There is a bus stop near Yizhong. When Shen Nan was waiting for the bus on the platform, there were also two mature-looking girls next to her. Judging by their age, they were probably around the same as Shen Nan, but they were pretending to be adults. One of them even had a smoky makeup on.

Shen Nan took a glance and ignored them.

In his eyes, these two girls were just rebellious little students who didn't study well. He even suspected that they might imagine themselves as bosses of a gang.

The two girls glanced at him while whispering to each other, but they were a bit far away. The girls even lowered their voices, so Shen Nan couldn't hear them clearly. As soon as the bus arrived, he got on.

His family lived in an ordinary residential complex, and they were neighbors with the Shao family across the street. The relationship between the two families was very good, so good that Shen Nan and Shao Bei would fight in their strollers before they even knew how to speak.

In the afternoon, the residential area was not crowded. Without much thought, Shen Nan walked towards Building 13 with ease and familiarity.

That was a memory left behind in the body.

The elevator zoomed straight towards the seventh floor.

On the seventh floor, there were two rooms side by side. On the left was the Shaobei family, and on the right was his family. As he approached the door, Shen Nan suddenly felt a bit nervous, his palms even starting to sweat!

He cursed silently, despising his own incompetence. Like a robot, he walked step by step to the door. A dark green security door stood before him. Shen Nan took a deep breath and raised his hand to ring the doorbell, but suddenly he heard an argument from inside:

"You don't understand! I must go handle this matter! No discussion!"

"Have you ever thought about me?! Have you ever thought about Nannan?! Do you still want this family?!"

Shen Nan was stunned.

That was the voice of his parents, a sound he hadn't heard in ten years. In that instant, it was as if a button had been pressed, controlling his tear ducts. Tears streamed down Shen Nan's face before he even realized it.

Shen Nan hurriedly and haphazardly wiped his face.

The voice inside continued, and my father's perennially hoarse voice, tainted by his smoking habit, was deep and heavy: "Ah! Don't cry! What are you crying for?"

The mother screeched sharply, "Can I not cry? My husband wants to go die! Does he want to make me a widow? So crying is not allowed, is it?"

Shen Nan's breath froze when he heard the words "seeking death."

Thoughts were racing in his mind.

In March of that year, he was in the second half of his second year of high school. During this summer vacation, his father and Shao Bei's father planned to go on a trip. However, on their way back, they got into a car accident. Shao Bei's father protected his father for a moment, resulting in Shao Bei's father dying on the spot. His father stayed in the realm of death for two months before returning.

And during those two months, Shaomu fell apart and became insane, he and Shaobei became enemies.

"Enough, stop crying," Father suddenly softened, startling Shen Nan out of his daze of reeling in cold sweat from the memories. "This matter hasn't been settled yet. I will discuss it with Shaw Zi. You two shouldn't get involved, and don't tell Bi Hong either."

"What is this 'matter' about?"

"Shaozi" is Shaobei's father. Why does he want to discuss with him?

"Bihong" is Shaobei's mother's name. Why does his own mother know about it while Loya has been kept in the dark?

In his previous life, he did not hear this conversation, so he was unaware of the background and suspicions hidden within.

Shen Nan forced himself to calm down. Nothing has happened yet. He must stop this tragedy, for sure!

He was deep in thought when suddenly the security door in front of him was opened.

Shen's mother, inside the house, was startled when she saw her son with a furrowed brow, a serious and earnest expression on his face, shedding tears. Without caring why her son, who should have been at school, appeared at their doorstep, she blurted out, "Nan Nan! Why are you crying? What happened?!"

Shen's mother was actually a tough and assertive woman. Her ability to scold and protect her own interests was evident. Despite being in her thirties, she couldn't avoid having wrinkles and eye bags, and her skin was not as tight as it had been in her youth. In a few years, or even decades, she would age even more, her hair would turn white, her eyesight would slowly diminish, and her mobility would be affected. However, in Shen Nan's memory, his mother would forever remain as she was now.

Because of her, I didn't get to live to the future.

Shen Nan looked at her, tears welled up in his eyes.

Shen's mother was extremely anxious when she realized that her son had returned alone. She immediately frowned and asked coldly, "How come it's just you? Where is Shao Bei?!"

Shen Nan: "......"

Shen Nan's teary eyes were hazy: "Ah?"

Shen's mother wiped his tears lovingly and said, "Did Shao Bei bully you? Hmph, this kid, taking you for granted just because you like him? He dares to leave you here alone and make you cry. Let me see how I deal with him!"

Shen Nan was so shocked by the phrase "You like him" that her tears immediately receded.

Shen Nan had no choice but to choke back tears as he emphatically reaffirmed, "I don't like him!"

Shen's mother thought he was just throwing a childish tantrum, so she ruffled his hair and said, "It's alright! It's normal for young couples to argue! Mom understands!"

Shen Nan: "?! What the hell do you understand!"

The unexpected deep bond between mother and son had not yet finished its melodrama when Mr. Shen walked over with a serious expression: "Don't misunderstand Beibei, Beibei is such a good child! It must be this little guy who made him angry."

Shen Nan: "......"

Shen Fu has always firmly believed in the saying "a loving child comes from being disciplined." Shen Nan was beaten by his father since he was young, and although his father hasn't hit him since junior high school, his fear of his father is obviously more than his love for him. Besides, his dad is also a brainless bragger named Shao Bei.

Shen's father glared at him, "Have you become fearless? Why did you come back now instead of being at school? Neither your mother nor I received any message from your teacher. Did you skip school and come out?!"

Shen Nan: "..."

(Note: In English, ellipsis (...) is often used to denote silence or the omission of speech in a similar way to the Chinese punctuation "……".)

He forgot about a bizarre rule in Yizhong Middle School, that students are required to have a valid reason and permission to leave the school during their study period. A leave request form must be submitted, along with a copy of the electronic version of the form sent to the student's parents as a text message.

Skipping school by climbing over the wall, it feels exhilarating in the moment, but afterwards, it's a heart-wrenching regret.