Zhou Kai had retired early the previous night in a bid to have an alibi.

His father, who was an entrepreneur, was now looking at him with a thunderous expression. Beside the man sat Zhou Kai’s mother.

She reached for his hand and tried to soothe him. “It’s okay, Kaikai. We made a mistake, that’s all. Don’t take it to heart.”

Her husband suddenly shot to his feet and turned his glare at her. “It’s because of you and your constant coddling that our son has turned out this way. This brat doesn’t even know how to use his common sense! He just does whatever that Yao Ranwants, consequences be damned!”

He whirled at his son and demanded, “Tell me, son, do you really think you can just do whatever you want and get away with it?”

At this point, Zhou Kai’s mother also stood up and met her husband glare for glare. “He is just a kid!” she shrieked. “He still needs our guidance. Of course, you wouldn’t know, since you’re out every single day. Stop laying the blame on other people, you’re responsible for his actions, too!”

“What the hell are you talking about?! He’s already 17 years old, for goodness’ sake!”

Luo Hua felt a headache coming as he continued to watch them from the sidelines. “Please stop arguing,” he called out, to no avail.

The couple was getting into another heated exchange.

Zhou Kai, on the other hand, seemed used to this kind of chaos. He paid his parents no mind and took out his phone.

He went on to open his messaging app and clicked on his chat window with Yao Ran.

The last active timestamp was at midnight.

Zhou Kai had sent her a message, saying:

“Are you okay, Ranran? They found out. This is all my fault, so I hope you don’t beat yourself up over the matter. Rest well once you’re home. I’ll treat you to cake sometime. I wonder, did you like the strawberry cake I brought when we last met?”

This was met with no reply, so he had sent another one:

“Ranran, I know you must be torn up, but this is just a minor setback. Our main goal is the college entrance exams. I’m sure you’ll get excellent results then.”

This was the last bubble in the thread.

Yao Ran still hadn’t messaged him back.

Zhou Kai sighed. She must have gone straight to bed last night. It wouldn’t be surprising, since she had come home at such a late hour.

It must be hard for her, to have towake up so early in the morning to get ready for school.He himself struggled to do so every day.

‘All right, let’s send her another message!’

Zhou Kai smiled and eagerly tapped on his screen, even as his parents’ argument escalated to a screaming match.

“Do your best today, Ranran! I’ve been meaning to ask this for a while… Would you like to watch this year’s cherry blossoms with me?”

He glanced out the window. Hundreds of buds were clustered on the branches of the cherry trees lining the road, ripe for bloom in a few days’ time.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Zhou Kailooked back to his phone and pressed “Send.”

To his surprise, a red exclamation point popped up next to his message almost immediately, showing that Yao Ran had already deleted him from contacts.

Just like that, his previous high spirits sank into an abyss.

…

The night before.

Yao Ran stepped into the living room and burst into tears the moment she saw her mother.

Qin Man hurried over and hugged the sobbing girl. “What’s wrong,Ranran? Did something happen?”

Yao Ran just stood there, bawling her eyes out and refusing to speak. Her face had grown flushed from crying, and she would hiccup now and then.

Worried, Qin Manturned and called for her husband.

“Yao Yuan! Come quick and help me comfort our precious daughter! She hasn’t stopped crying since she arrived. She must have been bullied again!”

At that time, Yao Yuanwas in his study, reading. He was just getting to the exciting part of the book when he heard his wife yelling.

He heaved a long sigh and gingerly got up from his chair before dragging his feet to the door.

“What happened?” he asked distractedly as he approached the pair, annoyed at having been disturbed.

It wasn’t until he was just an arm’s length away from them that he noticed Yao Ran’s tear-streaked face.

His daughter had been crying!

Yao Yuan scowled and rushed toward the girl.

“Dad,” Yao Ransaid, sounding like she had finally found her savior.

Ironically enough, she only cried even more.

She choked on her sobs and heaved once or twice before wailing all over again. She looked utterly miserable.