Yu Xiaxing: “Grandpa, things are so hard for me!”
Yu Zhengrong looked at her with a beaming smile. “Oh? You have troubles too?”
Yu Xiaxing sighed.
“In the Special Committee’s renewal battle, there’s a girl who absolutely insists on dropping out. The teachers and principal have talked to her countless times. They’ve tried every possible argument, but nothing works.”
“So I figured she must be especially resistant to persuasion and communication, so I changed into a school uniform and pretended to be a student. I tried to get close to her and coax her into opening up.”
Her grandfather looked at the high school uniform she was wearing. It really didn’t look out of place on her.
When Yu Xiaxing had first decided to take on the school, he had been a little worried.
After all, she was only twenty. It would be easy for the teachers and students not to accept her.
Unexpectedly, she had managed to win over the teachers with her personal charm while also blending into the student body by pretending to be one of them.
Yu Xiaxing continued to complain, “I talked with her all night and listened to her curse her mother for two hours. I finally managed to earn a little of her trust.”
“Then an outside conflict suddenly broke out that night. Her mother showed up and gave her a thorough scolding. After that, the mother and daughter had another falling-out, and the girl still insisted on fighting her mother and dropping out.”
She raised her eyes, looking utterly aggrieved. “Grandpa, I really did everything I could. I did everything I was supposed to do, but the conflict between mother and daughter isn’t something an outsider like me can resolve…”
Old Master Yu’s heart ached for her. He comforted her, “Ah, it really is difficult for you. At your age, you’re stuck in that stage where you can’t fully empathize with either children or parents. It’s not your fault.”
“The fact that you thought of changing clothes to get close to her and learn what she was really thinking shows that you put your heart into it.”
“As for the outcome, people can do their best, but success depends on fate. One setback doesn’t mean anything. You still have other chances.”
Yu Xiaxing was completely satisfied.
Yes! Her hard-working persona was safe!
She immediately pulled herself together, looking deeply shaken but absolutely unwilling to give up.
“Grandpa, I’m going back to my room to review everything right now! I’m going to figure out why I failed and make sure I successfully complete the second renewal assignment!”
Her grandfather looked at her, his eyes filled with even greater approval. “Go on. I should head back to bed too.”
Yu Xiaxing immediately stood up with Dian Dian in her arms. “Good night, Grandpa!”
Dian Dian was cooperative enough to bark once, as if saying good night too.
Old Master Yu watched her run off with the dog in her arms and couldn’t help smiling.
That girl never admitted defeat—just like him!
—
As soon as Yu Xiaxing returned to her room, she put Dian Dian down and rewarded him with a strip of beef jerky.
“Dian Dian, you did a great job cooperating just now. Go play.”
Dian Dian happily ran off with the jerky in his mouth.
Yu Xiaxing took a shower.
When she came out, she collapsed onto the bed, intending to go to sleep.
As usual, she casually browsed her phone before bed. Suddenly, she came across the latest video posted by Breaking Free, the account she had just followed that day.
A butterfly spoke slowly and deliberately in the video.
“When you forgive your parents too easily, you’re betraying the self that was hurt.”
“Parents will never apologize. They’ll only say things like, ‘I did this for your own good,’ or ‘Your wings have hardened, so I can’t control you anymore’… None of that is an admission of wrongdoing. They’re all just ways to shut down the conversation.”
“Adults choose to give birth, so they should bear the consequences. Children have no obligation to understand how hard things were for their parents.”
“If a relationship continues to cause you pain, make you doubt yourself, and leave you feeling suffocated, then you must save yourself.”
“True self-rescue begins with cutting off your family!”
“The blogger was abused by her mother as a child. After her father died, her mother treated her as an emotional support system and was terrified that she might become independent. She even put nails in the blogger’s shoes to keep her from going to competitions…”
Yu Xiaxing shot upright.
Breaking Free—you’re Huo Mian!
Isn’t this exactly what happened to Huo Mian?
But the more she listened, the less it sounded like her.
Breaking Free went on to say things like, “Whenever I spoke to a female classmate, my mother would act as though she were facing a mortal enemy. She treated me like I was her second husband…”
It didn’t seem like Huo Mian’s mother had gone that far, did it?
Yu Xiaxing frowned and continued listening to Breaking Free describe the abuse she had suffered during her school years.
These words were bound to appeal to students, because they weren’t complete lies. Every sentence touched on a real pain point.
But the answers it offered were always extreme—completely black and white.
It left no room for repairing parent-child relationships and no space for communication. It portrayed all parents as harmful and evil.
In the end, the solution it offered was actually to encourage students to cut ties with their families.
It didn’t care whether those students had the financial means to do so.
Of course, it was easy to talk when you weren’t responsible for someone else’s child.
Tsk. No wonder it was so carefree.
Yu Xiaxing dragged the video forward. Sure enough, it offered no advice about what to do afterward.
She went to Breaking Free’s profile and watched several more videos, but found nothing about where students should live after cutting ties with their families, what they should eat, how they should continue their education, or who would take responsibility for their future.
Yu Xiaxing stared at the comments section.
They were filled with students expressing solidarity and recounting their grievances. They all firmly believed in Breaking Free.
They felt as though no one in the entire world understood them. Only Breaking Free understood their suffering.
Yu Xiaxing grew increasingly irritated as she watched.
Breaking Free’s profile showed that it had more than three million followers.
Its bio read: Help you break free and become your true self.
Other than that, there were no links to an online shop, no paid group, and no advertisements.
Yu Xiaxing frowned.
Strange.
How was an account like this making money?
The account had announced a time for its livestreams.
Breaking Free’s words spoke directly to students’ hearts, so they would definitely send virtual gifts during the livestreams.
But even so, it shouldn’t make that much money, should it?
Minors had no stable income, and Breaking Free was even encouraging them to cut ties with their families and drop out of school…
Where would these students get the money to spend on it?
But the account posted content every day. Surely it couldn’t be operating without making any money?
Why put so much effort into running an account and producing content every day if it was purely seeking emotional validation?
Yu Xiaxing continued scrolling down. Her attention was quickly drawn to several unusual comments.
Under every one of Breaking Free’s videos, there were several accounts arguing against it.
I'm a First-Time Mom: “You’re encouraging children to cut ties with their families. Aren’t you afraid of facing the consequences? These children have no financial means. When you tell them to sever ties with their parents, are you telling them to sleep on the streets?”
Counselor Zhou: “Everyone, don’t believe this kind of account. This content is extremely dangerous. It’s a typical example of emotional amplification and the reinforcement of cognitive distortions. If parents discover that their child is becoming addicted to this kind of content, they must seek psychological intervention promptly.”
Don't Let Kids Get Brainwashed: “My daughter watched content like this and suddenly started calling me an NPD mother. To rebel against me, she dropped out of school. Parents, you must stay alert.”
Dr. Wang, a pediatric psychologist at a top-tier hospital: “True psychology never encourages extreme estrangement from one’s family. It helps clients establish healthy boundaries. You’re selling anxiety!”
There were also many other comments that appeared to be from parents:
“My child is the same. Whenever I say anything to her, she says I’m controlling her.”
“This blogger is profiting from students’ suffering.”
“How can I save my child? My son won’t listen to anything anymore.”
Yu Xiaxing stared at the comments. When she first read them, they had seemed so reasonable—finally, some people with a clear head. She had even liked a few of them.
But the longer she looked, the more something felt off…
