Easy Spring

At the beginning:

“Hey, kid, you there! You’re really good-looking. What’s your name?”

“Hello, Mr. Guo. My name is Yi Fengchun.”

“Well, isn’t that a coincidence? My name is Guo Xiangyang, and yours is Yi Fengchun. Put them together and you get, ‘Flowers and trees facing the sun easily meet spring.’”

At the end:

“Xiao Chun, are you tired? Have you fallen asleep? Get some rest. When you wake up, I’ll take you to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower, then to Beijing to see if their opera houses are more prosperous than the ones here.

Yi Fengchun, don’t fall asleep, okay?

Xiao Chun, I’m hungry. I want noodles you made with your own hands. Go easy on the chili and heavy on the vinegar. Don’t forget this time, you scatterbrain!

You’re so afraid of the cold and so delicate. What will you do in some other place? Maybe I should just take care of you for the rest of your life!

I still remember when we first met. I arrived after the performance had started, and heard you sing:

‘Yingtai is not a woman, so why does she have pierced ears?’

‘There’s a reason for the marks on my ears. Why must you be so suspicious, Brother Liang?

The village holds many temple fairs to honor the gods. Every year, I play Guanyin.

Brother Liang, focus on your studies. Don’t let thoughts of women distract you from your future.’

‘From that day on, I dared not look at Guanyin.’

He dared not look at Guanyin. It turns out our first meeting had already doomed us to a tragic ending.