“Right, those two big buttons. Press them, then hand the remote to Dad.”
“Okay, Dad, just a sec.”
Lin Xiaobao stood in front of the television, sticking out his butt as he leaned in closer to study it carefully.
He raised both hands, thumbs up, and pressed the buttons on the TV and DVD player at the same time.
The TV screen flickered to life, showing a black-and-white burst of static, accompanied by the harsh crackle of white noise.
Lin Zao lay in bed under the covers and reached out to take the remote that Lin Xiaobao handed him.
He pressed two buttons, and the screen flashed twice.
Then Fu Cheng’s back appeared on the screen.
“Big Daddy! It’s Big Daddy again!”
Lin Xiaobao pointed at the screen and shouted in delight.
“Yeah, that’s him.” Lin Zao threw back the covers. “Come here quick. Little Baby can’t stand so close to the TV.”
“Okay.”
Lin Xiaobao agreed and turned his body obediently, but he kept his head facing the screen.
In other words—
His body faced Dad.
His feet shuffled slowly toward the edge of the bed, one step at a time.
But his head was still turned toward the television!
His eyes were glued to the screen!
He didn’t want to miss a single second!
“Little Bao?”
Lin Zao called out again.
Seeing that he couldn’t get through to him, he simply threw off the covers, spread his arms wide, and lunged forward to scoop him up into his embrace.
“Come here, you! Gotcha!”
“Hey!”
Lin Xiaobao suddenly found himself airborne. He kicked his little legs furiously and wriggled, trying to break free.
“Dad, you’re a meanie!”
“Dad’s not a meanie. Dad’s a fish catcher, and he just nabbed a plump Little Bao fish.”
Lin Zao hauled him onto the bed and placed him beside him, pinning him down with the covers and pillows.
“Sit here and watch. No getting too close.”
“Got it.” Lin Xiaobao looked up. “Dad, can you fast-forward a bit?”
“Why?” Lin Zao asked, puzzled.
“You grabbed me away, and I missed a few seconds!”
“It was just a few seconds. No big deal.”
“It is a big deal!”
Lin Xiaobao clambered out from under the mountain of blankets and pillows. He planted his hands on his hips and stood tall on the bed, declaring righteously.
“Dad went to see Big Daddy this morning, but I haven’t seen him in sooo long. I need to watch extra!”
“Alright, I’ll fast-forward for you.” Lin Zao pressed his lips together. “Dad promises not to let you miss even a tiny bit of Big Daddy.”
“That’s more like it.” Lin Xiaobao nodded in satisfaction.
“Wait till Dad rests up and gets his strength back, then I’ll take you downstairs to see Big Daddy in person. How’s that?”
“But I’m so short…”
“Dad’ll carry you.”
“No way.” Lin Xiaobao shook his head firmly.
“And why not?”
“Big Daddy said Dad’s not strong, so Dad can’t do heavy lifting.”
Lin Xiaobao kept his hands on his hips and bounced lightly on the bed.
Hmm, he was a bit heavy.
So he counted as “heavy lifting.”
Only now, as Lin Xiaobao brought it up, did Lin Zao suddenly remember.
He delivered meals to Fu Cheng every day and saw Brother Cheng all the time.
Whether Fu Cheng was pretending to sleep or playing pitiful, he could always see him.
But Little Bao hadn’t seen Big Daddy in days. He must be worried.
It was his oversight—he hadn’t thought about Little Bao’s feelings.
“No worries.” Lin Zao pulled him into a hug. “Dad’s a mighty strong guy!”
Lin Xiaobao shook his head and corrected him. “Dad’s ‘Little Hercules.’”
“Let’s watch Big Daddy on TV for now.”
Lin Zao picked up the remote and skipped ahead a few minutes.
That Lantern Festival night, he and Little Bao had watched this disc together.
They hadn’t gotten halfway through before Lin Xiaobao fell asleep.
The disc was still in the DVD player, so they could pick right up where they left off.
Last time, the family of three was just about to head out to People’s Square to watch the fireworks.
The camera panned—
Fu Cheng handed the camcorder to Lin Zao. “Wife, hold this for me. I need to drive.”
“Got it,” Lin Zao replied. “I’ll capture all your cool, dashing driving poses.”
“Good.” Fu Cheng smiled, turned, and opened the back door to lift Lin Xiaobao inside.
Fu Cheng drove, with Lin Zao in the passenger seat.
Lin Xiaobao sat strapped into his car seat in the back.
The family of three finally set off.
Scenery whipped past outside the windows.
Lin Zao filmed Fu Cheng’s focused profile as he drove and caught Lin Xiaobao singing and dancing along to a children’s song in the back.
Outside the TV—
Lin Xiaobao covered his face and burrowed into Dad’s arms.
“Dad, little me was so silly back then!”
“But you’re not that big even now.”
“I’m super mature now—way more than immature Dad and Big Daddy.”
“Is that so?”
Lin Zao chuckled and played along.
Before long, the family on screen arrived at the square.
Lin Zao patted Lin Xiaobao’s shoulder urgently. “Hurry, hurry! Your favorite fireworks are coming up.”
Lin Xiaobao lifted his head and turned back to the screen.
Lin Zao remembered that it had already been getting dark when they set out.
It wasn’t long before the fireworks show began.
Just then, the camera tilted upward as two red fireworks bloomed across the screen.
The DV’s video quality wasn’t great, so the glowing fireworks came out a bit blurry.
But Lin Xiaobao watched with rapt attention.
Then the sound of fireworks followed—
“Roar!”
“Roar roar roar!”
“Hmm…” Lin Zao sensed something off and turned his head. “Huh?”
What was that?
Fireworks didn’t sound like this, did they?
Lin Xiaobao heard it too and looked up. “Dad…”
“You stay in the room. Dad’s just going down to check…”
Lin Zao said as he started to get out of bed.
It was probably zombies nearby coming for Fu Cheng again. A few firecrackers would scare them off.
But Lin Xiaobao lunged forward and grabbed his arm. “No way! Dad’s sick—he can’t get out of bed!”
“Dad’s just taking a quick look to see what it is. It’ll be fine…”
“I know what it is!” Lin Xiaobao said loudly. “It’s the monsters outside!”
Lin Xiaobao insisted, “Dad’s not allowed out of bed. Grandpa Zhang will chase them away, and Big Daddy will too.”
Lin Zao frowned in confusion. “How do you know?”
“Because they came this morning too.”
“What?” Lin Zao was shocked. “They came this morning?”
“They were making a racket outside, and it woke me up.”
“Why didn’t they wake me?” Lin Zao was even more stunned. “Was I sleeping that soundly?”
“Because I put headphones on you,” Lin Xiaobao said matter-of-factly. “You’re sick, Dad—you need lots of sleep. So I put the headphones on you.”
That morning, Dad had done the same to protect him.
So he’d learned from Dad, doing it so Dad could sleep more.
Lin Zao looked down, lifted the pillow, and sure enough, found the dead headphones underneath.
“And… then what happened?”
“Then Grandpa Zhang helped me. He took some stuff from home—a lump with chicken blood, chicken shit, and feathers—and threw it over the wall to lure the monsters away.”
“Like that?”
Right—Grandpa Zhang had slaughtered chickens at home recently, so he had all that.
Zombies loved bloody stuff, so they’d follow the scent.
“No doing that next time,” Lin Zao said sternly. “Wake Dad up next time. No more headphones.”
“Got it.” Lin Xiaobao nodded and went on. “Then they came back again.”
“They came back? What did you do? Ask Grandpa Zhang again?”
“Nope.” Lin Xiaobao shook his head. “This time, Big Daddy roared super loud and scared them off.”
“Big Daddy?”
“Yeah. Big Daddy’s roar was huge—like this—”
Lin Xiaobao stood on the bed, clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and demonstrated.
“Aaah—roar—”
At the same moment, an angry roar echoed from downstairs.
“Roar!”
Upstairs and down, Lin Xiaobao and Fu Cheng.
Father and son’s roars overlapped perfectly.
Lin Zao couldn’t hold back anymore. He bolted downstairs.
He reached the second-floor living room and peered down through the back window.
Sure enough, a crowd of zombies had gathered outside the utility room again.
Men and women, young and old—they were all there.
Way more than yesterday.
Irritated roars kept coming from inside the utility room.
“Roar! Roar roar roar!”
—Get lost! All of you, scram!
My wife’s mad at me!
My wife won’t even come see me!
My wife’s not making me food anymore!
So annoying… freaking annoying! Stop bugging me!
Through the window glass, Lin Zao watched the scene downstairs in astonishment.
After Fu Cheng roared, the zombies actually stirred.
They hung their heads low, turned around slowly and sluggishly, and shuffled off en masse.
How was this possible?
Lin Zao hid behind the curtains, clutching his hands tightly as he watched.
Fu Cheng could make sounds just like the zombies. He could make them understand him.
Did that mean Fu Cheng had… fully turned into a zombie?
Did he still…
Remember him and Little Bao?
Did he still have any human awareness left?
Lin Zao couldn’t figure it out and didn’t dare to dwell on it.
Just then, Lin Xiaobao came up beside him.
“Dad, what are you looking at?”
“Nothing.”
The zombies outside were too gory for a kid.
Lin Zao quickly drew the curtains shut so Lin Xiaobao couldn’t see.
“Big Daddy just learned a new language and he’s talking to the foreigners.”
“Really?” Lin Xiaobao gasped in awe. “Big Daddy’s so cool! What country’s language?”
“Some foreign one.”
“Dad, you’re so dumb. There are tons of countries in the world.”
“Are there? Dad didn’t know.”
After Fu Cheng’s roar, the zombies downstairs dispersed.
But Lin Zao still wasn’t reassured. He took Lin Xiaobao down for a look.
Good.
Fu Cheng only roared a few times. Once the zombies around the utility room cleared out, he fell silent.
He was different from the other zombies.
The others roared whenever and wherever, all day every day.
Fu Cheng seemed pretty smart. He knew when to roar and when to stay quiet.
Roar at zombies, but shut up when his wife and kid were resting.
Lin Zao climbed onto a stool, picked up Lin Xiaobao, and held him to the window.
“See? Big Daddy’s in there, all safe. Isn’t it clearer than on TV?”
“Yeah.”
Lin Xiaobao pressed against the window and peered inside intently.
A tall, burly man sat on the floor in the corner, his back to the door and window.
They couldn’t see his face, but…
“Dad, did you bully Big Daddy? He looks so pitiful.”
“Nonsense, I didn’t.”
“Then why’s Big Daddy hiding in the corner?”
“No idea.”
Lin Zao puffed out his cheeks, feeling a bit helpless.
This tough guy, a whole head taller and way bulkier than him, always put on such a pitiful act around him.
Lin Zao didn’t think it suited Fu Cheng!
“Ahem…”
Lin Zao cleared his throat, trying to get Fu Cheng’s attention.
But Fu Cheng didn’t budge, no reaction at all.
Either he hadn’t heard or he was pretending to sleep again.
Whatever.
“Big Daddy…” Lin Zao made something up. “He’s growing mushrooms. Once they’re ready, we’ll have mushrooms to eat.”
“With what?”
“Tears. A man’s tears.”
Lin Xiaobao looked skeptical, and even Lin Zao thought it sounded funny as he said it.
“Let’s go. Back upstairs to watch more TV.”
Lin Zao set Lin Xiaobao down and started to leave, but then remembered something.
He went back to the window, grabbed the rope, and lifted the plastic meal basket a bit.
Weird—it was still just as heavy.
Hadn’t Fu Cheng eaten?
Lin Zao sighed and called into the window. “Brother Cheng, don’t be sad. Come on out and eat. Don’t starve yourself.”
Fu Cheng, still facing away, toppled forward until his forehead pressed against the corner of the wall.
He didn’t turn around or speak.
He just let out a low, rumbling growl from his throat.
Like a wolfhound.
Lin Zao took it as agreement, locked the window, and turned to go.
Hearing the footsteps fade, Fu Cheng whipped around and stared in disbelief at the empty window outside.
He was gone!
He’d chased off the zombies, but Little Zao didn’t come praise him.
He’d hidden alone in the corner, but Little Zao didn’t come comfort him.
Little Zao had really left just like that!
Little Zao really didn’t want him anymore!
Fu Cheng slumped in the corner, his fingers tracing the “Zao” carved on the wall. His shoulders trembled faintly, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
Growl growl—
The whole day.
Under Lin Xiaobao’s watchful eye, Lin Zao stayed in bed all day, focusing on recovery.
The father and son finished watching last year’s family fireworks disc, then dug out the ones from the year before and the year before that.
At first, Lin Xiaobao complained that little him had been so childish. But later…
Later, he couldn’t find himself anymore!
He stared wide-eyed, searching for ages until exhaustion hit, and he flopped beside Dad.
Lin Zao patted his little head and told him the truth.
“Little Bao, the year before last, you didn’t exist yet.”
“What? Then where was I?” Lin Xiaobao fretted. “I disappeared—why didn’t Dad and Big Daddy look for me?”
“You weren’t born yet. You were in Dad’s belly.”
Lin Zao drained a big cup of perilla water. By then, night was falling.
The father and son were about to head to the kitchen to cook when Lin Zao remembered Fu Cheng and went to check the utility room first.
He lifted the plastic basket. Without even opening the thermos lid, just by the weight, Lin Zao knew.
Well, well!
Fu Cheng still hadn’t eaten!
The thin noodles inside were still full—he hadn’t touched a bite!
“You…”
Lin Zao wanted to scold him, but seeing him still huddled in the corner, the words died on his tongue.
“Why not eat? Don’t zombies get hungry? Or are you doing this on purpose?”
“Why won’t you look at me? Still mad? I’ve cooled off, but you’re still sulking? So petty.”
“Petty ghost.”
Fu Cheng still had his back turned to him, refusing to look around.
Lin Zao clutched the thermos bucket, twisted off the lid, and peered inside.
The thermos was of good quality. The thin noodles he’d cooked that morning were still warm even now.
No need to reheat them.
He placed the thermos back in the basket and called out once more. “Fu Cheng!”
“I’m… I’m telling you, Little Bao and I aren’t eating your leftovers! I’ve had thin noodles two meals in a row, and my stomach’s starting to feel off. I want to eat dinner tonight! Real rice!”
“I’m putting the thermos back. That’s your portion—eat it yourself.”
Lin Zao put on a stern little face and laid down the ultimatum.
“If you don’t finish those thin noodles, I won’t bring you any new food!”
“Did you hear me?”
He had heard.
But he didn’t understand.
Fu Cheng kept his head lowered and let out a muffled grunt.
It wasn’t until he heard Lin Zao’s footsteps retreating once more that he finally raised his head. He stood up slowly and shuffled over to the basket.
He opened the thermos. The sight of the familiar food and the smell of its aroma made everything click.
Little Zao hadn’t prepared anything new for him.
Little Zao wanted him to eat this.
Very well. Since it was Little Zao’s command, he would obey.
Fu Cheng picked up the thermos, gripped his chopsticks, and lifted a strand of thin noodles.
He was just about to slide them into his mouth when, the very next second—
A round little head rose up from outside the window.
Lin Zao gripped the windowsill with both hands. Like a mischievous little ghost, he floated into view—slowly, steadily, and oh-so-sneakily.
“Ha! Got you, Brother Cheng!”
