Many years later.

During the summer vacation, I went back from Beijing to visit Teacher Chen, who had completely retired from teaching. She was now over seventy years old, with some signs of dementia, though not severe.

She sat on the sofa and said to me, "Your mother called me recently. She said if you are willing to forgive her, you should go home and see her.

"I never constrain what you do. If you want to recognize her as your mother again, I won't stop you. You have a strong enough heart and insight to make the choice that benefits you the most."

I went back to the Chen home.

I snuck back home.

I quietly stood in front of the already dilapidated wooden door. Inside, my brother was hitting his grandmother.

And my mother, numb, was washing clothes. Long ago, after that incident was exposed, she was doxed and cyberbullied. Some people even sent threats to the Chen home via courier. She started to become timid, terrified, and cowardly, scared to go out at the slightest disturbance.

After my mother lost her career, my father ran off with that woman. I heard that woman was also after his money. When she realized he had no money, she tricked him into gambling, and he fell into a scam. My father had four of his fingers cut off before he hurriedly escaped back home. Then, he was caught by Grandpa Lin from the neighboring village, the one who once wanted to buy me, demanding my father repay his debt.

By then, all the family's money was long gone, so the two argued. Enraged, feeling swindled, Grandpa Lin stabbed my father to death with a single knife. He, too, was captured again and sentenced to life in prison.

At this moment, my brother was sitting on a chair in the courtyard, playing a game. Seeing his grandmother still trying to persuade him to work, he angrily threw down his broken phone and picked up a broom to hit her with.

The sweeping broom occasionally hit my mother as well.

Karma, the pain I once suffered is now retribution upon them.

This is their beloved son, their beloved grandson.

They didn’t hesitate to abort three daughters, even when doctors advised against keeping the child, to give birth to this boy.

A naturally bad seed with a super male gene.

My brother, once just slow and selfish, had now become a frustrated, selfish, irritable beast.

They dared not to be angry or speak out, only silently enduring.

After witnessing everything, I left, satisfied.

My mother called Teacher Chen, saying she hoped I would return?

She hadn't realized her mistakes; she just noticed my success and wanted to cling to me.

More than ten years ago, when I heard my brother had a super male gene after genetic screening, my first reaction was: Oh no, am I going to lose my brother too?

I had seen society's rejection of the super male gene. Some even wrote that carriers of the super male gene are born criminals, disruptive to social order, and should rightfully be executed.

But having already suffered the pain of losing three sisters, little me, though also afraid of my brother's super male gene, was more concerned about not wanting this brother to drift away from me.

I asked my heavily pregnant mother, "Mom, will you not want my brother?"

My mother thought I was jealous. If it weren't for the fact that pregnant women shouldn't engage in intense physical activity, she would have hit me again.

She glared at me viciously, warning me, "Don’t get any bad ideas. He is your brother. Don’t think about harming him!"

Hearing her words, I let out a sigh of relief.

But I was also afraid my brother would become unlikeable in the future, that my mother would hate him, and like me, beat him. So I wished for my mother's career to continue to flourish; if she were happy, she wouldn't bother with my brother and would hit me less often.

My wish came true.

Though only half of it.

It’s hard to say who the lucky star was. My mother’s success might have been due to my wish, or perhaps what she deserved. But I knew I wasn't a jinx.

And as for my brother, undeniably, he was the jinx.

The Chen family received the retribution predicted by that old Taoist, and I would head to broader horizons, embracing a better future.