My electric toothbrush had some unidentified substance stuck to it. I asked around the house, but no one paid me any mind. My younger brother rolled his eyes: "Who would dare use your stuff? You dress like a streetwalker all day, it's disgusting!" Furious, I secretly coated the bristles with concentrated capsaicin. That night. Screams echoed relentlessly from the bathroom. 01 Just as I was getting ready to brush my teeth. I saw some unidentified substance stuck to the toothbrush head. It was soft and mushy, with suspiciously dark edges. It looked a bit like a rotten piece of chive. Or something else I didn't even want to think about. I leaned in and took a sniff. A foul stench shot straight to my brain. I couldn't help but clutch the sink and dry heave several times. This was the third time this month. The first two times, I didn't think much of it. I thought I just hadn't rinsed it properly after brushing, and some leftover food had fermented. But today was different. I had just replaced this brush head yesterday after brushing. There was absolutely no way anything could have gotten stuck to it. Unless... Someone had used my toothbrush. And probably. More than once. 02 Clutching the toothbrush, I stormed out of the bathroom. "Which one of you used my toothbrush?" My mom was curled up on the sofa scrolling through her phone, the speaker volume blasting. [CEO, your wife has been banished abroad for three years!] [Does she know she was wrong?] [She has turned over a new leaf, and she gave birth to 12 babies!] My mom was engrossed, a smile on her lips, not even lifting her head. I raised my voice and asked again. My younger brother, Leo, rolled his eyes. "Who would dare use your stuff? It's disgusting!" The fire in my chest flared up instantly. "Leo, what is that supposed to mean?" He looked up, scanning me from head to toe with a look of pure disdain: "I heard people with dirty diseases get cauliflower-like warts in their mouths. Sis, is that cauliflower on your toothbrush? Hahahaha..." He bent over laughing, thoroughly amusing himself. I was shaking with anger. I gripped the toothbrush handle so tightly it hurt my palm. I wanted to rip that foul mouth of his right off! Just as I took a step forward, Leo nimbly dodged and shrank behind my mom. Poking his head out, he continued hollering: "Ooh, getting defensive! I hit the nail on the head, didn't I!" His voice grew even louder: "A girl like you, just a year out of college, where do you get all that money? Designer bags, designer clothes... you must have a sugar daddy! Mom, you need to rein her in. She can still fetch a good price while she's young, but once she's used goods, she'll be worthless!" "Leo!" I lunged at him! My mom slammed her phone down onto the sofa with a smack. She grabbed my arm. "What are you doing! Your brother is just worried about you!" I glared at her, my mind buzzing. "Mom, what did you just say?" She avoided my eyes, looking down and fiddling with the hem of her shirt, still muttering. "But really, as a young girl, why dress so fancy? And that phone of yours, I heard it cost over a thousand bucks, and that bag... tell Mom the truth, are you really involved with some old man..." "Mom!" I interrupted her in disbelief. "I stay up late working overtime every day until midnight. This is all my hard-earned money! How can you say that about me?" My mom looked completely unconvinced: "Oh, come on. I'm not the only one saying it. Last time, Mrs. Smith next door asked me if my daughter struck it rich, saying that bag you carry is worth tens of thousands. I was wondering myself, how could a young girl just out of college like you have so much money? If you have that kind of money, why don't you buy your brother a car? It's so inconvenient without a car; he's too embarrassed to take dates out..." She kept rambling on. I couldn't listen anymore. I understood everything now. Last week, Leo asked me for ten thousand dollars to buy a car, and I didn't give it to him. His face changed immediately then. He made a bunch of passive-aggressive comments about how my "wings had grown strong" and how I had "forgotten where I came from." I didn't take it seriously. I thought he was just throwing a tantrum. Turns out, he was waiting for me here. 03 I cut my mom off: "Leo is your son, not mine. Why should I buy him a car?" As soon as I said that. Leo wasn't having it. He jumped out from behind my mom, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Because I'm the only male heir of the Lee family! All the money in this family belongs to me! You're just a money-losing asset who will be married off eventually. You spent the family's money on your education, so the money you earn should naturally be spent on me!" He tugged on my mom's hand, shaking it back and forth. "Mom, I told you shouldn't have let her go to college! Her heart has gone wild! She's so full of herself she doesn't even know which way is up, and she even dares to talk back to you! And..." His words got stuck in his throat. Because I picked up the teapot and threw it right in his face. "Ah!" Leo clutched his face, howling like a slaughtered pig. My mom's face went pale with terror, and she lunged forward screaming. "Chloe Lee! Are you crazy?! That's hot water!" She squatted down, trying to pry Leo's hands away. "Son! Let Mom see! How is it! Where are you burned?" "Mom! Kill this bitch! Boo hoo hoo hoo, it hurts so much! My face is ruined!" Leo wailed, clutching his face, crying and cursing at the same time, spitting out obscenities non-stop. I glanced down. His face was indeed red in a patch. But it was a hundred thousand miles away from being "ruined." At most, it would sting for a while. Looking at the mother and son hugging and howling in front of me. I suddenly felt utterly exhausted. I turned around and walked out. 04 I just wanted to go out and get some fresh air. But a small street stall caught my eye. A red cloth was spread on the ground, displaying a few bottles and jars. Next to it stood a piece of cardboard with crooked writing. But the message was eye-catching: [Homemade concentrated capsaicin, colorless and odorless, extracted from Indian Ghost Peppers. Takes effect in 10 seconds, lasts for 48 hours! A must-have for home defense. A young lady's best friend for late-night commutes. Money-back guarantee if ineffective.] I stopped in my tracks. The vendor was a guy with bleached blonde hair, wearing a mask, squatting there scrolling on his phone. When he looked up and saw me, his eyes lit up. "Hey beautiful, this is my latest invention—the 'Scream at First Touch' concentrated capsaicin. Want to take a look?" I didn't say a word, just stared at the bottles. He continued: "Look, you're so pretty. You definitely get harassed by creeps on your way home from work at night, right? Keep a bottle on you, and if anyone dares to get handsy, you just spray them! I guarantee they'll be screaming in agony right then and there. They'll be avoiding women for the next 48 hours." "Is it spicy enough?" Hearing this, the blonde guy got excited. "I'm not bragging, I extracted this stuff myself. Three pounds of ghost peppers went into this tiny bottle." He pulled down his mask, leaned in closer, and pointed at his mouth: "Look! I'm the best proof!" I gasped. That wasn't a mouth. They clearly looked like two sausages. He tried to grin, stretching his lips, but the pain made the corner of his mouth twitch, and he quickly closed it. "I accidentally touched it a couple of days ago, just a tiny bit. That night, it blew up like this. I couldn't even speak clearly. I had to eat with a straw and wait for water to cool down before sipping it slowly. It's been over two days, and the swelling hasn't gone down." There was actually a hint of pride in his eyes. "And you can't wash it off. Plain water is useless; the more you wash, the spicier it gets. I tried, and I almost had to call an ambulance." I was silent for a few seconds. "Give me a bottle." The blonde guy quickly packed it up for me. "Beautiful, you gotta be extremely careful." He suddenly became serious. "Don't get it on your hands. If you do, don't rub your eyes, don't touch your mouth. Wash it with cooking oil. Remember, cooking oil! Nothing else works!" The liquid in the small bottle was transparent, looking no different from water. Was this stuff really that magical? I had some doubts. I walked a few steps and couldn't help but look back. Maybe the blonde guy was chased away by city management. The stall was gone. The person was gone too. It was as if he had never appeared. 05 As soon as I reached the front door, I heard voices coming from inside. My mom wasn't home. Leo's bedroom door was slightly ajar. He was on the phone, his tone filled with uncontrollable smugness. "Absolutely real! I shot them myself. Showering, changing clothes, going to the bathroom, I have it all. "My sister's body... she's really pale, and she's got curves where it counts. Transfer me 80 bucks first, I've got even juicier stuff coming." I froze in my tracks. "Okay, okay, I'll send you a screenshot as a teaser. Just wait!" It was quiet inside for two seconds. He was probably sending the picture. His voice rang out again, even more smug. "Sent it, did you see? You can just send 50 first, there's bathroom footage coming up. "If you want to see it live, that works too, hehe. Book an appointment in advance, and I'll set it up for you when the time comes." "..." I couldn't hear the rest. My ears were ringing. I just felt all the blood in my body rushing to my head. I don't know how I walked away. By the time I came back to my senses, I was standing at the bathroom door. I reached behind me and locked the door. My gaze slowly swept over every corner. It finally landed on the power strip next to the sink. A very ordinary power strip, with six outlets. The charging base for my electric toothbrush was plugged into it. I stood here washing my face every day and had never looked at it closely. But today, I saw it. The edge of the power strip had a black plastic border. On that border, there was a tiny hole, barely bigger than a pinprick. I pried open the border of the power strip. It wasn't clipped very tightly, it popped open easily. Stuffed inside was a black object. Smaller than a fingernail, round, like a button. It was a pinhole camera. 06 I turned on my phone. I took a picture of the tiny text on the camera and searched it online. Found it. A cheap brand. Simple functionality. The memory card was inserted on the side. I just needed to take it out to export the videos. 07 I connected the memory card to my laptop. A folder popped up. Inside were dozens of video files arranged neatly, named by date. The earliest one was from twenty-three days ago. That was the first day I moved back home. I randomly clicked on one. The image was a bit blurry through the steam, but the key areas were fully visible. It was a video of me taking a shower. I scrolled down. My finger suddenly stopped. The newest video, the timestamp showed 2:08 AM today. I clicked on it. The image showed Leo. He walked straight to my toothbrush cup, picked up my electric toothbrush, squeezed on some toothpaste... And then, he reached into his pants. I stiffened like I had been struck by lightning. On the screen, Leo had his back to the camera, adjusting the angle. He turned on the deep clean mode on the toothbrush. [Bzzzzzzzz—] The video ended. I gripped the mouse, my hand shaking so hard I couldn't hold it steady. Animal. Pervert. The toothbrush I used every day to brush my teeth. Was used by him to... That stuff stuck on it was... Just thinking about that possibility. My stomach churned violently. 08 Ten minutes later. I finally caught my breath. Leo, you like sneaking a use of my toothbrush, do you? Fine. Then I'll grant your wish! I put on two pairs of rubber gloves and safety goggles. I took out the bottle of concentrated capsaicin. I soaked the toothbrush head in it. Half an hour later, I took it out. I used a hair dryer to slowly dry the bristles. Making sure every single bristle was coated in capsaicin. Then I unscrewed the cap of my toothpaste and poured the rest of the capsaicin entirely into it. I used a toothpick to stir it, mixing it evenly. I wiped the cap and the opening of the tube clean, making sure not to leave any fingerprints. After finishing all this. I put everything back in the bathroom. I also shoved the camera back into the power strip. Everything was back in its place. 09 Evening. My mom's boyfriend, David, arrived. Carrying bags big and small, he was smiling so hard his face looked like a blooming chrysanthemum the moment he stepped through the door. My mom poked her head out of the kitchen, her face beaming. "David, you're here! Sit down, sit down! You're just in time for dinner!" She brought out the last dish. Spicy and sour pork intestines, swimming in red chili oil, with a towering pile of chilies on top. I glanced at the dining table. Boiled fish slices, spicy crab, spicy chicken, Mapo tofu, tiger skin green peppers... It was like chili peppers were free. My mom set the dish down and called out. "David, come sit! Leo, sit next to your Uncle David!" David sat down next to Leo. He rested his hand on Leo's shoulder, slowly sliding it down. I glanced down. His foot was secretly rubbing against Leo's calf. Leo's ears turned red. David's grin grew even wider. "Leo, haven't seen you in a few days, how come you've gotten even more handsome? Let Uncle take a good look." My mom noticed absolutely nothing. She kept piling food into David's bowl. "David, I specially made your favorite hometown dishes. Tell me, are they authentic?" David picked up a piece of intestine, put it in his mouth, and chewed loudly. "This intestine is fantastic." He smacked his lips, his eyes drifting towards Leo. "Crispy, fragrant, and it bursts with juice when you bite into it." He picked up another piece with his chopsticks and put it into Leo's bowl. "Leo, you eat some too, nourish yourself." Leo's face turned even redder. He kept his head down, coyly putting it into his mouth. He chewed very slowly. The tips of his ears were red enough to bleed. My mom's face was full of maternal love: "This kid, why is he so shy today? Uncle David isn't a stranger." I sneered inwardly. Yes. Uncle David was definitely not a stranger. He was practically an insider. I just didn't know who had the bigger number.
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