The Caviar Curse: Unveiling the Dark Secret Behind My Mother's "Love"

While shopping at a lingerie store, I noticed a very attractive guy staring intently at me. Knowing I love seafood, my mom had specially shipped me a jar of caviar from our hometown, claiming it was great for my health and digestion. I had been eating it for over a month. My weight hadn't really changed, but my figure had noticeably... improved. My current clothes were getting so tight they were starting to hurt. Just as I was about to lose my temper at the guy for staring, he finally spoke. "Those aren't breasts. You're incubating tens of thousands of Yin Seeds in your chest." 1 After logging the final piece of data for my lab experiment, I rubbed my chest, feeling a dull ache. It was definitely time to go buy some new bras. With graduation looming, I practically lived in the lab, so swamped I couldn't even find time to shop for clothes. It’s actually a bit embarrassing to admit, but with the extreme stress of graduation, I’ve been binge-eating almost every day for the past month. Surprisingly, the weight was very cooperative—it all went exactly where you'd want it to go. My old clothes were starting to feel painfully tight across my chest. Could this be what they call a "second puberty"? I hadn't done anything special, but the results were undeniable. Occasionally, while working in the lab, I would accidentally bump against the equipment, and it hurt like crazy. Whenever I gasped in pain, it drew the creepy, lingering stares of the younger guys in the lab. Today, I finally couldn't take it anymore. As soon as I finished my work, I rushed to the nearest shopping mall. I needed to try some things on in person to figure out what size I actually needed now. To be honest, ever since I stopped growing in high school, I hadn't bought bras in a physical store. I mostly just ordered them off Amazon. Going to a lingerie store after all these years made me feel a little shy. I pulled my jacket tight around me and walked into a relatively modest, youthful-looking lingerie boutique. To my surprise, the first person I saw was a ridiculously handsome male sales associate. Oh my god, I thought. Times really have changed. Are lingerie stores hiring male employees now? I couldn't help but steal a few glances. Dressed entirely in black, he had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and incredibly long legs. He had the physique of a runway model. But his face was on a whole different level. He had a razor-sharp jawline, a perfectly sculpted nose, and a pair of dark, bottomless eyes that were incredibly captivating. He instantly reminded me of one of those dark, brooding anime characters—like a handsome guy with black cat ears. Was this the legendary "man who walked out of a comic book"? His vibe was so drastically different from normal people that just looking at him made me blush. Was it because I spent too much time surrounded by the awkward nerds in my lab? Being single since birth for this long meant that even looking at a lingerie salesman was making my imagination run wild... But—even if he was gorgeous, he didn't need to follow me constantly! Seriously, there's a line. I walked from the east side of the store all the way to the west, and this guy followed me the entire time. What was his problem? I finally couldn't hold back and turned around to glare at him. But he was looking down, his eyes fixed directly on my chest, looking like he desperately wanted to say something but was holding back. My crush instantly evaporated. If he was just following me before, I could tolerate it. After all, retail workers have sales quotas to hit. But this blatant, undisguised staring? That was straight-up sexual harassment. I looked down at myself. It was a hot, sunny day, so I was just wearing a small camisole under my open jacket. It definitely looked a bit exaggerated. But still, as an experienced lingerie associate, he shouldn't be this creepy! I pulled my jacket tightly closed, glaring at him, ready to explode. Before I could say a word, he spoke first. In a deep, low voice that only I could hear, he said: "Those aren't breasts. You're incubating tens of thousands of Yin Seeds in your chest." 2 What the hell is a Yin Seed? I was perfectly healthy. Where would I get Yin Seeds from? Setting aside the fact that this completely defied human anatomy, just hearing the words "Yin Seed" gave me the creeps. I rolled my eyes at him. Considering he was good-looking, I decided to let it slide and just treat him like a crazy person. I stepped around him, planning to move to another section, but this guy actually doubled down. He leaned in slightly, took a highly exaggerated sniff, and looked at me with deep concern: "Lately... have you constantly smelled like raw fish?" I instinctively covered my chest, unable to hold back my anger any longer. "Are you out of your mind?!" To my surprise, he acted like he didn't even hear me curse at him. He just kept asking: "Have you been eating caviar lately? Stop eating it immediately. If you keep eating it, it's going to kill you." ??? I was so angry I actually laughed. I decided to completely ignore him. I gave him an inch and he took a mile. Some people just don't know when to quit. I marched straight over to the cashier to complain. "What is wrong with your store? Why do you have a male sales associate working in a lingerie shop? "I don't care how handsome he is, do you understand that he's sexually harassing customers?! Tell me how you're going to handle this!" To my shock, the female cashier looked completely bewildered. She stared at me like I was a lunatic. "Miss, we don't have any male employees working here. How can I help you today?" Heh. Birds of a feather. They were clearly covering for him, right? She couldn't even come up with a decent lie. I turned around and pointed toward the east side of the store: "That guy right there! He's not one of your employees—" !! There wasn't a single person there. He had vanished into thin air in the blink of an eye! I quickly jogged over, pushing racks of clothes aside, looking everywhere. He must be hiding somewhere. There was no way he could have run off that fast. "That's impossible. He was literally just standing right here." Seeing me spinning around frantically, the cashier's expression turned annoyed: "Ma'am, what exactly do you need? "I will repeat this one more time: we have never employed any male staff at this location. You can rest assured. "If you insist on making this claim, we can review the security footage." Since she went that far, I had no choice but to awkwardly drop it. How bizarre. Was I under so much stress lately that I was hallucinating? After causing such a scene, I felt incredibly frustrated. I hastily bought a few bras that looked like they would fit and went to the register. Well, I definitely needed a much bigger size. On the walk back to my apartment, my mind was racing. The guy's words clung to me like a physical weight, making me deeply uneasy. I had definitely sprayed perfume today. How could he smell the fishy scent on me? Also, we were total strangers. How did he know I was eating caviar? 3 As early as four or five days ago, when I was changing my clothes at home, I noticed a faint, raw fish smell on my body. It was even stronger when I took a shower. The entire bathroom smelled like someone had just gutted a fish and didn't wash their hands properly. It was faint, but undeniably there. At first, I thought it was just a smell lingering from the lab. After all, my major often required dissecting frogs and things like that, so I didn't think much of it. But lately, my experiments had mostly moved into the data analysis and wrap-up phase, yet the fishy smell was getting stronger. Especially when I changed my clothes, the smell on my bras was severe. After checking multiple times, I finally pinpointed that the smell was indeed coming from my chest. I couldn't figure out why. I had to resort to spraying heavy perfume every day. Unless someone was deliberately trying to sniff me, it was almost undetectable from a normal social distance. Although that guy's stare was incredibly creepy, he was standing several feet away from me at the time. How did he manage to smell it? If he just had an ultra-sensitive sense of smell, I could barely accept that explanation. But what about the caviar? Can a total stranger figure out your recent diet just from a scent? And he even warned me to stop eating it! It was way too creepy! Thinking about this, I quickly pulled a newly opened jar of caviar from my kitchen cabinet. Inside the small, bowl-sized jar lay perfectly round, translucent, ruby-red fish roe. They looked plump, juicy, and incredibly appetizing. The moment I opened it, a bizarrely enticing aroma wafted out. Just looking at it for a few seconds made my mouth water. The feeling of the roe bursting against my tongue was incredibly addictive. I almost wanted to scoop out two spoonfuls and mix it with some rice. But for some reason, the guy's warning echoed in my ears. His voice had been dead serious. He wasn't joking around. It felt like a bad omen. A sudden wave of nausea hit me. I held the spoon but couldn't bring myself to dig in. I had no choice but to put the caviar away. 4 My mom had specially mailed this caviar to me a month ago. My hometown is a small fishing village in the South. My dad died when I was young, and my mom single-handedly kept our family afloat by fishing. Although we were poor, we never lacked fish, shrimp, or other seafood in our daily meals. When I was little, I used to sneak small fish and shrimp from my mom's fishing nets to feed the stray cats and dogs. Whenever she caught me, a severe beating was inevitable. According to her logic, even if the small fish and shrimp couldn't be sold, grinding them into fish paste for me to eat with bread was better than wasting them on animals. That homemade fish paste was incredibly fishy and bitter. Even though they both came from fish, it was worlds apart from actual caviar. Honestly, I had never tasted real caviar back then, but to a kid like me, it sounded like the most delicious thing on earth. Otherwise, why would my mom guard it so fiercely and refuse to let me have any? One day, on my way home from school, I found a beautiful, gentle little black cat. It was absolutely stunning. Though it was thin and frail, every movement was elegant, like a noble feline king. I brought it home, looking for something to feed it. To my surprise, it was an incredibly picky eater. It refused to eat the cheap fish and shrimp, instead staring intently under my mom's bed. Was there some delicious fish hidden under there? I crawled over, reached my arm under the bed, and pulled something out. It was a jar of caviar! Caviar was incredibly expensive. My mom always hid it and never let me eat it. I had accidentally stumbled upon this jar thanks to the little cat. How could I possibly put it back? After struggling to open the jar, I dipped my finger in and tasted it. It was smooth, tender, sweet, and burst with flavor. The aftertaste was incredible. By the time I snapped out of my daze, the little black cat had sneakily eaten more than half the jar! As luck would have it, my mom walked in and caught us red-handed. She gave me the beating of a lifetime. From that day on, she never let me near caviar again. "It's not the right time yet. Caviar is full of hormones; it's not good for children's bodies!" That was the excuse she gave me, but I didn't buy it. I knew she just resented me for being a girl. Because of that, tasting caviar again became a lifelong obsession of mine. I remembered that incident vividly. Last month, my mom suddenly called me out of the blue. She asked about my living situation and how my graduation thesis was going. I told her the truth: I was under a lot of pressure and incredibly busy. To my surprise, she immediately mailed me three large jars of caviar. She said it was to nourish my stomach and improve my health, urging me to finish my thesis quickly so I could come home and visit her. I still remember the day I received the caviar. I mixed it with three massive bowls of rice and devoured it. It was so incredibly delicious! Maybe it was because I was finally fulfilling my childhood obsession? Regardless, from that day on, I ate caviar with almost every meal. I was completely addicted to it. But now, sitting alone in the quiet, thinking back on the whole situation, it felt incredibly strange. I hadn't even mentioned caviar on the phone. Why did my mom suddenly send it to me? And how on earth did that random, creepy guy know about it? He said if I kept eating it, I would die. Was that true? Thinking about this, the guy's face floated into my mind again. For some inexplicable reason, his face slowly began to merge with the image of the proud little black cat from my childhood. I must be losing my mind. 5 Ever since that guy pointed out the fishy smell and the caviar, I didn't dare eat it anymore. But the withdrawal was agonizing. It felt like hundreds of tiny fish were inside my stomach, opening and closing their mouths, demanding to be fed caviar. If I didn't eat caviar, I couldn't stomach anything else. Not only did I have zero appetite, but forcing myself to eat made me nauseous. That night, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The heavy, aching pain in my lower abdomen was worse than severe menstrual cramps. In my groggy, half-awake state, my chest started to ache again. My newly bought clothes suddenly felt uncomfortably tight. Mustering my courage, I gave my chest a slight squeeze, and a sharp pain shot straight to my heart. The texture was soft, but there were definitely tiny, granular things inside. The moment I touched them, it felt like they were swimming deeper inside me. It felt exactly like the little beanbags I used to play with as a kid, except the outer layer was much softer and smoother. "Those aren't breasts. You're incubating tens of thousands of Yin Seeds in your chest." The guy's voice echoed in my ears again. Comparing his words to what I was feeling, a cold sweat drenched my entire body. Should I go to the hospital tomorrow? But no matter how you looked at it, growing "Yin Seeds" inside your body didn't sound like something modern science could explain or treat... Wrestling with these terrifying thoughts, I finally fell into a deep sleep in the early hours of the morning. I finally fell asleep, but I had an incredibly strange dream. In the dream, the beautiful little black cat appeared again. I pulled out the caviar my mom sent me and asked if it wanted some. Unlike its childhood self, it suddenly licked its paw and started speaking, warning me to never eat the caviar again. The next second, a mist rolled in and parted, revealing the handsome lingerie salesman. Seeing him again, I frantically asked him why I shouldn't eat the caviar. The guy sighed softly and said that the caviar was used to cultivate Yin Seeds. I had been eating it for almost a month. Based on my condition, I was probably incubating tens of thousands of them by now. Listening to him made my scalp tingle. I desperately asked if there was a cure, explaining that my chest and lower abdomen were in agonizing pain. He gave a helpless smile. He explained that the caviar I had eaten previously had already spawned countless Yin Seeds. Now that their "nutrient source" had suddenly been cut off, they were swimming around, trying to drain the nutrients from my abdomen, which was causing the pain. His description matched my symptoms flawlessly. I didn't dare doubt him anymore. With red, tearful eyes, I begged him to help me. He stammered, his face turning bright red. He turned back into the little black cat and pressed his paws in the air twice. Instantly, my chest felt warm and incredibly soothing. The pain vanished. I was just about to thank him, but the black cat's silhouette slowly began to fade. He said he didn't know exactly what kind of caviar this was, because his true physical body wasn't here. "Go to the willow tree near your old house and find me. As quickly as possible. Do not delay!" His clear, urgent instructions rang in my ears. I wanted to ask for more details, but the dream abruptly ended there. When I woke up, the fishy smell on my body was noticeably fainter, and the swelling pain in my chest had subsided significantly. But the strangest thing was... when I was getting dressed, I found two red cat paw prints right on my chest! Could it be... that wasn't just a dream? Was that guy actually the little black cat from all those years ago? At that moment, the guy's warning echoed in my ears again, sending a shiver through my heart. I didn't dare waste another second. I hurriedly briefed my lab partners on my current tasks, requested an emergency leave of absence from my advisor, and booked a ticket home. 6 I bought a ticket for the earliest high-speed train home, but to my shock, my mom didn't seem to welcome me at all. I had to drag my heavy suitcase from the station to the house all by myself. Over the past four years of college, our old, single-story house had been completely renovated into a beautiful, multi-story modern home. Because of the renovation, I didn't even have a key. I could only stand there and knock continuously. "I hear you! I hear you! Knocking like you're trying to wake the dead!" My mom yanked the heavy door open, her face pulled into a long, unhappy scowl. "What are you doing home so early?" Her tone was full of displeasure. I assumed she was just being her usual harsh-spoken self and was probably worried about my graduation thesis. So I quickly tried to explain: "It's fine, Mom, don't worry. I've already talked to my advisor about my thesis—" "Whatever, whatever, I don't understand any of that anyway. Before the baby is even born, you come running back, and now I have to feed you for an entire month for free." She impatiently cut me off, swinging her elbow back and accidentally hitting me right in the chest. A sharp, piercing pain shot through me. I couldn't help but cry out, but my attention was entirely caught by the second half of her sentence. "Before the baby is born?" What did she mean? Was my sister-in-law already pregnant? If I remembered correctly, my younger brother only got married at the end of last year. It had only been four or five months. Was it a shotgun wedding? But either way, what did my sister-in-law having a baby have to do with me? I wasn't about to be her live-in nanny! The phrase "feed you for free" made my heart sting with bitterness. I had always known she favored boys over girls. Especially after my dad passed away, she pinned all her hopes for carrying on the family line on my brother, her precious only son. But I always thought I was a good, obedient daughter. I studied incredibly hard and got into a top-tier university. Didn't I deserve even a little bit of her attention and care? While I was lost in thought, I suddenly felt a tickle on my chest. It was my mom. She was leaning in close, sniffing my chest! 7 Because I rushed home so frantically, I forgot to put on perfume today. The fishy smell might actually still be noticeable. I quickly covered my chest, my face burning with embarrassment: "Mom, um, well, the smell in the lab is a bit strong..." Hearing this, my mom finally lifted her head. She was smiling brightly, seemingly in a great mood. She waved her hand dismissively: "Ah, what are you talking about? I don't smell anything fishy! Very good, very good. You've been nourishing yourself well!" Saying that, she suddenly leaned in closer and lowered her voice: "You've been eating the caviar on schedule, right?" The caviar again! Seeing my mom's bizarre, creepy smile, that terrifying, ominous feeling surged in my chest once more. I forced myself to answer: "I actually got a bit sick of eating fish lately, so I'm taking a break from it for now." To my absolute shock, the moment the words left my mouth, my mom's entire demeanor flipped. The corners of her mouth dropped, her eyebrows twisted into a furious knot, and she looked like she wanted to eat me alive. "You stupid brat! That caviar is incredibly expensive and rare! How could you get sick of it?! Have you been eating it on schedule or not, you wretched girl?! "Wendy is about to give birth! If you don't eat it, what are we going to do?!" My mom's sudden, violent shift in attitude left me completely stunned, unsure of how to react. Just then, my brother walked out of a room, supporting his pregnant wife. My mom immediately rushed over to fawn over her daughter-in-law: "Oh, Wendy, you're about to pop! Why are you walking around with that heavy belly just because Chloe came home for a quick visit?!" At that moment, I truly felt like Wendy was her biological daughter. My mom's blatant favoritism made my eyes sting. Wendy rested her hand on my mom's arm and smiled sweetly: "Mom! Where is Chloe going to sleep?" Hearing that, my feet glued to the floor. I stopped dragging my suitcase inside. What did she mean? Was there no bedroom for me in this massive house? I managed to force the words out: "Do I... not have a bedroom?" My mom's face stiffened. Just as she was about to answer, my stomach let out a loud rumble. She latched onto the sound like a lifeline, eagerly using it as an excuse to change the subject. "Chloe, you must be starving! Let's eat right now!" Seeing my mom rushing off to cook for me sparked a tiny glimmer of hope in my heart. Maybe she did care. After all, what mother doesn't love her own child? 8 It wasn't until the food was served that I realized how naive I was. My mom had prepared six elaborate dishes, perfectly balancing meat and vegetables, packed with nutrition. But what she placed in front of me was a single, plain bowl of watery porridge mixed with some spinach and minced meat! "Chloe, I remember you were never a picky eater when you were little, and you have a small appetite. If this isn't enough, just tell me. There's more in the pot!" After saying that, without even glancing at me, she busied herself with serving premium cuts of meat and seafood to my brother and Wendy. I was definitely not a small eater! And I was definitely picky! The only reason I ate so little when I was a kid was because she never let me eat my fill! Furious and feeling incredibly wronged, I reached out with my chopsticks to grab some of the scrambled eggs with shrimp from the center platter. Before I could even touch it, Wendy let out a soft tsk. My mom immediately slapped my chopsticks away. "Eat your own food! Wendy is going through a difficult pregnancy. How dare you try to snatch food from a pregnant woman!" Wendy was pregnant, fine. But what about my brother, Leo? He was sitting there, stuffing his face, looking greasy and fat. He didn't even spare a glance at his older sister! Looking at this "happy, loving family," I swallowed my tears and took a bite of the plain porridge. Maybe I was just starving, but the porridge actually tasted incredibly delicious. It was strange. Because of the caviar withdrawal, I couldn't stomach anything while I was at school. Did this plain porridge have some kind of magic in it? Maybe it was just the taste of home. But... could I even call this place my home anymore? 9 After a heated argument, my mom finally agreed to clear out a small guest room for me. The room was tiny, stuffy, and had terrible lighting, but I was just relieved to have a place to sleep. I don't know if it was a psychological placebo effect, but I felt like the fishy smell on my body had genuinely vanished. Unless I bumped into something, the swelling and pain in my chest had also significantly decreased. Maybe everything was slowly getting better! I originally planned to wake up early the next morning and head to the river to find the little black cat. But my mom had errands to run, and my brother was going out drinking with his friends. That left me alone to look after Wendy. Looking at Wendy's massive, swollen belly, I couldn't find an excuse to leave. Figuring my symptoms were improving anyway, I decided to postpone finding the little black cat until tomorrow. Around lunchtime, because my mom wasn't home and I didn't know her "special recipe" for the plain porridge, and I still couldn't stomach normal food, I had to cook two separate dishes just for Wendy. And even then, she complained about them. She went to the kitchen, pulled out a jar of caviar, and scooped a massive spoonful into her food. The moment I saw the caviar, my instinct was to stop her. But then I paused— Why did her chest look completely normal after eating caviar while pregnant? To be brutally honest, her chest was significantly smaller than mine. In fact... it was even smaller than many normal pregnant women. It looked like she wouldn't be able to produce enough milk for the baby. Sensing my gaze, Wendy suddenly dropped her spoon, looked up, and shot me a highly sarcastic, condescending glare. Any urge I had to warn her died in my throat. I swallowed my words. Taking a closer look, the caviar she was eating seemed different from the jars my mom sent me. The fish roe was white, smaller, and looked dry and unappetizing. Just looking at it made me feel nauseous. I had no idea how she was forcing it down. But pregnant women do have weird cravings, I suppose. After I served her lunch and was cleaning the table, she suddenly called me into her bedroom. I put down the dishcloth, washed my hands, and walked in. The moment I pushed the door open, my eyes widened in horror. I was greeted by the sight of a massively swollen, purple-red belly, perfectly round like a basketball!

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