Many years ago, the family I remember was not a happy one. Ever since I was a child, my parents seemed to have been arguing all the time, whether it was about money or the trivialities of life, they could all become the fuse that triggered the quarrel.
Unaware of how to handle this situation, the child could only hide in a corner, concealing his presence to avoid being affected. Thus, the child learned to be sensible at an early age and curbed his childish willfulness. He stopped running around and causing trouble for his mother, instead staying quietly at home, playing with his building blocks.
But this peace was only temporary. With the father away from home for work, the mother became stricter with the children, judging everything by their academic performance. Not only did they have to complete their homework every day, they also had to do various tutoring books. Furthermore, the mother frequently called the teachers to check on their performance. If anything was not going well, she would harshly question them.
Seeing his mother's wide-open eyes, the child could only fearlessly put down the remote and obediently return to his room to study. Days passed like this, and he couldn't go out to play freely, for fear that he would go to the game room. Gradually, the child had few friends at school and became introverted, rarely speaking to others.
But the mother was not satisfied with this. She began to blame her child, asking why he didn't go out and make more friends, why he was like a taciturn person every day, and why every word he said sounded like his tongue was being cut off.
The child remained silent and didn't know how to refute. Perhaps he was indeed not as good as others. Looking at his friends who were all cheerful and lively, the child felt a little inferior.
My mother's requirements for academic performance have become more stringent. At home, if she sees that her child is not studying, she will scold him, saying, "I work so hard every day for you, can't you be like someone else's child? He has good grades, can speak well, and helps me with the housework, but you are as stupid as a pig."
There seems to be no breathing room in life, and the mother with a strong desire for control fills every corner of life.
Until one day, the child borrowed a comic book from a classmate, and then a door of fantasy was secretly opened. First, there were various comics such as "Doraemon", "Old Master Q", "Shenbing Qixuan", "Dragon Ball", "Yu Yu Hakusho", "The Sky is Red River Bank", etc.
I borrowed all the comic books from the small bookstore next to the school. After finishing the comics, I quickly started reading novels. Then a wider fantasy world came to me, such as "In Search of the Gods", "Legend of the Stars and Moon", "The Mysterious Journey", "The Strange Hero", "The Story of Fengzi" and so on.
Accompanied by fresh and fantastical words, you enter an incredible kingdom, following the protagonist's ups and downs, experiencing one thrilling adventure after another, and achieving supreme feats. Thus, all kinds of external pressures are fully vented in the fantasy world, and life seems to become much more lovely, and the shadows in the heart are also greatly alleviated.
From then on, the child became addicted to reading novels, and later animation. It can be said that these spiritual nourishment allowed him to endure the various discomforts in life, and those beautiful things ultimately prevented him from going down a crooked and extreme path, and he eventually became a normal and kind person.
After graduating from high school, the child went far away to attend college. It was at that moment that his life finally ushered in the blossoming of freedom.
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"Lacey, Lacey..." Rachel's voice rang in his ears, and only then did Loran Hill come back to his senses.
"Sorry, I just remembered something from a long time ago."
"Lacey, what did you remember?" Rachel asked curiously.
"It's probably about escaping from my parents' oppression." The girl showed a nostalgic smile on her face.
"Rachel, you can discuss it with your family, or with your fiancé, and go to Emenas to study for a few years before coming back to get married."
Emenas, the academy at the center of the continent, the summit of the world, Ivar's permanent neutral ground. All races are equally accepted, offering nine Transcendent Sequences and countless advancement paths. This legendary school is the dream of countless gifted young men. It's a living legend since the Third Age, founded after the Chaos War.
In the year 210 of the Third Age, the Chaos Calamity broke out across the world. Dark shadows from another world invaded the world of Ivar. Nearly 60% of the land in the Western Continent fell, and the remaining races were forced to put aside their prejudices and unite to fight.
The coalition forces held their ground near Emenas, engaging in a 20-year-long tug-of-war. Countless heroes emerged during this period, and after the war was won, powerful individuals from various races and major transcendental sequences left their legacy in Emenas, with outstanding individuals serving as sages.
The sages advocated the establishment of Emenas College. In addition to the central school building, four major colleges guarded the four directions, which were also the four ancient battlefields of the past. They used this as history to teach students, cultivate the next generation of extraordinary sequences for this world, and prepare for the next Chaos War.
It is also the place where the most extraordinary combat power is currently gathered in the world of Ivar. Almost all the advancement routes can be found in the records there. It is the well-deserved number one academy in the world.
"Emenas..." Rachel muttered to herself while looking at the blue sky.
"I really want to go, but I'm also a little afraid of not being accepted." After releasing her emotions, rationality began to return to Rachel's brain. Emenas' admission standards are extremely high, and not everyone can be admitted.
Luo Lanxier placed his hand on the back of Rachel's hand. "Even if you're afraid, you still have to give it a try. At least you won't have any regrets, right?"
"Thank you." Rachel seemed a little touched and blinked her moist eyes.
"Lacey, you are the first person who encourages and supports me."
"Father, brother, they always say that I am dreaming and tell me to get married without any worries, and they never care about my own thoughts. Maybe they think they are doing this for my own good, but I just feel that I am not understood and not believed." The more Rachel spoke, the more she blinked, trying hard not to let the tears flow.
Lacey, also known as Loran Hill, stood up and gently stroked Rachel's back with her hand, comforting her without saying a word.
She would not say any words of sympathy, nor would she say that everyone is the same. Her own experience in her previous life made her understand that there is no such thing as empathy in the world. Never expect someone to fully understand your pain. Not everyone can tell about the occasional breakdown and crying in life.
Therefore, when she sees someone around her crying, she will stay quietly by their side without saying a word until the other person slowly vents their emotions. She will only be a quiet listener rather than a strong comforter. Perhaps this is also a kind of gentleness.
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