Zhuang Tunan looked dejected. Unable to say a word, he turned and went back inside, bowed his head, and continued studying and working through problems.
Ever since his parents' fierce argument that day, he had driven himself even harder.
He remembered Huang Ling's words firmly: he was different from Zhou Cheng.
If he had his younger brother's talent, intelligence, and ability, Huang Ling would not have turned Xiang Pengfei away out of concern for his future, much less fallen out with Zhuang Chaoying and his grandparents over it.
He had become somewhat obsessive, or rather, backed himself into a dead-end alley, believing that his inadequate grades had caused all of this.
He resented Huang Ling, resented Zhou Cheng, and resented himself even more.
He wanted to pour more energy into studying, both to prove himself to Huang Ling and to lessen the guilt in his heart.
When Zhou Cheng came back carrying enough pan-fried buns for three, Zhuang Xiaoting told him that their aunt had visited.
He called Lin Dongzhe over from next door to eat the buns together. After giving it some thought, he turned and went out again.
After leaving the Zhuang home, Zhuang Hualin knew there could be no further turn for the better. With no ideas left and nowhere to go, she could only follow the paths of her memories, wandering around what had once been her "home."
Rows of plane trees lined the pavement, with plenty of little stalls beneath their green shade: ice pop stalls, book rental stalls, toy stalls... Several new snack shops had opened along the street, alongside a few familiar old establishments that had reopened only a few years ago. Ceiling fans whirred inside, wafting out the fragrance of pastries and buns.
Only a dozen or so years had passed, yet