The Fool Who Came Down from the Mountains Is Clearly a Phoenix

On my fifth birthday, Mom and Dad bought pesticide, mixed it into some cola, and handed it to me.

"Lele, this is so sweet. Drink up, and the three of us will go to heaven together."

I took it with a grin and gulped down a big mouthful. I held it in my mouth for ages, but all I could taste was bitterness, so I spat most of it out.

Mom and Dad suddenly started laughing and crying at once. Their bodies writhed like worms as they clawed the pillows and blankets to shreds. Ketchup even started running out of their ears.

I thought it was a game and laughed and laughed. At some point, I fell asleep too.

In a daze, I heard someone's voice in my ear.

"The parents are completely dead. The kid drank the stuff mixed with cola, so she barely made it."

My heart felt heavy, and suddenly I was a little sad.

But I remembered Mom saying that when you feel sad, you should grin and giggle like an idiot. Idiots are the happiest people in the world.

So I opened my eyes and grinned at everyone, laughing nonstop.

My uncles, aunts, and the others crowded around me, arguing for ages. In the end, they all left cursing and grumbling.

Only Second Aunt was willing to stay with me.

"So what if she's an idiot? I'll raise Chen Le."

Later, she watched the men in the village line up and crawl on top of me like pigs. She watched my belly grow, and watched me grow more and more foolish.

In the end, she told me to run.