The sky was ablaze with light, and the air slipping through the tiny crevices was lingering and meandering. Everything under the sun seemed to be dancing in a halo.
Lin Jinran was just eight years old that year. She was still a little girl with two ponytails that swayed with her steps as she walked. Her glass - like eyes were clear and clean, and her face was full of innocence.
After school at noon, Lin Jinran was picked up by the driver and taken home. She sat in the back seat of the car, propping her small head up with both hands and excitedly watching the fleeting scenery outside the window.
The results of the mid - term exam in the morning were out. She got the first place in the class and also the first in the grade.
This was an unprecedentedly good result for her. The teacher praised her highly in class, and the classmates congratulated her one after another.
The first thing Lin Jinran thought of when she got this result was to rush home and tell her parents the news in person.
So she waited and waited. Finally, school was over. She quickly got in the car and urged the driver to hurry up.
"Miss, why are you in such a hurry to go home today?" the driver asked curiously from the front seat.
"Uncle, I got the first place in the class and the grade. I want to go home quickly and tell Mom and Dad this good news." Mentioning this, Lin Jinran proudly raised her chin, her eyes twinkling.
The driver praised, "Miss is really amazing. Mr. and Mrs. Lin will surely be happy."
"Yes, yes." Lin Jinran nodded like a chick pecking rice. Then, as if thinking of something, she lowered her head and her voice was muffled.
"Mom and Dad have been arguing a lot lately. I hope they'll stop arguing after hearing this good news."
The driver sighed. He had heard about the arguments between Mr. and Mrs. Lin recently.
"Mr. and Mrs. Lin will surely make up. There's no couple that never argues. Miss, my wife and I also often quarrel over some things. Their quarrels will pass. It's nothing serious."
"Okay!" Lin Jinran nodded vigorously, but there was still uneasiness in her heart. In the recent quarrels, she had never seen her mother so heart - broken. It was as if her mother would leave her the next second.
Lin Jinran couldn't help reaching out to cover her chest, where her heart was. Just like her young and energetic self, her heart was beating vigorously.
In an instant, all that was left between heaven and earth was the sound of her heartbeats. Lin Jinran lowered her head slightly and listened carefully. It seemed that only by doing this could she feel a little more at ease.
Soon, the car stopped in front of the villa. Lin Jinran opened the door and ran forward at full speed without any hindrance.
It was not until she entered the living room that Lin Jinran stopped. She bent over, gasping for breath, and a blush appeared on both sides of her cheeks.
She looked around. There was no one in the living room, but there were some noises on the second floor.
"Dad, Mom, I, I have a good..." news.
She stopped abruptly at the word "good",
The word "news" was bitten off, mixed with the taste of blood in her mouth, and swallowed forcefully.
"I'm telling you, I'm already tired of you. There's nothing left to say between us!"
With a "bang", the door on the second floor was kicked open. Then came the sound of various items being broken and thrown to the ground. The noise crackled for a while before it stopped.
The man stood high above in the doorway, the veins on his temples bulging. All his anger was poured out on the other person.
Lin Jinran saw this scene unexpectedly. The blood in her whole body seemed to freeze instantly. With a sense of blank uneasiness, she was like a person tied up, instinctively afraid of all kinds of torture tools.
She had seen her parents quarrel verbally many times, but she had never seen them physically fight and throw things.
Today's quarrel seemed very serious.
Lin Jinran thought vaguely. She was extremely uneasy. It seemed that the sky was about to collapse and everything would be plunged into darkness. Her heart was beating violently, thumping non - stop. Her blood vessels were congested, as if they would burst the next second.
The man standing on the second floor noticed someone below. He turned his head and saw his frightened daughter.
Lin Cheng sneered and shouted into the room, "I don't want to say anything more. You'd better think it over yourself."
Then he went downstairs.
From the room came a heart - rending cry, "Lin Cheng, don't leave!"
Lin Cheng didn't answer her. He walked downstairs coldly and resolutely.
When passing by Lin Jinran, he showed a smile and asked, "Ranran is back."
The man's smile was cold and cruel, making people tremble with fear. It was like a sharp thorn, piercing deeply into Lin Jinran's young heart.
Lin Jinran was really frightened. Her face turned pale, and she murmured, "Dad, I got the first place, the first in the grade."
"You're a good child." The man bent down to look her in the eye and stroked Lin Jinran's head.
After all, the man in front of her was her own father. Lin Jinran held back her fear and gently pulled at her father's clothes, whispering, "Dad, could you please stop arguing with Mom?"
I'm so scared. After much hesitation, she didn't say this heartfelt thought.
Lin Cheng smiled. He stood up, looking down at Lin Jinran, and evaded the question, "Ranran must always be this good. Only then will Dad like you."
But all I want is for you to stop arguing. That's all.
Lin Jinran looked up at her father pleadingly.
The sound of heavy objects falling came from the room on the second floor again. The two people on the first floor looked up, and a disheveled woman rushed out.
Lin Cheng showed disgust in his eyes and left without saying a word.
By the time the woman rushed to the first floor, Lin Cheng had already gone far away.
She stared blankly at the disappearing back of that person. Her whole body was as stiff as a stone, not moving at all.
Looking at her mother like this, a great sense of panic swept over Lin Jinran. Desperate and scared, she tugged at her mother's sleeve and cried, "Mom, Mom, Dad has gone far away."
She didn't know why this family had suddenly become like this.
She was also very afraid that this family would fall apart.
Her mother didn't respond at all. Lin Jinran decided to say something happy, "Mom, do you know what place I got in this mid - term exam?"
"I got the first place, the first in the grade!" Lin Jinran danced around, trying to bring her mother back to her senses.
Xiang Yanhua looked down at her daughter after a few seconds. At that moment, several big teardrops fell and hit Lin Jinran's face. She was stunned.
Xiang Yanhua collapsed on the ground and hugged her daughter, crying loudly and gasping for breath, "Ran, Ranran, you're, you're so good..."
Her voice was broken, just like the broken glass on the ground under the grand sunlight outside the window.
Little Lin Jinran clumsily comforted her mother. Her heart was filled with blank fear, and she had no idea where the future was.
Her mother had always been strong and would never expose her vulnerable side in front of her.