As a teacher, it's always difficult to see any of your students struggling. And from the moment that Miss Xiao Long joins them in the kitchen, it's more than clear that she has been struggling quite a bit.
When teaching her at Beacon Academy, Professor Port had always admired Yang Xiao Long's enthusiasm and confidence. She'd always been a delight to have in class, even if she did tend to get a bit distracted at times. A happy, charismatic young woman with a bright future ahead of her.
The young woman he sees now is a shadow of her former self. There are dark circles under her eyes, and she seems skittish, hunching in on herself instead of standing tall and proud like she would before. She's clearly lost weight, and everything about her just seems diminished.
Everything except the fire in her eyes. When she meets his eyes, he can still see the determination burning in her gaze, deep down. The old Yang Xiao Long is still in there somewhere.
He can see her trying to be her old self as she jokes with them and teases her father. In her "please, just call me Yang" in response to them greeting her as Miss Xiao Long. In her smile that isn't quite as bright as her previous cheerful grin, but it's clear that she's trying.
Miss Xiao Long—Yang—has clearly had a rough time of it, but in the end, Professor Port is pretty sure that she'll be just fine.
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you liked it.