The next morning.

Xia Jianguo stood by the shoe cabinet, watching his daughter bending down to put on her shoes. "Are you sure you don't need Dad to take you?"

"No need, Dad, don't worry! I'm not a child anymore." Xia Minmin stomped her shoes twice after putting them on.

Xia Jianguo handed the schoolbag to Xia Minmin; the schoolbag was much lighter today.

"Dad, I'm leaving now." Xia Minmin slung her schoolbag over her shoulder, closed the door, and went to school.

As Xia Minmin passed through the community garden, she took a deep breath. The smell of freedom was so sweet!

"Xiaomin, didn't your parents take you to school today?"

"Good morning, Aunt Jiang. Today is my first day of going to school independently." Xia Minmin held up one finger.

"That's amazing!" Aunt Jiang smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"Aunt Jiang, did you just get off work?"

"Okay, you go to school, I'm going back to sleep now."

After saying goodbye to Aunt Jiang, Xia Minmin left the residential area, and more and more students gradually appeared on the road.

"Xiaomin, are you going to school alone today?"

Xia Minmin heard someone call her from behind and turned around to see Xiao Pang and his mother.

Xia Minmin smiled and said, "Good morning, Little Fatty!"

"Xiaomin, did your dad not take you home today?" Little Fatty tugged at Xia Minmin's schoolbag.

“I’m an adult now, I can go to and from school independently, unlike you.” Xia Minmin glanced at the chubby boy.

Upon hearing Xia Minmin's words, Little Fatty burst into tears, "Mommy, why can everyone else go to and from school by themselves but I can't!"

Xiao Pang's words made sense. He was two years older than Xia Minmin, and other children his age in the neighborhood had already been going to and from school independently for a year or two.

Xiao Pang's mother glared at Xia Minmin and then took a handkerchief to wipe Xiao Pang's tears.

“You are different from them. You are our only precious child. All your grandparents’ property belongs to you. Our family is different from these small families! If it weren’t for the good schools here, we would never have known that we own a villa in this small house.”

Little Fatty's mother spoke very loudly at the end, as if afraid that the people around her wouldn't hear her.

Xia Minmin suppressed her urge to complain, "Little Fatty, if there's nothing else, I'll go to school now! Goodbye, Auntie."

Xia Minmin quickened her pace and walked into the school, where she ran into Tang Meng as soon as she entered the school gate.

"Xia Minmin! Good morning!"

Tang Meng greeted Xia Minmin with a smile, and you could not tell from her smile that she had experienced three years of bullying.

"Good morning! Why are you back to class today? I thought you would rest for a few more days."

The two girls walked and talked.

"I'm fine. Staying at home is boring, so I might as well come to school. I was so stupid before that I let Wei Wei threaten me." Tang Meng looked relaxed and much more at ease.

Xia Minmin was also puzzled, "Actually, I don't understand why you were threatened by Wei Wei for so many years without telling your parents. Your parents seem like very nice people."

"He's stupid, he was fooled by Wei Wei! If it weren't for your kick yesterday, I wouldn't have known that Wei Wei was just a good-for-nothing."

Tang Meng paused for a moment, then quickly continued.

“My parents love me very much, but they are always very busy. Our family used to live in Shanghai, but my dad moved to Shenzhen after being demobilized from the military. A few years ago, the security situation was not good, and my dad often didn't come home for a month. My mom usually works in business and leaves early and comes home late. I am often alone at home. At first, I wanted to talk to him, but I didn't know who to talk to. After a while, I was fooled by Wei Wei.”

Xia Minmin understood Tang Meng's situation very well. "You should tell your parents. No matter how busy they are, they will help you solve the problem instead of you having to bear it all alone."

Tang Meng comes from a happy family, is doted on by her parents, and has a simple personality. If she lived in Shanghai, she probably wouldn't have been bullied.

School is a small society, and anyone with a different accent will more or less face isolation or bullying.

"Yeah, my dad wants me to learn martial arts with you. Your kick yesterday was really cool!"

Tang Meng also tried to mimic Xia Minmin's side kick from yesterday, but almost fell over because she didn't stand firmly on her feet.

"I study Sanda (Chinese kickboxing). My coach said that women's lower body strength is greater than their upper body strength, so I practice leg techniques more. So far, it seems to be working quite well. Some boys who have been training for more than a year don't have as much leg strength as me."

Tang Meng gave a thumbs-up with both hands, "You're amazing! After I sign up, you can teach me too, and we can go on chivalrous adventures together."

Xia Minmin said proudly, "No, there's still a lot I need to learn. This year, my focus is on strengthening my upper body."

"Yes, let's do it together."

They arrived at the classroom just as Tang Meng stepped inside, and the once noisy classroom fell silent.

The students all stared at Tang Meng, who looked at them expressionlessly. Both sides wanted to say something, but neither spoke.

Tang Meng returned to her seat and took out her English textbook to preview the material.

Xia Minmin looked at Tang Meng and mouthed, "Are you alright?"

Tang Meng shook her head.

The English teacher was a disheveled middle-aged man. He was said to be only in his early twenties, but Xia Minmin looked at least thirty.

English morning reading is nothing more than memorizing words in class and then reciting them before the next day.

English teacher Ms. Li looked at the impoverished scholars from the Republican era, but their spoken English was excellent, without the slightest accent.

Ring ring…

Xia Minmin packed her schoolbag and said to Tang Meng, "Finally, school's over! Come home with me later for dinner, and after dinner, I'll take you to my Sanda coach's place!"

Tang Meng asked cautiously, "Is it appropriate to eat at your house?"

Xia Minmin slung her schoolbag over her shoulder and patted Tang Meng's shoulder forcefully.

"There's nothing wrong with it, so don't worry! My parents would love for me to bring my classmates home."

"Okay, then I need to call my mom and dad. They said this morning they would come home early today, but since I'm going to learn Sanda, they don't need to rush home."

“My supermarket has a telephone.”

Xia Minmin led Tang Meng back to her family's supermarket.

Tang Meng kept exclaiming along the way, "Your house is so close to the school!"

Xia Minmin remained calm and composed, saying, "I've calculated that it's less than 800 meters from my house to my classroom. Next time I'll take you to my house; you can see our school's playground from my balcony."

"So close!"

The two of them stood at the school gate, and Xia Minmin pointed to the location of the supermarket.

"It is indeed very close." Standing at the school gate, Tang Meng could see the supermarket's entrance.

On the way back, Xia Minmin was greeted by many people, including students and shop owners. She could switch freely between Mandarin and the local Shenzhen dialect.

Tang Meng couldn't help but sigh, "You're so popular! You speak Shenzhen dialect so well that you can't hear any accent at all, unlike me who's been here for six years and still doesn't speak the local dialect."

"If you come here at the age of two and can speak fluently like me, just like I can't speak my hometown dialect, it's no big deal. If all else fails, we can crush them with English. If they don't understand, just respond to them in English."

Tang Meng covered her mouth and laughed; it was indeed a good idea.