16 years later...
The morning sun shone over a local Chinese house near the city, shining through the windows where a teenaged girl with long, blond hair was sleeping in her nice comfy bed. But she wouldn't wake up until her alarm clock struck 7 am and beeped her awake. The girl groaned in annoyance, moving her hand over and pressing the button to turn it off before rising up, yawning and stretching. After that, she got out of bed, got out of her pajamas and dressed in her school uniform.
Then once she got herself ready, she walked downstairs to the kitchen where her parents were waiting. Her parents seemed to have gotten older too as they were now nearly middle-aged. Her mother was happily cooking breakfast of ham and eggs for the family while her father was busily reading a newspaper with a bored expression, though never taking his eyes off of it.
"Good morning, Tàiyáng," greeted the mother cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?"
"Usual," replied Tàiyáng as she sat down at the table, said a short prayer and started eating her meal.
As Tàiyáng ate, her father continued looking at his newspaper, not saying a word to his daughter and focusing only on the articles. But one of the articles he read brought a shocked looked to his face before turning to frustration.
"Oh, damn it! No!" he groaned. "This can't be happening!"
"What is it, Jiēshòu?" asked the mother.
"It's my business rival from Japan, Pawāteikā Shigaraki." he grumbled, staring angrily at a picture of a man in his early 30's with black hair and a black suit. "He's moving his new headquarters near our city!"
"Hm, I wonder what for," pondered the wife.
"Possibly trying to make a mockery out of me, that's for sure," said Jiēshòu in frustration. "Everything our company does, that crazy man seems to always be one step ahead of me! I'm telling ya, he's out to get me!"
"Oh, I'm sure maybe he just wants to patch things up with you," reassured the wife. "Possibly he could want to form a partnership with you so both your companies can become one."
"With that man? Yeah, right! Not in a million years, Zhě," huffed Jiēshòu. "You know how ambitious he can be!"
Once Tàiyáng was done eating, she grabbed her book back and started to head out until...
"Hold it right there, young lady!" said a firm voice, coming from her father, which earned him a groan from his daughter. "Remember what I said?"
"Never stand out," sighed Tàiyáng in boredom.
"And?" questioned Jiēshòu suspiciously.
"Never go in any dark places," finished Tàiyáng.
"Good, now run along or you'll be late," he said before turning back to his newspaper.
Tàiyáng gave her dad pouty face before leaving, shutting the door in the process. Once she had gone, the mother looked sternly over at her husband.
"Why must you always give her such a hard time?" she asked. "It's like this every day."
"I just want to make sure nobody figures her out, Zhě," Jiēshòu answered. "If they all see what she could do, she'll be known as an outcast and we'll be the embarrassment of the city."
"She might already be one since she hasn't made a lot of friends," Zhě pointed out. "And you know trying to hide it is hard for Tàiyáng to do. She can't help her problem."
"She can," Jiēshòu argued. "And she will. I'll make sure of it."
Tàiyáng always rides her bike to school every morning. It does not have a headlight on it, but that doesn't bother her in the slightest. She wasn't even allowed to ride at night anyway. She knew why her father wouldn't let her go outside. She was fully aware of the strange power that always comes up every time she was in the dark. She remembered when she first discovered her power after bullies locked her inside a locker when she was 5. It looked dark when they opened it for her. But when she was inside, it was now lit up and there wasn't even a light bulb anywhere!
On the way, Tàiyáng stopped at a shrine and made a short prayer, hoping today will turn out okay without any issues. Then she rode the rest of the way to Qing Qing High School and parked her bike on the rack, locking it before walking into the building five minutes before the clock could strike 8.
There were lots of students walking around the halls with their book back and stuff, chatting amongst themselves and grabbing stuff from their lockers before going to their homeroom class. Tàiyáng didn't feel like she fit in with them as she walked through the crowd, not that anyone noticed her little quirk or anything, but it was hard for her to stand out because of it. She was so quiet and anxious; she wasn't being entirely careful to her surroundings. And before she knew it, she suddenly tripped to the floor. The cause of it was done by a teenaged girl at her age with long brown hair and blue eyes, slyly holding her foot out while standing with a group of other girls with her, all giggling at her misfortune.
"Whoops! Sorry, Yang," she said in a sarcastic tone. "Maybe if your foot wasn't where mine was, you'd still be walking." And she laughed with the other girls as they all left.
Poor Tàiyáng watched them leave, listening to other students around giggling as they watched. She had just begun to pull herself up when a hand reached out to her.
"Are you okay?" came a male voice.
Tàiyáng looked up to find a boy her age with shoulder length black hair, reaching out his hand to help her up. Tàiyáng grabbed the boy's hand, and he pulled her back up on er feet.
"Thank you, Hēiàn," said Tàiyáng.
"Hey, what are friends for," smiled Hēiàn as they started walking together. "I mean, we've known each other since kindergarten. So, why shouldn't I help you out."
"Still, I just don't understand why Bāngzhù and her possie would always be so mean to me," said Tàiyáng sadly.
"She looks down upon everybody," reasoned Hēiàn. "And besides, Bāngzhù Yǒuhǎo has always known to be the most popular girl in the whole school. No one can touch her."
"How do you learn to deal with her?" Tàiyáng asked.
"Hmmm," pondered Hēiàn, rubbing his chin. "It's... complicated. Although, I will say, I just know how it feels to be bullied during my childhood. I just don't want to see it happen to anyone else."
"Don't the school jocks still pick on you, Hēiàn?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Ah, I never let what those jackasses say or do bother me. Sticks and stones!" he scoffed before suddenly feeling a hard hit coming from the back of his head, nearly knocking him over.
That came from a basketball, which was thrown at by the basketball team.
"Sorry, skinny bones!" teased one of them.
"Shoulda thought fast, short stuff!" teased another before they went away.
Hēiàn just rolled his eyes, rubbing his head where the ball hit before recovering quickly.
"Still, what they do only just drives me to climb higher." Hēiàn added. "And, one day, everyone in this whole town will know me as Hēiàn Pángguānzhě, the man of all ages in China!"
Tàiyáng chuckled at this.
"You sure have quite the ambition," she smirked.
"A strong ambition makes a strong person," he said with confidence as Tàiyáng chuckled again.
All was going well for the rest of the morning until 4th period, when she had to take a history class. The teacher was going to show the whole class a presentation. The only thing was that the lights had to be turned off! Hearing this alarmed Tàiyáng and she quickly raised her hand, feigning a cough.
"Yes, Tàiyáng?" said the teacher.
"Sorry, may I please go to the nurse?" she asked, feigning more coughs.
The teacher nodded and Tàiyáng rushed out of the classroom, taking a hall pass with her as she let out more fake coughs.
Hēiàn was in the class too and noticed this. He wasn't sure why, but he noticed that this always happens to Tàiyáng every time whether the lights had to go out for either a presentation or a video. It made him rather suspicious and rather worried but decided to say nothing anyway.
Tàiyáng instead went to the girl's bathroom, hiding in one of the stalls in solitude. As she rested on the toilet, Tàiyáng continued to think about her problems. It was about her glowing issue, knowing that she always lights up every time she was in the dark. Every time when it came to a point where the teacher had to turn off the lights, whether it was a presentation or a movie, she would always have to think of an excuse so that her secret wouldn't be exposed, whether it was going to the nurse or to the bathroom. And she hated it, knowing that it shows how different she was from everyone else. Not only that, it also prevents her from seeing dark attractions at the amusement park and going to the theater because she knew she would light up the whole area, much to everyone else's anger. She always wanted to experience them, but her father told her, "No," reminding her about her glowing and how she must hide it from everyone. Because of this, she was anti-social. She hid until class was over before going to her next.
After school, she would often meet up with her bicycle team, practicing her riding skills to the max for the upcoming bike riding championship. For a girl who doesn't socialize much, she was a star athlete for her team. Even the coach was impressed at each run she had. Tàiyáng was just glad that this sport was only in the daytime.
"Well done, Tàiyáng," said the coach. "Another good time."
"Thanks, Coach Yǒngqì," smiled Tàiyáng. "I always try my hardest."
"That you do," said the coach before turning to the other team members. "Listen up, everyone! I am pleased with your progress, but I want everyone to work their hardest for the upcoming bike tournament in six months from now. In order for you to win, you must have passion, courage, strength and resolve. I have my best set here that so that we can represent our school as the top number 1! So, don't let me down!"
"Yes, ma'am!" the members said in unison.
After they were dismissed, Tàiyáng was set on riding her bike home when three female members came toward her.
"You're heading home already, Tàiyáng?" asked first. "We were wanting to invite you to a curry restaurant with us."
"You sure?" asked Tàiyáng, a little surprised.
"Of course," replied the second. "You did so well during practice, we'd just thought you would want to celebrate with us so you can unwind with us."
"Yeah, it'll be totally fun," said the third. "We can talk about cute guys, how well we'll be in the tournament, go stargazing. I mean, just look, it's already sunset."
Hearing that last sentence alerted Tàiyáng as her eyes widened.
"Sunset?!" Tàiyáng exclaimed as she turned to find the sun halfway down. "Oh no! Sorry, girls. But I gotta ride."
"But why?" asked the first. "It's like this every evening."
"Wait a minute, I see what's going on," giggled the third. "You're afraid of the dark, are you?"
"I'm on a curfew, girls," explained Tàiyáng. "My dad says I shouldn't be out at night."
"Aw, who cares what your dad says," scoffed the second. "Have some fun for once. What's he gonna do?"
"Oh, I dunno, ground me for life maybe," said Tàiyáng as she started peddling back on the road to home, going into thought. "I'm sorry, guys. But I can't tell any of you the truth. It's just something you would never understand."
She came home just before it got dark and hurried inside the house. Lucky for her the lights were still on.
"I'm home," she announced as she came in and closed the door.
"Did you have a good day today?" asked Zhě.
"It's alright," she answered. "The class tried to give a presentation today."
"How did you get out of it?" asked Jiēshòu in a stern tone. "I'm hoping you didn't stick around."
"Of course not, Dad!" she groaned, "I faked a cough and asked to go to the nurse. That's all."
"Did anyone suspect a thing?" asked Jiēshòu with a raised eyebrow with Tàiyáng shaking her head in reply. "Good. You're lucky you came home just now before it got dark. You know how I feel about you being outside at night."
"Yes, I'm sorry!" sighed Tàiyáng. "Look, practice just took a little longer than I expected today. But I still made it back, didn't I?" she added as she took her bookbag upstairs with her before her father could say anything else.
Later, that evening, the family of three sat down at the table, eating dinner. All was silent as Zhě noticed both Tàiyáng and Jiēshòu just eating their food without a word or so much as making eye-contact at each other. She decided to break the ice as she cleared her throat.
"So, Jiēshòu, how did things go at work?"
"Usual, I suppose, being the owner of Gen Tech and all," replied Jiēshòu. "But with Pawāteikā Shigaraki coming, our business is now trying much harder to keep staying as the best in the world. We're only one short of Shigaraki's company, Quánlì Inc. and we have yet to expand our business."
"So, why haven't you?" asked Tàiyáng, getting his attention.
"Why haven't I what?" Jiēshòu asked back.
"Why haven't you expanded your business yet?" Tàiyáng repeated "You've been working for that company for... what was it? Thirty years? You should've for some time after you've built it and became the owner."
"Well, we're trying hard to advertise our products and trying to get more companies to partner up with us," said Jiēshòu. "But nobody's ever come to us like some came for Quánlì."
"Why hasn't anyone partnered with you guys?" Tàiyáng asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Hey, don't take that tone with me," said Jiēshòu in a stern tone.
"I'm not. It's just a simple question," Tàiyáng responded, feeling hurt. "What's so hard about answering that?"
Jiēshòu sighed and rubbed his forehead, looking down at his plate.
"I just can't answer that," he said calmly.
Tàiyáng pouted, as she knew that her father never tells her anything important at work. It wasn't that she was trying to pry into his business, she just wanted to see how he was getting on, knowing how rough his work was doing. But he would just never say no matter what she tried. It was among all those other things where he never tells her anything heartwarming. It was like he didn't even care about her aside from just hiding her power. But that seemed to be all he ever cared about. At that moment, Tàiyáng finished her plate and started to get up.
"I'm going upstairs," she said as she made her way toward the stairs.
"Don't you want dessert?" asked Zhě with concern.
"I've lost my appetite," Tàiyáng called as she disappeared up the stairs.
Zhě sighed in disappointment as she watched her leave. She could tell by the tone in her voice, their daughter was upset. And she looked over to her husband, giving him a stern look.
"What?" asked Jiēshòu with a shrug. "What'd I do?"
Tàiyáng took a quick shower and returned to her room in her pajamas. After she closed the door and shut the blinds in her windows, she turned off the lights and sat down on her bed, reading a magazine in silence.
She may be ashamed of her glowing power when out in public. But at night, when she is all by herself in the darkness, it seemed like the glow around her made her feel safe and warm inside, like it was giving her a nice hug, something which her father never gave her even as a baby. It was the only sense of comfort she had, an only point in her life where she really liked her power. It was a glowing moment which her parents, especially all the other people outside the house would never see.