The Cannibalistic Smile chapter 1

In a residential building in New York, an elderly couple, both retired factory workers, lived on the second floor. They had no children, but their life was still manageable. Recently, they encountered a strange thing: the man next door actually smiled at them!

Since the couple moved into this building, they had never seen the man next door smile. This man had a dark complexion, always looked serious, and held his head high, which made him seem like a person of high status. Once, the old lady couldn’t help asking the old man, “Do you think that dark – faced guy is just born unable to smile?” The old man frowned and said, “How can you talk like that? He’s a leader. Leaders meet so many people. If he smiled at everyone, he’d be exhausted. Whether he smiles or not is his business. Anyway, we just need to smile at him.”

A few years passed in a blink of an eye. One day, the old lady was cooking while the old man came back with milk from outside. As soon as he entered the door, he was as excited as if he had discovered a new continent and said to his wife, “Something strange has happened! Something strange! I met the dark – faced guy in the corridor just now. Guess what? He… he actually smiled at me!”

The old lady said, “No way. He hasn’t smiled for years. Maybe you saw it wrong.” The old man stamped his walking stick and said, “It’s absolutely true. His face is so dark that you can’t see his white teeth when he doesn’t smile. But I saw his white teeth just now. He not only smiled but also asked me where I was going. Isn’t it strange?”

That evening, while having dinner, the couple was still talking about the dark – faced guy. Then the doorbell rang. The old lady quickly opened the door and saw the dark – faced man standing there with a big smile. There was no doubt now. He actually looked quite nice when he smiled. The couple quickly invited him in, but he said, “No, thanks. I just came to tell you that my son is getting married this Sunday. We’re having a party at the Hilton Hotel. Since we’re old neighbors, you two must come!”

After the dark – faced man left, the couple was in a daze for a long time. So, he smiled at them just to invite them to the wedding! The old lady asked the old man, “How much money should we give as a gift?” The old man thought for a while and said, “He’s having the party in such a nice hotel. We’ll be there for the meal. I’ll give half of my monthly pension, which is $200.”

On that day, the old couple supported each other and attended the dark – faced man’s son’s wedding. They thought their relationship with this neighbor would definitely improve. However, right after the wedding, the dark – faced man went back to his old self. He never smiled at the couple again when they met in the corridor.

More than a year passed, and the old couple got used to seeing the dark – faced man walk by with a poker face. One day, the old man was busy at home when the old lady rushed in and said, “It’s terrible, old man! The dark – faced guy smiled at me today. Not only that, he even gave me a hand. What should we do?”

The couple waited nervously. The dark – faced man didn’t come that night, but he came knocking on their door early the next morning. As soon as he entered, he took out a gilded red invitation and said to the couple, “Sir and Ma’am, today is my grandson’s满月 (equivalent to a baby’s one – month celebration in the US context, we can say baby’s one – month party). We’re having a party at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. There’ll be a shuttle bus downstairs to pick you up. You two must come!”

After the dark – faced man left, the couple was stunned. Recently, the old man had been hospitalized for a heart attack, which had almost used up all their savings. They rummaged through the house and finally managed to scrape together $400. The old man said, “This time he sent a formal invitation. The hotel is fancier than last time, and there’s a shuttle bus. Our gift money has to be more than last time, not less.” After some calculations, the two old people attended the party with $300. Anyway, they got through this situation.

After this incident, just like last time, the couple had to face the dark – faced man’s expressionless face again. They thought that the dark – faced man would never smile at them again.

However, it seemed that the world was always against good people. After some time, the old couple was taking a walk in the yard when they saw the dark – faced man coming from afar. Oh my god! He showed his white teeth and walked towards them with a smile. Although he just glanced at the couple, they quickly returned the smile and watched him walk by.

This was a big problem. The old couple couldn’t sleep at night. To their surprise, for the next three consecutive days, they saw the dark – faced man smiling at them every day. The two old people really couldn’t stand it. They thought, “The last two times he just smiled once, and we had to spend hundreds of dollars. This time he’s been smiling for three days. Maybe even our combined pensions won’t be enough. What should we do?” The two old people were too shy to refuse the dark – faced man’s invitation, so they just paced around the house day and night, waiting for him to knock on the door.

After all, they were old and couldn’t bear the stress. Maybe because of this, the old man’s heart disease suddenly flared up. His face turned blue, and he gasped for breath. He was sent to the hospital, but he passed away soon. The old lady was extremely sad. After the old man passed away, the old lady’s health got worse day by day. She stood downstairs with a walking stick every day. She still saw the dark – faced man grinning every day, but he never invited her to any parties again. One day, when the old lady was about to go upstairs, the new young nanny from the dark – faced man’s house passed by. The old lady was feeling so frustrated that she asked the nanny, “Girl, is there any good news in your family recently?” The nanny said, “Good news? No!” The old lady asked, “No? Then why does your master keep smiling?”

The nanny said, “Well, it’s not like that, ma’am. He had a medical check – up some time ago and was found to have a tumor in his mouth. The doctor removed the tumor, but somehow, his mouth can’t close anymore. So, it just looks like he’s smiling…”