There was a faint scratching sound at the door.

  "Come in!" Fang Siying called, looking up from her desk.

  The door opened, and Bai Tingting walked in with her schoolbag on her back. She turned around to close the door behind her, then gave Fang Siying a sweet smile and softly said, "I'm here, teacher."

  "Good, sit down, Tingting." Fang Siying pulled a wicker chair to the front and gestured for her to sit. After she was seated, Fang Siying returned to her own position, then studied the girl with a smile. "Do you know, after a week of extra lessons, you've made a lot of progress? It shows that you weren't doing poorly before; you just weren't willing to put in the effort and weren't focused."

  Bai Tingting lowered her eyeshes and sighed softly.

  "Look! You're sighing again," Fang Siying said with a smile. "Who taught you to sigh so much? Your father?"

  "Father—ah!" The child suddenly remembered something. She took an envelope out of her schoolbag and handed it to Fang Siying. "I almost forgot; Dad asked me to give this to you."

  "What is it?" Fang Siying took the envelope with suspicion. Opening it, she found a stack of one-hundred-yuan bills. Counting them, there were exactly ten bills. Fang Siying's smile faded as she looked at Bai Tingting. "What's this for?"

  "Dad said you shouldn’t help me with tutoring for free," Bai Tingting expined. "This is a small gesture, a tutoring fee."

  "Tuition fee?" Fang Siying ughed silently, putting the money back into the envelope.

  She handed it back to Bai Tingting. "Take it back to your father, okay? Tell him that Teacher Fang isn’t tutoring you for money. I don't need money, and taking this would feel unnatural. Understand? Take it back."

  "But—" Bai Tingting said anxiously, "Dad will get angry if I don't give it to you."

  Fang Siying hesitated. "Your father—" she asked, "does he often get angry with you?"

  "No, no, that's not it!" The child shouted in a strong voice. "Dad never gets angry with me, never! He loves me, do you know?" She took a deep breath and stared at Fang Siying. Then, she suddenly changed her tone, speaking softly, gently, and with a childish lilt. "Yesterday was my birthday."

  "Really?" Fang Siying was momentarily stunned, unsure of what this child was trying to get at.

  "Yes, I even forgot myself," the child replied, her eyes wide with innocence and honesty.

  "It wasn't until I came home from school and saw a three-tier cake in the dining room, the whole room filled with candles and flowers, that I was stunned. Then Dad picked me up and said, 'Happy birthday, my little one!'"

  The child sighed again, a look of immense satisfaction and joy on her face. "Dad always calls me his little one. I think it's because he can't see, so he doesn't know how tall I've grown. Then Mom put a beautiful box with a red satin ribbon in my arms. Guess what, Teacher Fang?" Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

  "What was inside?" Fang Siying was captivated by her words.

  "A big doll!" the child said, panting with excitement. "She has long, golden hair, eyes that can open and close, and a white, airy skirt. Oh, teacher, you can't imagine how beautiful she is! I'll bring her to show you next time, okay? My mom bought it for herself in Taipei. She knows I love dolls the most, and since I was little, she has bought me so many, all kinds. I have a cabinet just for my dolls, and I’ve given each of them a name. There's a bck doll I call Xiao Heitan, and an ugly doll I call the Xiao Chou. Can you guess what I named the new one?"

  (T/N: 小黑炭; Xiǎo Hēi Tàn means little bck charcoal; 小丑; Xiǎochǒu means Clown)

  "What did you name her?"

  "Jin Quan'er. Isn't that a good name? If you saw her golden curls and her little turned-up nose!"

  (T/N: 金鬈儿; Jīn Quán′er means Golden Curls)

  "The name is perfect," Fang Siying said, gazing bnkly at the child's innocent face. In that moment, the face was pure childlike innocence, and there was no trace of the adult-like sorrow she had once seen in her. "You have so many dolls. Why did your mom still give you another one?"

  "Why not!" The child raised her thick eyebrows high. "Dolls can't just be by themselves—they'd get bored! Of course, the more, the better. That way, they can py together, eat together, and sleep together. Then they won’t feel lonely."

  Fang Siying looked tenderly at Bai Tingting. This was the sorrow of being an only child.

  "Do you often feel lonely, Tingting?" she asked softly.

  "Oh, no!" the child responded immediately. "I'm never lonely. Mommy is always with me. In the morning, she helps me comb my hair and braid it. Even though Yazhu could do it too, Mommy's afraid she might hurt me. Then she eats breakfast with me, watches me walk out the door to school, and in the evening, she helps me with my homework and puts me to bed. Even after I fall asleep, she stays by my bed and sings me a lulby... Oh," she said, her eyes gazing dreamily out the window, a radiant glow of happiness lighting up her little face. "She’s the best mommy in the whole world!"

  "Oh," Fang Siying composed herself and said, "Having such a wonderful mother is your blessing. Alright, let's stop talking about your mom. Take out your arithmetic book now!"

  "As!" Bai Tingting sighed, reluctantly pulling her gaze away from the window and looking at Fang Siying with a pleading expression. "Do we really have to take out the book? Don't you like listening to me talk?"