A lifetime of storms and hardship, a whole life adrift and alone.
I lost my family when I was young and had nowhere to go. I gritted my teeth and endured the misery of life at the bottom, tasting the world's indifference and all its bitterness. Unwilling to live a meaningless life or accept a fate of poverty, I lost my footing in confusion and strayed into an abyss, trapped in delusion and chaos with no way forward and no one to turn to.
In the darkest years of my life, when I was most wretched, most destitute, and had nothing at all, the world around me was noisy and murky, and everyone was driven by self-interest and empty ambition. Only Wang Haiying entered my desolate life, carrying a gentle, untainted warmth.
She understood the hardships behind my silence, sympathized with the burdens I bore alone, and cared about the wounds no one else knew I had.
She quietly listened to the past no one else would hear, and understood the perseverance no one else could see.
We met in desperation, kindred spirits weathered by the world, and affection quietly blossomed. We stood by each other through the hard times, sharing simple meals and becoming each other's glimmer of light.
In my bitter life, it was the only love untouched by self-interest or worldly concerns, pure to the core.
But we met at the wrong time. Love ran deep, but life was short, and fate kept us apart.
An old song became our farewell. From then on, we were separated by mountains and rivers, never to meet again, north or south.
For the rest of my life, I'll weather the storms on my own, carrying the warmth she once gave me.
Meeting Haiying was the greatest salvation of my lost life;
Losing Haiying is the lifelong regret I'll carry to my grave.
