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All Chapters of Shrimp Dumplings and Silence: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

Dad's promotion dinner filled our home with guests.The burning in my throat grew stronger and stronger, as if countless needles were stabbing me from the inside.I clutched my neck and stumbled toward Mom, forcing out a hoarse, broken sound. "Mom... help..."Just now, Aunt Wendy had given me a pretty bunny-shaped puff pastry. I had eaten it without thinking.But it was filled with shrimp.Mom was holding a wineglass, smiling as she toasted Dad's supervisor.When she saw me in pain, the smile on her face vanished. In its place was pure disgust.She grabbed me and dragged me aside, lowering her voice as she snapped, "Annie Reed, what are you trying to do now?""Do you know what day this is? Whether your father can secure this promotion depends on tonight!"I opened my mouth, but I could not say a single word. Breathing became harder and harder. The room began to spin.I shook my head desperately, pointing at my throat as tears streamed down from my body's reflexive panic.But

Chapter 2

Outside the door, the dinner party finally ended. Dad supported his drunken supervisor while Mom followed behind, bowing and smiling."Director Harris, take care. Please come over for dinner again sometime!"After seeing everyone off, Mom let out a long breath, unable to hide the satisfaction on her face.Dad was glowing too, clearly pleased with the night's networking.When he returned to the living room and saw the broken vase pieces I had knocked over while struggling, he frowned. "What happened here?"Mom cleaned up the mess and said irritably, "Who else? Your precious daughter.""She saw how many guests we had tonight and pretended to be sick for attention, so I locked her in."Dad loosened his tie and collapsed onto the couch. "That child is getting more and more unreasonable."I wanted to rush over and scream at them. "I wasn't pretending! I was really dying! Please go check on me!"But my hand passed through Dad's body. They could not hear my voice at all.Lily ran ov

Chapter 3

"Sometimes I really wonder if she does it on purpose."Dad fell silent. After a while, he said, "Stop overthinking it. I'll talk to her tomorrow.""If it still doesn't work, we'll take her to a therapist."I floated between them and listened to their conversation, my heart sliced open.In their eyes, even my illness was a calculated performance.They did not know how many times I had struggled to breathe in the middle of the night, biting down on my blanket and enduring it alone so I would not wake them.I did not dare cry. I did not dare call out.I was afraid of disturbing them.I was afraid of seeing them worry about me.But all my obedience had earned me was the label of a scheming child.I'm sorry, Dad. I'm sorry, Mom.I was too useless. Even being sick annoyed you.If I had never been born, you could have lived much more easily with my healthy little sister.I lay between them, just like when I was little, with Mom on my left and Dad on my right.But I could no long

Chapter 4

That scream tore apart the quiet morning and shattered the false peace of this home.Mom crawled and stumbled to my body, reaching out with trembling hands to check my breath.There was only coldness."No! This can't be!" She shook her head wildly, incoherent. "Annie! Annie, wake up! Don't play this joke on Mommy!"She pulled my cold, stiff body into her arms, trying to warm me with her own body heat."My daughter, open your eyes and look at Mommy! Mommy was wrong! Mommy was really wrong!"Tears fell like broken beads, hitting my bloodless face one after another."Mommy didn't mean to ignore you! Wake up and scold Mommy, okay? Hit Mommy if you want!"Please, open your eyes and look at me..."Again and again, she kissed my forehead and smoothed the sweat-soaked hair from my face, trying in vain to wipe away the deathly stillness.But my eyes would never open again.I knelt beside her and tried to wipe away her tears, but my fingers passed through her face every time.All I c

Chapter 5

Dad spoke with great difficulty. "She said... she said she didn't feel well. She had eaten... something with shrimp."The officer's pen paused. He looked up sharply. "You knew she was severely allergic to shrimp?""We knew...""Then did you administer emergency treatment? Did you take her to the hospital?"Dad lowered his head even more. His voice was as tiny as a mosquito's. "We... I thought she was throwing a tantrum... so we locked her in her room..."The officer's face darkened."You did what? You locked a child showing signs of a severe allergic reaction alone in a room?"The air went dead silent.That question was like a poisoned dagger, stabbing straight into my parents' hearts.Yes. That was exactly what they had done.They had killed their own daughter with their own hands.My body was taken away for a forensic examination.The house was sealed off, and my parents were taken to the police station for further questioning.Lily was taken away by Grandma Helen after

Chapter 6

You opened the gates of hell with your own hands.Because Lily needed someone to care for her, Mom was released pending trial and allowed to go home for the time being.Dad remained in custody, awaiting sentencing.The house was no longer a home.A small memorial had been set up in the living room. At the center sat a framed photo of me, surrounded by white flowers and flickering candles.In the photo, I was smiling with innocent brightness.Mom wore all black and knelt before the photo, motionless, keeping vigil.Her eyes were empty and numb, as if her soul had already been hollowed out.Relatives came and pointed at my parents, whispering and judging."What a sin. How could they lock a child alone in a room?""Exactly. Grace usually looked like she cared about Annie. How could she make such a stupid mistake at the worst possible moment?""I heard Daniel's promotion is gone too. He might even lose his job. What a disaster."Then a sharp, mean voice sounded. It was my dista

Chapter 7

At night, Mom would go into my room and make my bed, as if I were still alive.She spoke to the air. "Annie, did you make any new friends at school today?"Then she would answer herself. "Oh, Mommy forgot. Our Annie isn't in school yet."She talked to herself, sometimes crying, sometimes laughing, like a madwoman.Lily became more and more afraid of her.The gentle, beautiful mother she once knew had become gloomy and strange.One night, Lily had a nightmare and cried out for me.Mom rushed into her room and hugged her tightly.But what she said was, "Annie, don't be scared. Mommy is here. Mommy is right here."Lily screamed in terror. "I'm not Annie! I'm Lily! Let go of me!"Mom froze.She looked at Lily, who was trembling in fear, and a hint of clarity returned to her eyes.Then, as if she had been stabbed, she suddenly pushed Lily away and ran out of the room.That night, she locked herself in my room and cried all night.I sat beside her, listening as her sobs went fr

Chapter 8

I watched her leave the prison in a daze, wandering aimlessly along the street.I knew the last thread holding her together had snapped too.Mom returned to the empty house.She did not turn on the lights. In the dark, she walked into my room.She sat at my desk and pulled open the drawer.Inside were photos of me from childhood, drawings I had made, and crooked little cards I had written to her."Mommy, happy birthday. You are the prettiest mommy in the world!""Mommy, I love you."She looked at them one by one, touching each one, silent tears soaking the paper.Finally, her gaze landed on a small medicine box.It was my spare epinephrine auto-injector. It had always been in my desk drawer.That day, I had been only a few steps away from it.If the door had not been locked, if I had been able to reach it, I would not have died.Mom picked up the injector and clutched it tightly. The needle pierced her palm, and blood flowed out.But she could not feel the pain.What kin

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