Because Zhang and Chen earn a living, they are forced to sacrifice a healthy family life. As they can only take time off work during the Chinese New Year, they are forced to leave their children with their grandmother. It's obvious in the film that Yang and Qin being raised by a grandmother is not ideal. Due to the absence of their parents, Qin and Yang did not have a normal and happy childhood. Under constant pressure to succeed in school, so they can support their parents, they feel used. Before the parents return home, Yang and Qin succeed in their studies. However, conflict arises when the parents arrive, and Qin being a teenager, rebels thinking that she does not need to listen to her parents, due to their absence. Before their arrival, Zhang and Chen admitted to having difficulty becoming parents, saying: "When we are at home, we don't even know what to say to our children. » Due to their absence as parental figures, they cannot relate to their children, but nevertheless attempt to act as authority figures. The parents, particularly Father Zhang, seem to exploit their children by emphasizing the importance of their academic success. This is shown several times throughout the film, such as when Chen calls Qin, and the first words out of his mouth are "did you receive your report card", followed by "did you do well". Qin