Elementary School

"Hmm... You made it sound so real that I almost believed it too." Bai Qing thought it over and found that someone's reasoning really did make sense. It was hard to argue against.

"Just listen to it casually," Zhang Heng said.

"Then Teacher He is so pitiful."

"Life... everyone has their own difficulties." Zhang Heng spun the gel pen in his hand.

"That sounds so old-fashioned, but you're right." Bai Qing sighed and rested her chin on her desk. "My dad and mom have been pretty headache-inducing lately too."

"Headache-inducing... what exactly do you mean?" Zhang Heng's expression shifted as he caught the spinning gel pen between his index and middle fingers.

"I told you before, right? My dad has had fewer social engagements lately and has been coming home early, but the two of them fought again last night. They fought for a long time, and they wouldn't let me hear what it was about. Then, when I came out to use the bathroom at night, I saw my mom sitting alone in the living room crying. Um, she was just sitting there, with darkness all around her."

"Did you comfort her?"

"No, I ran back to my room," Bai Qing said.

"Hah." Zhang Heng gave a soft snort.

"Ever since I was old enough to understand things, my impression has been that they were always fighting. Most of the time, it was over trivial nonsense. I guess that was just how they got along. A lot of people pursued my mom when she was young, and she had more dances to attend than she could count every day. But in the end, she probably wanted a stable life, so she married my dad. Afterward, though, she always felt she'd gotten the short end of the stick. Back then,