After dinner the table is clean, and Lin Hao sits at his desk. He has maths, Chinese, and a short English reading. The English text is about a girl who moved from the country to the city. Some words are new, and the sentences are longer than last year's.
"I can try this," he tells himself. When he does not know a word, he does not skip it. He looks it up in the dictionary and writes a small note in the margin. Slow work is still good work, Mum often says.
Dad walks past and asks, "Need any help?" Lin Hao shakes his head. "Not yet. I want to finish the first paragraph." Ten minutes later he reads the paragraph out loud. His voice is not perfect, but every sentence has a beginning and an end.
He closes the book and stretches. The city in the story is noisy, but his room is quiet. He understands more than he did twenty minutes ago. That is enough for tonight.