The next morning, Mei Fang got up earlier than usual and waited for Xia Yuan at the gate of the community.
Because the elementary school was not far from home, Xia Yuan did not usually go to school with her mother. Of course, she did not go to class with Mei Fang every day like her childhood sweethearts in Sakura Country.
When Mei Fang saw Xia Yuan, she was still squinting her eyes and yawning, as if she had just woken up. She was a little surprised and happy to see Mei Fang waiting for her at the door.
"Good morning, have you been waiting for me?"
"I just happened to see you coming, so I waited for a while."
"Is that so..." Xia Yuan lowered her head and pursed her lips to think for a while, then raised her head and smiled, "Let's talk while we walk."
On the way to school with Mei Fang, Xia Yuan explained what happened in her family last night and in recent times.
Although Xia Yuan's father's hotel business seems to be booming, it has actually been running out of money for a long time, so he has been borrowing money from outside and has accumulated a lot of debts.
After my mother learned about this, she advised my father to sell the hotel in time to stop the loss, but my father did not intend to do so. He even wanted to mortgage the family house to pay off the debt.
The quarrel between the two in the room alarmed Xia Yuan. After failing to persuade them to stop quarreling, Xia Yuan's father rushed out of the room.
Xia Yuan's mother also called Xia Yuan and told her the cause of the incident, hoping that she would persuade her father not to continue to act on his own.
"It was the first time I saw my father with that kind of expression... He had always been a very gentle person and had never been mean to me and my mother."
Xia Yuan's expression was very bitter. "But when I went to talk to my dad about this last night, he ignored me and even told me that children should not interfere in adult matters."
Although Xia Yuan's words contained some of his own subjective understanding, Mei Fang had almost figured out the ins and outs of the matter.
The hotel is running at a loss and my father wants to continue investing to recover the loss, but my mother thinks it is a bottomless pit.
Judging from the outcome of his previous life, Xia Yuan's father achieved his goal, but subsequently suffered even greater losses, so that their family's financial situation eventually fell into a bottomless abyss and ended up being destroyed.
According to Mei Fang's observations over the years, Xia Yuan's parents are people who attach great importance to "decency".
Their decency is reflected in their own cultivation and the education of their daughter. They are very easy-going in dealing with people, regardless of whether they are rich or poor.
However, these upbringings can only be achieved on the basis of material abundance. Once they lose their material wealth or even become heavily in debt, it will be impossible to maintain their "dignity".
Xia Yuan's father is indeed a man who cares about face. In Mei Fang's eyes, losing face is more painful than losing his life.
But it was hard for Mei Fang to imagine that they would eventually go to that extreme and take their daughter with them.
"I think... you're just a kid. If you just talk about reason, your father will definitely not listen to you."
Xia Yuan nodded, "I know. I really don't want Dad to open a hotel anymore. He likes to socialize and drink with his friends more and more. I saw him less and less at home after I started elementary school. And seeing how obsessed Dad is with the hotel... It's like he's possessed. It scares me."
"There are limits to what children can do. We are not on an equal footing with adults, so it is almost impossible to convince them with words alone."
Xia Yuan said disappointedly, "Mom told me clearly last night that if Dad continued to do this, she would divorce him, and asked me who I would live with. I'm afraid that Mom and Dad will really divorce... I don't want to make this choice."
Mei Fang thought for a moment, "Since you don't want to see your parents' relationship break up, and you want to stop your father from going his own way, maybe this plan will work..."
"What plan are you talking about?"
Mei Fang looked at Xia Yuan and explained his plan word by word.
"Running away from home?"
For example, if you want to have a cat, a new school bag, or some toys, then make an agreement with your parents about how many points you want to get and what rank you want to have in the next exam.
Once this goal is achieved, most parents will agree to respond to their children's expectations.
But this is limited to some material rewards.
For plans like Xia Yuan's father's, which concern his future career development, he can only discuss them with adults.
There is absolutely no need to consider the children's opinions.
Unless parents can understand their children’s urgent demands.
Children want to make their own decisions about their own affairs, so they often compete with their parents for independence. Running away from home is an outward manifestation of this sense of independence.
There are many reasons why children run away from home. On the one hand, it may be heavy academic workload, on the other hand, it may be the lack of family love from indifferent parents. A few are tired of the monotonous life and want to go out and explore the world.
In addition, the seduction and instigation of bad people is also one of the reasons why children run away from home.
For example, Mei Fang.
"Are you serious... You want me to run away from home?" Xia Yuan was shocked by Mei Fang's proposal. "Why can this solve the problem?"
Mei Fang nodded. "Think about it. Your parents love you so much. If you run away from home, will they put down their work and look for you? Then they will take your ideas seriously. The most important thing here is your thoughts."
"But... that would be making a big fuss!" Xia Yuan muttered, "If I really run away from home, my parents will definitely go crazy looking for me everywhere."
"You were originally a fake runaway, and you put your thoughts and opinions squarely on the table by making them worry."
"Like on TV? But I didn't have a fight with my family, and it would be weird to run away from home."
"You watch your parents quarreling and you are powerless to do anything. Don't you feel sad? Mom also said that she wants to divorce Dad and let you choose who to live with. Are you willing to do this?"
"If you really get divorced, think about when you are in middle school, high school, college, or even when you get married, your father might marry another aunt. Then..."
Mei Fang's whisper made Xia Yuan gradually realize the huge crisis, and she hurried forward to cover Mei Fang's mouth.
"Stop talking! You... you're so annoying!"
Mei Fang continued to perform at a consistent level in coaxing children and made Xia Yuan cry in no time.
Seeing that they were almost at school, she quickly rubbed her eyes with her hands.
"It's true that what I said was very toxic, but it was also the truth. That's why you had to run away from home, express your sadness with your actions, and force your parents to take your opinions seriously. If Dad got what he wanted and bankrupted the family, or if Mom really divorced Dad, these would not be what you wanted to see, right?"
"But...but..."
Xia Yuan looked at Mei Fang eagerly, "I have never run away from home before, and I don't know if I have enough money. If I really meet a bad guy, what should I do..."
"Why are you so afraid? We are such good friends, how can I be sure to leave you alone?"
Mei Fang patted Xia Yuan on the shoulder and said, "I will run away from home, too—"
"Run away from home with you."