I was born and listened to my neighbor's older sister talk about her family of origin.

The sweltering heat turned into the cold winter, and the cold winter was followed by the height of summer.

Two years passed in the blink of an eye, from fifth grade to sixth grade.

Going to the martial arts gym to be tortured became a regular activity for Jiang Ye every winter and summer vacation.

The outcome between him and Ji Xiaoxiao, which was initially a foregone conclusion, has become a back-and-forth affair that can only be fought occasionally.

Of course, Ji Xiaoxiao won more often; he was quite lucky to win once out of ten times.

After all, Ji Xiaoxiao's talent is undeniable.

Jiang Ye's strength is also increasing day by day. If he continues to train like this, it will definitely be no problem for him to use it to look cool and stylish in the future.

Many children have come and gone at Kyokushin Martial Arts Gym, but only he and Ji Xiaoxiao have remained, along with Zhou Jie.

He continued to follow behind Ji Xiaoxiao, but paid little attention to Jiang Ye.

At first, Ji Xiaoxiao thought about playing matchmaker, since they had grown up together and were now studying at the same martial arts school.

But as time went on, she began to appreciate it.

Zhou Jie wasn't being slow to warm up; he was pretending not to understand, clearly showing his dislike for Jiang Ye.

Gradually, she distanced herself from this guy.

She prefers A-Ye to Zhou Jie.

Children's likes and dislikes are so pure.

Gradually, Zhou Jie seemed to give up and left the martial arts school during his last winter break in sixth grade.

With him gone, Jiang Ye felt much more at ease.

That kid has a rather gloomy personality, and even though he doesn't like arguing with children, he really can't bring himself to like him.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

During the summer vacation after sixth grade, Jiang Ye and Ji Xiaoxiao graduated successfully.

During the summer after graduating from elementary school, Jiang Ye brought home a certificate for being an outstanding student and ranked first in the graduation exam. Taking advantage of Hao Mei and Jiang Cheng's good mood, he began to make demands.

The braised prawns from dinner were still steaming hot. Jiang Ye finished the last bite of rice, put his chopsticks down on the bowl with a crisp sound.

This successfully attracted the attention of Hao Mei and Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Ye cleared his throat and put on a serious look, like a little adult.

"Dad, Mom, I have a suggestion about the graduation trip."

He was confident.

As a regular on the list of "other people's children," and having just returned with a certificate for being first in his grade, his parents had no reason to refuse his request.

"Oh? Tell me about it."

Jiang Cheng was struggling with a chicken leg when he heard this, so he raised his eyelids and became quite interested.

Hao Mei also put down her chopsticks and looked at him tenderly.

"How about we go to Haicheng for our graduation trip?"

"Haicheng?"

Hao Mei was taken aback, somewhat surprised.

"Your dad and I are discussing going to Yun City. It's a beautiful place with clear waters and lush mountains, and it would be perfect to go there now to escape the summer heat..."

There was a hint of longing in her voice.

"We'll go to Yun City another time."

Jiang Ye: "Haicheng is an international metropolis, I want to go and broaden my horizons."

Hao Mei hesitated, then subconsciously looked at Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng nodded.

"That works too. It's my son's graduation trip, so he can go wherever he wants. Besides, Haicheng is close by, and it's cheap to go there and back."

Hao Mei didn't say anything more, which was taken as tacit agreement.

This trip was naturally centered around my son.

It's a shame she made so many travel guides for Yun City...

A hint of disappointment flashed in Hao Mei's eyes.

She had finally managed to get a chance to travel, and she had actually always wanted to go to Yun City.

Jiang Cheng seemed to sense the emotion in his wife's eyes and immediately said, "Wife, how about we go to Haicheng first, then Yun City?"

Jiang Ye also realized what was happening.

He was only thinking of himself and didn't consider his mother at all.

She clearly wanted to go to Yun City.

Hao Mei frowned: "Going to two places, how much money will that cost? It's such a waste."

Jiang Ye raised his hand immediately, as if afraid of being a beat too slow.

"I want to go to Yun City too! I got a scholarship this time, which will cover our travel expenses! Mom, don't you like taking pictures? I'll be your photographer, and I guarantee I'll take even better pictures of you than the celebrities in magazines!"

Upon hearing this, Hao Mei's previous disappointment vanished instantly, and she beamed with joy, giving Jiang Ye a reproachful glare.

"You're so sweet-talking."

Hao Mei looked at the father and son, her eyes crinkling with joy.

"Okay, we make money to have fun, right? It's settled then!"

With the trip scheduled for three days from now, Hao Mei hummed a song as she ran to her room, preparing to refine her travel plan and also work on the Haicheng itinerary.

Jiang Ye and Jiang Cheng were washing dishes and tidying up in the kitchen.

Halfway through washing, Jiang Cheng winked at Jiang Ye and said, "Son, you want to go to Haicheng, is it to see Yu Yu?"

Jiang Ye: "..."

"Sigh, Dad, you really understand me."

He didn't intend to deny it, and said to Jiang Cheng, "Dad, I want to go see Sister Xiaoyu later. You and Mom play for a day first, and I'll come to find you later."

Two years have passed, and his only contact with Xu Zhiyu is through their cell phones.

The phone calls and QQ messages never stopped, but we just couldn't meet.

This time, he wanted to take advantage of this graduation trip to meet her and find out how she was doing.

How can words and sounds compare to meeting in person?

At this moment, Jiang Cheng said, "Son, it's not that I like to interfere with you, but it's best if you don't provoke that family."

Jiang Ye paused.

"Dad, what are you saying?"

Jiang Cheng sighed softly, didn't look at Jiang Ye, and continued with his work.

"Dad isn't well-educated and can't spout any grand principles, but I still want to remind you of a couple of things."

"Dad knows you and Xiaoyu are good friends, but now their status is different from ours."

"You can still maintain your friendship based on childhood ties now, but what about later? When you grow up and your social status becomes different, that chasm will be an obstacle in front of you."

"Some circles are not ones you can easily cross over. If you do, forget about friendship, you might even have trouble exchanging a word with someone, or you might become complete strangers."

Jiang Cheng patted Jiang Ye on the shoulder.

"Dad isn't trying to discourage you, but he doesn't want you to hit a wall later in life. That kind of disappointment is more painful than anything else."

As someone who had been through it all, Jiang Cheng knew that his family was of average means, even poor, and certainly not cultured.

He had also inquired about the Song family.

That was one of the most prestigious and powerful families in Haicheng.

Jiang Ye is very smart, and he is Jiang Chengcai's greatest pride in his life.

But he was a useless father; he couldn't give his son a high starting point, not even a decent stepping stone.

Even if Jiang Ye gets into a prestigious university and finds a good job in the future, so what?

The connections and wealth accumulated by their family over generations form an impenetrable net. How can an outsider like you possibly squeeze through it?

Moreover, Cheng Jinglan is no pushover either.

She looked down on them when she was in trouble, and now that she's risen to a higher social status, she'll probably look down on them even more.

No matter how Jiang Cheng thought about it, he felt that he was really not good enough for Xu Zhiyu.

Even if it's just making friends.

He was actually feeling quite upset.

She felt that her son was like a perfect seedling, but he just happened to grow up in their barren, saline-alkali land.

The kitchen was so quiet you could hear water droplets sliding off the rim of a bowl and hitting the stainless steel sink.

The cicadas outside the window were screeching loudly, each chirp more irritating than the last, making people feel restless and irritable.

"dad."

Jiang Ye suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but clear and melodious.

He finished arranging the last bowl, dried his hands, and instead of the heaviness of being lectured, he had a smile on his face.

You're thinking too far ahead.

Jiang Ye looked at his father, his expression calm, but his eyes shone with confidence.

"Roads are made by people walking on them; who can say for sure what the future holds?"