It was dark outside the window, and Xiao hadn't shown up. Dinner is getting cold on the table you've been preparing for the boy from school, the one you've been courting for months but never got him to trust.

You watch this for a few more minutes, then the key turns in the keyhole of the hallway door and your son walks in. You walk out of the kitchen into the hallway and look at the teenager, covered in bruises. He had dirty clothes and disheveled hair. His look was cold and disinterested.