Dịch Tích spent the whole night awake and only managed to catch a few winks of sleep at 5am. However, she was abruptly awakened by the ringing of her phone. The previously silent house now had a mother and her child enjoying breakfast in the dining room as Dịch Tích walked... downstairs.



“Why are you up so early, Tích Tích?” The woman, whose face was well-groomed, greeted her with a wave and a smile, “Would you like to join us for breakfast?”



While the gesture was warm, Dịch Tích felt distant from them.



“No, thank you. I am running late.” Dịch Tích replied expressionlessly and made her way to the door with her car keys.



During rush hour, the traffic was almost at a standstill, with vehicles stuck in the jam regardless of how urgent their destination was.



As Dịch Tích waited at the red light and watched the cars inch along slowly, her phone suddenly rang. She quickly answered it and connected it to the cars Bluetooth system. Hoàng Vis voice murmured through the cars speakers, and Dịch Tích couldnt help but feel delighted hearing her soft voice mixed with the morning sunlight.



"Why are you still not here yet?" Hoàng Vi asked.



"Traffic jam, sorry." Dịch Tích replied, her hand on the steering wheel and the other holding onto the car door.



"First day of school, and youre already late. The attendance is already done, start counting the absences, will you?"



Dịch Tích frowned and looked ahead, waiting for the light to turn green. "Have you finished counting? It doesnt matter anyway, Im not coming anymore, since apparently there was no attendance today."



"Huh? I was just joking with you, silly. The teacher didnt take attendance today."



"What did you say?" Dịch Tích asked in a raised voice, "If there was no attendance, why did you call me this early to go to school?"