tears welled up again.

“If you don’t eat, how will you stay with Mom? It was so hard for me to see you again.”

All right, all right, I surrender. I could never stand seeing Mom cry because of me.

I buried my head in the food and began to munch. Delicious!

Mom watched me fondly and put a finger into the tin. I hurried over, wrapped myself around that enormous finger, and rubbed against it affectionately.

The moon sank. The sun rose. The first ray of dawn spilled into the room.

Ms. An opened her eyes, looked at the metal tin in her arms, and whispered, “So it wasn’t a dream.”

I bounced around inside. Of course it wasn’t! Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom—your favorite daughter is right here!

She smiled in contentment. “Maybe having Xingxing stay with me as a cockroach wouldn’t be so bad.”

A harsh pounding erupted at the door. Whoever stood outside was hammering away without the slightest concern for the neighbors.

Trouble had arrived.

Ms. An set me on the living-room table and went to open the door.

“What took you so long? My grandson’s been waiting out here forever!” The visitor rolled her eyes before she had even stepped inside.

She shoved past Mom and marched in with a child in tow.

High cheekbones, triangular eyes, and the same greedy, calculating face I remembered.

By blood, I should have called her Aunt Yanlan.

But after getting married, Ms. An had cut ties with her birth family because she had refused to let them trade her for an exorbitant bride price.

She had even changed her original name, An Shengnan, to An Sheng.

Her family had long ago disowned Mom as an “ungrateful wretch” and ignored her for years.

Only after I gained some influence at the bureau did they shamelessly come knocking, ordering Mom around and demanding that I use my connections to get their son out after he was arrested for fighting.

I had personally thrown them out.

They cursed us from the other side of the door for an hour without repeating themselves once, until the colleagues I called frightened them away.

Mom gave the woman a cold look. “What are you doing here? You aren’t welcome. Leave.”

Zhang Yanlan entered anyway and immediately surveyed the apartment. She released her grandson to play, and the brat began tearing from room to room.

“Oh, little sister, don’t talk like that. Your daughter is gone and your family line is broken. Who else will you rely on in your old age but us?”

Then she acted as if she owned the place. “Blood is thicker than water. Your brother isn’t going to abandon you. Treat my son as your own, and my big, healthy grandson as yours. That’s all there is to it.”

Ms. An sneered. She was no longer someone who could be swayed by such counterfeit affection.

“I don’t need you. My daughter was wonderful. Who would want that worthless son of yours?”

Zhang Yanlan glared at her and went straight for the most painful wound. “Wonderful or not, she’s dead. Who knows what wicked thing she did in secret to make the King of Hell take her? I only came because I pitied you and wanted to give you a chance to reconcile. Don’t be ungrateful!”

Ms. An shot to her feet. “My daughter was a hero! Get out!”

Zhang Yanlan refused to budge and finally revealed what she wanted. “You received quite a lot of compensation, didn’t you? I heard it was five hundred thousand. You’ll never spend that much. Your nephew’s a little short of cash, so lend him four hundred thousand. He’ll remember your generosity, and then you won’t have to worry about who will care for you.”

Mom shook with rage. Inside my tin, I was so furious I wanted to transform into a super-sized cockroach and swallow Zhang Yanlan whole.

While the two women argued, the brat spotted the beautiful candy tin on the table and reached for it.

The world lurched around me. I looked up and met the child’s terrified stare.

Oh no.

The brat shrieked. The tin crashed to the floor. Then an enormous sneaker descended from the heavens.

He flattened me into a cockroach pancake.