At some point, I found myself walking into the children's area of the neighborhood.
There was a small swing, so I walked over, sat on the wooden seat, and swayed gently, holding the ropes.
In front of me, two young girls, one older and one younger, started to play on the slide. The younger one fell, and her sister ran over to help her up. Then, a mother came over and told the siblings it was time to go home for dinner.
Such an ordinary scene, yet Manman watched with relish, lingering on the sight of the younger sister gripping the older one's hand, on the mother's gesture of straightening each child's clothes.
I remember when I was very little, my mother, Xu Yu'e, used to care for me in the same way, dressing me, feeding me, braiding my hair, and watching over me day and night when I was sick. When did that feeling change?
I ran a fever during my college entrance exams and failed miserably.
My career wasn't going well, and for many years I couldn't find a partner.
