[Teacher, teacher, you’re so good]
[Nurturing us with all you could]
[Teaching art and games to play]
[Songs and dances every day]
[Now we graduate with pride]
[Soon to primary school we’ll ride]
[When red scarves adorn our chests]
[We’ll return with joyful zest]
[Goodbye teacher, wave goodbye]

“Can’t believe this is still the kindergarten graduation song after twenty years… Feels like time froze, like I’m dreaming back to my childhood.”

“Huh? IV drip? What IV—are you sick? What’s your temperature? Should Grandpa visit?”

“Too many relatives to visit! Exhausting, huh…”

Six-year-old Mei Xiaoyuan had blossomed into a radiant girl, her twin ponytails tied with vibrant red bows, perpetually brimming with energy.

Meanwhile, Mei Zhixi sported a chin-length bob—still quiet but now comfortably responsive, a far cry from her once-timid self.

As Sunflower Class’s final chorus echoed, the sisters stood hand-in-hand onstage, their smiles mirroring the parents and teachers below—a scene both nostalgic and new.

The ever-conspicuous Mei Fang and Xia Yuan duo drew familiar attention from other parents, their dynamic now a three-year staple.

Xia Yuan, clutching tissues, sobbed into Mei Fang’s arms. “Wuwu… Ah Fang, I can’t take this!”

“Yuan Mama, don’t cry! Kids have to grow up…” Teacher Lin Meng’s mother comforted.

“I know but… but…”

Mei Xiaoyuan handed Mei Fang a tissue. “Daddy, don’t cry! We’re just growing—not leaving you! Be happy!”

“Hahaha, where’d you learn such cheesy lines?” Mei Fang dabbed his eyes. “But congratulations on graduating!”

“Wuwu… I wanna paint with Xixi too!”

Xia Yuan’s dramatics tinged the joyous atmosphere with melancholy, prompting other parents to sniffle.

Mei Fang suddenly remembered his audience and slapped his own mouth. “Daddy cursed! Bad Daddy!”

“It’s okay—no one else is here.”

Post-ceremony, Mei Xiaoyuan distributed handmade Kamen Rider bead art to classmates, including Mei Zhixi—just as Xia Yuan had done decades prior.

Brimming with gifts, Mei Xiaoyuan cheerfully wiped sweat off her brow. “Daddy, I want watermelon!”

“Ask Mama to cut it—Daddy’s unpacking.”

Mei Zhixi, however, hesitated with her haul, tugging Lin Youxi’s sleeve. “Xi Mama… I didn’t prepare gifts. Is it okay to accept these?”

Lin Youxi crouched to her level. “When you receive presents, do you feel happy or pressured to reciprocate?”

“Happy… I think.”

“Then they likely feel the same. But if you’d like, we can make something you enjoy—like anime cards?”

Mei Zhixi nodded, then frowned. “But after today… we won’t see them again, right?”

“They’d probably still be happy to hear from you. Want to invite friends for your birthday next week? You could give gifts then.”

“Really? But… what if they don’t like it…”

“Just prepare sincerely. Let’s ask Jiejie for ideas, okay?”

Nearby, Mei Xiaoyuan overheard and bounded over. “After Meimei’s birthday, we’re starting elementary school, right Daddy?”

“Mhm.”

“Yay! Can Yaya Gu visit too? She never finished Grandpa Lan’s adventure story!”

“But Yuan Mama said Yaya’s at university far away—”

“We’re flying to Baimei County!” Mei Fang suddenly announced, phone in hand.

“Huh? Moving?”

“Grandpa called—our old neighborhood’s being redeveloped into a cultural plaza.”

Lin Youxi mused, “This ‘former residence’ talk is probably just prompting you to invest in hometown revitalization.”

“Regardless, it’s a chance to show the girls where we grew up,” Xia Yuan added. “Starting from high school memories could be meaningful.”

“Let’s include Jiangcheng too!”

Mei Xiaoyuan immediately cheered, “I wanna go! See where you lived!”

“Me too!” Mei Zhixi clung to Mei Fang’s leg. “And visit grandparents!”

After packing their kindergarten mementos into a full trunk, the family returned home to blessed AC relief.

“Phew… so cool!”

As Mei Fang fetched luggage, Xia Yuan brought out sliced watermelon—only to find the living room empty save for discarded socks.

“Ack! Don’t leave clothes for the robot vacuum!”

Upstairs, Lin Youxi was changing when Mei Xiaoyuan scolded, “Xi Mama! No undressing where boys might see!”

“But Daddy’s the only ‘boy’ here—”

“Still! Let’s shower properly!”

Meanwhile, Mei Fang and Xia Yuan had snuck into the shower—emerging later to find Mei Zhixi pouting.

“Daddy and Yuan Mama stole watermelon!”

“What ‘stealing’? You vanished!” Xia Yuan protested, munching another slice.

“Then shower with me!” Mei Zhixi tugged Mei Fang’s pants.

“You’re too big for that,” he chuckled. “Besides—”

“I want Daddy!”

“Fine, but you’re re-showering afterward,” Lin Youxi conceded. “By yourself this time.”

That evening, the family settled into their routines: Mei Fang and Mei Zhixi painting, Xia Yuan and Mei Xiaoyuan watching Kamen Rider, Lin Youxi reading in her beanbag—until Mei Fang’s phone rang.

“Dad? What’s up?”

“Just missing you! Hahaha!” Mei Lijun boomed.

Mei Xiaoyuan grabbed the phone. “Grandpa! I’m getting IV fluids!”

“What?! Where?!”

After chaos subsided, Mei Fang explained the county’s redevelopment plans—including preserving Xia and Lin’s childhood homes as memorial sites.

“We’re not dead yet!” Xia Yuan yelped.

“Living people can have former residences too,” Lin Youxi noted dryly.

“Regardless, let’s visit this summer,” Mei Fang decided. “Make it a vacation!”

As cicadas hummed outside, the family envisioned retracing their twenty-year journey—a final pilgrimage before this generational marathon reached its finish line.

One chapter remains—