It wasn't that they weren't permitted to walk further into the facility.... They could have, but both parents knew, and so did the children, that each step deeper would make the goodbyes become even harder. The parking lot was enough, a place to pause before the inevitable separation.
And so, without looking back, they ran ahead. Their laughter and voices faded into the distance, swallowed by the wide, disciplined grounds of the academy.
Tang Fei stood still, her gaze lingering on their retreating silhouettes, her chest tightening in both pride and sorrow.
"They're all gone…" With one arm, he swept her up into his embrace. The sudden loss of balance made Tang Fei instinctively curl her arms around his neck, clinging to him intimately.
