Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

Jiang's father raised his head, his gaze passing over Bai Li.

The blame fell on Jiang Ruyue, who preferred to hide behind outsiders rather than get close to her own daughter.

"Back when we were in school, we had to get up before dawn," Jiang's father began, staring at the floor tiles.

"Every day I have to cross two mountains and walk more than ten miles to get to school."

"He was carrying a snakeskin bag on his back, which was full of dried steamed buns."

"Go to the school tap, fill up with some cold water, and eat it with homemade pickled vegetables; that's a good meal."

Jiang's father became increasingly distressed as he spoke, revealing his innermost thoughts:

"I think she has such a good standard of living now, what is there for her to be dissatisfied with?"

He pointed to the Audi parked outside the door, then pointed in the direction of his own villa:

"They provide transportation, heating in winter and air conditioning in summer. Tutoring classes cost tens of thousands of yuan each time, with huge sums of money being poured into them."

"We pamper her at home, buy her pretty dresses, and let her not have to suffer at all, so she can just focus on her studies."

The veins on Jiang's father's neck bulged, and his tone rose:

"Back then, let alone new clothes, with so many siblings, all our clothes were patched up. The older siblings would patch them up and pass them on to the younger ones!"

"But Ruyue complains that we're too strict!"

Bai Li stood on the steps, feeling utterly ridiculous.

Times are changing. To demand things of today's children from the hardships of thirty years ago is an extreme form of arrogance.

"Why bring up your past suffering?" Bai Li took a step forward:

"Uncle Jiang, what was the original intention behind all your desperate work, and the sacrifices of our ancestors and martyrs?"

"Isn't it all for a better life? Isn't it all so that future generations won't have to go through the hardships you experienced, like not having enough to eat or wear?"

Bai Li put his hands into his trench coat pockets:

"Now that life is better, why do you insist on forcing your child to experience those hard times, and think she's immature if she doesn't?"

Jiang's father was speechless, his lips trembled slightly, and he nodded bitterly.

He admitted that Bai Li was right, but he continued speaking:

"This afternoon, Ruyue threw a tantrum at me."

She said she felt too oppressed in this family and that if she continued to be pressured like this, she would develop mental health problems.

He patted his thigh:

"My first reaction upon hearing that was that this child was too spoiled!"

"She doesn't know how lucky she is, so I thought I'd make her suffer a bit."

"Let her get cold on the street in the middle of the night and go hungry for a couple of meals, so she can understand how hard it was for us back then. Then she'll know to go home obediently."

Jiang Ruyue, who had been hiding behind Bai Li, finally couldn't hold back any longer.

She grabbed Bai Li's sleeves tightly with both hands and walked out from behind.

The once docile and aloof beauty, who never dared to utter a harsh word, now had red eyes and tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I am your child, I am a living, breathing human being!"

Jiang Ruyue shouted at her parents:

"I also want you to hear my thoughts and respect my choices!"

The young girl poured out all the words she had kept hidden in her heart for over a decade:

"I'm really tired."

"Every day, besides doing homework, I practice piano. Even if I only take a ten-minute break, I get scolded for half a day."

"You've had a tough time before, but we're not becoming a family to compare who's worse off!"

She was sobbing uncontrollably, her voice trembling.

"Shouldn't we be getting better and better?"

Why must you use your past suffering to hold my present happiness hostage?

Li Mengmeng, who was watching the commotion from the sidelines, couldn't stand it anymore.

This legally-born little girl, dressed in fluffy pajamas, crossed her arms over her exaggerated figure and rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Old Deng," Li Mengmeng interrupted without any politeness.

"Isn't the purpose of having a child to cherish it? Why force your past experiences onto a young girl?"

"You got caught in the rain yourself, and then you tear up everyone else's umbrella too? What's wrong with you?!"

Bai Li turned her head and looked at Jiang's father:

"Adults always use their own standards to judge children." Bai Li's voice was calm:

"You think her troubles are ridiculous and insignificant."

"I thought as long as I had food to eat, getting good grades was enough."

"When you were little, did you ever feel sad all day because you lost a glass marble or didn't get to eat a candied hawthorn?"

"Adults have their own pressures; they have to pay mortgages and deal with social obligations."

"Children have their own pressures, endless homework, and unmet expectations."

"You can't understand her; you think she's just whining." Bai Li tapped the stone pillar beside her.

"But these pressures weigh equally on people of different ages."

Jiang's father was stunned by this barrage of words.

But his inherent fighting spirit, which stemmed from his humble beginnings, made him instinctively choose to rebel.

"I created the best learning environment for her in the entire Ping County!"

"Isn't it expected that you should get first place?"

He took a step forward, tapping the ground heavily with his finger:

"I came from a poor mountain village!"

"I know that if I don't study and work hard, I'll spend my whole life in the mountains!"

"That's why I've always been number one since I was a child!"

"It's this sheer grit that has propelled me step by step, to the very top! Until I reached where I am today!"

Jiang's father's eyes were bloodshot.

"I want her to be number one in her studies and number one in her talents. I'm paving a bright future for her, what's wrong with that?!"

The night wind swept through the courtyard, and the atmosphere became tense.

The young women who had been mostly silent by the door frame finally moved.

Chen Tingting casually spat the chewing gum in her mouth into the trash can.

She tossed her long red hair and strode to the center of the steps.

This girl had her large, tattooed arms blatantly exposed, and she was wearing a black tank top—a typical delinquent girl's outfit.

"Old man, you're so wrong." Chen Tingting raised her chin and stared at the bureau chief of Ping County without flinching.

"That's all your own desires and obsessions." Chen Tingting sneered.

"That's the life you want, but did you ask your daughter?"

"She didn't want to win those worthless awards, nor did she want to be number one in the county."

"Perhaps she just wants to grow up happily?"

Jiang's father looked at the outrageously dressed girl in front of him, his brows furrowing deeply.

"What do you know about education! You..."

"I don't understand the education of you elites," Chen Tingting interrupted him.

"I didn't even pass the junior high school entrance exam; my family had to pay to get me in. But even if I'm hopeless, I understand one thing."

"The role of parents is to help their children develop good values ​​and to let them see the world, rather than forcing their own ambitions into their children's minds."

Chen Tingting turned around and looked at Lin Xiaoshuang and Li Jiaxin, then grinned.

"I've never failed a grade in my entire life."

"But I'm always so happy to go to school every day, and my grandparents still happily ride their tricycle to take me there."

"It was around that time that I met Xiaoshuang and Jiaxin, my sisters who would risk their lives for me." Chen Tingting turned her head and stared into Jiang's father's eyes:

"My family's material conditions are not even one-tenth as good as your Jiang family's."

"My parents work away from home all year round, so I am considered a left-behind child in the village."

"But in other respects, I am far wealthier than your puppet-like precious daughter!"

These words, spoken by a socially savvy young woman with little formal education, have a powerful impact.

Jiang's mother listened from the side and burst into tears. She tried to take her husband's hand, but he shook her off.

The young women really opened up today.

Li Jiaxin smoothed her high purple ponytail and picked up where Chen Tingting left off.

"I've always felt that the most successful sign of being a parent is not how much savings you leave for your children, or which prestigious university they get into."

Li Jiaxin leaned against the doorpost, her tone languid:

"The most successful thing is that no matter if the child is bullied or gets into trouble outside, he can run home without any worries and happily push open that door."

"Instead of being like your daughter." Li Jiaxin pointed at Jiang Ruyue:

"I was scolded today simply because I rested a little longer and didn't practice the piano."

"The thought of facing you makes me afraid to even go home."

"I feel anxious and fearful whenever I see you, afraid that all that awaits her is endless scolding and suppression."

"I even felt a deep fear of you in my heart."

Lin Xiaoshuang added softly from the side, "You are her family, not her enemies."

There wasn't a single extraneous noise throughout the entire event.

Jiang's father was completely stunned.

His approach seemed utterly pale and laughable in the face of the straightforward and simple emotions of the young delinquents.

His proud educational achievements were actually inferior to those of a few marginalized girls in society.

Chen Tingting looked at the elder in front of her, her eyes softening.

She thought of her relatives far away in her hometown, her tone tinged with nostalgia.

"When I was a child, I once scored only a single digit on a math final exam."

Chen Tingting held up two fingers and gestured:

"At that moment, I even wanted to throw that roll into the ditch; I felt so embarrassed."

Everyone was looking at her.

"As a result, my grandfather found me and brought me back with a flashlight. When he saw the tattered test paper in my hand, he didn't even have the heart to scold me harshly."

Chen Tingting smiled, her long red hair reflecting the light.

"I remember it very clearly. My grandpa patted my head and said, 'It's okay if you didn't do well on the test. Anyway, our Tingting is so cute, she'll never starve.'"

"My grandma was cooking noodles for me in the pot, laughing and babbling all the while."

Chen Tingting imitated the old lady's tone:

"Look at this silly girl. She gets up early and goes to school every day, carrying her schoolbag."

"I sat properly in the classroom all day, but came back with my mind completely blank. This silly look of mine is also cute."

The warmth revealed in this memory shattered the Jiang family's cold and controlling nature.

Jiang's father's defenses completely collapsed, and tears welled up in his old eyes.

Standing in the night, Chen Tingting looked at Jiang's father and uttered her final conclusion of the night.

"Love isn't something to be sculpted, nor is it about forcing her to become some kind of glorious figure." She put her hands in her pockets, turned, and walked back into the house.

"True love is enabling her to live happily and joyfully in her own way."