Extraterrestrial demons invaded; I laid the groundwork eight years in advance.

Wang Lili's shrill voice echoed throughout the room.

Ping An stopped eating, the spoon in her hand hovering in mid-air, not bringing it to her mouth.

He tilted his head and stared straight at Wang Lili, a puzzled look on his face, as if wondering why his mother was talking so loudly but not eating.

He reached forward with the spoon in his hand.

"...Mommy...Ping An isn't stupid...Ping An, be good...Eat your food...Don't be angry..."

There was no fear or grievance in his bright eyes; he just looked at Wang Lili quietly, as if he felt that as long as he behaved well, the room would become quiet again, his parents would stop arguing, and he could continue eating.

The spoon stopped in mid-air. Wang Lili looked at Ping An and didn't say anything more, instead lowering her head to pick at the rice in her bowl.

Zhou Zheng gently placed his hand on Ping An's wrist: "Come on, let's eat."

Ping An slowly withdrew his gaze, put the rice in his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, looked up at Wang Lili again, and then continued eating.

Zhou Zheng poured a cup of hot water, blew on it to cool it down, and then placed it in front of Ping An.

He didn't care about Wang Lili's words; he had long since gotten used to it over the years.

In his early years, he worked hard and often worked overtime to earn money to treat Ping An's illness. As a result, his parents passed away one after another, and he had no relatives to rely on.

In order to provide Ping An with a healthy environment to grow up in, and also to have someone take care of the child while he was at work, he met Wang Lili through an introduction.

At first, things went relatively smoothly. He earned money to support the family, and she took care of the housework. Although they had agreed not to have children, Wang Lili treated Ping An quite well, and the two spent a happy time together.

But from some unknown day—perhaps because of the boredom of daily life, or perhaps because the peaceful situation gradually wore down her patience—she became increasingly irritable and spoke more and more harshly.

Zhou Zheng doesn't blame her.

He knew he couldn't give Wang Lili what she wanted, and Wang Lili didn't owe him anything. As long as Wang Lili could take good care of him when he wasn't around, that was enough.

After finishing his meal, Zhou Zheng cleaned up the dishes, washed the pots and pans, and then wiped the stove with a rag.

Ping An sat in the chair, lost in thought, her fingers unconsciously fiddling with the educational toys on the table.

Zhou Zheng walked over and took out the brain-boosting medicine and brain-tonifying capsules he had bought. He always calculated it carefully, and the previous medicine was just finished.

"Ping An, come on, it's time for your medicine."

"……ah……"

Ping An obediently opened his mouth, put the medicine in his mouth, took a sip of water, and swallowed it.

"Ping An is such a good girl, let's go wash up and go to bed."

"...Okay...take a bath..."

Zhou Zheng led Ping An into the bathroom and helped him take off his clothes.

  

Ping An stood in front of him like a little animal waiting to be cleaned up, neither making a fuss nor dodging, holding a small plastic yellow duck in her hands, grinning foolishly.

Zhou Zheng took the showerhead, tested the water temperature, and adjusted it to a level that was not too hot to touch before applying it to Ping An.

He squeezed out a little shampoo, lathered it up, and slowly applied it to Ping An's hair.

"Close your eyes, don't open them," he said.

Ping An obediently closed her eyes and waited for him to rinse off the foam.

Zhou Zheng then used shower gel to scrub Ping An's entire body. When he touched some sensitive areas, Ping An became unbearably itchy, letting out silly giggles and swaying his body, splashing water everywhere.

"...It itches...it's so itchy..."

"Okay, okay, I feel better now that I've washed."

Zhou Zheng washed the foam off Ping An's body, dried the water stains with a towel, and then dressed him.

"Alright, all washed up." Zhou Zheng patted his lower back. "Go wait in bed."

Ping An ran outside, clutching the little yellow duck in her hand: "...I'm all washed...smells nice and fresh."

"Slow down, don't run."

In a peaceful little room.

As soon as Ping An entered the room, she collapsed onto the bed, covered herself with the blanket, and lay quietly, as if waiting for something.

Zhou Zheng walked in, and Ping An looked at him with bright eyes: "...Dad...listen to a story..."

"Okay, today we'll tell the story of the little yellow duck."

Zhou Zheng picked up the storybook from the bedside table, turned to a page, and began to tell the story.

Once upon a time, there was a little yellow duck...

Ping An obediently closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep to Zhou Zheng's voice.

After finishing a section, Zhou Zheng closed the book, stared at Ping An for a while, reached out and touched his hair, stood up, and gently closed the door.

In the living room, Wang Lili was still lying on the sofa scrolling through her phone.

The coffee table was a mess, with grease stains from instant noodles still on it. He took out a rag and wiped it twice, then tidied up the things on the coffee table and sofa, preparing to throw them into the trash can.

A strip of pills peeked out from the opening of the medicine box. He glanced at it out of the corner of his eye and saw two white pills still on the foil, perfectly embedded in the aluminum foil.

His brows slowly furrowed.

He checked before leaving in the morning and there were four pills left. He fed Ping An two pills, and he will give her two more at noon. They should be finished just in time.

He turned to look at Wang Lili, his voice tinged with seriousness: "Didn't you give Ping An his medicine at noon?"

Wang Lili lay on the sofa, her eyes still glued to her phone, and casually replied, "I've eaten."

"Why are there only two pills left in the medicine box?" Zhou Zheng held up the medicine box, the tin cardboard reflecting the light. "When I left this morning, there were only two pills left. They should be gone by noon."

Wang Lili finally looked up from the screen, paused for a moment on Zhou Zheng's face, and then quickly looked away.

She ran her fingers along the edge of the phone a couple of times, and her lips moved slightly: "Maybe... I forgot. Besides, that medicine is so expensive, and it didn't seem to help. Missing a dose won't make a difference."

This time, Zhou Zheng did not choose to remain silent.

He threw the medicine box onto the coffee table, making a crisp sound.

"Ping An must take his medicine every day," he said, staring at Wang Lili, emphasizing each word, "not a single dose can be missed."

Wang Lili sat up abruptly and placed her phone face down on the sofa.

"Why are you yelling? It's just that he missed one meal. We'll make it up to him tomorrow!"

Before Zhou Zheng could speak again, she got up and walked towards the bedroom.

The slippers made two slapping sounds on the floor tiles, and Wang Lili turned off the living room light, followed by the sound of a door slamming.

The living room fell silent.

Zhou stood there for a long time. Occasionally, a car would pass by outside the window, and the light and shadow on the ceiling would alternate between light and dark before returning to complete darkness.

He took a deep breath, walked to the sofa, sat down, took out his phone, first checked the work messages in the group chat, and then opened a game.

Tetris.

On the phone screen, squares of various shapes fall one by one.

He didn't adjust their positions, but watched them slowly get stuck, stack up, and then fill the space.

A message pops up on the screen: GameOver.