Chapter 8

My voice came out dull. “Mom, are you really not sad at all that Dad’s dead?”

She looked shocked by the unexpected question. “What are you talking about?”

I suddenly began to cry. Tears spilled straight from the corners of my eyes.

She’d been staring blankly at me, but the sight of my tears left her flustered. She reached up to wipe them away.

“Why are you crying? What’s wrong?”

I saw a flicker of sadness in her eyes, and my tears became harder to hold back. My voice shook. “Mom, Dad’s dead. Aren’t you even a little sad?”

“He gave you every yuan of his five-thousand-yuan monthly salary. That never changed in all the years you were married. When I was little, he’d take us to amusement parks on his days off. You’d stand on either side of me, each holding one of my hands. We were so happy.”

I went on and on about the things Dad had done while he was alive.

Finally, Mom began to cry too.

She looked at me through her tears, her voice breaking. “Nannan, I miss your dad. I miss him…”

Seeing that I’d finally reached her, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Then tell me, Mom. Did Dad kill himself, or did someone kill him?”

Her eyes suddenly cleared. The grief vanished from her face, replaced by anger.

She glared at me. “Nannan, your dad isn’t dead. He’s gone to a better life. He just went a little ahead of me.”

I trembled inside, then pulled her back into her room.

“Mom, I want a better life too. Why aren’t you taking me with you?”

She looked me over, apparently trying to decide whether I meant it.

“Not everyone who wants a better life can have one. We’re the lucky ones who were chosen. You weren’t.”

I immediately dropped to my knees in front of her, bowing my head to the floor as I pleaded. “Mom, please take me to meet them. I want a better life too. I want to be with you. We’re a family!”

She was silent for a long time. Then, to my surprise, she nodded.

In front of me, she picked up that phone and dialed the number.

I was nervous, and frightened too.

Afraid they wouldn’t accept me.

After the call ended, we waited for about an hour before someone called back.

The moment she hung up, Mom beamed. Excitedly, she helped me up.

“They agreed! The leaders agreed! Nannan, now we can have a better life together. We can be together forever!”

She hugged me tightly, her face alight with a sincere smile.

A sudden chill ran down my back. All I could manage was a stiff smile.

I’d never imagined anything like this could happen around me.

And to the family I lived with every day.

Mom had always been a woman of few words. In all my life, I’d never seen her so enthusiastic.

She went on and on about how good these people were. Only one person in ten thousand, she said, was lucky enough to be chosen to take part.

Even those who were chosen had to complete an assessment period before they could join.

I nodded and pretended to look eager.

According to Mom, the leaders hadn’t wanted to let me join at first.

Only when she told them I’d been in poor health since childhood had they reluctantly agreed to let me be assessed.

The location hadn’t been decided yet. We were simply told to wait.

I passed the news straight to the police so they could prepare.