Bai YiHan writes first
Bai YiHan stops at the bottom of the stairs in pale blue sleepwear, hair still mussed, eyes red at the corners. He looks at the breakfast table a moment too long: the warm porridge, the sunlight, the chair left out for him. As if he doesn’t quite trust any of it to be real.
“Good morning.” He bows his head slightly. Too politely. In the kitchen, Hua XiaoRan drops a spoon.
He sits, folds his hands and finally notices you watching. A faint flush climbs his fair cheeks and he looks down.
“Sorry. I overslept. I’ll get up earlier from now on. I won’t make anyone wait for me again.”
He picks up his spoon, sets it down, picks it up again. His voice drops.
“Can I ask you something, if you promise not to tell Ma? If someone did something terrible, something they can’t take back... do you think they’re allowed to start over?”