Through the diary, Ethan had learned some clues. Mom was strange, and strange sounds had appeared in the room in the middle of the night.
In a daze, he had once seen his mother kill his father and even cut him up to make soup.
The medicine prescribed by the doctor would make someone unconscious.
When he had forgotten to bring his keys and called his father, he had once heard his father's phone ringing on the rooftop.
Putting all of this together, Ethan could almost be certain that the "father" in this world was already dead.
Although he knew perfectly well that the father in this world wasn't his own father, for some reason, Ethan still felt a tinge of sadness, and even felt uncomfortable inside.
'No, I have to get out of this strange world as soon as possible.'
If this continued, even if he knew there was something wrong with this world, he might eventually be assimilated by it.
Like what had happened with his father, and like what had happened to the person who had once written the diary.
The former "him" was the best proof of being assimilated.
In the end… "he" had even come to believe that his father had gone on a business trip.
That was terrifying.
"Ethan, go see if your sister's back."
Mom's voice came from outside Ethan's bedroom.
Hearing that voice, Ethan broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly stuffed the diary behind his pants, securing it with the waistband, then hurriedly pushed the drawer back into the desk.
"Oh, I'm coming!"
Ethan answered loudly before walking to the door and pulling it open.
Sure enough, Mom's big face was right outside.
Although… Ethan had already prepared himself for Mom to be standing outside the door, but when he opened it and saw his mother holding a large kitchen knife and smiling at him, his heart really panicked.
"I just went to check. Your sister isn't back yet. Looks like I heard wrong," As Mom spoke, she glanced into Ethan's room, "I just cleaned this room. How did you make such a mess again?"
"Oh, I was looking for some homework. I don't know where I left it, and I couldn't find it. It's kind of annoying."
Ethan gave a long explanation.
They say that the more flustered a person is, the more they talk, and the more they explain.
Only after Ethan finished speaking did he realize that he'd probably said too much. Fortunately, his "programmed robot" of a mom hadn't noticed anything at all. She simply carried the knife into Ethan's room.
She had the look of someone saying, Don't stop me. Anyone who does is going to die.
'Thank goodness!'
He'd been clever enough to put the diary away just now.
Ethan strongly suspected that this strange mom was looking for his diary.
"It's fine. I'll help you look," Mom smiled and turned back toward Ethan, "Why don't you go eat first?"
"Oh, okay."
Ethan froze for a moment.
Because Mom hadn't asked what the homework he was looking for looked like.
But Ethan didn't dare contradict her, nor did he dare remind her. He might as well just do as she said.
He left the room.
Sure enough, two dishes and a soup steaming hot were already set on the dining table.
A large plate of braised pork ribs, except these ribs looked thinner and more curved than ordinary pork ribs.
There was also stir-fried pig intestines with pickled mustard greens, which didn't look particularly unusual.
But the soup in the middle… was what made Ethan feel the most horrified.
Because that so-called seaweed soup, especially the black stuff in it, contained strands of fine black threads floating in the soup. They looked more like strands of hair than seaweed.
Ethan had absolutely no intention of ladling himself some soup. Not at all.
However… he glanced back at Mom, who was still in the study looking for his "diary," then looked toward the kitchen.
Perhaps this was the best time to investigate the secret.
Quietly… Ethan tiptoed into the kitchen. Just as he was about to lift the lid of the pot and take a look,
Tap! Tap!
Footsteps suddenly sounded behind him.
Without a word, Ethan didn't even turn around. He immediately abandoned the idea of lifting the lid and instead turned on the faucet and started washing his hands.
If he couldn't get away, he could only pretend he was washing his hands.
"Bro, what are you doing?"
"Uh…"
Ethan turned around and saw that the person who had made the footsteps was his younger sister, Riyana. Only then did he finally let out a sigh of relief and said in his usual matter-of-fact tone, "Washing my hands. Are you blind?"
"Tch!", Riyana clicked her tongue before asking again, "Wait, Bro, weren't you on duty today? Why did you come home so early?"
"Uh…", Ethan froze for a moment, then suddenly saw Mom walking toward the kitchen with a strange smile. He quickly said, "I switched duties with someone else! Why are you asking so many questions? Go wash your hands and eat."
"Oh," Riyana had originally wanted to ask something else.
But the moment the corner of her eye caught Mom walking over, she suddenly shuddered. Although the movement was very slight, Ethan still noticed it.
'Sure enough…'
'Riyana also noticed that something is wrong with Mom too.'
But at this moment, Ethan still couldn't be sure whether his sister herself was okay.
'This world is too strange.'
So strange that Ethan didn't dare trust anyone anymore, not even the people closest to him.