That Winter We Met

They first met in the hospital. Jianqiu is not yet one year old, Xu Huaisheng is twenty-two. He was thinking how heartless this kid was. The second time we met was at the Nanshi Juvenile Detention Center. Jianqiu is eight years old and Xu Huaisheng is thirty. He said to her: "Come home with me and live with me from now on," They lived together as adoptive father and daughter for six years. Xu Huaisheng was like a ray of warm sunshine, warming Jianqiu's obscure and broken life. From then on, Jianqiu found her reason to live. Later, she betrayed her relatives and came to the city where he lived, bearing the infamy, hoping to regain her lover. The third meeting was in the back garden of the hotel. Jianqiu is eighteen years old and Xu Huaisheng is forty. She said in a hoarse voice: "Ah Sheng, Jianqiu is back, Jianqiu is here to find you." But he was so determined that he didn't even show mercy: "It's better that we don't meet again. This is good for both you and me."