Days went by and Jiayi did not feel anywhere near comfortable in her new environment. Every morning when she woke up, she dreaded leaving the house. Everyday in kindergarten, she longed for the bell to ring, signaling her dismissal.

Being an introvert, Jiayi refused to initiate conversations with her fellow classmates, and, in turn, those classmates formed cliques without her.

Things didn’t get better over time.

In fact, they got worse, particularly since that day that Miss Chen asked her class to introduce their families.

“I have a mom, a dad, and an older sister,” said one.

“I have a mom, a dad, and an older brother,” said another.

“I have a mom and a dad,” said yet another.

The descriptions of perfect families continued as Jiayi fidgeted with her small fingers.

“Jiayi tongxue, it’s your turn,” Miss Chen warmly smiled.

“I...I…” Jiayi stuttered, “I h-have a mom…”

“What about you dad?” an innocent girl wondered.

“She doesn’t have one!” a far-from-innocent one snickered, causing Jiayi’s face to fall in shame. She believed it to be true. She thought she only had a mother, not even once pondering over the question that maybe she had a father. In fact, Jiayi didn’t care whether or not she had a father - all she needed was her mama.

The devil child’s comment caught Miss Chen off guard and she let shock paint her face.

So the children continued with their hurtful remarks.

“Ouyang Jiayi doesn’t have a father!”

“Ouyang Jiayi is a freak!”

“The freak is out to get us!”

Finally, Miss Chen responded and urged the children to stop. The class finally found comforting silence, but that silence did not comfort Jiayi a bit.

For that day, her classmates stopped talking to her, but the snobby remarks did not stop there. Day after day, Jiayi’s classmates would bully and make fun of her, making her mro